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Memories of Freeport's waterfront 3 CTQ a Fred Scopinich, Jr., was born in Freeport in 1927 and spenT his youth on Woodcleft Avenue at his father's boatyard, Freeport Point Shipyard at the foot of Woodcleft Avenue. He is owner/president of The Hampton Shipyards in East Quogue. by Fred Scopinich, Jr. In the early '20s Freeport was in tran- sition. The oyster industry, which was a source of employment for Freeporters since the 1860s, was working out of the Freeport River. Woodcleft Canal was recently dug and not yet a center of waterfront activity. Rowboats were plentiful. Baymen were rowing, outboards did not catch on yet, flat-bottom sailing sharpies with spritsales were popular. A few motor- boats were beginning to use the water- ways. Some of these boats were owned by the actors and actresses vacationing on the South Shore. Leo Carillo of cow- boy movie fame owned a 50 foot raised 1-800-DONATE-CARS Heritage . r ,h t Blind • The donation fs tax deductible. > Pick-up is free. • We take care of all the paperwork. 1 -800-DONATE-CARS n-soo-355-2332) Donate Your Car to the Outreach Center \Cars for Kids\ Program • IRS Recognized Charity • Fully Tax Deductible • Free Pick-up & Tow • Any Model or Condition 1-800-521-7566 OUTREACH C&fTSR FOR STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS, ANNUITIES and INSURANCE PAYOUTS (800) 794-7310 J.G. Wentworth means CASH NOW for Structured Settlements. 1 Weightless Medications Phentermine, Phendimetrazine, et Office visit & one month supply for $70 (631) 462-6161 & (516) 754-6001 www.MDThin.com LOOK YOUR BEST deck double ender called the \Thetis.\ It was moored on Long Beach Avenue, just north of Suffolk Street. Another actor of vaudeville fame was a Mr. Me Waters, who owned a similar boat called \Isabella.\ This was moored in a canal by Chatfields. My father Fred Sr. and his brother Mike emigrated to the U.S. in 1923 and visited a friend in Freeport. This friend was already established in Freeport buy- ing and selling fish. His business became Bill's Fish Market, now Hudson & McCoy Fish House and Bar, on Woodcleft Avenue. Bill convinced my father and uncle to consider Freeport after all the canals were recently dredged and the lowlands south of Front Street were filled. The dredging company had established a base and a marine railway at the end of Woodcleft Avenue, and now this base was abandoned and idle. Woodcleft Avenue was not yet paved, water or electric was not available. A second friend, Captain John Carcich, also in the fish business, saw an opportunity here to establish a boatyard, enlisting Fred and Mike Scopinich. both trained in Austria on boat construction and the mechanics involved. The three entered a business agreement and the Freeport Point Boatyard (later Shipyard) was established in 1923. The 1920s - Prohibition Prohibition was in its early stages and boat repairs and repowers was immedi- ately required by local boat captains who recognized a stroke of good fortune if they pursued this new opportunity, uti- lizing their boats and boating skills. — Jn-1920. before serious enforcement of Prohibition Laws were effected, the first boatload of liquor was sailed into Jones Inlet by a Bahama native named \Knowles\ in his Bahama Island Trading Sloop, sailing all alone. He pro- ceeded to the west side of Swift Creek and tied up to a dock that later became Captain Jack's Bait Station. He stayed at this dock uncontested until he sold all his liquor. He hoisted his sails, sailed out the Inlet and back to the Bahamas. The three-mile limit was in force at this time and local skiffs leaving Freeport could do so under cover of darkness, easily returning and unloading before daylight. Marks Restaurant (now Schooner) at the foot of Woodcleft would charge boat operators $1 per case to unload their boats at his dock and they could store in his waterfront warehouse until trucks could be arranged to carry the liquor away. Payoffs abounded and a payoff guar- anteed safe passage through the villages and highways to New York City. As Prohibition continued, enforce- ment became stronger. The U.S. Coast Guard increased the numbers of their 26 mph Patrol Craft and also enacted a new 12-mile limit. This required the rum- runners to travel further with their car- goes, giving the U.S. Coast Guard a bet- ter chance to intercept the rum boats. Increasing the travel time also made it more, difficult to return home and unload before daylight. The rummies countered this move simply by ordering larger and faster boats and equipping them with two or three 500 hp World War I-surplus con- verted aircraft engines.The rum boats could now travel 32 to 35 mph, fully loaded. A smokescreen device connect- ed to the rummies exhaust system gave additional cover when being chased dur- ing moonless nights. Bulletproofing the pilot house and engine rooms gave pro- tection to crews and machinery. The Freeport waterfront was now changing from a sleepy little town and its waterfront residents were enjoying a boom few other towns could match. More of Mr. Scopinich' s recollec- tions will appear in future issues of The Leader. New Plaza West developer A Dallas-based development com- pany, JPI, has a pending agreement to take over the Plaza West construction project located on Sunrise Highway. Tentative plans call for locating a quality restaurant in the first floor of the former Meadowbrook Bank build- ing and constructing ground-level merchant space with high-end apart- ments on the upper level, all located on the adjacent lot. The JPI plan is still in the review stage and more detailed design ele- ments were not available. Shop locally. Support local businesses NSF SKIN DISEASE PUBLIC NOTICES NSF. NFD is characterized by areas of tight and rigid skin that makes it difficult to bend joints. Some patients with kidney disease have developed NSF NFD after having an MRI scan containing a toxic injectable contrast agent called Gadolinium. If you think you may have NSF, please call us. You may be entitled to compensation. Law Offices of Jose Anibal Baez 1-800-920-6199 from page 13 plied with at the date of the publication of this resolution, are not substantially complied with, and an action, suit or proceeding contesting such validity, is commenced within twenty days after the date of such publication, or c. such obligations are authorized in violation of the provisions of the constitution of the State of New York. Section 8. This resolution is adopted sub- ject to permissive referendum and shall take effect thirty (30) days after its adoption or, if a referendum is held, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors of the Village voting on the referendum. Section 9. The Village Clerk is hereby autho- rized and directed to, within ten (10) days after the adoption of this resolution, cause this reso- lution to be (a) published in \The Leader,\ hereby designated the official newspaper of the Village, and (b) posted in at least six (6) public places together with a notice of the adoption thereof. After the bond resolution shall take effect, the Village Clerk is hereby further direct- ed to cause said bond resolution to be pub- lished, in full, together with a Notice attached in substantially the form prescribed in Section 81.00 of the Law, in said official newspaper of the Village. H n> g.
