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Image provided by: Long Island Library Resources Council
Memories of Freeport's Waterfront 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. Freeport and the U.S. Coast Guard In 1924 the U.S. Coast Guard received funding and began planning to modernize and increase the num- bers of its patrol boats. The Columbian Bronze Corporation on North Main Street in Freeport knew of the contracts that were to be award- ed to regional boat builders nationally. If Columbian Bronze could pattern, develop and sell these castings to all builders, it would be a great contract to bring to Freeport. A total of 275 new boats was to be ordered. Columbian would have a jumpstart on these castings, if a boat builder nearby was available to pattern their castings. It was the management of Columbian that suggested to Freeport Point Boatyard to submit a bid. To ensure that Freeport Point was awarded a regional share of 10 boats, it was suaaested that a strong local personality be installed as an officer of this company. Local Judge Hubert Johnson was asked to take this posi- tion and he agreed. It was a case of Freeporters promoting Freeport to bring a prestigious contract to town in 1925. The waterfront on Woodcleft was on its way. Prohibition brought development, marine design improve- ments and employment to the marine industry. Prohibition lasted 13 years from 1920 to a repeal by Franklin Roosevelt in 1933. Commercial fisherman and the draggers My earliest recollections of drag- gers and trawlers operating out of Freeport were of small boats convert- ed with masts, booms and winches to handle nets. Most of these boats were operated by the Croatian fishermen emigrating from the Adriatic Sea area. One such boat was the Cannonball, a 32-foot Seabright Skiff with a raised deck forward. A mast was located amidship with a small pilot shelter to starboard. This boat was owned by Pete Budinich until about 1934. In 1934 Freeport Point built two 38 (depression era) draggers, the Polaris, belonging to Pete, and the Niram, Marin spelled backwards, belonging to AVANDIA HEALTH ALERT The diabetes drug Avandia® has been linked to an increased risk of • HEART ATTACK • STROKE • SUDDEN DEATH A New England Journal of Medicine study revealed that Avandia® is associated with a significant increase in the risk of heart disease. If you or a loved one have suffered serious side effects or died after using Avandia*. YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO A CASH SETTLEMENT. Call the Bobbitt Law Firm toll free at 1-800-598-0221 for a free consultation. Babbitt Lent' firm, RC. 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John Marin decided to relocate to South Carolina permanently and developed fish docks and warehouses with rail- road siding in Beaufort. Three draggers were built at Freeport Point in the late 1920s. In 1926, a 50-foot Eastern rig trawler named Benita was launched and fished for scallops out of Freeport. In 1927 a 52-foot Eastern rig trawler, the Lindy, was launched as Charles Lindbergh landed in Paris on his solo flight. The U.S. was jubilant, yelling \Lindy and it was decided to name this boat Lindy. The Lindy was caught offshore scalloping during the September 1938 hurricane. The hurricane went through Long Island on a Tuesday, and by Thursday it was assumed the boat and crew were lost. On Friday morning a phone call was received at Freeport Point saying, \Hello Fred and Mike, we are in New York Harbor. Give us a couple of days to dry out and get some sleep and we will come to Freeport.\ In 1928 the dragger Wanderlust, a 45-foot boat with a western forward pilot house, was launched at Freeport Point. Captain Ilya, a Croatian fisherman sometimes referred to as the \Father of Freeport Fishing,\ operated all three of the above boats out of Freeport with winters spent in St. Augustine shrimping. A 1926 conversion to a trawler by Freeport Point was the Resolute, a 40- foot sailing vessel whose deep keel was cut off and planked across. This boat was fished by Marko, a Croatian from Freeport, until the 1960s. It had a reputation of having the best of sea- keeping abilities running in and out of Jones Inlet. It was last owned by George Burmeister of Freeport. The last trawler built at Freeport Point was the Sturgeon, a 45-foot Western rig boat. It was the first boat built at Freeport Point after World War II production ceased. This boat was fished by Ben Braco and later sold to Captain Ben, who fished it out of Freeport for 40 years. In 1948 Dicky Abbott, a Freeporter, bought his second dragger, the 55-foot North Carolina-built Gannett. Dicky was one of the first to fish the canyon and bring in huge amounts of fish from these offshore grounds. (to be continued...) H e <JQ C en 0\ Wedding & Engagement announcements are welcome and printed free of charge. To prevent errors, all announcements should be double spaced, typed if possible, or else neatly printed, taking special care to print all ^names clearly. A daytime teleyhonj^number must be included. ->—£ Planning a garage sale? Advertise it with a Classified Ad Paid circulation papers guarantee readership 20 Words For $27.00 To Place Your Ad Come To Merrick Life Office 1840MerrickAve. or call 378-5320 o> S3 Q. o>