{ title: 'The Freeport Baldwin Leader. (Freeport, N.Y.) 1987-current, December 28, 2017, Page 1, Image 1', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071065/2017-12-28/ed-1/seq-1/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071065/2017-12-28/ed-1/seq-1.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071065/2017-12-28/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071065/2017-12-28/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Freeport Memorial Library
Freeport VOL. 82 NBL52 Courtesy Jeanne Booth Cynthia Krieg, left and Regina Feeney held a workshop at the local junkyard in Freeport to give attendees an overview about the village's history. Cynthia Krieg and Regina Feeney By Nadya Nataly nnataly@liherald.com \ \/ • / ou cannot speak of Cynthia . • / Krieg without also mention- - I ing Regina Feeney, and vice versa. That's just how it is. The pair support all things Freeport, especially its history. Krieg, 81, is the. village historian, and Feeney, 48, is a librarian at the Freeport Memorial Library. Togeth'er, they organize numerous workshops and build archives that Freeporters can access to learn about the town's history. In this way, the two say, they are preserving. Freeport's past while looking to its future. And, as one of New York's old- est villages — and its second-largest — there's plenty of .history to document in Freeport. For all they have done for the village, Cynthia Krieg and Regina Feeney are the Herald Leader's 2017 People of the Year. \What I love about Cynthia is her will- ingness to share her knowledge about Freeport history,\ Feeney said. \Her knowledge about history in general is phenomenal. I've come across museum curators who treat their collections as if the artifacts and documents were partxrf their own personal collections and use of these materials is forbidden. Cynthia has taught me that stewardship of a his- torical collection does not preclude ac- cess:\ Krieg and Feeney have been friends since 2003. They met when the library took part in a Long Island-wide effort to -digitize municipalities' historical re- cords. Feeney asked Krieg is she could Two historians who share a passion for Freeport's past and present. borrow the Freeport Historical Society's postcard collection for an exhibit. Eager to help, Krieg allowed the library to use the postcards and later worked on other historical exhibits alongside Feeney. Eventually the two would become \partners in crime\ and work together on a book, \Images of America: Free- port,\ published in 2014. It is a collec- tion of Freeporf s historical documents and pictures dating back to its earliest days in the mid-17th century, when it began as a farming community and fish- ing port, famed for its oysters, through World War II. The book is dedicated to \all those who have collected, preserved and made the history of Freeport.\ The text offers details about the early settlement, its incorporation as a village in 1897, the creation of its famed Nautical Mile, stories of-celebrities who once visited Freeport in the summer, its schools, '• religious institutions, homes, personali- ties, recreation facilities, businesses and public services. \Writing the book about Freeport was a very stressful time for us,\ Fee- ney said. \But we've continued to re- main friends and work together all these years.\ The historical society is housed in a Civil War-era bayman's cottage on South Main Street, close to the Nautical Mile. Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Horace Evans once owned it Krieg and Feeney have worked alongside Denise Rushton, a society board trustee, to collect and archive Freeport's history through photo- graphs, birth records, newspaper clip- . pings and artifacts. Continued on page 4 2017 YEAR in Review What's inside? Watching the sky In August, Freeporters marveled at first solar eclipse in 99 years. Page? Splashin' around In September, the annual Cardboard Boat Races took place in Milburn Creek. Page 9 Preparing for the next big hurricane In November, Freeport opened new Emergency Services Facility. Page 10 For breaking news go to LiHerald.com
