Today's episode is a recording of a panel discussion hosted on January 15, 2026 by the Long Island Library Resources Council. The panelists, all notable historians who have researched the Revolutionary War period on Long Island, give their insights into what life was like in the area from 1776-1783. This time of British occupation saw the inhabitants of Kings, Queens, and Suffolk counties suffer depredations brought on by British and Hessian troops as well as by Patriot attacks from across Long Island Sound. You'll hear about the enslaved Black woman Liss from Oyster Bay, about the activities of the Culper Spy Ring, and the experiences of others ranging from British officer John Simcoe to Elizabeth Lewis, wife of Declaration signatory Francis Lewis.

The panel itself was funded by a WETA grant awarded to LILRC in support of programming related to the PBS documentary The American Revolution by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt.

Further Research

• The American Revolution (PBS)
• Dr. Joanne Grasso
  • The American Revolution on Long Island. (Find in a library via WorldCat)
  • George Washington's 1790 Grand Tour of Long Island. (Find in a Library via WorldCat)
• Dr. Natalie Naylor
  • Women in Long Island's Past: A History of Eminent Ladies and Everyday Lives. (Find in a library via WorldCat)
  • Long Island Studies Institute
• Claire Bellerjeau
  • Remember Liss.org
  • Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution: the True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth. (Find in a library via WorldCat)
• Long Island Library Resources Council
• Feature image from the New York Public Library
• Intro Music: https://homegrownstringband.com/
• Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

Today we come to praise the one-room schoolhouse of the 19th century (and some of its earlier forebears). Humble in appearance, these buildings might be easy to overlook but their existence hints at a broader social, cultural, and educational history across Long Island.

Zach Studenroth, architectural historian and preservationist, documents this history in Historic Schoolhouses of Long Island from Arcadia Publishing (compiled with his co-author, the late Kurt Kahofer). On today's episode, Zach elaborates on the role of New York State in establishing schools in the 1800s, Walt Whitman's brief foray into teaching, and the surprising afterlife of school buildings as churches, fire houses, and storage sheds.

Further Research

• Historic Schoolhouses of Long Island (Arcadia Publishing)
• Schoolteaching Years (Walt Whitman Archive)
• George Bradford Brainerd (Brooklyn Museum)
• Audio Footnotes
  • Episode 89: Walt Whitman's Birthplace
• Intro Music: https://homegrownstringband.com/
• Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

Steven Damman disappeared from outside a supermarket in East Meadow on Halloween day, 1955. He was not yet three years old. Still unsolved, the case has intrigued many over the ensuing years - none more so than Newsday journalist John Valenti.

For Nothing is Hidden, Valenti's new novel, is the culmination of his meticulous research into the case mixed with his years of observations covering Long Island. He presents a fictional version of the disappearance, substituting the Goodson family for the Dammans, while hewing close to the facts. His book is also populated with events of the day, from the habitual airplane crashes around Mitchel field to the notorious high society shooting of Bobby Woodward that dominated the headlines (and police attention).

On today's episode you'll hear about Valenti's direct ties to the case, his decisions about constructing the narrative, and tales of Newsday legends like Dick Estrin and Bob Waters. You'll also get a journalist's perspective on history, stories, and human nature.

Further Research

• For Nothing is Hidden by John Valenti
• Mitchel Field (AAFHA)
• "Turfman Killed by Wife in Dark." New York Times 10/31/1955
• Leon Errol (IMDB)
• Intro Music: https://homegrownstringband.com/
• Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0