By The Red Hook WaterStories team
Joshua Slocum and his sloop SPRAY arrived in Erie Basin, October 2, 1900 to Manning's Dock. He is said to be the first person to sail around the world alone, without even a cat or dog for companionship. Joshua Slocum was unfortunately lost at sea 10...
By The Red Hook WaterStories team
Scroll to the bottom to hear PortSide's interview with Sunny Balzano. Sunny Balzano was the beloved owner of a legendary bar, some 90 years old, which became known as Sunny’s. He died March 10, 2016 which prompted an outpouring of grief,...
Michael Gallagher, last General Manager of New York Shipyard, successor to Todd Shipyard, interviewed two weeks before selling the site to IKEA, talks about the shipyard, its history and final days. Gallagher represents the 5th generation of his...
John Gladsky is the definition of a colorful old salt. He is a marine salvor and the principal of Gladsky Marine and has an old-time Long Island accent. His oral history expresses nostalgia for the Todd Shipyard and criticism of public policy that...
When interviewed at a vigorous 82 years of age, Hank Dam laughs hard remembering the WWII slogan of Todd Shipyard “the difficult we do every day, the impossible takes a little longer.” Hank is clearly proud of the ingenuity and hard work of his...
Well after this interview below, Captain Tom Teague published a book "Tales from a Tugboat Captain" and became a social media rock star with Facebook posts with photos and videos and explanations of the job and tuglife. See the following links:...
By The Red Hook WaterStories team
Hurricane Sandy hit Brooklyn around 8pm on October 29, 2012. which caused devastating flooding in Red Hook. The following 32 interviews are part of a project " Sandy: Tell Your Story" recorded by Emergency Management Methodology Partners...
By The Red Hook WaterStories team
Alf Dyrland was Captain of the MARY A. WHALEN from her rechristening in 1962 until 1978 when he retired. He was her first captain; she was his last boat. Alf loved the MARY deeply. As he lay dying in 1996, what he said out loud...
Joe Ruggiero, aka “Joey Chips” since he always shows up at a party with a bag of chips, is a WWII vet who is still driving in 2016. He served as a Bosun Mate on the Navy vessel THURSTON and participated in 6 D-Days in 4 years including...
