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🐝 Testing the Waters

🐝 Testing the Waters

Hallockville’s New Executive Director, When the Revolution Came to Cutchogue, Doggie Ice Cream Truck

Thomas Loncar
September 29, 2026

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Good Morning, North Fork! So, who’s ready to see the sun again?

In today’s North Fork Buzz:

Hallockville’s New Executive Director
When the Revolution Came to Cutchogue
Doggie Ice Cream Truck

Ready, Set, Go!

The Lowdown

Hallockville’s New Executive Director 🚜

Hallockville Museum Farm has a new person at the helm.

Marianne Della Croce has been named executive director of the 28 acre institution, bringing experience in nonprofit leadership, arts, history, programming and community engagement.

She most recently led operations at the Art League of Long Island, and she’s also worked with the Smithtown Historical Society.

At Hallockville, Della Croce says her first order of business is listening, to the staff, volunteers and community that have helped preserve the farm and its 19 historic buildings.

She takes over as Hallockville continues expanding its educational programs, workshops, events and preservation projects, including the recently restored Naugles Barn. ($)

Get the full story 👉 Suffolk Times

When the Revolution Came to Cutchogue 🇺🇸

After the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776, British forces occupied Long Island and roughly three quarters of Southold’s population fled across the Sound to Connecticut. Those who stayed behind dealt with British and Hessian troops taking supplies, dismantling churches for firewood and generally making everyday life pretty complicated.

At the center of Cutchogue’s story were two prominent locals who ended up on very different sides: Patriot Jared Landon and Loyalist Parker Wickham. Wickham had once served as Southold Town supervisor and owned a massive estate, while Landon helped organize the evacuation of local residents before remaining behind himself. Somewhere along the way, the two became bitter enemies.

How bitter? Landon once wrote of Wickham: “I don’t think Southold can hold us both.”

The Revolution eventually settled that argument. Wickham was banished, his property was confiscated and sold, and one of the buyers was Landon, who purchased the Wickham family’s Old House.

Landon’s son later donated the land where the Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library now stands, while historic Wickham buildings were eventually preserved on the nearby Village Green.

Get the full story 👉 North Fork Sun

Doggie Ice Cream Truck 🍦

There’s an ice cream truck cruising Long Island where the customers have four legs and absolutely no intention of sharing.

Salty Paws East End Long Island, run by Janet Ciccione and Stephanie Paraboschi, started as a pop up tent in 2024 before upgrading to a full fledged doggie ice cream truck a year later.

The menu includes lactose free flavors like peanut butter, maple bacon, prime rib and birthday cake, plus seasonal specials and the wonderfully unnecessary bacon cheeseburger.

On weekends, the truck pops up at vineyards, breweries, farmers’ markets, fairs, rescues and private parties across the North and South Forks.

Get the full story 👉 Northforker

Testing the Waters 🌊

There’s a new early morning routine happening on Mattituck and Goldsmith inlets, and it involves a boat, some pretty serious scientific equipment and alarms set well before most of us are awake.

The Citizen Science Learning Center of Eastport has partnered with Save the Sound to monitor the two North Fork waterways as part of the Unified Water Study, a network of 31 environmental groups tracking more than 50 bays and harbors around Long Island Sound.

From May through October, researchers alternate between the two inlets, measuring dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll, salinity, temperature and even the amount of seaweed in the water. The goal isn’t to declare the water “good” or “bad” after one morning, it’s to build years of consistent data that can reveal whether things are actually improving.

Save the Sound’s latest report found improving scores across much of Long Island Sound, but only 56% of the bay segments studied earned an A or B overall.

Get the full story 👉 East End Beacon

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Happenings: Upcoming Events

Monday, October 5

🍯 Honey Harvest Master Beekeeper Chris Kelly leads an up close look at the world of honeybees at Golden Acres Organic Farm before you get in on the extraction process and fill your own jar of honey straight from the spout. More Info

Wednesday, October 7

💉 Vaccine Clinic A few seasonal to dos can get checked off in one stop. The Vaccine Clinic returns to Floyd Memorial Library with COVID, flu, RSV, and additional vaccines available to help the community head into the colder months prepared. More Info

Thursday, October 8

🍽️ Harvest Dinner The Halyard’s Monthly Wine Dinner Series welcomes RGNY and Hog Farm for five courses inspired by what’s growing and what’s pouring just a few miles from the table. More Info

Friday, October 9

🛍️ Essential Item Bags A little sorting, decorating, and teamwork can go a long way. Stop by the Southold Library to help assemble Essential Item Kits for neighbors in need, with plenty of hands on jobs for the whole crew. More Info

Saturday, October 10

🎣 Fall Fishing Showdown & Lobster Bash The competition starts on the water, but lobster waiting back on land is a pretty solid consolation prize. The ELIH Foundation’s annual Fall Fishing Showdown returns to Hinckley Port of Egypt with a full day of competitive fishing, a Lobster Bash, and a Captains Huddle the night before. More Info

🚘 Car Show Classic cars are rolling onto the historic Cutchogue Village Green for a little chrome, horsepower, and rock & roll. This year, red, white, and blue rides get a special spot in honor of America’s 250th birthday. More Info

🖼️ Art Exhibition & Sale Local art with a little extra local impact, Oysterponds Historical Society is filling the Old Point Schoolhouse with works from North Fork artists, with each purchase split evenly, 50% going to the artist and 50% supporting OHS. More Info

Sunday, October 11

🦪 Oysterfest If there’s one thing the North Fork knows how to celebrate, it’s an oyster. The 13th annual Oyster Festival takes over Greenport Harbor Brewing Company in Greenport with Little Creek Oyster Farm & Market, live music, local vendors, an oyster shucking contest, food trucks, and hands-on marine projects. More Info

🍸 Prohibition For one afternoon, the North Fork is going back to the days when the drinks were strong and technically not supposed to exist. Hallockville Museum Farm and The Old Mill Inn are teaming up for local Prohibition history, live jazz, period canapés, and a choice of three Prohibition era cocktails. More Info

^{_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. They’re just fun things you need to know. We’ll always let you know when something is sponsored}}

Local Spotlight

Calling All Playwrights 🎭

Every great play starts somewhere. Sometimes it’s a fully formed idea. Sometimes it’s three pages of dialogue and a vague feeling that something should happen next.

Starting Saturday, October 3, playwright and screenwriter Gail Kriegel is leading a six week Playwriting Workshop at the North Fork Arts Center, giving local writers a place to bring their outlines, early drafts or completed works and see how they hold up beyond the page.

The workshop takes a collaborative, peer to peer approach, with guided feedback on everything from structure and character development to dialogue, pacing, beats, subtext and stage directions. They’ll also dig into the bigger question every playwright eventually has to face: What actually works on stage?

^{_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. They’re just fun things you need to know. We’ll always let you know when something is sponsored}}

Live Music + Fun Breakdown

Tuesday

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Tom Loncar- Publisher
Nicole Loncar- Editor + Partnerships