July 1, 1993, was an unforgettable day on Long Island. From the decorated old wharf to the crowds of people in front of the newly renovated Town Hall, the air was charged with expectation and excitement. Our 200 residents had accomplished the impossible: we had won our independence from the City of Portland, and formed the first new town in the state since 1925. The unexpected fly-over by the Vermont Air National Guard’s F-16s was symbolic of the success of our efforts.
Now, 10 years later, the new wharf was decorated with balloons, and red, white and blue lobster buoys, our new rescue boat was proudly at rest at the float, and happy Long Islanders greeted the 50 or so guests who had come from away to help us celebrate a very successful 10 years. Francis “Tiny” Murphy, who orchestrated the first celebration 10 years ago, planned the day and the activities to showcase the spirit of Long Island. From the flag raising at 8:30, visitors and islanders toured our fire station and equipment, the rescue boat, the efficient recycling center and our just constructed Learning Center and Library at the School.
Everyone had a chance to see the mural painted by our teens, and the clay tile project done by all Long Islanders. We ended up at the new Historical Society’s exhibit of the story of our independence, and then sat down to a lunch of island delights in the new Recreation Building.
Tiny welcomed everyone to our beautiful island. Mark Greene gave a short and humorous overview of the independence process. He reminded everyone that in addition to all of our accomplishments that could be seen, we had managed to lower our tax rate so that we were paying only two-thirds of the taxes that we would now be paying to Portland, had we stayed. He then introduced our visitors with a brief description of how each had helped us during the challenging years leading up to July 1, 1993, and since. Many in the crowd spontaneously added to the list of contributions of our guests. In response, many guests shared the insights gained through their experiences working with Long Island.
One of the guests summed up the feelings of most, if not all of us, when he said that it wasn’t the memory of the beauty of Long Island or of the incredible things we had accomplished in ten years that he would take away with him, but instead it would be the memory of the warmth and spirit of Long Islanders. Based on that comment, we can assure Tiny Murphy that his well-planned showcase day was a success!
Nancy Jordan played a starring role in the effort to build a new library-community center at the Long Island School.