Surrounded By the Past and Mapping it Out For Posterity
The trappings of history surround Barbara Borsack. Each day, she wakes up in a house on East Hampton Village land owned by her family since the 1800s, a site where her ancestors had a blacksmith shop.
Stories of her family, the Strongs, can be found in many accounts of historic East Hampton, and Mrs. Borsack herself is doing her part to keep interest in the past alive.
A member of the East Hampton Historical Society's board of directors, she represents the society on the committee planning East Hampton Town's 350th anniversary events. Since August, Mrs. Borsack has also been a one-woman subcommittee in charge of producing a souvenir map that will highlight some of the town's many sites of historical interest.
Michael Brown of Streetwise Maps in Amagansett volunteered to design the durable maps, which will go to print next week and are expected to be available in March.
In appearance, they will resemble the format of others made by the company - detailed, laminated, fold-out maps about the size of a standard brochure, designed for maximum convenience for people out and about.
"There have been large, foldout historical maps made before," Mrs. Borsack pointed out, "but this one is usable. People can put it in their back pocket or in a glove compartment. It's not meant to be a piece on someone's wall."
Besides landmark structures such as the Montauk Lighthouse (a great-grandfather of Mrs. Borsack's was its keeper, once upon a time) and Miss Amelia's Cottage in Amagansett, the map will show some lesser-known points of interest: the site of the ruins of Phoebe Scoy's Northwest Woods house, for example, and the long-gone dirigible base in Montauk.
The locations of cemeteries and of "major shipwrecks" are among other highlights.
Mrs. Borsack gathered suggestions from committee members representing each of the town's hamlets; then, with Hugh King and Averill Geus, hit the history books to select others. Each attraction comes with a thumbnail description, just enough to make the visitor want to know more.
The maps will be sold, for $7.95 each, at the anniversary committee's newly opened office at the East Hampton railroad station (10 a.m. to 2 p.m. are its hours) and at shops.
Mrs. Borsack, a lifelong East Hampton resident and the mother of four children, became involved in the Historical Society in 1986, after attending its first Mulford Farm festival.
"I was intrigued by it," she said. "I thought it was a good educational tool. I want all [the children] to be aware of the history East Hampton has."
The Borsacks live with a number of Strong family artifacts. Her great-great grandfather's Civil War rifle, hat, and swords are in their house, for example. Some items are displayed at the Strong Agency, which is run by Ted Borsack, her husband.
An interest in the medical profession and a desire to "do community service that would be more hands-on" led Mrs. Borsack to join the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association in 1990. She received 130 hours of training as an emergency medical technician, and served as the first female chief of the squad in 1995 and 1996.
She has been a member of the Village Zoning Board of Appeals since September. "I like it because, again, I feel like it's an opportunity to make a real difference in the village . . . to have an impact in terms of its future."