Smithtown

Title: Writers and Photographer Document Smithtown's Past and Present Author: Rita J. Egan Publisher: Smithtown Patch Date: 6/15/2011 After the success of their first book, Images of America: Smithtown, Bradley Harris, Kiernan Lannon and Joshua Ruff decided to work on another publication dedicated to the town. The decision resulted in Smithtown: Then & Now. Arcadia Publishing's Then & Now series allows readers to compare historical and contemporary photos of locations and structures side-by-side. Smithtown historian Harris, Smithtown Historical Society executive director Lannon and museum curator Ruff knew they had the historical photos for this second book. As for a photographer for the current photos, Smithtown resident John DiGiacomo learned about the project from his mother-in-law Lillian Munro. The former corporate executive turned photographer gladly joined the team. The group chose the best photos to use from archives of the Smithtown Historical Society. Harris said he, Lannon and Ruff then provided the captions that appear with each picture trying their best to include the most important facts within a few sentences. For DiGiacomo the project involved working with various light and street conditions trying his best to re-stage the historical photos. The photographer said for the cover shot it took three tries to shoot the bull statue to get the same feel of the area as when the general store was located there. The collaborators also tried to find pictures from the archives to represent each of the communities in Smithtown. Ruff said he thought, "Wouldn't this be great if people could use this as sort of a tour guide." A chapter on Main Street includes locations from east to west along the road. Harris said it was important to include Main Street, which provides a great example of structures that were saved and lost. When Harris first became town historian, he said he depended on asking questions of long-time residents. He hopes the book will be a tool for those interested in local history. "We laid the groundwork for future historians," said Harris. Ruff also hopes the book will inspire those who would like to know more about the town and said the historical society welcomes researchers. Lannon, who is originally from Illinois, believes the book shows the Smithtown community's efforts to balance progress and preservation. "This book does a great justice to exhibiting the struggle to maintain a balance of then and now and the costs of the struggle," said Lannon. "And you can certainly learn a lot about the character of a community by seeing how it has grown to become what it is today."