I'm pleased to welcome Dr. Daniel O’Halleran to Cozy Up With Kathy. You can find Daniel on the pages of Murder on Oak Street by I. M. Foster. This book is the first in the South Shore Mystery series.
Dr. Daniel O’Halleran’s First Impression of Patchogue
By I. M. Foster
Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Daniel O’Halleran, and I’ve been asked to relate what prompted me to make the move to Long Island, as well as what my first impressions of Patchogue were. Regarding the first part of your question, there were really two reasons I decided to relocate. The indirect cause was my growing frustration with my job as a coroner’s physician in New York City. As coroners were not required to be doctors, the city employed physicians, such as myself, to determine the actual cause of death in suspicious cases. Alas, the system was overworked, resulting in many of my recommendations being poorly investigated or altogether ignored for the sake of expediency. But the thing that finally put the nail in the coffin, as it were, came when my intended left me standing at the altar. In retrospect, my guardian angel was certainly watching over me that day, for looking back, it was the best thing that could have happened. But enough of that. You also asked about my first impressions of Patchogue, Long Island.
To be honest, I’m not sure what I expected—a small country hamlet with a few stores on the main street perhaps. But the village I have come to call my home far exceeded whatever my imagination might have conjured up.
The Long Island Railroad has a stop right in the village, which is quite convenient, and I was met at a quaint but bustling station by my new employer, Dr. Sam Tennyson. From there we traveled a few blocks to my rooms on East Main Street. The Roe Hotel is quite a modern place and would rival many of the elegant hotels I have seen in New York City. Located in the center of town, it affords me easy access to Main Street and its establishments and offers all the comforts of home. Not only is there electric lighting throughout, but it boasts functioning indoor toilets and running water as well. I am told, it is also fitted with steam heating, though as the weather has become warmer, I cannot attest to that as yet. In addition, the hotel has an excellent dining room, billiard parlor, and a stable out back for ease in requesting transportation. Which reminds me, I really need to purchase my own horse and doctor’s buggy.
The cuisine in the restaurant downstairs is excellent cuisine, and the prices are quite reasonable, as is attested by the number of visitors that fill the hotel’s rooms on a regular basis. It appears the village is a popular destination for city folks who wish to escape the stifling heat of summer. One group that makes regular visits are the cyclists that pedal out from the city on weekends with the Roe Hotel as their destination. After enjoying a few days by the shore, they either pedal back to the city, or in many cases, take the railroad. I’m of a mind that the latter is a popular mode for the return trip since the Long Island Railroad has equipped special cars to accommodate their bicycles.
The village’s resort status does explain the number of hotels and restaurants. But I discovered one of its most enduring qualities the day after I arrived. That morning, I took a stroll down Ocean Avenue and was pleased to discover that the shore was but a few short blocks away. Patchogue sits on the Great South Bay, you see, and as such is allowing the gentle breezes that flow over a barrier island from the Atlantic Ocean to blow away the troubles of the day. A short ferry ride will bring me to Fire Island, and if I’m feeling playful, I can frolic in the Atlantic Ocean itself. Today, however, I’m sitting along the Great South Bay and contemplating the most endearing quality the village has to offer—Miss Kathleen Brissedon. But there I go again, getting off track.
A number of hotels and boarding houses line Main Street and Ocean Avenue, though, with the exception of a few like the Roe Hotel, most are only open during the summer season, truly giving the village the feel of a resort. I can see three of them as I sit here enjoying the early summer breezes: the Clifton House, the Ocean Avenue Hotel, and the Mascot House. All offer excellent accommodations, as well as summer activities, such as crochet and tennis. The Clifton House, for example, could accommodate 300 guests with views of the bay for as little as $2.50 a day or $15.00 a week. Tennis, crochet, and archery could be played on its vast lawn or the guests could enjoy a walk along the boardwalk. And for those not staying in the hotels, there are bathing pavilions to change into your bathing costumes. Why not just wear your swimming outfit to the beach? It may be 1904, but there is still some level of modesty required. One does not walk the streets in a bathing costume.
Heading back into the heart of the village along the brick-paved streets, I might stop for a bite to eat at Newins Restaurant or an egg cream at McBride’s Pharmacy, touted as having the largest and best soda fountain in all of Suffolk County. Or maybe spend a moment at Ginoochio’s and pick up a nice batch of strawberries before visiting Miss Brissedon at the local library. In addition to general stores like Hammond and Mills, the village includes a tailor and shoemaker and shops specializing in clothing. I just bought an everyday suit at C. F. Howell’s Furnishings for gents, though I’ll see the tailor, Mr. Stark when I’m ready for a good suit. I have been considering taking a look in Swezey’s Department store for a ready-made suit, however, just to use for recreational activities like bicycling.
Swezey’s is a large store of multiple floors, containing just about any item you might want, much like Macy’s department store in Manhattan. Mother is pleased to hear there is a theater, and Father enjoys the apple turnovers from Schoenfeld’s bakery that I bring along whenever I make a visit to Brooklyn.
In addition to the individual shops, Patchogue is also known for some larger concerns. Bailey’s Lumber Yard is the largest lumber yard on Long Island and has its own boats and railroad cars to ship its goods all over New York. And a bit further down on West Main, the Lace Mill produced the nation’s finest lace curtains and tablecloths and supplied jobs for hundreds of local residents.
I’d best get going now if I hope to catch Miss Brissedon at the library, especially since I plan to stop by Al Seitz’s Tonsorial Parlor for a haircut and close shave. I want to look my best for Miss Brissedon. Perhaps we can catch the ferry across to Fire Island for a picnic.
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Murder on Oak Street (A South Shore Mystery)
by I. M. Foster
About Murder on Oak Street
New York, 1904. After two years as a coroner’s physician for the city of New York, Daniel O'Halleran is more frustrated than ever. What’s the point when the authorities consistently brush aside his findings for the sake of expediency? So when his fiancée leaves him standing at the altar on their wedding day, he takes it as a sign that it's time to move on and eagerly accepts an offer to assist the local coroner in the small Long Island village of Patchogue.
Though the coroner advises him that life on Long Island is far more subdued than that of the city, Daniel hasn’t been there a month when the pretty librarian, Kathleen Brissedon, asks him to look into a two-year-old murder case that took place in the city. Oddly enough, the case she’s referring to was the first one he ever worked on, and the verdict never sat right with him.
Eager for the chance to investigate it anew, Daniel agrees to look into it in his spare time, but when a fresh murder occurs in his own backyard, he can’t shake his gut feeling that the two cases are connected. Can he discover the link before another life is taken, or will murder shake the peaceful South Shore village once again?
About I. M. Foster
I. M. Foster is the pen name author Inez Foster uses to write her South Shore Mystery series, set on Edwardian Long Island. Inez also writes historical romances under the pseudonym Andrea Matthews, and has so far published two series in that genre: the Thunder on the Moor series, a time-travel romance set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Borders, and the Cross of Ciaran series, which follows the adventures of a fifth century Celt who finds himself in love with a twentieth-century archaeologist.
Inez is a historian and librarian, who love to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogically speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history. Inez is a member of the Long Island Romance Writers, the Historical Novel Society, and Sisters in Crime.
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