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'The bear' makes a comeback in East Northport

BY LARRY STRIEGEL | larry.striegel@newsday.com

For a few years, East Northport's friendly mother bear went into hibernation -- but now the bear is back.

The bear is an 11-foot-tall bronze totem that greets visitors to the public library on Larkfield Road. Seated atop a stack of children's books, the bear reads from the stories of Mother Goose. An eagle perches on her right shoulder and a spread-winged eagle flies just behind. Two cubs below cling to the pile of books.

The story of the statue goes back to 1997, when East Northport electrician and chainsaw artist Frank Bono offered to sculpt something to go with a newly constructed library building. From a tall, thick stump of an old maple that had stood on the site for decades, he wanted to create an enchanting piece that would draw children to the library from a public playground a few yards away. When he found that the stump had chainlink fence embedded in it, he instead brought in a giant block of white pine from upstate.

Over five days, Bono fired up his chainsaws and created the lively bear statue. Without even a sketch, he shaped the mother and her cubs, and the books and birds. And for almost eight years, the statue was a community favorite. However, by 2005, worn by the weather, the statue was split by rot and had to be removed.

Disappointed library officials set out to see if it could be recreated. They spent $12,000 for the shaping of a rubber mold and decided to ask for the community for help.

Library director Stephanie Heineman says a fund drive was launched and $80,000 was raised. Library patrons dropped coins and dollars in a big plastic jar labeled "Pennies for the Bear.'' Others contributed $20 for a stuffed bear and T-Shirt. Some gave $100 to have their names engraved on more than 200 bricks at the foot of the statue; $500 donors would be remembered on a plaque. State Sen. Carl Marcellino and county Legis. Lynn Nowick each arranged for $10,000 grants for the statue. State Assemb. Andrew Raia and Sen. John Flanagan arranged for state funding of $20,000 for the brick walkway.

Meanwhile, a Manhattan company called Sculpture House Casting formed a bronze version of the statue from the rubber mold. In late 2007, a new walkway was laid and the 1,200-pound statute was hoisted onto a raised brick planter where its earlier incarnation once stood. The statue was dedicated with a public ceremony on a Saturday in December, with hot chocolate and bear-shaped cookies.

"The bear is a piece of public art that will stay a part of the East Northport streetscape,'' Heineman says. "It's such a whimsical piece. It draws you into the library in such a charming way.''

Frank Bono says he feels a surge of pride and gratitude when he sees the new bear. "I was overwhelmed by how important and how many people fell in love with it,'' he says. "I was overwhelmed and honored.''