The East Bronx History Forum and the Huntington Free Library are pleased to announce the Forum will hold its 167th meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m. with a presentation by Mike Virgintino about Freedomland with updated research.
Mike Virgintino is from the Bronx, where he attended Cardinal Spellman High School and then Fordham University. At Cardinal Spellman, he became the sports editor for the student newspaper and coordinated the school’s involvement with television programs broadcast by the Archdiocese of New York. At Fordham, he was involved with many facets of broadcasting, including news coverage, as a member of the then student-run WFUV-FM.
Virgintino worked at various radio stations in Manhattan, including WINS, and several in Westchester and Connecticut before pursuing a career as a marketing communications executive. He directed corporate, nonprofit and product branding initiatives that rely on public relations, public affairs, corporate social responsibility, community relations and related strategies. He also is an historian and has written articles about the American Revolution, the Civil War and many other topics of American history while providing complimentary communication services to historical sites and organizations across the country.
Virgintino’s passion for history developed from his childhood visits to Freedomland U.S.A., the American history theme park (1960-1964) located in his neighborhood in the northeast Bronx. For about 20 years, Virgintino has written articles, established social media sites, conducted interviews and wrote a book “Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History,” about the history of the park. A second book about the park nears completion.
The topic is Freedomland, a new presentation that will feature information and tales from ongoing research that will be incorporated into a second Freedomland book. The presentation will begin with a summary of the park’s history, stories and memories of several Bronx people who worked at Freedomland. It will also feature the contributions of City Island’s Minneford Yacht Yard and the discovery of Freedomland’s first Bronx office location before the corporate offices were built at the park. Many never published photos will be showcased along with a printed copy of the actual blueprint of one of the park’s boats. Everyone who attends the presentation will receive an actual Freedomland entrance turnstile token.
We look forward to you joining us at the Huntington Free Library for this in-person presentation.
