The Tree
Jack Slattery lives on West Cove Road and his property works its way down to a corner of Fisherman’s Beach. When he was younger, his family owned the house next door at 55 Landing Rd., nearer to Haywaters and on the Right of Way to the beach.
The family had frequent visitors in the 50's, one of whom, Charles Harris, became friendly with young Jack and told him that he was going to bring out a tree and together they would plant it on the Slattery property.
Harris had a job as General Manager for Broadway shows, a job that included responsibilities for the business end of the show; budget, bookkeeping, box office, union negotiations etc. Mr. Harris was General Manager for the original productions of Finian’s Rainbow and Wonderful Town.
He was also General Manager of the musical version of “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” based on Betty Smith’s award winning novel. The musical ran for several months in 1951.
When the show closed, Harris brought a tree that was part of the stage set out to Nassau Point and he and young Jack planted it at 55 Landing Rd. The small willow has grown to be a very large willow on the property today.
As a result, the tree that grew in Brooklyn now grows on Nassau Point.