LI Artist Refurbishes Schaefer Beer Mural In Honor Of Grandfather

EAST ISLIP, NY —Tay Sisinni was driving to work down East Islip’s Main Street in December 2021 when she noticed something oddly familiar — a painted, yet faded advertisement of Schaefer Beer, displayed on the outer brick wall of 61 E Main St.

Her grandfather, Joseph Kitson, was a Schaefer fanatic, she said in a conversation with Patch.

“He was the poster boy for Schaefer,” she said. “My grandmother once reached out to Shaefer because she wanted him to be in an ad. He had a Schaefer tattoo. He had an ‘I'm Schaefer People’ shirt.”

While the beer was a staple of her childhood, Sisinni, who is a resident of Brentwood, said it was a rarity to see the Schaefer name in modern day, as it hit its peak popularity in the 1950s.

So Sisinni stopped her car, snapped a picture of the mural, and framed a printed photo for her grandparents as a Christmas present.

“They knew it was there, because they would pass it multiple times,” Sissini said. Yet, they loved the gift, anway.

Months passed, and the thought of the mural went tucked away.

But when Joseph, or “Pop-Pop”, passed away in January 2022, Sisinni wanted to do something to honor his life.

So she contacted Elizabeth “Bette” Grimaldi, owner of 61 E Main St., and asked for permission to refurbish the mural.

“I told her I just wanted to do it as a tribute to my grandfather and I didn't want compensation,” she said. “I’d do it all on my own.”

Grimaldi was overjoyed and approved of the project, Sisinni said.

And so for a week and a half in the middle of March, using one can each of black, bronze and white paint, Sisinni set up shop at 61 E. Main St and refurbished the East Islip Schaefer mural.

Grimaldi’s one wish for the mural was for it to not be covered, but to make the existing foundation like new.

The wall had been marked with graffiti in 2010, Sissini said. It was then painted over to cover the graffiti, but its original foundation was unfortunately damaged.

“She wanted to have some of the historic elements,” she said.

While Sisinni considers herself a crafty person and has her own line of stickers coming out this summer, she said the mural, or as she called it, "Beerstoration", was intimidating at first. She said she felt the “impostor syndrome” for taking on such a large project.

“It was really scary to start it because it's not something like a canvas where you can just go over with gesso,” she said.

For a couple of hours each day in between her work shifts, Sisinni used her own, tiny-sized brushes to paint freehand.

The March cold made her hands bright red, she said. But the weather — let alone her fears — wouldn’t stop her.

“I feel like I'm stubborn like my dad,” she said. “I told myself, ‘I have to get it done, no matter what the conditions are.’”

She eventually bought gloves.

Leaving a Legacy

Joseph Kitson was born on March 29, 1932 in the Bronx to a large Irish-immigrant family.

He became an ironworker, and was a member of his Local 580 union.

In true Irish fashion, he and his wife, Patty, met at a St. Patrick’s Day dance at Notre Dame Church, Sisinni said. They were married for more than 65 years.

“He loved his chocolate, he loved his Patty — and he loved his Schaefer,” she said, of her beloved grandfather.

Like many others, the Kitsons moved in 1964 to East Meadow, Long Island, to give their children a better life. They again moved to Islip in 2011.

Together they raised eight children, and later grew to love 13 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

“Pop-Pop” was a character, Sisinni said, who loved his Irish heritage, dancing with his Patty and laughing with his family.

The highlight of his day, Sisinni said, was his “medicine” time.

“Every day, at three o'clock, they would have a Schaefer and a shot of Jameson,” she said.

He had six tattoos: the words ‘I Love Pat’; a ram; and “the rest” were of Schaefer beer images, she said.

The night he passed, Sisinni had the Irish word “Slán”, meaning “farewell”, tattooed on her arm. Other family members later got matching tattoos.

“It was my way of saying goodbye,” she said.

An Unofficial Landmark

Schaefer Beer was founded in 1842 in New York City. According to its website, the company once sponsored both the New York Mets and the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was loved by so many New Yorkers that it was also featured in the 1964 World’s Fair, driving in “droves” of people.

Over time, the company struggled with rising costs and closed its Brooklyn brewery in 1976. Pabst Brewing Company ultimately retained the license to Schaefer Beer.

It’s unknown when exactly the East Islip Schaefer mural was originally painted, or who the artist might have been.

Ray Lembo, member of the East Islip Historical Society, told Patch that the earliest documentation of the mural is from 1948, through a man named Henry Gutkin.

Gutkin, or “Old Man Filth”, as he was called, owned a former junkyard next to the mural. According to Lembo, the photo was taken by the government, who was surveilling Gutkin for possibly being a Russian Communist.

In 1983, Grimaldi and her husband bought the building at 61 E. Main St. from Gutkin.

Gutkin lived in an apartment on the property until he passed away in 1993, at the age of 102, Grimaldi told Patch.

Since then, the mural has been an unofficial landmark in the community.

While painting the mural, Sissini had numerous people honk their horns as they drove by, in support of the project.

When Sisinni posted a photo of the revived mural on an East Islip Facebook group, she received about 200 comments of praise.

“I was shocked,” she said. “I've never had anyone respond to a post with 200 likes; it was a first for me.”

Family Tree

Sisinni finished the mural on March 27 — two days before what would have been her grandfather's 90th birthday.

“As I was painting it, I was emotional, because I guess it was my way of grieving,” she said. “And I knew that he would have been proud to see it restored.”

While they posed for the picture, Sisinni remembered her grandfather’s Irish blessing, which he would say before his “medicine” time.

“Here's looking up your whole family tree today,” she said. “Tomorrow, forever, and ever.”