An honor guard of motorcycles and police cruisers escorted a truck carrying a twisted 1,000-pound, 14-foot-long steel beam from the World Trade Center to the American Legion Hall in Amagansett on Aug. 13, in the culmination of a long effort to erect a 9/11 memorial there. For Tony Ganga, commander of the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 419, and for others involved in the planning, the artifact’s arrival was a cause for celebration.

In a brief ceremony following the artifact’s arrival, the Rev. Steve Howarth of the Amagansett Presbyterian Church offered a prayer and a member of the Eastern Long Island Pipes and Drums played “Amazing Grace.” In a speech, Mr. Ganga described the endless research and extended hurdles that had been required — and overcome. A letter to the editor from Mr. Ganga is in today’s paper.

The planning and design of the memorial has yet to get under way. Mr. Ganga said it would be a year or more before the memorial’s dedication, which he hopes will occur on the tragedy’s 15th anniversary. Mr. Ganga’s brother, Bob Ganga, said it would be important to “not rush into construction” and that the legion’s first concern was to raise enough money so the memorial could be taken care of in perpetuity.

Tony Ganga thanked his brother for countless emails and phone calls with the Port Authority. He also thanked Jim Grimes, Scott Snow, Matt Bennett, and Ken Brabant Jr. for having been vital to the process. Tom Milne, a retired lieutenant of the New York Fire Department, and East Hampton Town Councilman Fred Overton were also praised.

 “We want to “show how East Hampton Town knows how to honor people that fell that day,” Bob Ganga said.

Saturday brings the first annual Springs Agricultural Fair to the green outside Ashawagh Hall during the weekly farmers market.

There will be contests and competitions. Bakers may enter their creations in categories from best pie, muffin, cookie, and cake, to best breads with and without yeast. Bakers will be judged in two age groups — 12 and under and age 13 and up — and must submit their entries at Ashawagh Hall between 8 and 9 a.m. Pie makers have been asked to submit a whole pie, muffin or cookie bakers a half-dozen of their creations, and bread or cake makers may submit one item each.

Gardeners may seek acknowledgment for the largest zucchini or other squash, or the largest tomato grown, and a “best flower bouquet” contest.

Each contest has a $5 entry fee. There can be only one entry per person, per category.

At the fair, there will be competitions for prettiest chicken, with registration at 9:30 a.m., and for best dog trick, with registration at 10:30 a.m. Each has a $5 entry fee.

Those squaring off to create the biggest bubblegum bubble can register for free, at 11:30 a.m. The bubble gum will be provided.

There will be first, second, and third prizes, with ribbons and cash prizes from $5 to $15, for each contest.

The fair is being organized by Chuck Ascher-Walsh, a Springs resident, and his family, and is modeled on a similar one held on Martha’s Vineyard.

Mr. Ascher-Walsh’s 5-year-old twins have been selling coffee and muffins at the farmers market. They will bring their baby chicks to the agricultural fair for others to enjoy.

Information about the agricultural fair can be found at springsagfair.com. “The first and most important rule is to be patient with us,” Mr. Ascher-Walsh writes there. “This is our first year running an agricultural fair and we admittedly do not know what we are doing. The goal is to have fun.”

Though Nancy Bennett-Donohue, who celebrated her 103rd birthday on July 29, now lives in Micco, Fla., her roots are Bonac through and through.

Mrs. Bennett-Donohue is part of the “posey” Lester family and was born in Amagansett in 1911 to Captain Frank Lester and Sadie Eames. She was raised on Cross Highway, in the portion of Amagansett that is known as Poseyville. Her father was a fisherman and led the family crew with the help of her brother Francis Lester. Stories about her father and his brothers can be found in the book “Men’s Lives” by Peter Matthiessen, which chronicles the lives of fishermen on the South Fork.

In the early 1930s, Mrs. Bennett-Donohue married Brentford Bennett and lived with him in Southampton for 15 or so years. They moved back to Amagansett in the early 1950s and opened Brent’s General Store on the corner of Montauk Highway and Cross Highway. They had four children together: Brent Bennett, the late Walter Bennett, Lois Tibbets, and Arlene Creaser. Brent Bennett lives in Springs, and Mrs. Tibbets and Mrs. Creaser live in Micco near their mother.

According to Mrs. Creaser, her mother spent most of her time working at Brent’s and was very committed to raising her family. “They ran the store until my brother Walter took over. It was in the family for quite a while.”

Mrs. Bennett-Donohue made some of the food sold at Brent’s, including traditional Bonac recipes. “My mother made clam pie and clam chowder when they first opened the store,” Mrs. Creaser said.

After Mrs. Bennett-Donohue’s son took over the store, she and Mr. Bennett began spending winters in Florida, and traveled extensively around the East Coast until Mr. Bennett died in 1976. Mrs. Bennett-Donohue was remarried to James Donohue, a postmaster from Bridgehampton, and they moved to Florida together.

Mrs. Bennett-Donohue is a lifelong bingo player. When she lived on the East End, she never missed a week playing in Southampton.

“She still goes to bingo,” Mrs. Creaser said, “As a matter of fact, on her birthday she was at bingo with all of her bingo friends.”

Crocheting is another lifelong passion. “She is always crocheting doilies,” Mrs. Creaser said. “Anyone who comes in her house comes out with a doily. . . . A lot of the things she has made are all over the U.S.A.; she gives most of the stuff away to anyone she meets.”

“Physically there is very little wrong with her outside of age. She walks to my house across the street with her walker,” said Mrs. Creaser. “She has outlived two husbands and two boyfriends.”

Concerned Citizens of Montauk has asked the East Hampton Town Planning Board to call for a full environmental impact statement before making any decisions about a proposed large-scale project at the East Deck Motel site at Ditch Plain, claiming that the application raises serious questions about environmental and community impacts.

Some residents of Montauk were reportedly shocked when the proposal for a private, members-only beach club was announced in July. In a press release, C.C.O.M. reviews the project, which would more than double the coverage of the 4.14-acre lot, with a new 30,000-square-foot, two-story clubhouse containing a bar, cafe, restaurant, and game room, in addition to a spa and 7,224-square-foot swimming pool. The plans also call for 5,000 square feet of additional decking, and tripling the existing parking from 36 to 100 spaces, some of which would be underground.

 The motel was sold by Alice Houseknecht in the fall for a reported $15 million to ED40, a corporation registered in Delaware, which does not require the names of shareholders to be made public. As reported previously, the East Hampton Town attorney’s office has approved a legal maneuver that would divide ownership into two corporations in order to comply with a town code requirement that such a facility be nonprofit. Biondo and Hammer, a Montauk firm, is representing the owners.

The plans submitted to the planning board state that the club would have 179 members. C.C.O.M. estimates that a new septic system would have to handle the waste of 537 people with a daily flow of 5,171 gallons, and that 3,661 cubic yards of fill would have to be brought in to elevate the system above groundwater. Also worrisome to the environmental group is the construction of below-grade parking in an area known for flooding. This concern, the release states, is underlined by Hurricane Sandy, which two years ago flooded the area, leaving more than a foot of water for several days.

The release also states that the ground and surface waters surrounding Ditch Plain, much of which would flow north to Lake Montauk, are already compromised. It mentions concerns about increased traffic and noise, as well as the possibility that the development would limit public access to the beach.

The planning board is tentatively scheduled to review the application at a meeting at Town Hall on Sept. 10. The text of the release can be found online at preservemontauk.org. Meanwhile, a group of surfers who frequent Ditch Plain is planning a protest there on Labor Day weekend.

Historic preservation in the heart of East Hampton Village will be enhanced with the purchase of the Gardiner home lot, Robert Hefner, the director of historic services for the village, said at East Hampton Town Hall last week.

Mr. Hefner, along with village officials and civic group representatives, spoke in favor of a purchase of 3.7 acres of the original lot, for $9.6 million from the town’s community preservation fund.

Following the hearing, the purchase was approved with a unanimous vote of the town board.

After settling on Gardiner’s Island in 1639, said Mr. Hefner, Lion Gardiner was a “principal founder” of East Hampton, and in 1648 claimed the home lot at 36 James Lane, adjacent to the South End Cemetery, where he is buried, and Town Pond.

The property contains the 1804 Gardiner windmill, and a cottage where the miller once lived, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The mill cottage will be restored and the rest of the property maintained as an agricultural setting for the mill.

The home lot extends from James Lane to Hook Pond; the acreage to be purchased fronts on James Lane. The property is adjacent to a 1.3-acre agricultural reserve, Mr. Hefner said. Together the sites comprise more than half the original home lot.

Olney Mairs Gardiner, who is known as Bill, put the property up for sale last fall.

In the same area, half of the original 10-acre Mulford Farm is publicly preserved, as is the 6-acre village green.

The preserved area is the result of years of “careful work by many,” Richard Barons, the executive director of the East Hampton Historical Society, said at last week’s hearing. “It still looks as it did when Thomas Moran painted it, and Mary Nimmo Moran etched it into our memories.” The former Moran house, also nearby, on Main Street, has also been publicly preserved and is being restored. The Gardiner property, he said, has remained in the same family for more than 300 years, and “is one of the more intact Colonial lots.”J.P.

East End Climate Action Network, an organization aiming to address and educate the public about climate change and resiliency, and Renewable Energy Long Island, a not-for-profit organization based in East Hampton that promotes sustainable energy use and generation, will co-host the Renewable Energy and Sustainability Fair on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the grounds of the Amagansett Historical Association.

The event is intended to increase awareness of climate change and its potential solutions, including renewable energy. The day will include exhibitors, teach-ins, entertainment, food, and children’s activities.

In May, East Hampton Town announced the goals of meeting 100 percent of the community’s electricity needs with renewable energy sources by 2020 and all of its energy consumption in other sectors, including heating and transportation, with renewable sources by 2030. At the fair, Gordian Raacke, Renewable Energy Long Island’s executive director, will describe how those goals can be met and what residents will need to do in order for them to be realized at 1 p.m. and again at 1:30.

“We’re helping their mission,” Dea Million, a member of the climate action network and one of the fair’s organizers, said of Renewable Energy Long Island, “and East Hampton Town’s. They’re good partners and great mentors.”

The fair is a manifestation of the efforts of a core group of individuals who have led the network since its founding last year. “We decided to do the fair to build membership and show awareness and education,” Ms. Million said, “and get more of the public involved so that they know they can be. We want to show them how.”

“She’s doing a good job, and thank goodness,” said Don Matheson, a climate action network member and a builder of “zero energy homes,” in which the building’s energy consumption is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site. Mr. Matheson will be representing Citizens Climate Lobby, a group working to create the political will to address climate change and empower individuals to exercise political power. The group advocates a tax on fossil fuels, revenue from which would be returned to the public.

Citizens Climate Lobby will have a booth at the fair, Mr. Matheson said, “and there will also be a couple of very smart ‘C.C.L.ers’ from the Long Island chapter to answer questions about this program.”

At 11:30, 2, and 4:30, Deborah Klughers, an East Hampton Town trustee and founder of Bonac Bees, will discuss beekeeping, pesticide usage, the phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder, and the importance of honeybees to a sustainable future. At 3:30, Scott Bluedorn, an artist and co-founder of East End Climate Action Network, will explain vermiculture, a composting system utilizing living worms to create high-quality castings for use in growing organic food. Dan Asselin, a group co-founder, activist, and musician, will discuss his creative process and perform at 2 and 4 p.m. Other teach-ins will include Living Green and Reducing Common Household Toxins and Conscious Environmental Consumerism.

Sponsors include the renewable energy companies GreenLogic Energy and EmPower Solar, as well as Hamptons in Transition, part of Transition Network, a charitable organization that supports and trains communities as they self-organize to build resilience and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Participants will be able to test-drive a Tesla electric car between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The town’s Natural Resources Department will also be represented at the fair.

When Olivia Walsh visited the Montauk Historical Society’s arts and crafts fair at the Second House Museum in July, she wondered why there were no crafts available for children. So the 7-year-old took matters into her own hands. She asked her mom, Lauren Walsh, to find out if she could set up a stand and teach others how to make bird feeders, a craft she learned from a book. The answer was yes.

Olivia was allotted a space right on Second House’s porch for its August fair last weekend. She had cardboard paper towel and toilet paper holders, a few jars of peanut butter, and bags of bird feed on display.  As fairgoers stopped by, she demonstrated how to cover the holders with peanut butter and spoon bird seed over them, and she showed them several examples.

 A number of visitors were so impressed by her initiative that they donated to the collection jar she had set up. Olivia raised $50 and donated it to the Save Second House committee, a group which is in the process of fund-raising to help restore the historic building.

Sunday will mark the first of what is to be an annual Heart of Springs summer fund-raiser at Ashawagh Hall, supporting not only the hall and its grounds, but also the Springs Library, which houses the hamlet’s historical society, and the Springs Presbyterian Church.

The Heart of Springs group formed this past winter to raise money and awareness for the hamlet and its historic district. The members are all Springs residents who are active and involved in the community. The party is the organization’s first event.

“No one has ever done anything like this in Springs,” said Loring Bolger, one of the event organizers and a Heart of Springs committee member. “Nevertheless, there has been a lot of support for it.”

Food for the event will be provided by Eli’s Bread, the Amagansett Farmers Market, and Graze Culinary. Wolffer Estate Vineyard and Montauk Brewing Co. will provide wine and beer. Sponsors include Mickey’s Carting, the Alec Baldwin Foundation, and Ben Krupinski, a builder.

Josh Brussel will perform live music, as will a few other unannounced guests. The Springs Library will be open during the event, as will Ashawagh Hall, where the exhibit “Views of Accabonac” will be on display. All sales of artwork will benefit the Accabonac Protection Committee, an organization dedicated to preserving Accabonac Harbor.

“It’s always good to have community events,” Ms. Bolger said. “And one of the most important goals of this event is that it brings people in the Springs community together in a social setting that benefits the historic Springs district.”

Of the 200 tickets available, Ms. Bolger said, almost all have been purchased. She does expect, though, that there will be some available at the door Sunday. Tickets are $100 each, and larger donations can be made online at heartofsprings.com. The party will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at Ashawagh Hall and on the surrounding green.

Suppose Dylan Lauren of Dylan’s Candy Bar and Steven Spielberg of “Jaws” were in a local news story. What would it be about? The proceedings of the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals. At its meeting Friday, the board agreed that Dylan’s Candy Bar can sell hand-scooped ice cream and that accessory structures on the film director’s property here could remain where they are. 

Andrew Goldstein, the former chairman of the zoning board who represented the candy and fudge store, had argued at a previous meeting that a prior tenant, Nuts About Chocolate, was a legal, pre-existing nonconforming use of the Main Street store and had been allowed to continue operating there until Dylan’s opened in 2006. The sale of hand-scooped ice cream cones was simply an extension of the nonconforming use, Mr. Goldstein said.

Despite earlier fears about setting a precedent and increased litter, the board granted Dylan’s a permit to extend the nonconforming use, although several conditions were attached. The sidewalk in front of the shop must be power-washed at least once daily, the store must install and regularly empty garbage receptacles, and Dylan’s must get approval for the use from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services prior to ice cream sales and the issuance of any building permit for interior changes.

The permit restricts ice cream sales to a specific area of the store and approval “shall not be construed to . . . allow over-the-counter sales of any other food product, other than candy or ice cream.”  

Mr. Spielberg’s 5.5-acre property on Apaquogue Road is sufficiently large and shielded by a fence, tall hedges, and mature trees so that a garage and storage structure, a horse washing area, and a tree house, which are all within the required 80-foot front yard setback, do not affect his neighbors or the character of the neighborhood, the board decided. Setback variances were granted for the pre-existing structures.

The applicant had also appealed a village building inspector’s finding that the conversion of several garage bays in a secondary dwelling to bedrooms and bathrooms, which are not permitted in accessory buildings, required a special permit. The board denied the appeal but nevertheless said the extension of the dwellings could proceed, despite its collective belief that a building permit issued for the work prior to the conversion had been in error.

On another matter, the board began a hearing on the proposed change of use of the building that most recently housed the Players Club, a restaurant, at 103 Montauk Highway. The applicant is Demar Holdings. The property is zoned for residences, but the plan is to sell it to Landscape Details, a provider of gardening, landscaping, and masonry services based in Sag Harbor.

In addition to the restaurant building, the property contains two pre-existing cottages. Michael Derrig of Landscape Details told the board that he also plans to move three 12-by-16-foot design studios to the property for use by his staff. Much of the existing parking lot would be eliminated and the land revegetated, with the addition of a garden. No trucks or materials would be stored on the site, he said.

Neighbors had complained about noise and late-night traffic to and from the restaurant, and Jeff Bregman, an attorney representing the owner, referred to a protracted dispute between his client and the restaurant operator that resulted in the termination of its lease. Jonathan Tarbet, an attorney representing Landscape Details, described the proposal as “an exciting project . . . one of those where it does have the ability to greatly enhance the situation.”

“It was a nightmare there,” said Lys Marigold, a board member. “This looks like a huge improvement for the neighbors.”

However, because the building has been vacant for more than a year, the board must consider whether the property’s pre-existing nonconforming use has lapsed, Linda Riley, the village’s attorney, said. “The request is to change pre-existing to more conforming. However, code provides that at a certain point pre-existing uses may be effectively abandoned.”

Mr. Bregman argued that, despite the restaurant’s not being in operation in 2013, a record of activity could be produced to demonstrate that the business continued to exist. He called the proposal “a much more acceptable use to the village,” while Mr. Tarbet called it “much closer to residential use.”

Ms. Riley said that a submission on the abandonment issue, as well as a State Environmental Quality Review Act determination, were needed before the board could proceed. The hearing will continue at the board’s meeting on Sept. 12.

The Montauk Village Association, the group that keeps flowers abloom throughout the hamlet, will host its annual Greenery Scenery party on Friday, Aug. 15, at the Montauk Lake Club from 6 to 9 p.m.

This year the group will honor James Grimes of Fort Pond Native Plants for “his many years of service and commitment to Montauk,” said Nancy Keeshan, the president of the M.V.A.

Ms. Keeshan said that Mr. Grimes helped establish the M.V.A.’s memorial garden on the downtown green, and along with Mickey Valcich, last year’s honoree, offered to clean and weed areas in 2013 when money was not available for the work. She said that Mr. Grimes, while operating a successful landscaping business and nursery, has always stepped in without any hesitation when help was needed.

“We wanted to honor him for his spirit of community and personal interest in caring for Montauk,” she said.

The M.V.A. also maintains the trees and shrubs in the downtown area. Each year it fills teak planters with geraniums and roses that spill over the sides. “It’s not summer without those beautiful flowers that adorn our streets,” Ms. Keeshan said.

There are still some tickets left, at $25 apiece, for the group’s Go Green Big Bucks raffle. The first place prize is $10,000, second is $1,000, and there are two third-place prizes for $500 each. Tickets will be sold at the party right up until the drawing and winners do not need to be in attendance. Prizes will be prorated, depending on the amount of raffle tickets sold.

At the party there will be music, food and drinks. Tickets cost $125 per person and are available at Keeshan Real Estate on the south plaza and at Pospisil Real Estate on the north plaza.