In celebration of East Hampton High School’s graduation, this week’s “Item of the Week” features the 1959 East Hampton High School yearbook, Sand ‘n’ Surf. On June 21, 1959, 60 seniors received their diplomas during graduation ceremonies on the front lawn of the high school.
Students paraded out of the school’s east entrance while the high school band played the finale of Dvorak’s “New World Symphony.” The Rev. Samuel Davis (1913-1987), the rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church from 1941 until 1978, delivered the ceremony’s invocation.
The class valedictorian, Carrol Sue Katine, introduced all of the speakers during the ceremony. She later focused her short valedictory address on the high school’s honors group. Following graduation, Carrol Sue attended the University of Syracuse, where she studied science and continued to earn honor roll recognitions.
Kathleen Frances Cotter, the class salutatorian, delivered an address on art at the high school. She planned to attend the Rhode Island School of Design to study illustration and advertising design.
Hugh King, the future town historian, at the top of the image, was named “Best All Around” male student. The female so named was Sally Lee Cook. Hugh participated in several student organizations and sports, including Student Council, the senior play, the Canadian-American Club, basketball, baseball, and track. His senior quote reads, “From the crown of his head to the sole of his foot he is all mirth,” from William Shakespeare’s comedy “Much Ado About Nothing.”
On the evening of graduation, Hugh’s parents held a celebratory buffet dinner for him with 29 guests. He left East Hampton for Oneonta State Teachers College the following September to study history. (Keen observers will also recognize Montauk’s Dick White, another local history expert, in the “Best Dressed” photo.)
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Mayra Scanlon is a librarian and archivist in the East Hampton Library’s Long Island Collection.
