125 Years Ago 1899
From The East Hampton Star, August 4
On Monday night last the Parsons & Greene Paper Co., of Holyoke Mass., lost their entire plant, valued at about $25,000, by fire. The senior member of the firm is Charles S. Parsons, of East Hampton, and his many friends here will be pained to hear of his loss.
The building in which the fire occurred was a large four-story structure, and the entire fourth floor, where the fire started, was occupied by the Parsons & Greene Paper Co., and was completely gutted. This company was the heaviest loser among the occupants of the building. Their entire plant was completely wiped out, including a large stock of paper and valuable machinery. Their $25,000 loss was fully insured.
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A question becoming a serious one with the wheelman is: Where shall he hitch his horse? Or in other words, against what shall he lean his bicycle? When two hundred men and women get off their wheels and go into the post office, two hundred wheels must be provided with something to lean against, and there are not trees, fences, nor doorsteps enough in the immediate vicinity to supply the need. There is a fortune waiting the man or woman who will invent a simple attachment for bicycles which may be thrown out of the way when a wheel is in motion, and instantly brought into use to support the machine after the rider has dismounted.
100 Years Ago 1924
From The East Hampton Star, August 1
Mr. Foster H. Saville of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York, has unearthed a pre-historic Indian Village here, at Soak Hides near Three Mile Harbor, within the past two weeks. The expedition is financed by James B. Ford, owner of Pudding Hill, locally known as the Dr. Herrick place, on the corner of Woods lane.
By a lucky chance, this discovery comes at the right moment — just in time for the exhibit of East Hampton antiques, at Clinton Academy, and for the crowds that are going there this week with a renewed interest in Long Island history. Through the courtesy of the Indian Museum, Mr. Saville’s finds form a notable addition to the exhibit. They fill a special case, and are arranged in such a manner as to tell the complete life-story of the Montauk Indians in their time. They show no contact whatever with whites; the village at Soak Hides must have existed before our colonial fathers came here.
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Last Sunday afternoon, while returning from a swimming party, Leslie Chase, accompanied by Miss Evelyn Card, Miss Frieda Finch and Hugh Brown, overturned his Studebaker sport roadster near Whooping Boys’ Hollow on the Sag Harbor turnpike. At the time of the accident Miss Card was driving. Mr. Chase stated that the front tire blew out, causing the car to become unmanageable. It swerved directly around, facing the other way, then turned over on its side. All of the party were thrown out of the car except Miss Card who was held in by the steering wheel. She managed to extricate herself, however, and after the dust cleared away all four stood looking at each other in amazement. Not one had even a scratch.
75 Years Ago 1949
From The East Hampton Star, August 4
July of 1949 was the hottest month on record in New York City, with an average of 78.6 degrees. The previous record was 78.1 in 1901. Weather records have been kept in New York since 1891. East Hampton has no official Weather Bureau, but a day which begins at 80 degrees at 7 a.m. here in beautiful, seaside East Hampton is like rain in Los Angeles, most unusual.
Now that August has come in a trifle cooler, with a little much-needed rain, it’s possible to talk about the heat without feeling worse than ever.
Business at every bathing beach has been brisk: soda fountains are crowded; sales of ice-boxes, refrigerators, lawn furniture, fruit and salad greens and fans have been heavy.
People gasping for breath in the great city have come in on the Cannon Ball and felt they were in heaven, in beautiful, cool East Hampton!
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Because of the increased interest in assisting the many victims of rheumatic fever and providing funds for the summer convalescent care of the juvenile victims of one of the worst crippling diseases of childhood, the East Hampton Committee has been able to arrange for twelve of the fourteen children who came to East Hampton on July 7 to remain through August. One of the boys returned to his home in the city because of the death of his mother and the other felt he should return to take part in the organized sport of his neighborhood.
50 Years Ago 1974
From The East Hampton Star, August 1
Supervisor Judith Hope aimed a canon of ethics at other East Hampton Town officials again last week. One official fled. Others said later that Mrs. Hope was only trying to attract attention. The code, still a proposal, would require annual “full disclosures” of the finances of nine officials, their spouses, and their dependent children. Mrs. Hope will offer it as a resolution when the Town Board meets tomorrow morning, and a majority of the Board appears unlikely to vote for it.
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Residents of the East End have been alerted by the National Weather Service to the disquieting possibility of severe flooding over the five-day period of Aug. 15-19.
On those dates, the Service has predicted, astronomical conditions — a perigee full moon in unusual alignment with the sun, to be exact — will produce tides up to three feet above normal.
This will cause only minor lowland flooding, according to meteorologists. If, however, a bad storm should hit the area during the period, more severe damage from swollen tides, possibly of hurricane proportions, might be expected.
25 Years Ago 1999
From The East Hampton Star, August 5
Canio’s Books in Sag Harbor, that quintessential small town bookstore of arcane and literary treasures, with a dearth of best-selling schlock, and outdoor shelves of weatherworn freebies, will survive.
The store will be taken over on the retirement of Canio Pavone by Maryann Calendrille, a teacher and writer who taught at the Study Center at Southampton College for the past 12 years, and Kathryn Szoka, a photographer noted for her chronicling of the East End’s disappearing farm life. Both are longtime Sag Harbor residents.
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Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, were the guests of honor at a campaign fund-raiser at Alma Arrington Brown’s house in Azurest on Sunday.
She had wanted to host an event for Mr. Gore’s Presidential campaign ever since she bought a house in Sag Harbor last year, said Mrs. Brown, the widow of Ronald H. Brown, the United States Secretary of Commerce who died in a plane crash in 1996.
Under two white tents pitched outside Mrs. Brown’s house on Terry Drive, some 450 supporters who had paid $100 to $250 to meet the would-be king, his queen, and a dozen or so elected Democratic officials took refuge from the sweltering heat.
