125 Years Ago 1900
From The East Hampton Star, December 28
At the last Quarterly Conference held at the Methodist Church a motion was unanimously carried requesting the return of Rev. James Leggett to East Hampton for another year. This is Mr. Leggett's fifth year in East Hampton, but as the time limit has been removed he will probably be returned.
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J.T. Gardiner has had the South End wind mill repaired and put in good order for business, and it is now being run by Charles Collum. This mill was erected in 1796, and is probably the oldest mill in town. It was purchased by Mr. Gardiner's father in 1840 and has been owned by the Gardiners ever since.
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The entertainment given by the Tyrolean Concert Co. in Clinton Hall on Friday evening last, under the auspices of Ivan C. Byram, was well attended and gave the best of satisfaction. Every member of the company was an artist, and the ease and grace with which they produced such fine music, whether by voice or their various unique instruments, was admired by everyone.
100 Years Ago 1925
From The East Hampton Star, December 25
The sale of Everett Babcock's lumber and coal business at Amagansett to Frank W. Parsons was reported the first of the week. The sale was handled by J. Edward Gay, Jr., and the reported price is $25,000.
This business was started about twenty-five years ago and incorporated under the name of the Amagansett Lumber & Coal Co. The principal members of the firm were Everett, Samuel and Lyman Babcock. Later, the business was controlled by Everett Babcock.
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Christmas celebration at the Holtsville Tuberculosis Sanatorium began on Tuesday, when the children of the Sanatorium marched through the ward singing Christmas carols. This was done to please the bedridden patients who would not be able to attend the Christmas party that the children had on Wednesday evening. The children presented their Christmas play this year in the form of a shadow play, depicting scenes of the Nativity. The presentation of the play showed how well the children had been rehearsed and how much they were interested.
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One of the jolliest parties that East Hampton has seen in many a long day was given at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Percy Schenck on Friday evening last. It was arranged by Mrs. Schenck and Mrs. Willard Livingston. About seventy friends gathered to give a homecoming reception and shower to Miss Nettie Edwards. Miss Edwards has been in the Far East for the past thirteen months, and is to be married at her home here on Christmas day.
75 Years Ago 1950
From The East Hampton Star, December 28
The high school group of Junior Guild Hall members will have a semi-formal Christmas party at Guild Hall this evening at 8 p.m.
The girls have been asked to bring a box lunch for two. The boxes will be auctioned off to the boys at 10:30 p.m., proceeds going toward the punch. Prizes will be awarded for the prettiest, most amusing, and most original boxes decorated in the holiday theme.
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Technical Sgt. Daniel W. Cronin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Cronin, of Amagansett, returned recently to McClellan Air Force Base, Calif., from Saudi Arabia, where he had been on a temporary duty with a WB-29 detachment of aircraft and personnel from the 374th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron.
While in Saudi Arabia, Technical Sgt. Cronin performed duties as a communications specialist and since his return he is performing similar duties with his squadron.
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The Star of the East Lodge sponsored a Christmas party held last Sunday at the Masonic Temple for 200 children. An hour-long entertainment was held during which comic movies were shown and Christmas songs sung. The singing was led by Percy Schenck, who also accompanied on the piano.
After the entertainment, Santa Claus appeared and the children were each given an orange, an apple, a bag of candy, and a present.
50 Years Ago 1975
From The East Hampton Star, December 25
The East Hampton Town Board, meeting the Friday before Christmas, accepted a gift of an island, gave Town employees raises, established an "Award Board," exchanged holiday greetings, and passed several dozen other resolutions. To ease the reader's task, the Star will report this meeting in alphabetical order.
Under a new "local law" and regulations adopted Friday, after a very short public hearing during which no one spoke, Town employees are "encouraged to submit suggestions that they believe will bring financial savings and/or increased efficiency in service to the public."
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Montauk
The youngsters and adults from the Community Church went caroling at the home of the sick and shut-in on Sunday evening. They were joined by the leaders of the Montauk Theatre Group.
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Adults in East Hampton are showing increasing concern this winter over the use of "drugs" by young people in the community, despite the fact that Town statistics show only one-third as many arrests for the possession of so-called controlled substances in 1975 as in 1974.
Recent concern seems to have grown directly as a result of two things. The first was an incident that led to the arrest on criminal trespass charges of nine teenaged girls after they allegedly had spent a day in a Springs residence partying on liquor, food, and pills. The second is that almost anyone close to the high-school-aged population will verify the fact that a large percentage of students smoke marijuana on a regular basis, although there are differences about what "large" or "regular" means.
25 Years Ago 2000
From The East Hampton Star, December 28
Organizers of a petition drive seeking support for a community organic farm in East Hampton hope to conserve a few of East Hampton's agrarian roots and ensure that future generations' answer to the question "Where does our food come from?" is not solely, "The I.G.A."
With petitions placed in just two East Hampton locations, Residents for an East Hampton Community Organic Farm and Garden, a fledgling group that has been discussing the community farm idea since November, has collected enough signatures to be convinced that there is sufficient interest in the idea.
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Last year at this time the no-trespassing signs posted along the trail of Talmage Farm Lane in Springs, at the edge of an old field now grown up with cedars, were a warning to be heeded.
This year, though the signs remain, some of the land beyond and the trails meandering through the old field are public property — part of 549 East Hampton Town acres that have been preserved with town, county, and state money.
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The public may find it easier in the future to speak to the East Hampton School Board, though the press may not.
Responding to criticism of its policy on public participation at meetings, the board agreed on Dec. 19 to discuss a restructuring. Currently, members of the audience may offer comment only at the end of meetings, after board members have discussed and voted on the evening's agenda.
On Tuesday, however, when the board next meets, that may change.
