Beginning in the 1930s, as automobiles and trains made the Hamptons more accessible, an annual social guide was printed, clearly designed for members of the summer colony and other visitors “from away.”
The Ladies Village Improvement Society’s archive includes a copy of the 1944 “East Hampton Social Guide” belonging to Hester Cheney (1906-1993). It offers a fascinating snapshot of the local businesses and transit options, like the summer schedules for the Long Island Rail Road and the Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Ferry schedule, along with a good deal of information on the summer residents’ identities and lives.
Because the guides were marketed for “society” people and “visitors,” many of the year-round residents and working people were omitted, but the business listings provide great insight into exactly what was sold by whom — books, Kodak film, and ice cream could all be purchased at local pharmacies like Rowe’s and White’s. Only one shop in town sold women’s clothing, the Kip Shop. Two riding academies would rent out horses, and four inns housed visitors who weren’t renting a house.
Amazingly, the only restaurants listed were at the four inns, and both White’s Pharmacy and the Old Barn Book Shop offered a “rental library” service.
The guide recognized that many summer people would rent different properties from year to year, and thus arranged a directory by renter’s last name with a winter address followed by a summer lodging address and phone number. In the back of the book, a “Locator List” included the names of local homeowners listed alphabetically, followed by their addresses and the summer renters’ names.
Perhaps because of the focus on visitors, there is almost no acknowledgement of World War II, which is unusual given the constant wartime propaganda and advertising. The only acknowledgement of war raging is in a Bohack’s grocery store ad for the Red Cross War Fund featuring a soldier receiving a blood transfusion, and a Sea Spray Inn ad inviting “your escape from war activities to the cool and peace of the country.”
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Andrea Meyer, a librarian and archivist, is head of collection for the East Hampton Library’s Long Island Collection.
