125 Years Ago 1900
From The East Hampton Star, June 15
The first large catch of sturgeon of the spring was made Tuesday, thirty-two large fish being landed, with a few spawn. The fishermen have every reason to believe that the fish have at last reached the beach in a large school.
A fin back whale was caught in the sturgeon net. It measured thirty feet in length and was dead, having become entangled in the net. The sturgeon are troubled a great deal by the fin backs, damage to the extent of hundreds of dollars being done each year to the nets.
—
In a few days the management of the Pennsylvania Railroad will come into control of the Long Island system and this means a great deal for the future of our island. Pennsylvania stands at the head of all the railroads of this country in its completeness, magnitude and progressive tendencies, and its recent acquirement of new railroad properties does not mean simply their purchase and control, but their development to the greatest degree.
President Baldwin, of the L.I.R.R., says: "The acquirement of control of the Long Island Railroad by the Pennsylvania road means the improvement and development of the former road to the utmost. The organization of the road will not be changed; its personnel will be the same. The new names to be introduced into the Long Island directorate mean added strength and energy."
100 Years Ago 1925
From The East Hampton Star, June 12
Henry Hoover, aged sixty-three, was found, one day last week by workmen, on the porch of his basket workshop next to Culver's bathing pavilion. He had managed to crawl out of the shop to the front porch where he attracted the attention of the men. He was found to be paralyzed from his waist down.
Mr. Hoover was taken to Southampton Hospital. Only recently had the paralyzed man opened his little basket shop on the Gardiner property at the beach. He had made the little building quite attractive, and intended to have all kinds of baskets on sale there during the summer.
—
That Suffolk County is still anxious to spend its part of the money necessary to build the very costly state highways for this county is indicated by the insistence with which its officials are demanding speed and still more speed from the state authorities in letting contracts. It is expected that $1,000,000 will be spent for new Suffolk roads in 1926, and a like amount in 1927.
For several years now the county has been urging a more intensive road program, and there is apparently to be no letting up in this demand for several years to come, judging from the preference resolutions that are adopted from time to time, listing other roads to be improved.
75 Years Ago 1950
From The East Hampton Star, June 15
Tommy Cole Jr., British racing star, who now lives in Sayville, won his first major driving victory in the United States by taking the second annual Bridgehampton race on June 10. Cole finished second at Westhampton Airport a month ago and in the runner-up spot at Bridgehampton a year ago.
Twelve thousand fans lined the 4-mile course, laid out over ordinary roads, which circle the golf course, just south of the village. Cole averaged slightly over three minutes a lap during the twenty lap race to finish in one hour, 19 seconds for an average speed of nearly 80 miles per hour.
—
The palatial summer home of Franklin J. Horne on the Southampton dunes was swept by flames Tuesday. The owner had been in Southampton several days ago to complete redecoration arrangements for the house. On the day of the fire a crew of painters had been working in the house until 4 o'clock; shortly after they left, the fire was reported.
One hundred volunteer firemen, with six trucks from Southampton and three from Bridgehampton, responded to the alarm. By the time the firemen had a chance to ventilate, the blaze had spread along 200 feet of the home.
A post-fire examination of the premises showed that reconstruction of the house would be necessary.
50 Years Ago 1975
From The East Hampton Star, June 12
Six children picketed East Hampton Town Hall last Wednesday evening with signs saying such things as "No Hope With Hope!," "Hope and McDonough Sold Us Out," and "Carey Took My Father's Job and Hope Stands Silent." Inside, Supervisor Judith Hope told their fathers that in fact she was "doing everything in my power" to save their jobs. She has won mixed responses, so far.
When the State Parks Commission revealed three weeks ago that it planned to cut the permanent staff at Montauk's two State Parks from 14 to five on June 25, it was widely assumed that this plan was really Governor Hugh Carey's. Throughout the State, only 44 permanent employees were to be laid off. The Democratic Governor had singled out Montauk, according to the prevailing theory, because that is where Perry B. Duryea Jr., the Republican Minority Leader in the State Assembly, comes from.
—
Somewhere in Town there is a ten or 12-acre parcel of vacant land that may one day be the site of a 100-unit, low-cost housing project for the elderly. Nobody knows exactly where it is at the moment, and nobody seems to want to know either, except for Herbert A. Morris Jr.
Mr. Morris is the executive director of the Suffolk Community Development Corporation, of Coram, which was asked by the East Hampton Town Board in March to help get the rent-subsidized project off (or on) the ground. The SCDC is also involved in low-income housing plans in Patchogue, Westhampton Beach, Stony Brook, Quogue and Riverhead, among other towns. Federal support for tenants, rather than builders, is the basis of its service.
25 Years Ago 2000
From The East Hampton Star, June 15
The Long Island Pine Barrens Society and the South Fork Groundwater Task Force have expanded a lawsuit against East Hampton and Southampton Towns, this time charging that the towns have not moved fast enough to buy land targeted for acquisition with money from their community preservation funds.
In their latest claims, the plaintiffs allege that the two towns have failed to spend community preservation funds they have collected to preserve land that is essential to the protection of drinking water in the South Fork pine barrens and the state-designated special groundwater protection area.
"That could not be further from the truth," said East Hampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman.
—
With the summer season officially here, so too is the South Fork's seasonal work force. And the issue of where to house workers — a recurring nightmare — has once again become a topic for the East Hampton Town Board.
Board members proposed a handful of schemes during an informal and unscheduled half-hour discussion at Tuesday's Town Hall work session, including establishing "a special zoning category for seasonal rentals."
Councilman Pete Hammerle and Councilwoman Pat Mansir said they had been meeting regularly with the Montauk Chamber of Commerce to organize a "seasonal housing symposium" to address the problem, which town officials admit has reached crisis levels.
