125 Years Ago 1901
From The East Hampton Star, August 30
A reader of The Star suggests that parents should have their children who intend to attend school this fall vaccinated, if they have not already done so, before school begins.
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Begin at Wainscott and view the wide expanse of meadow lands fringed with a streak of ocean blue; take in the beauties of Georgica lake bounded by wooden knolls and rolling meadows studded with handsome cottages; gaze at the beauties of Divinity Hill and the stretch of land to the west; look over the miles of garden spot skirting Hook pond, and the beauties of the rolling Eastern Plains; then on through pretty Amagansett to the hills of Montauk, and behold over all the beautiful summer skies peculiar to the eastern end of Long Island, coloring foliage and field, dale and dune, with nature’s prettiest hues, and tell us where on earth is a prettier spot for man to dwell than in East Hampton town.
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A mosquito was seen in town yesterday. Quite a sensation was produced by the advent of the strange object, and a number of boys chased it through the street until in its undue excitement it collided with an automobile and expired. It is to be hoped that no more such foreign insects will come into the place.
100 Years Ago 1926
From The East Hampton Star, August 27
Thomas Moran, N.A., known as “The Grand Old Man of American Art,” passed away Wednesday, August 25, at his home at Santa Barbara, California, in his ninetieth year. His daughter, Miss Ruth Moran, who has been his most faithful companion, was with him at the end.
The first word received here of Mr. Moran’s death was a telegraph message from Miss Ruth Moran to G.H. Buek, a great admirer and one of Mr. Moran’s closest friends. The message read, “Father died peacefully this evening” and was dated Wednesday, August 25.
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The new Edwards theatre will be open for the first showing of pictures on Monday night. The entire township should feel a certain pride in this theatre, for it is not only a very fine and modern one that any town would be proud of, but it is as well a monument to the pioneers of the motion picture theatre business who, over twenty-five years ago, presented the first motion pictures to this village.
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The second annual horse show of the Riding Club of East Hampton was held last Saturday at Pantigo, before a crowd of over a thousand. Threatening skies, and a raw wind which swept across the club grounds all day long, did not interfere with the attendance in the least. It is hard to say just how large a crowd there would have been if the weather had only been more pleasant.
75 Years Ago 1951
From The East Hampton Star, August 30
Dear Editor:
For several summers, I have been an interested spectator at the twilight softball games played at the Herrick Playground. They are an inspiring exhibition of young America at its best. In these days of sobering and shocking revelations in intercollegiate sport, it is heartening to see such keen competition, good humor and excellent sportsmanship all on amateur basis. East Hampton should be truly grateful to Mr. Marshall, Mr. Meddaugh and the others who have fostered so successfully the fine spirit inherent in our youth.
Very truly yours,
Lewis Connick
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A record amount of over $400 was cleared on the annual outdoor Clothesline Art Exhibition, which took place on Saturday, August 25, as a benefit for Guild Hall.
As their way of helping to support Guild Hall, the artists of this area contributed 50 percent on all sales made during the show. No paintings were priced over $25.
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The East Hampton Free Library’s Tea to celebrate its 55th birthday Friday was a great success. The rooms were gay with flowers beautifully arranged for the occasion. A special 1896 exhibit of books and periodicals was on display in the Red Room. Punch and cakes were served in the “Friendship Garden.” Mrs. Frank Dayton, president, and Mrs. George E. Smith, secretary of the Library Board, received guests at the door; other members and wives of Advisory Board members also assisted in entertaining.
50 Years Ago 1976
From The East Hampton Star, August 26
Federal hearings on the application by Long Island Lighting Company for permission to construct two nuclear power plants in Jamesport opened on Tuesday in Riverhead with the attorney for Suffolk County challenging the impartiality of the licensing agency and with a bitter denunciation from the League of Women Voters of procedures which were said to make citizen participation in the proceedings “not feasible.”
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A proposed apartment zoning district designed for the elderly, after a two-and-a-half-year study into ways of providing moderate or low-cost housing in the Town of East Hampton, has been sent back to the drawing board.
The news that the Town would not act upon the “senior citizen housing district” as proposed and as aired at both an informal “listen-in” and a formal public hearing in July came when Councilwoman Mary Fallon announced at the end of the Town Board meeting Aug. 6 that a committee would be set up to look into “alternate plans.”
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Entomologists from the State Department of Health will begin experimental spraying of tick-infested areas in East Hampton Town “sometime in September,” following a rising incidence this summer of two hitherto rare tick-related diseases.
Both the State and the County have sprayed here in the past against mosquitoes, but never before against ticks alone. An as yet undetermined chemical will be the base of the spray.
25 Years Ago 2001
From The East Hampton Star, August 30
“If the quality-of-life codes are enforced, you will be surprised how many problems in this town will disappear,” said East Hampton Town Police Lt. William McGintee at a press conference Monday evening on his front porch in Springs.
Lieutenant McGintee said he would make enforcing noise, housing, litter, and other quality-of-life ordinances in the town code a top priority if his independent bid for East Hampton Town supervisor is successful.
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Labor Day signals a return to year-round life. But the East Hampton Town supervisor this week depicted a community dominated by second-home owners and labeled its working middle-class families “the new Native Americans.”
“We have to retain those who have chosen this place as home,” Jay Schneiderman said, sounding an alarm about longtime full-timers, many of whom juggle two jobs or more, plus time in volunteer service. Declining to be specific, he said that in conversations around town and on the campaign trail “everyone knew people who have left.”
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A former colleague once said of Peter Greene that he doesn’t just get into an airplane, he straps it on. It was his way of saying that flying seems as instinctual for Mr. Greene as getting dressed and that he flies as if the plane were an extension of his own body.
Mr. Greene, a banner pilot from Sag Harbor who flies a tow plane out of Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, dismisses the description as pure overstatement.
