Villages

Many of us are once again struggling with a sense that this pandemic will never end. History tells us this isn’t the case, that this pandemic, like all of the others that have come before, will eventually cease and life will return to some semblance of “normal.”

Residential real estate transfers made history on the South Fork again in 2021, with record-high sales totals, record-low inventory, and a lightning-fast pace at which deals are being made. It was a frenzied year, described by industry professionals as a seller's market in which cash is king, bidding wars are common, and inventory is low.

From the pages of Ye Olde Star.

East Hampton Library will collaborate with LTV to preserve and make freely available noteworthy content in LTV’s archive of more than 22,000 programs, depicting more than a century of East Hampton’s history.

From the pages of The Star of yore.

Skye Qi Marigold and Patrick Timothy Boyle were married at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton on Dec. 11 by the Very Rev. Denis C. Brunelle.

The omicron variant of Covid-19, known to be more contagious than previous variants, is causing virus cases and hospitalizations to rise fast.

If there’s any doubt that people are concerned about rising Covid-19 numbers on the South Fork, countywide, and across the state, one need only drive by East Hampton Town’s Covid testing site on Stephen Hand’s Path. The facility ran out of tests and closed early on Tuesday, and Wednesday morning, the line of people waiting for tests was 50 cars long.

The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation has awarded a $1,500 grant to LTV to support its Bill Fleming Project. The money will be used to assist in digitally preserving “The East End Show,” which Fleming, a longtime East Hampton attorney, hosted for 34 years until his death in 2018.

This photo from the Springs Historical Society’s archives shows a decorated evergreen tree floating on a platform in Pussy’s Pond in Springs. Based on the photo technology, the image probably dates to the 1980s or early 1990s.

If you are lucky enough to encounter one of these visitors from the north, the number-one rule is to simply keep your distance.

New York State’s beaches were given a grade of “C” in the Surfrider Foundation’s 2021 State of the Beach report. The annual report aims to inform the public and decision makers on the current status of their coastlines and how they are being managed.

The Christmas spirit is alive and well in East Hampton, though for a couple of days the Kiwanis Club wasn’t quite certain of that after discovering the theft of 60 to 70 trees from their charity sale in Amagansett.

The Montauk Historical Society has received a $100,000 grant from the Ludwick Family Foundation for the restoration of the Montauk Lighthouse tower.

Impressive selections of used, rare, and collectible books can be found in local shops like Black Cat Books on Shelter Island, Sag Harbor Books and Southampton Books, and Canio's Books in Sag Harbor, and some of these are also tapping the internet to redirect the world’s flow of used books from extinction (and landfills) to readers who truly care for and appreciate them.

This will, part of the Isaac Edwards Deed Collection donated by Bess Rattray, is the perfect example of how one will can give genealogists a lot of material to work with.

In discussions with patients about whether to get vaccinated against Covid-19, the people who express hesitation worry that the risks of the vaccinations outweigh either the risk from being infected with Covid-19 or the risk to communities by allowing continued spread of the virus. Yet there are plenty of things we do everyday without a second thought that are far riskier.

Love birds? Love someone who loves birds? These gift ideas from The Star's "On the Wing" columnist will help to nurture that passion, support bird habitat, and perhaps spark a deeper understanding of our avian neighbors.

The Star in the days of yore . . .

Capt. Walter R. Elflein Jr., a decorated reconnaissance pilot, will be honored with a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, 63 years after being lost at sea during a training mission, an honor due in part to the efforts initiated by his only granddaughter, Madison Elflein, a junior at East Hampton High School.

In New York State as of Monday, Dec. 13, masks will be required in all indoor public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement. The action comes amid yet another surge in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, with Suffolk County's seven-day average of positive tests reaching 6.5 percent on Dec. 8.

A Saturday morning rally organized by East End YIMBY, for Yes in My Back Yard, brought out about 100 people, who gathered by the Long Wharf windmill in Sag Harbor in a show of support for the group’s ongoing campaign for affordable housing in the village.

Even though Stony Brook Southampton Hospital has the largest number of admitted Covid-19 patients it has seen in about two months — 11 people as of Tuesday afternoon, none in the intensive care unit — there is good news to be had, the hospital’s chief medical officer said this week.

A patron wrote us about this photograph, which has often caught my attention. The image, titled “The Hut Gang,” is part of a collection of early glass plate negatives. Luckily, in the case of this one, from 1884, a photographic print accompanied the negative

The Carolina wren, not six inches in length, is a skulky bird that wants to hide out in a log or a pile of sticks, but its song distinguishes it immediately, and can be heard all year long.

From the pages of Stars of yore.

With demand for Covid-19 vaccinations continuing to be high, East Hampton Town has added several additional vaccination clinics to its calendar this month. 

Arielle Hessler, the new director of the Amagansett Library arrives in Amagansett having spent the last three years at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor, first as an emerging-technologies librarian and then as program and outreach coordinator.

People seeking Covid-19 vaccines have two new upcoming opportunities at East Hampton Town Hall: on Monday and Wednesday. Appointments for clinics later in the month are already spoken for.

It’s not uncommon after a holiday break like the Thanksgiving one we just enjoyed for patients to mention to me that they gained five or six pounds thanks to hefty holiday meals. Indeed, New Year’s resolutions being just around the corner occupy a significant place in the American health psyche as people scramble to get back on track with regard to healthful food and exercise choices.