Villages

From the day in 1947 when Ed Ecker knew extra-point kicks, to some 1972 words of wisdom for trick-or-treaters from the village police chief, it happened here.

Bird populations have declined steeply over the last 50 years, but the North American Bird Conservation Initiative's "State of the Birds 2022" report, published in early October, balanced the gloom with some success stories and offered strategies for future action which would "bring birds back."

Across Montauk, young people are rallying around Poppy Heart, a haven, they say, for all  things fun and creative. For some, it's even more than that — it's a safe space with a positive role model and mentor in the shop's owner, Tiffany LaBanca.

For anyone trying to put together a last-minute Halloween costume, the Maidstone Club’s 75th anniversary costume party in 1966, featuring 1890s attire, offers some procrastination-friendly inspiration.

The East Hampton Town Trustees' 32nd annual Largest Clam Contest officially ended on Friday, almost two weeks after the event that drew hundreds to the Lamb Building in Amagansett. At their meeting on Monday, the trustees announced both a new venue and a date for next year's contest. 

While it’s definitely fun for the little ones, the Bridgehampton Lions Club’s annual Carving Contest is really a family affair, because jack-o’-lanterns as good as these shouldn’t be just for kids.

A nightmare on Sherrill Road: Billy Field, one of the most creative, enthusiastic, scarily talented Halloween decorators, will not be decking out his East Hampton home this Oct. 31 — or ever after. He's selling and moving to North Carolina, but will act as Demon of Décor for Guild Hall's Community Social and Spooky Silent Dance Party on Saturday at LTV studios in Wainscott

The search for the largest clam in Three Mile Harbor, Hog Creek, and Accabonac Harbor has resumed after heavy rains kept those water bodies closed in advance of the East Hampton Trustees Largest Clam Contest on Oct. 9. Weigh-ins for mammoth specimens from those spots happens Friday at the trustee offices in Amagansett.

The day in 1922 when Alfred E. Smith came in for some praise, a 1972 effort to organize South Fork farm workers, and more ripped from the pages of The Star.

“Witchcraft in East Hampton: A Short Play” by Virginia H. Page (1926-2021), a page of which is seen here, focuses on East Hampton’s 1657 witchcraft trial, known as the Goody Garlick trial.

First light in Sag Harbor during autumn and the place belongs to the fish crows. They show up all at once, 100 landing in the big tree at M&T bank. As the day brightens, they spread out across the village into smaller groups. For a bird whose diet ranges from piping plover eggs to candy bars, Sag Harbor is a perfect foraging ground.

The day the East Hampton Town Board held “an unmomentous meeting,” and much more from The Star of yore.