Letters to the Editor: 12.12.96

 

A Letter Home From Boynton Beach

December 3, 1996

Dear Editor:

In the early years of this century up until the beginning of World War II, a sizable number of homes in the Town of East Hampton were heated by wood. A far lesser number were heated by bituminous coal, more commonly known as soft coal. It was picked up along the railroad tracks, especially in the Montauk area, where the steam trains were prepared for their western run to New York.

In the 1930s, due to the Great Depression, there was far less money to buy anthracite, or hard coal, with which to heat a home. Anthracite, which was favored by coal users, wasn't as messy to handle as bituminous. Also, bituminous coal was prone to cause chimney fires due to its hydrocarbon content and volatile nature.

Most of the wood burned in stoves in the East Hampton area came from Northwest. A large portion of the Northwest woods was owned by the Gardiner family. The Osbornes and other old families owned woodland also. But for the generosity of those people, many homeowners would have had difficulty in finding other means of heating their homes. Most likely, Home Relief would have come to their aid, providing coal or wood.

At the time wood was being hauled from the woodlands, the land itself was of little value, so owners did not object to the wood being cut and hauled. In the early years of this century, Jim Gay, a blacksmith, livery stable owner, and general contractor, purchased large parcels of woodlands just for the cordwood.

A crew of woodcutters was sent in to cut down all the trees. After the trees were cut down, they were cut into four-foot lengths and then piled into 4-by-6-by-8-foot stacks which constitute one cord. As one passed by those cleared areas, stacks of wood could be seen throughout the area, awaiting pickup by teams of horses or trucks.

In today's world, I'm sorry to say, most of the wood would have disappeared long before it was hauled. As a boy I remember going down Hand's Creek Road below Long Hill in Grassy Hollow seeing only cleared land where once there had been a large stand of trees.

I have heard old-timers say that after Jim Gay had cleared a parcel of woodland, he'd tack the deed to a stump for anyone who cared to record it at the county seat.

In the town election of November 1923, several propositions were submitted to be voted upon by the electorate. One of the propositions called for the town to raise a sum of $20,000 in each of the years 1923 and 1924 to buy parkland. The money was to be used by the Town Trustees for the purchase of woodland located west of Three Mile Harbor, south of Gardiner's Bay, and east of Northwest Harbor and Northwest Creek. The cost was not to exceed $20 per acre.

The voters opposed the proposition by defeating it by nearly four to one. As one can see, woodland at that time was of little value in the minds of most people. Why would the town require more land for parks? Already we had Maidstone Park and Fresh Pond and access to any shore of our choice.

Cutting and hauling wood in those Depression days required a man to have a reliable car capable of producing extra power when needed, a durable trailer, a keen ax, steel wedges, a sledgehammer, and a sharp two-man saw with a proper set. Without a proper set, a saw would bind and become useless. Axes used by most woodcutters were single edged, balanced, and made by Kelly or Collins. There were some, though, who used a double-edged ax made by Plumb.

Two-wheeled trailers were preferred because they were more easily maneuvered. Usually, they were made from old cars picked up at the junkyard, and, when not used for hauling wood, they carted boats to the shore or debris to the dump.

Also, a man's work was made easier if he had a teenage son or two to help him, for it kept them out of mischief and built up their muscles.

Upon arrival at a predetermined location, they selected a spot to fell the tree. After the tree fell, it was trimmed with an ax. The unwanted branches were piled in an area where they would not interfere with the movement of the car and trailer. After being sawn into 8-to-10-foot lengths, the logs were loaded on the trailer.

When the trailer was fully loaded, all tools were gathered, and it was off to home, where the logs were removed and piled to await the saw-cutting rig. The wood cutting and hauling continued until an amount large enough to last through the winter and well into spring was accumulated.

Cutting wood was not an easy task with all the cutting, sawing, and lifting. Conditions were made much worse when snow was on the ground because cold and wet feet would add to the discomfort. Insulated boots or shoes were unheard of in those days. The rubber bottom and leather top boot made by L.L. Bean helped keep feet warm and dry if they were large enough for three pairs of wool socks.

The trouble with Bean's boots was that most of the woodcutters couldn't afford them. Cold feet made the whole body cold which, in turn, made the day much too long.

When the time came for the wood to be cut, Ludlow Raynor Sr. or Preston Lynch would arrive with the saw-rig. After the engine started, the owner-operator put the large blade into motion. Two men would pick up a log and place it on the movable table, which was pushed forward into the blade. After the stove length pieces of 12 to 16 inches were cut, the person assigned to throwing off heaved it to a predetermined place where later they would be split.

The saw blade was unguarded, and the engine, which rotated, was in close proximity to the throw-off man. It was a miracle that more people were not injured during wood-saw operation. I remember only two people who were severely injured. Billy McGuire was burned very badly when the saw-rig engine caught fire, and Alfonso Cesna was injured so severely when the flywheel disintegrated that one of his legs had to be amputated.

After the wood had been cut, the teenage son had the responsibility of splitting logs during his spare time, which usually was after school and on Saturday mornings. After the wood had been split, it was placed in the woodshed, where it would dry. Also, the son had to fill the woodbox each night and to provide the kindling for the next morning's fire should the fire burn out during the night.

Most homes had a Glenwood or Perfect kitchen stove with a warming oven. The baking oven was located beneath the stove top next to the fire box. Besides being used for baking pies and cakes, ovens were great for warming cold feet. Many cold feet were restored to normalcy after being placed in the open of the oven.

The back of the stove was a good place to have a pot of beans, chowder, or samp simmering. A good meal was available with bread, oleo, and whatever was on the back of the stove.

There were men who made a meager living chopping wood for Jim Gay, Bart Hadel, P.C. Schenck, et al. To survive, a man had to cut at least two cords per day.

That era has passed on, and there aren't many left who have a vivid memory of those trying and difficult times. To many teenage boys it was a time when many autumn hours were spent in the woodland so their homes would be cozy and warm during the coming winter months.

Despite growing up in the adversity of the lean '30s, I have pleasant memories of the bright side of those days and there are many.

Sincerely,

NORTON (BUCKET) DANIELS

Great Soap Opera

Amagansett

December 9, 1996

Dear Editor:

The shenanigans we have been observing recently at the Amagansett School would make a great soap opera.

Scene One: Old School Board holds secret meeting where it gives Superintendent a house at reduced rental; it extends his contract for five years. Reason given for secrecy is concern for Superintendent's personal problems.

Great uproar in the public sector; hot election campaign ensues for openings on the School Board. "Old- timers," staunch supporters of the Superintendent, are defeated by the "good guys," and the new members are in by a comfortable majority.

Scene Two: Differences appear between Superintendent and new board but statements to the press assure us all is well. Both parties are ironing out their differences; both echo their common aim, good education for the children. Everything looks rosy. But no. . . .

Scene Three: Superintendent drops bombshell. He has a new job starting Jan. 1; one wonders about responsibility for contractual obligations; also, since Superintendent makes much of his great feeling for the school and its children, we are surprised to hear nothing about some sort of offer to hang in there until new Superintendent replaces him.

School Board with its members announces it is beginning to make plans for hiring new Superintendent. A group of 20 or so parents begin to organize a campaign against mean old School Board which is not nice to the Superintendent. Look at what they made him do! Quit!

Scene Four: This is the big one. School Board sets a date to meet and discuss the groundwork for replacement of Superintendent. But wait, there is a private meeting going on first, elsewhere - hush-hush stuff. What a scene! At last public meeting is convened, and it turns out to be a howl: a "four-hour emotionally charg ed discussion alternately in public and behind closed doors." Big dramatics.

Organized parents - they're out in the open now - telling the board that it must give the Superintendent the 100-percent support he demands in order to get him to stay. (Shades of some Bronx, New York City, community school boards.)

Differences of opinion begin to cave in with the exception of one member who is maligned, threatened, and abused for maintaining a straightforward, honest point of view. An offer is made to the Superintendent: 90-percent support; no soap. One-hundred percent, or he goes. At last a compromise; 98 percent does it. Our man stays.

Now the wrap-up. It turns out that the Superintendent hasn't signed for the new job anyway. All our board has to do is tell the folks in Glen Cove that he really wasn't using them "as a weapon or lever against this community," and he thinks "Amagansett is a lovely place to work and a lovely school with a lot of fine people."

He's going to offer back the district-owned house that he now occupies in May, but, for the time being, he and his family will live in two houses. And by 2001, when his salary will be $130,000, he will be eligible for retirement. He expects to be in the district until then. (The Star, Nov. 14). No comment.

In the meantime, everyone has had his or her group therapy session. Can you just see it on the screen? The hand-wringing, the tear-jerking, the yelling, the weeping, the shouting, the threats! Wow! Then the reconciliation scene. Love and kisses all around; embraces all around.

This is a school? And this is the renovated School Board? The so-called "young turks" stepped into the cement mold real quick.

But okay, the last scene - Five: More love and kisses reinforced by a well-publicized luncheon. We are united again and, well, 98 percent is not so bad.

But let's not forget Jack Emptage who told The Star, "We've got to sell [a building program] to the community, and we can't do that unless the school is totally united." No question but that's going to make another good scenario.

To clarify the issue, no one is questioning the Superintendent's credentials; they're no better or worse than any others. But let's look at his responsibilities. At the last count, the number of children in the school, including the preschoolers, was in the 200 range.

As a former New York City school- teacher, I am familiar with superintendents' responsibilities at close hand. They supervise the needs of thousands of children. What we have here is a mini-school. How are our children served by the outrageous, preposterous, undisciplined antics we have observed these last months?

Who is running this "private" school that is being paid for with public funds, by the way? Right now it looks like a small, well-organized group of parents with their own agenda are calling the shots. Professionals in education have observed again and again that parents, even with the best intentions, cannot be and are not objective. They have their own agenda, their own children.

That's why a good school board has to be a balanced, hardheaded group that can handle conflicting interests fairly, keeping in the forefront always what it's there for - to see that all the children get the best education possible.

A big thank-you should be given to Joan Plachy, who seems to have been the only member of the board who had the guts to speak out independently and then have to take on the abuse reported in the press.

The entire soap opera is enough to give "As the World Turns" an upset stomach.

BERTHA GLADSTONE

Gracious With Help

Watchung, N.J.

December 2, 1996

To The Editor:

Throughout the entire summer and on weekends during the rest of the year, East Hampton and the surrounding communities are besieged by nonpermanent residents who cover the area like locusts. We are drawn by the tranquillity and extraordinary beauty of the area's natural resources.

Often forgotten, however, is that one of the nicest resources in East Hampton are the local residents who provide the services which make the area work so efficiently and effectively.

I have been boating in the East Hampton area for two decades and recently had occasion to require the assistance of the harbormaster in Three Mile Harbor, Donald Bousson. He was so gracious with his help that he almost made me feel as though I were doing him a favor by permitting him to assist me.

Anyone who uses Three Mile Harbor knows how well the waters are patrolled and the great care and pride taken by the harbor patrol in making the waters fun and safe for all.

I cannot thank the harbormaster enough. I want to share this most pleasant experience with everyone and thank all those who make the Hamptons truly beautiful.

Sincerely,

HOWARD J. BURGER

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