125 Years Ago, 1897
From The East Hampton Star, January 22
Mr. J.H. Topping has received a letter from Geo. D. Pratt, treasurer of the Montauk Company, stating that no cattle will be allowed to pasture on Montauk hereafter.
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Principal French received a report from Commissioner Howell this week, stating that the East Hampton Union school stands second in point of excellence of work, in this Commissioner district. The school is now in its fourth year only, and the people of East Hampton should feel proud of the fact that it has already won the distinction of being the best school but one (Southampton) in the district. Credit is due Principal French and his able corps of teachers, as well as the board of education.
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In the early spring the firm of Van Scoy, Dayton & Stratton will establish a millinery department in their store. A portion of one side of the store will be devoted to the business and one of the large show windows will be used to display the latest styles of ladies head wear. A competent milliner from New York will be in charge of the new department.
100 Years Ago, 1922
From The East Hampton Star, January 20
With the close of 1921, Long Island passed through the greatest year of building construction activities in its history. It has been conservatively estimated that there have been erected on Long Island this year approximately 11,000 buildings of all kinds. This does not include building operations in Long Island City and the old city of Brooklyn. This new high water mark exceeds the record made in 1920 by more than 1,600 buildings.
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Although whaling is considered one of the most exciting as well as one of the most dangerous sports known, the present day whaleman considers the financial end of the proposition more than the sporting end, and this may well be considered. In the olden days the two or three leaders of the east end whale crews just had to say the word and a crew of the best trained whalemen and surfmen would immediately answer the call. Although the risk of hunting whales in those olden days was just as great as it is today, it was reduced to a minimum because of the efficient crews which could be found.
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All of the members of the town board were present at its first meeting, held in the new quarters of the town clerk last Saturday afternoon. The members seemed well pleased with Clerk Ketcham’s office, which was all dolled up for the occasion. The town records, of which there are many volumes, were neatly arranged on shelves which had been especially built for them; the new office furniture and newly painted interior of the office made a presentable appearance.
75 Years Ago, 1947
From The East Hampton Star, January 23
On Wednesday evening, Jan. 15th, approximately 300 guests were present at a Card Party tendered by the ladies of St. Philomena’s Altar Society at Guild Hall. Under the chairmanship of Mrs. Daniel Lester, the committee of 14 members provided a delightful evening of card playing for the capacity crowd and then served refreshments consisting of sandwiches, cakes and coffee.
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On Wednesday of last week Mrs. F. Raymond Dominy of Smithtown Branch, L.I., formerly of this village, went to New York to the office of Col. Waller, Commanding Officer of the Marines at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Mrs. Dominy was presented with the Bronze Star with Citation, on behalf of her son, the late Captain Felix R. Dominy of the Marines, who was killed at Iwo Jima.
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A group of United States submarines extended their normal operations last week to a point fifty miles southwest of Montauk Point to investigate a buoy reported in a radio message from a London-bound freighter.
The British freighter Maidan, in a message heard by the Coast Guard, said the buoy appeared to be of the type used to mark the position of a grounded submarine. The Navy submarine base at New London, Conn., said the only submarine near the scene was the U.S.S. Requin, which was in no difficulty on a trip from Portsmouth, N.H., to Key West, Florida.
50 Years Ago, 1972
From The East Hampton Star, January 20
It may be a $100,000 misunderstanding, that proposed dredging of a swimming hole on the Gardiner’s Bay side of Louse Point, Springs.
East Hampton’s Supervisor Eugene E. Lester Jr. said this week, in light of objections to the plan, “I haven’t completely dug my heels in. Originally, it was going to be a plus, but we won’t go through with it if all the comments are on the negative side. I can’t see providing a facility that nobody wants.”
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Supreme Court Justice Thomas M. Stark, after a trial in Riverhead last Thursday, reserved decision on just who owns the bottom of Hog Creek, near Fireplace, East Hampton. The East Hampton Town Trustees and the Clearwater Beach Property Owners’ Association claim the bottomland.
The creek opens into Gardiner’s Bay just west of Hog Creek Point. It covers about 68 acres. The Property Owners’ Association position is that the creek bottom was deeded to the Association by former owners of the upland in July 1967.
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A South Fork branch of the New Democratic Coalition was given the go-ahead Saturday at a meeting of some 45 interested persons held at the home of Sidney Rolfe, Georgica Close Road, East Hampton.
The group heard Daniel Collins, State chairman of the NDC, trace the history of the organization from its roots in the McCarthy movement in 1968 and the efforts of reform Democrats in New York to change political control of their Democratic Clubs.
25 Years Ago, 1997
From The East Hampton Star, January 23
Dick White, a resident of Montauk for 56 years, will serve as the grand marshal of the Montauk Friends of Erin 35th anniversary St. Patrick’s Parade on March 16.
Mr. White’s longstanding service to the community makes him deserving of the highest honor Montauk bestows, according to members of the Montauk Friends of Erin.
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The South Fork Coalition for Fresh Water, a recently organized group, announced at a meeting Friday that it will sue Southampton Town in an effort to stop the construction of a golf course on the Bridgehampton Race Circuit.
With a zone change granted by the Southampton Town Board on Jan. 14 in hand, however, Robert Rubin, the owner of the 516-acre parcel, said this week he would move swiftly to develop the 18-hole private course and 20 three-acre house lots.
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Sweeping changes in East Hampton Town’s recycling laws will go into effect on Feb. 8.
For the first time, residents will be charged to dump their unwanted household furnishings. Large appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators, or stoves will cost $5 per piece to be rid of. Smaller items, the kind that sometimes go home from the dump with a new owner — chairs, doors, bicycles, strollers, plumbing fixtures, and the like — will be charged at the rate of $65 per ton.
