125 Years Ago 1898
From The East Hampton Star, December 2
Dr. Abel Huntington and wife have safely returned to their home in Islip after a six month's sojourn in Europe. They are both improved in health, and after a fairly comfortable passage on the staunch Tentonic, of the White Star line, landed just in time to escape the terrific storm which has swept our coast and the sea.
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The Aid Society of the Methodist church held its monthly meeting Tuesday evening. There were about thirty-five of the regular members and friends present. After the business meeting the entertainment committee amused the audience with literary and musical selections rendered by Mrs. H.L. Mayes, Rev. H.E. Marsland, Charles H. Bennett and Margurite Foster. Refreshments were served in conclusion.
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Montauk, Dec. 1 — It is impossible at this time to ascertain the full extent of the damage done by the storm here, but it is thought to be far more extensive than was at first realized. Fort Pond bay was churned into a frightful state of fury, the waves rolling in on the beach as high as ocean billows. A steamer from Orient, Captain David Tuthill, went ashore; the sloop Maria D., Captain Frank W. Parsons, of Springs, went ashore and it is thought will be a total loss.
100 Years Ago 1923
From The East Hampton Star, November 30
Twenty persons killed and seventy-seven injured, was the record of casualties for the 1923 hunting season up to and including November 15 according to reports received by the Conservation Commission.
The number of accidents this year was unusually large, the number injured being nearly twice as large as a year ago and forty injuries were reported, and the number of killed was four more than a year ago. The percentage of fatal accidents was smaller than last year, this year's percentage being twenty-six as compared with forty last year.
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The song recital given by Mme. Jencie Callaway-John in Aeolian Hall, Wednesday evening, November 21, proved another great success for this popular artist. Her audience was most distinguished, numbering such persons as Chief Justice Vernon Davis, who spends his summers in Amagansett, Henry Hadly, composer, the well-known de Sequrola, and others.
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Ferris Halsey, Calvin Hadder and George Hand had a thrilling experience last Saturday afternoon when returning from a hunting trip in Mr. Halsey's boat, through Gardiner's bay. When about off Cedar Point the anchor warp was tossed off the cabin of the launch as she plowed her way through the big seas. The rope passed along side the boat until it finally caught in the propeller and smashed the rudder from its position, leaving the crew helpless.
75 Years Ago 1948
From The East Hampton Star, December 2
You can't keep a dyed-in-the-wool airman on the ground — at least for long and Charles Smith who was trained to fly Liberators and Flying Fortresses during World War II is no exception.
After graduation from East Hampton High School in June 1942 Mr. Smith worked for a short time at the Grumman Aircraft Factory. He joined the Air Force in January '43 and was given flight training in Texas, graduating with Class 43K. During the bombing of Europe he was a member of the 8th Air Force and flew from England with a heavy bombardment group.
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East Hampton High School started its basketball campaign by defeating Hampton Bays 69-17 here on Tuesday.
The first quarter was very fast. The boys were getting the feel of things again. DeBoard made the first basket of the year with a jump shot. At the end of the quarter the score was 11 to 2 in favor of East Hampton.
In the second quarter Captain "Dead-Eye" Dick Flach opened up. It seemed that he sank every one he tried. At the end of the half the score was 35 to 10 in favor of East Hampton. At halftime Flach already had 20 points.
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The 1948 Christmas Seal Sale officially opened when Ralph D. Howell of Babylon purchased his supply of Seals from Earl P. Rubini of Huntington, County Chairman of the Sale. Seals were issued to county residents on November 22nd.
Mr. Howell is a partner and engineer in the firm E.W. Howell Company, western Suffolk builders. He represents one of the first sponsors of the Suffolk County Tuberculosis and Public Health Association when it was formed 28 years ago in 1920 and has been an annual contributor since.
50 Years Ago 1973
From The East Hampton Star, November 29
A drive to assemble a "double-dunes" Nature Conservancy preserve between East Hampton and Amagansett has found landowners cooperative, but united action by those owning erosion-threatened oceanfront homes seems, on the other hand, far off.
A recent attempt, by Frazer Dougherty, of Drew Lane, East Hampton, to persuade eight property owners to recoup a quarter-mile of dunes west of the Village's Main Beach through a system involving pilings, fencing, brush, and beach grass has yielded a mixed response.
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More than 50 scientific papers are to be presented at the New York Ocean Science Laboratory, Montauk, on Saturday; their subject will be Long Island Sound; the program will be called "Current Research in an Urban Sea."
The occasion will be the sixth "Long Island Sound Conference" in as many years.
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The East Hampton Town Planning Board has been given three weeks to deny that it "failed to perform the duties enjoined on it by law, committed errors of law, and was arbitrary, capricious and abused its discretion" when, on Oct. 24, it granted preliminary approval to the proposed "Gansett Dunes" subdivision in Amagansett.
Its accusers, the Group for America's South Fork, the Amagansett Residents' Association, Concerned Citizens of Montauk, and five others, have asked the State Supreme Court, in a 23-page petition dated Nov. 21, to annul the approval.
25 Years Ago 1998
From The East Hampton Star, December 3
Charles Whitmore, an advocate of team sports who would like to see more land in East Hampton Town set aside for recreation, unveiled an ambitious plan Friday to build a community park on farmland opposite East Hampton High School.
At the same time, Mr. Whitmore, who founded the Montauk Rugby Club, urged the defeat of a proposed Town Code amendment which, he said, would effectively bar such a use of farmland. The amendment is to be aired during a public hearing in Town Hall tomorrow morning.
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Two minor airplane crashes over the holiday weekend had an East Hampton Town Councilwoman wondering this week whether there is too little cooperation between the airport, police, and firefighters.
No one was injured in either incident.
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The producers who create programs for the public access channel operated by LTV in East Hampton have come to expect blown monitors, broken video players, and a range of other technical glitches.
The problems are a clear sign, producers and board members say, that the $100,000 or so a year LTV gets for public access through the town's contract with Cablevision is not enough to keep what's there running in good shape and replace old equipment when it becomes outdated.
