125 Years Ago 1898
From The East Hampton Star, December 23
While riding over the Bridge Hampton bicycle path on Monday, Samuel S. Conklin met with an accident. Upon rounding a sharp curve he ran upon a tree which had fallen across the path. Mr. Conklin does not remember much about the collision, except that when he was able to get upon his feet he found that his face was considerably bruised and the front fork of his bicycle was broken off.
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The Long Island Railroad Co., recognizing the importance of Santa Claus’ arrival in town, has ordered the local expressman to deliver all express matter arriving on Sunday next on that day. The Sunday noon train will bring express the same as on week days.
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Volcanic Eruptions
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100 Years Ago 1923
From The East Hampton Star, December 21
This week’s issue of the Star is filled with good news for Christmas, which of course means the advertisements for holiday gifts. These advertisements mean a saving to the Christmas shopper. From a complete line of toys for the little folks to suitable gifts for the grown-ups, you will find the East Hampton stores stocked with Christmas gifts. The store keepers have made a special effort this Christmas to meet the demands of the season and from the artistically decorated windows to the well-stocked shelves, the East Hampton stores stand ready to assist you in the selection of suitable holiday gifts.
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The publishers of the Star extend to you their best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
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Patrolling Amagansett Beach, George Mulford thought he had discovered a small sea-serpent. Since the rum fleet and bootleggers have rendezvoused at Montauk it is taboo to mention snakes. Yet George’s find proved to be a snake-mackerel. The strange fish is about four feet long and is rarely found in waters so far north. As none of the Long Island fishermen could classify the uncanny object picked up by Mulford, it was sent to the Museum of Natural History in New York for classification. They pronounced it to be a snake-mackerel. It has been held at the museum for study.
75 Years Ago 1948
From The East Hampton Star, December 23
The annual Christmas program by the younger children of the Methodist Church School will be given at the church tonight (Thursday) at 7:00 p.m. After the program Santa Claus will make his visit to deliver candy and gifts from the tree. The children will present to Santa their stockings of dimes for the Methodist Hospital of Brooklyn.
The program will consist of recitations and songs by children from three to ten years of age.
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Snow and ice caused a few traffic accidents. On Sunday afternoon around 4:30 in the snowstorm, Jack Devereaux was coming south along Main Street and hit the bumper of Harry Riley’s car parked in front of White’s drug store. Both cars were somewhat damaged.
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Several weeks ago the Underwood Typewriter Company and the Eastern L.I. Typewriter and Equipment Company of Wading River sponsored a spelling and essay contest which was open to all high schools and colleges on Long Island. The Junior and Senior English classes of our local high school took part in this contest and two East Hampton High School students captured the first and second prizes while nine others were given honorable mentions at Patchogue on Wednesday afternoon, December 15.
Everett Rattray, a member of the Junior Class, received the first prize for the contest, an Underwood portable typewriter.
50 Years Ago 1973
From The East Hampton Star, December 20
Supervisor-elect Judith Hope was welcomed along with a large audience at the meeting of the East Hampton Town Planning Board last Wednesday in Town Hall at which a proposal for the development of George Semerjian’s 567-acre tract at Montauk, part of the former Levon-Curtiss-Wright property, was unveiled.
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East Hampton residents, still reeling, some in dismay and some in jubilation, from the surprising upset in Town elections in November, were stunned once more last week by the news of the indictment by a Manhattan grand jury of State Assembly Speaker Perry B. Duryea Jr., the most powerful political figure in East Hampton for many years, and Councilman Henry A. Mund Jr., who after a 10-year career on the East Hampton Town Board was, with supervisor Eugene E. Lester Jr., defeated in a bid for re-election.
Opinions here were for the most part either supportive of the two men or cautious. The view that the indictments had been politically motivated prevailed among Town Republicans interviewed this week, who said the indictments would in no way affect Mr. Duryea’s position of leadership.
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Miss Lynn Stratton Washburn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Washburn of Main Street, East Hampton, and New York, was among the 50 debutantes from 13 countries participating in the 19th International Debutante Ball on Dec. 18 at the Waldorf Astoria, New York. She is a student at Franklin College in Lugano, Switzerland.
25 Years Ago 1998
From The East Hampton Star, December 24
In the past four years, and particularly in the last few weeks, voters in the First Congressional District have watched the fortunes of their Congressman, Representative Michael P. Forbes, rise and fall dramatically.
In Saturday’s historic House proceedings, Mr. Forbes was one of only three New York Republicans to vote for all four articles of impeachment against President Clinton, despite polls showing that impeachment is increasingly unpopular with the public.
The same day, Mr. Forbes lost a powerful new mentor when the presumptive Speaker of the House, Robert Livingston, unexpectedly resigned.
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For those who live along East Hampton’s Main Street or wander by, the sound of bells emanating from the Presbyterian Church every evening at 5 p.m. used to be one of life’s small pleasures. But the taped hymns and chimes that had tolled from the church steeple ceased earlier this year.
Now, just in time for Christmas, the sound of bells has rung out again, thanks to a pair of anonymous donors who live nearby.
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Come New Year’s Day, the East Hampton Library will have exactly one year to solve not only any Y2K computer problems it may have, but an equally challenging local dilemma.
Like every other community library in New York State, under new regulations adopted by the State Board of Regents earlier this month, the library will no longer be allowed to charge out-of-district residents to borrow books.
What that means is that the 101-year-old library, which was chartered by the Regents 87 years ago, will have to change the way it does business with residents of Springs and Wainscott.
