125 Years Ago 1899
From The East Hampton Star, April 28
It is estimated that 20,000 acres of potatoes will have been planted on Long Island this season. Should the season prove favorable to the growth of potatoes such an acreage should yield about 8,500,000 bushels of tubers, worth, at the least calculation, $100,000. However, we have yet to hear from the potato bug, the blight and the rot.
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It now seems probable that Southampton town will be the first town in Suffolk county to construct a macadam road of any considerable length. It is said that it is now almost certain that the committee appointed at the recent town meeting will report in favor of a macadam road from one end of Southampton to the other, a distance of thirty miles. It is estimated that the cost of such a road would be about $115,000.
100 Years Ago 1924
From The East Hampton Star, April 25
Although Easter Sunday was not exceptionally pleasant, a number of East Hampton summer residents came down and stayed at the local inns and hotels. A few families have been spending the week in their summer homes.
Many of the residents are drawn to East Hampton at this time to plan work to be done on their estates. The cottage gardeners are kept actively engaged in doing their early spring work and planning for the coming season.
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Residents along Woods lane were suddenly awakened early Easter morning by five or six loud revolver reports and the noise of two speeding automobiles headed west. Before the alarmed sleepers could get to their windows, the racing cars had passed out of sight.
Anthony Bedell, who was on the night watch, and standing in front of Roulston's store, had a better opportunity to observe the race. He distinctly heard two cars approaching from the east and knew by the noise that something unusual was afoot. Soon he saw a big twin six Packard some up over Pantigo hill, with a gray touring car not far behind. No lights were showing on the Packard and the curtains were drawn. It is estimated that they were going sixty miles an hour.
The race continued through Main street with the touring car slowly gaining. When the Packard reached Woods lane corner it was necessary for the driver to slow down, and it was at this point that the men in the car behind ordered the driver to stop. He paid no heed to their command, and then followed five shots at the car. The race then continued on through Bridgehampton and Water Mill, the touring car gaining all the time. The Packard came to a stop near the beach and the driver was arrested by Revenue Officers Smith and Phelps. The driver of the Packard, which was filled to the roof with cases of champagne, was Peter Wells of Good Ground.
75 Years Ago 1949
From The East Hampton Star, April 28
Displaying a lively resentment of implications that Plum Island may become a playground for wealthy yacht owners and vacationists, Islip Supervisor Charles H. Duryea, chairman of the Suffolk Board of Supervisors, said Monday that the county's plans for the development of the 840-acre former military reservation off Montauk Point do not envision its use as a "sportsmen's paradise."
Mr. Duryea took time out from the transaction of routine county business at the board's meeting in Riverhead to make it plain that the county is not going into the summer resort business, exclusive or otherwise. If and when the county acquires the island, now in the hands of the War Assets Administration, a program for its use will be developed on a practical, down-to-earth and common-sense basis.
Referring to recent newspaper stories, the Islip supervisor said the county is more interested in having the Boy Scouts and similar organizations establish camp sites on the island than setting up facilities for luxury yachts.
Supervisor Everett C. Tuthill said Plum Island has served as a port of refuge for commercial fishermen and other boatmen and no doubt will continue to be used for this very practical purpose.
The island, site of immobilized Fort Terry, will be offered for sale this summer, probably about July 15, and Suffolk has a priority second only to that of Federal Government agencies.
50 Years Ago 1974
From The East Hampton Star, April 25
The East Hampton Village Trustees talked about dogs and fire prevention Friday evening. Roaming dogs were threatened with leashes. The fire inspector was promised a fire prevention code.
"I feel very strongly," said Mayor Ronald Rioux, "about these dogs running wild in the community even though they've got a collar and a license. . . . I met a dog the height of this table, had about a quarter of a deer in his mouth with the legs hanging out."
That dog had not been in the Village, he said, but numerous Villagers had written letters about the dogs that were, and 100 persons, though not all were Villagers, had signed a petition. "We urgently request," the petition said, "that the Village Board establish an ordinance requiring all dogs within the province of the Village of East Hampton to be required to be kept within the property lines of said dog owners or properly leashed by the owner when said dog is taken off the owner's property."
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The East Hampton Town Police Department had a fairly easy time of it arrest-wise last week. Three youths were charged with possessing marijuana; a 31-year-old Montauk man was charged with driving while intoxicated, and a Springs teenager was accused of stealing a tricycle.
In addition there was a burglary at John Cantwell's Service Station at the corner of Main Street and Indian Wells Highway, Amagansett, in which a 56-can Coca-Cola machine valued at $300 was taken Sunday night or Monday morning. Detective John Claflin is investigating.
25 Years Ago 1999
From The East Hampton Star, April 29
Responding to a lawsuit led by Fish Unlimited, a Connecticut judge this week issued a temporary restraining order to block the reopening of the Millstone Two nuclear plant 11 miles across Long Island Sound from the East End.
The action in Hartford Tuesday, by Judge Robert J. Hale, came just days before an expected order by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission allowing Northeast Utilities to restart the nuclear plant, which was closed three years ago for safety reasons. Northeast Utilities had hoped to reopen the plant today.
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The new 18-hole golf course off Abraham's Path in East Hampton, developed by the Bistrian family and now a joint venture with Crenshaw Golf Properties of Austin, Tex., could be playable by the fall, Barry Bistrian, who is overseeing the project, said this week.
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Every high school student here knows what happened at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., last week, and some believe it could happen on the East End.
The reactions of students interviewed this week ranged from flat-out disbelief to diffidence. While some maintained that weapons were hard to come by on the East End, others said they could get a handgun in a single afternoon.
