125 Years Ago 1900
From The East Hampton Star, March 16
A bill introduced in the Assembly providing that the power of attorney heretofore made and executed between the council of the Montauk Indians and Francis M. Morrison on Dec. 12, 1896, is ratified and confirmed.
A bill has also been introduced providing that the Montauk Indians and their representatives are hereby authorized to bring and maintain in the courts of this state an action in law or equity, in the same of one of their number for himself and others who are interested in common against any person, persons, corporation or company by whom they have been or are wronged, defrauded or deprived of their rights. The statute or law of limitation to actions in law or equity or in any proceedings shall not apply to any action or proceeding brought under this act.
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Fires were discovered in three places in the Northwest woods on Monday afternoon. They were located at Grassy Hollow, between the old Northwest road and Parsonage road, about three and a half miles from the village. One of the fires was not far from the peach orchard owned by J.W. Hand. A rally was made in this village and after considerable hard work the men succeeded in getting the fire under control late in the evening.
Another fire was discovered at Two Holes of Water on Tuesday morning. It was quickly extinguished.
100 Years Ago 1925
From The East Hampton Star, March 13
When the State Commissioner of Health goes to Riverhead next week to hold a hearing in the matter of the alleged pollution of the Peconic River by sewage, he will be met with an avalanche of objection against the issuance of any order seeking to stop the practice. The objection will be by both public and private individuals.
The Town Board of Health held a meeting to consider the order that has been served on Supervisor Dennis G. Homan, and which commands him to show cause why the "nuisance" should not be abated. At that meeting, Town Health Officer Allan G. Terrell was asked directly if the sewage does cause a pollution and if so how much. He replied: "I should consider it a negative menace."
It is pointed out that there never has been any epidemic of typhoid or diphtheria in Riverhead; that for as many years as can be remembered people have freely caught and eaten clams, fish, and crabs near the mouth of the river, where it empties into the bar. Yet none of them is affected by the alleged pollution.
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Elaborate plans are being undertaken for the dedication and formal opening of the parish house in Amagansett, on March 19. This artistic yet practical building is located on Meeting House lane, south of the manse. Both the lot on which the parish house stands and the adjoining lot were very generously donated by Mrs. Harry Hamlin.
75 Years Ago 1950
From The East Hampton Star, March 16
The suspiciously sagging springs of an expensive new sedan led to the arrest of an ex-convict and the recovery of several hundred dollars' worth of stolen tools, on Wednesday of last week at Promised Land. Town Police Chief Harry Steele was called by the Smith Meal Co. of Promised Land on Tuesday night; a tool room had been broken into and valuable equipment was missing. Mr. Steele questioned the plant's 40 employees, and was talking to members of a construction crew, when he noticed a sedan parked nearby.
The rear springs of the new car were sagging. Mr. Steele opened the trunk and found the tools. As a result, Joseph F. Kuharik, 32, of Phillipsburg, N.J., was arraigned on a third degree burglary charge.
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The Horton-Lupton bill restricting net fishing in Peconic and Gardiner's bays has been signed by Governor Thomas E. Dewey and becomes effective May 1, according to word received from Senator S. Wentworth Horton at Albany.
Designed primarily to revive and promote the fading party boat fishing industry in the Peconic Bay area, the new law reduces the size of haul seines used in Peconic Bay and the waters on the east side of Shelter Island; requires a larger mesh to allow smaller fish to escape; prohibits the use of all seines from midnight Thursday to 6 p.m. on Sunday, and forbids the dumping of "junk" fish on the shore or within 500 feet of shore.
50 Years Ago 1975
From The East Hampton Star, March 13
Enthusiasm was scant Friday when the East Hampton Town Board pondered whether to raise $20,000 by making Town residents pay for their beach parking stickers. Next, the Board pondered whether to raise the money by letting non-residents without stickers buy daily permits to park at the Atlantic Avenue beach, Amagansett, but this plan was not acclaimed either.
The Board is also preparing to decimate groupers. At the March 21 meeting, according to Councilwoman Mary Fallon, it will propose not only to "strengthen various provisions" of the grouper law in time for this summer but to enact "a whole new ordinance." The new law would allow for no more than three unrelated adults to rent a house together. Seven can now.
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A crowd of about 40 persons attended the Town Trustees' meeting Tuesday night; some were there to endorse the Trustees' stand against stabilizing Georgica Pond, and to make sure they didn't cave in, and others -- lessees of Trustees-owned land at Lazy Point -- were there to make sure they could continue to enjoy their homes.
To both points the nine-member Board, which has jurisdiction over most bottomlands within the Town, pledged good faith. They would not yield to kiss the dunes 'neath Juan Trippe's feet on the Georgia Pond question, nor would they pull the rug out from under the Lazy Pointers.
25 Years Ago 2000
From The East Hampton Star, March 16
Eight telephone poles snapped during an unusual weather incident Saturday night and toppled onto Montauk Highway in Water Mill. One pole fell onto the hood of a passing Mercedes-Benz with a family of four inside, Southampton Town police said.
A witness to the accident said the pole that hit the car was the second to fall. The driver, W.E. Bautista, 49 of Southampton, saw the first one come down, police said, and slammed on his brakes an instant before the second crash. The wood came within inches of the windshield and a large electrical transformer grazed a tire. The six other poles followed one after the other.
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A storm has developed over the waters of Gardiner's and the Peconic Bays, disturbing East Enders whose livelihoods depend on them and worrying those who have begun aquaculture projects here. At the center of the controversy is a Port Jefferson company called Aquaculture Technologies, which has been dredging hard clams from 10,000 acres of underwater lands in Gardiner's Bay and Northwest Harbor for some time.
An allegation by a group called the Northshore Baymen's Association, that Aquaculture Technologies does not own the lands it is operating on, prompted the State Department of Environmental Conservation to send the company a notice of revocation about a week ago.
