Villages

When Leroy and Julia Kayser were married the Allies had not yet landed on the beaches of Normandy. “It Had to Be You” by Helen Forrest and Dick Haymes was a radio hit, and the movie “Casablanca” was about to win the Oscar for best picture.

In this circa 1900 glass-plate image from The Star’s archive, the Boughton family has gathered for a feast. Edward Smith Boughton, who bought this newspaper, sits at the head of the table.

From small litter like discarded face masks, bottles, and packages to bigger things like car parts, old appliances, and furniture, to the signs advertising tutors, nannies, soccer camps, and even lawn clippings and leaves, keeping up with illegal dumping and punishing the scofflaws is a challenge.

When darkness closed out the Audubon Montauk Christmas Bird Count and the species were tallied, participants agreed that the good weather might have played a role in the total: 134 were found, the highest in a decade.

Record crowds turned out for New Year's Day polar plunges at Main Beach in East Hampton and Beach Lane in Wainscott, helping to raise some $40,000 for local food pantries.

Near a gap in the 30-foot-tall border wall that separates the United States from Mexico, Elissa McLean and Andy Winter found themselves wrapped up in humanitarian efforts to aid the hundreds of refugees who have been pouring into the U.S. daily, waiting — and hoping — to be picked up by Border Patrol agents so they can begin the process of seeking asylum, having fled extreme violence, corruption, and crime in their home countries.

In this photo from The Star’s archive, N. Sherrill Foster shows a visitor to Clinton Academy a clock that once hung from the Presbyterian Church’s belfry.

Part of the charm of the Sagaponack Post Office, whose building is now undergoing a major renovation, was the presence of over 600 brass post boxes, opened with a combination lock, and adored by residents. While the new owner has no control over what happens to the old boxes, she has sourced and secured 200 more, so that when the post office reopens, hopefully by the end of next summer, there are enough for every resident.

Low spawning levels have spurred the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to put forth a comprehensive management plan to rebuild the stocks of striped bass.

A class-action court ruling on Halloween, stemming from an antitrust trial in Kansas City, Mo., is the talk of the town among real estate professionals here. A federal jury found that the National Association of Realtors and multiple large brokerage firms had “conspired to artificially inflate the commissions paid to real estate agents,” The New York Times reported that day, calling it “a decision that could radically alter the home-buying process in the United States.”

The day 125 years ago when George Strong, a carpenter working on the Maidstone Inn, plummeted 80 feet without breaking anything. And more drama ripped from the pages of your local paper of record.

Concerned Citizens of Montauk has appointed Kay Tyler, who previously served as the organization’s director of development and marketing, as its executive director.