Baymen – Montauk Library

In His Own Words

Aug19^th2026byMontauk Library

In an oral history interview in 2005, Stuart Vorpahl reminisced about Montauk’s historic fishing village on Fort Pond Bay, its former open grasslands, the travails of fishermen in severe storms, the heartbreaking “Pelican” disaster, and how World War II transformed the lives of many residents. Stuart, who died in 2016 at 76, was too young… Read more »

Throwback Thursday – Men’s Lives

Apr06^th2022byMontauk Library

In the spring of 1981, Rick Whalen was a couple of years out of college, “knocking around East Hampton trying to find work.” Somehow he hooked up with Stuart Vorpahl for a few months fishing pound traps in Napeague Harbor, and he recalls a good run of weakfish. In this photo Rick is flinging a… Read more »