This photo of Richard Nixon and Al Holden in Montauk is dated “circa 1970s” in our archives. It seems likely that it was taken before Nixon’s resignation on August 9, 1974, in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The 37th president said at that time – in the second year of his second term —… Read more »
It seems odd that a newspaper would give the farm away to persuade readers to take out subscriptions. The Daily Mirror even threw in a train ride to Montauk. This is how Hither Hills was developed: The Mirror’s 100-by-25-foot parcels sold for a mere $100 apiece, although you had to buy at least two. In… Read more »
Taken in July of 1937, this evocative photograph came to the Montauk Library Archives as part of a collection from the late Ellie Prado. She was a longtime Montauk resident whose husband, Marshall, was at one time Carl Fisher’s chauffeur. The railroad has played a significant role since it steamed into Montauk in 1895. People… Read more »
When this blimp lifted off from Montauk on May 14, 1919, some hoped it would set a record by making a trip across the Atlantic to Ireland, eight years before Charles Lindbergh’s flight to Paris. During World War I the Navy operated a 33-acre air base near what is today’s downtown. Open fields provided a… Read more »
Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day an official holiday in 1914, “as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” But seeds had already been sown – even by ancient Greeks and Romans, who honored the mother goddesses with festivals. In the 19th century, Anna Reeves Jarvis helped organize “Mother’s… Read more »
How serendipitous that the Montauk Friends of Erin’s St. Patrick’s Day parade steps off in March, a month also dedicated to women’s history. This photo from the Montauk Friends of Erin celebrates Mary Gosman, who in 1982 was the parade’s first female grand marshal. Peg Joyce followed in 1993, Ann Duffy in 1999, Suzanne Koch… Read more »
Imagine girls dancing with servicemen in the elegant lobby ballroom. Picture the grandly arched dining room transformed into a mess hall for military personnel. That’s what the Montauk Manor looked like during World War II after the Navy appropriated the luxurious resort to serve as a military barracks – portions of which can be spotted… Read more »
Richard T. Gilmartin and Frank Tuma Sr. certainly enjoyed surfcasting, as they were doing on this day in the early 1940s on the ocean west of Montauk Point. Tuma in particular was a pioneer of the sport, developing “a snap cast that was extremely efficient at catching striped bass,” according to the Images of America: Montauk book… Read more »
Don’t feel bad if in the flurry of the winter holidays you forgot to observe National Bird Day on January 5. There are bald eagles, snowy owls, turkey vultures, sea ducks, even chubby little chickadees that are still worth a turn of the head. National Bird Day was created to honor birds that live in… Read more »
Welcome to Bilingual Storytime with Mary Jane. Today, Mary Jane will be honoring National Hispanic Heritage Month by reading Tito Puente by Monica Brown. This story is about a young Tito Puente, who is known as “The Godfather of Salsa”. For more info about the author, visit http://www.monicabrown.net