On the corner of Main Street and Carl Fisher Plaza, White’s Pharmacy was a magnet for Montauk kids in the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. For starters, it had a soda fountain and a great view of any action that was going down in town. “What the liquor store is now was Dick White’s drug store,”… Read more »
Montauk’s first Blessing of the Fleet – born as the “Blessing of the Boats” – was in 1956 and the brainchild of Vinnie Grimes, a charter boat captain and Navy veteran who’d seen Portuguese tuna fishermen blessing their boats before they headed out to sea on the West Coast. “It is an old European custom… Read more »
Joyous, I heard, while slowly borne along, From wakening birds, the early burst of song, Upspringing like a morning hymn, to rise And mingle with the worship of the skies. -J.A. Ayres, The Legends of Montauk, 1849 This time of year, the dawn chorus of birdsong combines mating, territorial, alarm, and location vocalizations from resident,… Read more »
Although cyclists ride year-round, springtime is the season associated with outdoor athletics. This photograph from the collection of Al Holden was donated with the information, “Bike race start at Gosman’s.” Although undated, most likely this photograph was taken in the late 1970s. George Watson, owner of the Dock, began launching annual athletic events from his… Read more »
“I love Montauk and don’t want to see it ruined,” said an advertisement in the July 16, 1970, issue of the East Hampton Star. The ad included a mail-in coupon for donations to the Concerned Citizens of Montauk, a group that had recently formed to resist a proposed 1,500- home development of Indian Field. April… Read more »
Head outside and rejoice in the melting snow like these youths photographed sloshing about in the slush on the grounds of the Montauk School. Equipped with calf-high boots and peacoats, these Montauk students took to the playground to seesaw, slide, and horse around as teacher Mrs. Joyce chaperoned and captured their playfulness on black-and-white film. … Read more »
George Watson bought a dive bar he would later call The Dock from Bob Fitzgerald in 1973 after a handshake deal over 9 a.m. shots of blackberry brandy. “It was a cinderblock building. It was kind of raw looking,” he recalled during an oral history interview late last year. “And one of the first things… Read more »
Is there anything sweeter than a community cookbook? Often compiled to raise money for a good cause, they tend to be stuffed with all manner of extra ingredients. Corny jokes, endearing illustrations, poetry, sage advice, tips for hunting, gathering, and fishing, the names of book committee volunteers and recipes from others fondly remembered, even celebrities… Read more »
This week’s chilly weather gave us a taste of the biting temperatures and harsh winds our Montauk ancestors experienced in winter. With lower recorded temperatures and less forestation and development hindering the wintry maritime winds, Montauk must have felt uninhabitable to year-round families struggling to stay warm. “All of the local bays and harbors are… Read more »
Two years into World War II, “tin fish,” a non-threatening nickname for torpedoes, became the prevailing fish running in Montauk’s Fort Pond Bay. What was once a bustling fishing village, still in recovery from the 1938 hurricane, was now occupied by a US Naval Torpedo Testing Range. The US Navy started construction of the torpedo… Read more »