Do you have a drawer or shoebox that has become a catchall for collecting nostalgic items (think postcards, flyers, brochures, ticket stubs, newspaper clippings, menus, etc.) that have significant personal meaning? Maybe you have them on view, stuck to your fridge, a daily reminder of a memorable moment in your life.
Without our community of collectors turned donors, the Montauk Library Archives would not have such treasures and curiosities that reveal some aspect of our community’s culture and history. Take a walk down memory lane with us and leave a comment if any of these items recall a memory from the past.
We often write about camping in Hither Hills and Ditch Plains, but does anyone remember Napeague Camps?
Situated on the “clean placid waters of Napeague Harbor,” the camp boasts the finest fishing in the country and the widest sandy beaches, according to the brochure. The site was owned and operated by John A. Craft, of Montauk, and John Dreesen, of East Hampton.
With a capacity to accommodate 100 tents and trailers, the site also comprised a recreation hall, playground, general store, and protected swimming areas. The original tent and trailer site opened in 1949, and it later evolved into the Napeague Camping Club trailer park on Crassen Blvd. in Amagansett.
Some items in our collection are just plain fun and spark joy or a connection to the past. Long past its usefulness in predicting the weather (trust us, we tried), this weather beacon, pictured above, once had “surprising accuracy,” as self-proclaimed on the reverse instructions. The hygroscopic paper material would change colors at different levels of humidity.
After it was donated, a member of the library staff remarked, “I loved that thing! My grandmother had it hanging by the side door. I would always check it, and it never worked.” Though they have a lifespan, “she probably kept the same old one.”
Much of the material donated to the library by Sally Nielsen was collected by her father. Her parents, Alfred and Louise, owned and operated Twin Pond Motel, which is still in the family. Her father collected menus, brochures, and rates from competing hotels and motels in the area.
The above menu is one of a few items collected from the Montauk Manor over the years, alongside paper napkins, coasters, and stationery. Try the broiled or boiled native fish with a side of potatoes prepared three ways. Cup of chilled sauerkraut juice, anyone?
Not all items spark happiness or joy; oftentimes, items were collected to remember grave events. An unknown scrapbooker from East Hampton collected newspaper clippings of the Free Life balloon launch, disappearance, and following attempted rescue in 1970.
Over 600 spectators gathered at the farm launch site in Springs on September 20, 1970, to bid farewell to Malcom Brighton, Rod Anderson, and his wife, Pamela Brown, on their attempted transatlantic balloon flight to Paris.
Unfortunately, the crew hit adverse weather conditions, and it is speculated that a cold front caused the balloon’s helium supply to contract. The balloon went down just 16 hours into their flight, around 400 miles off Newfoundland.
The crew radioed as they were going down, and after not receiving a follow-up message to confirm a safe sea landing, the Coast Guard immediately sent out a rescue team. After many rescue attempts by the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Canadian air forces, the balloonists were never recovered.
Their story is remembered in this scrapbook and the memories of many East Enders who gathered to see them off. Share your memories of these items and events in the comments below.
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