This week in Shelter Island history
Members of the 2005 newly constituted Shelter Island Run Board of Directors were (standing left to right) James Eklund, Rick Denning, Mary Ellen Adipietro, Regan McGorry, Barbara Gubbins, Kevin Barry, Doug Broder, Cliff Clark and (seated) Bill Lehr. Other board members at the time who were not pictured were Jackie Tuttle, Jack Byington and Joe Siegelbaum.
50 YEARS AGO IN HISTORY
The Beatles recorded “Ticket to Ride” in London for their album “Help!”Peggy Fleming, then 16, won the United States Ladies Figure Skating championship title.
President Lyndon Johnson launched Operation Thunder, a campaign of air strikes against North Vietnam.
Canadians unfurled their new national flag — the red and white banner with a maple leaf in the center — replacing the Union Jack.
Comedian George Burns hosted Hollywood Palace with guests Wayne Newton, Connie Stevens and Rich Little.
And on Shelter Island …
40 YEARS AGO
Earlier Reporters
Remember when the Reporter arrived on the Island on Fridays? Frankly, neither did we. But there it was in black and white on the front page of the Reporter in February 1975. The announcement was that instead of arriving on Fridays, the paper would now reach Islanders Thursday afternoon since the company had switched from a Bethpage printing company to one in Flanders.
POSTSCRIPT: Today’s papers arrive on Island in the early morning on Thursdays.
30 YEARS AGO
Commuters caught in ice clogged channel
In February 1985, high winds and freezing temperatures brought South Ferry to a brief halt. The problem, according to Cliff Clark said, was that an ice jam resulted because of a brief thaw that freed ice from Sag Harbor waters and, pushed by a flooding tide, brought the ice into the frozen waters of Noyac Bay.
A usual five minute trip between Shelter Island and North Haven took two hours and ultimately service was suspended for three-and-a-half hours.
POSTSCRIPT: Given the frigid temperatures experienced this month, one might wonder how both North and South Ferry boats are managing to get through ice, but to date, there has been no interruption of service.
20 YEARS AGO
Bridge Street merchants eye hookup to HPOC
For the second time in 15 years, merchants on Bridge Street met with then Heights Property Owners Corporation manager Bernie Jacobson to discuss a possible hookup to the HPOC sewer system.
As the state Department of Environmental Conservation was looking at more stringent water quality requirements, the merchants were exploring ways to ensure their water, which was acceptable at the time, would remain so by a hookup.
For HPOC, this issue was a question of how to take on a larger coverage area, given a sewer system that was already near capacity. The organization was facing a $750,000 lawsuit from owners of properties uphill and downwind of its plant who complained about odors and noises.
Through the years, HPOC has twice approached Greenport to explore tapping into its system, most recently in 2012. It was rebuffed by Greenport Mayor David Nyce and environmental groups who objected to running a line under the water, concerned that if a pipeline leaked, it could pollute the water.
POSTSCRIPT: Bridge Street merchants continue to depend on individual septic systems that Supervisor Jim Dougherty said in a WLNG interview in 2012 need to be replaced by sewer service.
10 YEARS AGO
New 10k board takes over the Island race
In February 2005, the original directors of the Shelter Island 10k assisted in putting together a new board that would lead the path forward. It was the year that Mary Ellen Adipietro became secretary of the newly constituted board.
Cliff Clark was tapped as president for a one-year term and the race was moved from June to May to avoid a conflict with the Circle of Friends New York Mini 10k that was slated for June 11 that year.
The aim was also to kick start the summer season by drawing people to the Island earlier. That year, the Friday night pasta dinner that had been a fund raising event for the PTSA was abandoned because it was no longer bringing in money. The board was hoping its demise would lead to restaurants getting involved in reviving that dinner.
POSTSCRIPT: Mary Ellen Adipietro has been race director for many years now and succeeded in attracting name runners, including a number of Olympians and marathoners from other races that have helped to increase participation.
The Friday night pasta party at the American Legion Hall is back, last year, coordinated by the Shelter Island 6th and 7th grade classes, Betsy Martin, Ginny Gibbs, Schmidt’s Market and Hint Water.
