Featured Letter to the Editor of the week: Hareleggers?

Good enough for him
To the Editor:
In light of last week’s “harelegger” article (“New take on origin of ‘hareleggers,’” August 30) and the explanation of usage by Reverend Daniel Lord, pastor of the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church in the 1800s, here is another take on the subject.

My father, the late Paul A. Speeches, told us that in the 1930s for 70 cents, Island residents could go round trip on North Ferry and watch a movie in Greenport.

Unfortunately, the ferry stopped running at 11 p.m. and, if a movie went longer, Islanders could be seen running like “Texas jackrabbits” to catch the last boat.

Paul wasn’t sure if the chuckling ferryman or Greenport residents provided the nickname, but his friends and he were sure this is how the term harelegger came to be.

My father was born on the Island, was a harelegger, liked movies, and with all due respect, that’s good enough for me!
TOM SPEECHES
Shelter Island