This week in Shelter Island history
Joanne Goodhart was one of many Garden Club of Shelter Island members in September 2004 helping to lead the celebration of 70 years of adding to the beauty of the Island through plantings evident throughout town. Happy 80th!
September 11, 2001
If President Franklin Roosevelt declared Pearl Harbor as a day that would live in infamy, for those too young to remember that attack, September 11, 2001, the day thousands died in terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Buildings, the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, was a day that continues to haunt people worldwide who are still engaged in a war against terrorist activities.
50 Years Ago in History
A unsuccessful coup attempt aimed at toppling the government of General Nguyen Khanh left him standing once the United States pledged its support for the sitting government
Hurricane Dora made landfall near St. Augustine, Florida, the first tropical cyclone to hit in that area, delaying a Beatles tour to the state
The London Daily Herald ceased publication
The New York Jets defeated the Denver Broncos in the first football game played at Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York
The Shangri-Las’ “Remember” took over first place on the music charts from the Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun”
And on Shelter Isalnd …
50 YEARS AGO
Break ground for new library
While fund raising for a new Shelter Island Public Library had started two years earlier, it was in September 1964 that a ground-breaking ceremony was held at the site where the library stands today. It was hailed as a monument to progress. Ongoing fund raising efforts were planned as construction began.
POSTSCRIPT: While it has been two years since the building was expanded, the 2015 budget calls for allocating $10,000 to a capital fund for unanticipated long-term repairs or replacements.
30 YEARS AGO
Hope inspires Island Association
Then East Hampton Supervisor Judith Hope told Shelter Island Association members in September 1984, that she was leading efforts in her own town to address over-development that was sapping resources and hurting the environment. Land, water and quality of life issues were at stake, she said.
She was joined by Nancy Nagel of the Group for the South Fork (now the Group for the East End) in hammering home the importance of all East End communities to focus on policies that would protect the environment.
POSTSCRIPT: As Shelter Island explores ways to upgrade aging cesspools and septic systems threatening water quality today, they’re looking to methods of financing such as those being applied in Southampton because just as it was 30 years ago, the problems affecting natural resources can’t be successfully addressed by one or two communities, but must result in an all-out effort to protect the East End.
20 YEARS AGO
East End towns look at unplugging from LILCO
As the five East End towns were exploring a separate Peconic County, they were also contemplating the possibility that they could break their ties to the Long Island Lighting Company and join a municipal electric utility system owned and operated by a consortium of their members. Entek Development Company president Harry Davitian predicted electric costs could be cut by 25 percent or more. There were questions of whether equipment could be either purchased or turned over to a municipal consortium.
POSTSCRIPT: The East End ties to LILCO were cut, but not because of a consortium. Instead, LILCO customers became Long Island Power Authority customers and this year, PSEG customers as the state stepped in to try to improve pricing and service. The jury is still out in most East End communities about whether that has been achieved.
10 YEARS AGO
Garden Club puts on the Ritz to mark 70th year
Yes, it was 10 years ago that the Garden Club of Shelter Island celebrated its 70th anniversary with a special flower show at St. Mary’s Church Parish Hall. Members created floral arrangements in a variety of modes from table artistry to miniature flower design themed, A Cozy Little Corner of the Ritz. Youth members exhibited wildflowers and community members were encouraged to participate with their own arrangements.
POSTSCRIPT: Just look around the town and it seems everywhere you go, you find beautiful plantings courtesy of the Garden Club of Shelter Island. Happy 80th and thanks for all you do make this beautiful Island even more special.
