This week in Shelter Island history
50 YEARS AGO IN HISTORY
The first test of a Saturn 1-B rocket and Apollo capsule was successful, with the unmanned capsule flying 310 miles into space and its heat shield withstanding 5,000 degrees upon re-entry to the earth’s atmosphere.“Harper,” starring Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall and Julie Harris was pulling in movie audiences.
Actress Téa Leone was born in New York City.
Americans were listening to Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking.”
Irving Stone’s “Those Who Love,” recounting the lives of John and Abigail Adams, was a best-selling book.
And on Shelter Island …
40 YEARS AGO
Thanks, but no thanks
Shelter Island rejected a move by the New York State Legislature to give the town authority to control the discharge of firearms. The State Senate had approved a resolution and sent it on to the Assembly, but members of the Town Board said they had no memory of what initiated the call for local control. There was some thought that it might have been a move toward home rule, but there was also concern that it could lead to a ban on all hunting. Without a public discussion to examine the issue, the Town Board asked that the bill be withdrawn.
POSTSCRIPT: The State Department of Environmental Control sets seasons for both gun and bow hunting.
30 YEARS AGO
Island bus service could fill a need
In the winter of 1986, the subject of creating a local bus service for Shelter Island was a hot topic. If it sounded like a good idea to some, more Islanders thought there was no need for a bus running a regular loop around the Island. They argued it would change the ambiance of Shelter Island. Still, there was no formal survey to determine whether there was enough appetite on the Island to merit establishing a bus route here. The Reporter, at the time, editorialized in favor of a formal study, but it never happened.
POSTSCRIPT: There is still no bus service on the Island and it appears there’s no one desire to establish one.
20 YEARS AGO
Pure water petition drive opens on Island
A grassroots petition drive was underway 20 years ago on the Island to garner support for an upcoming referendum calling on the Suffolk County Legislature to stop taking money meant for water quality protection programs and related open space acquisitions and allotting it to fill other budget gaps. Islanders became the first to officially join the fight for a public referendum on the issue. The following November, Islanders gave a thumbs up vote to the effort to stop the county from diverting sales tax money meant for water quality protection to other parts of its budget.
POSTSCRIPT: The struggle to protect Peconic Bay waters has obviously been a long one and renewed efforts are taking place, including the town government’s allocation of more than $40,000 this year to pay for water quality testing. In the past, most testing dealt with quantity because of the Island’s aquifer, but not much was done about quality.
10 YEARS AGO
Is a pump-out boat needed?
Islanders, who were told water samples showed some spikes in fecal coliform levels were debating 10 years ago about whether there was a need for the town to invest in a municipal pump-out boat. Drew Carlson, who lived on Ram Island, had organized a sampling the previous summer that revealed the spikes and said he hoped the town might emulate a program that was effective on Block Island. The town’s Waterways Management Advisory Council issued a statement indicating that water quality was excellent and the spikes might have resulted from geese and other wildlife. There were already three commercial marinas on the Island where boaters could discharge wastes, the statement said.
POSTSCRIPT: The idea of a pump-out station was raised by the WMAC recently in conjunction with an application from the Shelter Island Yacht Club for a new dock. John Needham had wanted to link the approval to an agreement from the Yacht Club to install its own pump-out station, rather than to have its boaters use Piccozzi’s pump-out facilities. Other members objected to tying the request to their approval of the dock, but agreed to ask the Yacht Club’s Marine Committee to consider adding a pump-out facility for its members and guests.
