Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor: July 13, 2023
Thank you, Fireworks Committee
To the Editor:
I am writing to congratulate Catherine Brigham and her team who have worked diligently all year to provide the Shelter Island community with the most spectacular fireworks display this past Saturday, July 8 on Crescent Beach.
For many years the fireworks were organized by the Chamber of Commerce. When the Chamber no longer planned the fireworks, the Shelter Island Fireworks Committee came together. Since 2015 this committee continued a Shelter Island tradition of families and friends gathering for a weekend of summer fun, fireworks, reminiscing, and making new memories for themselves and the next generation.
Throughout the year the Fireworks Committee has worked to gather funds to put on the amazing display we saw on Saturday. Thanks must be given to the many businesses and individuals who have contributed to help sponsor this event which is totally funded by donations.
If you have not contributed and would like to see this Shelter Island tradition continue, please consider a tax-deductible donation to the Shelter Island Fireworks, Inc. a certified 501c3 charity. Donation information can be found at shelterislandfireworks.com
LINDA KRAUS, Shelter Island
Unbelievable
To the Editor:
The Island has lost a great lady, Georgiana B. Ketcham.
It was my privilege to be her secretary for over 25 years, and my good fortune to have her as my dear friend. She wrote many letters to the editor and always spoke her mind — more thought-provoking than controversial — but she cared for this island she designated the “Un-Hampton.”
She was interested in everything and everyone, always asking “What’s happening? What’s the latest? Just unbelievable!” Somehow she always knew the latest happenings on “The Rock” even when wintering in North Carolina. It was part of what made her a prominent real estate broker.
No words could describe the full life she lived, all those she loved, and how much laughter she gave us. She enjoyed people and had endless stories to tell, always promising to write a book, and she could’ve too — how I wish she had.
So I submit a last letter to the editor on her behalf.
We must now somehow “keep calm and carry on.”
It is “unbelievable” that she is gone.
Look out heaven, here comes Georgie!
DONNA MOLIN, Shelter Island
Let it be
To the Editor:
The League of Women Voters (LWV) lost a champion of democracy recently — Georgiana Ketcham.
Her life was celebrated last Saturday at St. Mary’s. The priest noted that a favorite quote of Georgiana’s was, “Let it Be.” And it is easy to see why. Georgiana overcame her share of hardship, but she never let it get in her way.
She was a founding member of the LWV of Shelter Island and we will be forever grateful to her for that stewardship along with the other nine women who gathered in 1991.
She forged ahead with the Island’s landmark real estate practice and was a keen observer of all things Shelter Island.
Still writing Letters to the Editor practically from her hospice bed, it is not an exaggeration to say she was a “force of nature,” and the epitome of the values on which the LWV was founded. She will be missed.
Thank you, Georgiana.
Lois B. Morris, VP LWV of the Hamptons, Shelter Island and the North Fork, Cathy A. Kenny
Wouldn’t think of complaining
To the Editor:
Summer is the season of having fun. One fun activity is listening to good outdoor music with friends. We, the undersigned residents of Turkem’s Neck (Tarkettle peninsula), are writing to complain about the music this summer at SALT’s Shipwreck Bar.
The music this summer has been stopping too early and the volume is too low to hear well from our homes across the creek. Ali and Keith have been great stewards of the property and have provided a fun atmosphere for many summers.
We hope they can again increase the volume of the great musicians they have playing. We all bought our homes long after the Boatyard (B-zone) was established and wouldn’t think of complaining about marina activities, just as someone buying a home next to an airport shouldn’t complain about planes!
Peter and Loren Reich, Jack Morgani and Geri Schmitt, Brad and Maggie Tolkin, James and Linda Eklund, Charlie Wyatt, Jon and Joanne Westervelt, Andy and Elena Zucarom, Shelter Island
Thank you
To the Editor:
I wish to thank Constables John Mahoney and Butch Labrozzi for assisting me when my incapacitated boat slipped its mooring in West Neck Bay last Sunday.
They went above and beyond the call of duty to help me get the situation under control.
STEVE KOLLER, Shelter Island
