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July 23, 1998 - Refreshing retreat on Gardiners IslandGA • The Suffolk Times • July 23, 1998 Refreshing retreat on Gardiners Island "Be at the boat at 4 o'clock and we'll head for Gardiners from there." It was like a shot of adrenaline, for it meant that Barbara and I were going to stay overnight on Gardiners Island, a place I've come to love and dream about over the past 50 Focus years. My first ON introduction to this "magical NATURE island" came when I was invit- Sto buPaul l'gh ed by Roy Wilcox, tlte the noted South Shore naturalist, to be part of an expedi- tion that was going to visit the island to check on the ospreys that nested on Bostwick Point, that sandy dune -grass area that once ran all the way to the "Ruins" (the old fort off the north end of the island). Dr. Larry Waitz took us to the island in his beautiful sloop, the Frigate Bird. She was a classic wooden boat that could easily have been in one of Winslow Homer's Caribbean paintings. We anchored off Bostwick Point and went ashore in a dinghy, then each of us pursued his own special interest. Mine was to photograph the osprey. Here it was relatively simple, for most of the big nests in those days were built right on the beach. The memory of that intro- duction into the "magical isle" lasts to this day. I've been back many times, sometimes just to visit, often on osprey surveys, and over 30 times on Christmas bird counts and once when Harry Waite and I spent a chilly night on the beach below Tobaccolot when the engine failed in our boat. We no sooner left the little marina at Orient than we started to see lobster buoys all about us. For a while it reminded me of our sailing days along the New England coast where we saw lobster buoys as common as trees in a forest. Each had its own color code. Some were even marked by fluttering colorful flags. As we went along we saw common terns with small fish in their bills head- ing northeast toward their rocky outpost on Great Gull Island. Hungry chicks awaited their return with silversides or sand eels or whatever meal was avail- able from the local waters. This tern white dot of spray appeared that grew into a boat with Alix aboard. With our party now complete we headed to the manor house, where we were shown our room and were able to wash up after our dash across the bay. Seeing we were all interested in the same thing, we soon piled into a safari- type vehicle and headed for Great Pond to the south. We drove along dusty roads where wild turkeys ran for cover as we moved along. Some flew to island. It's also speculated that the have harassed the nesting osprey t such an extent that the osprey are hav ing a difficult time bringing up thei young. The herring gulls would be jus part of a larger problem we'd find as w moved farther south. At the end of the road we headed ou to the western shoreline toward the inlet., Now the gull species changed from her- ring gulls to greater black- backed gulls. This is our largest and most aggressive gull. They have literally taken over this end of the island. The only other bird that somehow seems to have been able to exist under this mas- sive takeover of black -back gulls is the oyster- catcher. Perhaps their formidable red knife -like bill holds the gulls off. Gone are the nesting black skimmers and the lovely terns that once nested by the hundreds on this south end. Gone also are the nesting her- ring gulls that once nested here. So fierce and ag- gressive are the black -back gulls that they often drive the young herring gulls into the water, where they easily fall prey to their murderous hack- ing bills. remember when they first started nesting there. It was on a small island in Home Pond. Today they have destroyed that island and have moved to the mainland, where they are killing the trees and shrubs below with their white excrement. There must be over 500 cor- morants nesting in the trees and each year there seem to be more and more. Today we see cormorants in most of our creeks and bays, places where we've neve4 seen them before. From Cherry Hill we could see the newly painted windmill that stands out as a landmark on the west side of the island. In no time we were tied up in the snug little harbor, our adventure about to begin. Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh A young osprey tries out Its wings from its beach nest on Gardiners Island. Seeing there are no predators on the Island -- except for unwanted visitors who Illegally come ashore — nests are safe on the ground. Greeted by old friends At the dock we were greeted by Alex and Bob Goelet. How good it was to see them again. Handshakes and hugs melt- ed into great conversation as we waited for their daughter to come by boat from the mainland. Soon out of the west a i W-K ONO 9w 1 w elk, W V Id M � W � JIM G ■ h7 I.rVVR Zip HLA 75 years ago July 20, 1923 News from surrounding towns: Mattituck certainly is growing. The Board of Trade has been doing some good work. We now have a traffic cop, on what we are accus- tomed to calling the "Mattituck House Corner," anti we are going to have another on the corner where the old post office used to stand. They also tell us we're going to have a speed cop. Some change, we'll say. Southold —The golf links at Bay View are being laid out. Tanning, Edwards and Gagen have sold a tractor to the company which is doing this work. Has anybody noticed how much better the women walk now that they don't teeter along on spool heels? We've a traffic cop — Joe Walters. Speeders, be careful. Joe is no printed sign swinging in the air, and may be depended on to pursue speeders to the limit. 50 years ago July 23, 1948 Yours, Ike: While Major Starr Cooper of Shelter Island Heights was attending his class reunion at Yale recently, he had a 10- minute interview with General Eisenhower. General Eisenhower, who had just received an honorary degree of LL.D. from Yale, gave Major Cooper his auto- graph with the remark, "That's my first signature as a Yale man." - 25 years ago escape our coming. It's amazing how well and fast these big birds fly. About two miles down the deep -worn road we came to the small grass runway of the private airport. From here on we'd see nesting herring gulls everywhere. Many had gray - blotched young that waddled off to hide under a bush or tuft of grass. Gulls would be in the air about us con- tinually squawking and calling their alarm as their young took to cover. Gulls have driven alt the terns, black skimmers and piping plovers from the July 19, 1973 LILCO has nuclear plans: The Long Island Lighting Company announced this week that it is holding a public meeting on July 24 at Riverhead High School to provide members of the local community with the latest informa- tion about its plans to build a new nuclear power station to meet Long Island's electric requirements. At the meeting LILCO representatives will discuss the reasons for build- ing the plant, the local, state and federal approvals that are necessary before the plant can be built, and the environ- mental studies the company has undertaken before it makes its final selection between two prime sites for its next nuclear unit. Last June 29 LILCO announced that it has purchased the 525 -acre "Jamesport site," as a possible site for a nuclear unit. The company is also considering the use of its "Shoreham West" property, a 425 -acre tract of land adja- cent to the company's Shoreham nuclear project site at Wading River, as an alternate site for the next nuclear plant. Real estate classifleds: Southold— Year - round, water view, private beach rights, three - bedroom ranch, living room, fireplace, dining room, bath, attached garage. Asking $36,500. For rent—July rental, three - bedroom, waterfront house, private beach, by the week, $200 per week, including utili- ties. First fall migrants Here the small inlet drains the lush salt marsh surrounding Great Pond. By now the sun had settled low on the hori- zon and our world had taken on the spell that only comes at that time of the day. We watched as if we were on a safari in some distant land as evening made its first move to take over the day. Before us the little inlet rushed out and sand bars appeared that melted into the greenery of the marsh in back. Everywhere along the main beach noisy black - backed gulls either flew or stood guard over their nesting sites. In the marsh and along its water's edge a new and exciting array of birds had moved in. We were witnessing some of the first fall shorebird migrations. Black -bel- lied plover, yellowlegs, dowitchers, knots, least sandpipers and others that had already traveled to the tundra in the far north to raise their young were now stopping here to feed and rest before they headed south for the win- ter. It was a rare spectacle in that rose - colored light of late afternoon. Then to top it off, groups of snowy egrets and the big common egrets fed in the shallows of the marsh. Night herons flew in to stalk their evening meal. Then every once in a while a few glossy ibis would drift in hoping to spot some unsuspecting fiddler crab down in its hole. All these waders nest inland on the island. As I said in the beginning, "our adven- ture was just about to begin." We'd have a night of enjoyable company, eating and telling tales of bygone days. We walked See Focus, next page July 30, 1998 • The Suffolk Times • 9A Seeing the sights at Cedar Point We've sailed by Cedar Point Light east of Sag Harbor many times in the past and each time felt a little sad to see the old rugged stone lighthouse that, like so many objects, was decommissioned Focus operative. is now in- operative. Once a ON family lived there and tended this NATURE beacon of reassur- by Paul ance that has now Stoutenburgh been replaced by a steel automatic flashing light that in today's world is the essence of efficiency, but in no way is as nostalgic as the old. It's like so many other things that go under the banner of progress, there are pluses and minuses to each. We pondered these thoughts as we stood on the bank at Cedar Point County Park this week. We had dropped everything at home, collected a bit of food and took off with the camper to reacquaint ourselves with this huge, rolling, 600 -acre campground. I had fond memories of years ago when the park was first getting started, for here a group of young "environmentalists" and their parentl were finishing up their course in East End ecology with a cam - pout celebration. I had been hired to teach this course to youngsters and as part of the course we all went to Cedar Point to experience the outdoors in a busy 48 -hour campout. Now, years later, we were once again standing on the shore of the park's northwest harbor, looking to where the Cedar Point Light still stands as a silent sentinel even though it's deserted. Before the 1938 hurricane the light- house stood on a small island at the entrance of the harbor to the historic whaling center of Sag Harbor. Then after the rage and destruction of that fateful day it became connected to the mainland by a long sandy strip that has grown in size with each passing year. We had hoped to walk out to the lighthouse, but because the area had attracted the endangered terns and plovers it will be off - limits until the birds finish their nest- ing. The park is spread out under a canopy of mostly mature black and white oaks. Many of the campsites are worn bare from years of use. There are no paved roads except for the excellent entrance road that winds in and out and up and down on its way to the park. One would hardly believe you are on flat Long Island for here the terrain is so different, and so up and down, it makes you won- der exactly where you are. Many of the up and down places have created wet spots where swamp honey- suckle was just finishing up with its last white flowers. It and the sweet pepper - bush that's just now in bud satu- rate the area with their sweet, pun- gent smell. These, along with the but tonbush with its sunburst flower ball, can be found wherever it is damp and moist Once set up we left the camper and traveled around in our pickup to explore the area. There are many trails that wander through the woods of this spacious park. Surprisingly the campsite was only partially full. Most sites were taken up by families in tents as there are no hookups for travel trailers. Over on one road near the water we found a lovely area set aside for day groups such as schools, churches, clubs and organiza- tions. Grills and tables, garbage cans and a mowed lawn under spacious trees were all empty. Weekends are their busy time. At one road end there were sleek small catamarans, canoes and kayaks for rent. What I liked about this was how low -key everything was. It's truly a camping area with all the basics but no amusement park -type paraphernalia. We drove past Alewives Pond and stopped to look and found you could ridiculous. One would think he would rent rowboats there to explore the pond have gone back to unload but, no, he that leads out into the bay. Again, no big had no thought of leaving his new -found concessions stood out, just the rowboats treasure. Finally when all the seeds were pulled up on the shore. We had walked picked up, off he scampered, disappear - down to the pond just as a father and ing among the leaves. His domain and son in their respective kayaks were treasure house was somewhere down heading in. It was late in the evening below where his winter stores were and paddling must have been ideal, for cached. the wind had dropped off. The young The only other takers Barbara had for boy beamed as I asked if he had caught her bird seed were the ever- present any fish. "Yes, a small striped bass but grackles. They are like a small version of we let it go," he answered. What a won- the crow and are always looking for a derful way to introduce a young person free meal. Campers in one way or anoth- er will sooner or Suffolk Times Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh One of the things the south shore has In quantity that the north shore lacks Is chipmunks. They are always a happy addition to any outing. i.i L a 7 Lr V V t\ D H %0* 1% 75 years ago July 27, 1923 SI estate sold: One of the most important real estate transactions on Eastern Long Island in some time is the sale by Miss Annie Nicoll to lawyer Willard Baylis of Huntington of 1,100 acres of land at Shelter Island, including Mashomac [sic] Point, the consideration being in the neighborhood of $100,000. It is reported that negotiations are also under way for the purchase of the remaining 900 acres of the property at Shelter Island owned by the Nicoll heirs, which has been in the family since the latter part of 1600 or early 1700. The sale of the larger part of the property to lawyer Baylis is the first time any part of the original tract has been out of the hands of the family in more than two centuries. 50 years ago July 30, 1948 Comedy hit at playhouse: On Aug. 2, Southold Playhouse will present Harry Segal's riotous comedy hit, "Heaven Can Wait." John Marley will stage the play and he will again work with Jack Warden, who in this piece takes the part of a prizefighter who becomes involved in situations that are both unexpected and hilarious. Others in the cast of "Heaven Can Wait" will be Walter Matthau, Will Scholz, June Prud'homme and Margaret Thomson. to the world of camping, fishing and healthy living. Back at the campsite where Barbara was busy preparing a meal, we had a vis- itor — a busy little chipmunk. Barbara carries wild bird seed along just in case there are some takers around. This time her offerings had attracted a chipmunk. We'd seen them scampering in the woods as we came in and now ours was busy collecting seed. We watched as the little fellow moved about, filling his jowls to a point that he looked a little Forest companions meet: On Thursday of last week the members of the Shenandoah Circle Companions of the Forest celebrated their 19th anniversary with a ban- quet at the Hotel Sterlington in Greenport. Six of the 25 members present were charter members. At the close of the evening's festivities the Companions unanimously agreed that it was one of the most enjoyable celebrations in the history of the fraternal order. 25 years ago July 26, 1973 Octagon House is Important landmark: The Octagon House on Main Road in Mattituck has been receiving a lot of attention lately. Under the guidance of the New York State Board for Historic Preservation, the historic building is being photographed and measured, and forms are being filled out for the National Register of Historic Places. According to Mrs. Barbara VanLiew of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, "the builder, Andrew Gildersleeve, bought the land in 1853 and erect- ed the house and attached store in 1854 and 1855. However, he did not commence keeping store until the spring of 1856. Later the whole structure was used for commercial purposes." Mrs. VanLiew said she hoped that the owners of this interesting landmark appreciated it, and would repair and refurbish the building without changing its character. later provide that meal. The female grackle is much dif- ferent from the black male, whose iridescent blue head, when caught by the right light, becomes quite handsome. The fe- male is smaller and a brown color. Both carry them- selves in an upright, deliberate fashion. No trip to the south shore can es- cape the over- whelming problem of traffic. Week- ends as well as Mondays and Fri- days are especially aggravating. I think it was outside of Southampton College we started to see things slow down. By the time we reached the traffic light at the four cor- ners outside Southampton village, we were traveling at a snail's pace. Bicyclists passed us never to be seen again. One thing it did do was give us time to look at the wildflowers along the roadside. Tall spires of mullein with their small yellow blossoms flourished in the now dry ground. Queen Anne's lace, that tall white umbrella flower, was everywhere. It reminded us of our daughter's back- yard wedding years ago. She wanted wildflowers for her special day and so we picked armfuls of Queen Anne's lace and they proved to be most appro- priate. The quarter -size sky -blue flowers of chicory told us summer was well on its way. We've been told its roots make a fair substitute for coffee and it is often blended with coffee to give the drink a touch of chicory flavor. The yellow clus- ters of St. John's wort we saw brought back memories of years ago when "we kids" used to gather it for Grandpa. He would make a special liniment out of the blossoms that turned the alcohol to a beautiful red color. Most of the wayside flowers like butter -and -eggs are now accepted by most as part of our wild- flowers even though they actually came from the Old World. Spotting and knowing these wildflowers made our tedious, slow journey over and back a bit more bearable. We had sampled the county park at Cedar Point and stepped into a world of carefree living — no telephone, no TV, no meetings — just us. It's important every once in a while to slip away and collect your thoughts and sort out the unimportant that tries to blind us from what truly makes life worthwhile. Camping does just that. P k 5 P' Ise 9 V, KNI 5 X .�3 . � h Suffolk Times Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh One of the things the south shore has In quantity that the north shore lacks Is chipmunks. They are always a happy addition to any outing. i.i L a 7 Lr V V t\ D H %0* 1% 75 years ago July 27, 1923 SI estate sold: One of the most important real estate transactions on Eastern Long Island in some time is the sale by Miss Annie Nicoll to lawyer Willard Baylis of Huntington of 1,100 acres of land at Shelter Island, including Mashomac [sic] Point, the consideration being in the neighborhood of $100,000. It is reported that negotiations are also under way for the purchase of the remaining 900 acres of the property at Shelter Island owned by the Nicoll heirs, which has been in the family since the latter part of 1600 or early 1700. The sale of the larger part of the property to lawyer Baylis is the first time any part of the original tract has been out of the hands of the family in more than two centuries. 50 years ago July 30, 1948 Comedy hit at playhouse: On Aug. 2, Southold Playhouse will present Harry Segal's riotous comedy hit, "Heaven Can Wait." John Marley will stage the play and he will again work with Jack Warden, who in this piece takes the part of a prizefighter who becomes involved in situations that are both unexpected and hilarious. Others in the cast of "Heaven Can Wait" will be Walter Matthau, Will Scholz, June Prud'homme and Margaret Thomson. to the world of camping, fishing and healthy living. Back at the campsite where Barbara was busy preparing a meal, we had a vis- itor — a busy little chipmunk. Barbara carries wild bird seed along just in case there are some takers around. This time her offerings had attracted a chipmunk. We'd seen them scampering in the woods as we came in and now ours was busy collecting seed. We watched as the little fellow moved about, filling his jowls to a point that he looked a little Forest companions meet: On Thursday of last week the members of the Shenandoah Circle Companions of the Forest celebrated their 19th anniversary with a ban- quet at the Hotel Sterlington in Greenport. Six of the 25 members present were charter members. At the close of the evening's festivities the Companions unanimously agreed that it was one of the most enjoyable celebrations in the history of the fraternal order. 25 years ago July 26, 1973 Octagon House is Important landmark: The Octagon House on Main Road in Mattituck has been receiving a lot of attention lately. Under the guidance of the New York State Board for Historic Preservation, the historic building is being photographed and measured, and forms are being filled out for the National Register of Historic Places. According to Mrs. Barbara VanLiew of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, "the builder, Andrew Gildersleeve, bought the land in 1853 and erect- ed the house and attached store in 1854 and 1855. However, he did not commence keeping store until the spring of 1856. Later the whole structure was used for commercial purposes." Mrs. VanLiew said she hoped that the owners of this interesting landmark appreciated it, and would repair and refurbish the building without changing its character. later provide that meal. The female grackle is much dif- ferent from the black male, whose iridescent blue head, when caught by the right light, becomes quite handsome. The fe- male is smaller and a brown color. Both carry them- selves in an upright, deliberate fashion. No trip to the south shore can es- cape the over- whelming problem of traffic. Week- ends as well as Mondays and Fri- days are especially aggravating. I think it was outside of Southampton College we started to see things slow down. By the time we reached the traffic light at the four cor- ners outside Southampton village, we were traveling at a snail's pace. Bicyclists passed us never to be seen again. One thing it did do was give us time to look at the wildflowers along the roadside. Tall spires of mullein with their small yellow blossoms flourished in the now dry ground. Queen Anne's lace, that tall white umbrella flower, was everywhere. It reminded us of our daughter's back- yard wedding years ago. She wanted wildflowers for her special day and so we picked armfuls of Queen Anne's lace and they proved to be most appro- priate. The quarter -size sky -blue flowers of chicory told us summer was well on its way. We've been told its roots make a fair substitute for coffee and it is often blended with coffee to give the drink a touch of chicory flavor. The yellow clus- ters of St. John's wort we saw brought back memories of years ago when "we kids" used to gather it for Grandpa. He would make a special liniment out of the blossoms that turned the alcohol to a beautiful red color. Most of the wayside flowers like butter -and -eggs are now accepted by most as part of our wild- flowers even though they actually came from the Old World. Spotting and knowing these wildflowers made our tedious, slow journey over and back a bit more bearable. We had sampled the county park at Cedar Point and stepped into a world of carefree living — no telephone, no TV, no meetings — just us. It's important every once in a while to slip away and collect your thoughts and sort out the unimportant that tries to blind us from what truly makes life worthwhile. Camping does just that.