Photo by Matthew Benham
Dan’s Papers March 9, 2012 danshamptons.com Page 13
Garbage Can Lid in Flight
Letter Unsolicited Letter from One Who Wants to Remain Anonymous Dan, I must start by stating that I am not a longterm resident of Long Island or The Hamptons. I am wintering here because I am in the process of moving to New York and decided to rent a home in Southampton, with my long-term girlfriend, while deciding exactly where we want to finally settle down. So I don’t know too much about the area except what I overhear at The Market, Pierre’s or at the Barber Shop. Oh yeah, and my most important source of information…Dans Papers. For instance I had no idea that Jackson Pollock was still alive, which I learned from reading your paper. Thank God I dumped my Pollock before the
word got out and the value tanked. Anyhow, I have learned all about the area including old man McGumbus and his antics. I have even used the paper to seek out some of the restaurants and vendors featured. But all this is quite removed from the point of my writing. One of the things I decided to do when I relocated to New York was to start giving back. I have always made donations and the usual stuff, but I mean giving of my actual time. When we arrived, my other half beat me to the punch and immediately started communications with a great organization called Dress for Success. They provide economic independence for disadvantaged women
by providing professional attire and career development tools. Not to be outdone, I decided to start really giving back. For instance, in the first week of January there was a day where the wind blew strong from whatever direction the wind blows. Just as I was taking the Zeus out for a poop break, I noticed the neighbor’s trashcan lid had become separated from the main receptacle. Ignoring my own safety, I retrieved the cover and returned it to its proper place. I did this without fanfare and have not sought accolades. But even that was not enough to satisfy my need to give back. So that brings me to the point of this writing. (continued on page 18)
A SOCIETY OF MEMBERS OUT TO BUILD BOATS By Nanci E. LaGarenne Bookmatching, steam bending, lofting, marrying ribs, French-cut planks. This is the language of wooden boat builders, leisure time craftsmen, reminiscent of another time, when what sailed the seas started as part of the earth. And it can return to the earth when its day is done. A wooden boat revival is happening locally and bringing more than the satisfaction of constructing a seafaring vessel, but belonging to a club of sorts, a place to find a fellow man or woman and get in the groove, literally. Build your own tub. Remember, Winkin, Blinkin and Nod did not sail off in a fiberglass shoe. The first thing that hits you as you enter The Community Boat Shop on Bluff Road in Amagansett, is that good smell of wood. The
second is the light reflecting on the boats in various stages of development, coming from the amazing view of the ocean on the front porch. You are in a workshop with raw materials that will one day become a boat. Maybe this year’s raffle boat, a Swampscott Dory. Or last year’s Sunshine Tender. As a member, you can take out one of the boats for a nice row or sail. A Beetle Cat, perhaps. A Catspaw Dinghy. Ask the skipper, Ray Hartjen, he is your guide, as head of The East End Classic Boat Society. But it didn’t start there, Hartjen humbly tells me, and it did not start with him. “The Community Boat Shop’s philosophy, started back in the 80’s on Gann Road in Springs, with a man called John Collins,” Hartjen says. “He built boats.” There were a bunch of people involved back then. Pat
Mundus (daughter of famous shark guy, Frank Mundus of Jaws fame), George Wilson, Bill Dickerson, to name a few. Hartjen was asked to be on the original board. They worked with the East Hampton Historical Society and the Marine Museum Committee. Hartjen presented the idea of a Community Boat Shop in 1998, and “it was warmly received.” Hartjen went to Job Potter and the Town Board. Potter told him, “the Board will love it.” But Rome wasn’t built in a day. Ten years later, in 2008, The Community Boat Shop became operational. It now boasts 170 members, 20 or 30 come in over time, 15-18 are steady boat crafters, and on any given day, there are 8-15 people, mostly (continued on page 20)