BACK WHEN

50 YEARS AGO


Government sells island


For more than a year we’ve been listening to rumors that the federal government was seeking a buyer for a neighboring island. Now, a report from Washington would seem to button everything up. The island is named North Dumpling and it has definitely been sold. This bare, rocky protrusion of 3 3/4 acres lies some 10 miles from Shelter Island … The General Services Administration received an offer of $18,000 from George Washburn of East Hampton and New York City. He is the new owner. • SEPTEMBER 12, 1959


25 YEARS AGO


School opens with enrollment of 283


School Superintendent Frederick Bement announced Monday night at the Board of Education meeting that the total number of students in the Shelter Island Free School District as of September 5 totaled 283. This number breaks down into 276 students who attend Shelter Island School, with the remaining 7 students receiving instruction either in the home or at off-Island institutions. • SEPTEMBER 13, 1984


10 YEARS AGO


Mosquito problem bugs Town Board


The debate over whether to spray parts of Shelter Island to control localized infestations of mosquitoes heated up during Tuesday’s Town Board meeting. The issue started earlier this year with complaints from Ram Island area property owners that they were being made miserable by the swarms of mosquitoes that were imprisoning them inside their own homes … [T]he board decided to withhold a spraying request to the county absent an identified public health risk. • SEPTEMBER 9, 1999