October 14, 2023 – Saturday – After postponing the parade previously due to inclement weather, the Town of East Hampton lucked out in the morning with a few hours of no rain – just cloudy skies.
This year’s Grand Marshal was Chief Robert Pharaoh of the Montauketts, as announced last month by Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc. “The members of the Montauk Indian Nation were the original indigenous inhabitants of the area that in 1648 was incorporated into the Town of East Hampton. While the tribe continues to exist, “even after losing its original homelands, including areas of Montauk such as Indian Field, to the developer Arthur Benson and to others in the late 1800s and the turn of the century,” it is “struggling to have New York State reinstate their formal recognition as a tribe after being stripped of that status by a court in 1910.” *The East Hampton Star – September 12, 2023 – Christopher Walsh reporting.
Participating in the parade, in addition to Chief Robert Pharaoh of the Montauketts, was East Hampton’s Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc and councilpersons Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, David Lys, and Cate Rogers. Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming joined town board members as the parade traveled from the Presbyterian Church on Main Street and around the corner to Newtown Lane, ending at the railroad station.
Following were the East Hampton Town Trustees, the oldest body of government founded in 1686. Today, the Trustees continue to be stewards of the waterways, beaches, and environment in general, with new responsibilities that have evolved over time that concern the fisheries, coastal erosion, and renewable energy for our community. Clerk of the Trustees, Francis Bock, and Trustees John Aldred, David Cataletto, Tim Garneau, and Susan McGraw-Keber were on hand along with Susan’s friend and East Hampton Shellfish Hatchery oyster farming partner, Southampton Town Trustee, Ann Welker.
Aboard the Trustee’s pump-out boat that is used in Three Mile and Montauk Harbors to remove waste from boats at no charge, were the members of the Middle School’s Surfrider Junior Club, headed by their teacher and Trustee, David Cataletto. The parade featured members of each of the town’s hamlet’s fire departments, staff and volunteers of the EMS, the East Hampton Town and Village police department members, the East Hampton Historical Society that provided two floats with replicas of the Village Town Hall and Clinton Academy, East Hampton’s Ocean Rescue, and the Ladies Village Improvement Society (LVIS) members.
Photos Susan McGraw-Keber – EH Town Trustee