My sister Linda loves passing on East End story ideas to me, and often they’re pretty darned good. But sometimes, when I am particularly overloaded by the amount of stories and edits and scheduling and other myriad tasks and work that have to get done in a given week over at Northforker and Southforker, some of those good ideas fall through the cracks.
I sense her frustration with me in these moments (although she’s always super nice about it; thanks, big sis!).
But sometimes those story ideas are just so great and want to be written so badly they find their way past my oversaturated attention span and into the capable hands of my staffers. One of those stories Linda lobbed and I missed was fortunately caught by senior editor Stephanie Villani. It’s the tale of the sailing vessel the Selina II, whose new captain is the thoroughly fascinating Luna Crowley, great-granddaughter of Frank Mundus, the sea captain who inspired the salty, hardscrabble character of Quint in Jaws. Stephanie got the incredible story of this captain, and all that came before her, from the lessons learned through Crowley’s great-aunt and talented sailor Pat Mundus, to the Selina II ’s prior stalwart steward, Capt. Iris Robertson. And if you missed the part above where all the sailors in this story are female? Well, pick up the article and read all about them. (And if you’re inspired to get out on the water afterward, check out some must-haves from Zuke’s Bait & Tackle in Mattituck!)
Sailing is such an iconic summer activity, which is why this story fits so well in our August Endless Summer issue. But there are, of course, iconic happenings on land, too, like Riverhead’s annual Polish Festival, which gathers and celebrates the Polish community, who settled in Riverhead around the turn of the last century, fleeing religious persecution and seeking a better life. Today, the Polish Festival is a much-loved moment every single summer here, and writer Maria Pietromonaco and photographer Jeremy Garretson did a really great job capturing it.
If you missed it so far this season, mahjong is suddenly hotter than August pavement, with games popping up across both forks all summer long. Staff writer Parker Schug sat in on a few rounds and got the scoop on why this ancient game of tiles is suddenly having a moment on the East End.
I can’t believe it’s been 14 years since Lido owners Heidi Kelso and Grant Cowell opened their shop. I hate to say it, but sometimes I overlook the places that have been around a while (like some of my poor sister’s story ideas), taking for granted that they’re always there. I happened to go in one day last winter and bought a rug, which Cowell offered to deliver (for free) to Shelter Island the next time he was over there. I didn’t tell him where I worked; he just offered, like he would to any customer. It reminded me that places like this are such great community members, and I wanted to learn more about him and his partner and co-owner Heidi Kelso — and not just about the sourcing and inspiration for their lovely, breezy summery clothes and unique home items sold in their Main Street shop. I wanted to know more about them and what drew them to settle down — and stay — in Greenport. Because I’m really glad they did.
We’ve got a whole bunch of other end-of-summer treats here, too, and I hope you get to slow down, enjoy these pages and these last few weeks of the season. (And if the typeface is too small or too light for you, I swear we’re not doing it to make you mad. We’re just trying to fit it all in, like all the fun stuff left on the calendar to do this summer.) Go get sandy and salty, friends.
Amy Zavatto
Editor-in-chief
