Dan's Papers - October 6, 2006

The phrase "South of the Highway" carries connotations of elitism and seclusion from the rest of the East End communities. While this term has become as much a real estate marketing term and a quest of social climbers as anything else, the truth about living in the stretch of land south of the highway between Mecox Bay and Georgica Pond is not as much of social segregation as one of a separation of time.

If you head toward the ocean on Sagg Main you will see Sagaponack's one room school which teaches fewer than a dozen students. The concept of this type of academic institution seems absurd by today's standards and educating such a small group of students in isolation from the surrounding neighborhoods (i.e. Bridgehampton, Wainscott, East Hampton) seems to reaffirm the elitism that the area is stigmatized with, even if the desire for this educational experience is actually simply a matter of location and circumstance. As old and awkward a prospect as the one-room school house must be, the Sagg General Store is equally anchored in the history of the Village. The building, which shares space with the post office, has been a meeting place for centuries.

Further along on the heritage trail south of the highway, only two miles east, on the corner of Town Line Road and Main Street, Wainscott's one room school house stands, a testament to Wainscott's old-time way of life.

The quaintness of these three buildings, the only three public institutions in this 30 square mile community, is one of the reasons why these areas are so coveted and the economic backing behind the Village and hamlet supplies enough to preserve this small town way of life. But what is the place of one-room schools and general stores in the 21st century?

Sagaponack had to open its enrollment to students outside the district this year for the first time. It was a strategic attempt to attract parents who were interested in having their children study in what seems (to many) to be an antiquated system. Now Wainscott is facing the same challenge of boosting attendance and looks toward an open enrollment for next year's school year. Where the outside world may see teaching children from kindergarteners to third grade in the same room as a regression in the educational system, it is probably because they are picturing "Little House on the Prairie" and not a modern school with computers and advancements in technology. As a testament to a "simpler" way of life, there is still a desire for this close-knit educational mode, though most parents in the area opt to send their children to larger schools (Bridgehampton and East Hampton) or private institutions (Ross School and Hayground) for their education. This trend away from the one room doesn't seem to frighten the administration in the Wainscott school district and, in fact, they are planning on building a new school, adjacent to the current school with all the modern conveniences of a conventional school, coupled with alternative programming such as a student run farm which Dominic Annacone, school superintendent, believes will attract more students away from the generic school system.

The quest to maintain some degree of tradition on the East End seems to always be at odds with "progress." And even the historic structures and ways of life must be tailored to meet the needs and desires of the 21st century. The Sagg General Store has received a facelift and a good deal of interior renovations in order to meet current building codes. The schools open their enrollment to outside students and small town living pushes on for another year.

The doors to the Sagg General Store are now open and another traditional way of life South of the Highway has returned. If only they could tear down the spec-houses and start planting potatoes again, then there'd be some real progress into the past.