Introduction

The island is sheltered between the two forks of Long Island, and to get on or off the island, you have to take a ferry. There are two ferries: one on the north side and the other on the south side of the island. From one ferry to the other is five miles. And from Big Ram to Shell Beach is seven miles long. So when people ask me how big the island is, my reply is, “Five by seven, just like a picture frame, and twenty-five miles around if you walked around on the beach fronts.” Some people say that Shelter Island is in the shape of a witch on a broomstick, and others say a man on a horse and protected by an alligator.

The town where I was growing up was mostly all related in one way or another. All my aunts, uncles, and cousins were all living on the island as I grew up. But as I got older, many of them moved off the island or passed on. Of my family of six children, I am the last of my siblings living here on the island. My mom and I live about one-fourth of a mile from each other. In 2023, I don’t really know how many people live here on the island. There are a lot more than what I remember as a child, and no longer as many friends and relatives. The island is changing very fast; it’s not the place I loved when I was growing up.

We have a small school on the island, K-12; the average in each grade was fourteen to twenty students when I was growing up. The largest class ever was thirty-three students; this was the class of 1972, and this record still stands. I grew up helping out on a dairy farm; it was great having things to do and spending a lot of time with my grandparents. I love animals, and you will see a small example of growing up on a small farm. There is some tragedy in my life. You will see how my family and I get through it. Due to a falling out with one of my sisters, I will not be using her name. I will just say “my sister,” but she is really one-half sister. So I will start my story.