Prudence Carabine is trying to revive a group that wants to preserve the Bonac culture.
Prudence Carabine’s family has lived in East Hampton for 12 generations and arrived there in 1648 on one of the first European boats to reach the local shores, she said.
On Sunday, Ms. Carabine and a group of East Hampton and Springs residents hosted a gathering for the Sons and Daughters of East Hampton, a group of longtime Bonackers whose often large families are closely intertwined with local history.
Sunday’s meeting was the first since the Covid-19 pandemic and was held at the East Hampton Historical Farm Museum on North Main Street, which is directed by Ms. Carabine.
The group, formerly known as the Lost Tribe of Accabonac, was originally formed in the 1970s in response to a waning sense of community among the long-established farming and fishing families of Springs and East Hampton. Originally, about 100 families attended meetings.
“This place was a small town for 10 months of the year, with very close ties,” Ms. Carabine said. But over time, many people noticed that they hardly felt the sense of community they had in earlier years. Generational families saw the influx of wealth grow. The community “accepted it” because the growth offered job opportunities, such as building homes for newcomers. Local families “understood the value of what we have here in terms of the environment and community,” Ms. Carabine said. “There are two different cultures here, one that has little to do with reality and the other that makes a living farming, fishing and mowing lawns.”
“We’ve always had movie stars, we’ve always had writers, we’ve always had kings and queens from all over the world,” she added. “It wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was that they suddenly decided to buy here or live here.” In the past, she said, the market was “fairer” because the amounts involved were much smaller.
Nevertheless, the original Lost Tribe of Accabonac grew over the years, reaching its peak with about 300 families attending the twice-yearly meetings.
Several years later, Carabine said, the New York Assembly passed new laws restricting the Bonac’s traditional fishing methods. While farming families like Carabine’s continued to prosper, fishing families struggled.
Following a series of fishing-related arrests under the new laws, including singer Billy Joel, local fishermen were given the opportunity to address the assembly about the impact of the regulations on the Bonac’s lifestyle.
Ms. Carabine said many of the people who traveled to Albany to defend their livelihoods were not used to speaking in public and may have been shy or felt more comfortable speaking their minds with some proverbial liquid courage.
The address to the assembly did not make much of an impression. One MP reportedly told the group to go home and find another job. The restrictions on the fishing industry have hit the town hard, said Ms Carabine.
“The fishermen had nothing to sell,” Ms. Carabine continued. “Many of them left angry and depressed and never recovered. Some of them stayed and drank and never recovered. It became a very sad milestone for our town.” The fishermen were told they were “basically good for nothing” and “their way of life was worthless,” she said.
“It wasn’t a job, it was a way of life that was passed down,” Ms. Carabine said by phone. The work on the boats was hard. The boats would leave around 3 or 4 a.m. and take a small group of men or women out to sea to catch fish with a net.
The pandemic brought another wave of change. Many longtime residents took the “big money” and left, she said. Many moved south. One man she knew moved to Texas to work on an oil rig and came back every now and then to fish.
“Our numbers started to shrink very quickly,” Ms. Carabine said, noting that the number of locals who have lived here for a long time has dropped to about a third of what it was five years ago.
Community members began asking Ms. Carabine about her interest in reviving the organization, whose old name seemed outdated and not “right” in 2024.
At Sunday’s “Sons and Daughters of East Hampton” event, about 50 Bonackers gathered for a potluck. The museum featured birdhouses built by Jim Brooks, all replicas of historic East Hampton buildings such as The East Hampton Star and 1770 House.
Hugh King, East Hampton Village Historian, was also present at the meeting and asked a series of questions about local history. Joanne Friedland Roberts showed a trailer for her documentary film, “The Bonackers,” which explores local culture.
“Things change. We know things change – for 380 years, we know things change,” Ms. Carabine said. Yet “we still feel like this is one of the most beautiful places on Earth to live.”
