Top 10 DansPapers.com Stories of 2018: A Look Back

Here are the Top 10 stories you, our readers, read, shared and enjoyed on DansPapers.com during the year that was 2018. Click the links to check them out in full, and make sure to peruse this website to find more of our annual year-end lists on celebrities, wine, art, dining, real estate and more highlights from 2018. Some are online now, while others will pop up throughout the coming days.

Tell us your favorite DansPapers.com stories from 2018 in the comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter.

One Particular Harbor
Looking back through the lens of time, “National Archives Releases 1950 ‘Sag Harbor, U.S.A.’ Video” took us on a nostalgic tour of the whaling village turned manufacturing center, with rare glimpses at the Sag Harbor Cinema, Old Whalers’ Church, Long Wharf and other timeless symbols that remain today.

We’ll Pink to That
The most successful Dan’s Taste of Summer series ever kicked off in the Hamptons on Memorial Day Weekend with Dan’s Rosé Soirée. Four months earlier, readers got their pink on with “2018 Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Bon Jovi Debuts Hampton Water Rosé,” a toast to East Hampton’s Jon Bon Jovi and son Jesse Bongiovi releasing Diving Into Hampton Water, which was named Top Rosé in the World by Wine Spectator.

Sometimes, More Is More
When Ron Perelman was planning work and updates to his 57-acre property on Georgica Pond this past March, instead of trying to cut down on multiple variance requests by the Zoning Board of Appeals, he upped the ante—including his offer to nearly double the requested amount of revegetated indigenous flora—and got a tip of the cap in “Hats Off to Perelman: Billionaire Gives More Than Zoning Board Asks For.”

What’s Old Is New Again
When America’s oldest same-family-owned restaurant changed hands in March, “Claudio’s Sold After 147 Years of Family Ownership in Greenport” served up the news that all three of the Claudio’s businesses—Claudio’s Restaurant, Claudio’s Clam Bar and Crabby Jerry’s—would keep their names and remain open.

That’s a Lot of Dough
Kathleen King was 11 years old when she began selling cookies at her family farm right here in the Hamptons. In 2014, she sold her Tate’s Bake Shop business for $100 million. Then this past May, “Riverside Sells Tate’s Bake Shop to Oreo Owner Mondelēz for $500 Million” continued the story of how a local baker with a simple, singular concept became an international sensation.

Forever in Our Hearts
Grief was not a strong enough word to describe the community’s reaction to the devastating news that one of the Hamptons’ most beloved couples and their grandson had died in June. “Remembering Ben and Bonnie Krupinski After Fatal Air Tragedy” brought an outpouring of emotion and memories of the many ways in which the Krupinskis contributed to bettering the lives of so many on the East End, and how their legacy will endure.

Course of History
The 123rd U.S. Open Golf Championship in June was the fifth ever played at the Southampton course. “Shinnecock Hills Golf Club Then and Now: A Century of U.S. Open Play” was your ticket to an illustrious, controversial and entertaining look at a quintet of long walks spoiled.

What The ?!@?
Was it a sea turtle? A raccoon? Something that escaped from Plum Island? The only thing we know for sure is that “The Montauk Monster Legend Endures 10 Years After It Broke the Internet” proved the freakish creature lives on in our collective consciousness.

Donald Trump’s Hamptons Lunch Date
On August 17, President Trump paid a visit to the Hamptons, flying into Gabreski Airport to attend a Trump Victory Fund luncheon in Southampton. “Trump Chaos: The President Will Visit the Hamptons on Friday” told readers not just of impending traffic, but also the reassuring news that, at least briefly, the skies would be silent amid suspension of all air traffic.

Eyes on the Storm (Part I, Part II, Part III)
Eighty years after the Long Island Express laid waste to the East End, September’s three-part “Hurricane of 1938” story took readers on a historic, horrifying ride through the prelude, path, arrival and aftermath of this most destructive of storms, whose impact is felt to this day.