Bonackers
Encyclopedia
Bonackers is the name for a native people of the Springs
area of East Hampton, New York
.
families who live in an area called Springs (never, in local parlance, "the Springs") in the north of the Town of East Hampton, New York (although it has also, for several decades, quite commonly been used to refer to the residents of East Hampton in general). Many of the original Bonac families in Springs were among the very early settlers of the town, having come from England, possibly Kent
or Dorchester, Dorset, in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The family names associated for generations with the term "Bonacker" include Miller, King, Bennett, Conklin, Havens, Strong and Lester.
The term Bonacker comes from Accabonac Harbor, which in turn derives its name from Montaukett
/Algonquian languages
term for "root place," or "place of ground nuts" (in most interpretations referring to potatoes).
For some three hundred years, Bonackers made their living as baymen, fishermen, and farmers. Clams and clamming—both hardshell and softshell—were at the heart of Bonac culture and cuisine. Bonac specialties include clam pie, clam fritters, oysters, clam chowder (traditionally, never made with milk, but with tomatoes), bluefish, porgies, blowfish, eel, and blue crabs. The "bay" referred to in relation to a Bonac bayman was Gardiner's Bay, the shoal bay just east of Springs (now often mistakenly called Napeague Bay, a body of water actually to the north and east of Gardiner's). Some Bonac men sometimes also worked at the old Smith Meal plant in Promised Land
on Gardiner's Bay, manning boats fishing for menhaden
. Gardiner's Bay was the Bonackers' back yard.
In addition to clams, scallops were once also central to Bonac cuisine, but following a die-off in the 1980s, the scallop stocks never recovered.
During the Great Depression, there was great poverty in Springs, and the community got by, as it had for so many generations, by fishing and farming. Until the late 20th century, Springs was an isolated hamlet, without bus service, train service, or even many automobiles. As late as the 1940s, children walked some ten miles, there and back, to attend high school in the village, on Newtown Lane (where East Hampton Middle School now is). It was a very tight-knit community; the Presbyterian Church was an important gathering place.
Now nearly lost forever, there was once a thriving local Bonac dialect, which held strong into the middle of the last century. Today, the Bonac accent is in the process of being lost to the New York City speech patterns of the western portion of Long Island. The Bonac accent is said to be akin to the spoken language of the working class settlers who came from England in the 17th century; and it is also, remarkably, said to be akin to accents of fishing cultures farther down the Atlantic coast, in the Carolinas, for instance, where similar groups of Englishmen settled around the same time. In Bonac, the word "pie," to give one example, was rendered as "poy." (As in, famously: "Boy goy that's good poy.") Archaic English words survived in Bonac dialect into the 20th century, such as the word "wickus" for rascal. There are only a handful of Bonac speakers left.
Bonackers often also proudly refer to themselves as "bubs" or "bubbies," as in the trademark phrase: "Yes, yes, bub!" A Bonacker wasn't a Bonacker, a bubby wasn't a bubby, unless he had a pickup truck with a Labrador retriever riding in the back.
In the 20th and now 21st century, nearly all Bonackers were forced out of their traditional livelihoods, and found work in support industries for wealthy vacationers and weekenders on the East End of Long Island. The Bonacker culture has been assaulted by rocketing housing prices on the South Fork—now known worldwide as part of the resort area called, by non-locals, "the Hamptons" -- and by troubles in the fishing stocks (troubles both environmental and economic, as well as resulting from controversial Federal government regulation of fishing).
Bonac culture was eulogized in the 1979 book "The South Fork" by Everett Rattray, the longtime editor of the local paper, The East Hampton Star. And, in the early 1980s, the heiress Adelaide de Menil Carpenter -- who later donated several historic buildings to serve as the new Town Hall complex in the Village of East Hampton—conducted several hours of interviews on the culture; those tapes now can be found in the East Hampton Library.
The East Hampton High School sports teams are called The Bonackers, a team that which led a 5-1 record in 2009 before making the playoffs.
Among the phrases attributed to Bonac culture (in addition to those mentioned above):
Springs, New York
Springs is a census-designated place roughly corresponding to the hamlet by the same name in the town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the hamlet population was 4,950...
area of East Hampton, New York
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
.
History
The name traditionally refers specifically to the working classWorking class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
families who live in an area called Springs (never, in local parlance, "the Springs") in the north of the Town of East Hampton, New York (although it has also, for several decades, quite commonly been used to refer to the residents of East Hampton in general). Many of the original Bonac families in Springs were among the very early settlers of the town, having come from England, possibly Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
or Dorchester, Dorset, in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The family names associated for generations with the term "Bonacker" include Miller, King, Bennett, Conklin, Havens, Strong and Lester.
The term Bonacker comes from Accabonac Harbor, which in turn derives its name from Montaukett
Montaukett
The Montaukett is an Algonquian-speaking Native American group native to the eastern end of Long Island, New York and one of the thirteen historical indigenous centers...
/Algonquian languages
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
term for "root place," or "place of ground nuts" (in most interpretations referring to potatoes).
For some three hundred years, Bonackers made their living as baymen, fishermen, and farmers. Clams and clamming—both hardshell and softshell—were at the heart of Bonac culture and cuisine. Bonac specialties include clam pie, clam fritters, oysters, clam chowder (traditionally, never made with milk, but with tomatoes), bluefish, porgies, blowfish, eel, and blue crabs. The "bay" referred to in relation to a Bonac bayman was Gardiner's Bay, the shoal bay just east of Springs (now often mistakenly called Napeague Bay, a body of water actually to the north and east of Gardiner's). Some Bonac men sometimes also worked at the old Smith Meal plant in Promised Land
Napeague, New York
Napeague is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name in the town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States...
on Gardiner's Bay, manning boats fishing for menhaden
Menhaden
Menhaden, also known as mossbunker, bunker and pogy, are forage fish of the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium, two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae.-Description:...
. Gardiner's Bay was the Bonackers' back yard.
In addition to clams, scallops were once also central to Bonac cuisine, but following a die-off in the 1980s, the scallop stocks never recovered.
During the Great Depression, there was great poverty in Springs, and the community got by, as it had for so many generations, by fishing and farming. Until the late 20th century, Springs was an isolated hamlet, without bus service, train service, or even many automobiles. As late as the 1940s, children walked some ten miles, there and back, to attend high school in the village, on Newtown Lane (where East Hampton Middle School now is). It was a very tight-knit community; the Presbyterian Church was an important gathering place.
Now nearly lost forever, there was once a thriving local Bonac dialect, which held strong into the middle of the last century. Today, the Bonac accent is in the process of being lost to the New York City speech patterns of the western portion of Long Island. The Bonac accent is said to be akin to the spoken language of the working class settlers who came from England in the 17th century; and it is also, remarkably, said to be akin to accents of fishing cultures farther down the Atlantic coast, in the Carolinas, for instance, where similar groups of Englishmen settled around the same time. In Bonac, the word "pie," to give one example, was rendered as "poy." (As in, famously: "Boy goy that's good poy.") Archaic English words survived in Bonac dialect into the 20th century, such as the word "wickus" for rascal. There are only a handful of Bonac speakers left.
Bonackers often also proudly refer to themselves as "bubs" or "bubbies," as in the trademark phrase: "Yes, yes, bub!" A Bonacker wasn't a Bonacker, a bubby wasn't a bubby, unless he had a pickup truck with a Labrador retriever riding in the back.
In the 20th and now 21st century, nearly all Bonackers were forced out of their traditional livelihoods, and found work in support industries for wealthy vacationers and weekenders on the East End of Long Island. The Bonacker culture has been assaulted by rocketing housing prices on the South Fork—now known worldwide as part of the resort area called, by non-locals, "the Hamptons" -- and by troubles in the fishing stocks (troubles both environmental and economic, as well as resulting from controversial Federal government regulation of fishing).
Bonac culture was eulogized in the 1979 book "The South Fork" by Everett Rattray, the longtime editor of the local paper, The East Hampton Star. And, in the early 1980s, the heiress Adelaide de Menil Carpenter -- who later donated several historic buildings to serve as the new Town Hall complex in the Village of East Hampton—conducted several hours of interviews on the culture; those tapes now can be found in the East Hampton Library.
The East Hampton High School sports teams are called The Bonackers, a team that which led a 5-1 record in 2009 before making the playoffs.
Popular culture
- Amagansett, by Mark Mills, a best-selling novel featuring a fictionalized version of the Edwards family, an old fishing and whaling clan from Amagansett (home to sub-sets of some Bonac clans, including the "Posy" Lesters)
- Downeaster 'Alexa' by Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
- 1988 which has the lyrics:
- I was a bayman like my father was before
- Can't make a living as a bayman anymore
- There ain't much future for a man who works the sea
- But there ain't no island left for islanders like me
- The Great Bonacker Whisky War:An Entertainment by Ralph Maloney
- Boston: Little Brown, (1967.) Described as fast,
- funny amorous and exciting, this novel, set during Prohibition in
- the 1920's, is the story of a young man who kept his boat in gas
- by a little amateur bootlegging - until the professionals moved
- in. The author supported himself for much of his career as a
- bartender, and he states that he got a lot of his material for
- his books from this career. 212 pp.
Among the phrases attributed to Bonac culture (in addition to those mentioned above):
- East Coast Clam Clan - A tight knit syndicate of Clammers. Like a secret society, never publicly speaking of their daily catch to others, and have a strict and true regiment. Their main catch is the hard shell clam but often stray away (based on seasons) and collect oysters, mussels, and/or scallops. They have been know to "rape land" in a few hours with very large clams rakes.
- b'low the bridge - A reference that they must travel north below a Long Island Rail RoadLong Island Rail RoadThe Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
trestle in order to reach Springs from East Hampton Village
- from away - Anybody coming from outside of East Hampton (a phrase common through-out East Hampton)
- Upisland - Anywhere west of the Shinnecock CanalShinnecock CanalThe Shinnecock Canal is a canal that cuts across the South Fork of Long Island at Hampton Bays, New York. At long, it connects Great Peconic Bay and the north fork of Long Island with Shinnecock Bay and the Atlantic Ocean...
- Clam the tide out - one of the last to leave a party or meeting
- I wouldn't get inside 10 clam rakes of you - I wouldn't touch you—or that—with a 10-foot pole.
- Catty-Wumper - when something is out of kilter or whack
- "upstreet" versus "downstreet" -- until the late-20th century, this was a common geographic locator in the town of East Hampton, as well as an implied class distinction. Traditionally, to go "Upstreet" meant south along Main Street, in the direction of the business district; To go "Downstreet" meant to travel North along Main Street, to the "other side of the tracks," so to speak.
- Yes yes bub - A saying used to agree with another.
- A couple two tree - Used to explain an amount of anything.
- Finest Kind - The best of the best! also a Commercial Fishing boat located at Commercial Dock
- 'Em Guys in Green - NYS DEC
- Dodge City - Sag Harbor
- Sharpie - Home made wooden boat, flat bottom anywhere from 14 to 20 ft give or take.