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Arts & Entertainment

The Story Behind the Origins of Tonight's 3Mile Harbor Fireworks

How it all began and why...

Tonight in Three Mile harbor in East Hampton there will be filled with a flotilla of sailboats and powerboats to watch the amazing display of fireworks. Thousands more will watch at private homes around the harbor, as well as from the decks of the posh restaurants. The one person who created the concept in 1979 will not be there. That would be Tony Duke who told me a few years back that he will forever be proud of the fact that for so many years so many families, residents, and visitors were able to have a special moment watching the fireworks. He was also proud that through those fireworks he helped raise millions of dollars for the vision he had at age 19, back in 1937, to help the less fortunate. In 2005, the event raised over one million dollars that very night. The story of his Boys and Girls Harbor summer camp in East Hampton is a closed book, however its legacy will live on forever in the over 30,000 young underprivileged kids who attended the summer camps over the years. He was glad the tradition of the fireworks over the harbor is continuing, although he personally is not involved.

Mr. Duke recalled how the first year they used the Grucci family to stage the fireworks; the contracted cost was $27,000. Tony recalls, “Old man Grucci, the father, called me and said he wanted to see the camp himself. I offered to show him around but he wanted to see it by himself. That night he came to me just as the fireworks were to begin. He asked for the contract, worried I sent my oldest son Tony to get it from my office, when he returned I nervously handed it to Mr. Grucci as everybody was waiting for the fireworks to begin. He looked me in the eye and ripped up the contract. From then on the fireworks were his donation to the camp. In the end it was $50,000 worth of fireworks for the charity at no cost.”

Of course the special guests and wonderful donors, some donating $25,000, are memories that Tony Duke cherishes along with sharing it with his family. However an episode that first comes to mind was ten years back he noticed a handsome 52’ Ketch floating off the camp flying a French flag. “I grabbed a boat and went out to see who it was. With my limited French language skills, (Tony participated in the Normandy Invasion of World War II) I spoke with the visitors who thought it was great we were celebrating Bastille Day!” he recalls with a hearty chuckle. For many years he remains in touch with the French visitors who made it a yearly event to come to the fireworks. This is just a small window into the personal touch Tony Duke has, a touch that opens others up to share his vision.

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In a celebrated life, Tony’s modesty is sobering. An example of his inventory of amazing life experiences is the story of a summer break from Princeton that had him on a chartered sailboat cruising the waters to go to Martha’s Vineyard. He said to me, “One friend says we must stop off in Hyannis port to pick up Jack, off course Jack was Jack Kennedy, who after the five day sail became a dear friend of mine.”

The wonderful thing is Tony Duke took time out from his busy schedule to pen a wonderful autobiography that is a must read for anybody who loves the Hampton’s. UNCHARTERED COURSE, (Bayview Press) and is available via Amazon.com. The personal story of Tony Duke’s life experiences is a must read. Perhaps being around young children for so many years is why Mr. Duke stayed so active for so long. Yet this also is a man whose mother and stepfather had the Duke and Duchess of Windsor as houseguest yearly in Southampton after WWII.

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Sadly Anthony Drexel (Tony) Duke Sr. passed away today April 30,2014 at the age of 95. He had an amazing life. I wrote this story two summers ago and I thought I should re issue it. I had spent an afternoon with him, he was the quintessential gentleman from an era when that meant everything.

Tonight when you see the cloudburst upon cloudburst of fabulous fireworks above Three Mile Harbor say a toast to Tony Duke; the man who could have spent his life toasting himself, but instead worked to help so many others, less fortunate than himself.

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