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Community Corner

Life in East Hampton: From Camper to Humanitarian

For over 75 years, the Gustines have been a part of East Hampton..

Nelson Gustine’s first East Hampton experience was camping on the lake. He still loves the lake as much today as he did at the age of 14.

Gustine loves to tell the story of how he met his wife Mildred, whose loss he feels deeply. Both families had cottages on the lake and one time Mildred came up behind him when he was sitting on the dock and pushed him in but he forgave her and decided to marry her.

Gustine, owner of Nelson’s Campground, was this year’s nomination for the Humanitarian of the Year from the East Hampton Lions Club. On Jan 8, Gustine joined 40 other honorees who won awards from other clubs at a dinner in Groton.

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Mary Krogh, chairperson of the Lions Club International Foundation Humanitarian Award banquet in Groton, explained the award system. “Each club submits one non-Lion person that either lives or works in their home community. The awards are decided by counties and there are four counties in our district. No one knows the semi-finalist or finalist until the banquet.”

What Gustine does for East Hampton organizations he says he does as a way of giving back to the community.

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“East Hampton as a community has been good for me, my business and my family. We have never had any problem with the town. We’ve been good neighbors. If I hear of a need, I try to help,” Gustine said. “Getting this award was very nice. It’s great they acknowledge what people are doing.”

Gustine has donated his time, talents and funds to help many East Hampton community organizations including the soccer club, the Fire Department, the Chatham Historical Society, the VFW, and the food bank.

In honor of his late wife, Mildred, Gustine donated the funds for the purchase of a special motorized bed to be put in the town’s new ambulance. Kate Morris from the East Hampton Volunteer Ambulance Assoc. said, “Nelson approached us after Mildred died and said ‘I want to get you something you need in Mildred’s name.’ We happened to be getting a new ambulance at the time. He gave us the funds for a Ferno Power Stretcher. It is a tremendous help. It saves us from lifting. The legs go up and down with a push of a button. We can just slide it into the ambulance. This is a very generous gift.”

Chatham Historical Society Director Sandy Dorn said, “Nelson has been a member and a volunteer for a long time. He has helped with fundraising. He is a past treasurer and helped institute the Christmas lottery program. It’s a good fundraiser.”

Gustine said, “I’ve been thinking about joining the Lions Club for some time and now I am going to do it. They do a lot of good things for the people here.”

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