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Kate and Jim McMullan with French bulldogs Pinkie (left) and Toby (right). (Annette Hinkle photo).[/caption]
By Annette Hinkle
Given the pace of building in and around Sag Harbor these days, it would appear the village has become the place to be, for better and for worse.
But as many well-heeled second homeowners discover Sag Harbor’s charms for the first time, other longtime residents are quietly exiting stage left — saying goodbye to this place they have loved and for years called home.
Among the ranks of soon-to-be-former Sag Harbor residents are Jim and Kate McMullan. He’s a renowned artist known for his iconic theater posters for Lincoln Center Theater productions. She’s a well-known children’s book author whose credits include a long list of picture books, some of which have been illustrated by her husband, including “I Stink,” which was named a best illustrated book by the New York Times in 2002.
In their 35 plus years in Sag Harbor, the McMullans have made friends, gotten to know every incarnation of every restaurant on Main Street and shared stories about their art and writing with students at Sag Harbor Elementary School during morning program.
Now they are selling their home on Upper Sag Harbor Cove and heading back to the city where they will rent a one-bedroom apartment on Central Park West.
While the move makes sense —daughter Leigh and son-in-law Adam, who also live in the city, recently welcomed their first child, Arthur (“He’s just old enough to be taken to the swings in Central Park,” notes Ms. McMullan) — they can’t help but be a bit melancholy about giving up a place that has been such a big part of their life for so many years.
Mr. McMullan discovered Sag Harbor by default in 1970 when a realtor brought him here out of desperation. At that point, he recalls, no one was much interested in Sag Harbor. Because he was friends with theater producer and choreographer Jerome Robbins, his realtor assumed he had south of the highway pretentions.
“But I didn’t have a lot of money and she showed me horrible places I could afford near the tracks,” explains Mr. McMullan. “I said is that all you have? She said, ‘Yes… unless you want to live in Sag Harbor.’”
Among the two houses for sale on Bluff Point Road that day was a 1950s modern which had been on the market for more than a year. No one wanted it — despite the fact it was right on the water.
“The girl I was dating then was a dancer. She didn’t even come inside,” says Mr. McMullan. “I was put off by the house. It was empty and smelled of mold. She just sat on the deck outside.”
“She said, ‘If you don’t buy this house you’re crazy,’” he adds. “She was paying attention to detail.”
“I’m deeply grateful to that girlfriend,” grins Ms. McMullan, who came along a few years later. “Jim brought me out here in ’77. I’m a St. Louis girl and had never heard of the Hamptons or Sag Harbor. He brought me in this house, I looked out at the view and it was like Lake of the Ozarks.”
“This was a real working class neighborhood. There were lots of Long Island blue collar retirees,” she adds. “I loved it. I had no idea what kind of community it was.”
But they soon found out what kind of community it was and quickly made friends with the writers, editors, advertising folks and artists who had already discovered Sag Harbor.
“I got to know Elaine Steinbeck a little bit,” recalls Mr. McMullan. “Peter Matthiessen I played tennis with, and there was Paul and Myrna Davis, of course. I had known them in the city, because we were all part of Pushpin Studios.”
“They were the creative types who weren’t fabulously wealthy. Some, like [E.L.] Doctorow, became more successful than others,” adds Mr. McMullan. “I still have friends in this community from 1970 that we’ve known through several marriages. We can’t replace these friendships later in life. You need a certain amount of water under the bridge.”
“We’re going to miss the town and miss the people,” he adds. “We hope we can keep up the connection.”
The McMullans also remember the places that made Sag Harbor what it was back then, including the many bars and restaurants that lined Main Street. In the days before farmers markets they shopped at Gristedes, which was terrible, and ate at the Paradise, which was wonderful.
“It was so uncool it was hip,” says Ms. McMullan of the long-gone diner, a veritable Sag Harbor institution.
“I found this so much more interesting than the other towns out here,” adds Mr. McMullan. “Ted [Conklin] was just starting out at The American Hotel and we had our wedding reception there. It was pretty new then.”
Though the years have since brought more people and money to Sag Harbor, Mr. McMullan finds there has been an upside to the recent influx.
“I think more people are spending winters here and that’s made it more interesting socially,” he says. “It’s sort of a bonding experience going through the winter with your friends and you get to know people in a different way.”
“I think it’s a wonderful town, but I fear for it,” he adds. “You do wonder are we even middle class anymore. The money is so huge, it’s hard not to feel that something else is taking over.”
“There are so many diligent people working to keep it Sag Harbor,” adds Ms. McMullan. “Save Sag Harbor is so great. I hope they can win the battles that they’re fighting.”
