Historic Pelham

Presenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.

Friday, July 31, 2015

Tillie's Rock, A Swimming Hole Paradise for the Boys and Men of Pelham


Tillie’s Rock was Pelham’s aquatic playground for boys and men in the early twentieth century and, likely, for many years before.  It was a beautiful and private place on the Long Island Sound where most of the time the water was sufficiently deep even during low tide to permit diving and swimming in the cool, refreshing waters near Hunter’s Island. It was, in short, Pelham's favorite swimming hole in the old days.

Tillie’s Rock, is a so-called "glacial erratic" (i.e, a boulder carried to the spot and deposited there eons ago by glacial activity).  It is located on the outermost northeastern tip of Hunter’s Island.  Essentially it sits on a stony promontory extending into the waters of the Sound at the north-northeast end of Hunter’s Island. 


Tillie’s Rock Area in 2012.
The Erratic Actually Known as "Tilley's Rock"
is the Boulder on the Far Right.  Photograph
Courtesy of Jorge Santiago.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

For decades, the men and boys of Pelham climbed aboard the Pelham Manor Trolley that ran from the Pelham Train Station (at the border of the Villages of North Pelham and Pelham) and rode it along Wolfs Lane, making a left onto Colonial Avenue and a right onto Pelhamdale Avenue, following Pelhamdale to the end of the line at Shore Road near Travers Island, picking up passengers along the way.  Those intending to visit Tilley's Rock then took a three-mile hike along Shore Road to the rickety wooden causeway that connected Hunter’s Island to Shore Road on the mainland.  They followed the old road and pathways across Hunter’s Island to its northeast tip where they plunged into the cool waters at Tillie’s Rock.  Over time, the reference "Tillie's Rock" came to mean more than the glacial boulder that bears the name.  It came to mean the bathing area anchored by the famous rock.

It may seem odd to refer to Tillie’s Rock as an aquatic playground for boys and men.  However, before the advent of Orchard Beach, Tillie’s Rock was so distant and private that bathers often swam and played “au natural” there,  Thus, the area became a favorite haunt for boys and men -- not women.  As one account put it, Tillie’s Rock was “a sanctuary where the male of the species may enjoy a sunbath or a dip in the cooling waters of Long Island Sound without benefit of a bathing suit or danger of surprise by any picnicing [sic] parties.”

With the construction of Orchard Beach and the completion of filling Pelham Bay to join Hunter's Island to the mainland during the 1930s, the area became far more easily accessible.  The loss of privacy seems to have taken its toll on what once was considered Pelham's idyllic swimming hole.  Moreover, as at least two news accounts suggest, by the mid-1930s, there was a police crackdown on nude bathing near Tillie's Rock.  

There was a time when virtually every young boy and man in Pelham knew Tillie's Rock and how to get there.  Today, however, most Pelhamites have never heard of Tillie's Rock.  

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog collects and transcribes a series of newspaper articles and other published material that mentions Tillie's Rock.  Each is followed by a citation to its source and, where available, a link.

"TILLY'S ROCK.  A large boulder on the easternmost ledge off Hunter Island was known by this name for many years by the hardy campers.  the origin of the name is obscure, and it might be named after someone named Matilda.  A second theory is that it served as a navigational marker for old-time sailors to take tiller and change course.  They called it Tiller Rock."

Source:  McNamara, John, History in Asphalt:  The Origin of Bronx Street and Place Names, p. 405 (The Bronx, NY:  Bronx County Historical Society, 1996) (paperback version reprinted by The Bronx County Historical Society, Copyright 1978, 1984, 1991, 1996).

Police Put An Early End To Nudism at Favorite ‘Tillie’s Rock’ Resort
-----

According to reports, summer must have arrived one month too early.  Officially June 21 is set for the beginning of the summer season, but with thunder storms, white flannels and straw hats appearing early this year, all indications point toward a hasty summer.  However all suspicions were confirmed on Monday, May 21, when eleven men were arrested for bathing in the nude at Hunter’s Island.  When its warm enough to attract the nudists to ‘Tillie’s Rock,’ summer has certainly arrived.

The New York City Park Department has issued a warning that bathing will not be permitted in the Pelham Bay Park territory this summer because of water pollution, and that edict is also directed against the favorite resort of men and boys at the outermost tip of Hunter’s Island, which has long been known to those worthies who do not object to a three mile hike for privacy, as ‘Tillie’s Rock.’  The long walk from the end of the ‘Toonerville Trolley’ line at Pelhamdale Avenue and the Shore Road has made this almost a sanctuary where the male of the species may enjoy a sunbath or a dip in the cooling waters of Long Island Sound without benefit of a bathing suit or danger of surprise by any picnicing [sic] parties.

Old timers will tell you that even when the Beecroft boys, Edgar, Chester, and Jim used to make Hunter Island their favorite haunt, many years ago, ‘Tillie’s Rock,’ was a popular resort for what is now known as nudism of the strictly male variety. 

However, times have changed and alterations to the bridle paths in Pelham Bay Park have permitted the use of old trails on Hunter Island by equestrians.  Then, too, the New Rochelle – Port Washington ferry follows a channel not so far distant from ‘Tillie Rock.’  It was the ferry boat that proved the undoing of Monday’s bathers and sun tanners.  The sudden summer weather had attracted many to ‘Tillie’s Rock’ and likewise proved a boon for many who sought relief from the sudden heat spell.  It is reported that a group of each variety of relief seekers came in the neighborhood of ‘Tillie’s Rock’ at precisely the same time and –--

When the ferry boat reached port in New Rochelle a hurry telephone call was sent to the police precinct in Pelham Bay Park and it was not long before the sun-tanned group of eleven men were herded into the Night Court in the Bronx.  Inasmuch as they were the first such offenders of the season, Magistrate William A. Farrell suspended sentence with a warning.

Moral – Keep away from ‘Tillie’s rock.’”

Source:  Police Put An Early End To Nudism at Favorite‘Tillie’s Rock’ Resort, The Pelham Sun, May 25, 1934, p. 13, cols. 1-2.

’Tillie’s Rock’ Boyhood’s Favorite Swimming Hole, Neglected for Years, Will Be Part of New Orchard Beach
-----
Hunter Island Beach was Once Man’s Paradise; Now To Be Included in Mile Long Beach Constructed By Park Department and W.P.A. Will Open Wednesday.
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With the development of the new Orchard Beach, extending across swamp land between Rodman’s Neck at City Island to Hunter Island, just south-east of Pelham Manor, an old favorite bathing beach of the boys of Pelham Manor a few years ago is passing into memory.  Orchard Beach, a mile long stretch of sand, said to be a rival to the famous Jones Beach on Long Island will be open to the public on Wednesday.  Among the thousands who will enjoy its modern facilities will be many who will remember it as ‘Tillie’s Rock,’ the man’s paradise where several years ago many of those in Pelham who are now grown to manhood learned to swim.

‘Tillie’s Rock’ – just how it got its name, no-one seemed to know, but the stoney promontory on the northeasterly end of Hunter’s Island always had sufficient water for diving, and alongside it was a small sandy beach where the less daring could paddle and splash to their heart’s content, while they learned to master the ‘dog paddle’ or the ‘dead man’s float,’ which have always been the first rudiments of aquatics for the novice.

‘Tillie’s Rock’ was a man’s paradise, let it be known, for it was tacitly understood that there, the male of the species could take on its water lure ‘au natural’ without fear of invasion by members of the fair sex.  The beach was a good three mile walk from Pelham Manor.  The bridge to Hunter Island was always in danger of falling down, and only the male mind could understand that a good swim was actually worth the long hike, so at all hours of a hot summer day, on the trail through the woods near the Pelham Bay Golf Course could be seen men and boys, from Pelham on their way to or returning from ‘Tillie’s Rock.’

The favorite bathing beach lost some of its charm when the Westchester County Park Commission opened up the Glen Island beach a few years ago, but there were still many loyalists who held out for ‘Tillie’s Rock,’ a long hike but worth it.

The Orchard Beach development put an end to it all, however.  Early this year the rickety bridge between the mainland and Hunter Island lost its center span, and it was no rebuilt.  A huge dredge capable of pumping 10,000 cubic yards of fill a day was installed in Turtle Cove, the inlet between Hunter’s Island and the mainland, and set to work to make the beach.  During the winter and spring, 1,125,000 cubic yards of fill have been pumped out of Turtle Cove to make the beach, which now covers an area of 25 acres, and which will be increased to 40 acres as the development progresses.

The beach itself is more than 100 feet wide at high tide, is semi-circular and is backed up by a five-foot sea wall.  On the top of this wall is a concrete promenade, paved with asphalt blocks.  The promenade I forty-nine feet wide and extends to the length of the beach.

The improvement which is being done as a PWA project under the supervision of the Park Department of the Borough of the Bronx has provided work for 1,500 men. 

The bathhouse which lies midway between Hunter’s Island and Rodman’s Neck will have one of the six sections ready on Wednesday, extension now being constructed will accommodate 9,000. 

The Hutchinson River Parkway will extend to the new beach and will be ready for use on Sept. 1, according to present plans.

So ‘Tillie’s Rock’ comes into its own at last.  It’s going to be one of the model beaches along the Atlantic Coast.  But – the old style of swimming has gone.  Full bathing suits, trunks and tops must be worn.”

Source:  “Tillie’s Rock” Boyhood’s Favorite SwimmingHole, Neglected for Years, Will Be Part of New Orchard Beach, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 10, 1936, p. 6, cols. 3-4. 

"PELHAM 'INSTITUTIONS' ARE DEAR TO THE HEARTS OF THE OLD TIMERS
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'Street They Take in at Night,' 'Toonerville Trolley,' 'Red Church Corner,' 'Grand Jury Bench,' and 'Summer White House' Are Institutions of Long Standing.
-----

Residential communities such as the Pelhams . . . are seldom without their 'institutions,' the novel features which contribute greatly to the homeliness of the villages.  Perhaps they mark us as 'small towners' but they are the items that make the Pelhams distinctive suburban communities, countryside of gentlefolk, one of our enterprising sloganeers once deftly termed the three villages, and it is the residential features to which the villages cling that certainly establish this fact.

'Where else in this part of the world will you find them taking the streets in at night?' one of our critics was heard to ask not so long ago.  He was a disgruntled motorist seeking a short route from Mount Vernon to New Rochelle after midnight.  Of course, he chose the Boulevard, only to find that the thoroughfare had been barricaded at Wolf's Lane to prevent the passage of noisy trucks through the residential district while the citizens of the villages were sleeping.

This unique procedure was instituted in 1924 when the Pelham Heights village trustees determined that the Boulevard had not yet been fully dedicated to the village, and could therefore be closed at will.  The passage of trucks through this avenue was extremely bothersome late at night.  The long hill from Pelhamdale to Corona avenues was too steep for heavy lumbering vehicles to negotiate in high speed and the clattering of transmissions and discordant rumble of racing engines made sleep almost impossible.

Proponents of the street closing were met with objections on the ground that the highway had been a public thoroughfare for a period of years.

'It had never before been closed,' said the objectors, 'and therefore could not be barricaded at night.'

Investigation, however, showed that the street had been closed at least once every year, to permit coasting on winter days, so the village fathers took advantage of this and consequently Pelham Heights sleeps peacefully at night.

'The Toonerville Trolley' is another much maligned 'institution' of the Pelhams, yet Pelham Manor is loath to relinquish it.  Perhaps a motor bus would give better service to the commuters who ridicule its contention of meeting all trains, but just listen to their howl if you talk about abandoning the line.  Long before Fontaine Fox visited Pelham in 1909 and gained the inspiration for 'Toonerville Trolley' by riding in the Pelham Manor car, the residents of the village had learned to depend on the car.  They'll swear it's a nuisance (you can find several examples of the Terrible Tempered Mr. Bang) but it's a favorite institution with residents of the Manor. 

'The Red Church Corner' is almost forgotten except by the old timers, who remember when the old Huguenot Memorial church, painted a brilliant red, was situated at the intersection of the Boston road and Pelhamdale avenue.  The late Edward Penfield, noted artist, erected a marker at the site, but the newcomers are ignorant of the fact that 'The Red Church Corner' was once as well known in Westchester as Columbus Circle is in New York City.

When the Pelham Manor village officials first contemplated plans for a park and bathing beach on Long Island Sound adjacent to Travers Island, Remington Schuyler, the artist, well versed in Pelham lore, proposed that it be called Beecroft Beach.  The Beecroft boys, of whom Edgar C. Beecroft, village attorney of Pelham Manor is the last in the village, were once the ringleaders of youth in the Pelhams and made their headquarters along the sound shore.  The site of the proposed beach was the scene of many of the Beecroft boys' escapades in the early days of the village, and there are still many of the old timers who have accepted 'Beecroft Beach.'  The park will not be ready for use by the villagers for several years, but the term will last among those who remember the old days.

About a mile away from Beecroft Beach is 'Tillie's Rock,' on Hunter's Island, which has for many years been the favorite bathing beach of the youth of the Pelhams.  What price a three mile hike, if one can enjoy a swim in the cooling waters of the Sound without the necessity of having to carry a bathing suit all that distance.  'Tillie's Rock' is reserved for men only, and it is as sacred a masculine haven as Huckleberry Island, the aristocratic beach of the Huckleberry Indians, on whose premises no woman has ever set foot.

North Pelham has its 'Grand Jury Bench,' where the old timers gather to discuss questions of international, national and local importance.  Former Mayor James Reilly, the old war horse of village politics, is the foreman of the jury which meets regularly on a low bench at Sixth Street and Fifth avenue.  Many of the major improvements of the village have been planned from this bench and at all hours of the day a loiterer is certain to pick up some interesting information from the 'jurymen.'

Although we must travel several miles to visit the next 'Pelham Institution,' its distance does not remove it from local patriotism in the least.  It is the 'Summer White House' at Alburg, Vt., where Supervisor David Lyon holds sway during the summer months.  The pilgrimages have already begun and rumor has it that the real Pelham political pot is brewing on the shore of Lake Champlain where the Supervisor is spending his vacation.

Do you know these 'institutions'?  If you don't you had better ask some of the old Timers and get acquainted.  You're missing something. 

Can you find anything more than those mentioned?"

Source:  PELHAM"INSTITUTIONS" ARE DEAR TO THE HEARTS OF THE OLD TIMERS, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 24, 1931, p. 5, cols. 1-2.


LIONS LIVE IN PAST

Pelham Lions, having abandoned plans for an outing of Lions, their wives and children at the New Rochelle Shore Club, are now planning a day of sport and festivity at ‘Tillie’s Rock’ near Hunter’s Island on the Sound.  Many of the Lions have showed [sic] preference for ‘Tillie’s Rock,’ for many of them the scene of boyhood fun, and which still retains the atmosphere of the old swimming hole of other days.”

Source:  LIONS LIVE IN PASTThe Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 12, 1932, p. 16, col. 7. 

"SWIMMERS RESCUED TWO MEN YESTERDAY
-----
Edward Jewett, Jr. and Albert Anderson Save Colored Men
-----
FALL INTO THE SOUND
-----
Scuffling in Rowboat When Accident Occurs Off of Hunter's Point
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BATHERS SWAM TO AID
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One Man Unconscious, But Is Revived On Shore After Being Worked Over
-----

Falling overboard from a rowboat in Long Island Sound near Hunter's Island yesterday afternoon, 'Bronco' Smith, of 214 South Eighth avenue, and Fred Raymond, of 206 South Eighth avenue, both colored, were saved from drowning by Edward W. Jewett, Jr., of 9 West Third street, and Albert Anderson, also of this city.

Both Smith and Raymond were unable to swim and undoubtedly would have drowned had not the white men, who were swimming nearby, gone to their rescue and dragged them to shore.  As it was, Raymond was unconscious when pulled out of the water and was only resuscitated after he had been worked over for a quarter of an hour.  

The colored men hired a boat to take a row on the sound.  When they were a short distance from Tilly's rock, where a dozen or more white men were in bathing, they began to cut up some antics.  The boat rocked dangerously and the bathers called out that there would be an accident unless the rowers quieted down.  

The others, however, were unmindful of the caution.  Raymond tried to snatch the oars out of Smith's hands, it is said, and in the tussel that ensued the oar lock was lost, there was a jolt as one of the men fell and in a moment, both were in the water.  The bathers saw their plight.  Jewett at once started to their rescue, swimming out to the place where the men were floundering about near the upturned boat.

While he was trying to help one man to shore the other grabbed him and all went under.  The water was about 10 feet deep there, it then being low tide.  Anderson then swam out and he grabbed hold of one of the colored men, who were having a hard time, being weighted down with their water-soaked clothes.  Jewett after much trouble managed the other and the rescuers made the shore, each dragging a half-drowned man with him.

It wasn't long before both victims were laughing over their narrow escape.  Not caring to come home in their bedraggled condition, they decided to wait until nightfall came on.  They waited until nine o'clock when some friends brought them clean, dry clothing and they returned, little the worse for their experience."

Source:  SWIMMERS RESCUED TWO MEN YESTERDAY, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 10, 1914, No. 7497, p. 1, col. 3.


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Thursday, July 30, 2015

Hopkins Garage Property Became Trestle Field Park on Pelhamdale Avenue in the Village of Pelham Manor


Trestle Field is a lovely small park in the Village of Pelham Manor located just southeast of the New Haven Branch Line tracks now used by Amtrak and various freight services.  The park once was the location of “Pelham Manor Garage,” a business operated in its early days by George Hopkins, President, and Lee Gregory.  Often referenced as “Hopkins Garage” and, later, the “Pelham Service Center,” the business opened on the site in 1931 with the address of 1100 Pelhamdale Avenue and the phone number of Pelham 1700.  The business offered complete automotive services as well as towing services and taxi services.  Cf. Pelham Manor Garage [Advertisement]The Pelham Sun, Jun. 22, 1934, p. 3 (but pages unnumbered), col. 2.

The Pelham Manor Garage was a two story brick building with a one-story set of three service bays attached to it.  It stood on Pelhamdale Avenue directly opposite today’s Manor Circle.  Today’s posting to the Historic Pelham Blog details a little of the history regarding how Hopkins Garage eventually became the Village of Pelham Manor park known informally as “Trestle Field.”


Hopkins Garage, 1100 Pelhamdale Avenue in an Undated
Photograph Taken in About 1952.  Photograph Courtesy
of The Office of The Historian of The Town of Pelham.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.


Advertisement for the Pelham Manor Garage Published in the
Nov. 3, 1939 Issue of The Pelham Sun.  Source:  If Your Car
Could Vote? [Advertisement], The Pelham Sun, Nov. 3, 1939,
p. 7, cols. 5-8.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.


Partial View of Village of Pelham Manor Park Known
as "Trestle Field Park," Shown in August 2012.  The
Split Rail Fence Since Has Been Removed.  Source:  Google
Maps Street View Image.  NOTE:  Click Image To Enlarge.

For many years, the park informally known today as Trestle Field was owned by the County of Westchester.  The County’s acquisition of the property appears to have been part of the early planning for the development of the major thoroughfare that eventually became I-95 (the New England Thruway).  As early as 1925, Westchester County proposed a “Pelham-Port Chester Parkway” along today's New England Thruway route in lower Westchester County, established a commission, and appropriated some funds.  The commission then began to acquire land.  

The property known today as Trestle Field was acquired by the County and became part of the anticipated right-of-way of the Pelham-Port Chester Parkway.  By at least 1931, the lot had been leased and an automotive garage had been built on the property  – Hopkins Garage.

Despite the Great Depression, the little garage thrived over the next fifteen years.  By the mid-1940s, however, Pelham Manor was facing a crisis due to a lack of parks and recreational properties at a time it also was facing an exploding population during the post-war, baby-boom years.  During the tenure of Pelham Town Supervisor George Lambert, a proposal to have the Town of Pelham acquire the Hopkins Garage property from Westchester County for recreational purposes began to gain steam.  Because three municipal bodies were involved – the County of Westchester, the Town of Pelham, and the Village of Pelham Manor – the issues surrounding such a transaction were somewhat thorny.  The parties worked to address those thorny issues for five years – from 1946 until 1951 (well into the tenure of Gordon Miller who succeeded George Lambert as Town Supervisor).

What seems to have broken the three-way log jam?  It turns out that the Town of Pelham and the Village of Pelham Manor had something that the County wanted – slivers of land near the Hutchinson River Parkway and Boston Post Road that the County wanted to take for improvements to allow ingress and egress from the Hutchinson River Parkway at that location.  While the Town of Pelham wanted to turn over the property to the Village of Pelham Manor, it wanted to condition that transfer on a requirement that the Village of Pelham Manor make the property available only for recreational purposes. 

By the spring of 1950, the likelihood of a three-way deal seemed so certain that the Village of Pelham Manor included in its budget for the upcoming fiscal year $1,000 to fund demolition of the Hopkins Garage.  One year later, during the spring of 1951, architects’ sketches depicting the proposed park development were submitted to the Westchester County Park Commission for consideration in connection with the proposed transaction which required approval by the Westchester County Board of Supervisors.  Interestingly, plans in 1951 called for installation of tennis courts and handball courts on the property.  During a meeting held on Monday, August 6, 1951, the County Board of Supervisors approved the proposed transaction. 

By the spring of 1952, the transaction was nearly complete.  The Village of Pelham Manor included in its budget for the following fiscal year an appropriate of $5,000 “for improving the Hopkins garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue for a recreation area.”  On July 21, 1952, the Town of Pelham received title to the Hopkins Garage property from Westchester County and promptly transferred the deed to the Village of Pelham Manor “on the condition that the 187-by-200 foot area south of the New Haven Railroad Hellgate Division tracks be used for recreational purposes,” among other conditions. 

The following month bids were received for demolition of the Hopkins Garage facilities.  By August 20, 1952, demolition was underway and was completed within weeks, as required by the bid request and contract.

By December of that year, however, plans for the park had changed.  There no longer was talk of tennis courts or handball courts.  Rather, in response to a question from a citizen attending a Village Board of Trustees meeting in December, 1952, Pelham Manor Mayor Chauncey Williams stated that “We intend to plant some grass seed and allow children to play there, but it won’t be an organized place with swings and such.”  Village Trustee C. C. Clavin added that the Village Planning Board unanimously favored an “informal park.” 

An informal park, of course, is precisely what the Hopkins Garage property became.  The tiny little park is still used today for informal touch football games, Frisbee fun, and Tee-Ball practice.  It has become a tiny little oasis adjacent to railroad tracks on an elevated embankment – a place to be enjoyed.

*          *          *          *          *

Below is transcribed text from a large number of articles addressing the issues that are the subject of today’s posting to the Historic Pelham Blog.  Each is followed by a citation and a link to its source. 


PELHAM MANOR GARAGE IS MOST COMPLETE IN TOWN
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George Hopkins Has Always Found That Motorists Appreciate Good Service.
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Garages Are So Numerous throughout Westchester County that only one that can offer a service that is above the average will appeal to the motoring public.  To be successful in this business today a garage must offer the best in service and equipment.

At the Pleham Manor Garage located at 1100 Pelhamdale avenue, patrons not only get the best courteous service – they also get the lowest prices available and the very best of expert workmanship.

Mr. George Hopkins, under whose management the Pelham Manor Garage is operated has always maintained his establishment along lines that appeal to the exacting motorists.  For general repairs to any make of car this garage has long been considered one of the best equipped in town and also one that employs expert mechanics, men who thoroughly understand the repairing of motors, and who can do the job correctly and promptly.

Pelham Manor Garage has in stock a large assortment of all automobile accessories, tires, etc., is fully equipped for battery service and ignition work, and is known to do a very complete and satisfactory job of greasing and washing of cars. 

George Hopkins has long been known for the efficient and courteous taxicab service he offers the public which is available day and night regardless of weather conditions.

Here is a garage that can be depended upon at all times for the many services that a real garage should offer the motoring public.  George Hopkins has won numerous friends throughout the community by his conscientious and satisfactory methods of doing business.  His advice on automobiles is worth listening to and equally worth hearing.  Close personal attention and supervision to every detail of the business has attributed much to his past success with the Pelham Manor Garage.”


NEON EYE TELLS YOU ALL SAYS HOPKINS
-----

Faulty wheels and bent axles will soon be a thing of the past for Pelham’s autoists, according to an announcement made this week by George Hopkins, proprietor of Pleham Manor Garage.

Mr. Hopkins has installed, at considerable expense, two gilgadgets which promise to make any car tread the straight and narrow path.

The first, and most intriguing to this reporter, is a machine with a neon eye.  Said eye unerringly points out any spot on any wheel which is out of balance.  In other works sight unseen it can tell you there’s a blowout patch in that right front tire and it is causing the annoying shimmying that suddenly developed out of nowhere.

The second installation is an axle press.  We hadn’t known before, but Mr. Hopkins explained that when an axle is damaged, customary procedure is to remove the axle from the car, heat it, and then straighten out the kinks by hand.

Mr. Hopkins’ new machine grabs the care in a giant grip and straightens the bent axle without heat and without removing the axel from the chassis and what’s more, says George, it dos the job to the same close tolerance as the original factory specifications. 

Aside from the safety factor which these two machines increase, Mr. Hopkins sounds an economy note by pointing out that tires and axles properly lined up, result in almost twice as much tire mileage as is possible when a car has defective wheels and axles.

Mr. Hopkins’ garage is a Pelham Manor landmark at 1100 Pelhamdale Avenue where he has made plenty of friends during the last nine years.”

Source:  NEON EYE TELLS YOU ALL SAYS HOPKINS, The Pelham Sun, Feb. 23, 1940, p. 8, cols. 6-7. 


Manor Board Adopts Budget Of $341,871

PELHAM MANOR – A gross budget of $341,871.17 for the coming year was adopted unanimously by the Village Board of Trustees last night after a public hearing . . . [Portions of article omitted]

The only special appropriations for the coming year are purchase of a leaf loader for about $3,000, and allowance of $1,000 for demolition of Hopkins Garage when the ‘clover leaf swap’ is realized, the Mayor said. . . .”

Source:  Manor Board Adopts Budget Of $341,871, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Apr. 25, 1950, p. 4, cols. 3-4.


Pelham Nears Victory In Long Campaign For Playfield Space

PELHAM – Nearly five years of effort to obtain transfer of County-owned land in Pelham Manor to the Town of Pelham for recreation purposes was believed to be approaching fruition today. 

Architects’ sketches showing proposed development of the Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue adjacent to the New Haven branch line, have been submitted to the Westchester County Park Commission. 

The request for transfer will go before the County Board of Supervisors in about a month’s time and the grant should be obtained before the end of the year, County officials estimated today.

After existing buildings on the property are demolished, plans call for installation of tennis and handball courts on the 200-by-200-foot area to be acquired from the County, with the additional utilization of an adjacent plot 25-feet wide owned by the Town and Village.

Action on the long-delayed transfer is the second recreation project to be crystalized within the past two weeks.  Last week the Board of Education announced plans to purchase and acre-and-a-half of land fronting on Wolf’s Lane, for the purpose of extending high school athletic facilities.

The Hopkins garage property would be the second plot acquired from the County.  Last year title to Parkway Field was received after similar negotiations.

The garage area is owned by the County as a portion of the former right-of-way of the Pelham Port Chester Parkway, and will be given to Pelham in return for land on Boston Post Road, Pelham Manor which is required for construction of a parkway clover-leaf.  The transaction involves three municipal bodies, the County, the Village of Pelham Manor, and the Town of Pelham.

Suggestion to acquire the area for recreation purposes was made when the late George Lambert was Town Supervisor, and negotiations have continued during Supervisor Gordon Miller’s term of office.

The County had been awaiting actual field plans for development of the land because the transfer was dependent upon approval of its use by the Parkway Commission, George Haight, superintendent of parkways, explained today.”

Source:  Pelham Nears Victory In Long Campaign For Playfield Space, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], May 25, 1951, p. 14, cols. 3-4.


Second Playfield Planned . . . .

The latest undertaking is expected to be completed very soon.  This is the five-year effort to have the county-owned Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue adjacent to the New Haven branch line, transferred to Town ownership.

The request for transfer is due to come up before the County Board of Supervisors next Monday.  This would be the second plot acquired from the county.  Last year, title to Parkway Field was received after similar negotiations.

After existing buildings on the property are demolished, plans call for the installation of tennis and handball-basketball courts on the 200-by-200 plot.  It will be the first playfield for Pelham Manor.”

Source:  Second Playfield Planned, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 1, 1951, p. 12, col. 1.


North Pelham – Town Board Feud on B-W Rubble On New Tack

*     *     *  [Portions of article omitted.]

The so-called Hopkins Garage transaction is on the agenda for action by the County Board of Supervisors next Monday, Supervisor Miller reported.  At the same time the board acknowledged a formal request from the Village of Pelham Manor to turn that section over to the Town.

The area, a 200-foot plot fronting Pelhamdale Avenue just east of the New Haven branch line in Pelham Manor is slated for use as a Town recreation area with facilities similar to those at Sixth Street field, North Pelham.  The land will be deeded to Pelham by the County in exchange for another area in Pelham Manor required by the County for construction of a Hutchinson River Parkway clover-leaf. . . .”

Source:  North Pelham – Town Board Feud on B-W Rubble On New Tack, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 31, 1951, p. 1, cols. 1-2.


Manor Budget Of $409,213 Set – Tax $11.75

PELHAM MANOR – The Pelham Manor Village Board adopted a gross budget of $409213.77 with a tax rate of $11.75 . . . [Portions of the article omitted].

The budget also allots $5,000 for improving the Hopkins garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue for a recreation area. . . .”

Source:  Manor Budget Of $409,213 Set – Tax $11.75, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Apr. 8, 1952, p. 13, col. 5.


Pelham Gets Hopkins Property From County, Deed To Manor

PELHAM – The Town of Pelham received title to the Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue from the County yesterday and transferred the deed to the Village of Pelham Manor. 

Action was taken by the Town Board on the condition that the 187-by-200 foot area south of the New Haven Railroad Hellgate Division tracks be used for recreational purposes.  The land was acquired from the County in return for property at the Boston Post Road and Hutchinson River Parkway to be used for a traffic clover-leaf.

The Town also imposed the conditions that the Village of Pelham Manor pay the Town $5,943.26, which is its share of the profit from the sale of property on Secor Lane; that the Village release its interest in certain lots along Eastchester Creek, and that the buildings on the Hopkins Garage property be demolished within 90 days. 

Supervisor Gordon Miller said that he will recommend that the property on Eastchester Creek be set aside for public use, preferably a town dock.”

Source:  Pelham Gets Hopkins Property From County, Deed To Manor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 22, 1952, p. 3, cols. 6-7. 


Post Road Repaving Delayed, Work To Start After Sept. 1

PELHAM MANOR – . . . [Portions of article omitted].

Bids also will be received Saturday for the demolition of buildings on the Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue, adjacent to the Hellgate Branch of the New Haven Railroad.

The area, which was acquired recently from Westchester County, will be developed as a park.  Specifications call for the present buildings to be razed within 60 days of the awarding of the contract.”

Source:  Post Road Repaving Delayed, Work To Start After Sept. 1, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 5, 1952, p. 11, cols. 3-4. 


Manor Starts Work On Park, Approves Site For Another

PELHAM MANOR – Village plans for two new parks moved closer to reality this week as work was started on one project and the Planning Commission gave preliminary approval for acquisition of land for the second.

John P. Batchelder, Village Clerk, reported yesterday that demolition of the buildings on the Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue is underway.  The 187 by 200-foot area south of the New Haven Railroad Hellgate Division will be converted into a park. 

The Town of Pelham, which first acquired the property, turned it over to the Village on the condition that it be used for recreation. 

Plans for acquiring a 10 by 200-foot lot on the northwest corner of Esplanade and Boston Post Road were approved by the Planning Commission Monday.  Final acceptance will be made at the Sept. 8 meeting of the Village Trustees. 

The Post Road park proposal was included in plans for subdivision of a portion of the property owned by Mrs. R. C. Black, whose 40-room mansion is being torn down to make room for a new development.

Included in the plan is the construction of one-family homes by dividing the 375 by 838-foot tract into seven lots, and building a new street from the Esplanade into the interior of the development.

At the Planning Commission’s public hearing, Harry D. Wright of 640 Esplanade advocated purchase of an adjacent lot at the site to give the Village additional park space.  The Village acquired land on the two east corners of the intersection several years ago.”

Source:  Manor Starts Work On Park, Approves Site For Another, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 20, 1952, p. 3, cols. 5-6.


Manor Extends Concession On Plant Bus Stop

PELHAM MANOR – Fordham Transit Company buses wil be allowed to pick up and discharge passengers at the corner of Pelham Parkway and Boston Post Road for another six months.

The Village Board of Trustees extended permission, which was first granted July 10 for the benefit of defense workers employed by East Coast Aeronautics, Inc. and Rusciano Construction Company on Pelham Parkway.  The Board agreed that defense needs are continuing.

The trustees passed a resolution endorsing a bill being submitted to the State legislature by the Mayors Conference of the State of New York, and supported by the Westchester County Village Officials Association, authorizing study of the relationship between town and village governments.

The study is being made with a view to eliminating duplication of effort and expense often involved with overlapping governmental bodies.

A representative of the Pelham Citizens Committee who inquired what the village intended to do with the Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue was told it will be made into a park.  ‘We intend to plant some grass seed and allow children to play there, but it won’t be an organized place with swings and such,’ said Mayor Chauncey Williams.

Trustee C. C. Clavin said the village planning board unanimously favored an informal park.  The board emphasized that the property will remain under the direct jurisdiction of the village.  The Committee representative also described briefly plans for developing Parkway Field.”

Source:  Manor Extends Concession On Plant Bus Stop, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Dec. 23, 1952, p. 5, col. 6.

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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

The Three Villages of Pelham Embraced the Notion of Consolidation in 1923 as a Defensive Measure


On Tuesday, April 10, citizens of the Town of Pelham gathered at a meeting of the Pelham Men's Club in the auditorium of the Pelham Memorial High School to discuss something the whole town was considering:  the benefits of consolidating the three villages that comprised The Pelhams.  

Learning of this, one might be tempted to glance at the calendar.  Might today be April Fools Day?  Have we slipped into an alternate universe where our consciousness and memories remain the same but our collective history is different than what we previously thought?  No. . . . .

In 1923, the three villages that comprised "The Pelhams" faced a common enemy and, thus, were contemplating a defensive maneuver of consolidation.  The gathering at the high school was simply an example of the common belief that there is "strength in numbers."  

In 1923, Pelhamites felt that they were under siege.  Pelhamites feared that the behemoth known as New York City that bordered the Town of Pelham on one side was looking to expand yet again, placing Pelham square within the crosshairs of another annexation.  The County of Westchester, at the same time, seemed fearful of the same thing and was contemplating the creation of a "City of Westchester" that would include the entire Town of Pelham (and other Westchester towns) with a Commission form of government to block annexation of parts of the County such as the Town of Pelham by the City of New York.  The three villages of Pelham, in short, feared loss of self-government and were at least open to the idea of consolidation as a defensive measure.  The three villages explored merging and converting to a city form of government.

With the subsequent cessation of New York City's desire to annex the area, the concept of a "City of Westchester" withered on the vine and the people of the Pelhams returned to their vision of three-village governance within the Town of Pelham.   



1950 Map of the Town of Pelham Showing the Town
Bounded by the City of New York, the City of Mount
Vernon and the City of New Rochelle.  NOTE:  Click
on Image to Enlarge.

Below are two articles about the discussion of consolidation in 1923.  The text of the second article is what can be transcribed of an item that appeared in the only extant -- though badly damaged -- copy of The Pelham Sun published on April 13, 1923.  Much of that article is illegible due to damage to the original newspaper.  Still, enough can be transcribed to provide a sense of what was going through the minds of Pelhamites in 1923 as they explored consolidation of the three villages as a way to defend against loss of self-government.  

The text of the two articles appears immediately below.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"Will Discuss Consolidation Of The Pelhams
-----
Members of Men's Club Will Meet at Memorial Auditorium Tuesday
-----
Believed That Consolidation Will Be Protective Measure Against Loss of Authority
-----

Must the Pelhams seek amalgamation of its three villages as a protective measure against the possible annexation by New York City or its loss of local governing authority by the consummation of the plan to create a commission government in the county?

The question is to receive close study by members of the Men's Club at the regular monthly meeting on Tuesday night at Memorial Auditorium.  President James Elliott in a circular letter to the members, has pointed out the element of danger confronting the Pelhams at the present time, and its possible loss of local powers of government unless preventive steps are taken, and urges that serious thought be given to this subject which vitally concerns every homeowner in the community.  

The executive committee of the Men's Club has prepared a short report in which is outlined the probabilities of future changes in village government and a free discussion of the problems presented will be sought.  If consolidation is deemed advisable, a committee of representative citizens will be appointed to further the matter.  This committee will consist of representatives from each of the three villages who will delve into every problem and angle presented to the proposed amalgamation and report on its possibilities and probable saving to the taxpayers.

Members are urged to attend."

Source:  Will Discuss Consolidation Of The Pelhams, The Pelham Sun, Apr. 6, 1923, Vol. 14, No. 6, p. 1, col. 1.  

"The report of the executive committeee of the Men's Club on the new County Commission Plan, following a motivating talk delivered by Judge William Cravath of Pelhamdale, resulted in action being taken at the Men's Club meeting Tuesday night, at Memorial Auditorium.  The action took the form of appointing a committee of fifteen representatives of all of the Pelhams, headed by Harry W. Nuckols, former president of Pelham Manor, which will at once take up complete investigation of the plans now being made for installing a new form of government in the county and take steps to oppose any plan by the Commission which will interfere with the present form of government.  This committee will also investigate and consider the consolidation of the three Pelham villages and the creation of a city form of charter, which, it is believed, will place the government out of the control of the Westchester County.  

The meeting was well attended and the reading of the report of the executives of the club [illegible] keen interest, a lively discussion following the conclusion of Judge White's remarks.  The report in full follows:

To the President and Members of the Men's Club of the Town of Pelham

Gentlemen

Your executive committee to which was referred the work of investigating and making a report on the plan for creating a City of Westchester out of the present County of Westchester hereby begs to report as follows.

Early in 1922 Surrogate Juge George A. Slater, in addressing a gathering of school teachers at Portchester declared his opinion in effecct that before two years had passed Westchester Count would adopt a form of government which would virtually make a city out of Westchester County.  This followed the support by the voters in the fall election in 1921 of a proposition to change the form of gorvernment in Westchester and Nassau Counties.  Judge Slater's speech was given a great deal more publicity than its casual utterance would seem to have warranted and coincident with it came a renewed activity on the part of the County Commissioners, a body which originally intended to formulate some plan for the improvement of Westchester County [illegible]

The City of Westchester plan as it was called, at once became a vital topic of discussion [illegible] in the Pelhams [illegible].

[Illegible] the Board of Supervisors introduced a motion to abolish the County Commission, and intense policitical activity was directed against this action so that it was lost and soon afterward an act of the legislature on February 6, 1922, empowered the Board of Supervisors to enlarge the membership of the commission to 32 and gave to the Commission powers to expend such amounts of money as was deemed necessary to pursue investigation toward improving the county form of government.

From out of their deliberations of almost a year has arisen one plan, definite, and with strong political backing, which will place the government of Westchester County in the hands of a county president, with almost despotic powers over the destinies of Westchester County.  At first this plan called for the creation of a commission of five, three of the members to be elected and two appointed by the County Commissioner, thus giving the chief commissioner control of the board by his appointive power of two members.  Lately, in the face of opposition, this plan has been altered [illegible] vice-president and a county commissioner of finance.  The other members of the board, a commissioner of public welfare, an engineer, a county attorney, a county sealer of weights and measures, are appointed by the president, ths again centering control in the hands of the President by his appointive powers.  This has not yet been officially approved.  The charter is [illegible].

The rest of the charter remains the same as that under [illegible] of the seond class operating [illegible], Yonkers for instance.  I [illegible] was to brake of the Bos [illegible] visors purely a legislative [illegible] student all [illegible] to the County Commissioner, but [illegible] plan now makes it possible for Supervisors to pass an ordinance over the president's veto by a three-fourths majority of all members of the Board of Supervisors.  If this plan, known as the Wallin plan, by reason of its sponsor being ex-Mayor William Wallin of Yonkers [illegible] Board of Estimate consisting of the president, vice-president and commissioner of finance, county attorney and county engineer, has control over all financial matters of the county.

An alternative plan has been submitted by Commissoner Morse, which provides for Board of Supervisors as the legislative control of the county.  The [illegible] of the county president is [illegible] in a county-wide vote, the board of supervisors is reduced from 41 to 17, this reduction being accomplished by grouping all townships of less than 10,000 population and naming them districts for the election of a single supervisor.  Under this plan Pelham would be grouped with Eastchester as one district.  The representation of the cities to be based on assessed valuation.  There would be no Board of Estimate and Apportionment.  

In connection with the Wallin plan it must be remembered that Mr. Wallin has gone on record publicly as stating the at the plan is elastic enough to take over the administration of village government if such a course is deemed necessary.

Wherein does the proposed County Commission plan of government hold anything at all of benefit to the Pelhams?  We are told in a large way that the centralization of authority also means a centralization of responsibility, but what assurance have we that we can find the right man to assume all this responsibility which will go with the office of county president, especially as the office is a political one and politics is today more a matter of popularity than of merit.  The centralization of so much authority in one man may be good in business but politics is not business and generally speaking political authority is used as a means of handing out patronage to a favored crowd who are looking for soft jobs at the taxpayers' expense.  

We would perhaps favor consolidation of government in Westchester County if the various cities, towns, and villages which lie within its [illegible]."

Source:  Will Discuss Consolidation Of The Pelhams -- Members of Men's Club Will Meet at Memorial Auditorium Tuesday -- Believed That Consolidation Will Be Protect
ive Measure Against Loss of Authority, The Pelham Sun, Apr. 13, 1923, p. 1, cols. 6-7.  

"Will Discuss Consolidation Of The Pelhams
-----
Members of Men's Club Will Meet at Memorial Auditorium Tuesday
-----
Believed That Consolidation Will Be Protective Measure Against Loss of Authority
-----

Must the Pelhams seek amalgamation of its three villages as a protective measure agaisnt the possible annexation by New York City or its loss of local governing authority by the consummation of the plan to create a commission government in the county?

The question is to receive close study by members of the Men's Club at the regular monthly meeting on Tuesday night at Memorial Auditorium.  President James Elliott in a circular letter to the members, has pointed out the element of danger confronting the Pelhams at the present time, and its possible loss of local powers of government unless preventive steps are taken, and urges that serious thought be given to this subject which vitally concerns every homeowner in the community.

The executive committee of the Men's Club has prepared a short report in which is outlined the probabilities of future changes in village government and a free discussion of the problems presented will be sought.  If consolidation is deemed advisable, a committee of representative citizens will be appointed to further the matter.  This committee will consist of representatives from each of the three villages who will delve into every problem and angle presented to the proposed amalgamation and report on its possibilities and probable saving to the taxpayers.

Members are urged to attend."

Source:  Will Discuss Consolidation Of The Pelhams -- Members of Men's Club Will Meet at Memorial Auditorium Tuesday -- Believed That Consolidation Will Be Protective Measure Aaginst Loss of Authority, The Pelham Sun, Apr. 6, 1923, p. 1, col. 1.


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