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.

Thursday, February 14, 2019

The Little Town of Pelham Did Not Let the Great Depression Ruin Valentine's Day in 1934


The Great Depression continued to ravage the Nation, the State of New York, and the little Town of Pelham in 1934.  Federal authorities were trying to ease the pain.  In late January, the President signed into law the Gold Reserve Act prohibiting private ownership of gold (and doubling the set price of gold).  In mid-April the worst dust bowl dust storm ever to befall the nation hammered mid-America.  The Federal Government enacted the Soil Conservation Act in a partial effort to reduce such disasters in the future.  To make matters worse, the hottest temperatures on record were recorded that year.  According to one source "There were 29 consecutive days with temperatures at or above 100 degrees.  By the end of the year, droughts covered 75 percent of the country and 27 states.  Nearly 80 percent of the country recorded extremely dry conditions."  See The Balance, Great Depression Timeline:  1929 - 1941 (visited Feb. 9, 2019).  

Pelham lovers did not, however, allow the ravages, trials, and tribulations of the Great Depression deter them from expressing St. Valentine's Day sentiments that dark year.  Indeed, by Wednesday, February 14, 1934, the Valentine greetings shelves had been emptied throughout the little town.  According to an account in The Pelham Sun, Valentine card sales were so brisk that some Pelham merchants snuck old Valentine greetings cards from a prior year onto their shelves.  These also sold.  

Despite the Nation's, the State's, and the Town's travails, Pelhamites opted for both sentimental "gushy" Valentine's Day cards as well as some comic cards.  Meaner Pelhamites opted for insult cards.  According to the local newspaper, "In some cases, even a number of those cruel, cruel valentines of yesteryear that hold one up to ridicule, were sold."

Most interestingly, the Pelham Western Union Telegraph office was busy for St. Valentine's Day in 1934.  To make it easy for "tongue-tied lovers without a flair for self-expression in rhyme," Western Union printed a check-box form for the local telegraph office.  The form allowed busy Pelhamites simply to check a box to select a St. Valentine's Day greeting to be sent via telegram to lovers, family, and friends.  The initiative was a success.  Many more such Valentine telegrams were sent by Pelhamites in 1934 than in the previous year.  Pelhamites could choose from sentimental statements for their Valentine telegrams, including:

"At miles between us we can laugh,
our hearts entwined by telegraph."

"To my Valentine:  
you've put my heart in such a flutter, 
I wire the love my lips would utter."

"Wire back, this address, 
send collect, one word, YES."

Who needs such St. Valentine's greeting cards and telegrams anymore?  Today we busy Pelhamites have texts, instant messaging, Facebook and . . . . . . the Historic Pelham Blog.  Consequently, happy St. Valentine's Day dear Pelham!


1934 Mickey Mouse Valentine.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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To read earlier Historic Pelham articles about St. Valentine's Day in Pelham, see:

Fri., Feb. 13, 2015:  A Magical Valentine's Day in Pelham Manor in 1895.

Wed., Feb. 14, 2018:  More on a Magical Long Distance Proposal Made to a Pelham Manor Belle in 1895.

Tue., Feb. 14, 2017:  A Sad Valentine: Lovers' Attempted Elopement Thwarted by Crafty Pelham Parents in 1885.

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"St. Valentine Found No Depression in Sentiment
-----

That traditional custom of sending sentimental greetings to loved ones on St. Valentine's Day, did not seem affected by the depression, according to a number of Pelham merchants who deal in greeting cards.  Most of these shops reported their supply of cards, both sentimental and comic, were nearly exhausted by Wednesday.  In some cases, the merchants were forced to draw upon Valentines left over from last year and these were rapidly depleted.

Once again, those sentimental, gushy cards seemed to get the call over those of more comical natures.  In some cases, even a number of those cruel, cruel valentines of yesteryear that hold one up to ridicule, were sold.

Good old Western Union rose to the occasion and came through with a selection of canned sentiments.  To send these wires, described in a magazine sent to managers of telegraph offices as designed 'for the tongue-tied lovers without a flair for self-expression in rhyme,' all one had to do was to mark a cross in the box opposite the sentiment.  Among the choice specimens offered appeared the following:

'At miles between us we can laugh, our hearts entwined by telegraph.'

'To my Valentine:  you've put my heart in such a flutter, I wire the love my lips would utter.'

And then a good old business booster:

'Wire back, this address, send collect, one word, YES.'

But all joking aside, Western Union in Pelham made a better showing in Valentine Day missives than last year, and this same opinion was echoed by several local shopkeepers."

Source:  St. Valentine Found No Depression in Sentiment, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 24, No. 48, Feb. 16, 1934, p. 4, cols. 5-6.  

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Thursday, January 25, 2018

Early History of Pelham Girl Scouts and Pelham's First Girl Scout Gold Award Recipient


Virtually nothing has been written of the early history of Girl Scouts in Pelham.  Today's Historic Pelham article is intended to collect a little of that history to shed light on an important Pelham institution that, now, is nearly one hundred years old.

Early History of the Girl Scouts in Pelham
Pelham's first troop of Girl Scouts, Troop 1, was organized in 1921.  Troop 2 was organized a year later in 1922. 

As was the case with the Boy Scout program in Pelham, during the early years of the Roaring Twenties, the Girl Scout program in Pelham grew rapidly.  Demand for the program was so great that in 1923, Mrs. J. S. Kelly registered another Troop (Troop 3) with twelve girls.  That troop quickly expanded to forty girls so that Troop 3 had to be divided to create two troops (Troop 3 and Troop 4).  

By the fall of 1925 so many Pelham girls were interested in the Girl Scout program that two additional Girl Scout troops were registered in Pelham that year (Troop 5 and Troop 6).  The six troops together had more than one hundred registered Girl Scouts in 1925.  

With the program growing so quickly, program organizers needed help.  In late 1925 they organized a "Community Committee" to encourage interested Pelham residents to become involved in the Girl Scout program and to assist with such work as overseeing merit badge work and examinations.  

By 1928, the Girl Scouts of Pelham had 152 registered Scouts and the six troops had shaken out into four active troops.  The Girl Scout program had settled onto a solid foundation that has continued to this day.


The Girl Scout Gold Award

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award granted by the Girl Scouts.  It represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouts and is awarded to "inspiring leaders whose Gold Award projects are impacting the worlds of STEM, education, agriculture, medicine, and more on a local, national, or global level."  See "Gold Award -- Are You Ready to Make a Difference in the World?", GirlScouts.org (visited Jan. 20, 2018).

The history of the Girl Scout Gold Award is, itself, quite interesting.  Girl Scouting in the United States is generally credited as beginning on March 12, 1912, when Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low held the first "Girl Guide" troop meeting of eighteen girls in Savannah, Georgia.  
Beginning in 1916, Girl Scouts offered the "Golden Eaglet" insignia as the highest award in Girl Scouts.  The Golden Eaglet evoked the rank of Eagle Scout awarded in the Boy Scouts of America, the highest award issued by the Boy Scouts of America.  The Golden Eaglet was awarded from 1916 to 1939.  From 1940 to 1963, the highest award in Girl Scouts was called the "Curved Bar Award."  The name of the highest award changed again and, from 1963 to 1980, it was known as "First Class."  Finally, since 1980, the highest award has been known as the Gold Award.  Id.  

Who Was the First Pelham Girl to Receive the Highest Award of Girl Scouts?

Who was the first Pelham Girl Scout to receive the highest award of the organization?  A young woman named Ellen Kelly received the Golden Eaglet insignia in 1927.

As one might expect, Ellen Kelly was an impressive young woman.  She was a daughter of John S. and Dolores D. Kelly of 1465 Roosevelt Avenue in the Village of Pelham Manor.  On June 16, 1927 at 8:00 p.m. -- six years after the Girl Scout program first began in Pelham -- she became Pelham's first recipient of the Golden Eaglet.

The occasion was auspicious.  The Girl Scout Court of Honor was so large with so many spectators that it had to be held in the gymnasium of the Pelham Memorial High School.  The evening was even more special for Ellen Kelly:  it was her eighteenth birthday as well.

Several hundred spectators witnessed the event including Pelham Girl Scouts and their families as well as guests invited to the event from Girl Scouts of Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle and Bronxville, as well as Boy Scouts of Pelham.  The local newspaper carried a stirring account of the Spring Court of Awards during which Ms. Kelly received her honor:

"County Director Carolyn Lewis spoke briefly preceding the presentation.  She explained the significance of the Golden Eaglet, the work that the Scout must do to earn it, and stressed the fact that the first Scout in Pelham to receive the highest award the organization confers was fitted in all respects.  One hundred Girl Scouts in uniform then marched into the hall singing the Scout hymn and stood in phalanx formation.  Director Lewis asked that Scout Kelly's captain present her to the audience and Mrs. J. C. Kelly, Scout Captain and Ellen's mother, stepped forward with her.  The unanimous consent of all the Girl Scouts in the community and the consent of every member of the Pelham Community Committee is necessary before a Scout may receive the Golden Eaglet.  This was signified in a most enthusiastic manner, after which Miss Lewis pinned the award on Scout Kelly's uniform.  Amidst the applause that followed, the Boy Scout cheer rang out spontaneously from the group who were seated in the balcony.  As the ceremony concluded, Scout Kelly was deluged with congratulations and praise."

The following autumn, Ellen Kelly began college at Wellesley where she was active in local Girl Scout programs.  After college, she continued her studies and, in 1932, received a "Master of Science Degree and the Certificate of the Department of Hygiene and Physical Education" from Wellesley.  She was appointed to the teaching staff of the Department of Physical Education for women at the University of Wisconsin.  During summers, she served as a counselor at Shantywell, a camp for young girls run by her mother at Lake Mahopac, New York. 

In an indication of just how difficult it was (and is) to achieve the highest award granted by the Girl Scouts, it was three years later in 1930 when the second Pelham Girl Scout achieved the Golden Eaglet.  That year, Pelhamite Polly Litchfield received the award.  Pelhamite Martha Stewart was the third to receive the award and, in 1934, Pelhamite Carol Kander became the fourth young woman of Pelham to be so honored.


Ellen Kelly in 1932.  Source:  
MISS KELLY TO JOIN COLLEGE STAFF IN FALL,
The Pelham Sun, Jun. 17, 1932, Vol. 23, No. 13, p. 3, col. 2.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.



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"Ellen Kelly First Pelham Scout To Earn Golden Eaglet
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Ellen Kelly of Troop 4, Pelham Girl Scouts, will receive the first Golden Eaglet ever presented in the Pelhams, at the Court of Honor on Thursday night, June 16th at 8 o'clock in Memorial High School gymnasium.  The occasion will be a particularly important one for Scout Kelly as she also celebrates her eighteenth birthday on that date.  The Golden Eaglet is the highest honor a girl scout can achieve."

Source:   Ellen Kelly First Pelham Scout To Earn Golden Eaglet, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 10, 1927, p. 8, col. 5

"GIRL SCOUTS OF PELHAM
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The Pelham Girl Scout Committee and those in charge of the recent Court of Awards are grateful to the following citizens of Pelham for their assistance in examining the Scouts for merit badges:  Scribe, Miss Mary Costello; Athlete, Miss M. McNemeny; Citizenship, Mrs. Henry E. Dey; Bird Finder, Mr. Barnard Pourrs; Cyclist, Mr. Burgess B. Field, Mr. Charles Koenig; Electrician, Mr. H. D. Welton; Height, Weight and Distance, Mr. Norman Litchfield; Musician, Mr. Albert Fregans; also to the Westchester Lighting Co. for cooking examinations.
* * *
The regular Scout meetings have been discontinued for the summer and the last Community Committee meeting was held on Thursday morning at the home of Mrs. Norman Litchfield.
* * *
About one hundred merit badges will be awarded to scouts of the various Pelham troops at the Court of Honor on Thursday evening, at 8 o'clock in Memorial High School gymnasium.  Ellen Kelly will receive the first Golden Eaglet ever presented to any Pelham Scout.  Girl Scouts of Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle and Bronxville, and Boy Scouts of Pelham are to be the invited guests.  Parents and all friends of scouting are urged to attend."

Source:  GIRL SCOUTS OF PELHAM, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 10, 1927, p. 8, col. 4.

Source: 

"Ellen Kelly Is Pelham's First Golden Eaglet
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In the presence of several hundred enthusiastic persons, Scout Ellen Kelly of Troop 4 received the first Golden Eaglet to be won by a Girl Scout of Pelham.  The impressive and inspiring ceremony took place last Thursday evening in Memorial High School gymnasium at the Spring Court of Awards.  County Director Carolyn Lewis spoke briefly preceding the presentation.  She explained the significance of the Golden Eaglet, the work that the Scout must do to earn it, and stressed the fact that the first Scout in Pelham to receive the highest award the organization confers was fitted in all respects.  One hundred Girl Scouts in uniform then marched into the hall singing the Scout hymn and stood in phalanx formation.  Director Lewis asked that Scout Kelly's captain present her to the audience and Mrs. J. C. Kelly, Scout Captain and Ellen's mother, stepped forward with her.  The unanimous consent of all the Girl Scouts in the community and the consent of every member of the Pelham Community Committee is necessary before a Scout may receive the Golden Eaglet.  This was signified in a most enthusiastic manner, after which Miss Lewis pinned the award on Scout Kelly's uniform.  Amidst the applause that followed, the Boy Scout cheer rang out spontaneously from the group who were seated in the balcony.  As the ceremony concluded, Scout Kelly was deluged with congratulations and praise.

Awards of merit badges won by the Girl Scouts at the recent Court of Honor were then presented.  Mrs. William Holland Davis, chairman of the Court of Awards read the name of each Scout as she stepped forward and Director Lewis presented the merit badges won.  The following Scouts received the awards listed:  Dorothy Nowa, second class, observer, citizenship, scribe, health winner, cook, homemaker; Eleanor Ochs, second class, observer; Mary Elizabeth Parsons, second class; Gloria Pitman, second class, cyclist, cook; Margaret Stobie, second class; Sylvia Smith, second class; Martha Stewart, second class, craftsman, scholarship; Alida Van Ness, second class; Anita Zacchio, second class; Jean Ackland, scholarship, homemaker; Barbara Bartlett, scribe, needlewoman, hostess, homemaker; Florence Dickenson, second class; Marjorie Chittenden, observer, home nurse, cyclist, homemaker, first aid; Kate Davis, observer; Mildred Eichelberger, cook, scribe, needlewoman, rockfinder, homemaker; Betty Hart, observer, laundress, first aid, home nurse; Carman Hart, first aid, home nurse; Phyllis Haight, observer, cyclist, hostess, homemaker; Beverly Hull, homemaker, hostess; Marietta Jordan, homemaker, cook; Ellen Kelly, electrician, musician, cyclist, milliner; Polly Litchfield, home nurse, first aid; Muriel Mackintosh, needlewoman, home nurse, first aid; Alam Monroe, cyclist, cook; Ruth Prentice, home nurse, first aid; Paula Webster, home nurse, first aid; Emily Litchfield, hostess, electrician, path finder, scholarship badge ringed for very high average; Jane Allen, second class; Juliette Bolte, second class, scholarship; Elizabeth Brehm, second class, scholarship, scribe; Ruth Carnes, second class, laundress, health winner, observer, scholarship, cook, hostess, craftsman; Lialete Childs, second class; Jeanette Davies, second class, health winner; Betty Dean, second class, health winner; Marion Flynn, second class, health winner; Capt. Sarah Haight, second class, homemaker; Mary Knowles Higgins, second class; Yvonne Heading, second class, health winner, observer; Capt. Dolores Kelly, second class; Evelyn Koenig, second class, observer, cyclist, rockfinder, flower finder; Grace Langeler, second class; Emma Nichols, second class, observer, cyclist, rockfinder; Isabel Macgregor, first class; Harriet Walker, first class, home nurse, first aid; Irene Longley, hostess; Consuelo McKenna, observer, cook, cyclist; Dororthea McCoy, scholarship, citizenship, cook, cyclist; Elizabeth Pearce, hostess, bird finder, scholarship badge ringed for very high average, home nurse, first aid; Barbara Pitman, cook, cyclist, homemaker; Maude Van Riper, scholarship, homemaker; Alicia Knapp, first class, laundress, home nurse, first aid, electrician, homemaker, scholarship badge ringed for very high average.

Those receiving a gold star for perfect attendance during the year were:  Dorothea McCoy, Consuelo McKenna, Jeanette Davies.  Those awarded a silver stripe for good attendance with not more than three legitimate excuses were:  Gloria Pitman, Barbara Pitman, Lucile Scudder, Carol Jackson, Emily Litchfield, Alicia Knapp, Mary Emily Leary, Ellen Kelly, Alida Van Ness, Susan Larrimore, Muriel Mackintosh, Hattie Petrikat, Anita Zacchio, Alma Monroe."

Source:  Ellen Kelly Is Pelham's First Golden Eaglet, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 24, 1927, p. 6, col. 4.  

"GIRL SCOUTS OF PELHAM . . .

Ellen Kelly, Pelham's first Golden Eaglet is at Wellesley and she writes that she has joined the Wellesley College Scout Troop and that she is about to join the Massachusetts order of Golden Eaglet. . . ."

Source:   GIRL SCOUTS OF PELHAM, The Pelham Sun, Oct. 14, 1927, p. 3, col. 3.

"Girls Of Pelhams Have Found Many Advantages In Scouting
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Eight Years of Girl Scouting In the Pelhams Have Proven Of Great Benefit.  Next Year Holds Much For Members Of Local Troops
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By MRS. ROBERT J. BENDER

With the beginning of this holiday season the Pelham Girl Scout Organization celebrates its eighth winter of activities for the growing girls of Pelham.  In 1921 the First Troop was founded, the members of that Troop have grown up and gone to College.  Troop 2 was registered in the following year and that Troop is one of the active ones now, each year adding new girls.  Miss Mary Keating is Captain.

In 1923, Mrs. J. S. Kelly registered a troop with twelve girls and within a year that grew to 40 girls and was divided to make Troop 4.

The fall of 1925 started with four Troops, not enough to take care of many eager girls who were clamoring to be Scouts.  Troops 5 and 6 were registered that year.  Mrs. James MacGregor taking charge until Miss Eleanor Seed became Captain of Troop 5.

With nearly a hundred registered Scouts that year the need of a Community Committee was felt and that was formed to further the interest in Scouting.  The Community Committee's formation in that year meant that plans for the Girl Scout required that there would be a group of interested workers who could plan ahead for the work necessary Merit badges of The Scouts.

In 1927 the first ceremony conferring the Golden Eaglet to the first eligible Pelham Scout was held at the Pelham High School.  Ellen Kelly, of Troop 3, was the first to receive the honor.

This year opens with four active Troops and 152 registered Scouts.  From the work already done and the things planned for the following months it is sure to be the best and most successful in accomplishment.

Thirty two meetings in Troops makes up the winter schedule but that does not mean that summer time sees no work for Scouting.  At Rock Hill Camp at Mahopac, New York, the Scout Summer Camp which most of our Pelham Scouts enjoy, the Merit Badge work goes on with renewed vigor.  The Nature work the woodcraft, the birds, the trees and the all day hikes are more enjoyable if worked out from the camp.

Swimming Badges can easily be earned at camp as there is always at hand a professional instructor from the Red Cross Life Saving Corps.  Pelham has the distinction of having its Girl Scout Swimming Team beat the Boy Scout Swimming Team.

The Father-Daughter Dinner in October was attended by more than 200.  It was entirely cooked and served by the Scouts.  November offered National Girl Scout Week and our Pelham Scouts held an exhibit at the station which was intended to acquaint those of the entire town with the work of the beginners as well as to show them what advanced Scouting can do for girls.  December is kept free for the usual Christmas activities but in January there will be Group singing under the direction of Mr. Munro Hubbard and Troop Drills with Colonel Haight.

Girls of ten or over are eligible for Scouting and can join a troop any season of the year.

The first chairman of the Pelham Community Committee was Mrs. James MacGregor.  Mrs. Charles Hart guided the Scouts for two years later.  The present Community Committee consists of Mrs. Stuart Wilder, chairman; Mrs. J. S. Kelly, Mrs. Wm. H. Davis, Mrs. Edwin Van Riper, Mrs. R. B. Hull, Mrs. G. Munro Hubbard, Mrs. Herbert Wyckoff, Mrs. Chas. Bolte, Mrs. Norman Litchfield, Mrs. Raymond Smith, Mrs. Roscoe Ingalls, Mrs. Chas. Hart, Mr. H. J. Phillips and Mrs. Robert J. Bender."

Source:  Bender, Mrs. Robert J., Girls Of Pelhams Have Found Many Advantages In Scouting -- Eight Years of Girl Scouting In the Pelhams Have Proven Of Great Benefit.  Next Year Holds Much For Members Of Local Troops, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 14, 1928, Vol. 19, No. 41, p. 3, cols. 1-3

"Polly Litchfield Wins Golden Eaglet
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Highest Honor in Girl Scouts Awarded for the Second Time in Pelham.  Many Other Awards at High School Friday.
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The Girl Scouts of the Pelhams had their final Court of Awards of the season in the high school auditorium Friday evening.  One hundred and thirty-two badges and awards of merit were given to the scouts at this time and one girl scout, Polly Litchfield, was awarded the highest honor that the scouts give, the Golden Eaglet.  Miss Litchfield is the second girl scout of Pelham to win this distinction, a most difficult one to attain which means the winner must have character and a fine spirit and goes only to the highest type of girl scout.  Mrs. Charles M. Hart made the award to Miss Litchfield.  Pelham's first Golden Eaglet girl scout was Miss Ellen Kelly of Pelham Manor who is now away at college.

Mrs. G. Munro Hubbard of Pelham Manor, vice-chairman of the Pelham Girl Scout Community Committee presided at the Court of Awards in the absence of Mrs. J. A. Migel, chairman and spoke a few explanatory words about the work of the scouts.

After hearing some of the requirements for the various badges of which there are a great number, no one would wonder what the girl scouts did with their spare time.  It must be a load off their parents'  minds to know that young Sally or Jane holds a 'housekeeper's badge' and that Mary is a 'laundress' and a 'Child's Nurse.'  These youngsters are equipped to step into all sorts of domestic crises, apparently and carry off the honors of the day.

Mrs. Stuart Wilder, former chairman of the Pelham Community Committee and a member of the County Board made the presentation assisted by Mrs. E. E. Pringle who had charge of the Court of Awards assisted by Mrs. W. H. Davis.  Mrs. Wilder spoke words of friendly commendation to the girls as they received their awards and explained the significance of them in some instances.

The singing of the Star Spangled Banner, the Flag Salute and the recitation of the Girl Scout Laws and Promises were part of the evening's program.  Following the award of the Golden Eaglet badge to Miss Polly Litchfield she was presented with a gift, the presentation being made by Mrs. G. Munro Hubbard."

Source:  Polly Litchfield Wins Golden Eaglet -- Highest Honor in Girl Scouts Awarded for the Second Time in Pelham.  Many Other Awards at High School Friday, The Pelham Sun, May 23, 1930, p. 17, cols. 5-7.  

"MISS KELLY TO JOIN COLLEGE STAFF IN FALL
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Miss Ellen Kelly of No. 1465 Roosevelt avenue, has returned to Pelham after a year of graduate study at Wellesley College.  At the commencement exercises next week she will receive the Master of Science Degree and the Certificate of the Department of Hygiene and Physical Education.  

Miss Kelly has been appointed to the teaching staff of the Department of Physical Education for women at the University of Wisconsin where she will take part next fall in a new experimental program of activities for the women students and faculty.

This summer Miss Kelly will be head counselor at Shantywell, a camp for junior girls at Lake Mahopac, New York.  She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Kelly."

Source:  MISS KELLY TO JOIN COLLEGE STAFF IN FALL, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 17, 1932, Vol. 23, No. 13, p. 3, col. 2.

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Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Farm Versus Village: Gamber's Animal Menagerie on Maple Avenue in North Pelham During the 1930s


For nearly four decades during the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s Alfred L. Gamber of Chester Park, a banker with the Pelham National Bank, Bankers Trust Company, and other institutions at various times, also served as secretary, executive secretary, clerk, assistant treasurer, and treasurer of the Board of Education in charge of the Pelham Union Free School District No. 1.  Gamber also owned and lived on a small "farm" at 16 Maple Avenue.

Well, truth be told, Chester Park residents called the property a farm.  In reality, Alfred Gamber lived in a small residence on a small lot near the front entrance to the Chester Park Green.  On that property he kept a chicken coop filled with prize Rhode Island Red Roosters and hens.  He also bred and raised pedigreed bird dogs (Irish Setters and English Setters), exhibition pigeons (twenty four of them kept in "one little coop") and other animals on his premises.  As one might expect, the noisy animal menagerie and its irksome odors drove his neighbors crazy.  



Rhode Island Red Rooster.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Though a respected citizen of the Village of North Pelham, during the 1930s Gamber and his tiny "farm" were responsible for the enactment of Village ordinances adopted to deal with nuisances arising on his property.  The drama evoked a case of Farm versus Village, one of the last of many such battles experienced by Pelham as the Town became fully developed entirely within its boundaries with no room remaining for farm animals -- much less farms.  


Most nights, the yelping, barking, and baying bird dogs sang to the moon.  One Rhode Island Red rooster began to crow every morning at 3:00 a.m.  Then, each morning at dawn, the rooster began crowing incessantly for at least forty minutes.  Throughout each day the dogs howled and barked.  All day and all night all the time the traditional odors of a hen yard and a dog kennel wafted over the Chester Park neighborhood.

According to countless news stories, in 1934 the women of Chester Park rose in resistance to shut the animal menagerie down.  They were mad as Hell and weren't going to take it anymore.  Five women living in nearby homes on Maple Avenue and Linden Place banded together.

At first, one of them called the police.  She later lamented, however, that "I got no satisfaction."

Next they complained to the Westchester County Health Department.  That government office sent an inspector to Gamber's home at 16 Maple Avenue.  No health violations were found and the County Health Department "approved" Gamber's assemblage of animals.

Next, they demanded a hearing before the Board of Trustees of the Village of North Pelham, hauling Alfred Gamber before the Board to respond to their complaints.  On Thursday evening, September 13, 1934, the five women and Alfred Gamber appeared before the Board of the Village of North Pelham.  The women told of sleepless nights, terrific odors, and an inability to sell or rent property due to the nuisance.  They alleged Gamber was operating a business in a residential neighborhood in violation of a Village zoning ordinance.  They said he was selling puppies as well as eggs laid by his hens.  They demanded the whole affair be shut down with an "or else" quality in their presentations.

Alfred Gamber countered that he was a sporting man who raised bird-dogs and kept chickens and pigeons as a hobby.  He pointed out that others in the Village of North Pelham kept chickens.  He asserted that there was nothing wrong with selling puppies rather than keeping them after birth, particularly when the complainants claimed he had too many dogs.  He pointed out that neither dogs nor eggs were his business.  He also said that he would give up his chickens if everyone else in the Village of North Pelham who kept chickens gave them up as well.  He presented a pair of friends who testified his property was not a nuisance that that he harbored the animals as a sportsman, not as a business.

The Board of Trustees indicated that it might enact an ordinance to deal with the situation at its next meeting.  The Board knew, however, that an ordinance banning dogs, kennels, chickens, and the like would have wide-ranging implications that could ripple throughout the village and adversely impact others whose animals presented no nuisances.

The following Thursday, September 20, the Board met again.  It implemented a partial solution.  It enacted an anti-noise ordinance "against off-key sounds of the type that can be classed as noise.  This means barking dogs, crowing roosters, ringing bells, grinding machinery, or any sound whatsoever that would tend to interrupt the slumbers of the villagers during the night (thus impairing their health) and any other unnecessary noises that would disturb the peace and quiet of the village during daylight hours."  Those who violated the ordinance were subject to a $25 fine and five days in jail.

Within days a copy of the new anti-noise ordinance was served on Alfred Gamber who immediately took action.  According to one account, noisy fowl were "eliminated by culinary preparation."  

As one might expect, however, the matter did not end there.  Gamber still maintained hens, pigeons, Irish Setters, and English Setters on his premises.  A long-running feud seems to have continued.

The neighbors continued to complain about the nuisance presented by the animals on Gamber's property.  Thus, in mid-1935 the Village Board asked the Westchester County Board of Health to visit Gamber's premises again for another inspection.  The Board of Health inspected the chicken coop, finding that it held 14 Rhode Island Red hens and "a number of pigeons."  To the disappointment of the Board and Gamber's neighbors, however, the Board of Health further concluded that the animals were "kept according to statute and violated no provisions of the Health Code."

Still the neighbors complained.  Perhaps in retaliation or perhaps not, Gamber began burning rubbish on his property periodically.  

One of the neighbors who had complained to the Board before enactment of the anti-noise ordinance appeared before the Board again on Wednesday, November 13, 1935.  She complained that "Farmer" Gamber was harboring 76 animals including chickens, pigeons, and dogs on his property.  She further complained that he had begun burning rubbish on his property in periodic "bonfires" and that the noxious fumes were a nuisance.

The reaction of the Board of Trustees was immediate and firm.  Upon hearing from the complainant, the Board adopted an ordinance banning the burning of rubbish within the Village of North Pelham.  According to one account, the debate was rather quick:

"'Then,' said the trustee, almost in a body, 'we'll make an ordinance against burning rubbish!'

'But will it be constitutional?' asked someone.

'Never mind about that,' replied Trustee Bollettieri.  'Everybody seems to be testing the constitutionality of laws these days.  We'll make the ordinance and let somebody else test it.'

The ordinance was adopted unanimously.'"

The Gamber "Farm" and "Animal Menagerie" at 16 Maple Avenue in Chester Park thus was responsible for yet another Village ordinance.  It seems that, rather quickly, the battle of farm versus village was ebbing in favor of village. . . . .



Detail from 1929 Map Showing Chester Park and the Maple
Avenue Area Where Alfred L. Gamber Lived and Kept His 
Animals.  Source:  Hopkins, G.M., Atlas of Westchester County,
Vol. 1, p. 11 (Philadelphia, PA:  G. M. Hopkins Co., 1929).
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"SERIES OF CROWS, YELPS, ODORS IRK PELHAM WOMEN
-----
Quintet Prays Village Board to Do Something about 'Menagerie' of Neighbor, Complaining of Sleepless Nights and Much General Annoyance
-----

NORTH PELHAM.  Sept. 13. -- A rooster that crows for 40 minutes straight at dawn, bird dogs that rend the night with their yelps, pigeons that behave like pigeons and a hen yard with its traditional odor were on the mat last night at a Village Board meeting.

These combine to constitute an insufferable nuisance in a Maple Avenue section of Chester Park, five irate woman householders told the board.

Defending the bird-dogs, a litter of pups, the pigeons, the hens and the vociferous rooster, was their owner, Alfred L. Gamber, 16 Maple Avenue, executive secretary of the Board of Education.

The five angry women neighbors had fire in their eyes and in their voices as individually they told of sleepless nights, charging them up to the pedigreed Rhode Island Red boss of the chicken yard, disagreeable odors and general annoyance from barking dogs and visits of pigeons.

Rooster Up Early

The women want a stop put to the whole business by the Village Board.  There was a certain 'or else' quality to their grimness.

The complaining women were Mrs. J. K. Clarke, 25 Linden Avenue; Mrs. Herbert Zobel, 18 Maple Avenue; Mrs. Carl Becker, 15 Linden Avenue; Mrs. L. Gates, 19 Linden Avenue and Mrs. Harold Ring, 12 Maple Avenue.

Mrs. Clarke declaring that the rooster sounds off every morning without fail and sometimes makes his solo last 40 minutes, said she wants to sell or rent her house but can't do either because of the neighboring live stock.

All of the complaining women told the board that 'terrific' best described the odor from the hen-yard.  

The five women scoffed in chorus when Gamber produced two friends to testify to the inoffensive character of his place.

Michigan Neighbor

When Gamber offered Rose Fife as a witness, board members asked if he lived close enough to the Gamber home to offer an opinion.

'He lives in Michigan,' said one of the women, and they all five let forth peals of laughter.

Somewhat confused, Fife, started to explain that he had a Michigan license on his car but that he did not live there.

Board members interrupted his testimony as irrelevant, because he dwelt on such things as sportsmanship, the value of Gamber's pedigreed Irish and English setters, and allied subjects.

Gamber pointed out to the board that he had kept chickens since 1926 and that for eight years his neighbors had not kicked.  Now they kick, he maintained, on the dogs alone.

The board deferred action but indicated it would consider the adopting of a prohibitive ordinance in executive session."

Source:  SERIES OF CROWS, YELPS, ODORS IRK PELHAM WOMEN -- Quintet Prays Village Board to Do Something about 'Menagerie' of Neighbor, Complaining of Sleepless Nights and Much General Annoyance, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Sep. 13, 1934, p. 9, cols. 2-3.  

"Chester Park Dispute About Dogs And Chickens Is Carried To Village Board
-----
Beleaguered Trustees Listen to Argument About Animals and Fowl in Residential District.
-----

Can breeding pedigreed dogs and raising chickens and pigeons within the residential district of North Pelham be classed as 'sporting' or is it just a plain nuisance?

That was the subject of controversy at the meeting of the beleaguered North Pelham Board of Trustees on Wednesday night.  Five Chester Park women declared that their lives were being made miserable by barking dogs, crowing roosters, and offensive odors which they claimed emanated from the property of Alfred L. Gamber, whose home is at No. 16 Maple avenue.  Mr. Gamber is the clerk to the Board of Education.  He denied all their contentions, declaring that he raised a few puppies as a hobby and that his chickens were no more annoying than the fowl of several other residents of the village.

After listening to arguments and cross-talk for almost two hours, Mayor Eugene L. Lyon announced that the board would consider the adoption of an ordinance regulating the keeping of animals and fowl within the village limits.

The complainants, all nearby residents were Mrs. Harold S. Ring, of No. 12 Maple avenue; Mrs. J. K. Clark of No. 25 Linden avenue; Mrs. H. Zobel of No. 18 Maple avenue; Mrs. Mabel Gates of No. 19 Linden avenue; and Mrs. Edith Becker of No. 15 Linden avenue.

They see Mr. Gamber's interest in dogs and fowl as a business, in violation of the zoning ordinance.  They charged him with selling dogs and eggs and pointed to an advertisement in a New York newspaper offering puppies for sale.  The told the Board also that he had sold eggs.

'We tried to buy some one eggs and he told us that he had only enough for his Pelham Manor customers,' said one of the complainants.

His rooster starts to crow every morning at 3 o'clock,' said another.

'And his dogs howl all day long.'

'--and the odor from the place

(Continued on Page 7)

CHESTER PARK'S DISPUTE BEFORE VILLAGE BOARD
-----
(Continued from Page One)

is terrific.'

'He has two dozen pigeons in one little coop.  I cannot sell or rent my property because of this nuisance.'

'I called the police and I got no satisfaction.'  These were just a few of the remarks.   

In response, Mr. Gamber denied that he was commercializing his property.  'I am breeding fine hunting dogs because I love dogs.  I am not breeding them for sale,' he said.  'It seems funny to me that although I have kept chickens since 1926 no one has complained until now.'

He said that his place had recently been inspected by the county health department, and it was approved.  

Gamber offered the testimony of friends to show that he had a sportsman's interest instead of a business interest in raising dogs.

The trustees discussed the possibility of passing an ordinance regulating the harboring of dogs and fowl in the village.  Gamber said he would be willing to get rid of his chickens if others in the village did likewise.  The matter of adopting an ordinance will be discussed at a meeting next Thursday night."

Source:  Chester Park Dispute About Dogs And Chickens Is Carried To Village Board -- Beleaguered Trustees Listen to Argument About Animals and Fowl in Residential District, The Pelham Sun, Sep. 14, 1934, Vol. 25, No. 26, p. 1, cols. 7-8 & p. 7, col. 4.

"COMPANIONS IN MISERY

Crowing roosters, yelping hounds, and fluttering pigeons have caused North Pelham officials to scratch their heads in bewilderment over a problem, simpler but very similar to one that has aged many a Mount Vernon office holder.

'How can we rid the community of 'noisy' animals and birds and still satisfy animal and bird lovers?' is what the Village Board members are asking themselves.

For 20 years Mount Vernon's civic leaders have asked themselves the same thing when indignant residents demanded that grackles be driven from the city.

The otherwise peaceful village housewives have taken to the warpath because Alfred L. Gamber, executive secretary of the Board of Education, 
keeps dogs, hens, roosters and pigeons -- (and they all have pedigrees.)

'Pedigrees or no pedigrees, they must go,' was the housewives' ultimatum.

But the Village Board's problem is nothing compared to Mount Vernon's.  

Should the board members decide Mr. Gamber's pets create a nuisance, one single ordinance would be the solution -- although Mr. Gamber might not like it.

All Mount Vernon officials should join in passing a 'super-law' and the grackles would still make Mount Vernon their Summer home."

Source:  COMPANIONS IN MISERY, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Sep. 17, 1934, p. 6, col. 1.  

"Anti-Noise Ordinance Adopted to Make North Pelham Quiet Village
-----

North Pelham, Peaceful village.  

That is the hope of the board of trustees who last night adopted an ordinance directed against off-key sounds of the type that can be classed as noise.  This means barking dogs, crowing roosters, ringing bells, grinding machinery, or any sound whatsoever that would tend to interrupt the slumbers of the villagers during the night (thus impairing their health) and any other unnecessary noises that would disturb the peace and quiet of the village during daylight hours.

The ordinance, which was prepared by Village attorney Thomas E. Fenlon, covered almost every noise but those heard at sessions of the board of trustees at which village fathers are besieged by irate citizens complaining about noise.  The adoption of the ordinance followed a complaint made by Chester Park householders directed at a neighbor who is a farmer of chickens and thoroughbred dogs.

A fine of $25 or five days in jail or both is the penalty for violation of the ordinance."

Source:  Anti-Noise Ordinance Adopted to Make North Pelham Quiet VillageThe Pelham Sun, Sep. 21, 1934, Vol. 25, No. 27, p. 1, cols. 7-8.  

"COMPLAINT SUBJECT SCANS NOISE LAWS
-----
(Special To The Argus)

NORTH PELHAM, Sept. 24. -- A copy of the newly created Village Ordinance banning maintenance of noisy fowl and other animals was served Saturday on Alfred L. Gamber, 16 Maple Avenue, against whom neighbors recently complained to the Village Board because of his hens, rooster, dogs and pigeons."

Source:  COMPLAINT SUBJECT SCANS NOISE LAWS, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Sep. 24, 1934, p. 7, col. 3.  

"FLY-BY-NIGHT MERCHANTS TO BE BARRED IN PELHAM
-----
Village Board Passes Ordinance Imposing Sales Tax and Requiring Bond on Transient Stores -- Parking Limit Reduced
-----
(Special to The Daily Argus)

NORTH PELHAM, June 20: . . .

The Gamber chicken coop at 16 Maple Avenue was given a clean bill of health by an inspector from the County Health Department.  The Board asked for an inspection after receiving a complaint from H. Zobel, a neighbor of Alfred L. Gamber.

The report stated that the coop housing 14 Rhode Island and a number of pigeons was kept according to statute and violated no provisions of the Health Code."

Source:  FLY-BY-NIGHT MERCHANTS TO BE BARRED IN PELHAM -- Village Board Passes Ordinance Imposing Sales Tax and Requiring Bond on Transient Stores -- Parking Limit ReducedThe Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], June 20, 1935, p. 8, cols. 2-3 (unrelated text omitted). 

"Gamber's 'Farm' Is Responsible For Another Ordinance In North Pelham
-----

Just as an ordinance was passed against noise a few years ago was prompted by a complaint about the 'farm' of Alfred L. Gamber of Maple avenue, secretary to the Board of Education, more complaints prompted the adoption of another ordinance in North Pelham at a meeting of the North Pelham Village Board, Wednesday night.  Mrs. Harold Ring, also of Maple avenue, complained about smoke and obnoxious odors which she alleges are caused by a rubbish bonfire at the Gamber residence.

Mrs. Ring told the Board that the 'farmer' secretary to the school board harbors 76 pets, including chickens, pigeons and dogs, and although the county board of health has inspected the property and has found no violation of the health code, nevertheless she considers Gamber's animals and fowl an annoyance.

She wanted to know what could be done next.

The anti-noise ordinance passed two years ago when complaints had  been made against Gamber was referred to.  It was summed up briefly by Trustee James T. Bollettieri who said, 'This ordinance practically makes it a crime to be awake after 12 o'clock midnight.'

Mrs. Ring said that she was not complaining about noise, since three annoying roosters had been eliminated by culinary preparation perhaps, but against the burning of ill-smelling refuse.

'Then,' said the trustee, almost in a body, 'we'll make an ordinance against burning rubbish!'

'But will it be constitutional?' asked someone.

'Never mind about that,' replied Trustee Bollettieri.  'Everybody seems to be testing the constitutionality of laws these days.  We'll make the ordinance and let somebody else test it.'

The ordinance was adopted unanimously."

Source:  Gamber's 'Farm' Is Responsible For Another Ordinance In North Pelham, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 15, 1935, p. 8, col. 7.  

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