Announcement of Planned Extension of the Hutchinson River Parkway in 1940

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By 1940, there no longer was any pretense that the roadway was a lovely "parkway."  No, by 1940, the Hutchinson River Parkway was considered a potential "super-highway" that needed a major extension to permit New Yorkers to avoid congested streets and boulevards for outings in Westchester County, Connecticut, and Southern New England.  In barely a decade, the nature of the roadway was transformed from its original conception as a lovely "parkway" for Sunday afternoon jaunts into a major automobile artery connecting New York City with southern New England.  Thank you, Robert Moses.  Pelham, of course, was in the cross-hairs.

The history of the Hutchinson River Parkway, of course, is integrally intertwined with the history of the Town of Pelham during the 20th and 21st centuries.  Consequently, I have wriitten about the Hutchinson River Parkway on numerous occasions.  See, e.g.:

Wed., Mar. 07, 2018:  Pelhamites Learned of a Planned "Hutchinson River Improvement" in 1922.

Fri., Nov. 24, 2017:  Hutchinson River Parkway Detritus Was Used to Fill Much of the Pelham Reservoir in 1925.

Mon., May 08, 2017:  Pelham's Historic East Third Street Bridge Over the Hutchinson River Parkway.

Wed., Feb. 01, 2017:  Pelham Historic Marker Placed on Hutchinson River Parkway in 1927.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016:  A History of Tolls on the Hutchinson River Parkway and Their Impact on Pelham.

Tue., Aug. 26, 2014:  Westchester County Board of Supervisors Decided To Extend the Hutchinson River Parkway Through Pelham in 1923.

In 1940, newspapers in the region were filled with news accounts of plans to extend the "parkway" from the Eastern Boulevard, south of Pelham, to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge using a six-lane extension with no roads crossing the new super-highway.  The plans, of course, had been years in the making.

Only two years before, another extension of the Hutchinson River Parkway had been completed that extended the roadway from Boston Post Road in Pelham to the Eastern Boulevard (once known as the old Shore Road and the Pelham Bridge Road).  Additionally, in 1938 and 1939, New York authorities acquired the right-of-way required to extend the roadway all the way to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge.

During that two-year period at the end of the 1930s, buildings along the newly-acquired sections of right-of-way were demolished, test borings were made, and bridge designs were drawn so that work on the planned extension could begin as soon as financing was in place.

The planned extension to the bridge was planned to cost about $8,000,000 to construct.  The money was raised through a "refinancing in which the New York City Parkway Authority was merged with the Triborough Bridge Authority, retaining the name of the latter.  Commissioner of Parks Robert Moses headed the parkway authority and he and Commissioners George V. McLaughlin and Roderick Stephens head the Triborough Bridge Authority."

In mid-May, 1940 the Triborough Bridge Authority announced that "contracts had been let for the substructure and superstructure of the Eastchester Creek bridge, for the Givans Creek bridge . . . and for considerable grading."  It further announced that "Bids on other contracts will be taken in the next few months."

Work began soon thereafter.  Pelham, it seemed, would never be the same.

"This map shows the Hutchinson River Parkway Extension in the Bronx.

The numbers at different points are explained in the caption below the

adjoining pictures, which show sections of the same district."  Source:

 Another Parkway for the City -- Boon in Store for Motorists in the Extension

of Hutchinson River Road, N.Y. Sun, May 18, 1940, p. 5, cols. 2-4.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"The Hutchinson River Parkway Extension (indicated by heavy white lines

in the above pictures) will relieve traffic congestion on Eastern Boulevard

(5), the Bronx, which at present is a link for motor vehicles moving between

Long Island and New England points, via the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and

the Hutchinson River Parkway, Westchester county, and the Merritt Parkway,

Connecticut.  The picture at the bottom (looking north) shows the location (1),

of intersection and grade separations on the parkway extension at East

177th street at Eastern Boulevard.  In the picture at the top (looking north) is

another section of the parkway extension.  The Pelham Bay Parkway (2),

Gun Hill Road and Baychester avenue bridges and grade separations (3)

and the Eastchester Creek Bridge (4) are indicated as well as Eastern

Boulevard (5)."  Source:  Another Parkway for the City -- Boon in Store

for Motorists in the Extension of Hutchinson River Road, N.Y. Sun, May 18,

1940, p. 5, cols. 2-4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"Another Parkway for the City
-----
Boon in Store for Motorists in the Extension of Hutchinson River Road.
-----

Contractors' steam shovels and graders soon will be making the dirt fly along Eastchester Creek in the Bronx, building an important new link in the ever-growing chain of parkways in the metropolitan area, as modern as the 1940 automobile and as safe from the hazards and delays of big-city traffic as engineering can make it.

Called the Hutchinson River Parkway Extension, the new super-highway will be a boon to motorists who, groaning at the perils and tribulations of the road, have spent many of their summer Sunday hours crawling along congested streets and boulevards for a short outing in upper Westchester county, Connecticut or southern New England.

The extension will strike south across Eastchester Creek from a point in the present Hutchinson River Parkway in Pelham Bay Park to the present approach to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge.  No other roads will cross its six lanes of traffic, three northbound and three southbound and no red lights will bring automobiles screeching to a stop anywhere along its three and three-quarters miles of roadway.  Landscaped areas on either side and a mall between the north and south-bound lanes will make it a true parkway, as pleasing to the eye as it will be easy to the wheel.

Fast Route to Connecticut.

Long Island motorists, traveling along the existing parkways in Brooklyn and Queens and along the soon-to-be-completed Belt Parkway to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, will have a fast, direct route into Connecticut by way of the Merritt Parkway or into the north and south-bound Westchester county parkways by way of the Cross County Parkway or the Mosholu and Bronx Pelham parkways.

To be constructed on a right-of-way obtained in 1938 and 1939, the extension will be built by the Triborough Bridge Authority at a cost of around $8,000,000 and probably will be completed in eighteen months or so.  The new construction was made possible through the recent refinancing in which the New York City Parkway Authority was merged with the Triborough Bridge Authority, retaining the name of the latter.  Commissioner of Parks Robert Moses headed the parkway authority and he and Commissioners George V. McLaughlin and Roderick Stephens head the Triborough Bridge Authority.

The new extension will branch off from the two-year-old section of the Hutchinson River Parkway running south from the Boston Post Road to Eastern Boulevard, which also is known as the old Shore Road and the Pelham Bridge Road.  The branch will be roughly a mile south of the Hutchinson River Parkway-Boston Post Road crossing and about 2,300 feet west of the intersection of the parkway and Eastern Boulevard.  An elaborate cloverleaf at the branch will enable motorists using the new extension to swing eastward to Orchard Beach and City Island, thus diverting some of the heavy summer traffic to those three resorts from the Eastern Boulevard, now badly congested.

A Bottle-neck to Go.

A new bridge with a bascule type opening for boats will carry the extension southward across Eastchester Creek several thousand feet to the west of the present Eastern Boulevard bridge, which constitutes a bad bottle-neck for motorists.  Another bridge will arch over Givans Creek and grade crossing separations will eliminate hazards at Baychester avenue, Gun Hill Road, the Bronx Pelham Parkway, Westchester avenue, Tremont avenue, Grass avenue and Eastern Boulevard at the beginning of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge approach.  In addition there will be a grade crossing elimination where the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad swings across the extension right-of-way between the Pelham Parkway and Gun Hill Road.

Buildings along the right-of-way have been demolished, test borings made and bridge designs drawn, so the actual work is expected to get under way rapidly.  The Triborough Bridge Authority announced last week end that contracts had been let for the substructure and superstructure of the Eastchester Creek bridge, for the Givans Creek bridge . . . and for considerable grading.  Bids on other contracts will be taken in the next few months."

Source:  Another Parkway for the City -- Boon in Store for Motorists in the Extension of Hutchinson River Road, N.Y. Sun, May 18, 1940, p. 5, cols. 2-4.

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Pelhamite William T. Grant, Founder of Grant's Dime Stores, Donated Land for Our Lady of Perpetual Help - St. Catharine Parish in 1939

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The name “William Thomas Grant, Jr.” may sound like a common name, but it once belonged to an uncommon man who lived in Pelham Manor. He was the founder and Chairman of W.T. Grant Co. 

I have written a number of times about W. T. Grant and his company.  See, e.g. William Thomas Grant Jr. and His Estate in Pelham Manor, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 33, Aug. 20, 2004, p. 6, col. 1.

For many decades W.T. Grant Co. was one of the most successful retail chains in the United States. William T. Grant’s success enabled him to build a lovely estate on the north side of Boston Post Road where Our Lady of the Perpetual Help stands today. Grant donated this 4-1/2 acre estate to St. Catharine's for construction of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.  Today's Historic Pelham article provides a brief account of W.T. Grant, his company, his ties to Pelham, and the donation of his estate to St. Catharine's.

William Thomas Grant, Jr. was born on June 27, 1876 in Stevensville, Pa. His father bounced happily from failed venture to failed venture including a flour mill in Stevensville that flopped and an unsuccessful tea-store in Fall River, Massachusetts. Yet, as Grant stated in his autobiography published in 1954, his father was “always the optimist” seeing the possibility for “a great business success” in every venture. W.T. Grant’s father never found great business success, but his radiant optimism and desire to create a successful retail establishment passed to his son. 

William Thomas Grant, Jr.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

W.T. Grant had a happy childhood, but remembered in his biography that “there was never a time when the family income was sufficient to give my mother any sense of security” and that “many times” the family “had to move to a home where rent was lower.” 

As a youngster, to help his family, Grant became a hustler in the positive sense. He ran errands for neighbors and friends. He sold flower seeds. He delivered newspapers. He helped the owner of a butter-and-egg wagon. He worked at a drugstore fountain. During this time, he learned one important thing about himself. As he put it, he learned that: “I liked to sell.” 

Unfortunately, Grant liked to sell so much that he failed to focus on his education. He dropped out of high school during the second year. As he put it, he was “fascinated with selling” and his string of jobs after quitting high school reflected that fact. According to one biographer: 

“Grant became an errand boy for a group of Boston lawyers and then worked for a wholesale shoe house in that city and in a warehouse for a whetstone manufacturer in Pike’s Station, N.H. In 1895, he returned to Boston and entered retailing as a clerk in a boot and shoe company, followed by jobs selling shoes in a department store and managing a shoe store in Amesbury, Mass. As a sideline, he promoted prizefights.” 

While working as the manager of the shoe department for Almy, Bigelow and Washburn, a large department store in Salem, Massachusetts, Grant experienced an epiphany. He observed that department store customers bought twenty-five cent items on impulse. His 1954 biography, THE STORY OF W.T. GRANT AND THE EARLY DAYS OF THE BUSINESS HE FOUNDED, says: 

“One Saturday morning I had worked in the shoe department nearly an hour, trying to help a customer to come to a decision, finally making the sale after a dozen fittings. To cool my own exasperation after this chore, I took a turn through the accessories section of the store. Around the jewelry counter, covered with 25-cent items, were five or six women. I saw each one pick up a hat pin, or a brooch or bracelet and put down her quarter. No problem. No sizes. No fitting. No selling effort. Every purchase was an impulse purchase. The salesgirl had only to answer questions and make change. Suddenly I realized that this was the kind of selling I had been looking for! This was merchandise in motion!” 

Grant had observed the popularity of five and ten cent stores. He seemed to believe that there was a niche to be filled: the “25 Cent Store”. In 1906, at the age of 30, he opened his first “25 Cent Store” in Lynn, Massachusetts. By the time he died in 1972 (at the age of 96) his nationwide retailing empire included nearly 1,200 W.T. Grant Co. Stores. Grant’s Years in Pelham During the first year of the operation of his first store in Lynn, Massachusetts, Grant traveled to New York City so frequently on buying trips that he opened a tiny office in the City at 395 Broadway. That tiny office eventually grew to the behemoth national headquarters of the W.T. Grant Co. 

In the early years of his company, Grant worked long hours and opened more stores in the northeast. He handled his own buying for the stores and negotiated leases for each store that he opened.  Within ten years, he had opened thirty-six stores. By 1918 he raised the 25-cent price limit on the retail chain’s merchandise to $1. 

By about this time, W.T. Grant and his wife, Lena Blanche Brownell Grant (whom he married in 1907), were residents of Pelham Manor where they lived for many years. The couple, who adopted two children, built a lovely estate on the north side of Boston Post Road. The estate consisted of about six acres of property on which stood a large Manor House and two smaller houses. Records in the possession of the Library of Congress indicate that work on the estate continued for many years and that the beautifully landscaped grounds were designed by “Lundquist, L., landscape architect.”

W. T. Grant Home That Once Stood in Pelham Manor.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Fountain of the W. T. Grant Estate that Once

Stood in Pelham Manor.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Grant and his first wife divorced and, on September 3, 1930, he married Beth Bradshaw. The couple adopted one child in addition to Grant’s two other adopted children. Grant had homes in Pelham Manor, Cape Cod and Miami but he eventually moved to Greenwich, Connecticut where he lived until his death. 

In about 1937, St. Catharine’s Parish served Catholics throughout the entire Town of Pelham and was experiencing a “rising number of standees at all Masses.” Grant, a Protestant, offered to give his estate to the Archdiocese of New York. According to a history of the church, the initial offer was refused because the diocesan office already had arranged an option on a piece of property at Hazen Street and the Esplanade for a proposed new parish. But, “[d]uring ensuing meetings with the village board of Pelham Manor, the idea met strong opposition, zoning permission was not granted, and eventually the option was dropped.”

St. Catharine’s arranged an intermediary to approach W.T. Grant about his previously offered gift. The approach was successful and on May 27, 1939 a portion of the estate containing the Manor House and the land on which it stood was deeded for $1.00 to St. Catharine’s Parish as the gift of “Wm. T. and Beth B. Grant”. Approvals and legal technicalities required months of effort, but on December 8, 1939, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, at 11:00 a.m., worshipers celebrated the first Mass in a tiny chapel created within the Manor House. 

William and Beth Grant deeded a gift of the remainder of the estate on December 31, 1940. According to a history of the parish, the second gift included: 

“the area now used for parking near the school and two additional houses one of which remains standing today as the parish rectory . . . The second house, which for several years was occupied by [New York Supreme Court Justice Ernest E.L.] Hammer, was later razed for the parking lot.” 

The parish was established as an Out Mission for St. Catharine’s Parish. On November 22, 1954, however, all the property of the Out Mission was transferred from St. Catharine’s Parish to the recently created Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. 

The parish quickly remodeled the tiny little chapel. According to a history of the parish published in 1968, the remodeled chapel “became 71 feet long, able to seat 200 people. The Manor House [was] occupied by Monsignor McCormick and his first assistants.” 

The parish expanded its physical plant rapidly. In 1955, Mr. and Mrs. Abdala Barsa gave the parish a half-block piece of property on Fowler Avenue facing Boston Post Road. This became a parking area. In 1956 the Parish purchased a nearby home from Evans Dawson to serve as a convent. In 1958, the parish completed and opened a building designed by Edward Flaegle to serve as a parochial school for children of the parish. 

Today, the Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a vibrant and successful part of the Pelham Community celebrating its fiftieth anniversary year. At least part of its success, as the parish has recognized in one of its publications, is due to “Mr. William T. Grant, a Protestant merchant prince of Scotch ancestry.” 

W.T. Grant served as President of his company until 1924. Thereafter he served as chairman of the board. After the company went public in 1928 he controlled about 25 percent of the stock. In 1966 he retired as chairman at the age of 90, but remained as honorary chairman until his death on August 6, 1972. 

Only three years later, W.T. Grant Co. declared bankruptcy – the largest retailing bankruptcy in history up to that point. According to one biographer “[t]he company, which had so successfully found a retailing niche during the early twentieth century, was unable to do so in the 1970’s. Caught between the rapidly expanding Sears and Penney chains and several new discount houses, W.T. Grant was unable to decide on a retailing focus.”

*          *          *          *          *

"Grant Property In Manor Is Accepted By Church; To Install Chapel There
-----
Consent of Majority of Adjacent Property Owners Required In New Program for Catholic Parish.
-----

The Rev. Henry F. Hammer, Administrator of St. Catherine's [sic] Church in North Pelham announced yesterday that negotiations have been completed for the transfer of the William T. Grant estate in Pelham Manor to the church.  Mr. Grant, president of the William T. Grant Stores, Inc., and former resident of Pelham Manor, has given the 4 1/2 acre piece of property on the Boston Post Road at Fowler avenue and the large colonial manor thereon, to the church.  The property which was for many years occupied by Mr. Grant, is one of the show places of Pelham Manor. 

Father Hammer intends to remodel the mansion at once into a chapel of convenience to take care of the spiritual needs of the Catholics in Pelham Manor and vicinity.  There has been a distinct need, he said, for such a chapel.  The parish church of St. Catherine's [sic] in North Pelham is taxed to capacity at the Sunday services and many of the communicants have been forced to stand in the aisle during devotions, because of the limited facilities of the present church edifice.  The Sunday attendance of the Catholics of Pelham Manor at the new chapel will ease greatly the congestion at St. Catherine's.  

Father Hammer explained that there is no intention of establishing a new parish in Pelham Manor.  The new chapel, when completed, will be operated as a mission of St. Catherine's, under his administratorship, and will be attended by the priests of St. Catherine's with such additions to the staff as may be necessary.

The site of the new chapel is in a highly restricted residential zone in Pelham Manor, but Father Hammer has been assured that there will be no opposition on the part of neighboring property owners, and that the necessary consent of two-thirds of the property owners within 1,000 feet of the property can be obtained.  Committees of women and men of the parish have already been organized to gather the signatures.

Work will begin immediately on the remodeling of the mansion and it is hoped that services will be held in the new chapel on the first Sunday in September."

Source:  Grant Property In Manor Is Accepted By Church; To Install Chapel There -- Consent of Majority of Adjacent Property Owners Required In New Program for Catholic Parish, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 2, 1939, Vol. 29, No. 9, p. 1, col. 3.

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St. Catharine's Broke Ground for Its School Addition in 1939

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During the first years of the 20th century -- certainly before 1903 -- St. Catharine's Church in the Village of North Pelham built a lovely Lyceum building adjacent to the church.  The Lyceum was used as, among other things, a social hall and community gathering space for the congregation and its guests.  The first rector of the church, the Rev. Father Francis McNichol, had greater plans for the Lyceum even when it was first built.  He planned to use it as a Catholic school for youngsters in the region.

The matter was far more complex than it first appeared.  Father McNichol first planned to build a convent to house sisters from the Order of St. Francis to run a Parish school.  Father McNichol oversaw construction of the convent in 1906, arranged for four sisters to move into the new facility, then opened his new school in the former Lyceum building in 1907.  To learn more, see, e.g.:  Tue., Oct. 10, 2017:  New Convent Building Erected at St. Catharine's in 1906 Permitted Opening of St. Catharine's First School in 1907.

By the late 1930s, the little parochial school had developed a reputation for academic excellence.  Consequently, the tiny little school was bulging at the seams.

The original building housed four classrooms.  The classrooms had "sliding walls" to permit rooms to be opened and closed for different purposes.  The school, at that time, handled 135 elementary pupils.

In the late 1930s, the congregation of St. Catharine's began preparing for an expansion of the tiny little school.  They planned to increase its capacity to 329 students with an additional expansion intended for later in the event more than 329 students registered.

On Monday, March 20, 1939, the Reverend Henry F. Hammer, the recently-appointed "administrator" of the Parish of St. Catharine's Catholic Church, oversaw a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a large addition to the school that would add four large classrooms.  Construction additionally involved renovations of the original facility to modernize it and ensure that the entire set of classrooms would look and feel like a single facility.  The Rev. Monsignor Michael J. Lavelle, Rector at St. Patrick's Cathedral turned the first spadeful of earth in a ceremony attended by a very large crowd.  The local newspaper reported on the ceremony and said of the planned facility:

"The new addition will be a one-story structure, 52 feet by 57 feet, extending along Second avenue on the South side of the present building and having the same depth towards First avenue as the original structure.  Build in the present school, it will provide four addition classrooms, bringing the total to eight, and will also include an auditorium, a medical room, kitchen, and offices.  The old building will be renovated and modernized.  C. B. J. Snyder, former Chief Architect for the Board of Education in New York City is the designer and the construction work will be done by James H. Keane of Mount Vernon, a member of St. Catherine's Parish."

Preparations for construction began immediately.  Shortly thereafter, at noon on May 8, 1939, a crowd of several hundred Catholic and governmental dignitaries and spectators watched as the Most Rev. Stephen J. Donahue, administrator of the Diocese of New York, officiated at the laying of the cornerstone of the addition.  Inside the cornerstone, the officials placed a small copper box to serve as a time capsule.  It contained "documents giving a brief history of St. Catherine's Church, a list of pupils registered in the school, some 1939 United States coins and two issues of The Pelham Sun containing details of the ground breaking ceremony held March 20 and the advance details of the cornerstone laying."

Over the summer, construction was completed on the expanded school.  The expanded school opened its doors for an expanded student body on Monday, September 11, 1939.

St. Catharine's Church in April, 2011.

*          *          *          *          *

"Begin Work on School Addition  The Rev. Monsignor Michael J. Lavelle

breaks ground for the St. Catherine's [sic] School addition.  The 82-year-

old priest scorned the carefully spaded ground which has been prepared

for the ceremony, forcing the spade into the hard ground, much to the

amusement of the spectators.  --  Photo by Pierpont.  Source:  Break Ground

For Addition To School -- Monsignor Lavelle, Rector of St. Patrick's

Cathedral Officiates at Ceremony at St. Catherine's [sic] School, The

Pelham Sun, Mar. 24, 1939, Vol. 28, No. 51, p. 1, cols. 3-4 & p. 5, col. 2.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"Break Ground For Addition To School
-----
Monsignor Lavelle, Rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral Officiates at Ceremony at St. Catherine's [sic] School.
-----

St. Catherine's Roman Catholic Parochial School which has been educating children of the Catholic faith in the Pelhams for more than a quarter of a century in a small four classroom building adjacent to St. Catherine's Church on Second avenue, will be assured of increased facilities with the beginning of the Fall school semester.  On Monday in ground-breaking ceremonies the Rev. Monsignor Michael J. Lavelle, Rector at St. Patrick's Cathedral turned the first spadeful of earth.  The work of construction started immediately.  

Monsignor Lavelle officiated at Mass which preceded the ceremony.  He was assisted by the right Rev. Monsignor Joseph Donahue representing the Right Rev. Stephen J. Donahue, Bishop of the Archdiocese; the Rev. John Quinn, rector of St. Francis Xavier Parish in the Bronx, and the Rev. Henry F. Hammer, who was recently appointed administrator of the local parish.  Other priests included the Rev. Arthur A. Campbell and the Rev. Francis Mahoney, assistants to Father Hammer, and the Rev. Vincent J. Campbell, assistant to Father Quinn.

Monsignor Lavelle was welcomed by two young pupils of St. Catherine's School, Robert Strasser and Johanna Burke.  The eighty-two year old clergyman made sure that the earth was truly turned.  He 

(Continued on Page Five.)

BREAK GROUND FOR SCHOOL ADDITION
-----
(Continued from Page One)

took a firm grip on a gilded shovel, forced the blade into the ground with a step of his foot and brought up a shovelful of earth.

The children of St. Catherine's School sang 'The Star Spangled Banner.'  Monsignor Lavelle pronounced the Benediction.

To Open in September

Work on the renovation of the present school and the addition of the new structure, will begin immediately as the first section of the new plan, and be completed in time for the opening of the Fall term in September, Father Hammer has announced.  The new school will provide accommodations for 329 pupils, 190 above the present registration.  A second addition, contingent on the number of applications for admission received, will be started in September.

The new addition will be a one-story structure, 52 feet by 57 feet, extending along Second avenue on the South side of the present building and having the same depth towards First avenue as the original structure.  Build in the present school, it will provide four addition classrooms, bringing the total to eight, and will also include an auditorium, a medical room, kitchen, and offices.  The old building will be renovated and modernized.  

C. B. J. Snyder, former Chief Architect for the Board of Education in New York City is the designer and the construction work will be done by James H. Keane of Mount Vernon, a member of St. Catherine's Parish.

Bishop Stephen J. Donahue, Administrator of the Archdiocese of New York, will lay the cornerstone for the building, May 8th."

Source:  Break Ground For Addition To School -- Monsignor Lavelle, Rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral Officiates at Ceremony at St. Catherine's [sic] School, The Pelham Sun, Mar. 24, 1939, Vol. 28, No. 51, p. 1, cols. 3-4 & p. 5, col. 2.

"To Officiate At Cornerstone Laying  MOST REV. STEPHEN J.

DONAHUE, D. D."  Source:  BISHOP DONAHUE TO OFFICIATE

AT LAYING OF STONE -- Administrator of Diocese Will Confirm

Fifty Children at St. Catherine's [sic] Church on May 8th, The Pelham

Sun, Apr. 28, 1939, p. 1, col. 2.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"BISHOP DONAHUE TO OFFICIATE AT LAYING OF STONE
-----
Administrator of Diocese Will Confirm Fifty Children at St. Catherine's [sic] Church on May 8th.
-----

The Most Rev. Stephen J. Donahue, administrator of the Diocese of New York will officiate at the laying of the cornerstone of the addition to St. Catherine's Parochial School in North Pelham on Monday, May 8.  The Rev. Henry F. Hammer, administrator of the local parish this week announced plans for the ceremonies, which will mark the consecration of the school building under construction on Second avenue adjacent to St. Catherine's Church.  Bishop Donahue will confirm a class of 50 children in the church prior to the laying of the cornerstone.  The speaker for the occasion will be Monsignor Fulton Shean, of Catholic University, Washington, D. C., who is one of the outstanding Catholic speakers, known for his radio addresses.  The program will begin at 11.30 o'clock.

The ceremony of Laying the Cornerstone will begin at noon.  Children of St. Catherine's School will participate.  Supervisor Harold W. Davis will make a short address.  Also included among those who will participate will be the Mayors of the three Pelham villages, Supt. of Schools Joseph C. Brown, Monsignor Michael J. Lavelle, rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral; Monsignor McIntyre Chancellor of the Archdiocese of New York, and prelates and priests from many Westchester County parishes."

Source:  BISHOP DONAHUE TO OFFICIATE AT LAYING OF STONE -- Administrator of Diocese Will Confirm Fifty Children at St. Catherine's [sic] Church on May 8th, The Pelham Sun, Apr. 28, 1939, p. 1, col. 2.  

"BISHOP DONAHUE WILL LAY CORNERSTONE OF SCHOOL ON MONDAY
-----

MSGR. SHEAN TO BE SPEAKER AT LOCAL FUNCTION
-----
Administrator of Achdiocese Will Confirm Children Prior to Ceremony at New School Addition.
-----

In consecration of the addition to St. Catherine's [sic] Parochial School in North Pelham, dignitaries of the Catholic Church will participate in ceremonies to be held on Monday beginning at 11.30 o'clock.  The Most Rev. Stephen J. Donahue, Administrator of the Archdiocese of New York will confirm a class of 57 children, all pupils in the school, and will also officiate at the laying of the Cornerstone of the school building, which is situated adjacent to St. Catherine's Church on Second avenue, near First street.

The speaker for the ceremonies at the site of the school building will be Monsignor Fulton Shean of Catholic University, Washington, D. C. who is recognized as one of the outstanding Catholic speakers of the day.  Monsignor Shean's sermons are broadcast by radio every Sunday.

The program has been arranged by the Rev. Henry F. Hammer, Administrator of St. Catherine's parish.  Supervisor Harold W. Davis will speak for the citizens of Pelham.  Also in attendance will be Supt. of Schools Joseph Brown the the Mayors of the Pelham villages.

The dignitaries of the Catholic Church who will attend will include Monsignor Michael J. Lavelle, Rector of St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Monsignor McIntyre, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of New York City, and prelates and priests from southern Westchester County parishes.

Children to be confirmed.

The following children are to be confirmed:  Robert Bowen, Charles Kenneth Baker, John [illegible], Donn Quinn, Gerard Goettel, Edward Campbell, Robert [illegible], John Jennings, Arthur [illegible], David Parsons, John [illegible], James Murray, John Milano, Robert Chandler, Donald [illegible], Gerald Donahue, Fred Miller, Robert Gerrity, Edward La [illegible], Richard Taferner, Raymond [illegible], Lawrence Nack, Louis Whitehead, Bruce Baker, George [illegible] Hammer, Robert Fallon, [illegible] Eberhardt, Jaclyn Kieley, [illegible] McCormack, Emedia Adinolf, Catherine Sullivan, Janet Lang [illegible] Kelly, Barbara Ann [illegible], Adele Drago, Jane Ellen [illegible], Ruth Schuck, Jane Coughlin.

Rose Marie Falciano, Virginia Bowen, Beatric La Voie, Virginia Beam, Teresa Isole, Marion [illegible], Anne Pisani, Marjorie Desno [illegible], Jean Dunham, Constance Coughlan, Betty Nimphius, Florence [illegible], Elizabeth Marsland, Dorothy Zobel, Dolores Seaman, Joan Auer, Marjorie Guilday, Ann Tierney, Joan Maust."

Source:  BISHOP DONAHUE WILL LAY CORNERSTONE OF SCHOOL ON MONDAY -- MSGR. SHEAN TO BE SPEAKER AT LOCAL FUNCTION -- Administrator of Achdiocese Will Confirm Children Prior to Ceremony at New School Addition, The Pelham Sun, May 5, 1939, Vol. 29, No. 5, p. 1, cols. 6-8.  

"Bishop Donahue Officiates at Cornerstone-Laying  Father Hammer

of St. Catherine's Parish addresses congregation after Bishop Donahue,

Administrator of Archdiocese of New York has consecrated foundation

stone of addition to St. Catherine's School in North Pelham.  Seated in

front of the platform in Monsignor Michael J. Lavelle, Rector of St.

Patrick's Cathedral.  Seated on the platform are Bishop Donahue, Msgr.

John Quinn, Msgr. Fulton Shean, Msgr. Joseph Donahue, Msgr. J.D.

Roach and Msgr. Joseph Breslin."  Source:  BISHOP DONAHUE

LAYS FOUNDATION STONE OF SCHOOL -- Monsignor Fulton Shean

Gives Inspiring Address at Ceremonies at St. Catherine's [sic] School in

North Pelham, The Pelham Sun, May 12, 1939, Vol. 29, No. 6, p. 1, col. 1

& p. 10, col. 2.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"BISHOP DONAHUE LAYS FOUNDATION STONE OF SCHOOL
-----
Monsignor Fulton Shean Gives Inspiring Address at Ceremonies at St. Catherine's [sic] School in North Pelham.
-----

The new addition to St. Catherine's Parochial School was consecrated on Monday when, before a crowd of more than 400 church dignitaries of New York and Westchester, prominent officials of the Pelhams, and members of St. Catherine's Parish.  The Most Rev. Stephen J. Donahue, Administrator of the Archdiocese of New York, officiated at the laying of the cornerstone of the new school.  The ceremony followed the confirmation of a class of 57 children at a Mass held in the church at 11:30 o'clock.  

In a stirring address, Monsignor Fulton J. Shean of Catholic University, Washington, D. C. speaking on the anniversary of his birth, urged the members of St. Catherine's Parish to send their children to the new school that they might receive a religious education.  Pointing out that the Catholic Church had no objection to public schools, Monsignor Shean declared:  'We merely wish to be sure of a complete education.  The education of children is not complete if God is left out.'

The speaker deplored the lack of interest in religion on the part of the state.  'Our states take an interest in religion on the part of the state.  'Our states take an interest in religion when character has already been deformed.  Once the character is broken down, and men and women are behind bars in state institutions, the state says:

(Continued on Page 10)

Bishop Donahue Lays Cornerstone
-----
(Continued from Page 1)

'We will give you a chapel and a chaplain.'  'Then it is too late.  We should take an interest in religion early enough to develop character.  A child is so much plastic clay to be modeled into an image of Christ.  This ceremony today, if it was general in the nation, would create less need of chapels and chaplains in state institutions.'

What is the Source of Human Rights?

In a discussion of religion and democracy, Monsignor Shean declared:  'The basci problem before all nations today is what is the source of human rights, and the liberty of conscience?'  He pointed out that Europe today has given some answers to that question.

'In Italy,' said the Monsignor, 'it is held that rights and liberties are governed by the state.  In Germany by the race and in Russia, the class.  What is America's answer?  Our forefathers, who wrote those first documents (The Declaration of Independence) sought the answer to these same questions.  England said:  'In Parliament'; France said 'In the Will of the Majority, for the will can take away the minority.'

'But our forefathers found that base, and grounded their answers on God.'  Monsignor Shean here quoted the second paragraph in the 'Declaration of Independence':  'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

'None of the signers of that document were educated in non-religious schools,' Monsignor Shean held.  'The laying of the cornerstone is the marking of a real opoch, it is a concrete manifestation of the link between religion and democracy.'

In the laying of the cornerstone, Bishop Donahue performed the ceremony from a platform with the Rev. Henry F. Hammer, Administrator of St. Catherine's Church on his left and Monsignor Michael J. Lavelle, rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral, at his right.  Encased in the cornerstone was a small, sealed copper box containing documents giving a brief history of St. Catherine's Church, a list of pupils registered in the school, some 1939 United States coins and two issues of The Pelham Sun containing details of the ground breaking ceremony held March 20 and the advance details of the cornerstone laying.

Directly following the ceremony, Father Hammer addressed the gathering and declared that 'This is a blessed day in the history of St. Catherine's Parish.  When completed, this school will be a magnificent unit in the system of Catholic Primary education.

'Primary Catholic education is not new in Pelham,' Father Hammer declared.  'In 1908 [sic; was 1907], as the result of a gift made to Monsignor McNichol by the Iselin family, the present school was built, and, despite the handicaps, has been successful ever since, through the efforts of Monsignor McNichol and the Sisters of St. Francis.'  Father Hammer thanked all those in the Parish who had made the new addition to the school possible.

Supervisor Davis Speaks

Town Supervisor Harold W. Davis then addressed the assemblage and declared the 'achievement of the forces of Education, Culture and Religion is the salvation of humanity.  With the completion of this educational unit, the town, county, state and country has been enriched.  I wish to pledge Father Hammer and members of the parish our hearty cooperation.'

Bishop Donahue was presented with a floral offering by Doris Ann Rhem, and Monsignor Lavelle, who attended the ceremonies on the feast day of his Patron Saint Michael, was presented with a floral wreath by Peggy Warde, both members of the Confirmation Class.

The ceremonies concluded with Bishop Donahue bestowing his blessing on the gathering, and the children's choir of the church, under the direction of the Rev. Francis A. Mahoney, singing 'Holy God We Praise Thy Name.'

Among the church dignitaries present at the affair were Monsignor Joseph Donahue, Pastor of the Ascension Church in New York City; Monsignor William Roche, Pastor of the Holy Spirit Church in New York City; Monsignor Francis Walsh of Peekskill, Dean of the Westchester Clergy; Monsignor Joseph Breslin of White Plains; Monsignor John J. Casey of New York City, former secretary to the late Patrick Cardinal Hayes; Monsignor Aloysius Dineen of New York City and the Rev. Robert I. Gannon, President of Fordham University.  More than 50 priests from all sections of Westchester count also were in attendance.

Among the prominent local officials who attended the affair were Town Supervisor Harold W. Davis, Mayor Dominic Amato of North Pelham and Mayor Edmund C. Gause of Pelham Manor; Superintendent of Pelham Schools Joseph C. Brown and W. W. Fairclough, Principal of Pelham Memorial High School."

Source:  BISHOP DONAHUE LAYS FOUNDATION STONE OF SCHOOL -- Monsignor Fulton Shean Gives Inspiring Address at Ceremonies at St. Catherine's [sic] School in North Pelham, The Pelham Sun, May 12, 1939, Vol. 29, No. 6, p. 1, col. 1 & p. 10, col. 2.  

"New St. Catherine's [sic] School Ready for Classes Sept. 11
-----
Construction on Parochial School in North Pelham Progressing Rapidly; Father Hammer Preparing for Inspection Day.
-----

The new St. Catherine's Parochial School in North Pelham, now under construction, will be ready for occupancy by pupils at the Fall semester, Monday, September 11, according to the announcement of the Rev. Henry F. Hammer, administrator of the parish.  When the pupils return to resume their studies they will be amazed at the change in the educational facilities which the school will afford.  Gone is the small building with its four 'sliding wall' classrooms, and in its place will be an attractive eight-classroom building with school equipment of the most modern type; a spacious gymnasium-auditorium, and with adequate medical office space so necessary to the efficient education of children.

Father Hammer will soon announce a date for Inspection Day at which time parents of school children and other members of the church congregation may view the new school building.  

St. Catherine's School was first opened in 1917 [sic; opened in 1907], and since that time it has been conducted by the Sisters of St. Francis.  Because of its lack of space it has been only able to accommodate 135 pupils in the elementary grades but in spite of the handicap under which the school has been conducted, it has maintained an enviable academic record with the State Board of Regents.  The old school building has been remodeled and tied in with the new construction.

Ground for the new building was broken by the Rev. Monsignor Michael J. Lavelle, rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral on March 18, and on May 8, the Most Rev. Stephen J. Donahue, who was administrator of the Diocese of New York laid the cornerstone.

Father Hammer is making elaborate plans for the dedication of the new school building."

Source:  New St. Catherine's [sic] School Ready for Classes Sept. 11 -- Construction on Parochial School in North Pelham Progressing Rapidly; Father Hammer Preparing for Inspection Day, The Pelham Sun, Aug. 25, 1939, Vol. 29, No. 21, p. 1, cols. 5-6.

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