Sketches of Pelham in 1935 By Artist Vernon Howe Bailey

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Introduction

On May 17, 1935, a tiny little notice appeared in The Pelham Sun, buried on the second page of the local newspaper.  It stated:

"Sketching Pelham.

Vernon Howe Bailey, internationally famous artist, is doing a series of sketches illustrating the attractiveness of Pelham.  The series will appear in the New York Sun.  His idea of a suburban home epitomizing everything artistically delightful from an artist's viewpoint is the William L. Curtin residence at 35 Beech Tree Lane, Pelham Manor.  The Country Club, Bolton Priory, the High School facade, and our own chief joy, the Westchester & Boston R.R. arch over Fifth avenue, will be among the sketches appearing in the N. Y. Sun."

Source:  Sketching Pelham, The Pelham Sun, May 17, 1935, Vol. 26, No. 6, p. 2, cols. 3-4. 

Did Bailey's sketches of Pelham appear in The New York Sun?  Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog answers that question and provides information about Vernon Howe Bailey and his sketches.

Vernon Howe Bailey

Vernon Howe Bailey was, indeed, a renowned artist during the early to mid-20th century.  He was born in Camden, New Jersey in April 1874 a son of Amasa Pearson Bailey and Abbie S. Wise Bailey.  At fifteen, he moved his studies to the Pennsylvania Museum School of Art in Philadelphia.  

In preparation for his career as an American painter, draftsman, illustrator, and artist, Bailey also studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Académie Biloul in Paris, the Royal College of Art in London, and the Academie de l’ecluse in Paris.  In 1892 he joined the art staff of The Philadelphia Times and, two years later, moved to The Boston Herald.

On November 4, 1896, Vernon Howe Bailey married Lillian M. Cate in Lynn, Massachusetts.  He later married Lillian M. Cate and the couple had a son born October 23, 1907 whom they named Vernon Howe.  The boy died a few years later in 1918.  

As Bailey's career blossomed, he became a contributor to such famous publications as The Harper's Weekly, Leslies Weekly, and Colliers.  He prepared art for many of the covers of such publications.  He traveled extensively to execute illustrations on behalf of The Boston Herald and publications for which he served as a contributing artist.  According to one biography:

"Bailey's special subject[s] were city streets, landscapes, buildings and maritime scenes in Europe and America.  The best known of his drawings are his sketches in pencil of London, his watercolor and drawings of Spain and his drawings of skyscrapers in New York City.  Bailey was the first artist privileged by the United States government on the declaration of war [World War I] to make drawings of navy yards, munition factories, and other centres of war work, as mentioned. These drawings appeared in exhibitions and were published in the leading magazines throughout the country.  The collections he created in Spain were later bought by The Hispanic Society, and were shown in the Musée de la Guerre of France [which] contains a collection of lithographs of American war subjects. Besides his work as a newspaper artist in London and America, Bailey illustrated many books."

Source:  "Vernon Howe Bailey" in Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia (visited Oct. 15, 2016).   

After World War I, Bailey traveled extensively in Spain and made landscape drawings and watercolors of scenes throughout the country, many of which were later reproduced in his book "Little Known Towns of Spain."  Upon his return to the United States, he created a notable series of lithograph studies of New York skyscrapers in 1927.  

In 1935, Bailey began an extensive series of drawings of suburban scenes from throughout the New York City metropolitan region published in The New York Sun.  Among the first few of the hundreds of images he prepared for publication were a number of Pelham scenes.  

Vernon Howe Bailey eventually became a member of the American Watercolor Society, the Society of Illustrators, the Hispanic Society of America, and the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Art in Madrid, Spain.  According to one biography, "[h]is works were collected or exhibited in prestigious venues in the U.S. and Europe, including the Smithsonian Institution, the Hispanic Society, the New York Public Library, the Museum of the City of New York, the National Library in Madrid and the Vatican Library."  Vernon Howe Bailey died on October 27, 1953.

The Pelham Sketches

The Pelham Sun article quoted in full above indicates that during the spring of 1935, Vernon Howe Bailey executed five sketches of Pelham scenes:  (1) the New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad Arch over Fifth Avenue at Third Street; (2) the Pelham Country Club; (3) Pelham Memorial High School; (4) 35 Beech Tree Lane; and (5) Bolton Priory.  Research has revealed four of the five sketches mentioned in the article, with only the arch over Fifth Avenue not yet located by this author.  Given the way in which the series appeared in The New York Sun, it seems as though the sketch of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad Arch Over Fifth Avenue likely appeared in the newspaper on or about May 31, 1935 as sketch "No. 7" of Bailey's series of sketches, although this author has not yet located that issue of the newspaper.  Research further has revealed a sixth Pelham sketch by Bailey that appeared as part of the series.  It is a sketch of the Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pelham Manor.  

Below are the five sketches located so far.  The text of the caption beneath each image is quoted immediately below the pertinent image to facilitate search, followed by a citation and link to the source of the image.

"SKETCHES OF NEW YORK'S SUBURBS -- No. 8

By VERNON HOWE BAILEY  Pelham - Pelham

Country Club.  The sketch shows the frame and

stucco clubhouse of the Pelham Country Club on

Wynnewood Road, Pelham Manor.  Organized in

1908, the club maintains 128 acres, which include

an eighteen-hole golf course, opened in July, 1921.

In the foreground of the sketch is part of the lake

near the tenth hole.  But golf is not the only sport

in which the club has interest.  For instance, today

and tomorrow the first eight ranking tennis players

of the country will compete in an invitation tournament

on the Pelham club's courts.  Other sports include

squash and bowling.  The club has a membership

of 375.  Monday -- Pelham -- Memorial High School."

Source:  SKETCHES OF NEW YORK SUBURBS --

No. 8, The New York Sun, Jun. 1, 1935, p. 22,

Cols. 2-4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"SKETCHES OF NEW YORK'S SUBURBS -- No. 9

By VERNON HOWE BAILEY  Pelham - Memorial

High School.  The main entrance to the Pelham

Memorial High School, Colonial and Corlies 

avenues, is shown in the accompanying sketch.

The building was erected in 1921 to the memory

of the men who fought in the world war.  Tomorrow -

Pelham - Beech Tree Lane.  Source:

SKETCHES OF NEW YORK SUBURBS --

No. 9, The New York Sun, Jun. 3, 1935, p. 21,

Cols. 2-4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"SKETCHES OF NEW YORK'S SUBURBS -- No. 10

By VERNON HOWE BAILEY  Pelham - Beech Tree

Lane, one of the attractive residential streets of

Pelham, showing a gable-roofed building surrounded

by shrubbery and tall trees.  Tomorrow - Bolton Priory.

Source:  SKETCHES OF NEW YORK SUBURBS --

No. 10, The New York Sun, Jun. 4, 1935, p. 19,

Cols. 4-6.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"SKETCHES OF NEW YORK'S SUBURBS -- No. 11

By VERNON HOWE BAILEY  Pelham - Bolton Priory.

Bolton Priory, historic landmark in Pelham Manor,

was erected in 1838 by Robert Bolton, a minister,

whose friend, Washington Irving, set the building

date above the door in yellow brick brought from

the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow.  The priory

for years was a girls' school under Nanette Bolton

and later became the property and home of Frederick

H. Allen, whose wife formerly was a pupil in the

school.  The attic and top floor of the building were

destroyed by a fire in July, 1932.

Source:  SKETCHES OF NEW YORK SUBURBS --

No. 11, The New York Sun, Jun. 5, 1935, p. 22,

Cols. 2-4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"SKETCHES OF NEW YORK'S SUBURBS -- No. 12

By VERNON HOWE BAILEY  Pelham - Huguenot

Memorial Church.  Here is a sketch of the Huguenot

Memorial Church, which stands at Pelhamdale

avenue and Boston Post Road.  The Rev. William P.

Soper is minister of the church.

Source:  SKETCHES OF NEW YORK SUBURBS --

No. 12, The New York Sun, Jun. 6, 1935, p. 21,

Cols. 2-4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Notable 1903 and 1904 Cross-Country Championships Were Run on a Course Between Travers Island and Pelham Manor Station

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In 1903 and 1904, the large area of Pelham Manor bounded by Shore Road, the boundary with Pelham Bay Park in New York City, Pelhamdale Avenue and the railroad tracks along which Pelham Manor Station once stood looked very different than it does today.  The area was virtually undeveloped with heavy woods.  Indeed, before the area was developed it was widely used as a picnic ground.  According to Lockwood Barr in his history of Pelham published in 1946: 

“The groves of trees between the Harlem Branch and the Sound were once a favorite picnic ground. The old trees bear the scars of amateurs who carved their initials--and worse--in the bark.”

Source:  Lockwood Barr, A BRIEF, BUT MOST COMPLETE & TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE SETTLEMENT OF THE ANCIENT TOWN OF PELHAM WESTCHESTER COUNTY, STATE OF NEW YORK KNOWN ONE TIME WELL & FAVOURABLY AS THE LORDSHIPP & MANOUR OF PELHAM ALSO THE STORY OF THE THREE MODERN VILLAGES CALLED THE PELHAMS, p. 125 (The Dietz Press 1946)

Today the region today is fully developed with lovely neighborhoods and virtually no vacant land.  In 1903 and 1904, however, the area was bucolic and undeveloped.  There were a handful of homes on Manor Circle.  One home, the William B. Randall home known as "Hermitage," stood between today's Beech Tree Lane and Park Lane near the boundary with New York City.  The Bolton Priory and its carriage house, cottage, and outbuildings stood near Christ Church and its little one-room school house.  That was it.  There was no Beech Tree Lane, Park Lane, Forest Road, Elm Tree Lane, Bolton Road, Roosevelt Avenue, Priory Lane, or Shoreview Circle.  Instead, there were rolling hills, a large wooded area, and small creeks.  In short, the area was perfect for a cross-country course.  That is exactly what the New York Athletic Club created.

Detail from Plate 24 of the John F. Fairchild

Atlas of the City of Mount Vernon and the

Town of Pelham Published in 1899 Showing the

Area of the NYAC Cross-Country Course.  NOTE:

Click Image to Enlarge.

The New York Athletic Club created an ambling two-mile cross-country course between the Pelham Manor Station on the old branch line train tracks and Travers Island, site of the New York Athletic Club summer clubhouse.  For six mile races, cross-country runners made three laps of the two-mile course.  On each lap the runners would emerge from the woods into the sight of race officials and cheering spectators and leap across a thrilling water jump before either heading off for the next lap or, at the final lap, crossing the finish line at Travers Island.

In 1903 and 1904, the cross-country course was the site of very significant competitions.  On November 4, 1903, the "Cross-Country Championship of America" was held on the course.  John Joyce of the Pastime Athletic Club ran the six-mile course with a time of 32:23-4/5ths.

Only three weeks later on November 25, 1903, the "Intercollegiate Cross Country Championship" was run on the course with teams from Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.  W. E. Schutt of Cornell won the six-mile race with a time of 53:15.  Cornell finished first among the six teams that competed.

The following year, on November 23, 1904, the Intercollegiate Cross-Country Championship" was run again on the same course.  Unlike the previous year, this championship was for eastern teams with a separate championship scheduled for western teams.  E. T. Newman of Cornell won the six-mile race with a time of 32:52.  Once again, Cornell finished first among the five teams that qualified and competed.

It may be difficult today to image young men running, leaping, and scrambling across hill and dale in an almost rural setting in this part of Pelham Manor.  The fact that the New York Athletic Club made its cross-country course in this area, however, reminds us of simpler times when much of Pelham Manor retained a more rural character.

*          *          *          *          *

Below is the text of three articles describing the cross-country races run in Pelham Manor in 1903 and 1904.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPION.
-----
John Joyce, Former Cornell Student, Defeats Fast Field.

New York, Nov. 4. -- John Joyce of the Pastime Athletic club, this city, has won the senior cross-country championship of America in a contest at Travers' Island, the country home of the New York Athletic club.

By defeating the field, Joyce took down the numbers of such men as Newton, Grant, Schutt and Valentine, each of whom occupies a prominent place for championships won over long distances.

Schutt is a Cornell student, who spread-eagled the field of two-milers in the intercollegiate contest last spring, while Grant but recently took the measure of the two-mile amateur record, which stood for many years.  The course covered about two miles and was run over three times.  Joyce's time was 32:23 4-5."

Source:  CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPION -- John Joyce, Former Cornell Student, Defeats Fast Field, The Salt Lake Herald, Nov. 5, 1903, p. 7, col. 1 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link.)

"CORNELL WON THE CROSS COUNTRY RUN
-----
Her Seven Representatives Finished in the First Dozen, With Schutt and Woodward Fighting It Out to the Tape -- Harvard Second, Yale Third.
-----

New York, Nov. 25. -- Cornell scored an easy victory in the fifth renewal of the Intercollegiate Cross Country Championship, six miles over the Travers Island course and through adjacent woods to-day.  Thirty-nine athletes started and of these thirty-four finished, but H. M. Frank of Princeton, who was the twenty-fifth man to get home, was disqualified for failing to take the water jump.

Cornell had five representatives in the first six.  W. E. Schutt, the intercollegiate two-mile champion, was first to cross the line, his time being 53:15, which is 52 seconds behind the time made by John Joyce, winner of the national championship over the same course three weeks ago.

Cornell had seven representatives in the contest and they all finished in the first dozen.  W. J. Hall, of Yale, finished third, and King, of Harvard, bleeding freely from the effects of a bad fall, got home in seventh position.  Cornell not alone took the team honors but all of her men crossed the tape before any of the representatives of Columbia, Princeton or Pennsylvania.

The start was made at nine minutes past 4 o'clock with Jacobus, of Yale, in the lead.  As they disappeared into the woods, Schutt was running second to Jacobus, with Hall, of Yale, and Woodward, of Cornell, close up.

At the end of the first lap Schutt was in front by a narrow margin, the time being 11:23, with Woodward about a yard behind, Hall being third, and the rest of the Cornellians well bunched only a few yards back.

There was little change in the relative positions of the runners in the second lap, at the end of which Schutt was about twenty yards ahead of Woodward, his time being 21:22.  In the final run into the Travers Island grounds Schutt led Woodward by about twenty-five yards and cleared the water jump in fine style, sprinting to the finish with Woodward, Hall, Foster and Magoffin in the order named.

The team scores were counted for each college in the positions that their first four representatives finished, Cornell winning with twelve points, the lowest score on record.  Harvard was second with thirty-seven, Yale third with forty-six, Princeton fourth with seventy-six.  Pennsylvania fifth with 100 and Columbia sixth with 112.

Following is the order at the finish with the time made of the first ten men:  W. E. Schutt, Cornell, 33:15; K. W. Woodward, Cornell, 33:18; W. J. Hall, Yale, 33:26; T. M. Foster, Cornell, 33:42; C. F. Magoffin, Cornell, 33:48; E. T. Newman, Cornell, 33:56; A. King, Harvard, 34:00; D. C. Munson, Cornell, 34:05; W. A. Colwell, Harvard, 34:04; S. Curtis, Harvard, 34:22."

Source:  CORNELL WON THE CROSS COUNTRY RUN -- Her Seven Representatives Finished in the First Dozen, With Schutt and Woodward Fighting It Out to the Tape -- Harvard Second, Yale Third, Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], Nov. 26, 1903, p. 13, col. 4 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"CORNELL TEAM IS FIRST.
-----
WINS THE ANNUAL CROSS COUNTRY RACE IN THE EAST.
-----
Ithaca Men Furnish Four of the First Five Men at the Finish, Pennsylvania Being Second, Yale Third, Harvard Fourth, and Columbia Last -- Western Colleges Are to Have Their First Contest of the Kind This Afternoon at the Midway.
-----

New York, Nov. 23. -- Cornell's sturdy athletes once more captured the intercollegiate cross country championship in the run today over the course between Pelham Manor station and the home of the New York Athletic club on Travers Island.  

Five teams made up of thirty-four runners representing Cornell, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania took part in the contest, and of the seven men who carried the Ithacan colors, four finished in the first five places, winning the honor, with a total of twelve points.

E.T. Newman of Cornell led the big field during the greater part of the journey and finished fully fifty yards in front of his teammate, C. F. Magoffin, who in turn was a like distance ahead of W. J. Hall of Yale.  Nearly 100 yards back of these leaders  were D. C. Munson and A. Starr, both of Cornell.  The sixth place was won by C. D. Macdonald of Columbia, while W. G. Howard of Harvard was seventh and C. R. Major of the University of Pennsylvania eighth.

Newman's time, 32:52, is twenty-three seconds faster than the time of his college mate, Schutt, made on the same course, a little over six miles, a year ago.  Today's contest was the sixth of its kind which has taken place under the auspices of the Intercollegiate Cross Country association of the Amateur Athletes of America, and Cornell has won five times.

Following is the result by points:  Cornell, first with 12; Pennsylvania, second with 41; Yale, third, with 51; Harvard, fourth, with 52; and Columbia, last, with 73."

Source:  CORNELL TEAM IS FIRST -- WINS THE ANNUAL CROSS COUNTRY RACE IN THE EAST -- Ithaca Men Furnish Four of the First Five Men at the Finish, Pennsylvania Being Second, Yale Third, Harvard Fourth, and Columbia Last -- Western Colleges Are to Have Their First Contest of the Kind This Afternoon at the Midway, The Chicago Daily Tribune, Nov. 24, 1904, p. 11, col. 4 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

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Reminiscences Of Long-Time Pelham Manor Resident Evelyn Randall Published in 1938

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Evelyn Smith Randall and her husband, William Bradley Randall, were important early residents of the Village of Pelham Manor.  The couple began spending their summers in Pelham Manor in a bungalow they built on a lot extending from Park Lane to Beech Tree Lane in the early 1890s when there were only a few homes built on Manor Circle and virtually no other homes between the branch line railroad and Shore Road along Long Island Sound.  In 1896, the couple moved to Pelham Manor permanently and expanded their bungalow into a beautiful home named the "Hermitage."  

The Hermitage, Home of William B. and Evelyn Randall in

Pelham Manor for Many Years.  The Home No Longer

Stands.  Source:  Courtesy of The Office of The Historian

of the Town of Pelham.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

I have written about William B. Randall, Evelyn Randall, and their home, the Hermitage, on a number of occasions.  See:

Thu., Apr. 30, 2015:  Obituaries of William B. Randall, a Notable Pelham Manor Resident, and Information About His Family and Home.  

Fri., Apr. 29, 2005:  Mr. and Mrs. William Bradley Randall And Their Pelham Home Known as The Hermitage. 

Tue., Jul. 10, 2007:  An Early Event in the History of Pelhamwood. 

Fri., Jul. 17, 2009:  Brief Biography of William B. Randall of Pelham Manor Published in 1900. 

Thu., Oct. 23, 2014: A Mystery: The Club House Built by the Pelham Shore Improvement Company.

In 1938, Evelyn Randall wrote a pair of articles published in the local newspaper, The Pelham Sun, recording her reminiscences of her early days in Pelham Manor.  She and her husband were active members of the community.  Consequently, Evelyn Randall's reminiscences touch on a host of historical matters including early development of the Park Lane and Beech Tree Lane area, the transition from horses to automobiles, the early days of the Manor Club and the Tuesday Afternoon Club, the origins of Wykagyl Country Club, and the origins of today's Pelham Country Club.  

Mrs. Randall's reminiscences provide a fascinating glimpse of life in Pelham Manor during a simpler, more rural time.  The text of her two articles appears immediately below.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"EARLY DAYS IN PELHAM MANOR

By EVELYN RANDALL (Mrs. Wm. B. Randall)

Reminiscences of an oldtime Pelham Manor resident, presenting an intimate and charming picture of life in the early days of the village.
-----

This article, the first in a series of two, written by Mrs. William B. Randall of Park Lane, longtime resident of Pelham Manor, will make its appeal to both old and new residents of the community.  To the former group, it will doubtless recall many pleasant memories and associations of other days, and to the newer residents it will serve to bring a vivid picture of what Pelham Manor was like in the days before the turn of the century and in the years that followed.  Mrs. Randall, long a prominent resident, has with Mr. Randall for many years taken a leading part in the social and club activity and general life of the community.  A woman of cultured tastes, her influence has long been felt in the Manor Club.

Early Days in Pelham Manor

When we were young, Mr. Randall and I used to enjoy traveling up from the City to see the Spring Games at the New York Athletic Club, and as we walked past Christ's Church and along the thickly shaded country road toward the railroad station [i.e., today's Pelhamdale Avenue] we thought that Pelham Manor must look like rural England, and that we should like to live in it.  

After we were married we did come to Pelham Manor where we acquired a modest lot on Park Lane.  

When children came the problem of where to go for the Summer became so urgent that we built a bungalow on our lot and we spent several Summers there before enlarging it for our year-round home in 1896.  [This is the origin of the home on Park Lane known as "The Hermitage."]  

Early Troubles

When we first came to the country, I was afraid of tramps, of the dark woods, of the noise of the hoot owls, in fact of everything.

If Mr. Randall were detained late in town I would go to bed with a pistol and a candle on a chair by my bedside.  In my nervousness I might easily have shot someone by mistake.  

In those first years we suffered many inconveniences.  We had neither water, gas, sewer, electricity, nor sidewalk, and of course, no telephone.  The narrow road had a layer of stone at the bottom but it needed several layers more before it could be called a road.  The road ended at our property and later on Mr. Randall extended the road down to the Sound at his own expense.  

Our land was very rough, it had never been subdued or cultivated in any way.  We struggled long to make a lawn, and had a gang of men with grub hoes to dig up the stones and rocks and level it off.  

In the fields adjoining, weeds and grasses grew as high as one's head, and one day our little daughter, Phoebe wandered down a tiny path and was lost for hours.  She was finally picked up by the carpenter and brought home.  We also were devoured by mosquitoes.  

In our year-round house we proudly put in one of the first hot water heating systems, the first pure white kitchen, and one of the first sleeping porches.  

As soon as we came to live in Pelham Manor, Mr. Randall joined the sewer commission.  We also struggled to put in water and gas and each achievement would seem like an exciting adventure.

As a reward for his efforts, Mr. Randall was elected a trustee of the village and he finally became President.  During his term an amusing incident occurred.

An Amusing Incident

One warm Summer evening at about nine o'clock, a gentleman wandered into the little old station at Pelham Manor to take the Branch Line train of the New Haven, to New York.  He was intoxicated after spending a happy day with his friends among the 'Indians' on Huckleberry Island, and he failed to make the train which was moving slightly.  He fell to the ground and our policeman, Joseph Colgan, and Mr. Harry Dey ran out on the track to assist him.  Unfortunately, he mistook them for robbers and to their horror drew out his gun.  They thought it unwise to force the matter to an issue and the intoxicated man walked the supposed 'robbers' all the way to the Athletic Club at the point of his pistol.  The man, later on, was identified, arrested and fined and after being lectured by the Rev. John H. Dey, editor of the Evangelist, on the evils of drink, he was glad to evaporate.

Spreading Out

Soon after we built our year-'round home we built a stable and began to keep horses.  We took on a coachman and a gardener and two maids and we laid out flower and vegetable gardens.  We also built cowshed and purchased a cow which unfortunately proceeded to run dry.  We purchased coops and a runway for chickens but as we did not understand chickens they soon failed to lay and we ate them.  There was a long, succession of dogs, large and small, and our boats ran from row boats up to power boats.  We also bought adjoining land until we owned five acres.  It was all in the game.  

The Old Manor Club

Our principal amusement, evenings, in those early days was going to the old Manor Club for dances, entertainments, pool and cards.  

Although the clubhouse was small, seating barely one hundred, our affairs had quite an air of smartness.  

People wore evening dress, the women wore long white gloves and at dances the men wore gloves.  I remember that Mr. Randall had eight pairs at once, and Mrs. Corlies would bring me a package of white gloves every year from Paris.  

The old Manor Club was restricted by the deed of gift of the land from having or serving alcoholic beverages and we were constantly troubled to make welsh-rarebits without beer.  The 'he men' of the period also complained at our mild refreshments of ice cream and cake and all this had a bearing on the success of the new Country Club where anything could be had to drink.  

The Tuesday Afternoon Club

One of the very best things that ever happened for the women of Pelham Manor was the founding of the Tuesday Afternoon Club in 1900.  This club was a modest little reading group.  It grew with the growth of the village until in 1914, when the Old Manor Club was about to expire it 'took over' the old club, and made it a regulation women's club with sections for the study of various subjects.  

The present Manor Club is a valued factor in the lives of the women of the Pelhams, enabling them to exercise their talents whether cultural or executive and to make and cement friendships.

Mrs. James F. Secor was the leading spirit in these two women's clubs, and she was the beloved president of one and then of the other during a period of no less than twenty-five years.  

Ed. Note:  The second and last article by Mrs. Randall presenting her reminiscences of other days, will appear in next week's issue of The Pelham Sun."

Source:  Randall, Evelyn, EARLY DAYS IN PELHAM MANOR By EVELYN RANDALL (Mrs. Wm. B. Randall) Reminiscences of an oldtime Pelham Manor resident, presenting an intimate and charming picture of life in the early days of the village, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 29, 1938, p. 7, cols. 1-2.  

"EARLY DAYS IN PELHAM MANOR
By EVELYN RANDALL (Mrs. Wm. B. Randall)
-----

This is the second and last article written by Mrs. Randall long a resident of Pelham Manor , in which she has presented a vivid and intimate picture of life in the village of days gone by.

Early Automobiling

About 1910, when a few automobiles began to be owned in Pelham Manor, we still clung to our horses.  

At that time people used to put up their cars in Winter, featuring to have them freeze or get blocked in a snow drift.

It used to give us considerable inward glee on cold, Winter mornings to see these rich and bloated owners of cars standing shivering on street corners waiting trustfully for the 'Toonerville Trolley' to take them to their train while we drove gaily by, nestling in fur robes, our sleigh bells jingling and red tassels waving.  If there happened to be room we would invite one or two to ride.

The Pelham Country Club

It may surprise you to learn that the original Pelham Country Club rented some farm land on the easterly side of Fowler avenue for a nine hole golf course in the early years of golf.  

After a time the land was sold and the club was forced to remove.  The old Disbrow farm on North avenue ,New Rochelle was rented and finally purchased and an eighteen hole course was built.  

The leading spirits were the men from Pelham Manor, though new members soon increased the membership.  The first three presidents were from Pelham Manor, Martin J. Condon, Paul Heubner and William B. Randall who also became life members.

The name Wykagyl was substituted by William K. Gillett who discovered a native Indian tribe associated with that neighborhood.  

About that time there was a tennis club in Pelham Manor which had its home at the Iden Mansion on Wolf's Lane, where they had six tennis courts.  

In 1908 this cljub decided to expand and they chose the present site of the Pelham Country Club.  

The property was the much despised Spreen Swamp which Mr. George Lahey described as 'a repository for discarded iron beds, boilers and tin cans and debris of every description.'  Drainage from half of Pelham Manor flowed into it; it contained a peat bed, quick sands and a swamp where frogs, snakes and mosquitoes flourished.  

With infinite courage and tenacity and at great expense, this unlovely spot 'has been transformed into a lovely park with fine trees, shrubs and running brooks, where formerly there was only rough terrain and stagnant water.'  A full length golf course was finally completed within the village.

This great undertaking was accomplished under the leadership of Mont D. Rogers, Edmjund E. Sinclair and William B. Randall, faithfully supported by the Board of Governors and the entire membership.

I quote again:  'After the construction of the golf course, Pelham Manor property in the vicinity that had been offered at $4,000 per acre, eventually sold as high as $40,000 per acre greatly increasing the wealth of the owners.'

The Pelham Country Club has been a boon to its members giving them health and pleasure."

Source:  Randall, Evelyn, EARLY DAYS IN PELHAM MANOR By EVELYN RANDALL (Mrs. Wm. B. Randall), The Pelham Sun, Aug. 6, 1938, p. 6, cols. 7-8.  

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Pelham's Most Famous Lovers' Lanes: Beech Tree Lane Was the Favorite

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There was a time when the road we know today as Pelhamdale Avenue was little more than a winding cowpath leading inland from Long Island Sound toward today's Boston Post Road.  During the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, a second pathway slowly extended from the pathway that became Pelhamdale.  The second pathway grew toward today's Pelham Bay Park and on toward Hunter's Island in Long Island Sound.  That unpaved country path eventually became an unpaved country roadway, known today as Beech Tree Lane.  

The pathway, even before it became "Beech Tree Lane" in 1927 was famous as a "Lovers' Lane" where lovers strolled while visiting the "picnic grounds" as the woods from the New Haven Branch Line tracks to the Bolton Priory estate were known.  

Once Beech Tree Lane was paved and opened in about 1927, its honor of being the most celebrated lovers' lane in the Town of Pelham only grew.  That honor was quite an accomplishment given that all three villages at the time had their own lovers' lanes.  Those of the Village of Pelham Manor were better-known, however, and, thus, were more frequented  by Pelhamites and non-Pehamites alike.

Every small town and community, of course, likely has had at one time or another one or more lovers' lanes.  Lovers' lanes became more widespread with the development, during the early twentieth century, of the culture of the automobile.  For much of the first half of the twentieth century, Pelham's dark and quiet streets seemed to have served as excellent lovers' lanes, although few seemed to have rivaled the lane that had no name until it became "Beech Tree Lane."  The issue seems to have grown particularly annoying to local residents, however, during the mid-1930s.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog documents a few of the lovers' lanes in our Town.  There were several dark and secluded lanes, mostly in Pelham Manor where lovers spent their precious time.  Most interestingly, Beech Tree Lane always seemed to be the prime destination for lovers, but the lane parallel to it that, like Beech Tree Lane, ended at Pelham Bay Park was another lovers' lane:  Park Lane.  Undeveloped portions of Secor Lane and Wolfs Lane in Pelham Manor were other well-known lovers' lanes during the 1930s.  In today's Village of Pelham, the principal lovers' lane during the 1930s was Ninth Avenue.

These lovers' lanes were so widely known that most who used them were from outside Pelham.  Indeed, the problem grew so acute in 1934 that Pelham Manor police began hauling drivers out of the parked cars and taking them before the Village Court and charging them with "parking without lights" on the streets.  At about the same time, the Village Trustees of Peham Manor voted to prohibit parking on both sides of Park Lane for a distance of 350 feet west from the New York City line in an effort to shut down the portion of that lane used by lovers.  The following year, the Village of North Pelham began an initiative to prevent parking by lovers "admiring the scenery" along Ninth Avenue.

“Map of Section 2 Manor Circle Property of the Robert C. Black

Realty Co. Pelham Manor Westchester County, N.Y.” Certified

as Approved by the Planning Commission of the Village of Pelham

Manor on May 17, 1926.  Maps Shows the Winding Country

Road in an As-Yet-Undeveloped Area Centered Around

Beech Tree Lane.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

Transcribed below is the text from a number of articles from local newspapers describing local lovers lanes in the Town of Pelham.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"PETTERS, BEWARE!  BEECH TREE LANE NOT FOR LOVERS
-----
Village Board Orders Police to Route All Parkers From Sparsely Settled Section.
-----

Beech Tree Lane may be romantically titled, but the Pelham Manor village fathers are determined that it shall not be Lovers' Lane.  Monday night the police department was instructed to rout all motorists who park their machines on the thoroughfare after dark.  Complaint about the many parkers on the street was received by the trustees.

Beech Tree Lane is a new street and is close to the site of the old roadway through the woods from Pelham Manor to Hunter's Island.  The famous old Lovers' Lane has given way to a modern residential district which, although sparsely settled, is now one of the beauty spots of the village."

Source:  PETTERS, BEWARE!  BEECH TREE LANE NOT FOR LOVERS,  The Pelham Sun, Oct. 10, 1930, p. 10, col. 1.  

"Lanes In Manor Not For Lovers
-----

Although the street signs read Wolf's Lane and Secor Lane in Pelham Manor, they might just as well read, 'Lovers' Lanes,' for that seems to be the way they are known to out-of-town motorists.  Two men appeared before Judge Frank Roberson in Manor court Friday night and pleaded guilty to charges of parking without lights on these streets.

'Seems to be a favorite trysting place,' commented the Judge.  'I've never had a parking case of this type yet that wasn't within 100 yards of either Secor or Wolf's Lane.' 

The men, Robert Mattes, 29, of No. 1019 East 179th street, New York City, and Thomas Garner, 29, of No. 510 Dyckman street, Peekskill, paid fines of $3.00 each.  

The Pelham Manor trustees abolished one 'Lovers' Lane'  Monday night, when on recommendation of Trustee Christopher T. Chenery, the board voted to prohibit parking on both sides of Park Lane for a distance of 350 feet west from the New York City line.  Chief of Police Michael J. Grady was instructed to see that the ordinance was put in force immediately and also to have two signs installed on each side of the street, warning prospective parkers."

Source:  Lanes In Manor Not For Lovers, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 15, 1934, p. 2, col. 2.   

"Ninth Avenue Will No Longer Be A Haven For Parkers In North Pelham
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'Parkers' who have made a habit of parking on Ninth avenue are going to find themselves dispossessed.  John Grael of No. 314 Ninth avenue complained to the North Pelham police on Sunday night that couples in parked cars had become a nusiance.

Police willl not allow the couples who are frequently in silent automobiles 'just admiring the scenery,' to do their admiring in Pelham, especially since there is no scenery to be seen in that section of Ninth avenue.

The condition is one which annoys residents who live adjacent to some choice 'lovers' lane,' so called, and when a resident files a complaint with police, no time is lost in dispersing the 'sparkers.'  

Periodically the lovers of nature invade Pelham, or so it would seem as police of all the three villages get their complaints of the condition in groups.  And the trouble, the 'sparkers' have found, is that patrolmen are not the least bit sympathetic.

Pelham Manor police, because the village has many heavily treed avenues and outlying streets, have chased many a parked car off its highways.  Pelham Heights is visited by the 'petters' only infrequently as is North Pelham."

Source:  Ninth Avenue Will No Longer Be A Haven For Parkers In Noth Pelham, The Pelham Sun, Sep. 13, 1935, p. 3, cols. 1-2.  

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