Report of Use of Skullcap Herb as Folk Remedy to Treat Rabies in Pelham Manor in the Early 19th Century

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During the first years of the 19th century, Pelham was a very rural place.  The Town, created by Act of the New York State Legislature in 1788, encompassed not only its present territory, but also all of today's Pelham Bay Park and islands in Long Island Sound including City Island.  Its population was a little more than 200 souls.  Nearly the entire region consisted of farmland and self-sustaining estates and orchards where produce was grown to sustain families and to sell to the nearby New York City markets.  

Physicians, of course, were few and far between.  Moreover, the state of medicine at the time was little better than medieval times and nothing like the modern medical industry on which we rely today.

Even in Pelham, folk medicine based on oral traditions rather than rigorous scientific practices (typically using indigenous plants as traditional "cures" or "remedies") was the rule.  Additionally, for some ailments there really were not yet effective treatments.  That left traditional folk medicine as the only hope for the afflicted.

One of the most horrific and gruesome afflictions for which there was no meaningfully effective remedy at that time was rabies, also known as hydrophobia.  In the early 19th century, rabies cases virtually always resulted in death.  Indeed, it was not until 1885 that Louis Pasteur and Émile Roux developed the first effective rabies vaccine and used it for the first time on a human to save the life of nine-year-old Joseph Meister who had been mauled by a rabid dog.  Indeed, not long after the ground-breaking work of Pasteur and Roux, a Pelham woman bitten by a rabid dog hustled overseas to be treated by Pasteur.  See Thu., Aug. 10, 2017:  Bitten by a Dog Showing Rabies Symptoms, Pelham Woman Traveled to Europe to See Pasteur.

According to one newspaper account published in 1811, a small "mad dog" infected with rabies rampaged through a home in Pelham Manor (as the region often then was called) in about 1806 and bit twelve members of the same family.  The same dog also bit two hogs at the same time.  Fearing rabies, the hogs were locked away and, indeed, reportedly died of hydrophobia.

With no meaningful alternative, the twelve Pelham residents reportedly were treated with a folk remedy.  They were administered an herb referenced as "scullcap."  The herb actually is referenced colloquially as "skullcap," a member the genus "Scutellaria" that includes flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae.  According to one source:  "The generic name is derived from the Latin scutella, meaning "a small dish, tray or platter," or "little dish," referring to the shape of the calyx.  The common name [i.e., skullcap] alludes to the resemblance of the same structure to "miniature medieval helmets."  Source:  Scutellaria in Wikipedia -- The Free Encyclopedia (visited Apr. 1, 2018).

The version of Skullcap used to treat such cases of hydrophobia in the early years of the 19th century in America typically was Scutellaria lateriflora.  Although there seems to be no known scientific basis to believe that this Skullcap is the least bit effective in treating rabies, the plant is known to demonstrate "anxiolytic activity" in humans, meaning it can inhibit anxiety -- certainly some small benefit for anyone bitten by a rabid dog and facing likely death at the time.

In 1811, a civic-minded citizen wrote to a New York newspaper to reveal for the benefit of "all who may have the misfortune to be bit by a mad dog" what he believed to be a closely-guarded secret known only to a few physicians in the region.  The "secret" was that skullcap was an effective treatment for rabies.  In support of his contention, the gentleman claimed:

"Among many others the following deserves special mention.  About five years ago, if my memory serves me, a mad dog at Pelham Manor, being a small favourite, and running about the house, bit no less than 12 persons, in one family; to these the scullcap [sic] was administered by Lewis, without delay, and no one ever experienced the least inconvenience; two hogs in the neighborhood, were also bit by the same dog, at the same time, which were shut up, but nothing was administered; both of them went made and died of the hydrophobia."

Research has revealed no account of the mad dog incident that the man claimed occurred in Pelham in about 1806.  Either the account was fabricated or twelve members of a single Pelham family experienced a modern miracle and survived the bite of a mad dog . . . . . 

An Example of One Plant Referenced as a Skullcap,

Scutellaria Pekinensis.  Source:  Wikipedia.  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"Mad Dogs. -- From the morning papers we learn that several persons have lately been bitten by mad dogs in this city.  A number of cows, hogs and horses have been bitten, some of which have died with hydrophobia.

I feel it to be my duty to inform the public on this occasion, and I hesitate not to take upon myself the responsibility of doing so, that all who may have the misfortune to be bit by a mad dog, may be certain of a cure, by application to Mr. Jesse Lewis living in Mamaroneck, county of West Chester.  His father, who is now dead, obtained the knowledge of the remedy, from a Dr. Vanderveer, an elderly physician of New Jersey, many years since, and for a trifle made the secret known to Mr. Robert Bowne, of this city:  it is the plant commonly called scullcap [sic], if timely administered, that is, any time before the appearance of hydrophobia, has never been known to fail.  The editor has the less hesitation in confidently recommending this remedy to the public because striking instances of its success have fallen within his personal knowledge.  Among many others the following deserves special mention.  About five years ago, if my memory serves me, a mad dog at Pelham Manor, being a small favourite, and running about the house, bit no less than 12 persons, in one family; to these the scullcap [sic] was administered by Lewis, without delay, and no one ever experienced the least inconvenience; two hogs in the neighborhood, were also bit by the same dog, at the same time, which were shut up, but nothing was administered; both of them went made and died of the hydrophobia.

A more particular account of the virtues of the herb called scullcap [sic], with an engraving of the plant, may be found in the Med. Repertory published in February last. -- New York Evening Post."

Source:  Mad Dogs, The Raleigh Minerva [Raleigh, NC], Jun. 14, 1811, Vol. 16, No. 793, p. 4, col. 3.

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Bitten by a Dog Showing Rabies Symptoms, Pelham Woman Traveled to Europe to See Pasteur

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After developing the process of pasteurization whereby liquids such as raw milk are boiled to kill microorganisms that might spoil the liquid or cause illness in those who consume it, French chemist and biologist Louis Pasteur turned his attention to a more thorough study of bacteria and other microorganisms.  During the 1880s, Pasteur's work as the director of scientific studies at the Ecole Normale in Paris focused on so-called germ theory and efforts to develop vaccines against some of the most prevalent diseases of the day.  Pasteur worked on a rabies vaccine, initially, by infecting rabbits with the rabies virus then, after death, drying their affected nerve tissue to weaken the virus so it could be applied as a safe vaccine.

On July 6, 1885, nine-year-old Joseph Meister was brought to Pasteur.  The young lad had been attacked by a rabid dog.  Pasteur administered his experimental vaccine to the boy who survived the ordeal and was spared a painful death from rabies.  

The world was stunned.  Pasteur became a national hero and an internationally-acclaimed scientist.  Publications throughout the world breathlessly acclaimed his success with treating the rabies virus.  People throughout the world read about his successful vaccination against the disease -- people including many who lived in the Town of Pelham, an ocean away from Paris, France.  

Among those who heard about the rabies vaccine was Mrs. John S. Ellis of the tiny settlement of Bartow-on-the-Sound in the Town of Pelham.  She was a sister of John M. Waterbury who also resided at Bartow.

Mrs. Ellis and her family had a beautiful collie as a family pet.  In the first week of January, 1887, the family collie had a fight with another local dog.  As Mrs. Ellis tried to break up the fight, her collie bit her on the hand and arm.  

She was shocked that the gentle family pet had turned on her, but attributed it to the fear and confusion of a dogfight.  As her wounds healed, however, the family pet became sick.  Soon the collie was acting mad and, shortly, it died.  Family and friends were terrified.  The dog exhibited signs of hydrophobia -- rabies!

Mrs. Ellis and her family became "greatly alarmed."  So did the local Board of Health.  A number of local dogs were killed and the Board ordered that all dogs that may have been bitten by the collie before it died were to be chained until further notice.

On Tuesday, January 4, 1887, only days after she suffered the dog bite, Mrs. Ellis and her husband boarded the Arizona and set sail for Liverpool from which they planned to travel to Paris to place Mrs. Ellis under the care of the famed Louis Pasteur who had previously saved the life of little nine-year-old Joseph Meister with his rabies vaccine.  

We may never know whether the collie did not have rabies or the rabies vaccine was administered by Louis Pasteur and saved the life of Mrs. Ellis.  We do know, however, that the following autumn, a healthy and robust Mrs. Ellis was hosting parties for members of The Country Club at Pelham. . . . . 

Louis Pasteur in His Laboratory.  A Painting by A. Edelfeldt.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"THE COUNTY. . . .

A little over a week ago, Mrs. John S. Ellis, a sister of John M. Waterbury, who resides at Bartow, was bitten on the hand by her pet dog, while she was trying to stop him fighting with another dog.  The wound healed up and nothing more was thought of it until a couple of days afterward, when it was discovered the dog was mad.  This greatly alarmed the lady, and on Tuesday she sailed for Paris, to be treated by Pasteur.  A number of dogs have been killed, and the Board of Health has ordered that all dogs that may have been bitten by the Ellis dog, be chained."

Source:  THE COUNTY, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jan. 7, 1887, Vol. XVIII, No. 948, p. 2, col. 4.  

"CHATTER. . . .

-- Mrs. John S. Ellis of Bartow-on Sound has gone sailing over the sea to M. Pasteur.  A pet dog, a large and hitherto gentle collie, bit her somewhat severely in the arm.  Although Mrs. Ellis felt no apprehension regarding the injury, she has yielded to the persuasions of her family, and last Tuesday with her husband and son sailed for Paris.  Mrs. Ellis is the sister of Mrs. Pierrepont Edwards, wife of the British Consul, and of Mrs. C. C. Johnstou.  Her brother is James M. Waterbury, adjoining whose magnificent country seat, 'Plaisance,' is the handsome home of the Ellises where they live the year round.  Apropos of Mr. Waterbury's superb place, Baron Selliere (he with the noble showing of $5,000,000) says it is incomparably the prettiest and most complete country seat he has ever seen, excepting, of course, the show places of England."

Source:  CHATTER, The Daily Graphic [NY, NY], Jan. 8, 1887, p. 519, cols. 1-2.  

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOCIETY. . . .

The accident which has befallen Mrs. John S. Ellis at her home at Bartow on the Sound has cast a gloom over society in West Chester and caused grave anxiety in the Waterbury family.  The beautiful collie dog, which has been the special pet and companion of its mistress for several years, attacked her most unexpectedly a few days since and inflicted a severe wound on her arm with his teeth.  The animal soon afterward sickened and died, and Mrs. Ellis became so nervous and apprehensive that her medical adviser recommended her to go at once to Paris and put herself under Pasteur's care.  Mr. and Mrs. Ellis therefore sailed in the Arizona.  It is extremely unlikely that any serious consequences will follow, but if the patient can be persuaded in her own mind that M. Pasteur's treatment is infallible, more than half the battle will be won."

Source:  WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOCIETY, The Sun [NY, NY], Jan. 9, 1887, p. 8, col. 7 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"To be Treated by Pasteur.
-----

NEW YORK, Jan. 5. -- Mrs. John S. Ellis of Bartow-on-the-Sound, a well known society lady, sailed yesterday on the Arizona for Liverpoll and will go thence to Paris to be treated by Pasteur.  She was recently bitten by a pet dog which showed signs of hydrophobia, and while she does not apprehend danger her friends think it best to take all possible precautions."

Source:  To be Treated by Pasteur, The Daily News [Batavia, NY], Jan. 15, 1887, Vol. IX, No. 2,624, p. 1, col. 2.  See also Going to be Treated by Pasteur, Rome Daily Sentinel [Rome, NY], Vol. XV, No. 4,348, p. 3, col. 3 (same text).  

"SOCIETY SMALL TALK. . . .

Mrs. John S. Ellis, 'The Elms,' Bartow on the Sound, will give a dance at her country place tonight.  The guests will include the prominent members of the Country Club.  Pinard will serve the supper."

Source:  SOCIETY SMALL TALK, The Evening Telegram [NY, NY] Oct. 6, 1887, p. 2, col. 4.  

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

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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.

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"SERIES OF CROWS, YELPS, ODORS IRK PELHAM WOMEN
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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
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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
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(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
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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 Village, The Pelham Sun, Sep. 21, 1934, Vol. 25, No. 27, p. 1, cols. 7-8.  

"COMPLAINT SUBJECT SCANS NOISE LAWS
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(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
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Village Board Passes Ordinance Imposing Sales Tax and Requiring Bond on Transient Stores -- Parking Limit Reduced
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(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 Reduced, The 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
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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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The Shadowy Specter of James Street: A Pelham Manor Ghost Story

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With Halloween only three days away, the Historic Pelham Blog continues the week with newly-uncovered Pelham ghost stories.  The story today is about the "Shadowy Specter of James Street."

A silent, dark specter roams the streets of the Manor in the area of James Street near the Esplanade.  It is a pitch-black specter -- never luminous or shimmery.  It takes the form of a human figure that is solid black from head to toe without exception.  No eyes are visible.  No clothing can be detected.  It is simply the color of darkness from head to toe, entirely the same shade.  It might be said to resemble a shadow in three dimensions.  Indeed, on dark moonless nights, the shadowy specter is nigh impossible to see.  It blends into the blackness of the nighttide.

One who has seen the Shadowy Specter of James Street is Bardy Jones of Pelham Manor.  Bardy will never forget the experience.

Bardy has a pair of dogs.  One is a gentle giant named Sidney.  She is a mixed breed thought to be part Black Labrador Retriever and part Newfoundland.  Those who know Bardy and Sidney know that neither has ever met a stranger.  Friendly to all and happy to stop and chat with friends and strangers alike whenever and wherever an opportunity arises, Bardy often can be seen walking Sidney on a leash in the neighborhood that includes James Street near the Esplanade.  

Sidney loves people.  When passing a friend or stranger during her walks with Bardy, Sidney strains at the leash to approach and say "hello" in her own special way, with tail wagging, tongue panting, and a sparkle in her bright eyes.

While walking Sidney late one dark evening on James Street just south of the Esplanade, Bardy looked ahead into the darkness and noticed something light-colored that seemed suspended in mid-air.  He squinted and looked ahead into the ink-black shadows trying to make out what the odd item before him might be.  Keeping his focus on the strange item that seemed to float in the darkness, he moved a little closer until he could make out what looked like an ordinary white shopping bag.  It was no ordinary bag, however.  Momentarily, at least, it seemed to float motionless before Bardy's eyes.  

As Bardy stared at the shopping bag, he realized that it actually seemed to hang from something.  Then, a chill raced up his spine.  In a flash, Bardy realized that only six feet away there stood in the darkness a shadowy black specter that, as Bardy describes, "was solid black, same shade, head to toe; face, clothes everything."  A shopping bag hung from an arm of the specter.  The specter's featureless face seemed to have a cigarette dangling from where its mouth should have been.  The cigarette did not illuminate either the featureless face or any other part of the figure.

The dark figure stood motionless and silently in the blackness directly beside Bardy.  Its appearance was startling.  Though Bardy stared at the specter, there was utterly no acknowledgement from the apparition of the presence of Bardy or Sidney.  Bardy was struck by the fact that though he and the ever-loyal Sidney passed only six feet from the shadowy figure, Sidney never acknowledged the figure; never tugged at her leash; never attempted to approach the specter with tail wagging, tongue panting or sparkling eyes.  Indeed, like the specter that took no notice of the pair passing it, Sidney took no notice whatsoever of the specter in return as she trotted by with Bardy in tow at the other end of the leash.  The figure remained motionless and silent.  It seemed content merely to wrap itself in the blackness of the night.  Bardy quickened his steps to hurry away from the spot.  He will never forget the experience.

  

If you find yourself walking the streets of the Manor after dark, particularly near James Street where it meets the Esplanade, pay close attention to the shadows.  Even if you hear nothing, even if you notice nothing, and even if you sense nothing, you still may want to make certain that your eyes have adjusted completely to the dark.  You may have to squint as you walk along, searching the shadows diligently.  If you feel that you may have seen something in the corner of your eye, quicken your step.  It is well nigh impossible to see a dark specter enveloped in the shadows on a dark night.  

So far, at least, the Shadowy Specter of James Street remains silent and harmless.  Be careful out there in the dark of the Manor, however.  One never knows. . . .

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A special thanks to Bardy Jones who provided this colorful story and who granted his magnanimous permission to permit me to use the story that forms the basis for this article.  Thank you, Bardy, on behalf of the Town of Pelham.  And please, extend our thanks to Sidney as well.  Good dog!!!

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I have collected ghost legends relating to the Town of Pelham for more than fifteen years.  To read more about examples that now total in the dozens, see: 

Bell, Blake A., Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends, The Pelham Weekly, Oct. 25, 2002, p. 1, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., More Ghosts, Goblins of Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 43, Oct. 29, 2004, p. 12, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., Archive of HistoricPelham.com Web Site:  Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends (Oct. 2002). 

Bell, Blake A., Bibliography of Pelham's Ghost Stories and Legends (Oct. 2002).

Tue., Oct. 27, 2015:  The Ghostly Gardener of Bolton Priory:  A Pelham Apparition.

Mon., Oct. 26, 2015:  The Ghostly Matron of the Manor Club:  Even a Ghost Whisperer's Nightmare!

Fri., Oct. 31, 2014:  Ghosts in Pelham! Yet Another of Many Accounts of the Haunted Cedar Knoll.

Mon., Sep. 08, 2014:  In 1888, The "Ghost of City Island" Upset the Town of Pelham.

Fri., Jan. 17, 2014: The Phantom Bell Ringer of Christ Church in Pelham Manor.

Fri., Jan. 30, 2009:  Article Published in 1901 Detailed Ghost Stories and Legends of Pelham.

Mon., Feb. 19, 2007:  Another Manor of Pelham Ghost Story: The Whispering Bell.

Fri., Aug. 18, 2006:  The Ghost Gunship of Pelham: A Revolutionary War Ghost Story.

Wed., May 03, 2006:  Another Pelham, New York Ghost Story.

Thu., Oct. 13, 2005:  Two More Pelham Ghost Stories.  

Wed., Oct. 14, 2009:  1879 News Account Provides Additional Basis for Some Facts Underlying Ghost Story of Old Stone House in Pelhamville.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

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