Hit and Run Accident Between Two Horse-Drawn Wagons on Fifth Avenue in 1906

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The morning of Tuesday, May 29, 1906 was a lovely spring morning.  At 8:00 a.m., Fifth Avenue already was bustling with activity.  The Lyman Pharmacy Building and U.S. Post Office at One Fifth Avenue at First Street was near the center of all that bustle.  

Neither Fifth Avenue nor First Street was yet paved at that time.  The pharmacy of the growing Village of North Pelham stood at this dusty dirt road intersection with its own sidewalk that began and ended on the building's own lot.  A solitary gas lamp stood in front of the front entrance of the little pharmacy which was located, oddly, right on the corner of the building.  At the time, it was not yet established whether the principal commercial stretch would extend along Fifth Avenue or along First Street.  The building's architect, Arthur G. C. Fletcher of Pelham Heights, apparently addressed that uncertainty by placing the front entrance at the corner of the building, visible and accessible from either street.

Seth T. Lyman's little pharmacy was an unofficial emergency room for the Village of North Pelham.  Indeed, there are countless news stories published in the early 20th century describing how injured Pelhamites were carried or transported to the pharmacy for emergency care at a time when hospitals were distant and ambulances were still horse-drawn.  

Charles Max was a driver for Straehle's Bottling Works in North Pelham.  Henry Straehle opened his bottling works in the old Anthony Woolf homestead located at Fifth Avenue and Third Street in about 1898.  The company was billed as "soft drink dispensers" although advertisements published in 1911 stated that the company was a dealer and manufacturer of "mineral and carbonated beverages" and sold "High Grade Lager Beer, Ale and Porter."  The drinks were bottled in the basement of the old Woolf Homestead.  To learn more about Straehle and his bottling works, see, e.g.:  Wed., Mar. 30, 2016:  More on Bottlers Who Operated in the Pelhams in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries; Fri., Jul. 11, 2014: Bottlers Who Operated in the Pelhams in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries. 

From the time of its founding in about 1898, the Straehle Bottling Works did brisk business on City Island.  That is where wagon driver Charles Max was headed when he left the bottling works and proceeded down Fifth Avenue on the morning of Tuesday, May 29, 1906.  He was handling a team of horses that pulled a large wagon loaded with cases of bottled beverages.

As Charles Max reached Lyman's Pharmacy on Fifth Avenue at about 8:00 a.m., another horse-drawn wagon from the Berkshire Ice Company, based in Williamsbridge, approached Max from behind.  The ice wagon was traveling too fast.  The ice wagon apparently tried to pass the Straehle Bottling Works wagon to the left but misjudged the maneuver.  The right front wheel of the passing ice wagon struck the left rear wheel of the wagon driven by Charles Max and shattered the Straehle wagon wheel all the way down to the hub of the wheel.

As the Straehle wagon's left rear wheel shattered, the left rear of the wagon collapsed to the ground and threw Charles Max violently to the roadway.  The driver of the ice wagon took off for parts unknown, leaving Charles Max in a heap on the ground.  Max suffered severe bruises and a "bad cut" on one knee.  The cases of bottles carried in the wagon were not thrown out of the vehicle, but a number of bottles were smashed.  

We may never know whether Charles Max pulled himself together and went into Lyman's Pharmacy for first aid.  Though it seems likely, no extant account indicates whether he did or not.  We do know, however, that the plucky driver for Straehle Bottling Works went back to the Woolf Homestead, got another team and wagon, and resumed his delivery of bottled beverages to City Island despite his injuries.

There is no indication whether the hit and run driver -- perhaps the first ever in the little Town of Pelham -- was ever brought to justice.  We are left to wonder. 

1910 Postcard View of One Fifth Avenue, the Lyman Pharmacy and

U.S. Post Office, Designed by Architect Arthur G. C. Fletcher.  This

Shows the Pharmacy As It Looked At the Time of the Hit-and-Run

Accident in 1906.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"WAGONS IN A COLLISION AT NORTH PELHAM
-----
Vehicle of Straehles Bottling Works and an Ice Cart Had a Smashup
-----
DRIVER WAS HURT BUT PLUCKILY KEPT AT WORK
-----

North Pelham, May 29. -- There was a smashup this morning in North Pelham between one of Straehle's bottling works wagons and a heavy ice cart from Williamsbridge, which resulted in Charles Marx, the driver for Mr Straehle, being hurled to the ground and the wagon badly damaged.

The accident happened about eight o'clock.  Mr. Marx was driving down Fifth avenue with his wagon, well loaded with cases of bottles, and was on his way to City Island.  When opposite Lyman's drug store a wagon from the Berkshire Ice Company, of Williamsbridge, came along from the rear and smashed against the rear wheel of the wagon driven by Marx.  The driver must have been hurrying his horses, for the impact was so pronounced and so severe that the left rear wheel was broken off at the hub.

As the wagon went down, Marx was thrown out heavily on his right side and sustained severe bruises, while his knee was badly cut.  The cases were not spilled out of the wagon.  Several bottles were, however, broken in the smashup.

The driver of the ice cart id not stop to inquire about the extent of the damages of which he was the cause.  Marx pluckily resumed work after the accident and in another team went to City Island."

Source:  WAGONS IN A COLLISION AT NORTH PELHAM -- Vehicle of Straehles Bottling Works and an Ice Cart Had a Smashup -- DRIVER WAS HURT BUT PLUCKILY KEPT AT WORK, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], May 29, 1906, Whole No. 4329, p. 1, col. 4.

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More on Famed Pelhamville Druggist and Postmaster Seth T. Lyman and the Building he Built

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The lovely building that stands at One Fifth Avenue at First Street in the Village of Pelham once was both a Pharmacy and the Village post office.  It is the second building on that site.  The first burned in a major fire that killed three and entirely destroyed the structure.   Immediately below is an early post card view of the building that replaced the original structure -- the building we know today as One Fifth Avenue.  The post card was postmarked in June 1910.  The pharmacy entrance is the main entrance to the building, on the left.  The post office is on the right in the post card view below.

1910 Post Card View of One Fifth Avenue, Designed

by Architect Arthur G. C. Fletcher. Erected on the Site

of the Original Building that Burned on March 14, 1902.

Source: Collection of the Author.

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

According to one account, on March 1, 1895, a young man trained as a pharmacist named Seth T. Lyman leased a ground floor retail space with an apartment above in a building located at the corner of today's First Street and Fifth Avenue.  The building was known as "The Pelham Building."  The location was the business center of Pelhamville at the time with little development in the entire area.  Indeed, an account published in 1896 noted that when a local resident needed a location to hold a public auction of a donkey, he chose the Lyman Pharmacy.  

At the time, the building was owned by Clarence Lyons.  It housed the United States Post Office in a small retail space adjacent to Lyman Pharmacy.  The postmaster was Henry Iden of Pelham. 

In 1898, Seth T. Lyman was appointed Assistant Postmaster to help Henry Iden with his duties.  Barely six months after Lyman's appointment, Henry Iden resigned as Postmaster and Lyman succeeded him in the position.  Thereafter, for the next twenty-eight years, Lyman manned his pharmacy and an adjacent post office.  

Between 4:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on March 14, 1902 during a massive blizzard, a tragic fire entirely destroyed the wooden frame building known as The Pelham Building that had been constructed in 1892.  A young boy named Rudolph Youchim was killed in the blaze.  His pregnant mother, Mary, was rescued from the building and gave birth later that day, though she and the newborn died the same day.  

Seth T. Lyman bought the lot after the fire and engaged architect Arthur G. C. Fletcher to design a replacement for the building destroyed by fire.  The replacement building, shown in the post card view above, was built shortly thereafter.  It still stands.  Its fascade is surprisingly similar to the original fascade.

The pharmacy and the post office reopened in Lyman's new building.  Seth Lyman operated his pharmacy and oversaw the post office next door in his building until his retirement as Postmaster on July 1, 1926.  At the time of his retirement as Postmaster, the local newspaper published a fascinating and nostalgic article describing postal delivery in the early days of Pelhamville as Seth T. Lyman was just entering service as Assistant Postmaster.  The article, quoted in full below, is a fascinating glimpse of a simpler time in much of today's Village of Pelham.  

When Lyman built his new building after the terrible fire of 1902, he placed the main entrance on the corner of the building for a reason.  For many years the tiny Pelhamville Depot on the New Haven Line had stood directly across First Street essentially on the lot containing today's Pelham National Bank building at One Wolfs Lane (recently a post office and now the offices of Meridian Risk and other businesses).  There was a time when the residents of Pelhamville expected First Street to grow into an important business stretch of the little settlement.  In 1893 and 1894, however, the train station was moved to its present location and, over the next few years, commercial development along Fifth Avenue proceeded much more quickly than along First Street.  Apparently hedging his bets, Lyman and his architect placed the main entrance on the corner of First Street and Fifth Avenue, easily accessible to, and seen from, both streets.

The tiny little post office had classic mail cubby-holes for each residence.  Lyman and, later, an Assistant Postmaster and clerk sorted the mail to be picked up each day by local residents who walked or drove their carriages to Lyman's Pharmacy.  An enterprising local man named Willie Bronfield began a private mail delivery service.  For a charge of twenty five cents per month per customer, he delivered the mail each day until the population grew to a sufficient level to require the post office to provide free carrier service in about 1909.  

The article below includes a picture of Seth T. Lyman in his wire-rim glasses as a young man.  It provides an important yet nostalgic glimpse of an earlier time in the history of the Village of Pelham.

"SETH T. LYMAN Superintendent of Pelham Post

Office who retires July 1st, after 28 years supervision

of mails in Pelham.  Source:  Lyman Resigns As Post

Office Superintendent -- Will Retire July 1, After Twenty-

eight Years as Chief of Pelham Post Office, The Pelham

Sun, Jun. 25, 1926, Vol. 17, No. 17, p. 1, cols. 4-5.  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"Lyman Resigns As Post Office Superintendent
-----
Will Retire July 1, After Twenty-eight Years as Chief of Pelham Post Office
-----

After twenty-eight years' supervision over the dispatch and delivery of mails at Pelham Post Office, Seth T. Lyman has tendered his resignation as superintendent, to become effective July 1st.  Mr. Lyman will retire to his summer home at Lake St. Catherine, Vt.  He has announced no plans for the future.

Coming to Pelham thirty-one years ago and establishing himself as a druggist at Fifth Avenue and First Street, Mr. Lyman has had great opportunity to watch the growth of the Pelhams.  Appointed assistant postmaster in 1898 and subsequently appointed postmaster and superintendent when Pelham district was taken over by the New York City post office, he has seen the advance of the town mirrored in the increased demand for postal service.

When Mr. Lyman was appointed assistant postmaster, the late Henry Iden presided over the little office adjoining the drug store, opposite the station at Fifth Avenue and First Street.  A grade crossing led over the railroad right of way, and the residents of the Pelhams, in horse-drawn vehicles, drove to the post office daily and applied for their mail.  First Street was then the business street of Pelham, the main line station of the New Haven Railroad being on this thoroughfare.

Six months after Mr. Lyman's appointment to the post office, Mr. Iden resigned and Lyman succeeded him.  In 1905 [sic; should be 1902] the post office building burned.  After rebuilding, the main entrance of the new store opened on Fifth Avenue, which street was bidding for popularity as the business avenue.

Carrier service, although of an unofficial nature, was introduced at that time in the person of Willie Bronfield, a negro, who at a charge of twenty five cents per month per customer, delivered the mail to the Town.

By 1909 the Town had grown to such an extent that carrier service had to be taken over by the office.  In order to facilitate this the Pelham district was taken into the New York City office, and Lyman retained as superintendent.  At that time two carrier routes were established in the territory covered by the office in North Pelham and Pelham Heights.  The staff consisted of the superintendent, one clerk and two carriers.

At this time the post office was moved from the old location to the newly built Douglas Block, adjoining the present location.  Here the office remained until 1925 when it was moved to its present location in a building erected especially for that purpose by John T. Brook.

The post office staff today consists of a superintendent, four clerks and nine carriers.

When Mr. Lyman announced his intention of retiring, many expressions of tribute to his faithful service were received from those who have known him during his administration at the local post office, among whom were Congressman Ben L. Fairchild, who sent the following letter of commendation to Superintendent Lyman:

'Dear Mr. Lyman:  I cannot resist a feeling of regret at the news that you have tendered your resignation as superintendent of the Pelham post office.  You have been our courteous and efficient postmaster for so many years that sentimentally it seems to me that Pelham and Dr. Lyman are synonymous terms.  If your purpose is to retire to a well earned rest, you have certainly earned the right to the fullest enjoyment that life affords and to the commendation of your neighbors and constituents whom you have served so well.

'To you and to Mrs. Lyman, my very best wishes are extended. 

Sincerely yours,

(Signed) BEN L. FAIRCHILD.'"

Source:  Lyman Resigns As Post Office Superintendent -- Will Retire July 1, After Twenty-eight Years as Chief of Pelham Post Office, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 25, 1926, Vol. 17, No. 17, p. 1, cols. 4-5.

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I have written about Seth T. Lyman and One Fifth Avenue, the building he built that still stands at One Fifth Avenue on a number of occasions.  For examples, see:  

Mon., May 16, 2016:  Fatal Fire in 1902 at One Fifth Avenue Burned Down the Post Office and Pharmacy.  

Tue., Jul. 8, 2014:  Account of Devastating Fire at One Fifth Avenue in 1902.

Tue., Feb. 04, 2014:  Lyman's Pharmacy and Post Office Was Located in the Building That Still Stands at One Fifth Avenue in Pelham. 

Tue., Jul. 4, 2006:  Seth T. Lyman, Pelham's Own Medicine Man of the Late 19th Century. 

Bell, Blake, A., The Lyman Pharmacy Building At One Fifth Avenue in Downtown Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 19, May 7, 2004, p. 12, col. 1.

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The Week that Was in 1896: Pelham Press News of Pelham, November 19, 1896 to November 25, 1896

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The year was 1896.  The Town of Pelham was a very different place.  There was, of course, no Internet.  There were no smart phones, radios or televisions.  There were no news anchors, talking heads, video pundits or YouTube stars. Most Americans depended on their neighbors for news.  Those in the know, however, depended on newspapers for news; that is, of course, unless they could afford access to the telephone, telegraph, telegram, or anything else named with the prefix "tele" (much like anything named today as with the prefix "cyber"). . . . . . 

The number of local community newspapers across the United States exploded in the late nineteenth century to feed the insatiable hunger of Americans for news -- any news, not just local news.  Communities as small as the Town of Pelham, bordering New York City with easy access to what were then some of the leading newspapers in the country, hungered for local news not reported in the city papers.

One local paper, about which I have written before, sprang up in Pelham.  It was the "Pelham Press."  The Pelham Press was founded on March 1, 1896.  The manner in which the tiny little newspaper was founded was undoubtedly unique.  According to one account:

"During the winter of 1895-96, the late Mark A. Hanna, chairman of the Republican National Committee was forcing the presidential nomination of Governor William McKinley, of Ohio. There was much opposition to McKinley and Hanna with his millions was purchasing the support of certain newspapers. There lived in Stamford, Conn., a tall old gentlemen [sic] by the name of John T. Trowbridge. He resembled Charles Evan Hughes with his flowing beard. Trowbridge saw that Hanna was proceeding with a very expensive program and getting audience with the political leader unfolded the scheme which brought the Pelham Press into being, as well as several other weekly newspapers along the Long Island Sound shore from the Bronx to Milford, Conn. 

These newspapers were to sponsor the McKinley cause. A representative in each city, town and village would edit his particular sheet. All the papers would be printed alike with the exception of the heads, and subheads on the editorial page. Each group of news would be printed under the heading of the locality where it was to be circulated. The papers were printed in New York City and delivered in the various communities by train. The only expense to the editor was the fifty cents express charges. 

Mr. Trowbridge came to Pelham hoping to establish a link of his chain journalism here. I was recommended for the position as editor and I accepted the very flattering offer. 

It was never intended that these newspapers should survive the election, but the Pelham Press had made its mark and when the time for suspension came, the circulation list was rather substantial, and although I pocketed everything, Trowbridge continued to supply me with papers".

Source:  Minard, J. Gardiner, MANY NEWSPAPERS HAVE ENTERED PELHAM FIELD SINCE PELHAM PRESS WAS PUBLISHED IN 1896, The Pelham Sun, Apr. 5, 1929, p. 9, cols. 1-6. 

Pelham's first printed newspaper, however, had a short life due to the Spanish-American War.  When that war began in 1898, the newspaper's editor, reporter, janitor, and chief bottle-washer, J. Gardiner Minard, "resigned" from all positions to enlist in the infantry to fight in the war.  As Minard put it later, "So the Pelham Press may therefore be regarded as killed in action".  

Almost no copies of the Pelham Press exist.  Pelham is fortunate, however, because its citizens were so interested in history that, for many years well into the 20th century, the successful local newspaper known as The Pelham Sun had a relationship with J. Gardiner Minard and printed the content of a number of his newspapers printed in 1896 and 1897 as "30 Years Ago" stories.  Thus, of course, we have important documentation of portions of the history of our little town.  

One such instance of documentation tells us what happened in Pelham in late November, 1896 that was thought to be important enough to report in the expensive medium of a print publication:  the Pelham Press.  Transcribed below is the news of The Week that Was in 1896:  November 19-25.  The quaint local news printed that week provides a lovely reminder of the tiny rural town that Pelham once was.

"PELHAM 30 YEARS AGO
(From the Pelham Press, November 25, 1896)
-----

Miss Beula Crewell, daughter of village treasurer and Mrs. Baltis F. Crewell of North Pelham, and Eugene Penfield of Mount Vernon, were married a week ago last Sunday.  The young couple surprised their friends with the announcement this week.  They will reside in New York city.
-----
Wolf's lane is being put in passable condition, a much needed improvement.  First street in Pelham Heights is also being paved by Smith Bros., the local contractors.
-----
Leland T. Powers of Boston, Lectured on the ndw play 'Lord Chumbley,' at the Hazen Seminary for young ladies Monday.
------

Frank M. Lyon has purchased the [illegible] the Young block, Fifth avenue and Fourth street, and will take possession the first of December, consolidating his present business with Beyel's.  Mr. Beyel will move his family to New York City on that date.
-----

The Baptists will hold a prayer meeting at the chapel. Fourth avenue near Third street, Friday evening.  The Rev. William A. Granger, pastor of the First Baptist church, Mount Vernon, will conduct the meeting.
-----

P.P, de Arozarema of Pelhamdale avenue, Pelham Heights, will raffle a Spanish donkey, 7 years old, two sets of harness, saddle and bridle and donkey cart, at Lyman's drug store tomorrow afternoon.
-----
Benjamin F. Corlies of Pelham Manor, while driving through North Pelham last Friday morning in front of the station, the 8:49 express passed through scaring the horse so that it bolted, throwing the rider.  Mr. Corlies was not badly hurt.  The animal was caught by Hill Allen, coachman for Ralph K. Hubbard, of Loring avenue, Pelham Heights.
-----
Miss Lizzie Morrelly of Third avenue, employed at the Cors Print works, caught her fingers in a paper cutter injuring them badly.  Dr. Walter S. Fleming of Mount Vernon, was called and dressed the wounds.  She will be unable to use the hand for some time.
-----
Dennis A. Walsh cut a deep gash in his hand while trimming a wick for a lamp at the Pelham A.C. headquarters Thursday evening.  He hurried to Lyman''s drut store where the injury was dressed.
-----
Last Thursday the New York police broke up a dangerous gang of thieves who proved to be the ones who have been operating in this section.  One of the men was wearing the hat taken by them from Mr. Bertine of Pelham Manor, when the Pelham man was driving with his daughter on the Split Rock road two weeks ago.  Among the goods recovered was a quantity of loot taken from the Hazen Seminary in Pelham Manor several weeks ago.  Mr. Bertine identified his hat but was unable to identify any of the men.
----- 
Mrs. M.A. Bowden, mother of George Bowden, of Ninth avenue, died at her home in New York City last Saturday in her 88th year.  The funeral services were held from her late residence, 361 West Fifty-first street, yesterday.
-----
Last night the town hall was filled with an enthusiastic audience to witness one of the finest plays given here yet.  It was a two-act drama entitled 'Above the Clouds,' and was given under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. I. C. Hill.  The scenery was loaned by Paul Mellon of the Bon Ton Theatre, Jersey City.  Charles C. Kneen was stage manager and Dr. Charles A. Barker was electrician.  The case was as follows:L  Philip Ringold, 'Crazy Phil' (a mountain hermit), I. C. Hill; Alred Thorpe, a city nabob, Chalres Kneen; Amos Gaylord, a country gentleman, Charles Ward:  Howard Gaylord, his son, James Greer:  Titus Turtle, a Gourmand, Elmer Kavanaugh; Curtis Chipman, 'Chips'' in the rought, Bertrand Burnett:  Nat Taylor, Thorp's protege, Elwood Clarke:  Grace Ingalls, a young artist, Miss Ida E. Hill:  Hester Thorne, Gaylord's housekeeper, Mrs. Ezra Daggett:  Susie Gaylord, Gaylord's daughter, Miss Louise Furber; Lucretia Gerrish, 'So Romantic,' Miss Mary E. Jennings:  song (selected), William Williams.  The proceeds will go to the church of the Redeemer."

Source:  PELHAM 30 YEARS AGO (From the Pelham Press, November 25, 1896), The Pelham Sun, Nov. 26, 1926, p. 12, cols. 1-4.  

Pelham Town Hall Where the Two-Act Drama

"Above the Clouds" Was Staged on November

24, 1896.  NOTE:  Click Image To Enlarge.

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Lyman's Pharmacy and Post Office Was Located in the Building That Still Stands at One Fifth Avenue in Pelham

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The lovely building that still stands at One Fifth Avenue in the Village of Pelham was once both a Pharmacy and the Village post office.  It is the second building on that site.  The first burned in a major fire from which the occupants escaped with only the clothes on their backs.  Immediately below is an early post card view of the building that replaced the original structure -- the building we know today as One Fifth Avenue.  The post card was postmarked in June 1910.  The pharmacy entrance is the main entrance to the building, on the left.  The post office is on the right in the post card view below.

The structure depicted above was erected by Seth T. Lyman after a fire destroyed the original building right before the turn of the Twentieth Century.  The architect of the new building was Arthur G. C. Fletcher, a former president (i.e., Mayor) of the Village of Pelham.  The building was erected on the site of the original building that burned.  

I have written about Seth T. Lyman and the Lyman Pharmacy building at "Lyman's Corners" several times.  For two examples, see:  

Tue., Jul. 4, 2006:  Seth T. Lyman, Pelham's Own Medicine Man of the Late 19th Century.  

The Lyman Pharmacy Building At One Fifth Avenue in Downtown Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 19, May 7, 2004, p. 12, col. 1.

On March 1, 1945, the pharmacy founded by Seth T. Lyman celebrated its 50th anniversary.  The local newspaper, The Pelham Sun, published two articles that addressed the early history of the pharmacy and the building that housed it.  Today's Historic Pelham Blog posting transcribes the text of those two articles below.
"Pelham Pharmacy Was Founded 50 Years Ago
-----

When a Pelham business celebrates its fiftieth anniversary you can depend on it that its history begins with that of the Pelhams.

The fact that Pelham Pharmacy at First street and Fifth avenue, is jubilizing this week in observance of its fiftieth birthday bears this out for many interesting matters connected with Pelham's early history have been brought to light and written by Gardner Minard, unofficial historian.  

Seth Lyman founded the business on March 1, 1895.  He selected the Fifth avenue and First street localities upon his arrival in Pelhamville as it was then called.  At the start he had only a vacant lot.  A building of his own design was soon erected.  But . . . 

The furnishings for this drugstore in a Republican stronghold came from the Roosevelt apothecary store in Pelham Manor owned and operated by one of the Roosevelts who were early settlers in Pelham -- we think it was Elbert -- anyway, he lived in the old Roosevelt mansion on the Shore road near Bolton Priory.  The apothecary failed while the store fixtures lived -- reincarnated in Seth Lyman's Pelhamville establishment.  

My informant writes me, and I quote:  'They say it was a Roosevelt who maintained the sale of all standard brands of the day -- however he perished in the whirlpools of neglect, thrust from the Scylla of outdoor attraction to the Charybdis of importuning creditors.'  Probably my informant had been compounding Latin prescriptions.

Today the proprietors, Clarence Russell, serving for 23 years and James Porcelly, for 13 years can exhibit records showing that 126,000 prescriptions have been filled for the men, women and children who have patronized the establishment.  

This appeals to us as a badge of merit for exemplary service to relief of suffering mankind, something to be regarded with honor and veneration.  

Seth T. Lyman, the founder, is now retired and living happily on Linden avenue, North Pelham.  Age does not wither him nor advancing senescence yet show its handiwork upon him.  He is as mentally alert as the majority of young men and if you ask him how come, he'll reply laconically:  'Used to be postmaster--sold stamps--like to stick around.'

The present proprietors are active participants in public affairs.  Mr. Russell is a member of the Lions Club and James Porcelly we knew as a medico in the 5th Regt. N.Y.S.G. a few years ago.

Fifty years of history for a drug store must mean one thing if no other--its service to the public has been satisfactory.  It also means that its stock is first class and its personnel pleasing--and that does apply today to the Pelham Pharmacy at First street and Fifth avenue.

Our congratulations on reaching its half century."

Source:  Pelham Pharmacy Was Founded 50 Years Ago, The Pelham Sun, Mar. 1, 1945, p. 3, col. 1.  

"Do you Remember?
by GARDNER MINARD

Fifty years ago, March 1, 1895, the store on the corner of Fifth avenue and First street, Pelhamville, was vacant.  A young druggist, Seth T. Lyman, by name, arrived and looked it over.  He had recently graduated from the college of pharmacy and wanted to start in business for himself.  He took a long chance and leased it with the apartment above where he intended keeping bachelor's hall.  Those must have been anxious days for the new merchant.  When the sun went down an inky blackness spread over the town for there were no street lamps.  There was no police department in the town and the five town constables went to bed with the chickens.

The post office next door closed at 8 p.m.  At almost any hour of the day and night men singly and in groups could be seen walking the railroad tracks.  Most of them were hobos but there were many who had police records and were looking over likely jobs.  Although the Pelhamville post office was fourth class and little money or stamps were kept on hand, the moneyorder [sic] blanks were sought by robbers.  All Lyman's money was tied up in his venture.  I rented the apartment over the post office.  There was but one physician in town Dr. Charles T. Washburn, who lived on the corner of Pelhamdale avenue and Terrace place, but he was not always available.

The new drug store became a sort of first-aid station.  Hardly a week but someone came to be patched up.  I do not recall anyone offering to pay for services or material.  He had a telephone installed.  It was fastened to the wall outside the counter and the residents regarded it as free lunch.  They all used it and no charge was made for calls to Mt. Vernon.  

Do not confuse the telephones of today with those of fifty years ago.  Then there was a box at the top containing the magneto, another at the bottom containing the cell battery and what resembled a camera in between known as the transmitter.  You yelled into the hole.  Telephone wires were not insulated then and like the radio serials of today gathered all the sound waves for miles around.

Two out-of-town doctors established 'out-posts' in the new store and placed their signs in the show windows.  They also hung on the wall silicate slates for the residents needing a doctor to 'sign the register.'  These doctors would arrive in the morning in their buggies, look over the calls, mark them down and make the rounds, after which they returned, looked again at the slates, erased the names and drove home.  Then the prescriptions would flow in.

Lyman kept a copy of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia behind the prescription counter which I studied daily.  I watched him fill prescriptions and he explained them to me and it was not long before I could read any prescription, translate them into English and might, in a pinch, have filled them.

Lest you think by this that the labor and material do not justify the cost, here is where skill comes in.  The doctors had come, made their rounds and departed.  Lymanas behind the counter filling a prescription and I was tending the store.  A woman entered and handed me a prescription.  I read it and told her to return in one hour.  I took it to the rear and placed it on the counter in front of Lyman who was working with mortar and pestle.  He continued to work while reading it but suddenly paused, his eyes opened wide and picking it up asked if I had read it.  I had.  Did I realize anything wrong with it?  I had not.  Then he pointed to two items, each of which alone was simple and harmless, but combined caused a chemical reaction harmful to persons.  

He went to the phone, called the physician's wife and asked her to have him call as soon as he reached home.  The doctor hurried back to Pelhamville, thanked Lyman, tore up the paper and wrote a new prescription.

Pelham Messenger Co.

Whether the telephone should have classified as a blessing or a curse is a problem.  To Lyman it was a boon to his customers who were commuters.  Before leaving for home night, they telephoned either from their place of business or the Grand Central station for him to get word to their wife to tell the coachman to meet a certain train at the Pelhamville station.  Lyman could not leave the store so I had to deliver these messages.  There were no street cars in the town then and often these calls were to points between Pelhamville and Union Corners,  Pelham Manor, Western New Rochelle and Eastern Mount Vernon.  

I hit upon a scheme; we would form the Pelham Messenger Co., and charge for delivery.  This would discourage them.  We would make the charge 15 cents for day calls in Pelhamville and Pelham Heights and 25 cents beyond.  After 8 o'clock at night the charges would be 25 and 50 cents.  We bought rubber stamps to mark envelopes.  Apparently this is what the people were waiting for.  The business grew.  Something puzzled us; after 8 p.m. we began getting many long-distance calls for sickness and death notice delivery.  How did these people get our telephone number?  We were not listed in any directory.  Also the voice at the other end often was the same and entirely too distinct for long distance.  We might have had our suspicions.  Charlie Merritt, the station agent, was also the Western Union agent.  A telegrapher, he had the key and sounder in the ticket office.  He closed the station at 8 p.m.  He probably notified the Western Union that calls after that hour could be delivered through us.  By the time the Spanish-American war broke out we were doing a thriving business.  After my return from that campaign, the Pelham Messenger Co. had become a memory.

Post Office Burglary

In January, 1898, I took the store in the other end of the building with the apartment above and in 1919 moved to Wolf's lane.  I therefore missed two of the greatest thrills in Lyman's fifty years in Pelham.  The fire that destroyed the building and the discovery by Lyman of the post office burglars, although I was on the spot in time to capture one.  The fire swept through the frame building so quickly that Lyman, his wife,, sister Mary, daughter Mary and Mrs. Lyman's brother, Robert Birch, escaped with only thin clothes covering them.  Lyman was postmaster at the time and the office and its contents were destroyed.

He rented a store in the Lyon Building, Wolf's lane, and for the first time the Pelham Post Office was actually located in the village of Pelham.  He purchased the site of the old building and erected the present building.  The architect was Arthur G. C. Fletcher, former president of the Village of Pelham.  It was in this building the burglary was attempted.

In January, 1896, both Lyman and myself [sic] signed the petition to the post office department to change the name of the local office from Pelhamville to Pelham not knowing that at the time there was a bill pending in the state legislature permitting Pelham Heights to incorporate as a village.  It was our expectation that Pelhamville would incorporate as the Village of Pelham, but Pelham Heights beat us to it.  In March, 1896, at the town election, a referendum on local option was taken and the result was that hotels, saloons and retail liquor stores were ordered closed for two years.  The fourth question; shall drug stores be permitted to sell liquor on a physician's prescription, won and Lyman had the only legal liquor license in the town.  In 1898 the wets carried the election and although the drys made several attempts during the next twenty years, they were never successful again."

Source:  Minard, Gardner, Do You Remember?, The Pelham Sun, Mar. 1, 1945, p. 3, col. 3.

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The Little Pelhamville Depot: Forerunner to the Train Station Serving New Haven Line Passengers Today

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There may be only one known image of the tiny wooden depot that once stood about where the One Wolfs Lane (the Pelham National Bank Building) now stands. That image, which appears below, is taken from an engraving prepared for an article that appeared in the January 16, 1886 issue of Scientific American. See A Remarkable Railroad Accident, Scientific American, Jan. 16, 1886, Vol. LIV, No. 3, pp. 31-2 (the first page of the issue is page 31).

This little depot is the forerunner to the Pelham Station built to the east along Pelhamwood during the 1890s that still serves passengers today.

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