How the Women of Pelham Saved the Manor Club From Poor Management by the Men Who Founded It

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In 1899, a group of local women began gathering informally in Pelham Manor homes “to do fancy work.”  As they worked, one of them read aloud from a local resident’s lecture notes about “some famous character in history.”  From this modest beginning grew a second club in the area that came to be known as “The Tuesday Afternoon Club.” 

According to an article published in The Pelham Sun in 1914, The Tuesday Afternoon Club of Pelham Manor was “a women’s study club, which meets weekly for four months each winter to give its members an opportunity to come together and to study some subject more or less seriously.  Its aim is to give purpose to the reading of the busy housewife so that the years may not drift by in desultory fashion but with passing time may yield some substantial intellectual accomplishment, some definite spiritual gain.” 

I have written before about the history of the Tuesday Afternoon Club.  See Thu., May 26, 2016:  A Brief History of the Tuesday Afternoon Club Before It Merged Into the Manor Club of Pelham Manor.  

Founded formally in 1900, the Tuesday Afternoon Club paid the Manor Club to permit it to meet in a room of the Manor Club.  Throughout the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, the Manor Club served as a social and cultural center for the little Village of Pelham Manor.  Though at that time members included men and women, men held the principal governing positions in the Manor Club.  Indeed, according to one historian of the club, it was “run” by the men – a fact that the same historian notes with some satisfaction when pointing out that in 1913 “the Manor Club . . . ran into financial difficulties.” 

The Manor Club’s financial difficulties arose at just the time The Tuesday Afternoon Club was beginning to flower.  According to one account, at about this time an unidentified member of The Manor Club “almost in jest, suggested that they offer the Clubhouse along with the Club name, to the Tuesday Afternoon Club.”  The same account notes that although the Manor Club was heavily in debt, “the ladies could not resist the temptation to own their own clubhouse.”  Within a short time, the Tuesday Afternoon Club became the new Manor Club, “taking over its name, its clubhouse and a debt of several thousand dollars.”

The ladies of the Tuesday Afternoon Club proceeded to reform the club and its finances.  They cleared its debt and raised sufficient funds so that, by 1922, they could build a new clubhouse on the site of the original clubhouse -- a structure that still stands and is still used by the club.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The First Clubhouse of the Manor Club Where The Tuesday Afternoon

Club Met During the Fifteen Years Or So It Existed Before Taking Over

and Merging Into the Manor Club.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"Our Clubs, Societies and Fraternal Organizations. . . .

The Tuesday Afternoon Club OF PELHAM MANOR.
-----

The Tuesday Afternoon Club is a woman's study club, which meets weekly for four months each winter to give its members an opportunity to come together and to study some subject more or less seriously.

Its aim is to give purpose to the reading of the busy housewife so that the years may not drift by in desultory fashion but with passing time may yield some substantial intellectual accomplishment, some definite spiritual gain.  

Of course, not every member can nor will give the time necessary for serious work, but lecturers and books are supplied, and members are encouraged to go as deeply into a subject as they can.

In the beginning, some fifteen years ago, the club was a little group of perhaps a dozen women who met to do fancy work while some one read aloud one of Dr. Lord's lectures about some famous character in history.  The women were too timid to write papers or to read them if they had been written.

In course of time the lectures proved tiresome and a novel was ventured upon which proved still more fatiguing.  The club was at its lowest ebb intellectually.  But a decided reaction set in which showed itself in a desire for more worthy things and which lasted for some years.

The first expression of this desire was a season spent in reading Homer's Iliad and in studying the Hellenic period, and excellent papers were not only prepared but read.

Refreshed by contact with virile Greek life the club women then pressed on to another great masterpiece and read the entire Divine Comedy of Dante which was followed by a season's study of the Renaissance in various countries.  This latter year was the first time that the club had ventured to do without a text book, depending entirely upon a plan arranged by itself.  Many of us remember with pleasure the hard work of these two seasons, especially the study of this medieval poem and its early Italian background.

Coming a little closer to modern times another great poem was chosen for study, and a season was well spent in reading both parts of Goethe's Faust.  This poem proved heavier reading than most busy women cared to undertake alone, but under the stimulus of weekly meetings and the companionship of earnest minds many of them persevered to the end which brought its own reward.

Two delightful seasons were then given to Shakespeare, which were followed by the study of a group of leaders of modern thought.

A winter's study of Browning was to have rounded out the cycle of the masters of literature, but the club, now grown large, decided to turn its attention away from the realm of the imagination and toward the problems of daily living.  The growth of feminism brought with it a certain sense of responsibility toward practical mundane affairs which caused the club to give several seasons to the study of Political Economy, Elementary Law and kindred civic subjects until after a time another current turned the tide in the direction of the arts.

Because it was the most vital and personal of the arts as well as one which combined not only literary and pictorial interest but the representation of human emotion and struggle, the art of the Diana was chosen as the subject both for last year and this.

It is gratifying to look back and to note the healthy development of the Tuesday Afternoon Club during the past fifteen years, from a dozen members to more than a hundred, and from the reading of a printed lecture to the program for the present season of 1914, when the members of the club will listen to eight lectures on the Theory of the Theatre by Clayton Hamilton, of Columbia University, and will themselves conduct discussions upon eight subjects of present day interest, such as socialism, suffrage, modern religion, modern literature, music and art.

The spirit of the club is most generous and kindly and there is shown a steadily increasing interest in the higher things of life, both intellectual and spiritual, which is due in large measure to the influence and inspiration of the President of the club, who has held that office since the beginning.

EVELYN RANDALL."

Source:  Randall, Evelyn B., Our Clubs, Societies and Fraternal Organizations. . . . The Tuesday Afternoon Club OF PELHAM MANOR, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 20, 1913, p. 3, col. 2. 

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"Mrs. Joan E. Secor Dies In San Francisco; Manor Club President 26 Years
-----
One of Pelham Manor's Most Revered Citizens; Was First President of Tuesday Afternoon Club Founded in 1900; Later Merged With Manor Club; Town Historian for Five Years.
-----

Mrs. Joan Elizabeth Secor, who for twenty-six years was president of the Manor Club and the guiding spirit in the growth of the club, died suddenly on Saturday at San Francisco, where she has made her home since May, 1925.  Funeral services were held at San Francisco on Monday.  The remains will be brought east for interment.  Plans for interment have not been arranged yet.

She was the widow of James F. Secor, old resident and at one time school trustee.

Mrs. Secor was the aunt of Miss Anna Cockle and Isla V. Cockle of Pelham Manor.  She is also survived by four sisters, Mrs. Vincent Cottman and Miss Jane Klink of San Francisco, Mrs. Emil Theiss and Mrs. Franklin Huntington of Norfolk, Va., and two brothers, George T. Klink and William M. Klink, of San Francisco..

Mrs. Secor was born at Vallejo, Calif., in 1858.  In 1880 Mr. Secor while inspecting the dry docks at Vallejo, which were constructed by his father, met Miss Joan Elizabeth Klink, and after a short courtship the couple were married at Vallejo.  They came to the Secor home in Pelham Manor to live shortly after.  The dynamic personality of the young bride soon established her as a leader.

In 1900 the need for a women's club in Pelham Manor was recognized and Mrs. Secor was instrumental in establishing the Tuesday Afternoon Club whose meetings soon became the culture center of the village.  Mrs. Secor was elected president of the club.  Other officers were Mrs. Charles B. Hull, vice-president; Mrs. William B. Randall, secretary; Mrs. Charlotte E. Cowles, treasurer.

The Tuesday Afternoon Club used to meet in one of the alcoves of the Manor Club building.  The Manor Club had been established as a men's club in 1887, and for years it has been successful.  However, at the time of the organization of the Tuesday Afternoon Club, the Manor Club was experiencing difficulties, and the organization was glad to encourage the use, at a nominal fee, of the building by the women's club.

(Continued on Page Four)

MRS. JOAN E. SECOR DIES SUDDENLY
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(Continued from Page One)

In 1914 the Manor Club joined with the Tuesday Afternoon Club, and the women replaced the men as officers.  Mrs. Secor was elected president of the new Manor Club and she remained in the chair until her departure from Pelham in 1925.  After that she was honorary president.

It was under the guidance of Mrs. Secor that the Manor Club extended its membership from a handful of women to more than 500.  It was also under her direction that the present clubhouse of the Manor Club was financed and constructed.  She officiated at the laying of the cornerstone in 1921 and at the dedication of the building in 1922.

Mrs. Secor retired as president of the club in May, 1925, at which time she left Pelham to take up her residence in San Francisco.  Glowing tribute to her 26 years as president of the club was paid by the members of the Manor Club at the annual banquet.  An engrossed resolution was presented to the retiring president as well as handsome gifts in token on the esteem in which Mrs. Secor was held.  

Mrs. Secor was unanimously elected Honorary President and in recent years acted in an advisory capacity.  

Annually at the final meeting of the Manor Club a telegram of love and congratulation was forwarded to the honorary president of the club.  A similar greeting was received from Mrs. Secor.  At the last annual meeting she sent the following message:

'Greetings from the far away California coast, where I lived until I was in my 23rd year and then upon occasion of my marriage to Mr. Secor in 1880, I came to New York and shortly afterward to Pelham Manor.  I can truly say that I have lived my life in Pelham Manor, that is, in its working years, and they are the years that count.

'It was the Manor Club which gave me my first experience in the art of managing public affairs, and I learned during the years I was its president.  It is not the length of time one is in office, but what one accomplished while there which counts.  I now see that the whole-hearted cooperation in things that are uplifting, the generous willingness to do something to make the club better, more stimulating to what is highest and best in our daily lives, had made the Pelhams a finer place in which to live.  This was the great aim of our young years, and it has been accomplished as I see and feel although so many miles away.

'Life in the Pelhams is a finer thing by reason of the influence of a group of women who worked and still do, to bring out the best qualities of those about them through the study of literature, music, art, the drama and the various sections.

'Therefore, I say to you who thus labor, 'go forward, be not weary of well-doing.'  To my dear friends Mrs. Longley, who is to retire from the office of president, I send my warm love and congratulations upon her successful presidency, and now will close, my dear Sophie (Mrs. H. E. Dey) with kind remembrances to my many friends in the Manor Club, among whom you are surely included.

'JOAN E. SECOR,

'Honorary President.'

Mrs. Secor was for many years a contributor to The Pelham Sun.  Her historical articles were widely read and her history of Pelham, which she compiled as Town Historian, is very interesting.

Mrs. Secor's love for Pelham is shown in the tribute, 'A Toast to Pelham' which is printed in this issue of The Pelham Sun.  A framed copy of this tribute was presented to The Pelham Sun by Mrs. E. T. Gilliland, old resident who was a dear friend of Mrs. Secor.

As a tribute to the memory of the late Mrs. Secor the flag on the clubhouse grounds will be flown at half mast staff for a month.

The portrait of Mrs. Secor, painted by George Brehm and hanging in the assembly room of the club is draped in black.

A large spray of flowers to entirely cover the coffin was sent by the Manor Club to San Francisco."

Source:  Mrs. Joan E. Secor Dies In San Francisco; Manor Club President 26 Years -- One of Pelham Manor's Most Revered Citizens; Was First President of Tuesday Afternoon Club Founded in 1900; Later Merged With Manor Club; Town Historian for Five Years, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 29, 1932, Vol. 23, No. 19, p. 1, cols. 1-2 & p. 4, cols. 4-7.  

"Pelham Manor:  Manor Club Directors To Open Season Tuesday. . . .

Mrs. William B. Randall, the Manor Club Bulletin, which contains an apt summary of the club's later history.

Founded Afternoon Club

'In 1900 a small group of women of the Manor arranged to read and study together.  They founded the Tuesday Afternoon Club, which for 14 years had but one president, Mrs. James Secor.  This little club held its meetings in the Manor Club house, and it grew as the village grew.  It developed a fine spirit and a real love for culture.  In congenial company the members felt equal to almost any task, and were wont to spend an entire year studying Homer, Dante, Goethe or Browning.'

As the village was not large, the income of the Manor Club was totally inadequate to the task of financing itself.  After 20 years of effort, the club was ready to give up the struggle, when Mr. Harry Dey suggested turning the Manor Club over to the women of the Tuesday . . .'

'So it was that the old Manor Club became a typical women's club, devoted a typical women's club, devoted to study and to the personal development of its members, and again it continued to grow . . . On a certain Winter evening in 1922 the new club house was formally opened by a gala performance on the stage, with flowers and speeches and congratulations on both sides of the curtain.' . . . .

Source:  Pelham Manor:  Manor Club Directors To Open Season Tuesday, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Oct. 3, 1937, p. 14, cols. 1-2.  

"40th Birthday Of Tuesday Afternoon Club Is Observed At Gala Luncheon
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Mrs. Hillard Birney, Manor Club President, Hostess at Luncheon Honoring Tuesday Afternoon Club, Honorary Club Members and Past Presidents.  Mrs. Dey is Made an Honorary Member.
-----

Mrs. Hilliard C. Birney, president of the Manor Club was hostess at a gala luncheon party in the clubhouse on Tuesday afternoon, honoring members of the Tuesday Afternoon Club, honorary members of the club and past presidents.  The occasion marked the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Tuesday Afternoon Club, one of the predecessors of the present woman's club.  Reminiscences of members of the early club added interest to the occasion which also marked Mrs. Birney's own birthday, and brought out the fact that the Manor Club was founded in 1882 as a social organization for both men and women.

The Tuesday Afternoon Club, after 14 years independent existence was merged with the Manor Club in 1914 and the organization has continued to flourish as an outstanding woman's club.  The Manor Club will observe its 60th birthday in 1942.  

At the luncheon party which was also attended by presidents of nearby women's clubs and by Mrs. Edward Whitney, president of the the Westchester Federation, Mrs. Birney announced on behalf of the Board of Directors, the election of Mrs. Henry E. Dey of Pelham Manor as an honorary member of the Manor Club.  Calling Mrs. Dey, 'one of the most beloved members of both the Tuesday Afternoon Club and of the Manor Club,' Mrs. Birney made known the honor paid to her in recognition of long and devoted service.

Singing of the tradition 'Blessing' the words of which were written by Mrs. Joan E. Secor who was first president of the Tuesday Afternoon Club and also of the Manor Club when it became a women's organization in 1914, opened the exercises.  Mrs. Hugh G. Curran, widely known as Pearl Curran, the composer, who wrote the music was at the piano.  The 'Blessing' was sung by Mrs. Winfred B. Holten, Jr., Mrs. Clarence H. Connor, Mrs. Laurence T. Hemmenway and Mrs. Francis Moore.

Mrs. Birney paid tribute to the women who made up the Tuesday Afternoon Club, 'a forward-looking' group who grew from 1900 to 1914 at which date they merged with the older Manor Club, and developed into the large and flourishing woman's club of today.

Mrs. Francis T. Kingsley and Mrs. William B. Randall both presented intimate pictures of the days of the Tuesday Afternoon Club as they knew it.  Mrs. Kingsley, who became the first treasurer of the Manor Club as a woman's club in 1914, recalled the earlier days of the community when telephones were few and far between and when the work of organization was necessarily much slower than it is today.  In Pelham was to be found, she said, a very cultured group of people.  She described briefly the limited quarters of the old Manor Club, the scene of much cultural and social activity.  

Mrs. Randall, who was the first secretary-treasurer of the Tuesday Afternoon Club and the first secretary of the Manor Club when it became a woman's group in 1914, gave an interesting view also of the 'old days.'  She recalled a small group of about twenty women meeting once a week in the months after Christmas, in the music room of the home of Mrs. Robert C. Black and her own collaboration with Mrs. Secor in mapping out a five year study plan for the Tuesday Afternoon Group which studied the world's great writers.  Mrs. Robert C. Black became the first vice-president of the Manor Club as a woman's club in 1914.

Mrs. H. G. K. Heath, an honorary member of the Manor Club, and a vice-president of the Tuesday Afternoon Club spoke briefly and the past presidents of the Manor Club were presented by Mrs. Birney and also were heard briefly.  They are:  Mrs. James Longley, Mrs. Walter B. Parsons, Mrs. Charles M. Chenery and Mrs. Louis Carreau.

Mrs. James L. Gerry, club historian and Mrs. Manning Stires, club representative with the Westchester Federation, both of the Tuesday Afternoon Club, were also presented by Mrs. Birney.  Mrs. Henry E. Dey acknowledging the honor paid to her by making her an honorary member of the club, paid tribute to Mrs. Secor, 'the spirit of the old days was the spirit of Mrs. Joan Secor,' she declared.

Guests Are Introduced

Presidents of women's clubs in nearby communities were introduced by Mrs. Birney who also presented Mrs. Whitney the Westchester Federation head; Mrs. Wilfred Winaus, president of the New Rochelle Woman's Club; Mrs. Stirling Smith, president of Larchmont Woman's Club; Mrs. Albert Ferris, president of the Crestwood Woman's Club, and Mrs. F. Leslie Jones, president of the Rye Woman's Club.

Mrs. Birney also introduced members of the present Board of Directors of the Manor Club:  Mrs. Arthur Procter, Mrs. William G. Luke, Mrs. Charles M. Hart, Mrs. John F. Hamond, Mrs. James Aukland, Mrs. Richard G. Knowland, Mrs. J. Donald Robb and Mrs. Wm. R. Butler.  Alas Mrs. Alexander Freehold, editor of the Club Mullets and the chairmen of that section; American Home, Mrs. John W. Darr; Mrs. Edward Albright, Art; Mrs. William R. Bull, Choral; Mrs. Edward A. Scott, Jr., Civic; Mrs. Talbert Sprague, Drama; Mrs. Edmund D. Scotti, French; Mrs. James B. Thorpe, Garden; Mrs. C. Kermit Ewing, Junior; Mrs. H. Llewelyn Roberts, Literature; Mrs. Pike Waldrop, Travel; Mrs. Richard Block, Music; Mrs. Robert J. Woods, Chairman of the Holiday Dance Committee; Mrs. Forrest M. Anderson, Hospitality Chairman; Mrs. George Cusack, Social Committee Chairman, and Mrs. William S. Banks, Librarian.

A birthday cake with lighted candels, in honor of the occasion was carried to the speakers' table where Mrs. Randall, at the invitation of Mrs. Birney, cut the first piece of cake.  Birthday greetings appropriate to the anniversary and birthday greetings for Mrs. Birney were sung by the club members and guests.

Songs written by Mrs. Curran added to the anniversary luncheon.  Mrs. Moore sang a number called, 'Contentment,' and Mrs. Holton, daughter of the composer, sang 'The Best is Yet to Be.'  Mrs. Curran accompanied both singers.

Guests of honor at the anniversary luncheon included:  Mrs. R. Clifford Black, Mrs. William H. Blymer, Mrs. Danforth Brown (an honorary member); Mrs. Louis Carreau, Mrs. Charles Chenery, Mrs. Theodore J. Deuscher, Mrs. Dey, Mrs. J. T. Fenlon, Mrs. Albert C. Field, Mrs. Gerry, Mrs. E. Kendall Gillett, Mrs. Ezra T. Gilliland (an honorary member); Mrs. H. G. K. Heath (an honorary member); Mrs. Edward C. King, Mrs. Kingsley (an honorary member); Mrs. George W. Lawrence, Mrs. Longley, Mrs. Schuyler Mills, Mrs. William R. Montgomery, Mrs. Robert M. Morgan, Mrs. H. B. Mulliken, Mrs. William H. Orchard, Mrs. Walter B. Parson, Mrs. Edward Penfield, Mrs. William B. Randall, Mrs. Merton C. Robbins, Mrs. Manning Stires, Mrs. W. W. Warner, Mrs. Ellen S. Whitall, Mrs. Joseph C. Wilberding. 

Mrs. Randall and Mrs. Wilberding are both honorary club members also.

The luncheon tables were decorated with red roses and stocks.  Luncheon arrangements were made by the Social Committee and the Hospitality Committee.  About 100 club members and guests also made reservations.  

The musical part of the program was under Mrs. Curran's direction."

Source:  40th Birthday Of Tuesday Afternoon Club Is Observed At Gala Luncheon -- Mrs. Hillard Birney, Manor Club President, Hostess at Luncheon Honoring Tuesday Afternoon Club, Honorary Club Members and Past Presidents.  Mrs. Dey is Made an Honorary Member, The Pelham Sun, Jan. 12, 1940, p. 7, cols. 3-4.

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Construction of the First Clubhouse of the Manor Club in 1887 and 1888

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Currently among the many, many eBay auction offerings related to the history of Pelham is a lovely postcard entitled "Manor Club, Pelham Manor, N. Y."  It depicts the original clubhouse of the Manor Club, known as the "Manor House," built in 1887-1888 (see image below).  The cornerstone of the structure was laid on Thanksgiving Day, 1887 (November 24, 1887).  Construction was completed and the Manor House opened in June, 1888.  The structure stood where today's clubhouse of the Manor Club stands.

Postcard View of the "Manor House," the Original Clubhouse of the

Manor Club Built on the Site of Today's Clubhouse in 1887-1888.

Postcard is Postmarked July 5, 1917.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Detail from 1899 Map Published by John F. Fairchild Showing

Location of the Original "Manor House" of the Manor Club.  Red

Arrow Shows View of Photographer Who Created the Image

of the Manor House on the Postcard Immediately Above.  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

The precise origins of the Manor Club, unfortunately, are unknown. Some believe that in 1878, only five years after the Pelham Manor and Huguenot Heights Association formed to develop the area that came to be known as Pelham Manor, a few local residents began gathering socially in local homes. This group, with no organizational structure, is believed to have evolved into the Manor Club.

On January 10, 1882, “the greater part of the residents” of Pelham Manor gathered at the home of Mr. E.E. Hitchcock. See The Manor Club, THE HISTORY OF THE MANOR CLUB, p. 6 (Pelham Manor, NY: 1973). Their purpose was to “reorganize” the Manor Club which, for some unknown reason, “had formally been disbanded at a meeting held December 9, 1881” according to the minutes of the January 10 meeting.  Id.  A history of the club published in 1973 says that during the “reorganizational” meeting: “a constitution and by-laws were drawn up and unanimously adopted. Mr. John H. Dey, temporary chairman of the meeting, appointed a committee to nominate the officers of the new club and said officers were elected by acclamation.  This new constitution provided that the offices of vice president and treasurer must be filled by ladies.”  Id. 

Early meeting minutes suggest that the club held monthly meetings in various members’ homes.  Entertainment included recitations, singing and – even as early as 1882 – simple plays such as “a serio-comic representation of Oscar Wilde’s Dream”.  Id.

A previous Historic Pelham article detailed how the original clubhouse depicted in the postcard view set forth above came to be:

"There is a fascinating story about the origins of the Manor Club’s first clubhouse.  According to William Barnett, a member of the original Club and an early Club historian, it seems that Pelham Manor residents were unhappy with their lack of influence in local school affairs.  They decided to acquire lands, erect a clubhouse and give all members a "freehold interest" in order to qualify all members (including women) to vote as property owners during school elections. 

It appears that residents of Pelhamville (the area north of the New Haven line) dominated school affairs.  In the fall of 1882, residents of Pelham Manor supported one of their own, Mr. George H. Reynolds, as a candidate for the school board. At about this time, it was “suggested that lands be purchased under the auspices of the Club and freehold interest conveyed therein to each member, in this way qualifying all members (including the ladies) to vote at school elections.”  Id., p. 7. 

In effect, Pelham Manor residents had formed a plan to stuff the ballot box in school elections.  To implement that plan, however, they needed a large number of landowners. Common ownership of land set aside for a new clubhouse seemed to be the perfect solution.  According to a history of the Club prepared by Mrs. Earle E. Bradway: 

'In May 1883 the Club voted to purchase, for three hundred dollars, two lots of land on the Esplanade, numbers 161 and 162.  In order to effectuate the object of the purchase, it was desirable that an incorporate institution should first take title to the land from Mrs. [Robert C.] Black and then convey undivided interests therein to the voters.  Accordingly, Mr. Robert C. Black, Mr. John H. Dey, Mr. W.R. Lamberton, Mr. George H. Reynolds and Mr. G. Osmar Reynolds signed and filed articles of association under the provisions of an Act of the Legislature passed in 1875, and on the 28th day of May 1883 became incorporated under the name of the Manor Club.  This incorporated club in June 1883 took title to the land referred to and carried out the intention of the purchase by conveying life interests to the several members of the old Manor Club.'  Id.

At a meeting of the club held on June 7, 1883, members voted to build a permanent clubhouse. Mrs. Robert C. Black, whose family founded the settlement and owned large swaths of land in the area, donated a lot on the Esplanade as the site for the new clubhouse. 

During the summer of 1887, the Club raised $10,000 by subscription to fund construction of the new clubhouse. Club members selected Pelham resident F. Carles Merry as the architect. He designed a lovely shingle-style building with a large auditorium in the center and a deep “piazza” (porch) that surrounded nearly the entire building."

The day after the cornerstone laying ceremony on Thanksgiving that year, a local newspaper reported as follows:

 "The Manor Club of Pelham Manor, in Westchester County, is erecting a very picturesque and substantial club-house to be called the Manor House, from plans furnished by Mr. F. Carles Merry.  The material is the rough stone found upon the place, and it has been treated in a simple but very effective manner.  The Club subscribed $10,000 for building purposes during the summer, and broke ground this fall.  Yesterday the corner-stone was laid by Mrs. Robert C. Black with appropriate ceremonies."

The club completed construction of the "Manor House" over the next few months and opened it to members in June, 1888.  

Only a few weeks after the Manor House opened in June 1888, another local newspaper reported:

"An attractive, cozey [sic] and popular resort for Manorites and their friends is the Manor House, but quite recently opened by the Manor club.  It presents an appearance of ease and comfort well calculated to attract after a day spent in the busy metropolis over scorching pavements and within sizzling brick walls."

Little did anyone suspect that the Manor Club would still be going strong nearly 130 years later, in an even larger and more impressive clubhouse built to replace the first one.

Manor Club Advertisement From Local Newspaper Published Only

a Few Months After the Original "Manor House" of the Club Opened

in 1888.  Source:  THE MANOR CLUB, AMATEUR THEATRICALS

[Advertisement], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Nov. 2, 1888,

p. 2, col. 4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

I have written about the original Manor Club clubhouse built in 1887-1888 on several previous occasions.  See:

Early History of the Manor Club, The Pelham Weekly, May 14, 2004, Vol. XIII, No. 20, p. 12, col. 2.

Tue., Dec. 13, 2005:  The Manor Club's First Clubhouse Built in 1887-1888. 

Wed., Dec. 28, 2005:  The Mystery of the "Manor Club Girl" That Set Pelham Tongues Wagging in 1913. 

Fri., Aug. 4, 2006:  Early Images of the Original and Current Clubhouse Structures of the Manor Club in the Village of Pelham Manor, New York. 

Mon., Feb. 15, 2010:  Early History of the Manor Club in the Village of Pelham Manor. 

Thu., Sep. 25, 2014:  The Manor Club's Celebration of its Golden Anniversary in 1932.

Mon., Feb. 08, 2016:  Laying of the Cornerstone of the First Manor Club Clubhouse on Thanksgiving Day in 1887.

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"New York.

A NEW CLUB-HOUSE AT PELHAM.

The Manor Club of Pelham Manor, in Westchester County, is erecting a very picturesque and substantial club-house to be called the Manor House, from plans furnished by Mr. F. Carles Merry.  The material is the rough stone found upon the place, and it has been treated in a simple but very effective manner.  The Club subscribed $10,000 for building purposes during the summer, and broke ground this fall.  Yesterday the corner-stone was laid by Mrs. Robert C. Black with appropriate ceremonies."

Source:  New York -- A NEW CLUB-HOUSE AT PELHAM, The Evening Post [NY, NY], Nov. 25, 1887, p. 3, col. 5.  

"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND.

The Public School of Pelham Manor has lost the valuable services of Mr. E. B. Dumond who for the past six years has been its able principal.  Mr. Dumond's resignation takes effect September 1st.  He will be greatly missed as he has made a host of friends by his gentlemanly deportment and upright character.  He goes back to Fishkill where he taught for a period of twelve years previous to his coming to Pelham Manor.

The Trustees of School District No. 1, Pelham, have appointed a young lady Principal of the Pelham Manor School in place of Mr. Dumond.  The schools of this town will re-open September 4th.

Mr. W. E. Robinson of Pelham Manor has gone to Buffalo.  Mr. James M. Townsend, Jr., and family have left for New Haven.

A week from to-morrow the New York Athletic Club will have their annual swimming match from headquarters on 'Traver's' formerly 'Hunter's' Island.  September 23 they will have their annual regatta and games.  On Monday next, it is understood, the club will break ground for the new club house which is to cost sixty thousand dollars.  This will add another to the many fine club houses which already grace the north shore of Long Island Sound. 

Quite a lively school election is anticipated in the First District on the 28th.  Pelham Manor proposes to place a ticket in the field for Trustees.  There is some talk of dividing this district by setting either Pelhamville or Pelham Manor off by itself.  It is certainly a good suggestion; this having the entire main land of the town one school district should not be; it is too large a territory.

Mrs. A. S. Wilson of City Island died on Sunday last of pneumonia and was buried Tuesday.

Miss Annie Horton is putting up a handsome residence near Belden's.

Arrangements are making for Grace Church pic-nic which will be at Glen Island as heretofore.

An attractive, cozey [sic] and popular resort for Manorites and their friends is the Manor House, but quite recently opened by the Manor club.  It presents an appearance of ease and comfort well calculated to attract after a day spent in the busy metropolis over scorching pavements and within sizzling brick walls.

Miss Windsor, daughter of Rev. Windsor of Grace Church is going to give a lawn party to-morrow, Saturday evening, on the grounds of Mr. George W. Horton.  The revenue will be devoted to the church.

Fishermen are said to be having some fine sport these days taking blue-fish and weak-fish from LeRoy's Cove on the banks of which Mose Secord holds forth to fit one out with necessary tackle, bait, etc.  It is convenient to Barton [sic; should be Bartow], being but a short distance on the road to City Island.  Mose had a big clam bake on the Point, Wednesday, for the delectation of his patrons and friends.

An Electorama was given in Trinity M. E. Church, City Island, last night, by Mr. Elmer Poulson.  Some very fine views were exhibited.

Mr. E. W. Waterhouse has set an example that others would do well to emulate.  He has place in his grocery store what is known as the O. M. Whitman Patent Butter Cooler.  It is, without exception, the finest thing in the line of a refrigerator that we have seen.  Besides holding about 400 pounds of ice, this one is also calculated for three tubs or firkins of butter, besides a large quantity of small articles.  It is fitted with oval glass fronts for each firkin of butter which stand on revolving pedestals and when open there is no escape of cold air.  Should any of our enterprising Mount Vernon grocers read this, we advise them to take a look at the 'cooler.'

By the burning of the house occupied by Mr. Jacob Gruse on City Island, last week, that gentleman loses about $1,200.  His total loss was $1,700 and he had insurance for $600, but the Insurance Companies, we understand, claim about $75 salvage.  The report that two men called at Mr. Gruses' in the night for drink and were refused and that when he discovered his house on fire he saw two men running away, was untrue.  Mr. Gruse attributes the barking of his dog, which woke him, not to any noise made by persons outside, but to animal instinct, that there was danger.  The old German is very loud in praise of his dog to which he owes so much; a few minutes more and escape from the burning building might have been cut off unless, possibly, by hazarding a jump from windows.  The dog saved him and his family."

Source:  PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 17, 1888, Vol. XIX, No. 1,116, p. 3, col. 3.

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Thanksgiving Celebrations Throughout Pelham in 1925

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I awoke this morning with a devout thanksgiving

for my friends, the old and the new.  Shall I not

call God the Beautiful, who daily showeth himself

to me in his gifts?

Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Friendship" in Essays, First Series (1841).

Happy Thanksgiving dear Pelham!

Pelham may have been a very different place 92 years ago in 1925.  Yet, were we to be transported back in time to November 26, 1925, we would recognize the warm and sincere giving of thanks and the many celebrations of Thanksgiving held in our little Town that Thanksgiving week.  Indeed, Pelham's Thanksgiving celebrations of today remain rich with tradition and look much like the Thanksgiving celebrations of Pelham in 1925.

College students flooded into Pelham to gather with their families for the holiday.  Pelham families hosted out-of-town guests for the celebration.  A surprising number of Pelhamites attended the Army-Navy football game at the Polo Grounds Thanksgiving weekend.  Some Pelhamites traveled elsewhere to spend the holiday with out-of-town families and friends.

Throughout Thanksgiving week there were grand gatherings and parties, particularly on Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday, Nov. 25, 1925).  For example, that Wednesday night, the Liberty Engine and Hose Company hosted a massive "fancy dress carnival" attended by 400 people at the firehouse on Fifth Avenue.  Prizes for best costumes included, among other things, a fifteen-pound turkey.  A six-piece orchestra provided music for a ballroom dance until midnight when the costume party attendees were unmasked.  Then, three additional musicians helped provide music for continued dancing that lasted until 3:00 a.m. Thanksgiving morning.

At the same time on the same evening, the Pelham Country Club hosted its own Thanksgiving dinner and dance.  Neighbors and friends reserved tables together and enjoyed a massive Thanksgiving celebration.

Even Town Justice Anthony M. Menkel got into the Thanksgiving spirit on that Thanksgiving Eve in Pelham.  He held a Town Court session that evening.  When Thomas Grivffre of Mount Vernon appeared in Court to answer for an unspecified infraction, the Judge fined him $10.  When the poor fellow emptied his pockets, he only had $8.  Judge Menkel, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, reduced the fine to $8.  

The Manor Club, in turn, hosted its annual "Thanksgiving Feast" on the evening of Friday, November 27, 1925.  The annual Manor Club Thanksgiving celebration was the hottest ticket in town each year.  Seating was limited to 150, so tickets had to be bought for the event.  The Manor Club clubhouse was decorated in "Harvest" decorations for the traditional turkey dinner and the grand dance that followed.

Thanksgiving celebrations began as early that week as Sunday, November 22.  For example, that day the Young People's Society of the local Congregational Church hosted a lecture by Catharine Garber on the subject of "Thanksgiving Day" in which she "contrasted the spirit in which it was first celebrated and the way we celebrate it today."  Additionally, Dr. William Milton Hess explained to the audience "the difference between the Pilgrims who came to America for complete religious independence and the Puritans who came later and founded Massachusetts Bay Colony although they were not determined to entirely separate from the English church. . . ."

Thanksgiving Day in 1925 dawned bright and brisk.  The Young People's Society of the Congregational Church sponsored a pre-Thanksgiving dinner hike.  The group and guests hiked to Scarsdale and back before sitting down to their tables for a turkey feast.

At mid-day, Pelhamites throughout the Town sat down to their own turkey feasts with family and friends.  It was the height of the Roaring Twenties and the price of turkeys was up that year.  The Pelham Sun reported as follows:

"Pelham residents were just as anxious to buy their gobblers for the annual feast despite the fact that the price was about 5 to 10 cents higher [per pound] than last year.  Most of the turkeys came from Maryland and Ted's Market, People's Market and Pelham Heights Market reported that the price ranged from 40 to 65 cents per pound.  Although the majority of Pelham people wanted the usual Thanksgiving delicacy all markets reported a brisk demand for ducks and geese.  The prices for cranberries and the rest of the makings were correspondingly higher this year but that fact apparently made little effect on the Thanksgiving buyers."

The Pelham Sun lamented what it viewed as a decline in the nature of the Thanksgiving holiday spirit.  In an editorial that week, the newspaper stated:  

"[W]hen the first bountiful harvest came and a few of the Indian savages showed their friendship, [the Pilgrims] were certain that God had smiled on their religious venture and they hastened to give thanks.  The tables were heaped high with game from the forests and corn from the fields.  All feasted that day in a manner befitting a people who recognized the fact that their God had seen fit to treat them well.  Today this holy day has degenerated into little more than a mechanical holiday and the true fervor of the Thanksgiving spirit is experienced by few.  It is a day of rest and amusement from the tasks of the previous weeks instead of a day of prayer for the escape from dangers past."

Pelham, it seems, celebrated Thanksgiving in grand style in 1925 just as it is doing this day, ninety-two years later.

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"Good Turkeys Were Higher This Year
-----
Demand for Ducks and Geese in Advance of Last Year's and Higher in Price
-----

Pelham residents were just as anxious to buy their gobblers for the annual feast despite the fact that the price was about 5 to 10 cents higher [per pound] than last year.  Most of the turkeys came from Maryland and Ted's Market, People's Market and Pelham Heights Market reported that the price ranged from 40 to 65 cents per pound.

Although the majority of Pelham people wanted the usual Thanksgiving delicacy all markets reported a brisk demand for ducks and geese.  The prices for cranberries and the rest of the makings were correspondingly higher this year but that fact apparently made little effect on the Thanksgiving buyers."

Source:  Good Turkeys Were Higher This Year -- Demand for Ducks and Geese in Advance of Last Year's and Higher in Price, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 27, 1925, Vol. 18, No. 39, p. 3, col. 2.  

"THE MANOR CLUB. . . . 

THANKSGIVING FEAST

One of the most important, and certainly one of the most enjoyable social events of the Manor Club season is the Thanksgiving Feast which will take place tonight at the club house.  The attendance has been limited to 150 and that number of tickets is reported as having been sold for some time past.  Each year the club members look forward to this event, when a feast is served in the old-fashioned way and followed by music and dancing to bring in the modern note.  The club will be attractively decorated in Harvest atmosphere and those of the members who are fortunate will enjoy one of the most delightful affairs that the Manor Club program has to offer. . . . 

AT THANKSGIVING FEAST OF MANOR CLUB
-----

One of the tables at the Thanksgiving feast at the Manor Club this evening will be occupied by Mr. and Mrs. William Currie, Mr. and Mrs. Julius A. Migel, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph C. Angell, Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood Barr, Mr. and Mrs. Roger Hull, Mr. and Mrs. Herber Elliott, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Hess, Mr. and Mrs. S. J. Cutting and Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Tuttle and Mr. and Mrs. Theodore H. Dauchy."

Source:  THE MANOR CLUB, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 27, 1925, Vol. 18, No. 39, p. 7, cols. 4-5.  

"Four Hundred at Annual Ball of Liberty Hose Co.
-----

Over four hundred attended the annual dance and fancy dress carnival of Liberty Engine and Hose Company at fire headquarters on Wednesday night.  Mrs. Jennie Pickard won first prize, a silk umbrella, for her Santa Clause costume.  Miss Katherine Tully was awarded a silver compact for her costume.  William Heisser won a fifteen-pound turkey.

A six-piece orchestra supplied music until midnight when the unmasking took place.  After midnight the orchestra was augmented by three extras and dancing kept on until 3 a.m."

Source:  Four Hundred at Annual Ball of Liberty Hose Co., The Pelham Sun, Nov. 27, 1925, Vol. 18, No. 39, p. 1, col. 7.

"CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH Y. P. S.

Catharine Garber gave a talk on the subject of 'Thanksgiving Day' Sunday night at the meeting of the Young People's Society at the Congregational Church in which she contrasted the spirit in which it was first celebrated and the way we celebrate it today.  Dr. William Milton Hess explained the difference between the Pilgrims who came to America for complete religious independence and the Puritans who came later and founded Massachusetts Bay Colony although they were not determined to entirely separate from the English church. . . ."

Source:  CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH Y. P. S., The Pelham Sun, Nov. 27, 1925, Vol. 18, No. 39, p. 7, col. 3.

"HIKED TO SCARSDALE FOR THANKSGIVING APPETITE

The annual Thanksgiving hike of the Young People's Society of the Congregational Church was held Thursday morning when a small band of determined spirits walked ten miles in the bracing autumn air before coming back to attack the gobbler and fixings.  Dr. William M. Hess was with the party and they got as far as Scarsdale before turning back."

Source:  HIKED TO SCARSDALE FOR THANKSGIVING APPETITE, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 27, 1925, Vol. 18, No. 39, p. 1, col. 5.  

"Judge Reduces Fine on Account Of Thanksgiving

Judge Anthony M. Menkel gave Thomas Grivffre of Mount Vernon something to be thankful for Thanksgiving eve at Town Hall where Grivffre's fine was reduced from $10 to $8.  When the fine of $10 was first announced, Grivffre searched his pockets and was able to gather only $8.  Judge Menkel thereupon declared the fine $8."

Source:  Judge Reduces Fine on Account Of Thanksgiving, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 27, 1925, Vol. 18, No. 39, p. 4, col. 4.

"THANKSGIVING

'A solemn day set apart wherein we return glory, honor, and praise with all Thanksgiving to our good God' -- that was the first Thanksgiving Day according to that redoubtable religious leader of Massachusetts, Governor John Winthrop, who wrote down this interesting commentary in his diary in 1623.  In those days it was a heartfelt giving of thanks, for hostile Indians lurked in the shadowy forests and it was with great difficulty that the little hands of the settlers raised enough food to last through the long and bitter winters.  Plague and pestilence combined with the savages and grim hunger to make their lives a hard and disappoint trial.

Consequently, when the first bountiful harvest came and a few of the Indian savages showed their friendship, they were certain that God had smiled on their religious venture and they hastened to give thanks.  The tables were heaped high with game from the forests and corn from the fields.  All feasted that day in a manner befitting a people who recognized the fact that their God had seen fit to treat them well.

Today this holy day has degenerated into little more than a mechanical holiday and the true fervor of the Thanksgiving spirit is experienced by few.  It is a day of rest and amusement from the tasks of the previous weeks instead of a day of prayer for the escape from dangers past."

Source:  THANKSGIVING, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 27, 1925, Vol. 18, No. 39, p. 2, col. 1.

"NEWS AND PERSONALS

Miss Edith Jackman of 545 Fowler avenue, Pelham Manor, will be home for Thanksgiving vacation from Russell Sage College, Troy, New York.

Miss Winifred Leo of Benedict Place had several out-of-town friends as her guests at the Thanksgiving dinner-dance at the Pelham Country Club on Wednesday evening.  Her guests were Miss Elizabeth Stirling, of Montclair, N. J., and Mr. Monroe Dreher and Mr. Charles Durr, of Newark.

Mr. and Mrs. William Currie of the Esplanade will attend the Army-Navy game on Saturday.

Mr. James F. Wilkinson, of Rochester, N. Y., was the guest of Mrs. Washington Cockle and Miss Anna Secor at their home on the Boston Post Road over the holiday.

Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Junker and family, formerly of Mount Vernon are now residing in Pelbrook Hall.

Robert and Lloyd Brook are spending the Thanksgiving recess with their parents, Mr. and Mrs. John T. Brook, of Monterey avenue.  They arrived from Amherst on Wednesday.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Coulson of Witherbee avenue entertained at the dinner-dance at the Country Club on Thanksgiving Eve.  Their guests were Mr. and Mrs. Sherman Shipman, and Mr. William B. Warner of Pelham, Mr. Lewis Calder, of Greenwich, Conn. and Miss Mary Berke and Mr. Charles Lovering, of New York City.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lyon, Jr. formerly of New York City, have taken up their residence in Peldean Court.  

Mrs. R. Rice of the Esplanade is in Elmira, N. Y. for the Thanksgiving holidays.

Miss Mary Beutell of the Esplanade returned today from The Castle, Tarrytown-on-the-Hudson, to spend the week end with her family.

Mr. and Mrs. J. Odell Whitenack of Monteret avenue are in Washington, D. C., where they are spending the holidays with their daughter, Janet, a student at National Park Seminary.

One of the tables at the dinner-dance at the Country Club on Wednesday evening was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Maxwell, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Dodge, and Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Passmore.

Miss Winifred Leo of Benedict Place will attend the Army-Navy game tomorrow at the Polo Grounds with a party of friends from Washington, D. C.

Miss Katherine King, of the Esplanade, is home from Wells for the holiday season and will attend the Army-Navy game on Saturday with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. C. King, and her brother, Seymour.

Mr. and Mrs. Dennis J. Kennedy, formerly of New York City, now made their home in The Peinord.

Miss Elizabeth Doherty has returned to her home in East Orange, N. J. after spending a few days as the house guest of Mrs. Walter Browne, of Pelham Manor.

Mr. and Mrs. Dwight E. Wheeler and Mrs. E. L. Wheeler of Storer avenue left on Wednesday to spend the holidays in Trenton, N. J. with their children, Miss Dorothy and Mr. Clarence Wheeler.

Mr. and Mrs. William L. Bradley of Elderwood avenue have as their house guests Major and Mrs. William E. Larned of Watervilet Arsenal arrived for Thanksgiving and will remain over the week end, attending the Army-Navy game with Mr. and Mrs. Bradley tomorrow.

Mr. and Mrs. Northrup Dawson of Pelham Manor Road will be among those from Pelham who will witness the Army-Navy game at the Polo Grounds on Saturday. 

Mrs. Harry B. Swayne of Monterey avenue was hostess to a number of friends at her home on Friday afternoon.  Mrs. S. L. Hale of Winchester, Mass. was the guest of honor.  Two tables of bridge were arranged, the players including Mrs. William L. Bradley, Mrs. Northrup Dawson, Mrs. Louis Carreau, Mrs. W. B. Holton, Jr., Mrs. A. Baker, Mrs. H. A. Wyckoff, and Mrs. John Duncan.

Dr. and Mrs. E. A. Schminke of Fourth avenue entertained a number of relatives over the holiday.

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth L. Peck of Suburban avenue, and Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Clark of Scarsdale will attend the Army-Navy game tomorrow.

Mr. Frederick B. Davies of Storer avenue leaves on Saturday for an extended southern trip.

Mr. and Mrs. Harry S. Abbott of the Esplanade entertained on Thanksgiving Day at a family dinner.  Mr. and Mrs. Alpheus M. Geer of Clay avenue will be among those present.

Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Loney of Pelhamdale avenue will attend the Army-Navy game with Mr. and Mrs. Grenville Keogh of New Rochelle.

Mrs. Robert C. Black of Pelham Manor will leave for Palm Beach on December ninth.  Mrs. F. Rice leaves on the sixth.

Mrs. Walter B. Parsons has returned to her home on Bolton Road after a visit to Syracuse, N.Y.

Mrs. Dawson Furniss of Corlies avenue will attend the Army-Navy game, she will be accompanied by her young son, Harry, and his friend, Bill Parks.

Mrs. S. D. Hines has returned to her home in Bowling Green, Ky., after having spent two weeks as the house-guest of Mrs. Lockwood Barr of Highbrook avenue.

Mr. and Mrs. William B. Randall of Pelham Manor are leaving in the week for their home on Christopher street, New York City, where they will pass the winter.

Mr. and Mrs. L. D. Waters of Monterey avenue spent Thanksgiving Day as the guests of friends in Forest Hills, L. I.  Miss Betty Waters will spend the week end at home and Miss Jane will be in Philadelphia for the holiday season.  Both are students at National Park Seminary, Forest Glen, Md.

Lieut. Frederick E. Phillips and Mrs. Phillips, Mr. and Mrs. Edward McGee, Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Crowell and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Knight of Mount Vernon and Miss Marian Johnson and Miss Alice Bentley are among those who will be present at the Army-Navy game tomorrow.

Mr. and Mrs. D. Gleason and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas O'Rourck were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Engerud and Mr. Louis Engerud on Thanksgiving Day at their home in The Peldale.

Miss Helyn McGovern of Haverstraw, New York, was the week end guest of Miss Evelyn Lahey of Pelham Manor.

Mr. and Mrs. C. Emmons Pervear of Pelbrook Hall motored on Wednesday to Pawtucket, R. I. to spend Thanksgiving with Mr. Pervear's mother, Mrs. C. E. Pervear.

Miss Floy Anderson of Pelbrook Hall is spending the holiday season at the home of her brother, Ross Anderson of East Orange.

Mr. and Mrs. Claude Joslin of Fifth avenue, North Pelham, and their daughter, Alice, and her fiance, Mr. William Frederick, of Westfield, N. J., were among the guests at a family gathering on Thanksgiving Day at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Darby of Brooklyn, N.Y.  Mr. and Mrs. William Weber of Philadelphia, who were also guests of the Darby's, accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Joslin home and are spending the week end with them.  

Mr. and Mrs. William Wind of Mamaroneck are spending a few days with their daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. H. Hermanson of Fourth avenue.

Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Schulte and Miss Charlotte Schulte of Bronxville and Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Woodward were the Thanksgiving dinner guests of Mr. and Mrs. S. E. Shanks, of Wolf's Lane.

Mr. and Mrs. C. Constable of New York City are spending the holiday season with Mr. and Mrs. Victor G. Beutell of the Esplanade.

Mr. and Mrs. E. O. Trohe of Syracuse, N. Y. and their daughter, Mary, and son, Edmund, are spending Thanksgiving and the week end with Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Early of Pelhamdale avenue.  On Saturday they will attend the Army-Navy game with Mr. and Mrs. Early, their son Melvin, Jr., and Raymond McNeil, of Nyac avenue.  Melvin Early, Jr. and Raymond McNeil are home from Colgate for the holiday and will motor back with Mr. and Mrs. Trohe on Sunday.

Dr. and Mrs. Ken G. Hancher, of Pelbrook Hall and their children are in Elwood City, Penna., where they are spending the Thanksgiving holidays with Dr. Hancher's parents.

George Cottrell of Prospect avenue is spending the week end with Mr. and Mrs. Walter Cook, at their Belleport, L. I. home.

Mr. and Mrs. William A. Rose, and their sons, Herbert and Kenneth, and daughter, June, spent Thanksgiving with Mr. and Mrs. Charles Abel of Hartsdale, N. Y.

Mr. Paul Bosse of Storer avenue, has returned from a hunting trip in the Canadian woods.

Mr. and Mrs. J. Monel of Mount Vernon were the dinner guests of Mr. and Mrs. Emile Ericson of Benedict place on Thanksgiving Day.

Mr. and Mrs. John N. Young of Highbrook avenue, entertained Mr. and Mrs. Bryon Benton and family of Milford, Conn. on Thanksgiving.

Mrs. B. F. Jacobs of Peldale, and her daughter, Miss Betty, are spending the holiday season with Mrs. Folger Framingham of Boston."

Source:  NEWS AND PERSONALS, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 27, 2017, Vol. 18, No. 39, p. 7, cols. 1-3.  

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For more Historic Pelham articles about the celebration of Thanksgiving in Pelham over the years see, e.g.:

Thu., Nov. 24, 2016:  An Important Thanksgiving Sermon Delivered in 1865 at Christ Church at the Close of the Civil War.

Thu., Nov. 26, 2015:  Thanksgiving in Pelham 75 Years Ago.

Thu. Nov. 27, 2014:  By 1941, Most Pelhamites Celebrated "Franksgiving" Rather than "Republican Thanksgiving."

Thu., May 08, 2014:  Thanksgiving Day Football Game in 1895 Between Pelham Manor and Mount Vernon Teams.

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Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

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