1888 Notice of Sale of Bonds to Fund Construction of Second Hutchinson School in Pelhamville

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By 1887, the tiny one-room schoolhouse built in 1861 to serve the growing community of Pelhamville was so overcrowded that, according to one account, even the window sills were used to seat pupils.  On December 20, 1887, the Board of Education of the Union Free School District No. One of the Town of Pelham decided that a new school building was needed.  

A special meeting of the voters of the District was held in the Pelham Manor School on May 8, 1888. Rev. C. Winter Bolton was elected chairman, and Mr. Henry E. Dey as clerk of the meeting. 

The district voted $6,000 for the erection of a new school building at Pelhamville. On May 15, 1888, a building committee was appointed consisting of Mr. Robert C. Black, Mr. E. H. Gurney, and Mr. Henry N. Babcock.  The architect selected was Mr. F. C. Merry.  The new school was completed at a cost of about $6,500, the size of the building being 67.4 x 64 x 58.

I have written before about the history of the public schools that have served the community of Pelhamville, later the Village of North Pelham and, even later, the northern sector of today's Village of Pelham.  See, e.g., Thu., Sep. 18, 2014:  A History of the Hutchinson School and its Predecessors in Today's Village of Pelham Published in 1926.

The Board of Education sold $6,000 of ten-year school bonds with interest at four percent per annum paid semi-annually to fund the project.  On May 29, 1888, a "Notice of Sale of Bonds" appeared in at least one New York City newspaper announcing the plans to sell the bonds and soliciting proposals for purchases of the bonds.  An image of the Notice appears immediately below followed by a citation to its source as well as a transcription of its text to facilitate search.

1888 Notice of Sale of Bonds to Fund Construction

of Hutchinson School No. 2 to Replace the Original

One-Room Schoolhouse Built in 1861.  Source:  Union

Free School, District No. One, Town of Pelham, Westchester

Co., N. Y.  NOTICE OF SALE OF BONDS [Advertisement],

The Evening Post, May 29, 1888, Vol. 87, Last Edition, p. 5, col. 6.  

"Union Free School, District No. One, Town of Pelham, Westchester Co., N. Y.

NOTICE OF SALE OF BONDS.

Notice is hereby given, according to law, by the Board of Education of Union Free School, District No. One, of the Town of Pelham, County of Westchester and State of New York, that proposals will be received by the undersigned until Tuesday, June 12, 1888, for the sale of six thousand dollars ($6,000) of the bonds of said district.  These bonds are to be issued by the said Board of Education, by authority of law, for the purpose of building a new school house at Pelhamville, N. Y.

The bonds will be dated July 1, 1888, and will be for the term of ten years, with interest at 4 per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually.  They will be issued in sums to suit purchasers, and will not be sold below par.  

The district has no bonded debt, and no obligations of any kind beyond ordinary current expenses, which are amply provided for.

The bids will be opened at the Prospect Hill Schoolhouse on Tuesday, June 12, 1888, at 8 o'clock P. M.

The right is reserved to reject any and all bids.  

Further information will be furnished by the undersigned.  

By order of the Board of Education.

HENRY E. DEY, Clerk.

Dated PELHAM MANOR, N. Y., May 28, 1888."

Source:  Union Free School, District No. One, Town of Pelham, Westchester Co., N. Y.  NOTICE OF SALE OF BONDS [Advertisement], The Evening Post, May 29, 1888, Vol. 87, Last Edition, p. 5, col. 6.

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A Brief History of the Development and Unveiling of Parkway Field in 1955 -- Known Today as Glover Field

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• "May the activities on this field promote courage, self-reliance, fair play, spirited competition, good sportsmanship, and physical fitness for all who participate here.  May such activities help to develop the highest qualities of American citizenship in the youth of today and tomorrow."
  
  Source:  Dedication Brochure for "Parkway Field" -- Today's "Glover Field" -- October 15, 1955.

The image immediately above is taken from the first page of the program issued on the occasion of the dedication of "Parkway Field" -- today's "Glover Field" -- on October 15, 1955.

The field known today as "Glover Field" took many years -- and one failed school bond vote -- to build.  When first created, the field was known as Parkway Field.  It stood next to the Hutchinson River Parkway.  At the time, the field stood near the Hutchinson River Parkway toll booths.  Tens of thousands of drivers each year tried to avoid the tolls on the Parkway by driving through the streets of Pelham.  (Consequently, Pelham residents detested the Hutchinson River Parkway.)

The story of today's Glover Field is not quite as pretty or romantic as one might hope.  For decades, sewerage was collected, processed and treated in the area and then passed into Eastchester Creek (known as the Hutchinson River).  Over time, the large, rocky area became known as "Stink Field".  One can only imagine why.

Originally, Pelham Memorial High School had a spectacular set of athletic fields on its grounds.  However, as the Town's population (and families' educational objectives) grew, the original high school building became entirely inadequate.  By 1935, additions to the original High School complex required the School Board to cannibalize the athletic fields.  Thereafter, the High School had no varsity sports fields whatsoever as the Great Depression roared. 

For years, Pelham varsity teams played most games "away".  Occasionally, they played "home" games.  (That meant that they played on fields in Mount Vernon.)  Additionally, varsity teams had to practice in Mount Vernon.

The Board of Education seems to have realized the gravity of the situation before the Town's general population.  After years of trying to find, develop and support facilities that were inadequate for the Town's varsity athletes, the Board of Education came up with a plan that might seem surprising today.  The Board decided to propose a bond issuance to support the construction of a massive sports complex on the grounds of the Prospect Hill Elementary School in Pelham Manor. 

The proposal proved to be a lightning rod.  Town residents split into two rival camps and the bond referendum was easily defeated.  As one reference puts it, however, the defeat of the referendum "paradoxically proved to be the springboard for eventual success".  The School Board regrouped and made another effort.  

To its credit, the Board decided to reach out to the entire community -- well beyond those interested only in athletics.  The School Board developed a "Citizens' Advisory Committee".  That Committee included  at least a handful of representatives of each of the following Town organizations:  American Legion, Board of Trade, Boy Scouts, Citizens' Committee, Daughters of the American Revolution, Girl Scouts, Junior League, Junior Section of the Manor Club, League of Women Voters, Lions Club, Manor Club, Men's Club, Parents Teachers Association (PTA), Pelham Manor Association, Pelhamwood Association, Realty Board, Recreation Commission, the School Board, School Board Executive Committee, Rotary Club, Town Board, Representatives of the Public Schools, Members at Large, and others.  Members of those groups, of course, reached out to family, friends and colleagues. 

With the weight of so many members of the community behind it, the School Board offered another bond proposal for vote on October 29, 1953.  The largest number of Pelham taxpayers up to that time voted on the referendum and endorsed the bond proposal by an overwhelming 6 to 1 margin.  The referendum authorized $350,000 to develop an athletic complex out of an area once described as a "barren, hilly strip of land with a 'field' which exuded rocks and broken glass -- a 'field' which became a swamp after heavy rains".

For the next two years, the School Board worked feverishly to plan and construct what was then considered to be a world-class athletic facility.  Perhaps most importantly, thousands and thousands of hours of labor were donated -- free of charge -- by Pelham citizens considered at the time to be true experts in their fields of athletics, construction, bureaucratics, lobbying, finances, accounting and more. 

The effort was amazingly successful.  At the successful conclusion of the community's massive project, the 16-1/2 acre facility included:  (1) a regulation, varsity football field; (2) a regulation, quarter-mile cinder track plus facilities for field events; (3) a standard baseball diamond; (4) a softball field; (5) four tennis courts; (6) practice fields for football and other sports; (6) a "playfield for smaller children"; (7) a 3-1/2 acre wooded picnic area; (8) a parking area; and (9) a state-of-the-art field house. 

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