150 Years Ago (August 1873)
A coroner’s inquest was held in the death of Catherine Malone, 9. She and her sister Ellen, 6, had gone to Roach’s Store at Sunk Mine on a Sunday afternoon, where Catherine paid Mr. Roach 50 cents for a pint of whiskey at the request of her father, who was sick. As they walked home, Ellen said her sister took three or four clandestine swigs, then collapsed. She died at 9 a.m. the next day. Roach said he bought the whiskey from James Patterson of Molleysville, who said he had purchased it from a wholesaler in New York City and provided a sample from the barrel. No charges were filed but the jury recommended the coroner report Roach to the Board of Excise for selling liquor on Sunday.
Because there had been so little rain, The Cold Spring Recorder asked if the village was too reliant on a single spring and six public wells to sprinkle the streets, make mortar, wash carriages and put out fires. It said many homeowners were considering digging their own wells but found it challenging; George Purdy had found water only after digging 55 feet. The Village Board appropriated $200 [about $5,000 today] to dig a well on Garden Street and residents pledged another $100.
Soon after he purchased Michael Walsh’s grocery on Kemble Avenue, Edward Calanan nearly lost it when a glass kerosene lamp exploded. Although the cisterns on either end of the village were empty, it had rained the day before and every nearby house had full barrels of rainwater for the bucket brigade.
A girl watching a baseball match at Vinegar Hill between Kellogg’s and the Active Club of Newburgh was struck by a foul ball but not seriously hurt.
During a game at Sandy Landing between Kellogg’s and the Undercliffs, “money was openly flaunted and bets made” on the number of runs and the winner. Soon after, 10 members of the Kellogg’s team issued a statement denying rumors that they had “sold the match,” which they lost, 36-20.
The prima donna Clara Louise Kellogg, who had a home in Philipstown, performed at the Methodist Church to benefit the Cold Spring Library Association. The performance sold out in 24 hours and raised $700 [$18,000].
Soon after, Miss Kellogg offered a $5 [$125] reward for a deep-yellow canary that escaped from her estate. It was recovered on Paulding Avenue.
Lewis Le Maire, a clerk in Cold Spring, was driving on the Breakneck Road when he spotted Milton, the 7-year-old son of Capt. George Wise, standing on the seat of a skiff while he rowed. Le Maire saw him fall in the water and began to shout. Capt. Wise and two of his men rowed to the spot, found the boy floating face down, took him to the beach and managed to revive him. That same afternoon, Milton was playing outside as if nothing had happened.
While the women of the Gilbert family were occupied, Alice, 18 months, dropped something out of a second-floor window on Main Street and her brother, George, 3, went downstairs to retrieve it. She apparently leaned out too far to watch and fell 10 feet onto the plank sidewalk. She was seriously injured but recovered.
Three new homes were completed on Parrott Street, and two others enlarged.
The owner of two cows found trespassing on the property of Dr. F.D. Lente was ordered in a public notice to appear at a certain date and time in the office of his attorney to explain why they shouldn’t be sold for damages.
N.C. Smith shot a 10-pound raccoon out of a tree at Elisha Nelson’s home on Paulding Avenue, which, after being dressed, provided a feast for both families.
Larry Riley sued the captain of a canal boat whose dog, he said, had killed his chickens while the captain loaded pig iron at the furnace wharf. The Recorder said that “a verbal remonstrance to the captain on the part of Mr. Riley was met by a disclaimer of ownership of the dog and the usual marine advice to go to ____.”
The landscape artist William Craig, who spent part of the summers in Philipstown, produced new paintings of Indian Falls that were purchased for resale by the owner of the Cold Spring Music Store.
Seward Acher and John Dutcher, while building a stone wall at the Breakneck Hollow farm, caught a rattlesnake with nine rattles and put it into a box with a glass lid. They eventually released it in Ulster County.
Miss S.P. Monks of Cold Spring arrived at Santa Barbara College in California, where she had been hired as professor of natural science.
Mr. Smalley, leading a team with a load of iron ore that weighed about 6,000 pounds, got stuck while ascending Pear Tree Hill in Nelsonville. He disengaged the team from the tongue and hitched it to the rear to pull the load off the gravel. But once in motion, it continued down the hill and a 12-foot bank into a meadow, smashing the wagon but sparing the horses.
125 Years Ago (August 1898)
A shooting gallery under a tent in a vacant lot next to the post office was doing a brisk business by offering prizes to the best marksmen, including a rocking chair.
D. Cohen of Newburgh opened a store in the Southard building at Main and Garden streets with a stock of pawnbrokers’ unredeemed pledges, including watches, jewelry, cutlery and musical instruments.
The Village Board passed a law banning anyone from selling goods “to be sold on account of the owner giving up business, or as goods damaged by fire, water or otherwise” without a monthly license that cost $23 [$850].
George Owen of Continentalville owned a kitten with five paws.
A train bearing the remains of Hamilton Fish Jr., who had been killed in action in Cuba, arrived in Garrison. A cavalry escort marched up the long, winding hill to the St. Philip’s Churchyard, followed by the hearse and a carriage procession. As the coffin was lowered into the grave, the Rev. Carroll Perry, the rector at St. Philip’s, said: “Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live and is full of misery.” This was followed by the hymn, “Nearer, My God, to Thee.”
A dispute arose over the $7,500 estate of Purdy Warren, who had left Cold Spring decades before to make his fortune in Arizona, changing his name to Hugh Warren so his family would not find him. After his death, Warren’s friends hired a lawyer, George Smith, to locate his relatives, who included Mary Ann Owens of Peekskill, who was set to receive $1,400 [$50,000]. She said she agreed to let Smith represent her but not to his 50 percent commission. The lawyer sued in Arizona but Owens got a state judge to prevent him from pursuing the matter in New York.
Frank and Charles Pelham rode a tandem bicycle from Cold Spring to Fishkill in just under 30 minutes.
Judge Monroe Hayward, the son-in-law of Edward Pelton, a former Cold Spring resident, was nominated by Republicans in Nebraska as their candidate for governor. [Hayward lost a close race to the Populist Party candidate; he was elected the next year to the U.S. Senate but died before taking office.]
During a Wednesday afternoon storm, lightning split a tree in the yard of Peter Jaycox’s house on Division Street in Nelsonville and shocked his youngest child, who was sitting on the stoop.
Two intoxicated strangers chose the wrong pedestrian to harass late on a Saturday night — it was Officer McCaffrey, out of uniform. He arrested one, who was sentenced to 30 days in jail, but the other escaped.
A traveling, steam-powered merry-go-round was set up in a vacant lot at the foot of Fair Street.
The ladies of Cold Spring held a fete at Undercliff, the estate of Mrs. Daniel Butterfield [now the Haldane campus], to benefit sick sailors and soldiers. The estate was lit by hundreds of multicolored Chinese lanterns and a platform was installed for dancing. There was also a parade of 37 decorated bicycles.
When Hattie Lyons, 5, fell into the river, her brother, David, 7, whom The Cold Spring Recorder noted “could swim like a duck,” jumped in, put her on his back and swam 35 feet to the beach.
Mr. Turnbull, one of the owners of the Highland House, said he would return after dropping his family at the railroad depot to settle the details of the failing hotel with his partner, Mr. Curran. When he hadn’t appeared by the next day, the employees departed. Soon after, an auction was announced to sell the furnishings.
The Recorder announced a “missing word” contest; anyone who guessed the answer would receive the newspaper for a year for $1. A church deacon sat down on the pointed end of a carpet tack. He sprang up and said two words, the second of which was “it.” What was the first? [This was a subscription gimmick repeated by dozens of newspapers across the country; the response didn’t matter as long as the dollar was included.]
The Baptist Sunday school held its annual picnic in the grove behind the Nelsonville schoolhouse. “A number of people were present, and all claimed to have had a good time,” The Recorder reported.
The Board of Education voted to levy a tax to raise $550 [$20,000] to hire an additional teacher. A classroom would be created by dividing the assembly room with a curtain.
Gustavus Snider, 52, a cigar maker, died at his home at the corner of Main and Stone streets. His family had emigrated from Germany when he was 8, then moved to Cold Spring when he was 20.
Burglars attempting to break into the home of James Shewan in Philipstown awakened Mrs. Shewan, who was home alone with her daughter and the female servants. She went downstairs to the kitchen and loudly called to her daughter to get her revolver, at which point the men fled into the woods.
100 Years Ago (August 1923)
The annual field day hosted by the Hudson Valley councils of the Knights of Columbus was held in Cold Spring under the auspices of the Loretto Council. The events included a baseball game, a tug of war and track and field, the latter refereed by Bill Brown of Brown’s Physical Training Farm in Garrison.
75 Years Ago (August 1948)
Two young Poughkeepsie men died at Butterfield Hospital in Cold Spring after their tractor-trailer collided head-on with a sedan on Route 9 at Cat Rock Road [Route 403] in Philipstown. Five of the seven occupants of the car were injured. Police said the truck, which was carrying a load of milk, left the roadway and overturned. Passersby pulled out one man and the other was able to escape, but both were badly burned.
Red Cross volunteers from the Cold Spring and Poughkeepsie Motor Services drove 12 veterans from the Castle Point hospital to Hyde Park to meet with Eleanor Roosevelt, who spoke about her experiences visiting wartime hospitals in the South Pacific. Elliott Roosevelt, son of the late president, was also there.
Based on their grade-point averages, St. Clair McKelway and June Dibb of Haldane High School were among 827 students awarded full scholarships by the Education Department to any state university in New York.
The Southern Dutchess Singers hired Roy Seeber of Cold Spring as conductor.
50 Years Ago (August 1973)
The Garrison Art Center held its fourth annual Arts and Crafts Fair and, for the first time, had a selection committee review the work of applicants.
The Continental Village Fire Department battled a blaze at Ace Distributors on Route 9 at South Mountain Pass that was spotted at 6:35 a.m. and probably had been burning most of the night.
The Butterfield Library began lending phonograph records.
In his weekly “Washington Report” that appeared in the Putnam County News & Recorder on Aug. 8, Rep. Hamilton Fish Jr. explained how impeachment worked, saying it was “moving to the forefront in many minds” in the case of President Nixon because of Watergate. That same day, Nixon announced he would resign.
The Philipstown Area Jaycees announced a “donkey ball” game on the Haldane field against the North Highlands Fire Co., with the animals provided by the Buckeye Donkey Ball Co. of Columbus, Ohio.
Don McLean of Garrison, whose single, “American Pie,” topped the charts in January 1972, was the featured performer at the Dutchess County Fair.
Because of overcrowding, Haldane announced it would add 90 minutes to the school day and begin double sessions for students in grades 3 to 6. Children in grades 3 and 5 would attend from 10:30 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. and those in grades 4 and 6 from 7:50 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Because of the double sessions, residents in the Manitou school district voted 79-10 to allow the district to pay tuition for its elementary students to attend the Garrison School or Haldane, which had been the only option.
A group of residents formed the Committee for the Preservation of Cold Spring to lobby for strict interpretation of the zoning code.
25 Years Ago (August 1998)
Tony Hay, who represented Southeast on the Putnam Legislature, proposed that the county distribute to towns and villages as grants for specific projects half of any sales tax collected over what was budgeted. Finance Commissioner William Carlin opposed the idea, saying that the county was spending the money more efficiently. The proposal was defeated, 5-4.
Sheila Coffey, a longtime summer resident of Manitou, was killed in a collision when she pulled from Manitou Road onto Route 9D.
The Philipstown Town Board voted to create the Garrison Landing Water District to “acquire, rehabilitate and operate” its century-old supply system, which served 32 users. It began as a catchment area and spring east of Route 9D and south of Route 403, ran via pipeline through the Highlands Country Club to a concrete reservoir and water treatment station, then continued as a pipeline along Lower Station Road.
The Garrison school board approved architectural plans for a $5.98 million expansion but rejected a proposal to add a second story. A public vote was scheduled for October.
The Cold Spring Village Board exercised an option to cancel its 25-year lease with the Boat Club. “Perhaps the limited number of village residents involved in the club explains the apparent lack of respect of the village which results in confrontations with visitors and non-members,” the village wrote in its notice. It said that the board was convinced that “the village would realize a greater benefit by selling the property or expanding the waterfront park.”
Eighth graders Alexis Lyons and Leah Kaye of Philipstown earned their black belts in karate.
Thirty people met at the home of Paul Heuston to discuss creating a Village of Garrison. “It would take Garrison business out of Town Hall,” Heuston said, although Garrison would remain part of Philipstown, on par with the villages of Cold Spring and Nelsonville.
