The ‘‘Our towns’’ column is compiled each month by Carol Johnson of the Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection. The entries have been copied from the September issues of the New Paltz Independent. To get a closer look at these newspapers of the past, visit the staff of the Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection at the Elting Memorial Library at 93 Main Street in New Paltz, or call 255-5030.
The summer has ended and September is here. July brought a great deal of hot weather. August was comfortably cool with plenty of rain. In a few days the summer boarders who have been here in large numbers, will be flocking back to the city.
The Cliff House at Minnewaska has closed. But Hugo Freer who has been assisting there during the summer will remain until the first of October when the Wildmere House closes. Both houses have had a prosperous season.
The Riverside Cottage has had fine patronage all summer. There were 78 guests on Labor Day. This was more than there were rooms for and some were provided with accommodations at the Nonemacher House on Wurts Avenue and at the Greek cottage on the foot of Main Street. There are still about 25 guests at the Riverside. The Casino, as well as the house itself, has been well patronized. The music has been excellent. Next season it is proposed to enlarge the house so that a hundred can be accommodated in the dining room which now has room for 60.
Farm tractors for ploughing are well spoken of by those who have them, but not many sales are reported, while, on the other hand, the sales of autos for pleasure riding are constantly increasing. There are far more sales of real estate than formerly, not only at New Paltz, but elsewhere in the county. During the 26 business days of August there was an average of 13 deeds or conveyances of real estate filed daily in the county clerk’s office in Kingston.
It is a matter of general remark that the rural population in Ulster County and elsewhere in the state is rapidly decreasing. This is perhaps nowhere more noticeable than in the Traps settlement which one passes through in going from our village to Minnewaska. Sixteen unoccupied houses were lately counted in the Traps neighborhood. There are only about half a dozen children in school and the same number in Sunday School. The people have moved away to Walden and Poughkeepsie. What men are left work to a great extent for the Smileys and the women earn some money by picking huckleberries.
Though so many boys are about to leave our village to go off to school, very few girls are going. We presume they will study for teachers.
There are now at the Normal just about 300 students in the Normal department. Two years ago there were only 156. There is a great increase, this year, in the number of students at Normal Schools and colleges.
Ten Norwegian Boy Scouts who have been camping for several weeks on the Granville Kaiser farm near Ohioville, have left on a hike for Buffalo, Chicago and farther west.
Dan Sweeney, Andy Hamilton, Neil Desmond and John McCusker stopping at Josiah Jansen’s place, Tom O’Neil of the Riverside and Tom Johnson of the Nilon House hiked to Lake Mohonk and back on Monday. The hikers left New Paltz Bridge at 8 a.m. and arrived at the lake two hours later. Led by Dan Sweeney they did the entire distance in “Army-step” time, 120 steps to the minute. Considering the fact that no attempt was made for a record, the time is remarkable. The hikers are all from Bayonne, New Jersey.
The Smiley Memorial Tower at Sky Top is being built of Shawangunk granite. Rosendale cement is being used in its construction and is purchased at A. J. Snyder Cement Company of Rosendale. The tower is expected to stand for centuries.
The loosestrife, generally called rebel weed, which has been in bloom of late, is not found to any extent, we are told, outside the Wallkill Valley and vicinity, and attracts considerable attention from botanists. The story of its introduction here is that it first appeared on a little island in the Wallkill just below the Montgomery woolen mill at the time of the Civil War and thence spread over the country. The seed is supposed to have been brought from some wool in South America.
Arthur Fitzpatrick, a conductor on the New Paltz and Highland trolley line was badly injured by being struck on the head by a pole on Sunday afternoon. It was raining at the time and he was pulling down the curtains when his head came into contact with one of the poles which are set close to the track at this particular point below Highland village. He was taken to Vassar Hospital at Poughkeepsie and did not regain consciousness until the next day. On Monday evening an operation was performed and his blood clots removed from his head. He suffered a fractured skull. At latest reports he is doing well and his friends hope for his speedy recovery.
The strongest reason assigned for introducing daylight saving at New Paltz was that it was desired by guests from the city. Now that the summer boarder season is over, New Paltz has gone back to the old time, being the first place in the state that has done so, we are told. Other places will retain daylight saving time a few weeks longer.
John Schule was in our village on Thursday looking for grapes for the Highland Grape Juice Factory. He does not expect to buy a very large quantity of grapes this fall, as he cannot afford to pay as much as the makers of home brew. Next year conditions may be changed.
The cost to the Town of New Paltz was just $4 each for the votes cast at the primary election, Tuesday. There were only 39 votes in all. There were 11 Republican votes and 4 Democratic ballots in District 1 and eleven Republican and 13 Democratic ballots in District 2.
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