The ‘‘Our towns’’ column is compiled each month by Carol Johnson of the Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection. The entries have been copied from the October 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 new stone tower being built on Sky Top is now a conspicuous object against the sky line in our village. A picture of the tower as it expected to hang in the hallway of the Mohonk house. It is a picturesque and medieval looking structure, surmounted at one side by a turret. The turret will be used as a place from which to watch for forest fires.
The leaves have been falling fast of late. They have been less brilliant in color than usual. Woodcock seems to be scarce this fall in this vicinity. Only two or three New Paltz hunters are reported as going in search of the game, and they found very few.
A great many grapes have been received of late at the Schule plant at Highland. The price paid is from $100 to $105 a ton, and as there is no expense for the package, this is as much as can be realized anywhere. Wm Woolsey of Marlboro has a crop of about 120 tons. W. P. Illingsworth had three or four tons of grapes which he has sold at Mohonk and at Highland. He had several hundred barrels of apples. He got $7 a barrel for fifty barrels of McIntosh in New York.
Andrew L.F. Deyo has about 2000 barrels of apples. He has put them in the cold storage at Clintondale. He has no McIntosh but a large quantity of Baldwins and other standard varieties. He also has some Ben Davis which he values on account of their late keeping qualities. He has several trucks of his own which he uses in carting the apples to Clintondale. Mr. Deyo was the pioneer of apple growing on a large scale in this vicinity. It is just forty years ago that he set out an orchard of 500 Baldwins. It was quite a venture. This orchard is still bearing, but the trees have passed their prime and Mr. Deyo proposes to cut them down.
We are indebted to Fred DuBois for some very fine specimens of No. 9 potatoes, the largest of which weighed a pound and ten ounces. Mr. DuBois planted 18 bushels of those potatoes and had a yield of 300 bushels.
The New Paltz Firemen and Gardiner Baseball Club clashed on Sunday last in the second game of the series to decide the championship of the two towns. Churchill, the Gardiner pitcher was in fine form and had the New Paltz boys at his mercy. Pat Coutant of the Firemen also pitched a good game. The series is now at a tie and the interest is swelling in the deciding game to be played in Gardiner. The score was 5-3 in favor of Gardiner. Over one hundred New Paltz fans saw the game.
In the first game of the World Series games between the New York Giants and the Yankees, the Giants won 3-2. There was quite a crowd of baseball enthusiasts at Johnston’s Garage to hear the result of the plays by innings as given over the radiophone.
The concreting of the new state road from New Paltz to Highland was practically finished on Wednesday. The last lap between the trolley tracks up the hill to Sunset Inn has been finished. The curb on the north side of the street from the library to the trolley station is now under construction and it the hope that in a few days the entire road from New Paltz to highland will be thrown open to public travel. Building guide rails and trimming shoulders is in process along the whole route.
We are of receipt of a clipping from a Forsyth, Montana newspaper sent us by V. B. Strong, giving the track records and breeding of “Cute, or the Guideless Wonder.” Cute was trained on the old New Paltz track and will be remembered by many New Paltz people. We quote:
The world’s famous guideless pacer, “Cute” passed away last week among the alfalfa blossoms at the four Three Ranch. She was in her 32nd year. We buried her on the banks of the Armelia creek where the wild roses grow. Cute was foaled at the Round Top Farm, Bernardsville. NY Sired by Lord Eldon, he by Mansfield, etc. Dam, Winona, by Jersey Prince, etc. By the records Cute was the fastest pacer in Montana, in fact, in the northwest. At the close of her track career some 17 years ago she had paced 187 miles better than 2.10, which in itself is a world’s record and in itself is a world’s record and a brilliant one; she had 47 track records to her credit and on September 22, 1902, at Port Henry, NY made a new world’s record by pacing the fastest time ever paced by a mare over a half mile track up to that time. Cute was probably better known as “The Queen of Guideless Wonders,” going absolutely alone. She had given exhibitions from the Mexican line and up into Canada, covering most of the United States. She had many friends and admirers who were loud in their praise of her gameness and almost human intelligence. In color she was a bright bay with a symmetrical body and finely chiseled head and neck and weighed 900 pounds.
The Normal girls to the number of about 125, on Thursday, which was a school holiday on account of it being Columbus Day, drove to Mohonk. A number also walked. The carriages, twelve in all, were obtained from this place. The girls took their lunch with them and enjoyed the outing greatly. A large number of the girls in the High School walked to Bonticoe.
On Thursday last week the surviving members of the 156th Regiment held their annual reunion at the Blue Crane Inn, New Paltz. There were only 11 members at roll call, but they do not propose to give up the ship and elected officers and made arrangements for a meeting next year at the usual date, October 19. The 156th Regiment, when it went to war in the fall of 1862 consisted of 1000 men, ten companies from Ulster County and three from Staten Island. There were more from towns in this vicinity in the 156thRegiment than in any other Regiment, and more from New Paltz than in any other regiment, but there is only one man from New Paltz now living, R. D. Elmendorf, who served in this regiment.
One of the interesting events of the Kingston Exposition is a relay race on Saturday from Highland to the gates of the exposition. It will be participated in by members of the YMCA from Poughkeepsie, Newburgh and Kingston. Each boy will run half a mile and then another boy will take his place.
There are still fifteen or eighteen men at work in the brick yard, and it is hoped to burn yet a considerable quantity of brick before winter sets in. A number of colored men besides some white men are at work in the yard. The New Paltz yard is furnishing brick for the new bank building at Highland and the new school buildings at Pine Bush and Maybrook. The New Paltz yard is the only place where brick is burned in this part of the country and the bricks are always of excellent quality. But little use is made of the railroad in shipping the brick. Nearly all are hauled by auto truck which carries about three thousand and takes three loads a day. There is a great demand for the New Paltz brick and they sell at the yard at $20 a thousand. Quantities of brick have been shipped to Ellenville, Middletown and elsewhere.
Join the family! 
