The ‘‘Our towns’’ column is compiled each month by Carol Johnson of the Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection. The entries have been copied from the August 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 country is very beautiful now on account of the recent rains. The corn crop promises an abundant yield. The late rains have helped the apple crop. No potato rot has been reported yet, although the heavy rains of late are favorable to it. Fruit growers are selling Bartlett pears at Clintondale at five cents a pound. Large quantities were delivered this week.
Six engineers engaged in inspecting the Wallkill with a view to determining its water power for generating electricity, especially the Libertyville Falls, were in our village for several days last week.
The Misses Maria and Catharine Bevier of Marbletown were in our village last week. They desired to make careful inspection of ancient documents here, especially those bearing the signature of Louis Bevier, one of the New Paltz Patentees, of which there are several at the Memorial House and in the possession of the editor of the Independent.
New Paltz has gone daffy on baseball. The series game scheduled for last Thursday night was to be as Jupiter Pluvius put the kibosh on this melee, but on Saturday afternoon the Firemen and the Saugerties Independents crossed bats on the Normal Diamond. The result: Saugerties 8, New Paltz 5. On another unhappy day the New Paltz Boys journeyed to Saugerties to play the American Legion team, and again, New Paltz lost 9 to 4. On Monday evening the big event of the baseball world was on the Normal grounds. The opposing teams were the Oakwood Terrace Stars and the Summer School team. This game brought out the largest crowd of the season. The Oakwooders put up a fast and good game as did our Summer School boys. The pitching of C.C. Ward, the base running of Dr. Reynolds and the fielding of Matty and Beebe makes us believe that this club has been rightly named “Stars.” The Oakwood Stars won the game by a score of 11-7. On Monday afternoon the Summer School was defeated by the Mohonk team here by a score of 17-11. On Saturday afternoon the Firemen will play the colored Giants of Newburgh on the home grounds.
The third lot of 40 Fresh Air Children, who have been spending some time at the Arbuckle Farms, have returned to their city homes. Sunset Inn, Shady Knoll, Dayton House and Orchard Terrace are filled with boarders and have rooms outside. The Mohonk house was crowded with guests last week. There were about 430 that applied for accommodations and there was only room for 410.
There was an alarm of fire at the Cliff House, at Minnewaska, on Wednesday afternoon, last week, but it was extinguished before damage of any account was done. The guests assisted in extinguishing the fire.
The summer school at the Normal came to an end on Friday evening. High school graduates who pass successfully in the summer school get certificates enabling them to teach for two years. Since the summer school has closed, the Normal faculty with one or two exceptions have left town.
It will be some time before Ulster County has the opportunity of partaking of another clambake that will equal the one given by the Clintondale Fruit Growers at their cold storage plant last Friday. Practically every city, village and town within a 30-mile radius was represented among the 1400 who were fortunate enough to secure tickets. And while the Clintondale clambake was probably the largest ever held in this section it was not the size of the crowd alone which measured the success of the affair. It was rather the fine spirit of good fellowship manifest from the time of parking of the car of a guest under the guidance of efficient state troopers, to the last cheery “good night” of many new found friends, which made the evening so enjoyable.
The Garden Card Party for the benefit of the Library was a very delightful affair and it is hoped that another will be given very soon.
There was a service at the Catholic Church in this village on Monday in commemoration of the Assumption or the Blessed Mother, which is always held August 15 and is one of the six immovable holy days of the Catholic Church.
The county fair, which opened Tuesday at Ellenville has had fine weather. A large number of the exhibits are from outside of the county. J. W. Weaver and son of Highland and Graham Hurd and son of Clintondale are among the exhibitors of fruit. Tomorrow will be the last day. There will be horse races and automobile races.
Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, widow of the former President of the United States, is visiting for a few weeks her nephew and niece, Mr. and Mrs. Morehead, at Milton.
Three autos, none of them from this village or vicinity, collided at the east end of Perrine’s Bridge on Sunday afternoon. One car, which was going north, turned too suddenly to cross the Bridge, and thus ran against the rear end of the first of two cars coming south, slewing it around and causing a collision with still another car, coming close in the rear. Two men, who were in one of the cars were thrown out and hurt. They stopped at Dr. Baldwin’s in this village to have their wounds attended to.
A year ago two Mohonk guests, President Faunce of Brown University and President Charles F. Miller of the Hamilton Watch Company, took a drive to Sky Top. When they returned, there had been born a new idea — that of erecting on Sky Top’s summit a substantial stone tower that for all time should stand as a boon to visitors and primarily as a memorial to the man whose vision of half a century before is reflected in the Mohonk of the present. Almost immediately the matter was taken up by a numerous committee of guests, and it was decided to erect the tower by popular subscription. As soon as the Committee’s plans were made known, contributions began to come in, and already, with the preliminary work about finished, approximately two-thirds the estimated cost of the tower is in the hands of the Treasurer. The Albert K. Smiley Memorial Tower is about to become a reality. Designs, many of them, have been considered and rejected; sites have been tested, quarries located, an experimental scaffolding erected. At last, the design submitted by Allen & Collins, of Boston, has been approved and the site definitely chosen. The cornerstone of the tower will be laid on August 30 at 11 o’clock with appropriate ceremonies. Not only will there be a tower, but ornamental grounds and an artificial lake will help make the now rather barren summit a thing of beauty.
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