The ‘‘Our towns’’ column is compiled each month by Carol Johnson of the Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection. The entries have been copied from the February 1925 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.
February second passed in New Paltz without the groundhog seeing his shadow. It was cloudy all the time and snowing part of the time. According to the old Dutch tradition, the women should have ruled on that day, but as to what happened in that regard, we have no information.
Recently the steamer Po’keepsie was caught in the ice near Milton and the propeller broken. On Saturday morning the Benjamin B. Odell left Newburgh and returned with the Poughkeepsie in tow. Next day the two boats proceeded to New York where the Poughkeepsie was left for repairs. There was not much trouble in breaking through the ice.
Uno Lillberg got in a snow drift with his car on Monday to avoid hitting a horse and disabled it so bad he had to be towed home. It is very bad turning out as the roads have been scraped and there is no turning out places. If each one would watch out, there would not be much trouble.
For some time, businessmen in the vicinity of the Post Office have been complaining that boys throwing snowballs have become a real danger. Consequently, on Friday last Officer Decker summoned a group of eight of them to appear in court on Saturday morning. When they came before Judge Barnes he gave them a serious but friendly talking to. As it was a first offense, the boys were not held for children’s court, but were put upon an informal probation, the Justice taking their names and a promise from each of them not to do it again.
The Shawangunk correspondent for the Walden Citizen Herald says in the latest issue of that paper: The spectacle of girls in bathing suits wading through the snow banks in this community has greeted the eyes of natives hereabouts. The girls are taking the open air cure for their health and beauty and are attired in more or less “open air” costumes. The girls plunge and wade through snow banks with careless abandon. They report wonderful results in renewed health, however, and say it’s worth a whole lot in building up the system. Some of the native’s state frankly that the sight is not attractive. They report that the lines and angles of the flappers are fearful to behold and waken feeling akin to sympathy. Others say they enjoy seeing them and are constantly on the quivive so as to be on hand on the next line of march.”
Monday was a balmy winter day. At four in the afternoon pupils of the Reformed Church Sunday School set out on a sleigh riding party. They went as far as Springtown and returned to have supper at the church at six, reporting a fine time when they reached home. The children of the primary class were considered too young to go. Two weeks before they were given a party in the church parlors.
Last Sunday at about sunset the moon tried a modest little partial eclipse. The eclipse was visible from our village, though the effect was as water unto wine, compared with the sun’s total eclipse of January 24.
Danger that apple rust will destroy the entire apple crop is given as the reason for the announced destruction of cedar trees in a part of Southern Ulster. The land on which the cedars are to be cut down extends from the Marlborough-Lloyd line down the river through Milton, the Elverhoj Colony, Roseton and Cedar Cliff, almost to Balmville, west almost to the Marlborough mountains and then towards Bailey’s Gap. There seems to be something almost against nature in such whole sale destruction. It will cost the state $100,000 in money, to say nothing of marring the beauty of farms and estates along the river. The Elverhoj Art Colony will be an especial sufferer. Neither do the plot owners of Cedar Hill Cemetery want the trees cut down. Even the farmers, who cannot afford to be sentimental about the beauties of nature; do not want all their cedar trees destroyed.
An outbreak of the European fowl pest swept through the flocks of Samuel Mandelbaum and in six days wiped out 1173 of his 1177 chickens and one turkey. The Mandelbaum outbreak is the first in Orange County, there being no others nearer than Gardiner. Dr. J. F. Kane of the Orange County Veterinary Hospital has notified the State Department of Agriculture and is going ahead with preventive measures. Dr. Kane gives warning against the further spread of the plague. All dogs should be kept at home, strangers should not be allowed on the farms, nor should any chickens, ducks or geese, nor day-old chicks be taken in from outside. Curiosity frequently leads chicken raisers to visit places where the pest has broken out to look over the situation. They only imperil their own flocks thereby. Shippers of eggs are advised as a precautionary measure, to dip crates in disinfectant solution before handling them, and not to handle their own chicks, or remove eggs from their nests after having been handled crates which by some possibility may have been contaminated.
Friday night a real treat was handed out to the local fans when the Normal School team played the Fire Department boys. This game was more like the local series between the married and the single men’s basketball teams. It was a case of tossing up to find out which side the various members of both teams would play on. When the line-up was completed, it was found that three members of the firemen were on the Normal School team, so with that much decided the battle was on. When the smoke had cleared away the score looked something like Normals 48–Fire Department 32. The fans present were kept on edge all through the game, and all declared it to be the so far this year.
E. C. Elmore, Jans Petersen and Arnold Petersen went pickerel fishing through the ice at Chodikee Lake last week Thursday. They had excellent luck and caught fourteen large fish.
Last year she celebrated her 84th birthday, this year, her 87th. Mrs. Maria Vradenburgh celebrated her own 87th birthday on Washington’s birthday this year. Since last year the record of her birth in 1838 two years earlier than was supposed, has been found in an old family Bible. For this year’s birthday she received a five-dollar gold piece from the M. E. Seekers class of which she is a member, and a beautiful bunch of carnations from the Sunday School. She was also given three dozen choice oranges by a cousin living in Florida and a post card shower by her friends. Notwithstanding her age, Mrs. Vradenburgh is in good health, and very pleased to receive callers.
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