by Krista Madsen The year was 1750 and the New York estate of Adolphe Philipse – whose land once stretched along the Hudson from the Bronx to Croton – was up for auction. First listed on the 55-page inventory were 23 men, women and children, followed by everyt... More »
From the Aroma of Alter’s Bread to that Squirmy Bucket of Greene County Snails by Krista Madsen Our memories related to food – the smells, tastes, the scene surrounding what we ate – are often our strongest. The most vivid recollection that came out of last mo... More »
by Morey Storck In a wide-ranging interview, backstage at the Tarrytown Music Hall, Bjorn Olsson, Executive Director, discussed his thoughts about where the Music Hall founders and administrators started, what they learned, where they are, where they plan to g... More »
by Dorothy Conigliaro Fans of Downton Abbey remember it as a first-class drama, made equally memorable for its fashion statements. On glorious display each week were the wonderful styles of the early part of the 20th century. They were exquisite and unique, a ... More »
by Shelly Robinson and Robert Kimmel Hidden away high up in the stone belfry of the Washington Irving Memorial Chapel just inside the north gate of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is a set of 10 tubular bell tower chimes installed in 1923. Known for their fine musical ... More »
by Krista Madsen “The United States Army was very particular. They made sure that not too many black troops were ever in any situation where they could gain any recognition.” — Booker Morris Booker Morris’s description of the second-class treatment he and his ... More »
by Morey Storck On Saturday, May 14, Philipsburg Manor will host the Pinkster holiday, an African-American celebration of Spring which is known to have been observed in the Hudson Valley as early as the 17th century. The cross-cultural, colonial style festival... More »
by Krista Madsen The Van Tassel (lovingly called “VT”) is no ordinary apartment complex. Its history is rich and fascinating, as we discovered from a handful of long-time residents who gathered at the latest Warner Library Oral Histories session. Some facts: •... More »
by Krista Madsen When Anne Petry of then-North Tarrytown was in the fourth grade, her teacher emphatically told the class, “there will never be a bridge” across this part of the Hudson. Citizens of Nyack and the Tarrytowns, separated by one of the widest parts... More »
By Ginny Read A little more than three years have passed since the unveiling of the restored Tiffany Reading Room, the peaceful sanctuary tucked within Irvington Town Hall. If, today, you were to stop by the room on any given weekday, you might come upon someo... More »
By Krista Madsen On a January day that hit 50 degrees outside (there were even signs of crocus leaves pushing through the library lawn), a group of six talked inside about simpler, colder times. Five women and one man who grew up in different neighborhoods acr... More »
by Krista Madsen Helen Manca, 99, is my next-door neighbor and popular with my two young daughters for her endlessly replenishing bowl of M&Ms. Since we moved here in 2009, we’ve enjoyed her stories of growing up in the very house she still lives in, so it fel... More »
by Krista Madsen Armando “Chick” Galella, 94, sees himself as a person with a life-long habit of serving rather than any kind of hero. He’s reluctant to get all the attention and accolades he gets as our region’s sole surviving Pearl Harbor veteran. “I’m not t... More »
by Neal Rentz For students in grades five through eight at the Transfiguration School in Tarrytown, World War II is something more than what they have read about in textbooks. Pupils in social studies classes taught by Rosemary Holodak have formed a bond with ... More »
|by Krista Madsen| Ten women and two men filled every chair in the third floor Warner Library conference room to share stories of life on the homefront during WWII. Though the war ended 70 years ago, their memories are as vivid as if it all happened yesterday ... More »
| by Alexander Roberts | Just 22 years old, the pretty blond woman pretended to be a nurse searching for her Nazi soldier boyfriend behind enemy lines in Nazi–occupied France during World War II. But in actuality, Marthe Cohn was a French Jew with forged pap... More »
| by Robert Kimmel | Without its light since the 1960’s, the Lighthouse by night has been a murky silhouette in the Hudson River off the Sleepy Hollow shoreline. But that is about to change. Originally labeled the Tarrytown Light when it was built in 1883, t... More »
| by Barrett Seaman | When the Irvington Historic District Committee (IHDC) held public information sessions two years ago in an effort to resurrect a 10-year-old plan to designate much of the village’s business district as “historic,” many local owners voic... More »
