Historical Society of Rockland County

07/19/2024

News from Yesteryear 50 Years Ago
week of July 18, 1974
Excerpt from the Journal News

Anemia testing

📸 Staff photo - Al Witt

Cliff Walker, coordinator for the sickle cell anemia testing program of the Rockland County Health Department, takes blood sample from Cookie VanDunk at Hillburn fire house Wednesday.

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Flashback Friday appears every Friday. To receive it in your email inbox, enter your email address at the bottom of the HSRC’s website landing page, or call the HSRC office to register your email at 845-634-9629.

Read this week’s full report here: https://www.rocklandhistory.org/page.cfm?page=1157

07/15/2024

The new episode of Crossroads of Rockland History is streaming now !

Listen here: https://on.soundcloud.com/i8Ld7PBVxZT6SXzH6
Or on any major podcast platform.

An Excerpt from this interview aired originally on Monday, July 15, 2024 9:30 am, on WRCR 1700AM

We turned our attention to the hamlet of Sparkill. Larry Vail of the Sparkill History Project joined host Clare Sheridan to discuss the rich history of this community.
Some topics that were discussed were:

Skunk Hollow
Roads and Railroads
Rockland Cemetery
The Convent and Churches
Hotels
Early Environmental Movement
Oswald Bauer
and others

***

Crossroads of Rockland History airs every third Monday of the month on WRCR 1700AM. Afterward, the broadcasts are saved and archived as Podcasts. They can be streamed from RocklandHistory.org or from any major podcast platform.

The Historical Society of Rockland County is a nonprofit educational institution and principal repository for original documents and artifacts relating to Rockland County. Its headquarters are a four-acre site featuring a history museum and the 1832 Jacob Blauvelt House in New City, New York.

07/05/2024

News from Yesteryear

Week of July 3, 1924 – 100 YEARS AGO
Excerpt from the Pearl River News

[Image: Erie Railroad station at Suffern, NY, ca. 1920. William D. Hassler photograph collection. Image courtesy of the N-Y Historical Society via NYHeritage.org]

NEW MOTOR LAW NOW IN EFFECT — EVERY MOTORIST IN STATE MUST BE EXAMINED FOR LICENSE BEFORE OCTOBER

The new motor vehicle law became effective Tuesday. Every motorist must have a license to drive and to obtain this examination must be taken. The new license costs $2.

Fines collected from speeding motorists are to go to the State Treasury after a deduction by the village or town. If a village has 500 inhabitants and maintains traffic rules it may retain $1 for each person in the village, or $500 of all the fines collected during the year. No town is permitted to employ a traffic policeman whose pay depends on the fines, nor may a person be employed by a city or village whose salary depends on the fines collected.

Licenses to operate motor vehicles must be obtained by all drivers before Oct. 1. Operators of motorcycles also must have a driver’s license after that date. The licenses will cost $1 and 50 cents for a renewal.

[Read full story at link in bio] or at this link: https://www.rocklandhistory.org/page.cfm?page=1154
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Flashback Friday appears every Friday. To receive it in your email inbox, enter your email address at the bottom of the HSRC’s website landing page, or call the HSRC office to register your email at 845-634-9629.

Read this weeks report here:
https://www.rocklandhistory.org/page.cfm?page=1154

07/04/2024

250 Years ago in

Rocklanders have always taken a secret, if somewhat puzzled, pride in the Orangetown Resolutions. Drafted at Tappan (July 4) in 1774, exactly two years before the Declaration of Independence, they gave blunt warning to Parliament and King George Ill to watch their step with the Americans-or else. They warned specifically that the duties recently levied by Parliament on British imports, especially tea, were abhorrent and that the subsequent closing of the port of Boston and passage of the so-called "Intolerable Acts," curtailing American liberties, were "big with destruction."

Image: Reproduction of the commemorative copy of the Orangetown Resolutions created for the bicentennial by The Tappantown Historical Society Image appears in "Tappan 300 Years - 1686-1986"

Independence Day, July 4, 1774: The Orangetown Resolutions
by Isabelle K. Savell

© The Historical Society of Rockland County
South of the Mountains - Vol. 32, No. 4; 1988
Link to read the full essay : https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/hsrc/id/2916/rec/7

We hope you enjoy a safe and enjoyable Independence Day! 🇺🇸 🎆

07/03/2024

The New South of the Mountains is available now!

“South of the Mountains” is one of the tangible benefits of membership in the Historical Society of Rockland County. For more information on membership, click ‘membership’ at RocklandHistory.org

Vol. 68, No. 2 — April–June 2024
IN THIS ISSUE

🔹The Rocks of Rockland: Iconic Rocks. Your editors highlight five famous rocks in our county.

🔹Update: The Restoration of the Eberling Mail Wagon. Ray Eberling and Marianne Leese visit the studio of Fallon & Wilkinson to observe the progress made on restoring the wagon which once belonged to Frank Eberling, the first rural delivery mailman in New City.

🔹REMINDER: In this issue, we have made some references in the footnotes and text to past issues of South of the Mountains. These can be viewed via the Historical Society website, rocklandhistory.org. On the home page, click on Collections and then on Digital Collections, and South of the Mountainswill come up. Issues are digitized through 2013, vol. 3.

🔹COVER PICTURE: Indian Rock, before the Indian Rock Shopping Plaza in Suffern was built. Photographed by John Scott, 1989. The woman in the picture is unidentified.

SOUTH OF THE MOUNTAINS (ISSN 0489-9563) is published quarterly by
The Historical Society of Rockland County
20 Zukor Road
New City, NY 10956
Phone: (845) 634-9629
Website: www.RocklandHistory.org
Email: [email protected].

Single copy price of South of the Mountains is $5, including postage and handling.

While all efforts are made to ensure accuracy in the articles, the Historical Society assumes no responsibility for opinions and conclusions expressed or implied by contributors. The editors welcome contributions of letters and articles. Please contact us at the Historical Society.

(C) 2024 The Historical Society of Rockland County

All rights reserved

Editor: Marjorie H. Johnson
Consulting Editor: Marianne B. Leese
Printing by Harrington Press, Nyack, New York

07/03/2024

The New South of the Mountains is available now!

"South of the Mountains" is one of the tangible benefits of membership in the Historical Society of Rockland County. For more information on membership, click here: http://www.rocklandhistory.org/product.cfm?category=17.

Vol. 68, No. 2 — April–June 2024
IN THIS ISSUE

🔹The Rocks of Rockland: Iconic Rocks. Your editors highlight five famous rocks in our county.

🔹Update: The Restoration of the Eberling Mail Wagon. Ray Eberling and Marianne Leese visit the studio of Fallon & Wilkinson to observe the progress made on restoring the wagon which once belonged to Frank Eberling, the first rural delivery mailman in New City.

🔹REMINDER: In this issue, we have made some references in the footnotes and text to past issues of South of the Mountains. These can be viewed via the Historical Society website, rocklandhistory.org. On the home page, click on Collections and then on Digital Collections, and South of the Mountainswill come up. Issues are digitized through 2013, vol. 3.

🔹COVER PICTURE: Indian Rock, before the Indian Rock Shopping Plaza in Suffern was built. Photographed by John Scott, 1989. The woman in the picture is unidentified.

SOUTH OF THE MOUNTAINS (ISSN 0489-9563) is published quarterly by
The Historical Society of Rockland County
20 Zukor Road
New City, NY 10956
Phone: (845) 634-9629
Website: www.RocklandHistory.org
Email: [email protected].

Single copy price of South of the Mountains is $5, including postage and handling.

While all efforts are made to ensure accuracy in the articles, the Historical Society assumes no responsibility for opinions and conclusions expressed or implied by contributors. The editors welcome contributions of letters and articles. Please contact us at the Historical Society.

(C) 2024 The Historical Society of Rockland County

All rights reserved

Editor: Marjorie H. Johnson
Consulting Editor: Marianne B. Leese
Printing by Harrington Press, Nyack, New York

06/28/2024

News from Yesteryear
June 28, 1974 – 50 YEARS AGO
Excerpt from The Journal News

SLOATSBURG TO PURCHASE CLOSING VILLAGE CHURCH
[Image: St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Sloatsburg, NY, date unknown. Color postcard courtesy of the Suffern Free Library via NYHeritage.org.]

Sloatsburg may be losing a church but the village is gaining a library and a senior citizens center.

St. Francis’ Episcopal Church of Sloatsburg, ordered closed by the Episcopal Diocese in early May, will offer services to its small congregation for the last time this Sunday. Meanwhile, the village is proceeding with plans to convert the historic structure for community use.

The little stone church is situated on the west side of Route 17 in the village’s downtown area. It was built in 1903 as a mission of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Tuxedo and became an independent church about 20 years ago.

The present congregation of about six families found it could no longer support the church after the diocese withdrew support two years ago, though the Rev. Ernest W. Johns of Christ Church of Ramapo in Suffern has been serving as priest to the congregation since that time without charge.

“When the village heard that the church was going to be closed, we remembered the Methodist parsonage that was demolished in Suffern,” said Sloatsburg Mayor Thomas B. Smith on Tuesday.

According to Smith the historic Methodist parsonage was raised to make way for a Burger Chef franchise that has since gone out of business. Smith added that the village did not want to see the same fate befall St. Francis’ Church.

On June 10 the village submitted a bid of $25,000 to the diocese to purchase the church as a village library, and the diocese accepted the offer. Village Attorney Harvey S. Barr has been in contact with attorneys for the diocese and the village expects to close the sale in late July or early August according to Smith.

The village budgeted $50,000 this year for the construction of a library next door to the Sloatsburg Municipal Building, but the cost of construction more than doubled in the eight months it took to finalize the plans for the new building The lowest bid returned to the village on May 21 asked $104,000 to build the village library.

According to Smith, the church and parsonage will be renovated for use as a library and the village hopes that the work will be completed without expending all of the budgeted $50,000.

Trustee Andre Fontaine, who serves as liaison from the board to the village library committee, will assist the committee during the changeover from church to library. He recently went to New Paltz to photograph and draw schematics of an abandoned church put to similar use by that city several years ago, according to Smith. The parsonage of the church, although under the control of the village library, will also be used as a senior citizen community center by village residents. The senior citizens, who normally meet on Wednesday of each week, have been having difficulty in securing meeting places.

Flashback Friday appears every Friday. To receive it in your email inbox, enter your email address at the bottom of the HSRC’s website landing page, or call the HSRC office to register your email at 845-634-9629.

This weeks report: https://www.rocklandhistory.org/page.cfm?page=1151

06/27/2024

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

This July 4th, the good people of Orangetown will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the

ORANGETOWN RESOLUTIONS

Exactly two years before the passage of the Declaration of Independence this series of resolutions were adopted on July 4, 1774 at a gathering at Yoast Mabie’s house in Tappan and signed by the following members of the correspondence committee:
Colonel Abraham Lent • John Haring, Esq. • Mr. Thomas Outwater • Mr. Gardner Jones • Peter T. Haring •

The resolutions were part of the larger protest against the British parliament’s passage of the intolerable acts designed to punish the colonies after the Boston Tea Party.

Orangetown set forth the foundational principles supporting our quest for independence

The Orangetown Historical Museum & Archives
The Tappantown Historical Society
& The Historical Society of Rockland County
Invite you to join us

🔹Thursday, July 4th 2024 2-4pm
🔹the historic 76 House, 110 Main street, Tappan, New York

Full a la carte menu or BBQ!

To Commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the
ORANGETOWN RESOLUTIONS

A Reading, Libations, Savories and A CELEBRATION of freedom await!

Please RSVP here: https://www.orangetownmuseum.com/events
or call The Orangetown Museum: (845) 398-1302

The Orangetown Historical Museum & Archives
Old '76 House

06/20/2024

The Historical Society of Rockland County Presents
Meet the Curator!

Guided Gallery Talk

🔹When: Sunday, June 23, 2024, 1–3 pm
🔹Where: Historical Society of Rockland County, 20 Zukor Road, New City, NY 10956
🔹Price: $5 (Admission to exhibition)

🔹In this special Sunday afternoon program, Peggy Norris, guest curator of the HSRC’s 2024 exhibition “’When This You See, Remember Me’: Inscribed Quilts from Rockland County,” leads visitors through the galleries, giving descriptions of the quilts on display, dating from 1852 to 1976, and answering visitors’ questions.

🔹About the Presenter: Peggy Norris is a member of the American Quilt Study Group, Ridgewood, NJ and the Historical Society and Genealogical Societies of Bergen County.

Pre-register at RocklandHistory.org.

06/19/2024

On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas with the news that the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free. This day came to be known as , now officially a federal holiday. Celebrate with : nmaach.si.edu/Juneteenth

06/19/2024

Rest In Peace 🕊️
・・・
With deep sorrow, we bid farewell to Geoff Welch.

Heartfelt words by David Pereyra
Click the link in our bio to read in full.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, a prince among us passed away on a quiet Saturday.

Longtime Sloatsburg resident Geoff Welch was a kind and gentle soul with an outsized personality who had amazing reserves of energy and creativity. He loved the Village of Sloatsburg, his singular life at Harmony Hall and found meaning and joy in his work and advocacy over many years...”

06/17/2024

The new episode of Crossroads of Rockland History is available for streaming now!

Episode originally aired Monday, June 17at 9:30 am, on WRCR AM1700.

Listen to the podcast here: https://on.soundcloud.com/afp4bDkXNkWF6Wug6
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Did you ever wonder about the origins of place names in Rockland County? Joe Barbieri of the New City Library joined host Clare Sheridan to explore names such as Bulsontown, Stagg’s Corners, Hyenga Lake, Mosestown, Woodburn, Warren, and more.

Joe Barbieri is the Adult Services and Local History Librarian at the New City Library. He specializes in local history, assisting patrons in research using electronic and print sources. He is also a member of the Genealogical Society of Rockland County.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Books:

🔹Cole , David, editor. History of Rockland County. The Historical Society of Rockland County, 1884.
🔹Green, Frank Bertangue MD, editor The History of Rockland County. The Historical Society of Rockland County, 1886
🔹Tompkins, Arthur S., editor. Historical record to the close of the nineteenth century of Rockland County, New York, Van Deusen & Joyce, 1902
🔹Zimmermann, Linda, author. Rockland County Scrap Book. Eagle Press, 2004
🔹Zimmermann, Linda, editor. Rockland County 1900-2000: Century of History. The Historical Society of Rockland County, 2002

Articles:

🔹Alpert, Norman W., A Treasury of Information in Place Names. South of the Mountains 1980-07, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp 17-22. Link: https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/hsrc/id/2130/rec/1

Maps:

🔹Landmarks of Rockland County, 1975, Claire K. Tholl, The Historical Society of Rockland County
🔹Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. "Map of Rockland County, New York" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1854. (AKA the O’Connor Map) link: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/95fe1b80-04b6-0134-7728-00505686a51c

For more about the New City Library, visit https://newcitylibrary.org/rockland-room-local-history
For more about the Genealogical Society of Rockland County, visit https://rocklandgenealog

06/15/2024

A great Buster Keaton program coming to the historic Lafayette movie theater!

Join us for an unforgettable evening at "The Buster Keaton Experience," presented by the New York Theatre Organ Society. Delight in the comedic genius of Buster Keaton with screenings of his silent film classics, Sherlock Jr. and The Balloonatic. Accompanying these timeless films, Dave Kopp will bring the magic to life on the Ben Hall Wurlitzer Theatre Organ. Don't miss this enchanting blend of film and live music, celebrating the golden age of cinema. Click the link below to snag your tickets
https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/newyorktos/the-buster-keaton-experience

06/14/2024

News from Yesteryear
June 12, 1924 – 100 YEARS AGO
Excerpt from Pearl River News

MISS COUCH IS GRADUATED WITH HIGHEST LAW HONOR
[Image: Natalie Couch]
       Miss Natalie E. Couch, secretary to Justice Tompkins of the Supreme Court, was graduated last week from Fordham Law School with the degree of Cum Laude, the highest honor that can be accorded.
       Miss Couch had the highest marks in all subjects among her classmates. She is one of the most active and faithful workers for the G.O.P. in Rockland County.
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Flashback Friday appears every Friday. To receive it in your email inbox, enter your email address at the bottom of the HSRC’s website landing page, or call the HSRC office to register your email at 845-634-9629.

This weeks report: https://www.rocklandhistory.org/page.cfm?page=1147

06/14/2024

Flag Day, 1974
Excerpt from the Journal News

Staff photo - Warren Inglese

Sean Lamonzs of Nyack and Susan Roka of Upper Nyack (from left), students at the Upper Nyack Elementary School, raise flag in anticipation of Flag Day ceremony at the school this morning. The occasion was noted by other county schools as well.
🇺🇸 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved the design of a national flag.
Since 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation establishing a national Flag Day on June 14, Americans have commemorated the adoption of the Stars and Stripes in many ways–displaying the flag in the front of their homes, parades, and other patriotic observances. Prior to 1916, many localities and a few states had been celebrating the day for years. Congressional legislation designating that date as the national Flag Day was signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1949; the legislation also called upon the president to issue a Flag Day proclamation every year.
Learn more about Flag Day from the Library of Congress here: https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/june-14

06/13/2024

We're an official NYS Path Through History site!

The Jacob Blauvelt House was built in 1832. Its gambrel roof, overhanging eaves, and compact size reflect the disappearing 18th-century Dutch houses. The main section, kitchen outbuilding, and common room were built by the farmer Jacob Blauvelt and are furnished today to reflect the Blauvelts' lifeways during that early period of our history.

To celebrate the 2024 summer , we'll give guided tours of the Blauvelt House at 1, 2 & 3 pm on Sunday, June 16. And while you're visiting, don't forget to check out the 2024 exhibition, "'When This You See, Remember Me': Inscribed Quilts of Rockland County"!

06/07/2024

Greater Hudson Heritage Network program for museum professionals took place at the HSRC.
・・・
Had a fantastic day at yesterday’s first Deep Dives workshop at the Historical Society of Rockland County! Led by “IPM Queen” Rachael Arenstein of AM Art Conservation and current co-chair of the Museum Pests Working Group, our participants learned the fundamentals of IPM - including identification of pests, steps to take for monitoring, exclusion, and remediation of pests, and even went on an IPM focused site tour. More photos to come soon!

Many thanks to our gracious hosts at the Historical Society of Rockland County, to our fabulous presenter Rachael, and to the Maurice D Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area/Hudson River Valley Greenway for generously funding this series of trainings!

Don’t forget- registration is open for our next Deep Dives workshop at Boscobel House and Gardens on 7/31 where conservator Donia Conn will lead us in a unique hands on experience in the wet salvage of a wide variety of historic collections - books, paper, photographs, textiles, furniture, and ethnographic items! Register on our website at greaterhudson.org

06/06/2024

If you missed Larry Kigler at the Historical Society on June 2, you've lucked out! He's giving another fantastic "Pictorial Tour" presentation on June 12 in Clarkstown!

Join us for an exciting journey through our Town's history! Town historian Larry Kigler will present his popular visual tour through historical photos. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain a deeper appreciation for our town and connect with fellow community members. Don't miss out!

Feel free to bring your friends and family. Everyone is welcome!

05/31/2024

FBF News from Yesteryear

Excerpt from the Rockland County Journal
May 30, 1874 – 150 YEARS AGO

MAGNIFICENT VIEWS

[Image: Stereoscopic image of De la Vergne’s Glen, Isaac Van Wagner. Ca. 1880. Image courtesy of the Nyack Library, via NYHeritage.org.
There is no man in our county who is doing half so much to render our unsurpassed scenery classical and historical as our artist friend, Isaac M. Van Wagner, whose achievements of late have been crowned with the most gratifying success to himself and satisfaction to his many patrons. With his admirably arranged appliances he has lately secured some of the finest stereoscopic views we have ever seen; scenes of wildness and beauty that even the Yo Semite [sic] and Yellowstone valleys cannot surpass. And yet a series of these views are taken right from the center of Nyack, in DePew’s glen, while the remainder have been secured from De la Vergne’s Glen, at West Nyack, one of the wildest and most romantic spots we have ever known so near civilization. Fallen trees, cascades, moss-covered rocks, perpendicular as a wall and fresh from the hand of nature, are some of the features of these pictures, which the artist cannot finish sufficiently fast to supply the demand for them. Go and examine them, and you will say that we have not spoken half enough about their merits.
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Flashback Friday appears every Friday. To receive it in your email inbox, enter your email address at the bottom of the HSRC’s website landing page, or call the HSRC office to register your email at 845-634-9629.

Read this weeks report here: https://www.rocklandhistory.org/page.cfm?page=1143

05/30/2024

SEATS ARE STILL AVAILABLE! SIGN UP WHILE THEY LAST!

Towns of Rockland in Pictures and Postcards
with Clarkstown Historian Larry Kigler

When: Sunday, June 2, 2024, 1:00 pm SHARP

Event is $Free, but reservations are recommended.

Learn more here: https://www.rocklandhistory.org/event.cfm?page=1134

05/27/2024

Excerpt from the Rockland County Journal, Memorial Day 1885

MEMORIAL DAY.
And now the work of enforcing the great principle upon which our government rests remains to us: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Human liberty and peace are not fixed quantities, but are constantly increasing or diminishing. They may ebb and flow like the tides of the sea. If we would be worthy followers of our honored dead, we must not be content to fire the blank salute over their graves; but, having done this, shoulder our arms, right face and file away to where the enemy of right and peace still lingers; for we shall best honor the dead by taking up and carrying forward the work that they laid down.
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🇺🇸 Please join us as we honor and remember all those who died while serving in our country’s armed forces. www.RocklandHistory.org
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Memorial Day, initially referred to as Decoration Day, was observed by many communities after the Civil War, when the nation suffered more than 620,000 military deaths, roughly 2 percent of the total population at the time. John A. Logan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of Republic, chose May 30, 1868, as a day to decorate the graves of Union troops across the nation. From this beginning, Memorial Day is now designated as an annual day of remembrance to honor all those who have died in service to the United States during peace and war.

More info here: https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/memorial-day

05/20/2024

The latest episode of Crossroads of Rockland History is streaming now! It originally aired on Monday, May 20, 2024 at 9:30 am on WRCR 1700AM.

Listen to the podcast here: https://on.soundcloud.com/KkcL9xFmHWrGyonN9

Mike Hays joined host Clare Sheridan to discuss his weekly history column in Nyack News And Views. Nyack News and Views has been sharing community news and storytelling for sixteen years, and Mike Hays has worked diligently to bring Nyack’s rich history to its readers.

A thirty-five-year resident of the Nyacks, Mike Hays grew up the son of a professor and nurse in Champaign, Illinois. He has recently retired from a long career in educational publishing with Prentice-Hall and McGraw-Hill. He is an avid cyclist, amateur historian and photographer, gardener, and dog walker. He has enjoyed more years than he cares to count with his beautiful companion, Bernie Richey. You can follow him on Instagram as UpperNyackMike.
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The Historical Society of Rockland County is a nonprofit educational institution and principal repository for original documents and artifacts relating to Rockland County. Its headquarters are a four-acre site featuring a history museum and the 1832 Jacob Blauvelt House in New City, New York.

05/19/2024

We're all set up and awaiting our guests at Paramount Country Club for the 27th Annual Dinner of the Historical Society of Rockland County and Rockland County Executive's Historic Preservation. Merit Awards!

05/17/2024

FBF News from Yesteryear
excerpt from the Journal News
May 19, 1974

RECYCLING EXHIBIT
Mrs. Judy Kusnetz and Holly Rubinstein look over purse recycled from plastic bags and bread wrappers at the New City Free Library.
The purse, plus other recycled plastic items, including rugs, hats and beach bags, are the work of Mrs. Ellen Wilkinson of New City, who makes yarn of the discarded plastic. The display will continue through May.

📸 Journal News Staff photo - Ted Neuhoff

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Flashback Friday appears every Friday. To receive it in your email inbox, enter your email address at the bottom of the HSRC’s website landing page, or call the HSRC office to register your email at 845-634-9629.

Read this weeks report here: https://www.rocklandhistory.org/page.cfm?page=1139

05/12/2024

To all who are celebrating today, we wish you a Happy Mother’s Day!
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

MY MOTHER
BY JOHN DAVIDSON

A Mother! ‘tis a gift from heaven,
Valued more than earthly gold:
A treasure, which from God is given,
The youthful minds here to unfold.

A mother’s love! ‘tis like the sun,
She trains her children for on high;
Ne’er stooping till her task is done,
Prepared to meet them in the sky.

A mother! like the diamond bright,
That caste her light and lustre far;
A light that shineth in the night
Like a “ bright and morning star.”

A mother’s love ! ‘twill ever keep,
Her darling boy in wisdom’s way;
Her love is like the ocean deep,
And bright and clear as noontide day.

A mother’s love! Oh who can tell !
Its powerful strength her child to save;
Since like the mighty ocean swell
Yea ‘tis stronger than the very grave.

Excerpt from The Rockland County Messenger, 1855