Centennial Celebration July 2-3-4 1916 Commemorative of the one hundredth an- niversary of the granting of the first charter, April 17th. 1816, to the village of PeekskiU Compiled and Edited by GEO. E. BRIGGS. Assisted by LEVERETT F. CRUMB and KARL M. SHERMAN. Published by the HIGHLAND DEMOCRAT COMPANY by resolution of the Centennial Committee Chester De Witt Pu^sley Chairman of the General Committee . P37IS 8 The IJinlsall House, One Hun dred Years Ago, on Main Street Eagle Hotel, wlure .>l(»ii(l;iy's and I iiesdivj's lunclieons were served. Re- viewing stand for the parade Monday. The oldest hotel in the villiige, town and county. PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION JULY 2, 3, 4, 1916 WHERE AIM) WHEN IT STARTED. The celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the granting of a char- ter to the Village of Peekskill on April 17, 1816, originated in a regular meet- ing of the Peekskill Board of Trade, January 12, 1915, when during the dis- cussion of some project to boom the village, Karl M. Sherman, a member, announced that the next year, 1916, w^ould mark the one hundredth anni- versary of the granting of the first charter to the village. Why not cele- brate the event? , After a short debate the president was instructed to appoint a committee on the matter. He named Chester De Witt Pugsley, chairman; Joseph F. Raymond, vice-chairman ; Edward F. Hill, Edward E. Young, Jacob Fish, Melvin R. Horton, William B. Baxter, Karl M. Sherman, Samuel J. McCord, Dr. H. Monroe Mace and the president, William H. H. MacKellar, and the sec- retary, Geo. E. Briggs, as ex-officio members. They met together and at the next session of the Board of Trade reported favorably upon the matter and sug- gested an outline for the proposed cel- ebration. The report was approved and a res- olution passed requesting the presi- dent of the village to appoint a com- mittee of one hundred citizens to take the matter In hand. THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED. On June 11, 1915, President Leverett F. Crumb announced at a meeting of the Board of Trustees the following gene- r;U committee: Chester De Witt Pugs- ley, chairman: William H. H. MacKel- lar, Hon. Cornelius A. Pugsley, Albert E. Cruger, Karl M. Sherman, William Lawson, James W. Husted, Thomas Nelson, Jr.. Geo. E. Bri ggs, Cassius M. Gardner, Isaac'H. Smith, James K. Ap- gar, Edward F. Hill, Fred F. Roe, Fred T. Pugsley, William H. Glsh, Angelo Bleakley, Milton W. Lounsbury, Clar- I ence J. Lent, Richard W. McGlnty, Dr. H. Monroe Mace, Charles E. Tweedy, Thomas Timmons, Oscar V. Barger, Lanning G. Roake, H. Alban Anderson, A. Ellsworth Garrison, William W. Hoyt, Dr. E. de Mott Lyon, George E. McCoy, Dr. Perley H. Mason, Dr. Albert E. Phin, A. D. Dunbar, Fred J. Bohlmann, Fred J. Jones, Dr. Willard H. Sweet, John W. Balluffi, William B. Baxter, George A. Creed, Clifton E. Forbush, George H. Jewell, John J. Heleker, Jr., Elmer E. Seymour, E. R. Russell, C. W. Horton, Jr., E. Ervin Gardner, Jr., James J. Finnigan. Thos. Dasey, S. J. McCord, George A. Cass- cles, J. Coleridge Darrow, Robt. Cross, Franklin Montross, James Dimond, Harold H. Durrin, Isaac M. Beatty, Moses M. Scucclmarra, Walter Homan, Charles LeClair, Joseph Sparrow, Geo. Naylor, Jr., Andrew B. Buchanan, Pe- ter Valente, Allen Elkins, Charles Weller, Antonio S. Renza, William F. Hoehn, Melvin R. Horton, Fred A. Smith, Robert McCord, John B. Hal- sted, Jas. Dempsey, Sanford R. Knapp, William J. Charlton, J. Wesley Barker, Dr. George C. Colyer, Nathan P. Bush- nell, Edward E. Young, James F. Mar- tin, A. Wesley Wyatt, William H. Clin- ton, George Winters, Max Saloman, William G. Preston, John S. Baker, Theodore P. Birdsall, Frank N. McCoy, Rev. Benjamin H. Everitt, Charles E. Clinton, William H. Stevens, Jay R. Decatur, Charles J. Donohue, Edward G. Halsey, Clarence W. Stetson, S. Fletcher Allen, Edward McDermott, John N. Tllden, S. Allen Mead, Otto Graninger, Robert Johns, James A. Sloat, William C. Hoffman, James F. Thompson, Nathan Posey, Dr. Edward C. Duryee, Joseph S. Austin, Rev. Henri de Vries, Clifford M. Lent, Alonzo Seymour, George W. Buchanan, Ed- mund Jordan, William H. Croft, Har- old D. E. Hyatt, Elbert H. Bagley, Geo. A. Timmons, Geo. B. Joseph, Edward J. Wilson, Dr. Charles A. Robinson, B. B. Nostrand, Jr., Charles W. Old- ^ /iUU Id 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 field, Frank H. Whitney, George D. McCutchen, Frost Horton, Allan L. Sutton, David S. Murden, Isadore 01- stein, John J. Slattery, Joseph Ives, George Goetchius, Leon Heady, Chas. H. Nelson, Edward J. Lockwood, Wm. E. Lane, Jr., William J. Wiberley, Clifford Couch, Thomas Snowden, Ed- ward Burger, David Hartstein, Clifford Denike, Herbert Griffin, John Mabie, 2d, Fred T. Slack, Harry Stevenson, Rev. Clarence P. McClelland, Jacob Fish, Louis Ettlinger, Daniel Odell, Rev. Richard H. Tobin, John Towart, Jr., James J. Manning, Thos. C. Gard- ner, Geo. P. Wygant, James A. Barker, George W. Robertson, Clinton S. Bird, Harry W. Cortiss, Frank M. Dain, Rob- ert Valentine, George F. Canfield, Ed- ward Balluffi, Samuel Levy, Enoch J. Tompkins, J. Homer Wright, A. J. Mason, Douglas Macduff, Dr. P. W. O'Brien, John E. Holden, Louis Lau- dati. Rev. F. G. Illsley, E. C. Alsop, Robert F. Barrett, Joseph M. Fox, Charles N. Wells, Coleridge A. Hart, Fred W. Otte, Jr., Isadore Wolff, D. Levinson, Louis Keller; A. E. Linder and F. J. Welton (Mohegan Lake). Their first meeting was held Tues- day evening, June 29, 1915. By reso- lution Leverett F. Criimb, president of the village, was added to the commit- tee. The following other officers were elected: Vice-chairman, William H. H. MacKellar; secretary, Albert E. Cru- ger; assistant secretary, Karl M. Sher- man; treasurer, Hon. Cornelius A. Pugsley. The chairman of the general com- mittee, Chester De Witt Pugsley, named a number of sub-committees with chairmen as follows: Finance — Hon. Isaac H. Smith. Executive — Chester De Witt Pugsley, ex-officio. Parade — Fred A. Smith. Illumination and Decoration — A. S. Renza. Publicity— Clifford Couch. Historical and Public Exercises — Hon. I.,everett F. Crumb. Carnival — William F. Hoehn. Athletic Events— Eli R. Russell. The Executive Committee comprised the officers; Isaac H. Smith, chairman of Finance Committee; Fred A. Smith, chairman of Parade Committee; L. F. Crumb, chairman Historical Commit- tee; A. S. Renza, chairman Illumina- tion and Decoration Committee; Eli R. Russell, chairman Athletic Events Committee; Clifford Couch, chairman Publicity Committee; Wm. F. Hoehn, chairman Carnival Committee, and Thomas Nelson, Jr., Edward F. Hill, George Naylor, Jr., Martin Nilsson, William E. Lane, Jr., Richard H. Rixon, Edward E. Young, John S. Baker, Hon. James W. Husted, James K. Apgar, Geo. E. McCoy, William Lawson, Geo. E. Briggs, Melvin R. Horton, Clifton E. Forbush, James V. Clune, Harry W. Cortiss, Jacob Fish, Frank M. Dain, Daniel Odell and Cassius M. Gardner. These committees met from time to time in the Municipal Building and formulated the plans which carried out resulted in the largest and most ex- tensive celebration ever held in Peeks- kill which in the following pages is described in detail and which is placed in this permanent form as a result of a resolution passed at the final meet- ing of the committee held July 6, 1916, which provided that the book should be compiled by Geo. E. Briggs, editor of the Highland Democrat, aided by a committee, Messrs. Leverett F. Crumb and Karl M. Sherman, appointed by the chairman of the general committee. MR, DEPEW OPEIVS CELEBRATION. The first important event of the cen- tennial celebration took place on Fri- day evening, June 30, 1916, when ex- Senator Chauncey M. Depew addressed his fellow townsmen in the auditorium of the Guardian. The auditorium, brilliantly illumi- nated, was well filled with Peekskill people, women and young ladies pre- dominating. On the stage, in addition to ex-Sen- ator Depew was Congressman Husted, the chairman of the evening and the president of the Cortlandtown Soldiers' Monument Association, under whose auspices the meeting was held, and also John Halsted, John Smith, Jr., Rev. Father Richard H. Tobin, San- ford R. Knapp, Henry S. Free, Homer Anderson, George L. Hughson, Frank- lin Couch and William J. Charlton; 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 Sanford R. Knapp, John Halsted and Chauncey M. Depew, all three born in Peekskill, are each over eighty-two years of age. The exercises of the evening were opened with an overture, "Cumber- land March," by Mrs. Grippen's or- chestra of seven pieces. Congressman Husted, in a few felici- tous remarks, presented Rev. Father Tobin, who made a brief but very charming address of welcome to the audience and to the guest and speaker of the evening. Hon. Chauncey M. DepeAv. Congressman Husted then in a few more extended remarks presented Peekskill's "most distinguished son and America's greatest orator." Ex-Senator Depew was in good form. He looked well and spoke with old time vigor. Few would suspect that he was born in this village over four score years ago. He began speaking at 8.20 and concluded his address at 9.40 p.m. After he had finished, Chairman Hus- ted said that Senator Depew must leave at once to take his special train back to New York City and moved a vote of thanks to the Senator for his cour- tesy in coming to his old town and speaking to its people. The vote was given with a chorus of ayes. The speaker of the evening waved a fare- well and said a few words of good-bye and left. Another selection by the orchestra concluded the program of the evening. As the people passed out the orches- tra played "Grand American Fantasie." 3Ir. Depew's Address. Ladies and Gentlemen, and I think I may add, My Fellow Townsmen: To be in Peekskill has been a pleas- j ure for me all my life. It is a great 1 pleasure to participate in the cere- mony which celebrates the hun- dredth anniversary of the formation of our village government. For eighty-two years of that hundred I have been either a resident or a fre- quent visitor, and always deeply inter- ested in the affairs, the welfare and the prosperity of the town. Historj' moves in cycles, each century has its characteristic and its contribution to the advancement of the world. We have had many of them within the last thirty years. I had the honor to be the orator at the four hundredth celebration of the discovery of Amer- ica by Columbus, and shared it with that distinguished citizen, veteran journalist and original thinker. Colo- nel Watterson, of Kentucky. I was also the orator on the occasion of the centenary of the inauguration of our first President, and the centenary of the formation of the Legislature in our State. There is no period in recorded times during which so much was ac- complished for liberty and enfran- chisement, humanity, invention, dis- covery and the progress and develop- ment of the world. This century, which covers the life of our village, began with the close of the war of 1812, and ends when civilization and Christianity, and all the precious vic- tories of peace of this century are at stake upon the bloodiest battlefields, and in the most frightful and destruc- tive war of all time. 1916 marked a cleavage in the in- dustrial policy of our country between the past and the future. Up to the be- ginning of the war of 1812 we had been almost purely an agricultural people. Our manufactures were few and very weak. The one industry in which we excelled was the carrying 1816— PEEK3KILL CEXTEXXIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 trade upon the ocean. Our ships were the best in the merchant marines of the world, and our sailors the most skillful and enterprising. The war of 1812 was entered upon with hilarity and hailed with the wildest enthus- iasm. Peace, three years afterwards, was hailed with equal hilarity and en- thusiasm. Blockade and embargo, during that period, closed our ports. There was the greatest distress in our seaport cities and along our coast; our ships lay idle at the wharfs, and the large number of men engaged in this industry were out of employ- ment, as were the merchants and those who were dependent upon them and their enterprises. But a condi- tion was produced, which is nearly du plicated at the present time. We were dependent upon Europe for our cot- ton, woolen and silk goods, and for nearly all the manufactures in iron. Necessity lead to the utilization of the water power and the building of numerous factories for the manufac- ture of cotton and woolen goods and some iron. When the war closed, what happened may occur again after a hundred years. Napoleon had been defeated at Waterloo and was a prisoner at St. Helena. The vast armies which had crushed him were disbanded and the troops left to shift for themselves and earn their own living. They rushed to the factories for employment. The surplus of la- bor lead to lower wages and cheaper cost of production. To help their own industries, the Continental Nations raised barriers against English impor- tations. The result was that this vast and constantly increasing product of the English factories was dumped in to our ports. The ordinary agencies of purchase and distribution were un- equal to the task of marketing, so auc- tions were held in every port with the result of flooding the country and closing American mills. Among the articles of which vast quantities were sold and distributed were Yorkshire cloth, Scotch muslins, blankets, flush- ings, plushes, taffetas, silks, jackette muslins, bombasettes, kerseys, soap, 1 nails, salt, bed covers, tacks, pencil cases, matches, tooth brushes, pins, 1 grind stones, cast iron pots, tea ket ties, iron bolts, axes, hose, spades, I plough shafts, lightning rods, zinc, ' stoves, wool and iron and pipes. As j most of these things were not pro- duced here the country had been I ! without them during the war. Our de- pendence upon Europe for most of the necessities of life made an impression upon the people which they never had before. An agitation was started I without regard to party, at first, to protect the cotton and wool manufac- ture, and next to relieve us by home i production of this dependence upon Europe, which might at any time be shut off by war It may be safely as- j serted that the policies, which lead in time to our manufacturing at home every necessity, and to our indepen- ; dence of the rest of the world, was due to this rude awakening of three years of increasing privation and the ' grasp of the necessities of the situa- tion which became so universal in 1816. Another great era opened in our Na- I tional development because of the ex- I reriences of the war. While agricul- ture was fairly prosperous, the dis- tress, unemployment and difficulties of earning a living was very great in ! other departments. Soup houses first ! appeared during this period. The more energetic, both men and women, among the people who could find no ; employment moved West, where lands I were free. This emigration assumed j such a large proportion as to frighten the old States. In seeking methods to protect themselves there arose a won- derful and widespread movement for internal improvements. Canals were projected and highways and public roads laid out and opened. The effort ^ of the States was to settle these fly- [ ing people, who were among the best I of their citizens, within their own i borders where there was plenty of land but inaccessible, instead of hav- ing them go along the Great Lakes and to the West and Northwest. In our own State, that far-sighted States- man DeWitt Clinton conceived the . idea of the Erie and Champlain Canals and uniting the Great Lakes with the Hudson. In 1816. he had overcome all political opposition and the great work was fairly inaugurated. We must re- member that water was the only means of transportation for consider- able distances a hundred years ago The Erie Canal gave to New York its cities of I^tica, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo: it settled the Valleys of the Mohawk and the Genesee; it was largely contributory to the building of all the States bordering upon the Great Lakes; it made New York the 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 Empire State and its city the me- tropolis of the Western World. In 1816 the seas were free as a result of the war. Our shipping in the por*3, ' for the preservation of the masts and rigging during the w^ar had tar bar- rels on top of the spars which were called after President Madison, and in derision of his war, "Madison's Night- cap". With wuld jubilation "Madison's Nightcaps" were universally removed, the ships refitted and the movement became so great that our exports rose in a short time from five millions to forty-five millions a year. The impet- ' us thus given to American shipping gave us in time 80 per cent of the car- ; rying trade of the ocean. Our clipper ships outdistanced all others in speed and the American flag was on every ocean and in the majority in all the ports of the world. It is our misfor- tune and our disgrace that the Amer- ican merchant marine has fallen to 8 per cent; that the American flag is unknown in foreign ports, practically and the continuing and very recent ; legislation, hostile to American ship- ping, has handed the Pacific Oqean over to the Japanese and Chinese, and j when normal conditions are restored and the world is at peace will prevent any resurrection of the American merchant marine. It was while these startling changes and revolutions, along the seacoast and in the interior, were making such brave beginnings that the citi- zens of Peekskill had the instinct and ambition for organization. About 1683 a masterful man, a merchant of the City of New York, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, bought from different In- dian Chiefs and Tribes all the land between Croton Rivpr and Garrison, and eastward to the Connecticut line, with the exception of 1,800 acres in what is now Peekskill and vicinity, and 300 acres where the State camp is located. Van Courtlandt's grant amounted to 86,203 acres. The other land was bought by a combination, Richard Abramsen, Jacob Abramsen, Tennis De Kay, Seba Jacob and John Harxse. It was customary among the early Dutch settlers to change their names by taking the names of the places in Holland with which their families were connected. So the Abranisens became Lents and John Harxse became Kronkhyte. The major part of this became the property of Hercules Lent, who was the son of Richard Abramsen, Abramsen having changed his name to Lent from the town in Holland from which he came. Kronkhyte married Lent's daughter and one of his heirs. In the division of the Ryck Patent, the Kronkhyte property extended from the Mc- Gregory's brook which runs down Center street and ran southward be- yond the present limits of the village and included what is now known as Depew Park. Kronkhyte was my an- cestor and through him I am very proud of being among the first settlers of Peekskill. The Indians of this neighborhood were of the Mohegan Tribe; they were divided into small- er tribes but confederated together Mith a federal relationship with the six nations on the Mohawk. Chief Sarhus was the Chief governing all the land from Verplancks Point to An- thony's Nose. His chief village and residence were here and named Sarhus. His neighbor and relative to the south was Chief Knoton who gov- ; erned the territory covering the mouth of the Croton and joining Chief Sachus' territory at Verplanck's Point. i The corruption of Knoton into Croton by the English gives us the present name of the water supply of New I York. The 1,800 acres purchased by I these men, whom I have mentioned, j v/as known as Ryck's Patent, and the title was confirmed subsequently af- ter the English conquered New York by Governor Dongan There was not much progress made In the development of our village prior to 1816. The people were farm- ers with some home industries carried on in their own houses for the con- venience of the neighborhood. They early, however, appreciated the value of being the center of the transporta- tion or the country roimd about. They extended what is now the Crompond Road to the Connecticut line and up to Danbury; they ran what afterwards became known on the north as Peeks- kill Turnpike far out into the country, the Albany postroad, which was the main highway and had been before the Revolution between New York and Albany, ran through the center of the village and so on through highlands. Our enterprising ancestors put sloops upon the river until at one time there was a fleet of about a dozen. This made Peekskill the market town of a territory which in- cluded all the settlements far intp 1S16— PEEKSKILL CEXTEXXIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 Connecticut. I can remember as boy when these great Arks, some ingston, built the first steamboat, named her the Clermont after He Mr. times with two horses and some times T^iyingston's home ^ on _the ^Hudson with four attached, would gather up the produce of the farmers along the highways; bring it down to the sloops; purchase and carry back either purchases from New York, or from the village stores, the groceries, cloths and farm implements needed by the farmers. The early captains, who ran these sloops, were important , ^^^^^ B^bbv Try 'something 'else," personages m the village. They brought back from their trips to New York all the news of the day. They When she started from New York for Albany in 1808 an immense crowd gathered on the wharf. They were all sceptics. Fulton and Livingston had with them on the boat about twenty friends. At first the engines did not work well, and then the boat hesi- tated, whereupon the crowd began to shout, "A fool and his money is soon look out you'll blow up". Suddenly, with an immense volume of smoke from the wood fires bursting out of were the most prosperous of the peo- 1 ^j^^ ^^^^^,^ ^^^^j, ^^^ paddles began to pie. The farmers nearer by sent their own produce to New York by these sloops; the sloop captains, not only carried the produce and cattle, but marketed them in New York, so that they were both navigators and commission merchants. One of the captains told me that a young farmer came to his sloop with one calf and also insisted upon being a passenger to sell that calf himself in New York. The one calf grew to droves of cattle and then to larger herds, too numer- turn and the boat shot out into the I river with Robert Fulton at the helm and started on her trial trip for Al- I bany. Those on the boat threw their ; hats in the air and cheered until they were hoarse. The thousand sceptics i on the shore were instantly converted ! — the day of pentecost had come for navigation by steam. In time the steamboat competed with, and then ! destroyed the sloops. It was another instance of which the world is full where an invention wipes out existing ous for the sloops, which were driven ^^-t.^, „„ , ;v,„^^+v>,^r,+ „^^ „.-fi, u . -r, It, TT J • It -tr 1 J ^1 capital and investment, and with it to Bull's Head m New York and there ^, *; „„,,,i^„^„„t „* t\. ^^^ac the employment of thousands. That remarkable genius, Com. Van- sold. This young man became the Cattle King and then he became the largest speculator in Wall Street; at one time he practically owned and ; dividual, firm or corporation. derbilt, soon demonstrated that no in- coulJ dominated the Erie Railroad; his ac- successfully compete with him. He cumulations at the height of his for- P"* ^ boat on to Peekskill and com- tune amounted to twentv millions of Pelled the existing line to surrender dollars; he died poor; he was Daniel ; He was rapidly monopolizing the traf- Drew. He founded Academies and ^^ of the Hudson when the discovery Seminaries, but instead of endowing 1 of California drew his attention to the them with the monev which he could enormous profits m the steamship well have done, he gave his notes and credit for their maintenance. I knew business between New York and Cal- ifornia. In a short time he had com- him verv well and was told bv one of ' Polled all the old lines to surrender his intimates that the reason for his ' «nd was sole master of the traffic situ building these educational and theo { ^.tion. logical institutions and then leaving | When the larger and faster steam- them in this peril was an idea that if their existence depended upon his solvency and wealth God would pro- tect both. The result showed that the Lord disapproved of the transaction. In 1816 navigation of the river by steam had become a success, newer and larger boats were being put on. The first boat, the Clermont made four miles an hour; the speed was in- creased with the years until the Mary Powell made twenty miles an hour. Robert Fulton, the Inventor of steam as applied to navigation, had, with the financial assistance of Robert R. Liv- boats had been completed, and were racing with each other, their perform- ances were the romances of the river. Their names were household words. The "Armenia", "The Alida", "The Francis Sciddy", "The Hendrdck Hud- son", and "The Chauncey Vibbard" all had their enthusiastic partisans When I was a boy the entire popula- tion would gather on the river bank to see the boats enter Peekskill bay and disappear through the highlands. It was usually late in the afternoon. They ran on an accurate schedule They were so near alike in speed 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 that, in 1849 the "Hendrick Hudson" | and "The Alida" raced from New ; York to Albany, one hundred and for- j ty miles, there was only fifteen min- utes difference in their arrival. The excitement and the wagering on their favorite boat became so great among our people that, if the Legislature haJ j not passed an act prohibiting racing on the river, our people might have become a population of gamblers. The steamboat never took the place of the sloops in drawing traffic to the village, but a worse blow to that traf- fic than the steamboat was the com- pletion of the Harlem Railroad. It cut off entirely the Connecticut contribu- tion and also took to itself a large sec- tion on the Westchester and Putnam side. It ran on an average within fifteen miles of the village and fur- nished facilities for reaching New- York, with which the river could not compete. | That remarkable automobile man- ufacturer and pacificist, Mr. Ford, was quoted in an interview the other day as saying "History is more or less bunk, it is tradition. We don't want ' tradition — we want to live in the pres- ent, and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we live to-day". I differ entirely from Mr. Ford. It is the history of the past which makes possible the history we make to-day. The American Rev- olution made us a free people, and created our Republic. The Civil War , cemented the union of the States and made the Declaration of Independence i true in spirit as well as letter by en- 1 franchising the slave. We, here to-day can rejoice in traditions as glorious ' and inspiring as belong to any othei 1 part of our country. This was the key to the highlands and a recent writer has said that Peeks- kill was the heart of the Revolu- tion. The plan of campaign agreed upon by the British Military Staff was to divide the coimtry by the Hudson River. It was to seize and fortify the passes of the Highlands and pre- vent communication between New England, New York and the South. It was to accomplish this purpose that when Sir Henry Clinton had failed to break through and pass West Point on the south that Burgoyne came down with his army from the north and met his fate at Saratoga in one of the few decisive battles of the world. The Americans on their side built forts Clinton and Montgomery opposite Anthony's Nose, ran an iron chain across the river from Anthony's Nose to Fort Montgomery and made West Point the strongest of their for- tifications with always the strongest lesident garrison commanded by one of the ablest and most reliable of the Revolutionary Generals. After the battle of Long Island and the retreat of the American Army to White Plains, and after the battle of White Plains, and the retreat of the Ameri- can army further north to the hills near the village, Westchester County, as far north as Dobbs Ferry, was in possession of of the British and this included New York and Long Island until the close of the war. While from Dobbs Ferry north to the town of Cortlandt line was the neutral ground raided by both parties, and only temporarily held by either. Peeks- kill with its impregnable passes north to West Point, became and continued until the end of the war the camping ground of large sections of the Ameri- can Army, and the headquarters of Washington, Putnam, McDougal, La- fayette and others. Through our streets passed Rochambeau and the French Army on their way South to the final battle which closed the war at Yorktown, and again on their way north for Newport, and re-embark- ation for home. On the way home the French army encamped for a while on the Crompont Road just above the village. As Rochambeau, surrounded by his brilliant staff, was about to start, he was interrupted by a Peekskill constable informing him, while waving a writ of attachment, that he could not leave without pay- ing $3,000 in gold to a neighboring farmer because the farmer's orchard had been cut down for firewood. With Continental currency, the only currency we had, at a discount where $10 in gold would buy $100 in Con- tinental money, this made the farm- er's orchard worth $30,000. Probably for cash the whole township might have been bought for that amount. Rochambeau paid that deference of the military to the civil authority which lies at the foundation of our American institution, by leaving $1,- 000 in gold and the case to be settled by arbitration among the farmer's neighbors. The neighbors awarded him $400. 1816— PEEKSKILL CEXTEXXIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 King's Ferry of row boats and bat- teaus ran from Verplanck Point to Stony Point and was the only com- munication across the river for the Americans, so there was always a fort and garrison at Verplanck's Point. The Marquis Castellaux, who was in Rochambeau's army, and wrote a gos- sipy account of his American experi- ences, says that coming from the South he crossed over to Verplanck's Point and was at once entertained by General Washington. He says that the tents of the American Army, for shade purposes, were artistically fes- tooned with branches of. trees making it the most picturesque encampment he had ever seen. When he informed General Washington of his sufferings from fever and ague the General advised him to take two glasses of madeira before dinner and a glass of claret after dinner, and then a long ride on horse-back. The General fur- nished him with a horse and all the General's horses had been broken by himself. The Marquis says it was the finest horse, the best fitted and the surest footed he ever rode. With the General they took ditches and fences as if sailing over the prairies and the next morning his fever and ague were gone. According to our modern standards and beliefs what cured him was the horse. Benedict Arnold was always a favor- ite officer with General Washington. On account of being invalided because of losing his leg at Saratoga, Wash- ington gave him command at Phila- delphia. Arnold lived there a life of wild extravagance and brilliant en- tertainment. Peggy Shippen was the belle of the city. Like most of the aristocracy she and her family were Tory sympathizers. She captured Ma- jor Andre when he was the master of all social gaieties and festivities while the British held the city. Ar- nold, about forty years old, and a widower, fell madly in love with Peg- gy Shippen. His letter, making to her the proposal of marriage, proves him to have been a man of culture and refinement, and to have possessed many literary graces. It is one of the most fervid, beautifully phrased and ardent appeals to the heart of a maiden in the literature of love. Peg- gy surrendered. In celebrating the event the married couple in town bouse and country place lived far be- yond the General's means — they fell deeply in debt and were ever surround- ed by the flattery of his fashionable guests and their suggestions of the hopelessness of the cause, and the brilliant future that so fine a soldier would have if he deserted the Ameri- cans and joined the British Army. Arnold met General Washington at Verplanck's Point, when Washington I was on his way to meet the French. j Washington received him with great oordality and offered him the com- mand of the left wing of his army, a post of honor. Arnold said that on j account of his leg not yet healed, he could not take the field and asked for the command of West Point. Ar- nold was smarting under a decision of a Court Marshall before which he had recently been tried on account of his indiscretions and extravagances in Philadelphia. Arnold expected an i acquittal but the court decided upon I a reprimand, though old General Van Cortlandt, who presided said after- wards, "If the other members of the court had known Arnold as well as I, they would have voted for his dismiss- al from the army" Washington on ac- count of his confidence in Arnold, and his admiration for him administered the reprimand in such a way that a generous nature would have been eter- nally grateful. When Washington re- turned from meeting with the French Generals he stopped at the Birdsall House in Peekskill, and here one word for the present generation. In Revo- lutionary times hotels were called inns. They were the stopping places, and in a way the residences for the time being, of Statesmen, Soldiers, Diplomats and Merchants. The hotel- I keeper was an important personage I and a leader in every community. All political caucuses, all conferences among statesmen and politicians were held at these inns. Immediately oppo- site the Eagle on Main Street was the Mandeville House. Down Main Street, about a quarter of a mile and jutting half way across the highway was the Birdsall House. Mandeville and Birdsall were brothers-inlaw. The Birdsall House had the greatest social reputation. Washington and his ofii- cers always stopped there. In fact, I think that Washington passed more time at the Birdsall House than at any other of the many inns where he was entertained. At the Birdsall 1816— PEEKSKILL CEXTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 House were held Councils of War, at which plans were perfected affecting not only the defences of the Hisjhlands and West Point, but campaigns j against New York and in the South. I Arnold met Washington at the Bird- 1 sail House, renewed his request for j West Point and received the commis- j sion, departing the next day to his command. I will not recite the whole story | of the treason. It was a Peekskill boy, John Paulding, who had just es- caped from the military prison in New York, who with two other West- chester men, Williams and Van Wart, • effected the capture of Andre near Dobbs Frry. There are few incidents connected with Arnold's treason and its failure which seem to indicate a special Providence watching over the liberties of America and frustrating the ingenuity, skill and machinations | of Its enemies. j First had Major Andre obeyed the instructions of Sir Henry Clinton, he would not have come within the Amer- ican lines. Two farmers hid in the bushes and fired at a boat from the Vulture, which was coming toward shore and killed one of the sailors, I compelling the boat to row back to the I sloop of war Vulture which had ' brought Andre up to the meeting with Arnold, and was to take him back. These shots called the attention of Col. Livingston, who commanded at Verplanck's Point, to the possibility of driving the Vulture down stream or crippling her, by placing a gun on Teller's Point. The gun so placed was so skillfully handled by the gun- ners that the Vulture was compelled to raise anchor and drop so far down the river that it was impossible for Andre, who was conferring with Ar- nold, and completing the bargain for j the betrayal of West Point at Smith's House, near Haverstraw, to regain ! the warship. He had to make his way ! to New York through the American | lines with the plans and papers hid- 1 den in his boot. Had Smith accom- 1 panied him. with Arnold's pass, until within the British lines Andre would ' have undoubtedly escaped. Paulding had succeeded in escaping as a pris- i oner from New York in a British uni- j form loaned him by a friend. It was ! this uniform which deceived Andre in revealing himself to what he sup- : posed was a friendly patrol. Had j the blundering Major Jameson, who sent the note to Arnold, which Arnold received while at breakfast, announc- ing the capture of Andre, included the papers, description of West Point, dis- position to be made by Arnold of the troops and all things necessary for its easy capture, Arnold could have destroyed this incriminating evidence, but happily Major Jameson sent the papers by a subsequent messenger and, after Arnold had fled, they fell into the hands of his Aide Alexander Hamilton. But, says the critic, if these v/ere special Providence to save the American cause from this betrayal why was Arnold permitted to escape. It is not for me to interpret the ways of Providence, but it is a solution both plausible and probable that Ar- nold's punishment was to be worse than death.- He lived for twenty-one years after his treason execrated by his countrymen and treated with irri- tating and ill-concealed contempt by the British. He lost the $30,000, which was given him as the price of his treachery and suffered not only social ostracism but bankruptcy and want. He appears last in the dramatic in- terview with Talleyrand. Talleyrand, about to take the ship for New York, was told that an American was a guest in the hotel. Talleyrand sent his card and called He of course knew that Talleyrand, then a refugee, was one of the most famous states- men in Europe. Arnold said, "Sir, I am the only American who cannot give you a letter of introduction to a friend in America. I am Benedict Arnold". Benedict Arnold was a genius as a soldier, a man of extraor- dinary ability. Exaggerated vanity easily offended and the fearful temp- tations of debt and bankruptcy to a man who had acquired incurable hab- its of extravagance and luxury, who wished to surround a wife, whom he adored, with the things which only wealth can procure, and who had a morality so low that it sapped the foundations of patriotism, made Bene- dict Arnold the only traitor in Ameri- can history. At the Birdsall House Washington commissioned as members of his staff two of the most remarkable' young men of that period, Alexander Hamil- ton and Aaron Burr. Aaron Burr pre- sents a study in heredity. His father was the most noted preacher and edu- cator in the country and though the second president, the real founder of 10 1S16— PEEKSKILL CE\TEx\XIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 Princeton University. His mother was | thie daughter of the Reverend Jona- than Edwards, the most eminent di- vine preacher and theologian of his century. She possessed the intellect- ual force and vigor of her distinguish- ed father. His father and mother dy- ing Aaron Burr was brought up in i the family of his Uncle, also a distin- guished divine. Early in life he repu- 1 dialed all his early teachings and be- 1 came an Atheist. He became a great i lawyer and Vice President of the United States, but his moral charac- ter was bad, he formed a conspiracy to create an empire of the Western States and of Mexico, was tried for 1 treason and narrowly escaped convic- tion. He killed Hamilton in a duel ' which he had forced and was exe- crated and shunned the rest of his life. Alexander Hamilton was an origi- i nal constructive genius. Talleyrand declared him to have the greatest mind he had ever met. Before he was twenty, he wrote painphlets in favor of the Revolution and stating the rea- son why the Americans should rebel, which were ascribed to the ablest men in the Colony. He was the confiden- tial advisor of Washington until the close of the war and afterwards, as a member of his cabinet, until Wash- ington retired from the Presidency. He was largely the author of the Con- stitution of the United States and he created our revenue system so wisely that it has been little changed as it came from his creative mind. After a few months Washington, seeing the character of Burr, discontinued him from his staff. One of the most famous sayings of the French poet Beranger is, "As long as I write the songs of the people, I do not care who makes their laws". New England has been fortunate in men of genius, who, in prose and poetry, in oratory and narrative, have proclaimed every incident of their his- tory and made famous every field and hill and rock from Plymouth Rock to Bunker Hill. The Dutch, and those who settled with them in New York, did not have these chroniclers. Hap- pily however for Westchester, Wash- ington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper lived for many years within our borders. We are indebted to Cooper for the story of The Spy, the best of his many novels. The Spy was Harvey Birch in the book and Enoch Crosby in life. To understand Enoch Crosby one must know the con- ditions in our county during the war. There was always at Peekskill a large body of American troops, sometimes including the main body of the Amer- ican Army, while thirty miles below were the British outposts and forty miles below in New York were tho headquarters of the British Army. The inhabitants of Westchester were about equally divided between those whose sympathy was with the patriot cause, and those whose sympathy was with a continuance of relations with the Mother country. Two regiments for the Continental and three of loyalists for the British Army were raised in the county. In ad- dition to that nearly every male was an irregular belonging to one side or the other. Under such conditions spies were invaluable and received no mercy on either side. All the accomplishments, the wonderful charm, the high position and brilliant future of Major Andre could not save him, nor, on the other hand, could the same considerations save Nathan Hale. In 1777 that stirring patriot and stern old fighter, General Israel Put- nam, commanded at Peekskill. He had arrested a spy named Edmund Palmer He was of such consideration that Sir Henry Clinton sent a letter, with a flag of truce, insisting on his j release. In reply was sent this famous I answer, "Headquarters, seventh Au- gust, 1777, Sir: Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was ta- ken as a spy, lurking within the Amer- j ican lines. He had been tried as a t spy, condemned as a spy and shall be executed as a spy, and the flag is I ordered to depart immediately. Is- ] rael Putnam". "P. S.- — He has accord- ingly been executed". Callow's Hill, [ just north of where we are, has re- mained ever since a memorial of this event. A spy named Strang was also [ hanged on the old oak on Academy 1 Hill. To emphasize the execution, and terrorize the spies, General Mc- I Dougal paraded the whole army around the tree. Enoch Crosby was I an apprentice to a shoemaker in i Peekskill until he was twenty-one. ] He had fought as a boy in the French and Indian War. He returned to Con- necticut and was working at his trade 1 when he thought it his duty to join 1816— PEEKSKILL CEXTEXXIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 the American Army. He started to j walk to Peekskill and, stopping at farmers' houses on the the way, learn- ed from his hosts that there were ; secret meetings of the Tories and re- cruiting stations for the enemy. He decided that he could perform better service to his country by taking the 1 risks of the spy, and exposing these ' secret enemies. He unfolded his plan : to the Committee of Safety, of whom ; the leading members were Col. Van Cortlandt and John Jay, afterwards Chief Justice. He made but one re- quest which was, that if taken and executed justice should be done to his memory. He was in more danger from his own side than the other, because, in order to have the confi- dence of the Tories, learn their plans, disclose their places of meeting, and sometimes be captured with them, he had to appear to his own people as the j enemy's spy. He was rescued from death after condemnation several times by the Committee of Safety, or by General Washington. Of course, this had to be done secretly and dra- matically by providing means of es- cape always attended with great peril. His services were of incalculable val- ue. After the war, he purchased a farm of 230 acres in the western part of the county, became a supervisor j and a justice of the peace and lived until past 85 years of age His story was told to Fenimore Cooper by Chief i Justice Jay, who, as a member of the ; Committee of Safety, knew everj^ de- 1 tail When I was a boy the place where Harvey Birch hid, in the hill overlooking the village on the north, was a place of great interest and fre- quent visitation, and inspiration in the study of American history. We are here tonight under the aus- pices of Abraham Vosburgh Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and this brings us to the service rendered by our town in the Civil War. When I was a boy there were still surviving in the village a number of veterans of the Revolutionary War. They were always in evidence on the Fourth of July and other patriotic occasions. So, we have with us today many sur- vivors of the war for the preserva- tion of the Union. We furnished two remarkable soldiers. Col. Garrett Dyckman and Gen. J. Howard Hitch- ing. Colonel Dyckman received re- peated commendations for gallantry in the field. I secured the appoint ment of Colonel Kitching as Lieuten- ant Colonel of the Westchester regi- ment, commanded by Colonel Morris. When Morris was made a Brigadier General, Colonel Kitching became commander of the regiment After winning honors and distinction in many battles he was mortally wound- ed at Cedar Creek. Another officer of that regiment was Major Edmon B. Travis. I have three recollections as vivid today as in the past. It was a beautiful Sunday morning when the churches closed their morning ser- vices, and all the people were on their way home. They were met by boys shouting the New York papers which had just arrived, and which contained an account of the firing on Sumter. Every one grasped the terrible mean- ing and the frightful consequences of this bombardment. In answer to the first call of the President, a company was raised in the village and, attend- ed by the whole population to the depot, started for the war. It is sin- gular how soon we become dulled and indifferent to tragedies. We feel it now in this world war, when horrors of battle and of starving people, of unequal magnitude in the past, are occurring every day and scarce re- ceive any attention or consideration. So frequent had been the enlistments and departures for the front that when Major Travis, who had enrolled a com- pany from our village boys, marched through the streets on Saturday our market day to the depot, the crowds engaged in marketing and buying and selling neither stopped their merchan- dising, nor turned to gaze at the de- parting soldiers, nor raised a cheer. It was an ordinary event of the times. I was adjutant of the 18th regiment of the National Guard and received an order one evening from the Adjutant General of the State to have the regi- ment mustered in at Yonkers to pro- ceed to the front in three days to as- sist in repelling the invasion which was stopped at Gettysburgh. That regiment was composed almost en- tirely of business men and farmers approaching middle life and having families. In that way, it excited far more local interest than did the hero- ic departure of young volunteers. General Sherman, one of the most gal- lant of soldiers, fascinating compan- ions, and brilliant of men, said to me banteringly at a banquet years after- ward, "Tell us what the 18th Regiment 12 1816— PEEKSKILL CEXTEXXIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 of the National Guard did". "Well", upon my mother, I am a living and I said, "General Lee and his officers happy witness were graduates of West Point. They knew from that association the his- tory of the Highlands, and the quality of the men who lived there. It has never been ascertained why Lee so suddenly decided to cross Harper's Ferry and return into Virginia with his army, but it is a historical fact that this event, which ended the north- ern campaign of the Confederates, was coincident with the arrival of the 18th Regiment at Baltimore". This town contributed to the Union Army, dur- ing the Civil War 1,180 men out of a We glory in the Hudson. I have celebrated it, and incidentally Peeks- kill, all over the world. In order to give local color, I used to locate ail my stories used to illustrate points in speeches in our village. In Lon- don the newspapers have booths in the streets and charcoal on white paper are the contents of each. Walk- ing one day down Piccadilly my eye caught the sign on one of these ad- vertisements, "What happens up in Peekskill". I bought the paper and found several columns with this head- population of 11,074. The same per , . „^, „ ^^ i centage applied to the population of^^^.; "Chauncey Depew a well known the United States todav would put : ^^If/^^^^™^"^ "^' ^f ^°™ .f Pf k^" into the field an American Army of ^^^^-^^'^^t "^^7' , .f^^^^. ^^1^«, ^/o™ over ten millions of men. ! ^ew \ork. Peekskill is inhabited by „, , 1 a singular and original people of \\ e turn from the stirring scenes ^y^^^^ ^r. Depew is fond of telling. of war to a brief reference to our town in peace. The ruin which would have come from the diversion of our trade was more than made up by our en- terprising citizens entering the field of manufactures. While our popula- tion was long ago sufficient under the law for us to incorporate as a city, we are proud to remain as the The following are some of the things which he says happened up in Peeks- kill". When I first sailed down the Rhine, I heard so much and read so much that I expected to discover the most wonderful of rivers. I do not think it was local pride or partisanship largest village in the United States, i which lead me to conclude that in Co-incident with material progress beauty, picturesqueness and grandeur our people early turned their atten- tion to education. The Academy, built eighty years ago, without for- eign assistance, has for four-score years prepared boys for college and usefulness in every department of act- ive life. There has also come within our limits successful institutions for learning, both for young men and young women which are known all over the country. Churches of all it did not equal our Hudson. Its great charms were in the legends which invested with a story generally tragic every turn and crag and castle. Happily the genius of Washington Irv- ing has done much to make classic our own Hudson. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" endures and will en- dure, though the old bridge has dis- appeared, as long as literature lives. "The Phantom Ship" will forever fly denominations were built and success- [ in wild storms up and down the river. fully continued. I recall the first minister I remember, the Rev. Wil- liam Marshall of the First Presbyte- rian Church. He was born in Scot- land and his accent was so broad that it was a liberal education to under- stand him, but he M^as a very learned man and a wonderful doctrinal theo- logian When my mother, who was a devoted member of his church, as was her mother, told him of her ap- proaching marriage and asked him to perform the ceremony he said, "Mar- tha, marriage is a rabble and a rout, those who are out wish they were in, and those who are in wish they were out" That this warning of the ven- erable pastor made no impression The Little Bulbous Bottomed Dutch Goblin" in trunk hose and sugar-loaf hat with speaking trumpet in his hand, who keeps the Dunderburg opposite us, still reigns there supreme. In stormy weather he increases the rat- tling of the thunder and the fierceness of the gale Anthony's Nose rises to the north of us, and, as we pass through it on the railroad, or around it on the steamboat, there is recalled to us Irving's graphic description of how Anthony Van Corlcar, the trum- peter of the New Netherlands, whose nose is the largest and most highly colored/ in the Province, looked over the side of the boat and the rays of the rising sun striking his nose glan- 1S16— PEEKSKILL CEXTEXXIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 ces off into the water and killed a mighty sturgeon. When Governor Stuyvesant, who was on board, heard the story and enjoyed the stur- geon, he said, hereafter this prom- ontory shall be known as "Anthony's Nose". So the tale of Rip Van Win- kle has made the Catskills classic ground. My friends, we stand on holy ground, it has been made sacred by the presence of Washington and La- fayette, of Rochambeau, Greene and Putnam. Within our borders were ma- tured the plans which made possible the victorious issue of the Revolution and the founding of the American Re- public. Our soil has been hallowed by the blood of patriots who gave their lives for their country The stu- dent of the early struggles for lib- erty and independence must come con- stantly back to the pages which re- count what was done here, and who were the actors here in the great drama of the creation of a free na- tion. It is a rare privilege for us and a grand lesson for every one, in all succeeding generations, that we can here receive and our posterity always be blessed by new baptisms of liberty. )Viii. H. H. MacKellar Vice-chairman of Committee S' i^^te^ S\p-, '1 • ^'- 1 .^^ ^-^^J^-Hgly ^K ■ ^^.^MKKKF' ^^m Peekskill Bay ?Iany Years Aeo 14 1S16— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 191( THE RELIGIOUS FEATURES The religious phase of the centennial week was represented in services in the various churches on Sunday, July 2. Church of the Assumptiou. In connection with the centennial services at 11 a. m. a solemn high mass was celebrated at the Guardian Audi- torium with full ceremonial and full choir. Rev. William J. Melia was the celebrant. The feast of Sts. Peter and Paul falls this year on June 29, and the service of that feast was on Sunday. Rev. Father Melia used that service as a basis for the sermon which he preached. It was one of thanksgiving for the development of the church and its activties, and was listened to by a large congregation with close at- tention. The Union Serrices. A union service was held in St. Paul's M. E. Church on Sunday eve- ning at 7.45 o'clock. The two Meth- odist, the two Presbyterian and the Baptist and Reformed churches com- bined for the occasion. The church was filled to its capacity. Above the pulpit was draped an American flag. The decorations about the pulpit and choir loft were roses and ferns. On the pulpit platform from west to east were Rev. B. H. Everitt, of the First Presbyterian; Rev. Francis Ste- ver, of the First Baptist; Rev. Clar- ence P. McClelland, of the First M. E.; Rev. Dr. Allan MacRossie, the speaker of the evening; Rev. Thomas C. Straus, of the Second Presbyterian, and Rev. J. Wilbur Tetley, of St. Paul's. Rev. James Mulder, of Van Nest Church, was away on his vacation. St. Paul's choir was augmented by singers from the other churches. Following the organ prelude by Miss Katherine Anderson the doxology was sung and the invocation was offered by Rev. Mr. Everitt. Hymn 207, "The Church's One Foun- dation," was sung and Rev. Mr. Stever read sixteen verses of the fifth chap- ter of Matthew, the Beatitudes. Rev. Mr. Everitt, announcing the of- fering, said the money would be used to help defray the expenses of meet- ings in Depew Park. I During the taking of the offering Mrs. Grippen's orchestra assisted the organ. Rev. Mr. Tetley received the collection. ! Rev. Thomas C. Straus offered prayer and Mrs. Bowman-Neely sang "Abide with Me." ! Hymn 415, "Faith of Our Fathers," was sung, and Rev. Mr. McClelland spoke of the unity of the churches in Peekskill of the fact that the Pres- ident has kept us out of war, and pre- sented Rev. Dr. Allan MacRossie, who was to preach on the "Contribution of the Church to the Community Life." Dr. MacRossie went back to the days of old, and describing the ancient cities showed how though they were great in many ways they had contributed no great men. He came down the years to the cities which had contributed great men and then showed how the church had helped the big cities and the small through the centuries. Finally he reached Peekskill and the church's in- ; fluence on this community. He spoke j very rapidly for forty-five minutes, i holding his audience every minute. ! Hymn 420, "True-hearted, Whole hearted," was sung in closing and the ' benediction was by Rev. Mr. Tetley. i The service closed at 9.25. I At the First Presbyterian. ' One of the most interesting and ap- propriate of all the exercises attend- ing the Peekskill Centennial was the anniversary service held in the First Presbyterian Church on Sunday morn- ing. This church was ninety years old the Sunday previous and the birthday celebration was postponed one week so as to coincide with the Centennial Sunday. A large audience filled the church at the morning service at 11 o'clock when the service was held. The [ church was appropriately decorated with the large church flag draped be- hind the pulpit desk and another flag upon the desk itself. This church was organized on Sun- day, June 25, 1826, with sixteen mem- bers, one of them coming from the Yorktown Church and the others com- ing from the old "church on the hill,'" 1S16— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 15 which stood just north of the present Diven street and which was later merged into the Van Nest Reformed Church. This church was Congrega- tional in faith and government, and it was largely over the question of gov- ernment that the fifteen members sec- ceded and formed the First Presby- terian Church. But Presbyterianism in Peekskill and vicinity was much older than that, for blacksmith shop on South street. The frame of this First Presbyterian Church is still standing, having been moved and transformed into the dwellings at [ 1025 and 1027 Brown street. The origi- ; nal building was torn down in 1846 to i make way for the new church, which still stands on the site. It was en- larged by an addition of thirty feet in 1858, since which time the audience room of the church has been little dis- turbed, and the church stands to-day as a beautiful example of the old New England type of church architecture. The manse of the church was built in 1870. The church is remarkable among other things for this fact, that it be- , lieves in long terms of service. Dur- ing all the ninety years it has had but seven pastors, including the present First Presbyterian Church the celebrated William Tennent, from New Jersey, had in all probability preached here, and in 1742, Rev. Will- iam Sackett was sent by the Presby- tery of New Brunswick, N. J., to the "Highlands, Crompond and White Plains." He labored in this region for forty-two years, largely at Yorktcwn and Bedford, the mother churches of this region. Thus it will be seen that Peekskill Presbyterianism came to us by way of Yorktown, and the records of the Yorktown Church show that payments were made "at Peekskill by their trustees" for the support of the gospel in that church from the year 1787 until 1814. There was a church building erected on the site now occupied by the First Church in 1799, which Dr. Halliday said was "undoubtedly the first sanc- tuary that ever opened its doors in Peekskill." The First M. E. Church had been organized some time before, but was worshipping in a remodelled Rev. Beiij. ir. Everltt Pastor, First Presbyterian Church John H. Leggett, Marshall, 1831-43; D. D., 1843-67; John 1868-76; J. Ritchie 8 ; Alvah Grant Fes- Benjamin H. Ever- itt, 1903 to the present time. Two of these pastorates exceeded twenty years in length, and the church has within the past few years celebrated the fifty years of service of two of its elders. one. They were: 1826-29; William David M. Halliday, M. Freeman, D. D., Smith, D. D., 1876-S senden, 1898-1903; 16 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 Messrs. Uriah Hill, Jr., and Sanford R. Knapp. These were some of the facts brought out in the anniversary sermon prea,ched on Sunday by the pastor. His text was from 2 Thess. 2:15: "Therefore, breth- ren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught,"' and the sermon was a most interesting combi- nation of history and exhortation from the facts of that history. During the sermon the pastor brought out the good side of tradition as bringing to us the momentum of the past and asserted i that a church as an individual in the first years of its life got a "bent" or | tradition which ever followed it. Mr. i Everitt mentioned four traditions of the church illustrating each by some facts from its history and pleading! with the people to hold fast these j same traditions in the future. They I were: (1) Loyalty to the Fundamentals i of the Gospel; (2) World-wide Benevo- I lence, the church having always been known as a missionary church, having given one-half as much to mission causes as it has spent upon itself; (3) Spirit of Christian Unity with other Churches; (4) Community Service for the Public Good. Many of the facts mentioned were exceedingly interesting, especially to the older members of the congregation. During the service. Rev. Arthur Requa, one of the sons of the church, offered a prayer and the choir sang beautifully "The God of Abraham Praise." The hymns sung by the congregation with a great deal of enthusiasm were "The Church's One Foundation," "For All the Saints who from Their Labors Rest" and "Faith of Our Fathers." T>VO NAVY CRAFT WERE HERE. One of the interesting features of the centennial program was the presence of two naval vessels in Peekskill Bay, assigned to Peekskill by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels at the re- quest of Chester De Witt Pugsley, chairman of the Centennial Committee. The two boats were the Cummings and the Worden. They are described and officered as follows: U. S. S. Cummings; type, destroyer; assigned to Sixth Division, Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet. Displacement, 1,060 tons. Length, 305 ft.; beam, 31 ft.; draft, 11 ft. Armament, four 4-inch rapid fire guns and eight torpedo tubes. Complement — Five officers and 96 men. Speed — 31 knots. Built by Bath Iron Works in 1913. Engines — Turbine. Boilers — Four Normand. Officers — Commanding, Lieut. Com- mander G. F. Neal; executive, Lieut. (Junior) F. M. Knox; engineer, Lieut. (Junior) M. W. Larimer; gunnery. En- sign H. B. Briggs; division, Ensign Maxwell Cole. U. S. S. Worden; coast torpedo boat. Assigned to duty with submarines, At- lantic fleet. Displacement, 420 tons. Length, 248 feet. Beam, 23 feet. Draft, 10 feet. Armament, eight three-inch and six- pounders and two torpedo tubes. Complement — Two officers and fifty men. Speed— 29 knots. Built in 1901. Officers: Commanding, Lieutenant, 'Junior Grade, J. M. Smith; executive, Lieutenant, Junior Grade, R. H. Booth. I The Cummings dropped anchor in the channel about 10.30 p. m. Saturday. Lieut. Commander G. F. Neal sent Ensign Maxwell Cole ashore, who got , in touch with President Crumb about 11 p. m. and arranged for a formal call ' at 10 a. m. Sunday. Just before that hour Lieutenant Commander Neal came I ashore in his launch. He was taken to I President Crumb's home,- 129 High street, by Grand Marshal Fred A. Smith In the latter's automobile. There he j was received by President Crumb, ex- ! Congressman Cornelius A. Pugsley, j Fred A. Smith, Chester De Witt Pugs- j ley and Albert E. Cruger, chairman, i and secretary of the Centennial Com- mittee, Register Isaac H. Smith, Chief I of Police Richard W. McGinty, Chief of 1 Fire Department Clifton E. Forbush and Park Commissioners Dr. Albert E. Phin and Geo. E. Briggs. 1 After a pleasant chat following in- 1S16— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 17 troductions on the veranda from which the Cummings was plainly visible in j the bay, the gentlemen gathered in the ^ parlor. There President Crumb made i one of his ever-ready addresses of wel- come, spoke of the centennial and em- blematically presented the keys of the village to Lieutenant Commander Neal. | The latter responded in a delightfully ; sincere and charming speech of thanks, | invited the president, village officers; and committeemen to call on the Cum- ! mings in the afternoon and so on and so on. Mrs. Crumb was then presented. Light refreshments were served and the naval officer departed, followed by| the committee of reception. . : In the afternoon the call was re- turned. Captain Willis Delemater's handsome new boat, the Bear Moun- tain, had been secured. At 2.10, at the centre dock, the lines were cast off and the prow of the commodious and | trim electric launch pointed toward the big "44" which loomed out in large figures on the bow (both sides) of the Cummings. On the Bear Mountain were Presi- dent and Mrs. Leverett F. Crumb, Hon. Cornelius A. Pugsley, Chester De Witt Pugsley, Trustees Robert Johns, Will- I iam H. Gish, Angelo Bleakley, Robert ! Valentine and Mrs. Valentine, Charles W. Oldfield and Mrs. Oldfield, Village Clerk Albert E. Cruger, Chief of Police and Mrs. Richard W. McGinty, Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Couch. Mr. and Mrs. Fred i A. Smith, Dr. and Mrs. John Archibald Smith, Fire Department Chief and Mrs. Clifton E. Forbush, Hon. Isaac H. Smith, Miss Geraldi'^e Valentine, Miss Marion Valentine, Dr. and Mrs. Albert E. Phin, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Morgan, of New York, the Misses Helen Scott and Roberta Scott, of New York, C. Hasket Forbush and Geo. E. Briggs. Arriving at the Cummings the offi- cial party were met at the deck by Lieutenant Commander Neal. They were escorted about the boat, fore and aft and into the bridge. Lieutenant Commander Neal and Ensigns Cole and Briggs explained the ship's parts, the rigging, the guns, the torpedoes and so on. Then there was a drill with the four-inch guns and the firing of them was exhibited, though, of course, the cartridges did not go off. A torpedo was then launched and the mechanism explained. The $7,000 torpedo was brought back by a boat crew and hauled aboard and replaced amid the wonder and admiration of the spec- tators. A visit was made to the officers' headquarters, where light refresh- ments were served and the gentlemen regaled with Corona cigars. Good-byes were said, and at 3.22 p.m. the delighted party were again landed at the centre dock. The Worden came in Monday after- noon late, and their officers partici- pated in the exercises, luncheon and events of Tuesday. By day the boats were decorated with flags, and at night with electric lights. On Tuesday evening Lieutenant Com- mander Neal and the officers of the flotilla entertained at dinner a party of Peekskill young ladies on board the Cummings. The occasion was a very pleasant one. The fireworks were wit- nessed from the ship. Both boats left during the night Tuesday. The officers were all fine fellows and were given a warm and cordial greet- ing by the committee. While here they were introduced to scores of our citi- zens and made a lasting impression. They will always be remembered in Peekskill. ■yO' 18 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 THE LUNCHEOX 0> 3I0NDAT. Before the parade on Monday a few distinguished visitors were entertained at luncheon at the Eagle Hotel by the committee. It was served at 12.45 p. m. in the Eagle dining room. Proprietor Win- ters served the following tempting menu: Grape Fruit au Marachino Soup Cream of Pullet a la Rltz Lamb Broth with Vegetables Relish Pickles, Lettuce. Sliced Cucumbers Fish Fried Lake Perch, Cream Potatoes Boiled Leg of Canadian Mutton, Caper Sauce Entrees Crab a la Newburgh on Toast Chinese Fritters, Sauce au Rum Golden Fricassee of Cliicken (Southern Style) Roast Prime Ribs of Beef au Jus Roast Long Island Duck Stewed Apples Combination Salad, Mayonnaise Dressing Vegetables Spinach with Eggs, Mashed Potatoes Boiled Potatoes, Butter Beets Dessert Apple, Blueberry, Pumpkin, Custard Pies Fruit Jelly with Cake Strawberry Short Cake Iced Watermelon Chocolate. Sundae, Fruit, Nuts Iced Tea, Coffee, Milk Those present were Rear Admiral French E. Chadwick, Senator George A. Slater, of Port Chester, Lieutenant Commander G. F. Neal, Ensigns Max- well Cole and H. M. Briggs, of the de- stroyer Cummings; Captain Charles W. Brown, of Company A, Forty-seventh Regiment, N. G. N. Y.; President Lev- erett F. Crumb, Grand Marshal Fred A. Smith, Congressman James W. Husted, Chairman Chester De Witt Pugsley, ex-President Thomas Nelson, Jr., ex-Assemblyman Isaac H. Smith, Harry W. Corliss, ex-Trustee Cassius M. Gardner and Park Commissioner Geo. E. Briggs. AUTOMOBILE PABADE, JULY 3. Preceding the regular parade of Mon- day afternoon there was an automobile pageant similar to the one during the Hudson-Fulton celebration of 1909. By one o'clock gaily decked auto- mobiles which were to take part were en route to Orchard street. It was scheduled to start at 1.30 p. m. from Orchard street. This parade was un- der the auspices of the Automobile Club of Peekskill. David B. Seymour was the marshal of the auto parade, and his aides were M. R. Loftus and Benj. S. Hancock, D. H. Teague was the aide of the road- ster division, Charles J. Donohue of the touring cars, and H. D. Levino of the Commercial cars. Considerable man- euvering was necessary to get all the cars in position on Orchard street, and it was 1.45 when the bugle was sounded by the official bugler starting the line. Just previous to this A. S. Renza's men set off a number of bombs from the old fort on Nelson Hill which made the welkin ring with their reports. The line moved as follows: Grand Marshal Seymour, Aides Loftus and Hancock each in a runabout, Geo. E. McCoy, president of the Auto Club, with Frank M. Brucus, of the New York State Automobile Association; H. Field Home and W. R. Stoner, vice-presi- dents; Wright Horton, treasurer. Then came the armored motor battery from j the State Camp, Captain Montgomery, the motorcycle detachment in the lead, I followed by two of the armored cars. [ Then came Aide Daniel H. Teague and Dr. A. D. Dunbar and several run- abouts; Charles J. Donohue, aide of the touring car division; Raymond Moore, Charles Miller, George Foster, Lester Perry, Dr. A. E. Anderson, Mrs. I W. B. Roberts, Andrew B. Buchanan, Franklin Montross, Enos Lee, Byron Travis, Geo. Haight, Wm. F. Chambers, A. W. Stuke, P. Irving Fisher, Howard Gilberts, George W. MacCashin, John F. Conklin, Clarence W. Tompkins, \ George Clark, Mrs. Walker, Mrs. R. W. Shertzinger, William J. Wiberley, D. D. Donovan, George A. Timmons and sev- eral others; N. L. Ely, aide of suffrage division; runabout in suffrage colors; Equal Franchise Club of Tarrytown; Miss Natalie Mason, Frank N. McCoy, Capt. Henriques; automobile occupied by John Halsted, A. G. Odell, James W. McCoy, William E. Lane, Sr., sur- vivors of the old Jefferson Guards, and other out-of-town machines; H. D. Levino, aide of the commercial car IS16— PEEKSKILL CEXTEXXIAL CELEBRATIOX— 191G 19 r jr'7^M;3^^^^miM^^i^M^MI^^ "■~' *!. 5 ? 1Mk£fc^a^y^ •''^^^^^iiJiiwMHnitf ^MtB^ " B^^jw^^ fW'W M !<^x « ^-'^ % 1 * i^^ • « apm— A^^'"'" Mrs. >yilsoii B. Itoberts' Rose Garden Auto ^Von First Prize John Paulding^'s Descendants' Auto, driven by Frank N. McCoy, Third Prize 20 1S16— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION- division; William J. Donovan, Peeks- kill Lighting & Railroad Co., Edward Griffiths, James F. Martin, Finnigan Bros. The line of March was as follows: From Orchard street to Nelson avenue, to Main, to North Division, to South Division, to First, to Union, to Elm, to Ringgold, to Frost, to Dyckman, to Franklin, to Washington, to South, to South Division, to Park, to Broad, to Main, to Southard, to Park, to Grant, to Main street, passing in review at the Eagle Hotel, to Division street, t South, to Washington street, west sidi of which was reserved for the auto mobile parade, giving those taking par an opportunity to see the larger an> later parade. Mrs. W. B. Roberts' Overland ca; was covered with Rambler roses t< completely as to hide it entirely. J ! was so unique and beautiful that it won the first prize. Mrs. Roberts drove the car. With her were her daughter, little Miss Helen Davis Roberts, her sister, Miss Grace Davis, and Miss Helen Wessells. Charles J. Donohue on his car had a bell of roses which made it appear very attractive. John F. Donohue had his commer- cial completely hidden with ludicrous covering and a bunch of tin cans on either end kept hitting the pavement as the car moved and on the rear were the words, "Mexico the Next Stop." The driver and partner were made up to represent tramps. Captain Henriques' car was made up to represent a battleship, and it was realistic to a degree. P. Irving Fisher had a big sign over his car reading "Preparedness." It was decorated with flags. On the seat with Mr. Fisher was Miss Evelyn Ten- nant as Miss Liberty. In the rear were Althea Lamos and Elsie Tenant as nurses. Willis Van Wart was stand- ing on the rear seat dressed as "Uncle Sam." The suffrage cars were all decorated with the suffrage colors, and the occu- pants were also. Miss Natalie Mason's car was cov- ered with a blanket of green and yel- low roses. Many of the cars had more or less flag decorations and some red, white and blue streamers, while many had no decorations except small flags. Ben S. Hancock's runabout was beautifully trimmed, and a big star was the prominent feature, with his little girl dressed as an angel to keep up the simile. Karl M. Sherman The original Centennial man, who first proposed the celebration at a meet- ing of the Peekskill Board of Trade, January 12, 1915. Charles Weller's touring car was beautifully decorated with red, white and blue. It was entitled "America First." Mr. and Mrs. Weller occu- pied the front seat, and on the back seat were Charles Jr. (4i^ years old) dressed as "Uncle Sam"; Marguerite (aged 6) as "Miss Columbia," and Ro- salind (aged 2) as "Cupid." The cars were judged from the Eagle Hotel balcony by Col. William H. Chapin, of the State Camp, Jacob Blu- 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 mer, of Peekskill, and B. W. Bedell, of Lincolndale. They made this report: First — Automobile covered with green blanket and decorated with red roses — Mrs. W. B. Roberts. Second — Automobile covered with green blanket and decorated with yel- low flowers — Miss Natalie Mason. Third — Descendants of Paulding family — Frank N. McCoy. Honorable mention — Charles Weller and family in costume; Navy Car, Capt. Henriques. about town, all bound for the form- ing line. The various organizations taking part in the big parade were ar- riving during the arrangement of the autos for the automobile parade, and at 2.20 all were in their places on the streets crossing Highland avenue ex- cept the Franciscan Convent division. They were in some way delayed and THE PARADE, MONDAY, JULY 3. Without a question of a doubt the parade of Monday was the feature of the three days' celebration. It was the biggest, largest, longest and "bestest" parade that ever marched Peekskill streets. Unstinted credit is due to the grand marshal and chairman of the parade committee, Frederick Allen Smith, who conceived, planned and car- ried out the affair, ably assisted by his executive aide, Douglas Macduff. There was but one drawback, to wit, the half hour's rain that came just be- fore four o'clock. But the marchers, old and young, trod bravely on be- neath the downpour which soon ceased. The sun came out as bright and warm as it had been previous to the shower and the pageant passed in review at the Eagle Hotel balcony at the con- clusion of the long march beneath an almost cloudless sky. Soon after 12 o'clock Monday com- panies of marchers began to appear Fred A. Smith Grand Marshal of Parade and Chair- man of Parade Committee did not reach the starting point, but fell in their place at Nelson avenue. The Forty-seventh Regiment with 1,000 men were on hand on Highland ave- nue, having marched from the State Camp. Promptly at 2.30 o'clock on a signal from the fire bell, "1-1-1," the chief's call, and one long blast of the fire whistle. Grand Marshal Fred A. Smith, gave the order to march. His aides were Douglass Macduff, Dr. Geo. C. Colyer, Harrison Barnes, Fred R. Field, C. W. Horton, Jr., John E. Holden, J. R. Lancaster, Wm. H. H. MacKel- lar, Amos Barger, Eben Utter and Earl Barger. Following him were the village offi- cials and guests in autos, as follows: Car No. 1 — Village President Lever- 22 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 ett F. Crumb, County Judge Frank L. Young, Lieutenant Commander G. F. Neal, representing tlie Navy; State Senator George A. Slater, of Port Clies- ter; Corporation Counsel Robert F. Barrett at the wheel. Car No. 2— Trustees Wm. H. Gish and Angelo Bleakley and Town Clerk S. Allen Mead; William H. Ash at the wheel. Car No. 3— Chester De Witt Pugsley, Trustee Robert Johns, ex-Village Pres- ident Isaac H. Smith, Village Clerk Al- bert E. Cruger, Rear Admiral French E. Chadwick; Milton Cliston Smith at the wheel. Car No. 4 — Ensigns Maxwell Cole this point. William H. Briggs, the cel- ebrated "Uncle Sam" from Bingham- ton, was the man who took the part. Melvin R. Horton, as marshal of the first division, followed. Then came the Sixth Heavy Artillery Band, Amos Gal- lager, leader, with 30 pieces. They were followed by the Forty-seventh Regiment Drum Corps. Then came the Marines from lona Island under First Sergeant John F. Duffy, followed by the sailors from the Destroyer Cummings in the harbor under Chief Gunners Mate Froberg. The Eighth Division, First Naval Militia, followed. The Forty-seventh Regiment, N. G., marching company front, were next. St. Joseph's Home Float, "Art awd Religion," Won First Prize and H. B. Briggs, U. S. N., and Park Commissioners Henry L. Armstrong (president), Geo. E. Briggs (secretary), Nathan Posey (treasurer) and James W. Husted (congressman) ; Commis- sioner Phin at the wheel. Car No. 5 — Trustees Clarence J. Lent, Robert Valentine and Charles W. Old- field, Water Commissioners Oscar V. Barger and William B. Baxter; Trustee Oldfield at the wheel. Car No. 6— Health Officer E. de M. Lyon, M.D., Public Health Nurse Eliz- abeth F. Piatt, Village Treasurer Will- iam J. Charlton, Assessor James A. Barker; Mr. Barker at the wheel. "Uncle Sam," on a white horse, was one of the attractions of the line at I There were one thousand men in the ! line, exclusive of officers, and were commanded by Col. Ernest Jennicky. The soldier boys were in service uni- form and carried their rifles. The of- ficers wore their pistols only. I The Spanish War Veterans were next j in line and in the rear was a surrey and two horses driven by Isaiah Hughes in Continental uniform and on the rear seat sat William Langstine, an excel- lent representation of Abraham Lin- coln. Following was a carriage, in which rode Homer Anderson and John Smith, Jr., representing the Lincoln Society. Aides Lanning G. Roake, Gor- don P. Ewing and Albert B. Seymour in an auto followed. 1S16— PEEKSKILL CEXTEXXIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 23 Peekskill's float, "Progress," drawn by six horses, followed. The length of the float was 16 feet and the width 7 feet. The front emblem, "Music," rep- resented harmony. On the right side was a 16-ft. painting of Peekskill Har- bor in 1816, taken from a painting by an artist named Dane, who lived in Peekskill at that time. On the left side a 16-ft. painting of State Camp from a photograph by the late H. H. Pierce. On the back, Peekskill's official seal, showing plow and stove, the first in- dustries of the town. The float proper was a reproduction of the old Wire Mill wheel now standing in Annsville, 10 feet high, surrounded by trees and his assistants were Thomas Dasey and James J. Finnigan. The patriotic Order, Sons of Amer- ica, float followed. It was entitled, "The Spirit of 76." On a throne at the rear of the float sat George Blake as "Uncle Sam"; Miss Lillian Odell as "Miss Columbia"; two minute men, O. Muller and R. Miller, with muskets, stood guard. Then came thirteen young ladies in white representing the Thirteen Colonial States: Connecti- cut, Miss Cooley; Pennsylvania, Miss Barger; Georgia, Miss Davis; Dela- ware, Miss Cummins; Maryland, Miss Townsend; Rhode Island, Miss Van Scoy; New York, Miss Schofield; New Junior Sons and Daug-hters of the Kevolution Float Won Second Prize natural foliage. Four American flags graced the middle center back, front ] and sides, while in each of the four corners were urns of special design containing scarlet geraniums. Sus- pended from the tips of the flag staffs hung wreaths of laurel indicating vic- tory, festoons of flags and drapings of laurel roping completed the decora- , tions. A hand-made grill railing of wood painted white enclosed the scenic portion of the float. The float was de- signed and built by Charles F. Whitson. ! Following this was a coach drawn by | two horses representing Lincoln's time. Strapped on the rear was a small leather \ trunk. This was the Lincoln Society's I contribution to the parade. ! The second division marshal was | Chief Engineer Clifton E. Forbush, and 1 Hampshire, Miss Bartley; Virginia, Miss Muller; Massachusetts, Miss Hughson; North Carolina, Miss Queen; South Carolina, Miss Hiland; New Jer- sey, Miss Collins. W. Cooley, in a Zouave uniform, was colorbearer. Geo. Davis was grandfather, Henry Ferris as son and Joseph Davis as grandson with flfe and drum. The horses were led by two members of the order. The trimming was in white and on either side hung a sheet on which the name of the order appeared. The fire chief's auto followed, and Anscheutz's Band, of Beacon, led the firemen. First came Columbian Engine Com- pany in their new uniforms, 45 men and officers, and the auto engine. The Stony Point Drum Corps led 24 1S16— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 Columbian Hose Company, who also appeared in new uniforms, and 45 men with the department flags and auto engine. The Twentj^-first Regiment Band of Poughkeepsie led Cortlandt Hook & Ladder Company with 47 men and offi- cers and the handsome auto truck. The Wappingers Falls Drum Corps led Washington Engine Company, who turned out 44 men and officers and their auto engine. The Y. M. C. A. Drum Corps headed Centennial Hose Company with 38 offi- cers and men and their horse drawn chemical engine. Four Exempts led the old hand en- Messrs. Rothera and Southard; Indian, Mr. Trousdell; cowboys, Sid Dicker- man and Warrie Rothera, Jr. Then followed the Royal Arcanum float, a car trimmed with blue, white and purple. Sitting on the float were Miss Dorothy Hagan dressed in pur- ple, representing "Charity"; Miss Edna Ogden, dressed in blue, repre- senting "Mercy"; Miss Dorothy D. Fer- guson, dressed in white, representing "Virtue." The letters "V. M. C." on a banner stood for the motto of the or- der. Four little girls in white also were seated on the float. They were :\Iargaret Palmer, Dorothy Ahrens, Helen Albert and Hazel Baker. Susan B. Anthony, Pioneer Suffragist Float, Won Tliird Prize gine, which was drawn by horses. John D. Foster wore a fire hat which was worn by James Brown, the first fire warden of Peekskill, and carried his baton. Charles E. Tweedy, driving his auto, had for his passengers four nurses from the hospital. The third division came next, with George P. Wygant as marshal; Lee Earl and Charles Lent, Jr., as aides. Eighteen mounted men and Miss Mary McCord, Miss Marguerite Tompkins, Miss Helen Foster, Miss Catherine Barnes, also mounted. Then came the Nagawicka Riding Club, represented by Mesdames Baker, Rothera, Southard and Southard, and They were followed by the St. Joseph's Home contingent with Rev. John Cavanagh mounted. Rev. Remy Laforte and Rev. John McCollough rode in a carriage. Then came the St. Joseph's Home floats. The first fioat was entitled "The Dig- nity of Labor." The bridge of the float represented the solidity of labor. The highest point of the bridge was crowned with a stove and plough — the stove and plough being the first two products of the village foundry, and they also rep- resent our village seal. On the front terraces from the platform upward was a mason, shoemaker, plumber and steamfitter, blacksmith; on the rear 1S16— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 25 terraces a motorman, carpenter, type- writer, painter, tinsmith and baker. Under the bridge a farmer was seen on his field surrounded by his happy family. As space will not permit rep- resenting all the honored trades a stal- wart man at the right of rear made up for the deficit. At the right corner front Uncle Sam stood guiding the great mass of toil- ers who have helped by their untiring and unselfish energy to build up our prosperous Village, our Empire State and our Country which we all look up to with pride. General Israel Putnam, who during the Revolutionary period had his head- groups representing Music, Drawing and Dramatic Art, the whole being crowned by Faith, Hope and Charity. The St. Joseph's Band of 30 boys, with M. Thornell, leader, was followed by the cadets of the home 100 strong. They were followed by the sailor boys of the home. They carried long strips of bunting and at intervals along the march the bunting was raised above , their heads and it formed an immense American fiag. The fourth Division was in charge of I. Olstein as marshal, with Louis Kel- ler, Edward Burger, Isadore Wolff, Jacob Fish, D. Levinson and S. Levy as aides. 'Progress'' — Tlio Peekskiil Float Funiislied by the Cominittee quarters at Peekskiil was represented on the left front. The second float represented Art and Religion. It was an enormous artist's palette poised ready for an invisible master. The figures were an idealiza- tion of the colors as they appear from the artist's tubes preparatory to blend- ing for his work. They were ready to do his bidding and perform the task he had planned. Their approach is announced by two heralds. In the foreground stood Wisdom in cap and gown, with Peace on her right and Prosperity on her left. Next in order came Preparedness attended by two Red Cross nurses. Then followed I Then came into view the blue and I gold of the Daughters of the Revolu- tion. It covered the float of the Junior Sons and Daughters. A big auto truck had been covered with a canopy of blue and gold with tassels and on the sides were banners giving the name. The ! driver was in Continental uniform. I The title was "Colonial Days." Mrs. E. W. Colloque was "Priscilla"; three little boys, Robert Snowden, Richard Home, Will Lawson, also Nell Lawson, I were dressed as Indian boys; four girls, Susan Seymour, Ruth Beale, El- sie Jaycox, Winifred Snowden, were also Indians. Four little girls, Sarah Oakley, Muriel Clinton, Lucy Clinton, 26 1S16— PEEKSKILL CEXTExNNIAL CELEBRATION— 191« Sarah Taylor, were dressed as "Pris- cillas," and three boys, Lawrence Wood, George Doty, Frederick Snow- den, also Blanche Naylor, as the Pil- grim fathers. An old time spinning wheel represented the occupation of the females. Out of seven pictures of the parade furnished it the photo of this float was chosen by the New York Herald to head its story of Peekskill's Centennial on Tuesday. Behind the float, on a pony, rode little Josephine Halsey as an Indian boy. The Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asy- lum Band headed the United Hebrews it were the descendants of John Paul- ding, of Revolutionary fame; Mrs. Mar- tha McCoy and Miss Harriet B. Inger- soll, grandchildren; Frank N. McCoy, Sr., Miss Florence I. Todd, great-grand- children; George I. McCoy, Eleanor R. McCoy, great-great-grandchildren. The fifth division marshal was Rev. Richard H. Tobin, who rode in a car- riage with Father Melia and Father Walsh, of Mohegan. Rev. D. M. Coda was chief of staff, with James V. Clune, Charles Weysser, Lester Baxter, James F. Martin, Jr., Edward Finnigan, Joseph Doyle and P. Clarkin as aides. The float, "Progress of Peekskill's r ^# The Cluircli of tlie Assumption and the GuJirdian Float of Peekskill, who all wore white hats. They carried an American flag, 30x70 feet, on their shoulders, and when it was wet by the shower near the end of the march it became a heavy load. It was probably the largest flag ever seen in Peekskill. Autos and wagons with Hebrew women followed the men. Then came girls with red, white and blue para- sols and boys with Uncle Sam hats. Then came an automobile completely covered with American flags and a big eagle perched upon the radiator. In Fashions," by the Daughters of Isa- bella, came next. This was a big car, on which were young ladies dressed in the fashion of various times in the history of the village. First came the Indian maiden, Olive Burke; then the Dutch maid, Mrs. Dehn, and the Dutch jboy, William Marshall; then the Qua- keress, Emily Mahon. The fashion of 1776 was represented by Bessie Kelly, of 1816 by Gertrude Riley, of 1830 by [ Helena Lillis, of 1860 by Annie Clarkin, 1 1871 by Anna Shea and granddaughter, Loretta Anderson, 1885 by Annie Mc- 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 27 Cormick, 1895 by Katherine Finnigan, 1916 by Mary Ryan, and the girls of to-day, the nurse, Katherine Dolan; suffragette, Catherine Flanagan; tennis girl, Mrs. Dolan; Miss Columbia, Mary Martin. The Catholic Protectory Band headed the A. 0. H., the Knights of Colum- bus and the Holy Name Society. Then came the Guardian float. It was the Guardian Building and the Church of the Assumption in miniature on a big auto truck. The likeness was very real, and it created much favorable comment along the line. The purpose of the float apparently was to show that the church, though small, was pulling the big, cumbersome Guardian. The Guardian Drum Corps headed the Guardian Cadets. Then came a number of children from the Assumption School carrying flags. Then followed Aides Louis Laudati and Carlo Monleoni and Moroni's Band of New York. They led the Italian- American Society with a hundred men in line, all wearing white hats. The Oakside School float completed the fifth division. It represented the activities of Oakside. A big auto truck had been covered with blue and yel- low bunting and oak leaves, and on each side two boys were swinging from the float. At each corner a boy held a streamer stretching across the full width of the street. On it boys and girls represented football, basketball, baseball, kindergarten, geography and Palmer writing. David Hartstein was marshal of the sixth division. His aides were J. Verag, M. Snyder, T. Augusky, F. Radock, A. Strasser. Southard & Robertson Company's float was next. It was the old foundry bell, rescued from the recent fire, placed on a platform atop of the foun- dry truck, tastefully covered with bunting, with George W. Robertson rid- ing beside the driver. Collins' Band, of Newburgh, headed the United Hungarians, Slavs, Poles and Greek Catholics. Then came the Woman's Suffrage contingent, on foot and in autos. Mrs. Wm. H. H. MacKellar carried the Suf- frage Party banner, assisted by Miss Jane MacKellar and Miss Estelle Tompkins. The suffragist float was drawn by two white horses. It was tastefully decorated with suffrage colors, yellow and white. On it were seated thirteen fairies representing the thirteen States where women can vote. They were Agnes Tompkins, Catherine Wright, Lillian Reeves, the Misses Cowles, Elizabeth Henriques, Miss Miller, Emily Turner, Alice Kelly, Marion Hudson, Erma Hudson, Claire Rear- don and Miss Alsop. Mrs. Elizabeth Smith was dressed to represent Mrs. Susan B. Anthony, the first suffragist. On the driver's seat were Misses Dor- othy Ellis and Mina Snowden. The color bearer was Beatrice Crawford. Others were Ruth Ulm and Winifred Acker. The decorations were all furnished by Mrs. Frank Vanderlip, and the work was done under the direction of Mrs. E. E. Fink. The seventh division was led by J. Coleridge Darrow as marshal, with Joseph Kuhn, Martin Nilsson and R. P. Stone as aides. Peabody's Band, of Poughkeepsie, led the Fleischmann Company's employ- ees, 225 strong. The men wore a kahki uniform with campaign hats, and each had a yellow sash with the word "Fleischmann" on it. There were four banners in line reading, "Peekskill, the Home of the Largest Yeast Factory," "Preparedness for Baking: Fleisch- mann's Yeast," "Fleischmann's Yeast Made in Peekskill," "Eat Bread Made in Peekskill." A gaily painted gypsy wagon with a small pony tied behind caused much comment. The P. O. S. of A. Drum Corps of Yonkers headed the Standard Oil Cloth Company employees and members of the Buchanan Sick Benefit Association women. Next in line was John Hutchinson, mounted, leading the Jenkins Orphan Brass Band (colored boys) from Charleston, N. C, and the M^n's Social Union of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, 35 men and a number of Boy Scouts in charge of Scoutmaster L. W. 28 1S16— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 Hughes. William H. Singleton was in charge of the men. Three teams of horses drew a float which represented a field hospital un- der a tent, in memory of the soldiers of the Tenth U. S. Cavalry who fell in Mexico. The nurses were Sereta Wor- tham. Alberta Brown, Vera Lipscomb; doctor, Wm. Graves; guards, George Hutchinson, Stanley Peterson, Warren Boatwright and Douglas Peterson, Jr. One of the most interesting of all the divisions in the line was that of the Peekskill Highway Department, which brought up the rear. Two men on horseback led the line, followed by Commissioner Thompson, with Mrs. Thompson, in his auto. It had been beautifully and tastefully trimmed, and "Uncle Sam" and "Miss Columbia," in the persons of Mr. Thompson's two children, occupied the rear. A seal bearing the words, "E Pluribus Unum" was hung from either side of the machine. Next came Foreman Gilleo and his brigade of street sweepers in their white uniforms and carrying brushes. The auto sweeper, gaily decked, came next, followed by a team and wagon, neatly trimmed, its sides bearing the inscription, "We can't keep your streets clean if you won't help." The village carts, with their wheels wound with red, white and blue, and the body also followed. The first one bore the sign, "We do our best. Do you do yours?" Another one bore the words, "Put your paper and fruit skins in the red cans," and "Our Work is for your good health." Then came the tree sprayer with its sides reading, "Keep the grass green from sidewalk to curb. Make your town beautiful." The three sprinkling carts with their trimmings of red white and blue completed the great centennial parade lineup. The line of march was as follows: South on Highland avenue, to Orchard, to Nelson, to Main, to Division, to First, to Union, to Elm, to Ringgold, to Frost, to Dyckman, to Franklin, to Washing- ton, to South, to Division, to Park, to Broad, to Main, to Grant avenue, coun- termarching, pass in review in front of the Eagle Hotel, to Division street. After passing in review of the vil- lage officials and guests on the Eagle Hotel balcony and the grand marshal and his aides, who were drawn up in line west of the hotel, the parade was dismissed. The judges of the floats were: B. W. Bedell, Lincolndale; Col. W. H. Chapin, New York National Guard; Jacob Blu- mer, Peekskill. They reported: First prize, St. Jo- seph's Home float, "Religion and Art"; second prize. Junior Sons and Daugh- ters of Revolution; third prize, Susan B. Anthony suffrage float; honorable mention. Patriotic Order Sons of Amer- ica; "Fashions," Daughters of Isabella; St. Joseph's Home Industrial. The prizes were a gold medal for the winner, a silver medal for second and a bronze medal for third. The medals were a counterpart of the offi- cial badge as to style. On the bar above the ribbon was engraved, "First Prize," "Second Prize," "Third Prize," as the case might be. On the reverse of the medallion were the words, "Best Decorated Auto," "Best Decorated Float," "Best Decorated Truck." As there were no trucks in the contest, no medals were awarded in that class. Conielhts A. I'lig-siey Treasurer of Committee 1S16— PEEK3KILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 29 Albert E, Cruger Secretary of Committee PARADE PARAGRAPHS John Smith, Jr., and Homer Ander- son, who rode in a carriage in the parade, represented the Lincoln Soci- ety, one of the strong and popular or- ganizations brought forth in Peekskill during the century. The Yorktown Riding Club was rep- resented by Lucille Barnes, Edwin P. Strang, William A. Barnes and Helen Irish. The two former were aides to Dr. George P. Wygant. They were in the fourth division. One of the features of the parade was the company of little Hebrew girls. Every one of them went over the en- tire line of march, through rain and sunshine. Two of them were under five years of age, and they never fal- tered. The flag carried by the Hebrew or- ganizations was 30x70 feet. It was the largest flag ever seen in Peekskill. It was made to order. It was so wide that several feet had to be hemmed in so it could pass through narrow streets. The auto parade started at 1.45 p. m. There were nine motorcycles of the First Armored Battery Battalion, two armored cars and sixty-two other auto- mobiles. There were, however, four times as many automobiles watching along the line of the parade as there were cars in the procession. One of the most interesting floats in the parade was the Southard-Robert- son foundry bell, a relic from the re- cent fire, mounted on a decorated foundry truck drawn by the foundry horses. George W. Robertson showed the proper spirit and grit. He also had what was left of the foundry buildings decorated. A small flag was stuck out of every one of the many windows. The parade occupied fifty-five min- utes in passing the Eagle Hotel. It was 4.20 p. m. when Grand Marshal Smith was abreast the reviewing stand. It was 4.38 when the last of the sec- ond division of firemen marched by. Then there was quite a long interval before the third division came in sight. In the usual close order it would prob- ably have taken three-quarters of an hour to pass a given point, and that means a big parade for a place like Peekskill. The Oakside School float characters were: Kindergarten — Bella Keller and Geo. Denike; Primary — Marion Quitt- I meyer, Madeline Boylan, Helen Man- i deville, Helen Maxwell; Grammar — Mildred Golden, Velma Pugsley; High School — Oakside quartet, William Hunt, Orrin Conklin, Milton Lockwood, Otto Graninger, Jr. The Oakside float was one of the prettiest in the line. It was ! much commented upon. Many thought it should have won a prize. The young- sters swinging on the side were "all to the good." 1 One idea of the length of Peekskill's i biggest parade is obtained by the ! knowledge that when Grand Marshal Smith and his staff coming up South street reached the corner of South and Division street the last division of the parade was still passing through Divi- sion street toward First street, its end at the Westchester County National J Bank. When the head of the parade I was allowed to pass into Division I street, the procession stretched through •30 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 Division from South to First, to Union avenue, to Elm street, to Ringgold, to Frost, to Dyckman, to Franklin, to Washington, to South and up to Divi- sion. And the organizations and bands had been pretty well crowded together by that time, too, as the various divi- sions had caught up while the head of the procession halted. As it has been said, there was glory enough in the Centennial Celebration for everybody, committeemen, chair- men and everybody. But still we sub- mit that Fred A. Smith, chairman of the parade committee and the grand Tnarshal of the parade, is entitled to "wonderful credit for the work he did and the largest and best parade ever seen in Peekskill. It will be a long time before Peekskill will see its equal. Many other details he handled with consummate skill. Chester De Witt Pugsley, the chairman of the general committee, also did yeoman work. He secured the three speakers, Bryan, Padgett and Chadwick, without any cost to the committee except entertain- ment and transportation for Congress- man Padgett. It is doubtful if any one else than Mr. Pugsley could have se- cured Mr. Bryan's presence here. CARMTAL A>D CONCERT, JULY 3 The carnival and concert on Monday evening were, like all other features of the centennial, a success to a dot. At a meeting of the Centennial Car- nival Committee on Tuesday evening, June 27, William J. Tice was declared elected King of the Carnival and Miss Rose Burger Queen. Mr. Tice had 2,383 votes and Miss Burger had 2,116. About 12,000 votes were cast in all and twelve candidates were voted for. Miss Katherine Linknor received 985 votes, and Hazel La Fountain 570. The exercises of this portion of the program, Monday night, really began at the Municipal Building, when in the presence of members of the Carnival and General Centennial Committee and the village officials. Village President Crumb welcomed the King and Queen, William Tice and Rose Burger, and the latter's two attendants or maids of honor, Miss Hazel La Fountain and Miss Katherine Linknor. The King wore a crown on his head, and was at- tired in a gorgeous robe of red, trimmed with white fur. Upon the brow of the Queen also rested a crown. She and her maids were dressed in white. They carried large bouquets of flowers, but Presi- dent Crumb, after a few felicitous re- marks, presented to the three ladies each a very handsome basket of flow- ers on behalf of the committee. These brief exercises took place about eight o'clock. Shortly afterward a procession was formed, headed by the Sixth Heavy Ar- tillery Band. Then came the village ^Villiam J. Tice King of the Carnival officials, "Uncle Sam," committeemen numbering over a score. Next were two automobiles. In the first was President Crumb, His Royal Highness the King and Her Majesty the Queen. In the second car were the two maids of honor, Miss Linknor and Miss La Fountain, with Chester De Witt Pugs- ley and William H. H. MacKellar as escorts. A company of Boy Scouts brought up the rear. 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 31 In this formation the night pageant marched to the corner of Park and Division streets. I Each man in line carried a burning stick of red fire. The procession passed all the way between solid walls of people on the walks and lines of auto- j mobiles at the curb. At the aforemen- Miss Rose Burger Queen of the Carnival tioned corner the King and Queen and their suite alighted. Then the march was continued, Mr. Crumb escorting the Queen, Mr. Pugsley, Miss Link- nor and Mr. MacKellar and Miss La Fountain. Thus they continued to the band stand east of the Colonial Theatre. Ascending thereon, President Crumb introduced the King and Queen in a delightful little talk and placed the carnival in their hands and the vast audience in their charge. The Sixth Heavy Artillery Band fur- nished the dance music, alternating with the selections played by Alberto Moroni's Band, which gave a concert in the band stand erected about the clus- ter light pole in the plaza. From 7 until 7.45 when the Italian band ar- rived a concert was given by the Brook- lyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum Band, Joseph J. Dickman, leader. They were relieved at 7.45 by Moroni's Band, which previously had marched up Divi- sion street to Paulding street playing. The concert was over at 10 p. m. and the dancing at 11 p. m. Even con- siderably before that time the people had begun to wend their way home- ward, tired after the busy day. Park street had been roped off at the Highland Democrat Building line oi» the west and at a point nearly to James street on the east. This made a vast enclosure of street. The asphalt block pavement had been swept and scoured immediately after the parade had passed it in the afternoon. "When it had been well covered with corn meal it made an unusually good dance floor. The festoons of lights across the street, from Division street east, gave an ample illumination. MEETIJfG IX DEPEW PARK, JILT 4. The Fourth of July exercises in De- pew Park were largely attended and extremely enjoyable. The band stand and the green amphitheatre beyond with the background of the fountain and flowers, made a picturesque set- ting. As early as 10.30 a. m. the people be- gan to gather in the park. When the exercises were begun shortly after 11 a. m. nearly two thousand people were sitting, standing or in automobiles around the gailey decorated grand stand. At the east four tiers of seats with a capacity for fifty people had been erected for the high school chorus but as they failed to materialize the seats were soon occupied by the gen- eral public. The Sixth Heavy Artillery Band were seated near the chorus stand. On the band stand were the speak- ers, guests, orchestra, park commis- sioners, clergy and others, about thirty people in all. The orchestra was made up of Miss Geraldine Valentine, leader, violin; Myrtle Tuttle, cello; Helen Tuttle, first violin; Helen Conklin, first violin; Mary McCord, second violin; David Conklin, flute. 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 First on the program was a selec- tion, "American Airs," by the Sixth Heavy Artillery Band. Rev. William Fisher Lewis, of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church, offered the invocation. Two verses of "America" were sung by the audience led by the orchestra and directed by Dr. A. D. Dunbar. Leverett F. Crumb, president of the village, then delivered the opening and welcoming address. William J. Charlton read the histor- ical address. He began talking at 11.38 and occupied a little over ten minutes. The band played a selection, "Auf Weidersehn." The next speaker was Hon. Lemuel P. Padgett, chairman of the Committee ] on Naval Affairs of the House of Rep- j resentatives. Congressman Padgett is from Tennessee. He is a delightful speaker and interested the great crowd of people for a half hour, holding their close attention with what was one of the best patriotic addresses ever given in Peekskill. He was frequently ap- plauded. Admiral French E. Chadwick was the next speaker. He only said a few words explaining that a bronchial trou- ble which had come on within a few days had completely spoiled his voice. Therefore he had asked Lieutenant Commander G. F. Neal to read the pa- per which he had prepared. This the naval officer did in excellent style. He received the closest attention. During this part of the program William J. Bryan arrived in the park and was escorted to the platform. His appearance was the signal for great applause. Next on the program was the sing- ing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Madame Charlotte Lund. She was in good voice and was heard by all of the great assemblage. Every one stood while she sang. Mr. Crumb then presented William Jennings Bryan. The great Commoner received a magnificent ovation. He spoke for fifty-four minutes. It was Interesting, patriotic and eloquent at all times, with a vein of humor run- ning here and there. His favorite theme of peace permeated the dis- course. Mr. Bryan in his speech said he had never been more impressed than now with the unity he had seen throughout this country. He saw it as far back as the Spanish War, when he served WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN. as Colonel of a regiment from his State. He recalled that the last war of the United States followed soon after the Presidential campaign of 1896, which he characteriezd as the bitterest in the past fifty years. It happened that Mr. Bryan in that crisis desired to offer his, services to the country, and consequently when he asked permis- sion to raise a regiment of volunteers his request went to his victorious po- litical opponent. In his regiment, he said, were men of many creeds and political convic- tions. The majority of its officers had voted against him, and the majority of the enlisted men had voted for him, he said. The division to which his organization was assigned was com- manded by a former Republican Gov- 1816— PEEKSKILL CEXTEXXIAL. CELEBRATION— 1916 33 ernor and a Union soldier. His brigade was commanded by a Virginia Demo- crat and a Confederate veteran. North- ern and Southern regiments when they came together vied with each other in paying compliments. A Mississippi regiment band played "Yankee Doodle," to which a Nebraskan responded with "Dixie," and then both bauds joined in "My Country 'Tis of Thee." "I feel that it is like this to-day," said Mr. Bryan. "We have our differ- ences in politics, we are attached to our parties and churches, and we re- pressed in national terms." Mr. Bryan did not see how the position of this country could be misconstrued whea it offered its friendly services to the warring countries of Europe. "We are kin to all of them," said he, "and we cannot be enemies to any of them," whereupon he was greeted with, enthusiastic applause. Taking hold of an illustration he made use of when he retired as Sec- retary of State, Mr. Bryan said one need not underestimate the value of a soldier at the same time he worked for William J. Bryan, Speaking in Band Stand, Depew Park, July 4 joice that we live in a land where a : the prevention of war any more than man has the right to vote and worship he need undervalue the ability of a as he pleases. "I do not know just what blood pre- dominates in me. As near as I know I am badly mixed, just as I am in re- ligion. And if I take my children and fireman while he built a structure of concrete. "There is no more reason why a good soldier should be bloodthirsty than for a good fireman to be firethirsty," said my children's children, I am in a worse : Mr. Bryan, who caused amusement fix. But, my friends, I believe when i when he carried the illustration still the test comes, and the men are drawn further, and said a good undertaker up in line, they will be ready to die I did not necessarily await with impa- for their country just as they ought to be ready to live for it." Mr. Bryan was cheered when he as- serted that the greatest service was not necessarily that which was ren- dered on the battlefield. His defini- tion of patriotism was, "service ex- tience for deaths to occur. "I have passed through a number of States in the last few days," said Mr. Bryan, "and have seen the National Guard organizations departing for the border, all ready to give everything in the service of country, and none know- Zi 1816— PBEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 ing where that service would lead him or whether he ever would return. I saw parents and loved ones weeping and sobbing, knowing not when the boys would return. I do not consider it unpatriotic to have said to those left behind: 'These boys are doing their duty, but I'll join you in praying they may not be killed or be called on to kill'." It was one of Mr. Bryan's best ef- forts, punctuated throughout by tre- mendous applause. In the course of his talk a long string became unraveled from a flag draped above the speakers' stand, and the end of it blown by the wind con- tinually fell upon the bald head of the speaker. Apparently he did not notice it, but the crowd tittered as it waited in vain for him to brush away an im- aginary fly. Finally President Crumb saved the situation by using a crooked cane and breaking the thread. Following Mr. Bryan, the band played "America," while the crowd dispersed. The arrangements in the park made by the park commissioners were per- fect. The band stand was beautifully decorated. Extra police and the Boy Scouts in charge of Rev. Mr. Illsley were present, though their services were not needed. At one point in the program the mov- ing picture men were given an inning and took reals of the audience and then the people in the band stand. The gathering voted its thanks to Mr. Bryan and the other speakers, on motion of Chairman Crumb. ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT CRUMB. Ladies and Gentlemen: It becomes my duty as President of the Village of Peekskill, to open this feature of the celebration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Incor- poration of the Village. In the history of the world, one hundred years is a comparatively short period, yet that one hundred years of the existence of Peekskill as a municipal corporation has been one hundred years filled with events that have made more for the benefit of mankind, than any one hundred years since the beginning of time. When Peekskill was incorporated in 1816, many of those who had passed through tie Revolutionary struggle were still living, but Washington, Franklin, Hamilton and many of the strong characters who had been the leaders in shaping the wonderful events that surrounded the freeing of the Colonies, and the organizing of this government of free, had passed to the Great Beyond. Our Constitu- tion was still a piece of new machin- ery, the like of which had never be- fore been seen in the world, and its efficiency to give to the people good government and as a bulwark to pro- tect their liberties, was still being tested, and as to its ultimate success, all doubt had not yet been dispelled. So many of those who had fought, suffered and sacrificed that we might obtain self-government, were still liv- ing ,that it was not necessary to pro- duce representations of the "Spirit of Seventy-six" to impress them with the patriotism of those early days, that patriotism was not yet dulled, nor did it lay dormant. At this time the second war with England had but recently been ter- minated, and its scars were yet plen- tiful. James Monroe was shortly to take the oath of office as President, which would lead to his laying down doctrines, that were ever to be ad- hered to by our government, and which were to lead us thereafter, to be reckoned as a world power, and a nation that must be reckoned with in solving the problems of the world. Our incorporation was but an indi- cation of the progressive spirit with which the people were becoming im- bued; it was an era of renewed life and inspiration, when hamlets were taking on the garb and responsibili- ties of municipal government. Ours was the thirty-eighth village to be incorporated in the State of New York and the first in Westchester County. Of the thirty-eight, fourteen have be- come cities, including the largest present cities in the State; eleven never exercised any municipal life; and thirteen still exist with a great- er or less degree of municipal activ- ity. Steadily, year by year, Peekskill has improved and grown, and long since our population and importance war- ranted our becoming a city, but we have preferred to be known as the 181(3— PEEKSKILL CEXTEXXIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 35 Leverett F. Crninb President of the Village of Peekskill 36 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 largest village in the United States, and have gloried in being classed as a village. The whole country in 181B was be- ing flooded with foreign-made goods, cheaply manufactured by those who had been released from military ser- vice by the termination of the world wars, and which were thrown upon our markets at any price that could be obtained. The impossibility of ob- taining manufactured goods during the war had also impressed our peo- ple with the necessity of manufac- turing for our own necessitits, so that with the advent of Peekskill as a municipal government, a new fiscal system, which should encourage and foster American manufactories be- came our governmental policy. There- tofore we had been largely an agri- cultural people, and manufacturing had not been fostered. When our municipal garb was put on, the Clermont had sailed up the Hudson, but the practical results of Fulton's invention as an aid to com- merce, and the development of the country was yet hardly realized. DeWitt Clinton was winning his fight, but the immense benefits to New York which was to make her the Empire State from the completion of the Erie Canal, was not fully com- prehended. The railroad, the telegraph and the telephone were yet to come, as were the thousand and one inven- tions that were to make us the most progressive people on earth. Peekskill was then but a small ham- let of a few hundred population, but no place had been better known dur- ing the Revolutionary War than this locality. Here was the key to the communication between the eastern and southern states that was neces sary to be kept open if the cause of liberty was to succeed. Here Put- nam, Greene, McDougal, Heath and Alexander Hamilton counseled with Washington. Washington's Headquar- ters in Peekskill was not simply a place where he happened to dwell over night, but at the Birdsall House and the Manor House at Cortlandt- ville, more of his time was spent in planning for military movements than in any other locality, and here he was always welcome. Situated at the north end of the neutral ground with the exception of an occasional incursion, the patriots were in control of Peekskill, and these woods in which we are now assem- bled (which through the generosity of our fellow-townsman, Chauncey M. Depew, have become a pleasure ground for the people) and every hill within our sight and every road over which we must travel, in, about and around Peekskill, have resounded with the tread of Continental troops. So much were these grounds occupied that nearly every hill surrounding us is still crowned by the remains of earthworks thrown up by our patriot- ic ancestors. What wonder then at this early period in the development of municipal government, that our people resolved that it was time that I Peekskill should no longer be a ham- let but should take upon itself the I advantage of a real municipal govern- i ment. Nor were our people idle after the I incorporation, for in only a few years i on yon hill appeared the Peekskill Academy, a world famous institution, built by the generosity of our citi- zens and dedicated by them to the cause of education. Long before any semblance of a school system was adopted throughout the State, educa- tion was furnished for the rising gen- eration, not only from this institution (which gave the village a cultured at- mosphere), but from locally support- ed common schools on either side of the village. Our churches had preceded incor- poration, but immediately thereafter took new life and substantial organ- ization, and from that day to this day they have been generously sup- ported and conducted by able, God- fearing men and in all Peekskill's pro- gress they have been the cornerstone. Here the first banking institution in Westchester County was early chartered by General Pierre Van Cort- landt, as the Westchester County Bank later to have the word "National" added to its name, which was to be- come and still is a tower of financial strength, under the management of some of the ablest financiers of the State. To the National Halls of -Congress we have sent Chauncey M. Depew, William Nelson, the friend of Abra- ham Lincoln; Cornelius A. Pugsley, and the younger James W. Husted; to the Legislature, we have sent General James W. Husted, the greatest parlia- 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 37 mentarian that ever graced the Speak- er's chair. Early the enterprising character of our population made itself felt in the establishment of foundries, machine shops and other industries, which made the name of Peekskill known the world over. As time progressed and as each decade demanded new and improved conditions we have advanced our school system, our churches, our wa- ter works, our fire department, our police department, our street pave- ment and every feature of our muni- cipal life, until and I speak without fear of successful contradiction, we have the most efficient municipal gov- 1 ernment of any village in the State of New York. ! Our people have ever been patriotic and willing to assist, not only in the cause of school, church and mankind ' in general, but willing to sacrifice life, j position and advantages for the wei- j fare of the nation. Though our popu- lation was then small, when the call came from Abraham Lincoln for vol- unteers, the first enlistment came from Peekskill, until five hundred of our best citizens were in the ser- vice, of whom nearly one hundred men never returned, sacrificing their lives for their country. Peekskill is peculiarly situated, and during the past one hundred years, many prosperous conditions have been swept away by the march of progress and inventions and changed conditions. The advent of the steam- boat destroyed our commerce by sloop to New York; the advent of the Hud- son River Railroad again destroyed the monopoly of our transportation by water, and the building of the Harlem Railroad to be followed by the Northern Railroad, cut us off as a center of a vast farming territory. Our people, however, have never been discouraged, never taken a step back- ward, and the progress of our village has been steady and sure. When one line of trading or profitable employ- ment was stopped, another was dis- covered; the grass has never been al- lowed to grow in the streets of Peeks- kill. Peekskill faces the new century of her existence without flinching. Fill- ed as it is with the noble deeds of conscientious, fearless and righteous men and women, she has no regrets for the past. If this celebration is to mean any- thing to Peekskill, it is that drawing lessons from the past, we must press on, and make in our every effort for the betterment of our beloved village. Send the pessimist and reactionary to the rear. Let the enterprising men of our community be heard, let them be followed. We should not fear when men who had so little did so much. Let us follow their example, then will Peekskill blossom as the rose: then will our people be happy, contented and prosperous, then will good men and good women desire to dwell among us, where they and their children can enjoy life, surrounded with comforts and a prosperous peo- ple. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF PEEKS- KILL BY IVM. J. CHARLTOX. On September 14, 1609, a group of Mohican Indians stood on the emi- nence now known as Mt Saint Gabriel. Suddenly one of their number espied a winged object coming up the river rounding Verplanck's Point. We now know that this strange vessel was none other than the good ship "Half Moon". Capt. Hendrick Hudson at prow and that veracious chronicler Robert Juet, at the helm, the first white men to sail over the beautiful waters of Peekskill Bay. Stephanus Van Cortlandt was born in New Am- sterdam May 7, 1643, and became the first Lord of the Manor of Cortlandt June 17, 1697. His first purchase August 24, 1673, was Verplanck'9 Point, and a tract below including Croton Point. These together with other holdings secured later extended from the Dutchess County line south to Croton River and easterly some twenty miles to the Connecticut bor- der, excepting two parcels lying on the river above Verplanck's Point. The first of these was called Ryck's Patent and contained 1,800 acres upon which a large part of the present vil- lage of Peekskill is built. The second parcel, not included in the Van Cort- landt estate, was one of 300 acres fronting on the upper part of Peeks- kill Bay, which was deeded by Sir- ham Sachem of Sockhues to Jacobus DeKay. During the Revolutionary War Peekskill was a very important post covering the roads to the passes of the Highlands on the north and to the 38 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 191fi King's Ferry on the south. It lies on the direct road from the Eastern States to the south. It was by this route that the American and the French armies, marched to the cam paign, which culminated in the sm render of Yorktown, Va., and the cap- ture of Lord Cornwallis and his army. Gens. Putnam, McDougall, Heath and George and James Clinton and the Commander-in-Chief on several occa sions had their headquarters here. On March 23, 1777, as soon as the Hudson was clear of ice, a squadron of vessels of war and transports came to anchor in our bay and landed five hundred men at Lent's Cove, un- der command of Col. Bird. From thence they pushed forward through this village with four light field pieces drawn by sailors. General McDougall set fire to some stores he could not remove and retreated to Bald Hill, overlooking Continental Village. Col. Marinar Willett, summoned by Mc- Dougall from Fort Constitution, inter- cepted the marauders near the Twin Hills, drove them back in confusion to Canopus Creek, where they fled in boats to the main body and inglori- ously sailed away, leaving thirteen of their number dead on the field. The original act incorporating the Village of Peekskill is known as Chapter 195 Laws of 1816, passed April 17th of that year. It is entitled; "An Act to vest certain powers in the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the Village of Peekskill in the County of Westchester." Section I. — Be it enacted by the Peo- ple of the State of New York, repre- sented in Senate and Assembly: That the inhabitants residing within the district of country, in the Town of Cortlandt, in the County of Westches- ter, contained within the following limits, that is to say, beginning at the northwest corner of the farm late of Joseph Travis, upon the Hudson Riv- er, thence easterly, striking the road six rods north of Joseph C. Vought's house; thence across the road in the same direction six rods; thence a south course to the north line of the land in possession of Elias Clapp; thence westerly to a place called Car- man's Point on the Hudson River; thence along said river northerly, to the place of beginning, shall be known and distinguished by the name of the Village of Peekskill". The second section appointed the second day of May as the date of the annual election of five trustees. The third section defined the powers of that body, the fourth, freeholders how to raise money; fifth, taxes, how ap- portioned and manner of collection; sixth, to appoint firemen and impose penalties; seventh, firemen to do mil- itary duties, any legislation to the con- trary notwithstanding; eighth, all provisions above noted to be liberally and benignly construed. The first village election to raise money for fire purposes was held on May 14, 1827, at the house of Jared Stone. The sum to be raised was $750.00 as certified to by Wm. B. Birdsall, a Justice of the Peace, on June 23, 1827, which sum was to be used in the purchase of a fire engine and hose. The engine was a very crude affair. The pumps were worked by two cranks. The water was pumped from a tank or box, which had to be filled with water from pails and then pump- ed on the fire. This clumsy appara- tus lasted ten years. An election for village officers was held August 18, 1827, at which Dr. Samuel Strang was elected president, Ezra Marshall, secretary; John Hal- sted, Philip Clapp and James Birdsall trustees; Josiah S. Ferris, collector; Stephen Turner, constable; Stephen Brown, treasurer. August 30, 1827, Columbian Engine Company was organized, with William B. Birdsall as foreman, Nathaniel Bedle assistant foreman, Wm. H. Steel secretary, Wm. H. Powell treasure^- and Nathaniel Williams steward. This was the nucleus of the present effi- cient Fire Department. The appara- tuses were moved from place to place by hand, later by horses and now by motor engines built in as component parts of the apparatus. The first Hook and Ladder Company's truck was made here at a cost of $85.00. The present apparatus with aerial ladder and modern appliances cost nearly twelve thousand dollars. All the fire companies are handsomely uniformed, well housed and furnished with all the conveniences of a first class club. Under the leadership of our excellent chief engineer and his able assistants, our department is second, in discipline and efficiency, to no volunteer fire de- partment in the State. Cortlandt Hook and Ladder Company was or- ganized May 29, 1833; Washington Engine Company, No. 2, Sept. 2, 1840; 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 39 Columbian Hose Co., No. 2, in 1848, and Centennial Hose Co., No. 4, Jan- uary 8, 1876. The active list for each company is limited to 80 members. Peekskill has always been noted for her patriotism; her sons fought in the War of the Revolution, and also in 1812. She sent her representatives in the Mexican struggle. Col. Garret Dyckman, wounded in the desperate charge at Chepultepec, was presented with a gold snuff box by President Tyler, in honor of his heroism on that occasion. Charles A. Wiley, but lately passed away, was a fifer in that war, and later drum major in the" Hauck- ins' Zouaves", and also in the Sixth Heavy Artillery in the War of the Rebellion. Among the seven hundred, who went to the front from the Town of Cortlandt, fully five hundred hailed from Peekskill. As much as I would like to recount their toils, privations, hardships and sacrifices, time does not permit such an indulgence. Many of those Avho gave up their young lives were my friends and school-mates. Noble fellows. A monument in honor of their devotion is now being erected and in a few days will be unveiled with appropriate services. The me- morial is of Barre granite suitably in- scribed. Our older citizens recall with pride the memories of our twe crack mili- tary companies, the "Jefferson Guards" and the "Bleakley Rifles". The former under Capt. Justus Hyatt garrisoned Fort Gansevoort in New j York city in 1812-1814. Col. John H. i Hyatt, a son of Justus (a worthy son I of a worthy sire) led this company \ with others, in June 1863, to Balti- more and garrisoned Fort Marshall in that city. Our gifted townsman, the | Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, was adju- 1 tant. Any regiment might well be : proud of having had such an accom- plished officer upon its staff. Chaun- cey yet sunives to tell the story of his escape from the charming and se- ductive smiles of those Baltimore belles. Mr. John Halsted, erstwhile captain of this famous band. Lieutenants Henry H. Lane and Montross Church- ill, First Sergeant William E. Lane, James McCov and G. Albert Cruger, paraded yesterday as veterans of those days before the war. In the records of our Board of Tru'j- tees for the year 18.53 appears thi,^ minute: "The Board presented to Captain Abram H. Lord, of the Jeffer- son Guards, a silver cup of the value of ten dollars, as a token of respect to our unsurpassed company of citizen soldiers". The following named color bearer.n from Peekskill upheld the honor of "Old Glory" in the Civil War. In the 9th N. Y. Vols. (Hawkins' Zouaves) J. William Patterson, who gave up his young life on the field at Antietam, John Nelson Fink, a comrade and fel- low townsman, seized the beloved em- blem, bore it aloft shouting defiance, until the enemy was driven back in confusion. Another son of Peekskill, Justus Nelson Foster, upon the stub- bornly contested field of Gettysburg, sustained the colors of the 59th N. Y. against Pickett's famous charge. Wal- ter R. Boice of the Sixth N. Y. Heavy Artillery, won a lieutenant's commis- sion for his gallant bearing of the reg- imental standard at Cedar Creek. An- other Peekskill boy at White Oak Road, Five Forks and Appomattox re- ceived a similar reward for a like ser- vice on those famous and historic- fields. That boy now a gray haired veteran is with us to-day. St. Peter's Chapel at Van Cortlandt- ville, chartered in 1770, was used as an hospital during the Revolutionary War. A Baptist Church was built nearby in 1772. This building disappeared many years ago. The First Baptist Church in this village was organized in 1843. The Rev. Edward Conover was duly elected pastor October 31 of that year. The First M. E. Church was first in- corporated August 23, 1808. There were steps taken in 1795 to build an edifice which was completed in 1811. The present church was erected in 1837 on the site of the old one. A few years ago the former was greatly alter- ed and enlarged. The Methodist Pro- testant Society was founded on Park street in 1827, and the church incor- porated Nov. 23, 1836. The Wesleyan Methodists built their church in 1836. They were incorporated in 1842. St. Paul's M. E. Church was organized In 1865, and a fine new building erected the same year. The First Presbyterian Church was organized June 26, 1820. by the Rev. Elihu W. Baldwin of the N. Y. Pres- bytery. The Second Presbyterian Church was organized Nov. 17, 1841 The Rev. D. M. Halliday, of sainted 40 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 memory, occupied its pulpit almost 2o years. The Rev. J. Ritchie Smith also had a pastorate of nearly equal length. The church has a fine parsonage which with the lot directly opposite the church has cost about 15,000. This church in its 90 years of existence has had but seven pastors. The Van Nest Reformed Church on Main street, is the daughter of the Re- formed Church of Cortlandtown (Mon- trose). There used to be a Congrega- tional Church on Diven street, which was merged with the Reformed Church of Cortlandtown about 1831, when the Rev. Cornelius D. West- brook, D. D., became pastor. Through -TTT- William J. Cliarltoii the persistent efforts of Dr. West- brook, aided by the Consistory, a new site was secured on the South side of Main street, a little east of the Eagle Hotel. The corner stone was laid April 29, 1839. On that occasion the Rev. J. Mason Macauley preached an appropriate sermon in the Episcopal Church. The new church now adopted the style and title of "The Van Nest Reformed Church of Peekskill". The Rev. Chas. D. Buck succeeded Dr. Westbrook in 1851 and remained nine- teen years. Dr. Buck not being satisfied with the surroundings, prevailed with his congregation in securing a lot on the northeast corner of Main and No. James street. On this property a fine brick building was erected. The cor- nerstone was laid January 17, 1864, and on December 28 following was consecrated to the service of Almighty God. The Church of the Assimiption (R. C.) erected 1863-65, a fine brick struc- ture with spire and belfry, is near the corner of Union avenue and First street. The parsonage fronts on First- street. The late Rev. James T. Cur- ran, D. D., a man of large heart and purpose in the early part of this century, conceived the idea of build- ing an institution that would serve to bind his people together, and as a meeting place for the younger genera- tions to become acquainted, also for the instruction of the children. Against great difliculties, which con- fronted him he succeeded in his plans — the result being the "Guardian", the finest building in the village. This cost fully $350,000. Dr. Curran re- cently died, mourned by every right- minded person in the community. The Guardian remains as a noted me- morial of him and his ministry. The following are a few of our citi- zens who have been conspicuous in the history of Peekskill: Lieut-Governor Pierre Van Cort- landt, member of the Committee of Safety. Also a member of the Con- stitutional Convention. Col. Philip Van Cortlandt was a del- egate to the First Provincial Con- gress and Col. Pierre Van Cortlandt to the second, third and fourth. The Hon. Wm. Nelson, born at Hyde Park, N. Y., June 29, 1784, who passed away at Peekskill Oct. 2, 1869. fills a large place in the history of Peekskill. He was postmaster from Oct. 1, 1810, to Dec. 5, 1821. February 21, 1822, he was appointed District At- torney for this county, which office he creditably held for more than 22 years. He was twice a member of Congress from this district, serving from 1847-30th— 1849-31st, at the same period as the lamented Lincoln In February, 1861, when the latter as President-elect passed through Peeks- kill on his way to Washington, the train bearing him (and of which our own Joseph Hudson was conductor) stopped to take on fuel and water. was welcomed by Mr. Nelson. Mr. ! Lincoln at once recognized Mr. Nel- I son, shook hands with him, and re- I plied to the address of welcome with 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 41 a felicity of utterance and charm of manner which captivated his audience and that gave to his rugged features a smoothness of outline that for a time transformed them. Mr. Nelson was a member of As- sembly 1819-20 and was State Seaator from 1824 to 1827. His eldest son Thomas Nelson was Chief Justice of the territory of Oregon, being ap- pointed as such January 9, 1851. St. John Constant 1770-1847 was Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. 1806-1812, sheriff of this county; 1807- 1811, President of Peekskill; 1828. 1831, 1833, member of Assembly; 1823 and 1833, supervisor. Frost Horton was Supervisor in 1857-58. Member of Assembly 1860. Chauncey M. Depew, elected mem- ber of Assembly 1861-2, Secretary of State 1863 to 1866. Also President of the New York Central Railroad and United States Senator from the Em- pire State. James W. Husted, the famous Bald Eagle from Westchester, first School Commissioner from the Third District. First elected to the Assembly in 1869. Was six times chosen Speaker. Served 22 terms in the lower house, was Deputy Superintendent of the Insur- ance Department, Harbor Master and Deputy Captain of the Port, Emigra- tion Commissioner. For 35 years in responsible positions in our State government. He was also judge advo- cate of the 7th Brigade. Major Gen- eral of the 5th Division of the National Guard. Grand Master of Masonic frar ternity of the State of New York. His son, James W. Husted, jr., also served in the State Assembly and now represents this Congressional District in the Lower House of Con- gress. The record of Mr. Husted, the elder, for length of service and for duties performed stands unrivalled in the history of the Empire State. Many other worthy citizens of our village in the past are worthy of most honorable mention for what they did to make Peekskill a pleasant place to live in and who did their full share in pro- moting its prosperity and welfare. ^^^ %^^i ' Vau Cortlaiultville 3Iaiiy Years Ago, showing St. Peter's Cluircli, Paulding 3Ionuinent and tlie Tavern. 42 1S16— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 ADDRESS BY KEAK.AD3IIRAL F. E. CHADWICK, U. S. U. We people of the United States of America are celebrating today an act of our forefathers which declared thirteen colonies of the British Empire, independent of British rule. I shall not go into the causes of this act more than to say that like most things of great political moment it was a commercial question brought to a crisis by trade restrictions imposed by the mother country. We fought a war nominally of eight years' duration, but actively less than seven. All this while there were divisions among our own people on the subject such that there were at times more Americans in the ranks of Britain than there were in the Continental forces. That in the circumstances we should ever have won is one of the amazing facts of history. That we did win was due more •.to George Washington than 'to any other man; one is tempted to say more than to all others together. America honors herself in doing him rev- •erence. Now while celebrating this event, which was the throwing off of the hegemony of Britain, it was but the beginning of the great change; for it was followed four years after the peace by another equally important; the forming of our Constitution, which went into effect in 1789. The year 1787 is that of our real birth as a nation, as the loose and in- effective articles of confederation, drawn during the war could never have held us together. Having laid a cornerstone in 1776 and built a foundation in 1787, what have we done in the way of superstructure which we are still a-building. For we started the greatest, most difficult and one of the most -extraordinary efforts in history, to blend a nationality of all the nations of the world. We did not know this in the offset as fully as we know it BOW. It is not an effort such as that of the Roman or British Empires which were not the amalgamation, but the exploitation of nations for the benefit of a central power. Ours is a great effort for the common good of all races and thus stands ethically infinitely above that of either Rome or England. This was the wonderful work cut out for us by the events of 1776 and 1787. That it has become one of unforeseen difficulty and mag- Bitude is through the addition of many tribes of men almost unknown even by name to our fathers, and which by the marvelous development of transport in the last century have been, or it were, brought to our very doors, until there are now in the United States men of more than fifty different nationalities. It is our work to weld these many different races not only into a nation, but into a nationality, meaning by this lat- ter, a population approaching homogeneity. If we should fail in this, the work of our fathers will have gone for naught, and the celebration of this day, by the very nature of things, cease at no distant day. But let us hope it will not fail. I believe we shall solve this greatest of human efforts for the general good. Some of our people under the influence of a temporary hysteria, are indulging in a propaganda of hate, but it is impossible that such can understand what our country stands for; a home for all who are seeking better conditions. We must remember that in the years of greater immigration, we receive in one year as many Russians and Italians as would make another Boston. And at the same time come yearly scores of thousands from Austria, Ireland, Great Brit- ain, Sweden and Norway; and fives and tens of thousands from Greece, the Netherlands, Denmark, Turkey and others. There can be no question that they come to us as to a promised land with highest hopes and in very nxany cases with highest aspiration. Men do not leave their native soil, breaking away from family and racial traditions for nothing. They can do so only when they have a cer- tain spirituality of motive, however sordid it may appear superficially. I can call myself an American as much as can any one who has not a red skin; as the first of my name landed here 286 years ago and I can trace no blood in me which is not American for 200 years. Personally, 1 am a compound of British blood, i. e.., Scotch, English and Welsh, but de- 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 43 spite the facts that, through my ancestors I have been so long in the country I can not under our system, reckon myself more American than the man who has just taken out his naturalization. And this feel- ing I am sure in my own mind at least, we must have if we are to have a real American nation. We cannot here be British or Italian, French or German or Swede and at the same time be Americans. For to be an American can only mean one who works for the building of an American nationality. We no more want the separate life here of the many nations which contribute to our stock than we wanted a separate North and South, or want an East and West America. Our only safety as a nation lies in working toward a complete integration. There is only one alternative; the establishment of a multitude of Macedonias. One way lies peace and high endeavor and great accomplishment; the other way, war, hate and destruction. These words are not too strong; they are true; in my opin- ion; profoundly true. I have no objection to the Briton or Turk or Frenchman or German sympathizing with the land of his origin in this great contest going on abroad. I, for one, can appreciate the feeling they are all undergoing. They have my sympathy. Even at the time of the Declaration of Independence we were a people of many and varied sorts. There were the English of New Eng- land, Virginia and Maryland: the English and Dutch of New York; the English and Germans of Pennsylvania; the Swedes of Delaware; the French Huguenots of New York and South Carolina. When I use the word English it is to include the Scotch and the Welsh of whom many had come to America. The Scotch-Irish of Ulster came to the number of 3,000 to 6,000 annually between 1725 and 1768. A famine in Ireland in 1740 caused an emigration, chiefly from North of Ireland, for some years of about 12,000 a year. From 1771 to 1773 some 30,000 came. It is estimated that half of the Presbyterians of Ulster came to this coun- try in a moderate number of years before the Revolution. The greatest number by far of these we distributed toward the South; few compara- tively went to New York or New England though enough went to New York to give the name of Ulster to a New York County. Many went to Vir- ginia and the Carolinas and it was these people who formed the bulk of "The Great Crossing" as it was called, which traversed the Alleghenies into Kentucky and Tennessee and finally peopled, mainly, the Southwest. It was a great and adventurous race to which the United States is in- debted today for the Northwest Territory then so called, which, at the time of the peace, carried our boundaries to the Great Lakes and the Mississippi. Great numbers of Germans came early in the eighteenth century. This migration begun in 1683 and was due chiefly to the seizure of Alsace- Lorraine by Louis XIV, an act which had far-reaching consequences for us in furnishing America one of its best stocks. Seventy thousand Germans entered at the port of Philadelphia between 1727 and 1775. Franklin esti- mated that at the latter date there were 100,000 Germans in Pennsylvania, a migration that set its mark, lasting to this day, upon the language, customs and religion of the state. "Pennsylvania Dutch" is still a living language. The real Dutch, the Hollanders, the original settlers of New York, were and remained strong in that state both through numbers and character. The amazing strength in the latter respect is shown in the per- sistence of their language to a late date though the English had taken pos- session of the colony in 1664 when it may be well to say England and Holland were otherwise at peace. Dutch was still in very common use at the time of the Revolution and it was so for generations later outside of the City of New York. I have been told on excellent authority that so late as 1840 it was necessary to know Dutch to carry on business on the upper Hudson. And when my wife and I visited her many Dutch relations in Albany and Troy some thirty years ago, some of tlie old ladies were rather put out that she could not speak Dutch. One even went so far as to keep a Dutch butler in order to keep up her knowledge of the language. Few recall that the Swedes were the earliest colonists on the Dela- ware or know that the oldest church now in use in the eastern part of 44 1S16— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 our country is one built of good solid stone by the Swedes in 1687 at Avhat is now Wilmington and which is still in continuous use. By 1820 migration began anew and we have today by careful compu- tation, besides those of British descent, not less than 20,000,000 of Ger- man blood, over 12,000,000 Irish and in these latter days many millions of others of many kinds. There were by the census of 1910 some 32,000,000 of people living in the United States who were either born abroad or born here in the first generation of foreign parentage, or with a foreign father or a foreign mother. This is a startling fact, one to be taken account of. The Germans come first with eight and one-quarter millions, the British, counting Canadians (but not the French), 5,000,000; the Irish four and one-half millions, the Scandinavians two and three-quarter millions; the Russians and Finns the same; the Austro-Hungarians also two and three-quarter millions; the Italians 2,000,000. There are over one million Jews in the one city of New York. Now the shape in which this vast mass is to be molded is for us to say. The real problem, says Professor Edward Steiner in his very interesting book, "The Trail of the Immi- grant", is whether the American is virile enough to assimilate the foreign immigration and not so much whether the foreign material is of the proper quality. Mr. Steiner is a Bosnian of German blood and yet can say. "As I write this I realize that I am saying 'us' and 'our' as if I were not a new American myself and one of those who make up the racial prob' lem. Yet when I recall to myself the fact that I too belong to an alien race, it comes to me like a shock, when I realize that I was born be- neath another flag and that this is but my adopted country, it gives me almost a sense of shame that I have in a great degree, if not altogether, forgotten these facts and I am so completely and absorbingly American that I can write 'us' and 'our', speak of my own people as foreigners and of my native country as a strange land. Something has so wrought upon me that in spite of the fact that I came to this country in my young man- hood, I look upon America as my Fatherland. The same power is still active; still strong enough to repeat the miracle of yesterday; but I am no better than these millions who are regarded as a menace. With millions of these new Americans I say today that which we shall continue to say, whether it fare well or ill with our own adopted country. 'Their people shall be my people and their God my God'." But whether some of us may like it or not, the indisputable, relentless, and compelling fact is that these many and diverse millions are here to stay and become a part of our social and political life. The descendants of a more ancient immigration cannot' kill off these many millions nor de- port, nor intern them. They are an integral part of our make up. The only true statesmanship is to make the best of existing facts, to recognize that following our motto, E Pluribus Unura, we are to look to the mak- ing of one nation out of many, a new people to be welded together through human sympathy and love instead of being divided, by hate? It is this or nothing. It is our task and one which cannot be evaded. It is certainly inter- esting as it is also, certainly, the greatest ever set for any people to do. I beg to end with some words I used in an address on July 4, 1914, at Se- tauket. Long Island. They were spoken but 29 days before all Europe was at war and they contain a prophecy. I said: "Are we doing all we can to fulfill the hopes in which Washington lived and died? Has our democracy made good? Unquestionably Washington, were he able to revisit us, would in some ways be severely shocked. He would be so by our amazing failure to properly administer our cities, by a not over-suc- cess of our representative system, on which such high hopes were laid, and by an undoubted deterioration of character which has come about from many causes which in a short time one cannot venture to analyze. * * * More serious than all he would find a people made up of races from every part of the earth, speaking as many as forty languages unknown to Washington, instead of the comparatively homogeneous stock of his 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 45 day; men of different habits, different religions, and ways of thought. Cer- tainly Washington never dreamed that Russians, Armenians, Hungarians, Italians and Syrians (to mention a few of these races) would ever be great and influential parts of our national life and in great degree are replacing our old stock. For this latter has not held its own. Had the ratio of in- crease which held up to 1815 continued in our n&tive population we should have had today much more than 100,000,000 of native-born Americans, even had there been no •immigration whatever. They are, however, here for good or ill and they will in great degree be what we shall choose to make of them by our own example. This great fact throws upon us of the older American stock the duty of a cultivation of character as Wash- ington understood character. Are we striving toward such a goal? Let each one answer for himself, for character is personal before it is col- lective. But I think that there are many signs that we are. And it is not only ourselves who are in a state of flux. It is a condition common to the whole world. We have come to one of these great periodic changes in which society has to meet the strain of reconstruction. Such changes are but a part of the general development of' mankind and must occur at longer or shorter intervals. In our national existence we have had at least four of these, three of which have been solved in blood and but one peacefully; our Revolution of 1776; the formation of the Union under the Constitution in 1787; the new independence which came with the war of 1812; and the great change wrought by the Civil War of 1861. Since the last date new factors of change have come into our life with a rapidity never before known. All the world is now mobile where before it was immobile. There are men still living who can recall the time when two coaches carried all who wanted to go each day from New York to Phila- delphia; the newspaper goes to every house in the land, the railway reach- es every town, all the happenings of the world are known in a few hours to every household, machines make Our clothes instead of the slow moving needle, our food is prepared and brought to us in tins, the old-fashiosed life has gone out of existence and everyone is looking forward to a new sort. To readjust ourselves will require an the character of which we are capa- ble. It is for us to see that there shall be developed that higher con- scientiousness, that higher spirit of religion, that higher ideal whch shall transfer us peacefully to the new plane to which we are tending. If we keep before us the character and spirit of Washington, of the men who fought the war of the Revolution, who signed the Declaration of Independ- ence and wrought the Constitution, we shall meet successfully our diflS- culties. In doing so is our only safety." This new upheaval came much sooner than most expected, though all the signs were in sight. It holds for us the highest possibilities, if wisely met; if not so met, infinite dangers. Let us hope that as a people we shall have that vision which shall carry us to the heights of Washington's fondest hopes. REGIMENTAL REVIEW AT CAMP. One of the events not on the printed and official program was a review of the Forty-seventh Regiment at the The regiment had been drawn up on the parade ground. Admiral French E. Chadwick was the reviewing officer, accompanied by Congressman Lemuel State^ "campV "arranged"" Monday by ! P- Padgett, ex-Congressman Cornelius Grand Marshal Fred A. Smith. It gave A. Pugsley. Colonel William J- Bryan, Peace Advocate Bryan a lesson m i Nathan P. Bushnell, Dr. Albert E.Phin preparedness Frederick Morgan, Lieutenants Smith After the luncheon to Col. Bryan at and Booth, U. S. N., and Geo. E. Briggs. the Eagle Hotel, the Centennial guests i They marched down in front of the and committee members were conveyed regiment and in front of the First Ar- by automobile to the big plateau across , mored Motor Battery. Here a brief the river, where there was a brief re- j stop was made and the armored cars ception at the White House. 1 were explained to the party. The 46 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 march was then continued in the rear of the regiment and battalion all the way round to the front. Then the regiment passed in review, Admiral Chadwick taking the review. Immediately behind him stood the re- mainder of the party, then augmented by some late comers, Leverett F. Crumb, Lieutenant Commander Neal, Wm. H. H. MacKellar, Cyrus W. Hor- ton, Jr., Ensigns Briggs and Cole. It was an inspiring sight, the march- ing by of the thousand guardsmen in kahki uniform to the martial strains of the drum corps. Col. Wm. H. Chapin of the general staff and Col. E. M. Janicky of the regiment and a number •of officers accompanied the civilians, an officer and a civilian paired off in the march in front and rear of the regiment. Afterward the officers in camp marched to headquarters and were each formally presented to Admiral Chadwick. Meanwhile Col. Bryan had entered ex-Congressman Pugsley's automobile and was driven to Ossining, where Col. Bryan spoke to the criminals in- carcerated in Sing Sing Prison. The rest of the party returned to Peekskill. NATAL OFFICERS' RECEPTION. At five o'clock Tuesday, President and Mrs. Crumb gave a reception to Lieutenant-Commander Neal of the U. S. S. Cummings and the officers of the fleet, Admiral and Mrs. Chadwick and Congressman Padgett, chairman of the Naval Committee, also being guests of honor. The affair was informal and limited to the officers and chairmen of the Centennial Committee, the village trus- tees, the president of the Board of Commerce and their wives and a few young people. The guests were received by Mr. and Mrs. Crumb and presented to the offi- cers. President Crumb's residence on the hill was thrown open, so that the living room, library, music room, din- ing room and veranda appeared to be as one large room. The only decora- tions, except the flags that have cov- ered the residence during the centen- nial days, were flowers in abundance from the Hill View Gardens, the most attractive feature being many bouquets of red, white and blue. A perfect day, with the beautiful flower gardens (one of the show places of Peekskill) in front, the village stretching below, the view from the porch as the setting sun cast its rays from over Dunder- berg, across the bay where the ships lay at anchor, was a picture of such magnificence as to be long remembered and treasured by every guest present who feasted his eyes upon the glori- ous view. Through the gracious hospitality of the host and hostess, every guest was at ease and well provided with the re- freshments which were served in abun- dance. It was most fitting that our president should thus extend his hos- pitality to the naval guests of the vil- lage, and was a splendid culmination of his indefatigable efforts to see that j in so far as duty devolved upon him that the centennial celebration should be a credit to Peekskill. As Com- mander Neal extended his hand to the President in bidding him adieu, he Isaid: "The hospitality of your people j has been great. Please remember that whenever and wherever my ship casts anchor, the password that will always gain admittance to my ship and an invitation to board is 'Peekskill'." The charm and graciousness of Mrs. Crumb never appeared to greater ad- vantage than upon this occasion, and it will long be remembered by all. frormi mm Tlie Old Milestone at Ueeks' Comer 1S16— PEEKSKILL CENTExXNIAL CELEBRATIOX— 1916 47 THE LOCHEON TO MR. BRYAN. After the anniversary exercises at Depew Park on the Fourth of July, William Jennings Bryan and the dis- tinguished guests were entertained at luncheon at the Eagle Hotel. The menu was: Grape Fruit au Marachino Soups Puree of Garden Apple Aux Croutons Cream of Pullet a la Reine Relish Radishes, Sliced Cucumbers, Pickles Fish Fried Lake Bass, Parisienne Potatoes Boiled Leg of Mutton, Mint Sauce Entrees Fried Cliicken a la Maryland Spaghetti in Tomatoes Velvet Sponge, Wine Sauce Roasts Prime Ribs of Beef au jus Rhode Island Duck, Stewed Apples Lettuce and Tomato Salad Mayonnaise Dressing Vegetables Mashed Potatoes, Boiled Potatoes Garden Peas, Butter Beets Dessert Apple, Cherry, Blueberry, Custard Pies Strawberry Short Cake Vanilla Ice Cream Iced Watermelon Orange Jelly Tea, Coffee, Milk Those present were William Jen- nings Bryan, Admiral French E. Chad- wick, Congressman Lemuel P. Padgett, ex-Congressman Cornelius A. Pugsley, Leverett F. Crumb, George F. Canfield, Chester De Witt Pugsley, Clifford Couch, Lieutenant Commander G. F. Neal. Lieutenant E. McK. Fromant, of the Seventh Infantry, representing the Adjutant General, Rev. J. Wilbur Tet- ley, Jacob Fish, Nathan P. Bushnell, Franklin Montross, William H. H. Mac- Kellar, Geo. E. Briggs, Franklin Couch, Rev. F. G. Illsley, Fred W. Otte, Albert E. Cruger, Karl M. Sherman, E. R. Russell, Ensigns Maxwell Cole and H. M. Briggs, of the U. S. S. Cummings, Lieutenants J. M. Smith and R. H. Booth of the U. S. S. Worden, Martin Nilsson, Edward E. Young, Cyrus W. Horton, Jr., Frank H. Whitney, Dr. Albert E. Phin, Fred A. Smith, John S. Baker and William F. Hoehn. The luncheon occupied about an hour from shortly after two o'clock until after three, when the start for the State Camp was made. THE BASEBALL GAME J I LI 4. Part of the celebration program was a baseball game on the P. M. A. dia- mond between the Oakside and Drum Hill nines on Tuesday afternoon. The game was witnessed by over two thou- sand people. The committee band, the Sixth Artillery, played during the spec- tacular contest. Never before in the history of base- ball in this village have so great a number congregated upon one field to witness a game. The athletic com- mittee of the Centennial made a wise move when they chose the two high schools to do honors upon the nation's I most important holida -, especially at this time when the people are cele- ! brating the incorporation of Peekskill. I Both teams had played two games j previous to this one and Oakside was 1 victorious in both. In the first Oakside I won 7 to 2, but in the second game [ten innings were necessary for Oak- i side to win, 4 to 3. As has been the custom for years the Drum Hill root- ers assembled along the third base line, while the Oakside rooters were lined up along the first base line. To the victorious nine great honors fell, for they were the recipients of gold watch fobs. Escorted by the band, the players of the winning team, mem- bers of the Board of Education, Super- intendent Bohlmann, Principal Quitt- meyer and hundreds of alumni and students paraded around the ball field, with Scharff, the winning twirler, up- on the shoulders of the students, and then through the main thoroughfares of the town. As they paraded through the streets all traffic was stopped. The students sang and made their school yells heard throughout the town. To put a climax to the heroes of the day, the crowd, with hats off, stopped be- fore the Westchester County National Bank and sang "America" to the ac- companiment of the band. Scharff, who was the slab artist for Drum Hill, pitched a masterful game, giving Oakside three hits and getting fourteen strikeouts. At only one stage of the game was there any danger of his being scored upon. This was In the fifth inning. Gordon fanned as a 4S 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CEI-EBRATIOX— 1916 starter. Hunt' lined the ball out into the crowd in left center, going for only two bases on account of ground rules prevailing, as the crowds were upon the field. Lippert got an infield hit, Hunt going to third. Kessler fanned and then Blank ended the chances of Oakside by rolling out to Scharff. In the first inning Oakside had the best opportunity to score during any time of the game, but luck broke against them. Kessler walked to first when Scharff hit him with the first ball pitched. Blank then grounded to Petrillo, who fumbled long enough for Blank to reach first safely. Graninger grounded to Forson, but Blank could not get out of the way of the ball, which necessitated Umpire Donohue to call him out for interference, and the rud scored by Kessler did not count. At no other stage of the game did Oakside have an opportunity to score, for Scharff always tightened up in the pinches. Drum Hill started things in the first inning. Roy delighted the Oakside fans by taking three healthy swings. Olstein waited for four balls. Robin- son singled to right field, Olstein going to third. Wyatt grounded to Blank, who fumbled the ball. Wyatt was safe, Olstein scoring and Robinson going to third. Wyatt stole second. Posey came through with a two bagger in right, scoring Robinson and Wyatt amid great glee and jubilation of the Drum Hill rooters. Forson grounded out, Kess- ler to Lent. Petrillo grounded to Blank, who heaved the ball away over Lent's head, Posey scoria's;. Scharff hit a hot grounder down first base, but Lent made a fine stop and got his man. Two more runs were scored in the second inning. Gain lined a single into left. Roy grounded to Alaire, but got a life on the latter's error. Olstein fanned. Robinson grounded out, Kess- ler to Lent, Gain scoring on the put out. Lippert threw wild to Graninger and Roy dashed over the plate. Wyatt fanned. One more run counted in the third inning. Forson grounded to Blank, who seemed to be aiming at someone in the grand stand, and heaved it over Lent's head, Forson going to second. Scharff tapped one in front of the plate. Graninger picked up the ball and heaved it over first into the crowd standing behind the bag, the ball strik- ing Miss Parker, one of Oakside's high school teachers. She received a very nasty cut over the right eye and was taken to the doctor in an auto. On the wild throw Forson scored. After this inning Lippart and his teammates settled down and played fine ball. In the fifth inning Blank robbed Petrillo of a single by making a wonderful one-hand catch. From the third inning on neither team could get a runner across the plate, and the game ended Drum Hill 7, Oakside 0. The score: Drum Hill. H R E Roy, c.f 1 Olstein, r. f., 1. f 1 Robinson, 3b 1 1 1 Wyatt, c 1 1 1 Posey, lb 1 1 Forson, s. s 1 Petrillo, 2b 1 Scharff, p 1 Gain, 1. f 2 1 Dorsey, r. f Ellis.-l. f 5 7 4 Oakside. R H E Kessler, 2b Blank, s. s 4 Alaire, 3b 1 Graninger, c 2 Burchetta, c. f 1 Lent, lb Gordon, r. f Hunt, 1. f 1 Lippert, p 1 1 3 8 Summary: Oakside 00000000 0—0 Drum Hill 42100000 x— 7 Two base hits — Burchetta, Posey, Hunt. Left on bases — Oakside 7, Drum Hill ?,. Bases on balls— Off Lippart 1, off Scharff 1. Hit by pitched ball— By Scharff, Kessler; by Lippert, Gain. Struck out — By Lippert 7, by Scharff 4. Umpire — Jack Donohue. 1S16— PEEKSKILL. CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION'— 1916 FIKE WORKS I?. DEPEW PARK. A band concert by the Sixth Heavy Artillery Band was scheduled for 7.30 o'clock Tuesday night in Depew Park and a fireworks display at 8.30 p. m. Long before that time people began to start for the park. Autos and those afoot kept coming through all three entrances until the big field north of the ball ground was completely filled and every available outlook was oc- cupied. Park Commissioner Dr. A. E. Phin was in charge of the placing of the people and the machines. He gave his instructions to Chief McGinty, who with his officers carried them out to the letter and never was a crowd bet- ter handled in Peekskill. The band concert began promptly and continued until 8.30, the time set for the display of fireworks. Then they played frequent selections until the display was completed at 10 o'clock. The following program was ren- dered: Overture, "American National Airs" (Theo. Moses). Serenade, 'A Niglit in June" (H. L. King). Aida March, from G. Verdi's opera. Morceau cliaracteristic, "Forest Whis- pers" (P. H. Losey). "Auf Weidersehn" ("Blue Paradise") (S. Romberg). Overture, "Lustspiel" (Heler-Bela). Gavotte, "St. Cecile" (Theo. Tobani). Waltz, "Impassioned Drealn" (I. Ro- sas). Overture. "Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna" (V. Sunpe). March, "The Southerner" (Alexander). People and automobiles continued to arrive until the first bomb opened the display. The set pieces were arranged just north of the driveway at the south end of the ballfield, and the bombs were fired from a point to the west of the pieces. The automobiles were parked directly in front of the set pieces and covered nearly all the open field. By actual count as they left the park, 382 ma- chines were there, and each one filled with as many persons as it could carry. The peope were banked all around the autos, and during the display, when one of the twenty-four bengolders bril- liant white lights was burning in the heavens the whole field was so lighted that every face could be seen. Fully ten thousand people were massed in the open space from which the fire- works could be seen. The hillside to the east of the roadway bordering the lake was a sight to behold. But the crowd was a good-natured one. The autos pulled into line when directed as closely as machines could be run, and when the affair was concluded each one awaited his turn and the vast num- ber of machines was out of the park inside of twenty minutes, so well did the police manage this end of the af- fair and so well did the drivers re- spond to directions. Antonio S. Renza Chairman of the Committee on Deco- rations and Illuminations, in charge of the fireworks display. At intervals of from two to three minutes after the opening, balloons were sent up. Each was marked with a decade year, 1826 being the first, and so on until 1916 went up. They were watched carefully as each took a south- east course and reminded one of a fleet of sailing vessels following its leader. Between each was piece after piece of fireworks in the air and set. 50 1S16— PEEKSKILL CEXTExN'NIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 The pieces were beautiful. Many re- { marked during the evening that they 1 had never seen such a display before ' in Peekskill, and it was a frequently heard comment that Chairman A. S. Renza of the committee had made a j good bargain with the money appro- ' priated to him by the Centennial Com- I mittee. One of the surprises of the pieces i was a fire picture with the word ' "Mayor" underneath, and it was easy to distinguish the features of the gen- tleman who is at the head of the vil- lage government even to the flower in his buttonhole. On either side of the "Mayor" burned an American flag. There was a continual chorus of "Isn't that fine!" as the spectacular colored pieces burst in the heavens or rose up froin the darkness into beau- tiful colored lights. When the display was nearing its end the Liberty Bell was shown in fire, and the final setting, "Good Night," was greeted with loud ap- plause and a chorus of calls from the auto horns. One of the most beautiful of the set pieces was the fire picture of Niagara Falls, which was well along in the list. It was very realistic and brought out a chorus of auto sirens. The display as listed by name was as follows: Twenty-one aerial bombs, 100 shells, Liberty Bell and set piece, 2 set pieces of magnesium wheels, set piece double American flag, set piece whistling wheel, set pieces the Girandolas, flight of rockets, set piece "The Sun," set piece Gallopade, 4 mines of serpents, parachute bombs, aerial violet beds, comet displays, set piece of wheels, also one with five drops, mines, rock- ets, detonations, setpiece Niagara Falls, setpiece novelty girandola, electric girandola, setpieces of geyser foun- tains, two bengolders of half moons, 16 variegated bombs, girandola 400 square feet, set piece of drums, set- piece magnesium wheel, Saturn and satellites, setpiece, setpiece a cascade, American flag and stars, 4 mine shells, 12 rockets, surprise set piece, extraor- dinary shell, school of goldfish repre- sented by bomb shells, mirio break- ing shells and floral bombs, Hirayanni showers, 10 bombs aerial flower beds, Tokio bombs, 6 breaks, pyrotechnic bouquets; "The Arab's Dr.eam," a maze of color and jewel in the heavens; heavenly searchlight; 4 repeating color shells. The finale of it all was a bombard- ment, first aerial, then on the ground, of long duration and with frequent brilliant lights, ending with a thou- sand shot battery and a 400-foot string of cannon salutes. The fireworks were furnished by Flaminia and Camerlengo, and Elia Flaminia, of Fairview, N. J., was here in person and superintended the set- ting off of the pieces. When the "Good Night" had been shown, the people on foot began to leave by the three regular entrances and by way of the academy grounds. The autos all started their engines and the outer edges were sliced off. As one car pulled out another quickly followed, and using the three roads to the village there was no crowding nor was there an accident, and soon the 1916 centennial celebration was but a memory. One of the things that made the fire- works display a success on Tuesday was the fact that A. S. Renza furnished the lumber needed for the setpieces and his workmen did the erecting; his teams carted the materials to the grounds, thereby saving that expense for the purchase of fireworks. Mr. Renza also loaned the use of his pow- der magazine, which greatly helped In the firing, as it enabled the work to be done much more rapidly than with- out it. THE COMMEMORATITE BADGE. Every celebration like Peekskill's Centennial has a commemorative badge. Peekskill, too, had one. It was of bronze, made by the White- head-Hoag Company, of Newark, N. J. In the circular medal about the size and thickness of an American trade dollar there was on the obverse the words, "Peekskill, N. Y.," around the top. There was a replica of the Munic- ipal Building and beneath it an ex- act duplicate of the Peekskill village 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 51 Isaac H. Smitli Chairman Finance Committee Clifford Couch Chairman of Publicity Committee E. II. Russell Chairman Athletic Committee William F. Hoehii Chairman Carnival Committee 52 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 seal, its circular inscription and all. On each side of the seal was a branch of leaves. On the reverse were the dates, 1816- 1016," on a fluted ribbon, in the center of which, between the dates, was a torch resting upon the joined stems of two small branches. Beneath this was the inscription, "Commemorating the lonth anniversary of Peekskill, N. Y., July 2 to 4." Beneath this were crossed branches. By an inch wide red white and blue silk ribbon this medal was suspended from a very prettily shaped and deco- rated cross bar. In raised letters were the words, "Committee," on one hun- dred of them. There were one hun- dred badges with the word "Guest" on the bar. On the reverse of the bar was the fastening pin. The entire medal was effectively pretty. It made a fine souvenir as well as a badge of identification during the celebration. A few more are left and can be purchased of Secretary of the Committee Albert E. Cruger. DECORATIONS DAT AND NIGHT. The decorations for the Centennial celebration were as fine as could be desired. The business houses were decorated much after the fashion of the Elks' parade, except that the pur- ple and white was missing, and the red, white and blue or flag took their place. In the vicinity of the passen- ger station there were also fine dec- orations. The lighting effects outrivaled those of the Elks' convention, if that were possible. Lent and Burchetta had the contract, and they gave more time and labor than the amount of money they received could possibly purchase. The business streets from Washing- ton street, on South street, through South Division street and Main street, from the Eagle Hotel to Nelson avenue and on Park street were brilliant with electric lights festooned across the streets at frequent intervals. On Park street special efforts had been made. Red, white and blue lights- were so draped from the cluster of lights in the circle as to present a fine spectacle at night. A big star of col- ored lights surmounded the cluster and a large American flag floated there by day. At night at the east of the clus- ter, red, white and blue lights were so formed as to represent a waving Amer- ican flag. At the junction of Railroad and Hudson avenues and at South street and Hudson avenue the lighting schemes in vogue uptown was also carried out. In addition to the lights across the streets, small flags were strung at in- tervals to add to the daytime appear- ance of the thoroughfares. Nearly 3,000 lights were used in all. In front of the Eagle Hotel four large columns were erected of white trimmed with blue. Stretched from each pillar diagonally were lines of flags under which the paraders marched. At Depew Park entrance on Fre- mont street and Union avenue, fes- toons of lights were stretched across the street and numbers of extra lights were placed m the park in order that those who witnessed the fireworks dis- play might safely find their way to the outlets of the park. IT WAS THE PRETTIEST OF ALL. The prettiest illumination at night was that of the Highland Democrat Company Building, 1006-1008-1010 Park street. Each of the south, east and west windows on all three floors were cov- ered on the inside with wide strips of red, white and blue tissue paper. Twenty windows were thus prepared. The large pane in the show window on the first floor was covered with verti- cal bands of red, white and blue. The door glasses were likewise adorned. All this was quite noticeable by day. But at night, with gas and electric lights behind the transparent red, white and blue paper it was a pretty sight. However, it was most effective and seen at its best after midnight. At that hour the myriads o'f colored lights in Park street were turned off. Then the Highland Democrat Building, with its two dozen windows and doors throw- ing out the red, white and blue bands of light were accentuated by the sur- rounding darkness and could be seen 1816— PEEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 53 for a long distance, especially the windows on the third floor. It was indeed a pretty picture and much ad- mired by thousands of people. The building was illuminated Sat- urday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings from dusk until 1.00 a. m. The building was also gaily deco- rated outside with red, white and blue streamers, flags and bunting and bands about the roof eaves, smaller groups of flags, etc. It was all done by the Highland Democrat employees and all material was purchased from Peekskill merchants and the money kept right here in Peekskill. ECHOES OF THE CELEHKA HON. The Elks kept open house Sunday, Monday and Tuesday for the naval of- ficers and warrant ofiicers, many of whom were Elks. John Halsted, Sanford R. Knapp and John B. Christian had seats on the band stand during the anniversary ex- ercises Tuesday. All are considerably over eighty years of age. The Peekskill Post Office closed on Monday from 2 until 5 p. m. The car- riers omitted the 2 o'clock delivery only. All other deliveries and collec- tions were made as usual. Many moving pictures were taken of the parade, at the ball game, during the Tuesday exercises and of the auto- mobiles. In fact, almost any event was the signal for a moving picture man to get busy. Ensign Maxwell Cole, of the torpedo boat destroyer Cummings, was almost a Peekskill boy. He was born and reared in Carmel, Putnam County. He was appointed to Annapolis by the late Congressman Richard E. Connell. edi- tor of the Poughkeepsie News-Press. Ensign Cole was a member of the class of 1916 at Annapolis. Captain Charles W. Brown, of Cortr- pany A, Forty-seventh Regiment, and his First Lieutenant, James M. Brown, and Second Lieutenant, A. A. Grass, were in charge of the six squads of soldiers who aided the police in keep- ing order on parade day. With the offi- cers and sergeants, there were over fifty men in the police guard. Mrs. Charles Nelson, who was here Monday, was one of Peekskill's war babies in the early sixties. She was the daughter of John Bennett, the first Peekskill soldier to be brought home dead. He died of fever in Newport News, Va. Mrs. Nelson was born after her father's death. Mrs. Nelson now lives in New York. Her father is buried in the old cemetery at Van Cortlandt- ville. The Hebrew Orphan Asylum Band, which headed the fourth division, cre- ated much favorable comment by their excellent playing. They arrived in Peekskill at 10.30 a. m., and left on the 8.02 p. m. train. There were thirty- eight pieces, with Herman Heller, eleven years old, as Drum Major. They won first prize in competition with fifty bands recently for the Forty- seventh Regiment. Congressman Lemuel P. Padgett, chairman of the Naval Committee of the House of Representatives, arrived in Peekskill Monday afternoon to ful- fill his Fourth of July speaking en- gagement. While here he was the guest of Counselor Nathan P. Bush- nell. They have long been intimate friends, having served and worked to- gether in the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. Rear- Admiral French E. • Chadwick and wife, of Newport, R. I., arrived Monday in their Overland auto, driven by a colored chauffeur. They stopped at the Eagle Hotel. They met many people while here and made lots of friends. They left Wednesday at 9 a. m. for Saratoga Springs for a three weeks' stay. They were accompanied as far as Camp Whitman by Chester De Witt Pugsley and visited the camp for a while. For the information of many Peeks- kill people who thought William Jen- nings Bryan was paid to speak in Peekskill on Fourth of July, it might be stated that he came gratuitously. There was no expense of any nature whatsoever attached to his coming to or speaking in Peekskill. He was met at the Pennsylvania Station Tuesday morning by Clifford Couch, who spent several hours with him in the city; then escorted him to Peekskill on the train arriving here at 12.33 p. m. Ex- Congressman Pugsley and his son, 54 1S16— PBEKSKILL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— 1916 Chester De Witt Pugsley met them with an automobile and drove them to Depew Park. Mr. Pugsley drove Mr. Bryan to Ossining after the review at camp. Lieutenant Commander Neal, before leaving Peekskill, assured President Crumb that in all their travels and details to such celebrations as ours, never had they been more cordially and warmly received and royally en- tertained than in Peekskill. All the officers and men had been accorded every courtesy possible and then some. He said when the men, even the blue- jackets, had asked to be directed to a place the person accosted was not sat- isfied with imparting information, but would accompany the man to the place sought. Lieutenant-Commander Neal said that no matter where his boat or the Worden might be, " Peekskill" would be a password that would al- ways be accepted on their craft. 3IR, CRUMB THANKS Mil. PUGSLEl Leverett F. Crumb mailed the fol- lowing letter to Chester De Witt Pugs- ley on hursday, July 6: July 6, 1916. Chester D. Pugsley, Esq., Chairman Centennial Committee, Peekskill: My Dear Mr. Pugsley — Permit me to thank you, and through you the mem- bers of the Centennial Committee, on behalf of the people of Peekskill, for the splendid manner in which our Cen- tennial was conducted. I wish also to thank everyone who had to do with the affair, and its great success, from Captain Fred A. Smith, who marshaled the parade, to the tini- est child who participated. Nor is this all; thanks are also due to the hun- dreds of willing hands that in their own way joined in making it a grand success. To name any one person would be to rob another of just credit. The only thing that comes to my mind to express what I feel and what I be- lieve every citizen of Peekskill feels, is what Nehemiah wrote many centu- ries ago, when he said: "So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work." The people did work, big and little. Permit me to say that the greatest lesson, to my mind, taught by our suc- cessful centennial celebration is that when our people have a mind to work, when they are willing to work in har- mony, nothing will ever interfere with the success of their work. With such an illustration of the spirit, energy and ability of our people, no one ever ought for one second to be discouraged in any public line, for if we will all work together as we worked for the success of the Centennial celebration we will not only maintain the high standard of the past, and the splendid standing of Peekskill at the present time, but will go on and make Peekskill a prosperous and live town, one that will invite and harbor industries and sustain them, one that will welcome new citizens and encourage them and a place in which everybody will be happy. oQM Very truly yours, Jylr^-KJ L^Stf- ^^^'i^U ^O^ President. Geo. E. I$rigf?s Who compiled this book LIBRARY OF CONGRESS liiil 014 109 515 8 ^