Keeping it simple for September.
This month I invite you to enjoy some classic then and now
photo sets. All of the “now” photos were
taken in late August 2020. And one
Flash and Dash. Cemetery walks and a
history paddle are on tap this fall.
Visit the Bethlehem Historical Association’s website for details.
BethlehemHistorical.org.
Students stand in front of the Cedar Hill Schoolhouse in the
early 1900s. The original one room
school was built in 1859 and was expanded to the size shown here in 1907. The building was actively used as a school
until 1962.
In this photo taken May 17, 1964, the school is boarded up,
in the midst of its transition from the Ravena Coeymans Selkirk Central School
District to the Town of Bethlehem and the Bethlehem Historical Association. The schoolhouse is located at the corner of
River Road and Clapper Road in Selkirk.
Organized in 1965, the Bethlehem Historical Association is a
vibrant, local history organization whose motto is “Live for Today. Dream for
Tomorrow. Learn from Yesterday.” BHA hopes to re-open the museum after the
Covid-19 shutdown sometime this fall.
Organized in 1908, members of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
did not raise their church building at the corner of Elsmere Avenue and Polar
Drive until 1926. Before that, they were meeting at a former blacksmith shop
Delaware Avenue. This photo is probably from about 1930.
Over the years, St. Stephen’s has made many enlargements to
their facility. The light color wing is the original building. The section to
the right of the tree in the center of the picture formed the entryway. You can
match up the small rectangular vent windows in the peak.
Lehmann’s Garage has stood on Maple Avenue in Selkirk for
over 100 years, one of the oldest continuing family businesses in town. Jacob Albert Lehmann started out as a
blacksmith here in 1913, and his son Albert Jacob transitioned the business to automobile
service. The garage is seen here about
1930 with a truck of the Selkirk Fire Department.
Lehmann’s Garage today.
The lovely Victorian house at 1511 New Scotland Road has a
storied history. It was built in 1876 by Albert I. Slingerland for railroad
executive Charles Hammond. The photo here is believed to have been taken in the
mid-1930s by photographer Marion Dillenback.
She lived here with her husband Garrett V. Dillenback, Jr, in-laws Adele
and Garrett Dillenback and sister-in-law Elizabeth Dillenback. The house became locally famous as scenes
from the 1987 movie Ironweed were filmed here.
The distinctive round window, decorative brackets and
pointed tower of the Ironweed House are visible in this modern photo.
