A Swiss Chalet in Cedar Hill - updated!

I bet you didn't know we had a Swiss chalet tucked away in the Cedar Hill section of Bethlehem.   The current owners have done a wonderful job restoring the house to its Arts & Crafts glory.

It was built about 1907 (probably designed by Marcus Reynolds, but possibly by Walter H. Van Guysling - a debate for another day) for Dr. Willis Goss MacDonald as a summer home.  MacDonald was pals with J. B. Lyon and Marcus Glynn, prominent Albanians who also had summer  homes nearby.

MacDonald is an interesting character.  He was a famous surgeon in the Albany area.  His obituary ran in the New York Times on December 31, 1910.  Born in Cobleskill in 1863, he graduated from Albany Medical College in 1887 and also trained in Berlin in 1889 and 90. His surgical expertise was widely noted.  Doing a newspaper search online, I turned up an abundance of hits referring to Dr. MacDonald attending to his patients.

His life was cut tragically short.  MacDonald died December 30, 1910 at the age of 47.  His obituary is oddly specific.  "Dr. Willis G. MacDonald, one of the noted surgeons of this country, died to-night after five days illness from pneumonia contracted at a dinner given him at the Orange Club last Saturday night to members of a committee pf physicians having in charge the construction of new medical college buildings."  That snippet makes me wonder who else got sick at the dinner.

Anyway, MacDonald only enjoyed his chalet in Bethlehem for a few years.  After his death, the home came into the hands of J. B. Lyon's children.  They made it into a year round residence.

After his death, a sculpture of MacDonald was erected in his home town of Cobleskill. **

Dr. W. G. MacDonald **

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Many thanks to the folks who posted these pictures on the FindAGrave website!  Visit it here
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=92876626


And many thanks to the current owners for giving me a tour!!


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November 3, 2016

Just found the pictures below.  Enjoy!

The Four Corners from the Albany County Post

A friend let me borrow his November 21, 1952 edition of the Albany County Post.
Here are some clippings.  Enjoy!

Joe Allgaier, Bethlehem Town Historian from 1991-2005

Joe Allgaier passed away not too long ago and I've been thinking about his contributions to Bethlehem's local history.  And I just don't know where to start the list is so long.

Editorial team for the 1993 publication "Bethlehem Revisited" from left to right: Joe Allgaier, Chuck McKinney, Floyd Brewer, Hugh Hewitt and Peter Christoph.  

  I probably met Joe when I attended my first Bethlehem Historical meeting in September of 1995.  He was an approachable guy always willing to share his expertise and encouragement.  His legacy as town historian is long and includes the book Bethlehem Revisited for which he served on the editorial team and wrote two chapters Business and Industry and Will of the People. Bethlehem Revisited is a book I refer to constantly - go read it if you haven't already!

Another legacy I use everyday is the database Joe created for the town's archival records. That database stemmed from a re-organization that I am sure was a huge project.  He collaborated closely with then Town Clerk Kathy Newkirk and others to assess, inventory and properly store the records.  The resulting searchable database really is awesome.  99% of the time when the database produces a hit and I go looking for a specific document in a specific folder in a specific archival storage box, it is there just like it is supposed to be.

Joe took me in hand when I was first appointed town historian in nine years ago, giving me the tour, giving me the keys to the database, answering my many questions about how to be a historian and encouraging me to make the position of historian my own.

Bethlehem and its history are the richer for having been served by town historian Joe Allgaier.  Personally, his influence on how I do my job has been profound and deeply appreciated.

Rest in Peace Joe!

Delmar Four Corners

Here are some circa 1970 photos of the Delmar Four Corners for your rainy Monday.

The first two on the roll of film capture an emergency response at the Four Corners.  Notice the background.   Anyone remember the Delmar Department Store and the Delmar Bootery?

And how about this one.  Again there is the emergency on the right.  But notice how much gas was back then. And notice that there was even a gas station where the mini park and clock are now.  And notice that Peter Harris used to be where the sub shop is today.

The rest of the pictures seem to be documenting the large brick building that was on the corner of Delaware and Kenwood where Key Bank is today. It was taken down in 1974, so that gives an idea of the date of these snapshots.   Enjoy!

Looking east on Delaware.  The Delmar Corner Store on the left is where Swifty's tent is today.

The Delmar Meat Market on the right in the background is where Great Wall is today.

South Bethlehem and the Horton Sisters

Last Saturday morning was a fine day for a history hike in South Bethlehem.  The group included Alan Baumes, a descendant of the prominent South Bethlehem family. He told wonderful stories about his great aunts who lived on Willowbrook Avenue.  More about the Baumes family in another post.  For now, I want to introduce you to the Horton Family. 

One of my favorite things that sometimes happens during history hikes is when property owners come out to talk.  At first I think they are just wondering about, and maybe suspicious of, all these folks standing in front of their house.   So I always give a cheerful good morning and introduce myself.  If we're in luck, they start telling stories about their home.  


So, walking along Willowbrook, a gentleman comes out and says, "You know, this is where the Horton Sisters used to live."  And I was like, "What!  The Horton Sisters!"  When I first was town historian, nine years ago this September, I came across a flyer for the Horton Family Orchestra from South Bethlehem.  It has been in a file ever since. Forgotten. 

How could I forget the Originators of Real Rhythm and the Horton Girl Unit?!


From what I gather, they were popular in the 1930s and 40s. I've found ads for their performances in Gloversville and Corinth as well as Guilderland and Albany.   Interestingly, I couldn't find them on the 1930 or 1940 US census.  Anywhere.  So, they will remain a bit of a mystery until more research gets done.  




April 12, 1940 Altamont Enterprise

Slingerlands Elementary School 75th Birthday Party

Calling all alumni of the Slingerlands Elementary School - did you know the Union Avenue school building is 75 years old this year?  It was built in 1941, replacing the old schoolhouse over on New Scotland Road.  I am planning on telling the whole story in my September then and now for Our Town Bethlehem.

In the mean time - the group is planning a celebration on September 25 and is looking for alumni to share their stories.  Yearbooks and snapshots would also be appreciated.  I am told the info is pretty good from the late 1970s onward, but not so much for the 40s, 50s and 60s. 


Visit this website and please help spread the word!
http://www.bethlehemschools.org/slingerlands-celebrate-75th-birthday-sept-25/

And, just for fun, here are some Slingerlands graduates from 1907. 

Thomas and Eliza Pierce

July’s then and now article for Our Town Bethlehem looks at a simple farm house on Old Quarry Road built about 1859.  

Pop on over to http://www.ourtownebethlehem.com/ to read the article.  

As always, I ended up with more questions than answers.  Here are a few loose ends I am still wondering about. But let's start with a cute dog. The current owners are lucky to have been given a large envelope of old documents and photos after they purchased the home.  I couldn't use them all, but  don't you just love this pup named Fluff? 

Moving along, Thomas and Eliza Pierce, original owners of the property, immigrated from Ireland around 1840.  How did they end up out in the boondocks that would have been Old Quarry Road in the 1860s?  I find it interesting that the 1870 census shows Edwin (age 21) and Elizabeth (age 19) Malone living next door to the Pierces.  They were both from Ireland and married less than a year.  He is working on the railroad as is Thomas Pierce. I imagine a cute young Irish couple – were they relations of the Pierces?  What is the story?!

It appears that Thomas and Eliza were part of the massive waves of Irish immigration that occurred in the 1840s, 50s and beyond.  Between 1820 and 1860 almost 2 million Irish arrived.  The Pierces are part of that story.  

And finally, what is the story of the old quarry on Old Quarry Road?  Love these USGS maps that show where a bite was taken out of the hillside.