Connecting J. White Sprong and Gustave Lorey

Today's amusing history thread started with this handsome photo of J. White Sprong.  Sprong you might remember from previous posts lived in a lovely Victorian home that still stands on Kenwood Avenue. He was an executive with the D&H Railroad. After noticing his watch fob and rimless eye glasses, my gaze went to the signature of the photographer: Gustave Lorey.

A little noodling around on Google led me to this charming photo from the Albany Institute. It is dated 1925 and is by Lorey.
http://www.albanyinstitute.org/details/items/halloween-party-at-cedar-hill.html

Maybe, I thought, this is Bethlehem's Cedar Hill - wouldn't that be neat.

A little bit more noodling around on the newspaper websites turned up some facts about Lorey.  He was a well known photographer in Albany and Saratoga Springs. Born in 1868, Died in 1937. Married to Mira Ingalls.  No children.  His studio carried on well after his death.  I found a reference to the Gustave Lorey Studio as late as 1960.

And then I found this interesting tidbit after looking under Mira Ingalls Lorey.

It is from the Albany Evening News, Monday January 31, 1927.  Gustave and Mira are dining with the Hakes and Wheelers - prominent families at Van Wies Point in Glenmont and the Lyons - a very prominent family of, you guessed it, Cedar Hill.

So, maybe, just maybe, that charming Halloween photo is from our very own Bethlehem.


UPDATE

So, I published this on a Monday afternoon. The next day I am at my church, Delmar Reformed, and see this plaque over in a corner.  Notice a familiar last name?  I am being haunted by Sprongs!

Boundary Lines

I've been pondering Bethlehem's northern line in preparation for a talk I am giving with Albany city historian Tony Opalka.

Did you ever wonder about that funny part that sticks out on top?

We used to have a nice straight northern border with Albany.  It kind of sort of looked this.

Then Albany got land grabby - or maybe the residents just wanted city services.   1870, 1910/1916 and 1967 saw large chunks go over to the city.

That inward cove on the modern map covers the contentious Hurstville/Karlsfeld annexation that started in 1964 and was finalized in 1967.  How about this juicy quote from a 1964 Knick News article:

"Bethlehem town officials complain that the city is gnawing away at town land and possibly planning to swallow up all of North Bethlehem eventually."*

Have I roused your curiosity to learn more?  Come to our talk at the Bethlehem Historical Association, November 20, 7 pm at the Cedar Hill Schoolhouse, 1003 River Road, Selkirk.  It is free and open to the public.

And check out the book  How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein.  It is a fun read about all those weird state boundary lines.

* Annexation Battle Recalls Other Bethlehem Border Clashes by John Machacek. The Knickerbocker News September 8, 1964. 

Hudson River Thoughts and Do-Gooders

A couple of ideas swirling around in my brain come together today in one old document.

I was writing about the Hudson River ice industry for my next then and now article for Our Towne.  I wondered about the men, and women, who worked the ice harvest.  The sub-zero temperatures and cutting wind.  The horses. The steam engines that powered the cakes of ice up into the warehouse. I think of winter on the river as a quiet time.  I find the stillness of Henry Hudson Park when cloaked in ice and snow very soothing.  100+ years ago I bet the air echoed with the noise ice harvest activity.

I also have a weakness for novels - silly romances or thrillers, science fiction or fantasy, I gobble them up like candy.  Which they are, for my brain.  One of them this week was describing America as a nation of do-gooders.  People who, when disaster strikes, show up with food and clothes, with willing hands and feet, with cash and donations.  I think sometimes we forget the good in the world a midst all the bad news headlines.

Then my thoughts turned to this document from 1907 courtesy of Allison Bennett's book More Times Remembered.  It manages to combine ice and do-gooders.

Francis F. Wright's team of horses fell through the ice and drowned during the ice harvest. A substantial loss for this Elsmere farmer.  His friends and neighbors rallied together to raise funds for replacements.  According to Bennett's article, Francis Wright and his wife Libby lived in the vicinity of Salisbury Road off of Delaware Avenue in Elsmere.  Like many farmers, he made extra money in the winters working the ice harvest.

Here are some horses hard at work on the Hudson River courtesy of the New York State Archives.

A Delmar Picnic

I've mentioned before the unique pleasure of people handing me random Bethlehem historic photos.  Here's another one for you to enjoy.  Written on the back is "Delmar picnic."

Judging from the women's clothing (love those leg-o-mutton sleeves), I'd say  it was taken about 1895.

A Formidable Woman

Allison Bennett died last Wednesday.  She was a formidable woman, and an inspiration to me.  She officially served as town historian from 1966-1974.  Her devotion to keeping and recording history was life long.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timesunion-albany/obituary.aspx?n=allison-c-bennett&pid=172668814&fhid=13825

September 23, 1892

Have you ever noticed how old newspapers functioned a lot like today's Facebook?

Just read the clipping below and you'll see what I mean.  And yes, I know it is tiny.  Use the zoom feature on your web browser to enlarge.

Here are a few of my favorite bits. You might recognize some old Delmar names.

"If there are any one desiring the help of an experienced cow boy, who is an experienced hand, call on C.W."

"Mr. Nathaniel Adams, an old and highly esteemed resident of this place, died Sunday morning at half past nine."

"Mr. Niles Rowe is improving slowly."

"Who ate the most chocolate cake at the reception? I know, don't you Allie?"

"It is reported that Mr. Frank Sprong has purchased a lot of Mr. Wm. LeGallez and intends building in the near future."

August 24, 1889

Every once in a while I run across an old newspaper article that touches on a lot of historical things I have been thinking about lately.  South Bethlehem, quarries, railroads, baseball, churches.  The article below has them all.  Here are some excerpts and explanations.

In company with numerous friends of the South Bethlehem M. E. church Sunday School from the towns of Guilderland and New Scotland, we accompanied them on their excursion to Ionia Island…. The day was all that could be desired and the run of one hundred miles over the smooth tracks of the West Shore Road, with its delightful scenery, was made in about three hours.

I came across the article while looking for info about the South Bethlehem United Methodist Church - or South Bethlehem M.E. church.  There wasn't a United Methodist denomination until they united various branches of Methodists in 1968.

Iona Island in the Hudson River was a popular excursion destination from the late 1860s until 1899. The resort boasted a Ferris wheel, carousel, picnic grounds and a hotel. After a stint as a ammunition depot, it is now part of Bear Mountain State Park.

South Bethlehem's station on the West Shore Railroad was located west of South Street. Nothing remains today.

The concert over, some found their way to the ball ground to witness what proved a one-sided contest between the Unions of South Bethlehem and the Echoes of Slingerlands, in which the Union’s had decidedly the best of it.

Recently I wrote about Bethlehem and baseball - I had no idea that South Bethlehem had a team!

The return trip was made with but little delay… until we reached South Bethlehem when we were unmercifully backed off on a lonely side-track for nearly half an hour with nothing to cheer the monotony of the occasion but the bright electric lights and the occasional sonorous tones of the steam whistle from Callanan’s stone quarry.”

This past weekend I had the pleasure of tagging along with Bethlehem Senior Services when they toured the Peter K. Frueh quarry in Feura Bush - what fun that was!  With a gentle rain falling, Peter Frueh stepped aboard the van and talked about his family business.  Stone crushers and sorters rumbled in the background.  That large boulder of lime rock... broken up in about 5 seconds.  How often do you blast....twice so far this year.  Where does the stone go.... mostly for the family business - Frueh Excavating.  What is crush and run....lime rock with sharp edges that packs down... it comes in different sizes.  Who does the blasting.... we bring in professionals.

Loading stone at Callanans

Later that afternoon I gave a brief talk about the hamlet of South Bethlehem and especially Callanan's.  Callanan's stone quarry was established in 1883 by Peter Callanan and was for years a family run business.  Today, it is part of a much larger conglomerate. While I know the dump trucks full of stone still drive up South Street from the quarry - I don't know if the steam whistle still blows.

Oh and how about those electric lights?  I have read that South Bethlehem had street lights as early as 1907 - but this is 1889.  All I can say is, hmmmmm

Here's the complete article.

PS Browse back issues of the Altamont Enterprise and other newspapers at  http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/