Dutchess County Historical Society Centennial Celebration 1914 – 2014
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Thinking Historically Dutchess County Historical Society Centennial Celebration 1914 – 2014 Dutchess County Historical Society 2014 Yearbook • Volume 93 Candace J. Lewis, Editor M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 1 10/7/14 3:55 PM Publications Committee: Candace J. Lewis, Ph.D., Editor Roger Donway, Deborah Golomb, Eileen Hayden Julia Hotton, Melodye Moore Designer: Marla Neville, Main Printing www.mymainprinter.com Printer: NetPub, Inc. www.netpub.net Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook 2014 Volume 93 • Published annually since 1915 Copyright © by Dutchess County Historical Society ISSN: 0739-8565 ISBN: 978-0-944733-09-7 Cover: An outing to the Residence of Isaac S. Wheaton, Lithgow, NY, by the Dutchess County Historical Society September 15, 1926. Detail: Photograph (panoramic). Collection of the Dutchess County Historical Society. The Society is a not-for-profit educational organization that collects, preserves, and interprets the history of Dutchess County, New York, from the period of the arrival of the first Native Americans until the present day. Dutchess County Historical Society P.O. Box 88 Poughkeepsie, NY 12602 845-471-1630 Email: [email protected] www.dutchesscountyhistoricalsociety.org M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 2 10/7/14 3:55 PM This issue of the Dutchesss County Historical Society’sT ITLE iii yearbook has been generously underwritten by the following: Congratulations to the Dutchess County Historical Society and Happy Birthday: 100 years old. Anonymous L Congratulations to the Dutchess County Historical Society for its one hundred years of effort to preserve and communicate our region’s past. Roger and Alisan Donway M M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 3 10/7/14 3:55 PM iv DCHS YEARBOOK 2014 Shirley M. Handel L LTC Gilbert A. Krom M M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 4 10/7/14 3:55 PM TITLE v One hundred years and still going strong. Hooray! . Lou and Candace J. Lewis X Leonard E. and Sandra S. Opdycke N M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 5 10/7/14 3:55 PM vi DCHS YEARBOOK 2014 ower. Possibil le. P ities op . Pe Central Hudson A COMPANY Lou Lewis J. Scott Greer Veronica A. McMillan Corporate, Commercial & Business Law; ~ Construction Law; Joan Quinn Municipal Law; Paul E. Denbaum Real Property Tax Law Congratulations to the DCHS! It’s been a historic 100 years! 510 Haight Avenue • Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 Phone: (845) 454-1200 • Fax (845) 454-3315 Visit our website at www.lewisgreer.com M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 6 10/7/14 3:55 PM TITLE vii N M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 7 10/7/14 3:55 PM viii DCHS YEARBOOK 2014 Kimberley Jones, View of the Hudson River from the Mid-Hudson Bridge, looking south. May 2014. Acrylic on canvas. M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 8 10/7/14 3:55 PM Table of Contents Foreword by the County Executive ......................................................... xiv Introduction by the County Historian .................................................... xvi Letter from the Editor ....................................................................... xviii FORUM: Thinking Historically Thinking Historically: My Take ........................................................... 3 by Denise D. VanBuren Watching Aviation in Dutchess County: The Myth of Meaning; The Meaning of Myth .................................... 9 by Leonard E. Opdycke Poppies from Heaven: 1928 ............................................................... 17 by David Johnson Photographs as Place Markers of the Urban Landscape: Main Street, Poughkeepsie ................................................................. 25 by Harvey K. Flad How Poughkeepsie Contributed to the Enlistment of Blacks in the Union Army ............................................................. 35 by Julia Hotton ARTICLES: Miscellaneous Topics in Dutchess County History From Above: Poughkeepsie, New York, 1937 ..................................... 45 by Mary-Kay Lombino Lee Miller: Hometown Girl Does Well ............................................. 53 by Lou Lewis The Legacy of Young Theodore A. Schultz of Schultzville .............. 61 by Cynthia M. Koch CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION Dutchess County Historical Society, 1914–2014 ............................... 71 by Eileen Mylod Hayden The Dutchess County Society in The City of New York .................... 89 by Melodye Moore M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 9 10/7/14 3:55 PM “Of Some Definite Historic Value”: FDR and the Preservation of History ............................................... 109 by Bob Clark Arthur Tompkins Benson: Early Member of the Dutchess County Historical Society ................................................ 121 by Caroline Rogers Reichenberg Centennial Celebration History Shorts ............................................ 125 The Abels of the Town of Union Vale (Town of Union Vale) ......... 127 by Dr. Stephen Abel The Andros Family, Residents of Dutchess County since 1893, Working for the Railroad (Town of Hyde Park) ............................. 131 by Jacqueline Andros Homko Zimmer Brothers Jewelers and the Poughkeepsie Tower Clock (City and Town of Poughkeepsie) .................................................... 135 by Michael D. and Deborah Zimmer Gordon The Passing Scene: Rose Hill Farm, Red Hook’s Oldest Family Business (Town of Red Hook) .............. 141 by Claudine and Christopher Klose McCabe & Mack LLP, Law Firm (City of Poughkeepsie) .............. 145 by Candace J. Lewis A History of the Battenfeld Family and Battenfeld Farm from 1914 to 2014 (Town of Milan) ................................................ 149 by June Gosnell The Hermans Family of Northern Dutchess County, Farming, Insurance, and Books (Town of Northeast) ...................... 155 by Sarah K. Hermans The History of the Grinnell Library (Town of Wappinger) ............. 159 by Mary Schmalz History of Rhinebeck Bank (Town of Rhinebeck and Hudson Valley) ........................................ 163 by Candace J. Lewis 100 Years Ago: A Transformative Year ............................................. 167 by Colton Johnson M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 10 10/7/14 3:55 PM TITLE xi ADDENDA Contributors ..................................................................................... 175 Call for Papers ................................................................................ 181 DCHS Yearbook Cover Guide .......................................................... 183 DCHS Trustees and Staff ................................................................. 189 DCHS: Review of the Year 2014 ...................................................... 191 DCHS Donors .................................................................................. 193 Municipal Historians and Historical Societies of Dutchess County .............................................................................. 198 Dutchess County Historical Society Membership ........................... 202 M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 11 10/7/14 3:55 PM xii DCHS YEARBOOK 2014 Foreword by Marcus J. Molinaro, County Executive, Dutchess County As Dutchess County enters her 301st year of de- mocracy, we look back on three centuries of local achievements. Among the significant anniversaries this year is the Dutchess County Historical Soci- ety’s centennial, a landmark event that reminds us of our deep historical roots and the bright future we are building upon them. The society’s achieve- ments over the past hundred years mirror those of the county as a whole, as does the society’s prom- ise for future excellence. Through its on-going programs and many contributions, the Dutchess County Historical Society has worked to define who we are as a people and how we hope to live. Since its inception, the Dutchess County Historical Society has been an in- spirational model for preserving and promoting our community heritage. Through the collection of irreplaceable documents and artifacts that show- case daily life in the county and sharing the stories these items tell through exhibits, tours, and other programming, the society has kept memories of old Dutchess alive. We continue to follow this example today with projects such as our Dutchess County Government Exhibit on the 6th Floor of the County Office Building at 22 Market Street in Poughkeepsie. One of the society’s most outstanding achievements over the past hundred years has been the continuous publication of the Dutchess County Histor- ical Society Yearbook. Few history organizations nationwide can compete with that record, adding to the list of unique and innovative achievements that have long issued forth from Dutchess County. The Yearbook and the society’s look back over its first hundred years further reminds us that we are making history today. What we achieve in the present and the marks we leave on our community now are tomorrow’s history and lay the ground- work and example for future excellence. Just as the society now considers the lessons of its first hundred years and looks to the future, so do we as a county community re-invest in our past achievements and set the stage for future excellence. Our recent renovation M9214 DCHS 100214.indb 12 10/7/14 3:55 PM TITLE xiii of Dutchess Stadium continues a twenty year commitment to providing affordable family entertainment to our community. Our continuing trans- formation of county government is creating a model of new efficiency through workforce enhancement and the creation of unique new solutions to today’s challenges. As we move forward together as a county communi- ty, we insure that the Dutchess County Historical Society will have plenty of history to document and celebrate at its bicentennial. After