April 2010 Volume III: Issue 4 The Gazebo Gazette Newsletter of the Larchmont Historical Society 5 Interpretations of Fabled tapestry Architecture Sunday, April 25th, 2010 1 to 5 pm Reception and Art Show to follow at the Mamaroneck Artists’ Guild 126 Larchmont Avenue 3 to 6 pm House drawings by Phyllis Tarlow Page 2 Published by: President’s Message: The Larchmont Historical Society P.O. Box 742, Larchmont, NY 10538 The Larchmont Historical Society board members are once again wrapping up the Editor: Nancy White year with their annual crown jewel, the Spring House Tour. These amazing volun- Contributors: Lynne Crowley, Kate teers are devoting themselves to producing yet another spectacular day chock full Kelly, Jennifer Lamb, Carolyn Brown of beautiful homes and ending with a lovely reception. We hope you will join us Okay, Patti Roberts, Jim Thomsen on Sunday, April 25th! Officers and Board of Trustees: While working on this event we have also managed to celebrate Women’s History Colette Rodbell President Month with a terrific talk by Larchmont’s own Kiran Chetry of CNN’s American ststst Morning. Kiran provided us with a clever, informative and very interesting Lauren Gottfried, 1 VP, Membership nd glimpse behind the scenes of a major news organization. LHS owes a special Patti Roberts, 2 ndnd VP, Programs thanks to Patti Roberts, our program chair, who comes up with great program Carolyn Okay, Recording Secretary ideas and then brings them to life. Jim Sweeney ,Treasurer Thanks too, to you, our members. We appreciate your support and welcome your Stacy Caffrey Jennifer Lamb participation. Whether you have an hour to give or would like to serve on a com- Erin Constabile Jim Levi mittee, please contact us on line at larchmonthistory.org, 914-381-2239 or Manuel Delgado Ellen Martin [email protected] . - Colette Rodbell Elaine Everhart Cynthia McManus Andrew Francella Stephen Rolandi Margi Gristina Melissa Schoen Laura Hoffman Margaret Takata Witek Spearheads Oral History Peggy Kahn Roberta Warren Kate Kelly Nancy White Project Chris Knowles Pier Witek Lynne Crowley, Archivist The “tradition of the recording, preservation and inter- pretation of historical information based on the per- The Larchmont Historical Society was sonal experiences and opinions of the speaker” re- founded in 1980 and chartered in 1981 ceived a name in the 1940’s – Oral History. Thanks to as a not-for-profit educational corpora- an article in a 1942 edition of The New Yorker detail- tion by the New York State Board of ing the work of one Joe Gould (that work was never Regents to discover, preserve and dis- published, by the way) , we know what to call the hard seminate information concerning the work of Larchmont History Society board member Pier natural, social, and civic history of Witek. Larchmont, and to promote the preser- vation of local historical sites and struc- Pier’s own interest in oral history began as a teenager. tures. The Society maintains an ar- At the age of 16, she interviewed her grandfather about his role in World War II. As chives in the Mamaroneck Town Cen- he began to tell her about patrolling the Long Island Sound, a spark was ignited in ter, 740 W. Boston Post Rd., Pier that has stayed lit years later, as she attempts to create an Oral History Program Mamaroneck; publishes a newsletter;, for Larchmont. offers programs; conducts tours for The goal of the program is to document what it was like in the Village during major school children and adults; and offers events in history, such as the Great Depression and various wars. Additionally, the outreach lectures to other community project will attempt to record changes in neighborhoods, development of businesses groups. The newsletter is published to and other events, all through the eyes of the very people who lived it. provide news of the Society and occa- sional articles of related interest. Opin- The Society’s Oral History Program is off to an impressive start, as Pier has already ions expressed are those of their au- recorded interviews with such Larchmont “stars” as Jack Coughlin, Mary Savage thors; publication should not be con- and Joseph Vandernoot. Pier has about 15 people on a list to be interviewed for the strued as endorsement by the Society. project, and that’s only the beginning. “I hope it plants a seed for future generations,” says Pier, hoping her work will lead others to go behind the doors of Larchmont’s great houses to get the real story of how we once lived. - Chris Knowles Page 3 From the Archives: I was going through some scans of photos in our collec- tion recently and came across several donated to us by the Horseshoe Harbor Yacht Club. Here are three pictures for which I would love to have identification of the folks in them. The one with the kids in the launch and the man playing the accordian ( Lady of Spain , anyone?) may come from 1956. The one of the couple enjoying lunch alfresco on the clubhouse porch may be dated 1951. And the merry band of sailors, obviously not mere swabbies, just may be the race com- mittee in 1954. If you can provide some names for these people, we can talk about hoisting petards (or do I mean tankards?), but in the nicest possible way, I assure you! -Lynne Crowley Tapestries: 5 Interpretations of Fabled Architecture On April 25, the Larchmont Historical Society will hold our A traditional Tudor combines a new seamless addition to the annual House Tour. For the first time ever, the architecture of original home and contributes to the ample, open , modern the five homes are each distinctly different from one other, yet spaces. An especially charming feature is the waterfront gazebo, all are woven into a colorful tapestry of rich, royal hues, reflect- built for the owner’s girls, who love to be close to the water. ing the harmonies and rythyms of Larchmont. On the same street you will see the architecturally magnificent , What makes each of these homes special? Each home is reflec- grand Italian Renaissance home owned by one of Larchmont’s tive of Larchmont’s history in its own way and all need to be most beloved teachers and her husband. Each room is decorated experienced to truly appreciate their magnificent details. to reflect the architectural style and the character of its inhabi- tants. Some say this home is the one true estate in Larchmont. One home has colors, depth of wall treatments and furnishings, all in a park-like setting, combine to bring a unique and spec- Our Colonial Revival home is significant both historically and tacular representation its’ owners heritage. architecturally. Built by Rudolf Schaeffer, we believe it was the first house built on the Pryer Estate. Another owner hosted mu- A Queen Anne Victorian offers Victorian details within a dis- sicales with some of the most outstanding musicians of the day. tinctly contemporary décor. The house is an expression of fash- Renovations have maximized the potential of the house, opening ionable, stylish use of color, light and space. Each room holds a it up to the light.. surprise, whether in color, decorative focal point or extraordi- nary views. The house tour is only open for LHS members and their guests. For tickets, please visit our website: www.larchhistory.org. Page 4 CNN Co-anchor Speaks on 'Women in the Media’ The Larchmont journalist spoke about her family, her mentors and her career. Award-winning broadcast journal- on women's rights and criticizing the ist Kiran Chetry seems equally seri- dowry system). She also mentioned that ous about her family, women's issues the U.S. State Department had asked her and her career. Speaking Thursday to plan a Nepal trip to visit universities and afternoon, March 4 th , on "Women in the National Press of Nepal "as a form of the Media" at St. John’s Episcopal women's empowerment in news," Church, the Nepalese American talked about her life in Larchmont Conceding that being a woman news an- (where she lives with her husband chor in a male-dominated field "is still a and two children), her mentors, the struggle today," she singled out three trail- role of women in the news and more. blazers she admires. First was Frances Buss, who died last month at 92, and fa- The talk was sponsored by the Larch- mously parlayed a job as temporary recep- mont Historical Society- of which tionist at CBS into eventually becoming Chetry's husband is a board member- the first full-time woman director at any in connection with Women's History network. Next, Chetry singled out Barbara Month. Walters, who in 1976 was the first female co-anchor of network evening news with Ms. Chetry, 35, is co-host of Harry Reasoner. "Reasoner was insulted at CNN's "American Morning" with having to share the spotlight with a woman John Roberts on weekdays, 6 a.m. to and was openly hostile to Walters on the 9 a.m. She and husband Chris air," said Chetry. Knowles, WPIX-TV meteorologist, have lived in Larchmont for two Katie Couric "is like a mentor to me and years. They met in Erie, Penn., where someone I aspire to be in TV news," both were news anchors. Chetry said. Chetry remembered that Kiran Chetry and husband Chris Knowles, Larchmont while some thought Couric would iden- Historical Society board member, mingle with the crowd Chetry wakes at 2:45 a.m. and works before the talk. Credit: Katherine Ann Samon tify with Sarah Palin as a mother and behind the scenes until 6 a.m.