December 2008 Volume II; Issue 2 The Gazebo Gazette Newsletter of the Larchmont Historical Society The LHS Toasts the 75 th Anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition ! On December 5, 1933, 13 years of the victim? The murderer? Wigs, Zoot Prohibition came to an end. The 21 st Suits, Flapper dresses, mink stoles and Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Clara Bow bobs will be the rage . Ac- was passed, repealing the Eighteenth cessories will no doubt include fake Amendment, which was meant to pre- guns, cigarette holders, gobs of pearl vent the possession, consumption or chains, pocket flasks and Southside Sal transportation of intoxicating liquors accents. in the U.S. Prohibitionists had great faith that the Almost 75 years to the day, the Larch- new law would end the drinking of mont Historical Society will kick up alcohol. Some states even sold their its heels and celebrate this anniversary jails on the eve of Prohibition, thinking by hosting a Speakeasy Murder Mys- that crime would come to a halt with tery party. On Saturday, December 6, the new temperance. But in reality, 2008, a Larchmont home will be trans- Prohibition lead to a breakdown in law formed into a jumping Juice Joint, and order in many parts of the U.S. haunted by characters both straight- The act failed to stop the consumption laced and crooked, right out of Prohi- of alcohol and resulted instead in the bition’s tumultuous past. Guests at- illegal production of dangerous alco- tending the “ by ticket only “ event hol—“ bathtub gin” which caused will be given the party’s secret loca- many deaths. (Alcohol, glycerin and tion just before the date; this is how juniper juice were routinely combined partygoers during Prohibition learned in tall bottles and mixed with water of the local network of clandestine from bathtub taps, thus the name.) Dur- nightclubs where they could find ille- ing this period the U.S. saw a huge rise gal alcohol. This is also where the Kick up your heels at the LHS in organized crime and violence as well term “Speakeasy “ came from as peo- as political corruption. New York City ple had to whisper a password through Speakeasy Murder Mystery is reported to have had at least 30,000 a peephole in order to be admitted to speakeasies. Even politicians were re- the spot. ported to own illegal stills. Saturday, December 6 With murder on the menu, guests at Location to be announced Tickets to the LHS Speakeasy Murder the LHS Speakeasy event will receive Cocktails/Dinner/Dancing Mystery are on sale now. Members, a “character” packet, indicating their $75 pp; Non-members,$100 pp. In- “role” in this murder mystery evening. cludes cocktails, dinner, dancing and There will be mobsters and their Members: $75 pp role playing. For more information: molls, swanky singers with Holly- Non-Members: $100 pp wood hopes, cigarette girls with siz- [email protected] . zling tempers, corrupt cops and of [email protected] course—“ The Mayor”…Who will be - Patti Roberts Page 2 President’s Message: Published by: The Larchmont Historical Society P.O. Box 742, Larchmont, NY 10538 The Larchmont Historical Society is off to a wonderful start for 2008-09. I feel so Hours:: Tuesday/Thursday fortunate to be working with a talented, dedicated group of people who have made 9 am to 2 pm a major commitment to keeping Larchmont’s history front and center. We’ve been making great progress with the plans we have outlined for ourselves. Editor: Nancy White Contributors: Ned Benton, Lynne A long-held goal of the organization has been to clean up our community’s ceme- Crowley, Celia Dentzer, Elaine tery along the Boston Post Road, and in October, Dee van Eyck organized a grave- Everhart, Margi Gristina, Patti Roberts stone conservation workshop, bringing in conservator Jonathan Appel to work with community members to jump-start the project. The process requires both Officers and Board of Trustees: money and time, but now we are on our way. Colette Rodbell ,President Lauren Gottfried, 1 ststst VP, Membership In early November the Century Homes Club held its third annual cocktail party at Patti Roberts, 2 ndndnd VP, Programs the home of Jane and Rob Symington. Commemorating homes that are at least Cate Jarrett, Recording Secretary 100 years old has proven to be a way to dust off our village history and attach Jim Sweeney ,Treasurer names and faces to the people who built the early homes in the area. If you think your home is “getting up there in years,” contact the archives to receive informa- Ned Benton Jim Levi tion about the application process: 914-381-2239 or ar- [email protected] Barbara Coyne Stephen R. Rolandi Manuel Delgado Melissa Schoen In November, program vice president Patti Roberts organized a provocative pro- Susan Emery Margaret Takata gram about slavery in the North. Coordinating with St. John’s Episcopal Church Adnrew Francella Dee van Eyck and the Hommocks Middle School to organize the program, we had a capacity Margi Gristina Roberta Warren crowd to enjoy music of the era, student presentations, a brief talk by our own Ned Peggy Kahn Nancy White Benton, and the airing of a film, Traces of the Trade . It was a thought-provoking Kate Kelly Pier Witek and well-received program. Next up on December 6 is the Speak Easy Murder Mystery evening. With dinner, Lynne Crowley, Archivist dancing and detective work, it’s sure to be the event of the season! The Larchmont Historical Society was Membership continues to grow. If you’re not a member, it’s easy to join online at founded in 1980 and chartered in 1981 www.larchmonthistory.org . And we welcome participation. Once you’ve signed as a not-for-profit educational corpora- up just let us know where your interests lie. We’d love to have you join us. tion by the New York State Board of - Colette Rodbell Regents to discover, preserve and dis- seminate information concerning the natural, social, and civic history of LHS Welcomes New Board Member: Larchmont, and to promote the preser- Margaret Takata vation of local historical sites and struc- tures. The Society maintains an ar- chives in the Mamaroneck Town Cen- A native of Pittsburgh, Margaret moved to Larchmont in 1990 after living and ter, 740 W. Boston Post Rd., working in NJ the previous 6 years. She has a BS and a DMD degree from the Mamaroneck; publishes a newsletter;, University of Pittsburgh's School of Dental Medicine. She has worked as a den- offers programs; conducts tours for tist in private practice in NJ and in Manhattan in a practice with her husband school children and adults; and offers Gregg. In recent years while staying at home to raise her son, Margaret continued to work managing the financial aspects of the business, going into the office as outreach lectures to other community needed. groups. The newsletter is published to She had been active serving on the Larchmont Yacht Club's Junior Sailing Com- provide news of the Society and occa- mittee for a number of years, where she enjoyed working with the youth racing sional articles of related interest. Opin- groups and as liaison to the MHS after-school sailing club encouraging young sail- ions expressed are those of their au- ors to continue in the sport. thors; publication should not be con- Margaret and her husband Gregg have one son, Alex, who is now a freshman at strued as endorsement by the Society. Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine. She looks forward to working with the Larchmont Historical Society. Page 3 City Music Hall orchestra following a colorful career as a con- From the Archives: ductor for radio, movie, symphony music both in Hollywood and New York. She especially hoped to find his daughters, she “People… people who need people….….” If one approach to wrote, “because he and his wife were generous enough to help research is to answer the Who? What? Where?, When ? and my great aunt and her husband to get out of the internment camp How?, well, it’s definitely the Who we’re working on right now. in 1943, because they used to employ her as maid while I’ve got people on the mind because here at the archive we’ve they lived in California.” Apparently the Paiges moved to 9 been focusing on getting People, that is, information about peo- Avon Road in the 50s, and I was able to track down one daugh- ple that’s currently in our files, into our database. It’s just part ter in Brooklyn and the other in Connecticut. They are now in of a long term project intended to make the information that we touch with Ms.Yamaki. Her letter concludes,“ I'm excited about have on the history of Larchmont more accessible to everyone. meeting with her and her sister.It is like my dream come true, even though they might not remember my great aunt. I really And we continue to get intriguing inquiries about people. For appreciate your efforts to find them and connect me to them. example, a New York based Japanese writer, Yuriko Yamaki, I try to write my journey of discovering her life. It is a part of wrote to us looking for information on a former Larchmont resi- American history though it is a tiny fraction of it.” dent, Raymond Paige, who had been the conductor of the Radio -Lynne Crowley SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY, 7 FEBRUARY 2009 THE LARCHMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S “ANTIQUES APPRAISAL DAY” Have you ever the informative, wondered if open forum discus- g r e a t - sion, “What’s it grandmother’s Worth? Identifying quilt is a valu- the Hidden Treas- able piece of ure,” where objects f o l k old, new and fake art? Would will be compared, you like to know the age and value of contrasted and valued and subjects such that vase you found at the flea mar- as caring for your antiques will be ad- ket? Search your home for long for- dressed.