Week of March 27

March 25, 1876 – 150 YEARS AGO

Rockland County Journal

AROUND HOME

  ☞  The trout season has begun. Our boys who have nothing to do had better sit on the DePew Avenue bridge, with book and line, and see what they can catch in the brook—whether a trout, “Killy” or dead cat.

 ☞  Religious services in the Nyack Universalist Church tomorrow (Sunday) morning, at 10.45 o’clock. Evening service—Lecture, subject, “Rev. E. H. Chapin, D. B., as a Reformer,” at 7 o’clock, by J. C. Partridge.

 ☞  Juvenile Fancy Bazaar, in aid of St. Paul’s Church, Spring Valley, N. W., at the residence of Minnie Thompson, 113 Gates Avenue, this Friday and Saturday, March 24th and 25th from 3 to 9 o’clock P.M. Tickets of admission, ten cents.

 ☞  John Smith of Clarkstown, tried to “beat” our saloons out of drinks last Monday night, and was locked up by Officer Hubbell. Owing to the absence of the Justice the next day, the prisoner was set free. A disgrace to the name of the original John Smith.

 ☞  A surprise party came off at the residence of Mr. Keesler, near Spring Valley, on Wednesday evening, 15th inst. Over one hundred couples were invited. It was late the following morning when a number of them returned to their respected homes.

 ☞  Our readers who have the care of fruit trees, will remember that the latter part of March and during the month of April is the time to graft all kinds of stone fruit. such as cherries, plums, apricots, etc. Apples, pears, etc., may also be grafted in April.

 ☞  The police-boat, Seneca, landed at Nyack last Friday afternoon, with officers on board who were in search of some block tin which had been stolen from a steamer in N. Y. Harbor. As there is scarcely any “tin” of any kind in Nyack, the officers were unsuccessful.

 ☞  Rev. Geo. T. Rider has kindly consented to deliver a lecture, under the auspices of the Young Men’s Christian Association, on Friday evening, April 7th, at Association Hall. We know all will be eager to hear this lecture, as Mr. Rider is a man of marked ability and culture..  

March 27, 1926 – 100 YEARS AGO

Rockland County Times

CAR PLUNGES OVER BANK

[Image: Barmore Hill, circa 1900. Barmore Road was the name of the road between Nyack and Rockland Lake. Courtesy of the Nyack Library, via NYHeritage.org.]

     A large Cadillac automobile was pulled out of the stream near Barmore Hill on Thursday after it had gone over two embankments and was considerably damaged. The owner, or at any rate the driver of the automobile, had evidently abandoned it. The wreck was discovered by a motorist and reported to Captain William P. Ruppert of the Nyack police force.

     Since it was out of his jurisdiction, he reported it to the Sherif’s office. Investigation proved that it was owned by Joseph Cinquemain of New York City. There was no evidence that any one had been injured in the mishap although the car took a dive from the State Road reaching the old road about 200 feet below and continuing over that came to rest a couple of hundred feet below.

CHARGED WITH AUTO THEFT

     Raymond Conway of Nyack, one of the proprietors of Conway’s Lunch Wagon, has been arrested on a charge of having in his possession a stolen automobile. He was arraigned by Judge Levison and given his liberty under a $500 bond. It is understood that he will appear before the grand jury.

     Conway was arrested by Deputy Sheriff Raymond Gray, Wilton Tromm, and Michael McNicholl, who have been busy on the case for several days. Charles Prindle who was arrested on the charge of buying or receiving stolen property and having it in his possession is out under $1,000 bail. Rumor has it that several Nyack people are implicated in what may be a large automobile stealing ring.

     Several Haverstraw people purchased in good faith cars from these people. They had no idea that the cars were stolen property.

March 24, 1976 – 50 YEARS AGO

Our Town

BICENTENNIAL SEARCH TRACKS HISTORY OF BLAUVELTS

     Students in Diane Bergerman’s class at the George Miller School in Nanuet have been involved in a historical search that has taken on special meaning.

     Their project has taken history from the dry pages of textbooks, and filled it with familiar names, and colorful people who lived, worked, and died in Orangetown and the surrounding area.

     At the beginning of the year, Mrs. Bergerman, wife of the new town justice George Bergerman, decided to have her fifth-grade class study some person important to the bicentennial. But the class quickly ruled out well-known figures, such as Nathan Hale or Betsy Ross. Women’s libbers in the class insisted that selection of a man, even one like Benjamin Franklin, would slight the feminine contribution to history. As a compromise the class and teacher decided to study the Blauvelt family—one of the most historically prolific families identified with Orangetown.

     Included among the thousands of Blauvelt descendants are a pirate, and the woman who married former president John F. Kennedy while he was still a student. The little-publicized marriage was quickly annulled [Editors’ note: This story has never been verified and is believed by historians to be untrue].

     The choice turned out to be a good one. Not only are Blauvelt descendants still thriving in and around Orangetown, but the family has its own association, publishes newsletter, and hold annual meetings.

   Starting with the first traceable Blauvelt, a Dutch shipowner named Pieter, the class tracked the family origins to the New World then traced the spread of Blauvelts from the colony of New Amsterdam north to Rockland. Part of their search led them to the Tappan Reformed Church and the cemetery across the street; where Blauvelts rest under weathered tombstones. Telephone calls to living Blauvelts, and inquiries to the family association resulted in an exchange of correspondence between the class and the Blauvelts scattered throughout the country.

     Particularly helpful, says Mrs. Bergerman, have been Mrs. Lola Lovell, of Las Vegas, and Arthur Blauvelt, of Pearl River.

     “It’s a two-way exchange,” says Mrs. Bergerman. “The Blauvelt family association dedicated a page in their newsletter to our class project. We’re making a hooked rug which we’ll present to the association at their next convention in the fall.”

     Nor is the exchange without flavor. Mrs. Lovell provided an old family recipe for gingerbread which the class spent an entire day baking and sampling.

     Kevin Cunningham, of Pearl River, is one of the class members who worked on the project. “The most fun was writing to Blauvelt family members, and asking questions,” he told Our Town. Phillip Greenan, another class member had this to say about the project: “We learned what it was like to live in another time,” he said. “Life was harder, and people didn’t have as many things as they have now - things we take for granted, like heat in our houses.”

     As romantic as history may be in retrospect, Kathy O’Brien of Pearl River wouldn’t trade places with any of the Blauvelts. “It’s interesting to learn about them,” she says, “but I’d rather be where we are now.”

This Week in Rockland (#FBF Flashback Friday) is prepared by Clare Sheridan for the Historical Society of Rockland County. © 2026 by The Historical Society of Rockland County. #FBF Flashback Friday may be reprinted only with written permission from the HSRC. To learn about the HSRC’s mission, upcoming events or programs, visit www.RocklandHistory.org or call (845) 634-9629.