Week of November 14

November 13, 1875 – 150 YEARS AGO

Rockland County Journal

AROUND HOME

 ☞  Wm. Serven is elected Superintendent of the Poor, by eleven majority, the only successful Republican on the ticket.

  ☞  The M. E. Sunday-school, of this village, will not hold their anniversary on Thanksgiving night, as formerly, this year.

  ☞  Keep in remembrance that your cast-off clothes and shoes will come in good for some worthy poor people this winter.

  ☞  There are few people aware of the fact that there is a vast difference between putting your money in stocks, and stockings.

  ☞  A fire occurred in Levinson’s jewelry store, Haverstraw, on Sunday night. Damages estimated at $2,500; insured for $1,500.

  ☞  Ralph Van Houten, of Haverstraw, aged over eighty years, was stricken by paralysis on Tuesday of last week, and died on Sunday.

  ☞  Hon. Clarkson N. Potter will deliver in Nyack, shortly, a lecture for the benefit of the Y.M.C.A. Subject will be given hereafter.

  ☞   “Borax,” a writer in the Messenger asserts that Haverstraw “contains more amateur gamblers than any other place on the Hudson river.”

  ☞  The Thursday evening Prayer Meetings at the Reformed Church are increasing in interest, and the public are cordially invited to attend.

  ☞  Thanks to Daniel D. Demarest, our Supervisor, and Treasurer elect, we are enabled to place the official canvass before our renders this week.

  ☞  Somebody says that a teaspoonful of alum shavings, mixed with twice the quantity of sugar, will fix croup quicker than the shake of a mutton’s narrative.

November 14, 1925 – 100 YEARS AGO

Rockland County Times

ACCIDENT AT FOWLER'S BRICKYARD

        The cable used in hauling the cars of clay from the barges to be dumped on Fowler’s brickyard suddenly broke on Thursday afternoon causing considerable excitement and damage.

        The cars were loaded with clay and were half way up the incline when the accident occurred. At the sudden snapping of the cable, the five cars rolled back down the tracks toward the river. The four men who were on them jumped to safety. Three cars rolled across the barge and into the river, two perhaps having spent the force of their speed, did not go into the river but one stopped on the barge and the other hangs suspended from the side of the barge. Engineer John F. McCauley, who was running the engine to hoist the cars was very frightened by the disturbance since it happened almost over his head. He did not know just what was taking place. A similar accident happened once before.

CHINESE CAUGHT WITH THE GOODS

        George Chin, Chinese laundryman of Spring Valley, was fined $100.00 by Judge Irving Hopper Tuesday after having been found guilty of possessing firearms. The belief held by Spring Valley officials is that Chin has been supplying a Tong gang in New York City with ammunition.

        Chin is employed by Charley Wong who conducts a laundry in Spring Valley. He received a package from St. Louis, Mo., labeled from the F. G. Taylor Fur Company. This aroused the suspicions of the police officials who searched it and found that it contained .38 calibre special cartridges. A search of the premises revealed two .38 calibre special Colt revolvers, a 22 calibre rifle and 680 rounds of ammunition.

        Chin explained his possessions on the ground that he was storing them up to send them to China. However, the officials were of the opinion that the weekend trips to New York by Chin and his employer when they each carried satchels had more to do with the disposing of their ammunition than did future delivery in China.

November 12, 1975 – 50 YEARS AGO

The Journal News

THE LUAU RESTAURANT IS SAYING “ALOHA”

[Image: Courtesy of Jason T. Smith, Polynesian Pop Tiki Collector.]

        After more than 10 years of legal wrangling, the former Upper Nyack nightspot is finally coming down.

        According to Raymond Nee, a village trustee, the owners of the building requested a demolition permit last Friday and began the destruction of the building Monday.

        Village officials had been attempting to raze the structure ever since a fire destroyed it in 1963 because they felt it was an eyesore and a safety hazard. The legal efforts cost about $3,000, Nee said.

        But the owners of the building, the estate of Judge Benjamin Levison, through its executor, attorney Jerome Trachtenberg, had fought the town’s effort.

        Three times the state Supreme Court gave the village permission to bring down the structure but each time Trachtenberg appealed because, he said, the structure was sound.

        Repeated attempts for two days to contact the West Nyack lawyer for an explanation of the change in tactics were unsuccessful.

        Nee was pleased that the village finally got its way. ”We’re so delighted that the building is coming down that we’re not bothered by (Trachtenberg’s) techniques,” he said.

         “The legal costs were not the biggest concern of village officials and residents, Nee said. “That was really only a minor concern,” he said. “The aggravation was much more.”

        The building, despite Trachtenberg’s opinions to the contrary, was a hazard and a nuisance for 10 years, he said. “We were always concerned that a youngster might get hurt because the doors were never locked tightly,” he said. “We even had evidence that transients were sleeping there.”

        At the time the owners came for their demolition permit, the village’s case was still in court. Earlier they year, Supreme Court Judge Edward O’Gormon head drilled that the building was a “public nuisance” but the appeal by the owners was still to be decided.

        Village officials had contended that a wall in the structure was standing without support and that there were no tip beams to hold the roof.

        Trachtenberg had contended that the building would have crumbled if its condition was as bad as the judge had ruled.

        Nee said he was just happy the ordeal was over.

This Week in Rockland (#FBF Flashback Friday) is prepared by Clare Sheridan for the Historical Society of Rockland County. © 2025 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.