Week of November 28
November 27, 1875 – 150 YEARS AGO
Rockland County Journal
AROUND HOME
☞ Next Spring three Auditors are to be elected in each town of this State, whose duties will consist in auditing all town accounts. They are prohibited from holding any other office. and are to receive $8 per day for their services.
☞ Last week, when an individual in our village was asked if he was going to the Tom Thumb entertainment, he replied: “No, sir, I see small people enough every day.” The questioner relaxed into deep thought immediately.
☞ The regular monthly meeting of the Rockland County Branch of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, will be held at the office of J. R. Mallary, esq., Commercial Building, on Friday evening. Dec 3d. at 7.30 o’clock.
☞ A large number of people were present, on Thursday afternoon, to witness the rifle shooting of Co. B, of Nyack. The first prize was won by Charles Osborn. The prize for the “ prizegivers” was carried away by M. W. Merritt.
☞ A “Dust Cap Entertainment” will be given by a committee of ladies and gentlemen of St. Mark’s A. M. E. Zion Mission, Piermont, in the Union Hall of that place, on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, December 1st and 2d. Admission 10 cents.
☞ We will state for the information of our village gossips that fifteen out of the nineteen marriages which were to have taken place in Nyack on Thanksgiving Day have been postponed until after the freedom of Cuba is pro-claimed. The said gossips can now have a rest, and will please devote their entire time to minding their own business--as hard as the task may be.
November 28, 1925 – 100 YEARS AGO
Rockland County Times
ECKSTEIN MAKES GOOD — Another Haverstraw Boy Gets Reward After Years of Insistent, Honest Toil and Service in His Vocation
The announcement in the Metropolitan newspaper of the sale by Jacob Field, the veteran Wall Street operator of his seat on the New York Stock Exchange at the highest price on record, $152,000 which he purchased for a consideration of $19,000 in 1898, is of interest to Haverstraw people, although none of our residents, perhaps those who might be employed in the financial district even have an acquaintance with the veteran operator who has made and lost millions in his gambling operations.
The interest that will come to Haverstraw in the transaction is because the purchaser of Mr. Field’s seat, Mr. Clarence Eckstein, is a native and product of this village, being a son of the late Louis and Mrs. Kate Eckstein and is from superficial observation, the last person in the world that a critical observer would take to be a financial genius. In the years that were of yesterday, because of his quiet, unassuming demeanor, being one of the quietest and most unobtrusive young men in the village, was sometimes sneered at by the jazzers who called him ‘Mamma’s Boy’ because of his unquestioned devotion to his widowed mother.
The family, notwithstanding the prosperity, that has come to the son, live unostentatiously in the little family home on Third Street. The first knowledge that Clarence was more than making good although he was known to be reasonably prosperous came late in the last summer when it was announced he had purchased the DeHuyler home on West Haverstraw Heights.
The Editor of the Times, like numerous friends, wants to congratulate the young man on his success and prosperity and extend to his wonderful mother the thought that she like the rest of us have real cause for thanksgiving notwithstanding the path way has not always been one of sunshine.
November 27, 1975 – 50 YEARS AGO
The Journal News
TURKEYS AS BARNYARD DUNCE
[Image: The Gobbler. Photo by Ted Neuhoff, The Journal News.]
Turkeys may be the king of the Thanksgiving table, but they sure are stupid.
At least that’s the opinion of Vernon Earl, a third-generation farmer, who raised six gobblers this year in preparation for today’s and forthcoming feasts. His farm is located on Route 306, Monsey.
According to Earl, raising the meaty birds is a real problem. “It’s the dumbest bird there is,” he says. “One of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen.”
Every phase of the turkey-raising process is a trial, he says, from the time they are young poults to the time when they are fixed and dressed for the table.
In fact, he says, when they are just hatched from the egg they refuse to go for the food in the trough. The farmer entices the birds by lining the base with aluminum foil so that the sun’s reflection will attract their eye.
And when they are growing, they cost a lot to feed, he adds. His 30-pound birds—live weight—are called bronze broad breasted and require quite a bit of food.
As grown turkeys, they might have enough sense to get out of the rain, but according to Earl, they will just walk around the yard and get sopping wet. “Any other bird would get under the awning,” he says.
And the biggest problem of all, he says, is that they are very tame and would make good pets. “They follow after you and are fairly gentle,” he says, with an endearing tone. “But I try to stay a distance if I’m going to kill them. Otherwise, they all wind up as pets and you can’t do anything with them.
Speaking in defense of today’s dinner is Dr. Dan Andrews of the Western Washington Research and Experiment Center in Puyallup. Wash., who says the turkey is smarter than the chicken.
According to Dr. Andrews, turkeys in the wild are cagey birds, but they have been bred out of their ability to walk (some say waddle) with any speed and are now so off-balance they can hardly breed.
The reason that turkeys become confused in the rain is that they have spent most of their lives in an incubator and natural precipitation is a new experience,” he says.
As for the economics of home turkey-farming, Earl, Rockland’s turkey expert, says mass production is the only feasible method. He bought his eggs for two dollars apiece—chicken eggs cost less than a quarter a piece—and that is only the beginning. He buys special medicated feed and a food he calls “crumbles.” He estimates that to break even he would have to sell the turkeys for $2.50 to $3 per pound.
His family raised turkeys toward the end of World War II but discontinued the practice shortly afterward. He began again this year. Now he is considering selling them commercially --- but whether as pets or entrees would be up to the customer.
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.
