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Flashback Friday Archive 2019-20: Flashback Friday: Week of July 17

July 16, 1870 – 150 YEARS AGO
Rockland County Journal

APPRENTICES WANTED, THE UNDERSIGNED SHOE MANUFACTURERS having been humbugged long enough by members of the Crispin Society, hereby give notice that they are ready to take hands and learn them the business.
No person who belongs to or is identified with the Crispin Society need apply.
       Our shops from this date will be known as NON-SOCIETY SHOPS.
                                                                                                         Ketchel & Purdy, E. Burr

       Since this disruption has taken place between the above named bosses and their workmen, a rumor has been put in circulation that the bosses aforesaid have been paying higher prices for their work then has been paid for the same quality of work in other places; but his rumor is not true: the men in Nyack have been working for five per cent less than what is paid for the same quality of work in New York city. The expenses for storage and shop room in Nyack does not amount to more than one half of what is paid for the same in the city of New York; how then is it that E. Burr & Co., cannot compete with city manufacturers? Cook & Brother are under the same expense and Burr, Ketchel & Co., but they do not demur at paying the old prices. Lydecker & Nickerson are under no less expense at Clarksville, and yet they are doing a successful business by paying the same prices for work that are paid in Nyack. Why then a necessity for the reduction of wages? Why, simply because E. Burr. & Co. are member of the “ring” to reduce labor in slavish submission to capital, while Cook, Brother & Co., are not. But allowing for the sake of argument, that the prices paid for making boots and shoes have been reduced in every other place but Nyack, I would ask Mr. Public the question: Do your wives and children buy their boots and shoes for less money than they paid for articles of the same quality last year or before the reduction? The response is, “No, we pay as much as ever, and the prices rule higher than at any previous period in the history of our country. Who then, is benefitted by the reduction? — Why simply the manufacturer, the capitalist who has his funds invested in boots and shoes, the jobber, the middle man; and then, whatever is taken from the pay of the workmen is added to the capital of the already rich manufacturer, making him still richer, and this enables him to build a princely mansion, and close up his business establishment during three months in each year, during which time his workingmen must seek some other employment or subsist upon credit or beg, steal or starve. —Martin Knapp

July 13, 1895 – 125 YEARS AGO
Rockland County Journal

FOR SELLING TO A MINOR — A HOTEL PROPRIETOR AT SPARKILL ARRESTED
       George Barry, a hotel proprietor, of Sparkill, was arrested Monday afternoon, charged with selling whiskey to a young boy named Smith in violation of the Excise law. The warrant was issued by Justice W. H. Christie, of South Nyack, and Barry was brought before him. The prisoner pleaded not guilty and asked for a jury trial, and the case was set down for July 18th. Lawyer W. H. Bannister, Jr., represents the complainant, and Lawyer William E. Gowdey the defendant.

THE OLD MILL IS DOOMED — WORKMEN NOW TEARING DOWN THE ANCIENT STRUCTURE — A Landmark Which Was Built More Than a Century Ago by Tunis Tallman
       Workmen are tearing down the old mill on Main Street, and with its demolition passes away one of the most familiar and memorable landmarks in this vicinity. For many years the old structure has withstood both wind and storm, and now, by consent of Mrs. William Gray, it is to be entirely removed.
       No one is living now who saw the old mill built, for it is over a century old. It was erected on its present site more than one hundred years ago by Tunis Tallman, father of the late Michael Tallman and grandfather of George W. and Richard Tailman of Nyack, and Tunis Tallman, of Palisades. It was then used as a grist mill, and Michael Tallman afterward came in possession of the property and for years continued the grist mill business. He also occupied with his family an old stone house where the Pavilion now stands.
       Nearly forty years ago Abram P.Smith purchased the property and continued the mill, adding to it facilities for sawing and planing. Mr. Smith enlarged the building and for several years carried on business there. After he ceased running the mill it was from time to time used by other parties, and later it became the property of William Gray, who owned it with the Pavilion and grounds until his death.
       Every one will be glad to have the old mill torn down.

July 18, 1970 – 50 YEARS AGO
The Journal News

CHARLIE GREER NOW SWINGING ON ROCKLAND COUNTY AIRWAVES
       The familiar voice you hear on Rockland radio station WRKL from 7 to 10 each morning sounds an awfully lot like former WABC rock and roll disc jockey Charlie Greer.
       In fact, it is Charlie Greer, the same “Swingin' Charlie” who cajoled and joked youthful audiences on the popular New York station for nine years.
       Hands flying, reaching for an album or tape to play, frantically organizing everything from weather reports to commercials, he gives no indication on the air of the hectic pace behind the scenes of a live radio program.
       The jovial, resonant voice which fairly bursts with personality says: “This is the first time in 10 years now I've had to mind my own controls, and it's taking awhile to get used to it again.”
       Waving an index finger toward the engineer's studio in an imaginary cue, Charlie adds, “As long as that worked, I always knew everything was alright.”
       Name a personality in the entertainment profession, and the Greer mind unleashes a barrage of anecdotes.
       On Jack Jones: “Jack used to spend a lot of time with me in Philly” (on Charlie's program at radio station WIP).
       On Bobby Vinton: “I did a show with him in the 60s, and he asked me ‘what do you put on your hair to make it shine?’” Charlie, visibly crushed, had been trying everything to tone down his crowning glory!
       Born in Salem, Illinois, he proudly labels the town as the “famous birthplace of William Jennings Bryan and Charles Greer.”
       As a teenager, he always wanted to act and attended the University of Cincinnati's College of Music and took a course in radio and TV. He claims his announcer's voice came through studying popular and semi-classical music.
       He has sung in nightclubs and earned a TV Guide award for an Akron, Ohio, television show as “the first emcee to conduct a record hop for adults.”
       His five-year radio career in Akron included a promise by an acquaintance to contact him should he ever come to New York. The man, later program consultant for WABC, was instrumental in landing Charlie his well-known New-York spot.
       Charlie was one of the original “Swingin’ 7” disc jockeys at WABC. Dan Ingraham and Bruce Morrow joined after he did in 1960 and Herb Oscar Anderson left before he did nine years later. The phrase “Swing, Charlie, swing!” gained as much popularity as its namesake.
       His morning spot in Rockland is a welcome switch from the midnight-to-6 a.m. job he had at WABC. But his nighttime show did cater to a fascinating audience. Charlie was contacted by men from the U.S. flight carrier Essex in the South China Sea, and by people who heard him in Sydney, Australia, Juneau, Alaska, and Greenland.
       “I even had a fan club in England,” he states gleefully. The beat of modern music is definitely here to stay, volunteers Charlie, and “electronic music is going farther in playing a key role.”
       He agrees that groups like the Beatles have revolutionized music, and that “Blood, Sweat and Tears is not only a rock group but a fantastic bunch of musicians.” Rock music has grown up to a more sophisticated version.
       He has met so many colorful stars and made instant friends among the recording industry, such as Al Alberts of the Four Aces who is now in music publishing.
       But Charlie says that “many of the people in the background—the managers, song writers and arrangers—are the vital, important ones who actually mold the stars of today.”
       He has missed the personal touch in the atmosphere of a local suburban station until now, “and it was always my ambition to have a radio station like this,” he adds.
       Charlie, a close friend and admirer of the late Al Spiro, founder of WRKL, finds ”delightful and refreshing“ his involvement with radio on the local level and prospects for signing sponsors and meeting different people.
       He still signs off each show with the well-known lines: “Bye, bye. Love you all madly for all the things you are . . . and you know what you are, you little devil!”
_____

This Week in Rockland (#FBF Flashback Friday) is prepared by Clare Sheridan on behalf of the Historical Society of Rockland County. To learn about the HSRC's mission, upcoming events or programs, visit www.RocklandHistory.org or call (845) 634-9629.

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