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Flashback Friday Archive 2019-20: Flashback Friday: Week of September 4

September 3, 1870 – 150 YEARS AGO

Rockland County Journal

MATHEW D. BOGERT A BANKRUPT – A SHAMELESS TRICK
       Just as we go to press, we learn that the late Treasurer of Rockland County was, on Wednesday last, adjudicated a Bankrupt by Judge Blatchford, the father of A. B. Conger’s son-in-law.
       The charge against Bogert was that he had in fraud of his creditors transferred his property to James Eckerson.
       Bogert put in no answer, thus admitting the charge of fraud.
       The whole affair is pronounced a shameless trick by which Eckerson may be relieved of his contract with Bogert’s creditors and the tracks of certain gentlemen covered.  We will give the full details next week.  It is time for the people to wake up.

SERMONS
       Robert Hall, when asked how may sermons a preacher can conveniently prepare in a week, replied: “If he is a man of pre-eminent ability, one; if he is a man of ordinary ability, two; if he is an ass, six.”

September 3, 1920 – 100 YEARS AGO
Rockland News

NYACK HOSPITAL ESTABLISHES A RECORD
       During the month of August, 118 patients were cared for at the Nyack Hospital beside a number of X-Ray examinations and dispensary cases. Eighty-three operations were performed. Two-thirds of the cases were ward patients who paid $2.00 per day which means that the other 50 per cent of the cost of their care was born by the county.

MAIL PLANE STOPS AT SQUADRON A FARM
       A Curtiss mail plane driven by Harry Hupking a former resident of Rockland County stopped at New City Friday for gasoline. The machine landed on the Squadron A farm at 12 o’clock noon and did not leave until 3:30 in the afternoon.
       Pilot Hupking stated that he noticed his gasoline supply running low and seeing the Squadron A farm, an attractive landing place, he decided to make the stop. People from all nearby villages visited New City to see the plane, which was on its way to New York from Chicago with a cargo of mail.

September 4, 1970 – 50 YEARS AGO
The Journal News

COMMUTE BY BOAT TO FOIL THE TRAFFIC?
       New York State is being asked by Assemblyman Eugene Levy to subsidize hydrofoil commuter service for a year between Nyack and mid-Manhattan to alleviate Rockland’s transportation problems.
       Boats would skim down the Hudson River at 35 miles an hour, bypassing entirely the traffic jams and foul exhaust of land-based commuting.
       A test run by the 35-foot, 28-passenger Gateway Flyer to demonstrate the proposal's feasibility was made yesterday afternoon.
       If the year’s pilot project catches on, a 125-passenger hydrofoil with air-conditioning, stewardesses, a bar and a snack counter might begin running up and back to Manhattan, owners said.
       There were no bona fide commuters on board yesterday for the 95-minute round-trip test-run to 42nd Street and back to comment on its success.
       Two of the passengers on the swift boat, mainly members of the press, were splashed by water that squirted through open windows when the craft slowed suddenly twice because it hit debris.
       Enormous amounts of trash in the water also forced the boat to halt several times and back up to clear its foils.
       Throughout the 50-mile trip, Capt. William Webber had to steer a serpentine course to avoid floating debris.
       The excitement of skating along the water's surface paled rapidly for the 16 passengers in the airplane-style cabin.
       On the return trip, one man fell asleep with his mouth open and others peered blankly out the windows at the scenery they had just passed.
       Because the boat sits somewhat precariously on its foils, walking around in it causes it to wallow and roll a bit. After an hour and a half, some of the passengers were complaining of queasy stomachs.
       If Levy can persuade the state Department of Transportation to finance a pilot program, hydrofoil service will go into effect, promised William J. Mellon, vice-president of U.S. hydrofoils Co. of East Orange, N.J., operator of the Gateway Flyer.
       With government aid, cost for the 45-minute, one-way trip could be held to about $2, making it competitive with automobile, bus or train commuting now, Levy said.
_____

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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