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Angie Mangino: Posted on Thursday, October 27, 2011 11:35 AM
“Tottenville inProse” …#6 … conclusion Here’s the final postof” Tottenville in Prose.” Let me knowin the comments both your thoughts about it and any information you may want toshare with other readers. “There was Hubbard R. Yetman we can’t forget His real estate business is going on yet He would sell real estate and insurance and make out yourbill Now it is being run by his daughter Laura and his son Bill Where Dr. Stauff’s dental office stands now Taylor Elliott once grazed a cow The largest ship yard in the town was run by a man name A.C.Brown If there was a fire all the people would know Because the S.S. White’s whistle would blow One thing in the town which some people thought nice When they wenht to the rink to skate on the ice Another thing thought so grand When they listened to old Tottenville’s band And Saturday night they would dance or watch basketball At the old Knights of Pythias dance hall Some people had a new place to go Jim Laird opened a picture show Amboy Road had a hard name to make know I will tell yu about this some other time.” -SCOTTY Further information: Hubbard R. Yetman
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Thursday, October 20, 2011 9:18 PM
“Tottenville inProse” …continued #5 “Then there was Ike Bedell about enough can’t be said He ran a grocery store and also buried the dead In times gone by that job was not so nice At that time they didn’t embalm but packed the bodies in ice Across from the Baptist church another butcher shop Owned by the father of Will Sharrott, Walter and Ben There were two stores owned by people whose name were alike They were two clothing stores owned by Levenson’s, Henry andmike When you read of all this past you might think it a dream But it was up on the next corner where Frank Russell madeice-cream The streets were lit by oil which was not so bright They would fill them in the morning and light them atnight.” Please share any information on these merchants in comments. Thanks! Further Information: Ike Bedell Will Sharrott
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2011 9:49 PM
“Tottenville inProse” …continued #4 “There are some places I should have mentioned before They were Hoehns Baking shop and Charley Lehman’s drug store From Lehman’s drug store it was just a hop Where the empty lot is now was Sevenhaar’s plumber shop There is a place which always looks the same That place was the home of Paul Van Name Then there was George Sleight and George Cunningham up thestreet They were two butchers where the people bought their meat We come to a hardware store owned by Ben Brown Where the bank stands now the Post office stood The post master then was Rueben Wood Across from the post office was a man who dressed swell He had a fast horse and that was Ben Cotrell.” Further information: 1926 South Amboy newspaper of Mrs. Hoehn visiting from NY Lehman’s drug store Emil Sevenhaar’s plumbing shop Paul Van Name George Cunningham Prominent men of Tottenville
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Thursday, October 06, 2011 8:20 AM
How many of these people & places did you know about?
I look forward to reading your comments.
“Away down on Main Street where the first Bank was yearsbefore
The first A&P store was just next door
There were two Barbers whom every one knew
They were Pete Dilge and Jake Bentz too
In Dilge’s barber shop you could take a bath for a quarter
Pete would furnish the tub, towel and water.
One more thing to you I must tell
About Nan Bedell and his drug store
In back of this store was the town’s first telephone station
Now a few doors away was Donaldson’s shoe store
Here Michael Andriany repaired most of the shoes people wore
Then comes Cuny’s jewelry store he sold many things
Such as watches, clocks and wedding rings
In those days the grocery stores were very few
But there was the Derickson Bros. and Enoch Corson too
As we go up Main street more in the town
We pass Dr. Washington who was a man of great renown.”
Further Information:
A&P
Businesses
Walking Tour of Tottenville
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:16 PM
“Some thing that some of you might Not know Main street was as far as the trains would go At the foot of the street was the ferry slip Where the Maid of Perth docked and is sure was some ship There was a house boat at the side of the street Which was owned by a man they called Bowery Pete Just across the street right near the water Was a bowling alley which was run by Jean Porter Then up the street from here just a short walk Ben Streeter had summer boarders who came from New York Right around the corner Hampy Ellis built boats And out in the river the oyster men kept oyster floats A short distance across the tracks Jimmy Healy served you drinks and also the snacks But if you were hungry and wanted to eat They would go to Reily’s lunch wagon across the street.” I wrote previouslyabout the Maid of Perth & Ellis boatyard. I found information about Ben Streeter and the West End Hotel. Now, I need yourhelp. Anyone know anythingabout Jean Porter’s bowling alley, Jimmy Healey’s snack bar, or Reily’s lunchwagon? Does anyone have any clues on the houseboatowner called Bowery Pete? Further Information Maid of Perth Tottenville Shipyards Ben Streeter
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2011 12:03 PM
The headline of an article I wrote for the Staten Island Register was “History ofTottenville brings responses from many readers.” In it, I wrote of what Dorothy WaltersJohnston, whose ancestors include the Tottens, and Diane Schaming, who lives inthe house Captain John Totten built in Tottenville known as the “CompassHouse,” shared with me. One was apainting of the early 1900’s; the other was an article entitled “Tottenville inProse.”
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Early 1900 Main Street
by Edith Dow
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“The scene was originally painted by Chester Graham, 5367Arthur Kill Rd., who supplied the information about Tottenville as itexisted. Accompanying the article is asimilar picture painted by Edith Dow in 1982.” --Staten Island Register,August 28, 2001. “Tottenville in Prose,” was a two-page article with authorlisted as just “Scotty,” said originally published in a 1960 article in the Staten Island Transcript newspaper. For my article in the StatenIsland Register, space constraints required a journalistic summary of thearticle. Now I want to share the actual“Tottenville in Prose,” a bit at a time each week on this blog, with the time and space to diga little deeper exploring the people and places mentioned in it that I foundfascinating in 2001, and continue to find so ten years later. History is so much more than a listing of names anddates. To me, history is a story to beuncovered and from which to learn about people then, and ultimately, aboutourselves now. I will continue toadd any links I find on the internet, and ask those who know of any of thepeople or places mentioned, to add to our mutual journey by sharing yourcomments. “Tottenville inProse” “What Tottenville was years ago Only the old timers would know I am going to tell you about when Most of them were oyster men.” Further Information: Oyster Industry In his book, Tottenville, The Town the Oyster Built, Barnett Shepherd tells of the oyster industry. |
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