Archives for Local History

Local History: Rosa Kittrell

Local History: Rosa Kittrell

October 10 has been designated World Mental Health Day by the World Health Organization. In honor of it, here is a story about a White Plains resident whose activism on behalf of people with mental illness had a national impact. Rosa Kittrell worked hard to redefine the way we view and treat the most vulnerable members of society. Through her tireless activism, personal struggles with mental illness, and belief in the power of education, Kittrell developed a motto: “Others, Lord, others.” Like so many black women in America, Kittrell was intersectional in her activism before anyone ever heard of that
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October 10, 2017 11:53 am | by | 1 Comment
Categories: Local History.
Tags: activism, African-American History, Black History, clifford beers, day care, feminism, local history, mental health reform, mental hygiene, mental illness, rosa kittrell, social justice, thomas p brennan, white plains collection, white plains history, and world mental health day.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jazz Fest 2017 Pt. 5

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jazz Fest 2017 Pt. 5

We are thrilled to continue our partnership with ArtsWestchester, The City of White Plains, and the White Plains Business Improvement District on White Plains Jazz Fest 2017! Below is a clip from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and September will include stories and music from musicians who live locally, but have performed all over the world. Tom Van Buren, of ArtsWestchester, co-produced the interviews. Check out the Jazz Fest 2017 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 13-17, 2017. Daniel Freiberg
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September 11, 2017 12:30 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Oral History.
Tags: and WPBID., ArtsWestchester, Daniel Freiberg, jazz, Jazz Fest, Jazz Fest 2017, local-history, oral history, People & Stories, westchester history, white plains collection, white plains history, and White Plains Jazz Fest.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jazz Fest 2017 Pt. 4

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jazz Fest 2017 Pt. 4

We are thrilled to continue our partnership with ArtsWestchester, The City of White Plains, and the White Plains Business Improvement District on White Plains Jazz Fest 2017! Below is a clip from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and September will include stories and music from musicians who live locally, but have performed all over the world. Tom Van Buren, of ArtsWestchester, co-produced the interviews. Check out the Jazz Fest 2017 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 13-17, 2017.   Pete
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September 5, 2017 9:56 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Oral History.
Tags: ArtsWestchester, jazz, Jazz Fest, Jazz Fest 2017, local history, oral history, People & Stories, Pete Malinverni, westchester history, white plains collection, white plains history, White Plains Jazz Fest, and WPBID.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jazz Fest 2017 Pt. 3

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jazz Fest 2017 Pt. 3

We are thrilled to continue our partnership with ArtsWestchester, The City of White Plains, and the White Plains Business Improvement District on White Plains Jazz Fest 2017! Below is a clip from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and September will include stories and music from musicians who live locally, but have performed all over the world. Tom Van Buren, of ArtsWestchester, co-produced the interviews. Check out the Jazz Fest 2017 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 13-17, 2017.   Ray
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August 29, 2017 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Oral History.
Tags: ArtsWestchester, jazz, Jazz Fest, Jazz Fest 2017, local history, oral history, People & Stories, Ray Blue, westchester history, white plains collection, white plains history, White Plains Jazz Fest, and WPBID.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jazz Fest 2017 Pt. 2

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jazz Fest 2017 Pt. 2

We are thrilled to continue our partnership with ArtsWestchester, The City of White Plains, and the White Plains Business Improvement District on White Plains Jazz Fest 2017! Below is a clip from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and September will include stories and music from musicians who live locally, but have performed all over the world. Tom Van Buren, of ArtsWestchester, co-produced the interviews. Check out the Jazz Fest 2017 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 13-17, 2017.    
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August 22, 2017 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Oral History.
Tags: ArtsWestchester, Jake Robinson, jazz, Jazz Fest, Jazz Fest 2017, local-history, oral history, People & Stories, westchester history, white plains collection, white plains history, White Plains Jazz Fest, and WPBID.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jazz Fest 2017 Pt. 1

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jazz Fest 2017 Pt. 1

We are thrilled to continue our partnership with ArtsWestchester, The City of White Plains, and the White Plains Business Improvement District on White Plains Jazz Fest 2017! Below is a clip from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and September will include stories and music from musicians who live locally, but have performed all over the world. Tom Van Buren, of ArtsWestchester, co-produced the interviews. Check out the Jazz Fest 2017 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 13-17, 2017.    
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August 15, 2017 9:48 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History and Oral History.
Tags: ArtsWestchester, Glenda Davenport, jazz, Jazz Fest, local-history, music, oral history, People & Stories, white plains collection, white plains history, White Plains Jazz Fest, and WPBID.

Local History: School’s Out, Pt. 2

Local History: School’s Out, Pt. 2

The late 1960s was a time of increasing consciousness about racial issues in the United States. The mainstream civil rights movement won victories in 1964 and 1965 with large pieces of Federal legislation like the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. By 1968, however, because of issues like Vietnam, economic injustice, the conditions of urban life, and the nature of black identity some people questioned how much progress had really been made. The civil rights movement itself was fractured. Some advocated equality and integration within the framework of American society. Others, generally younger activists, promoted black power or
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July 28, 2017 4:59 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: African-American History, Black History, boycotts, civil rights, local history, race relations, racial balance plan, Reporter Dispatch, school, strikes, students, white plains collection, White Plains High School, and white plains history.

Local History: School’s Out, Pt. 1

Local History: School’s Out, Pt. 1

The late 1960s was a time of increasing consciousness about racial issues in the United States. The mainstream civil rights movement won victories in 1964 and 1965 with large pieces of Federal legislation like the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. By 1968, however, because of issues like Vietnam, economic injustice, the conditions of urban life, and the nature of black identity some people questioned how much progress had really been made. The civil rights movement itself was fractured. Some advocated equality and integration within the framework of American society. Others, generally younger activists, promoted black power or
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July 21, 2017 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: African-American History, Black History, boycotts, civil rights, local-history, race relations, racial balance plan, Reporter Dispatch, school, strikes, students, teachers, white plains collection, White Plains High School, and white plains history.

Local History: Bakers & Barbers

Local History: Bakers & Barbers

Two significant strikes affected daily life in White Plains during the 1950s. In July 1951, “a possible but not acute shortage of bread supplies” was predicted by the Reporter DIspatch due to the strike of thousands of AFL International Brotherhood of Teamsters truck drivers against 16 large companies. Those companies produced 80% of the pre-wrapped bread loaves in the New York metropolitan area. The shortage that developed over the course of the nine-day strike caused one reporter in White Plains to be reminded of “scenes of wartime shortages.” The strike began because the companies refused the union's demand for a
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July 7, 2017 10:21 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: AFL, bakeries, barbers, barbershops, bread, food, groceries, international brotherhood of teamsters, journeymen, labor disputes, labor unions, local-history, markets, shortages, strikes, supermarkets, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: The Hudson River

Local History: The Hudson River

The Hudson River shapes nearly every area of our lives in some way: from topography, patterns of human settlement, and military decisions to energy production, human health, commerce, and culture. This summer, impress your fellow travelers with some knowledge about the Hudson Valley and the Hudson River gained from the White Plains Collection. Below is a bibliography of historical and contemporary titles from many different genres and eras.   Histories: Narrative, Revolutionary, and Social The Hudson from the Wilderness to the Sea by Benson J. Lossing (1866): A wonderful, illustration-rich vintage title donated by former White Plains librarian Clara F.
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June 22, 2017 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: american history, architecture, art history, ecology, environmentalism, historic houses, historic sites, hudson river, hudson river valley, hudson valley, local history, nature, recreation, Revolutionary War, rivers, tourism, travel writing, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: Murals

Local History: Murals

As the renovations continue and you rediscover the main floor of our library, we hope you look up–you'll see three unique murals. Hung high over the east wing (sit back in one of our new lounge chairs!) are murals by two artists who called White Plains home: Edmund F. Ward and Stanley P. Klimley. That's Klimley on the left standing in front of his mural when it was still in the lobby of the White Plains Hotel (image courtesy of the Westchester County Historical Society). Check out information on the artists and their works below!   White Plains resident and
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June 12, 2017 3:42 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: american history, art and artists, battle of white plains, dorothy klimley, edmund f ward, edmund franklin ward, historical murals, local-history, murals, Revolutionary War, rip van winkle, stanley p klimley, the legend of sleepy hollow, washington irving, white plains collection, and white plains history.

New York Historical Society Museum Passes Now Available

New York Historical Society Museum Passes Now Available

The White Plains Public Library is pleased to announce the addition of the New-York Historical Society Museum at 170 Central Park West to the Museum Pass Program.  The Library pass provides free admission for two adults and all accompanied children under eighteen years of age. The New-York Historical Society’s museum is the oldest in New York City and predates the founding of the Metropolitan Museum of Art by nearly seventy years. Its art holdings comprise more than 1.6 million works. Among them are a world-class collection of Hudson River School paintings, including major works by Thomas Cole and Frederic Edwin
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June 6, 2017 3:03 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage, Library News, and Local History.

Local History: WWII & the OPA

Local History: WWII & the OPA

On April 11, 1941, FDR signed an executive order creating the Office of Price Administration.The Reporter Dispatch wrote that the purpose of the OPA was the “protection of the consumer” and to make supplies available to the public “after military needs are met.” Many goods were rationed during World War II, including sugar, meat, coffee, building materials, and gasoline. The OPA issued ration books to individuals a number of times during the war. Below are two examples of ration coupons for heating oil that were donated to the White Plains Collection by Library Trustee Paul Schwarz. They show the address
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May 27, 2017 9:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: air raids, american history, blackouts, brendan gill, chauncey griffen, edward schirmer, local history, office of price administration, opa, ration board, the new yorker, thomas holden, white plains collection, white plains history, and world war ii.

Local History: Remembering Jack Harrington

Local History: Remembering Jack Harrington

Local history legend Jack Harrington passed away on Sunday, May 14, at age 97. As a tireless advocate of preservation and conservation (historical and environmental), Harrington knew more about White Plains than just about anybody. To learn more about his life and legacy, check out his oral histories on our website or contact the White Plains Historical Society.
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May 22, 2017 3:05 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: conservation, greenway, jack harrington, local-history, oral history, People & Stories, preservation, white plains historical society, and white plains history.

Local History: WPA in White Plains

Local History: WPA in White Plains

On April 8, 1935, President Roosevelt signed a law creating the Works Progress Administration, or WPA. The WPA was created to create employment opportunities for millions of unemployed Americans and material benefit to communities throughout the country. White Plains and Westchester were no exception, with significant public works projects and make-work efforts, where jobs in local agencies were supported by federal funds. The White Plains Collection contains some examples of the works created through the WPA and a few records that describe projects the federal government supported in Westchester County. In 1939, the National Muncipal League's Consultant Service completed field
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May 12, 2017 5:00 am | by | 1 Comment
Categories: Local History.
Tags: 1930s, common council, great depression, local history, welfare, white plains collection, white plains history, works progress administration, and WPA.

Local History: Almanacks & Almanacs

Local History: Almanacks & Almanacs

Almanacs (sometimes spelled with a “k”) are an American institution. Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack and The Farmer's Almanac are the best-known examples, but thousands of other more particular, peculiar, and provincial almanacs have been published since the genre was established in the 17th century (the Library of Congress' American Almanac Collection contains 3,986 unique titles). To view some almanacs online, view the results of this basic search on the Digital Public Library of America's site, which produced over 2,000 results. Viewing the results in the timeline view shows the majority of items come from the 19th century, which comports with
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April 28, 2017 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: almanacks, almanacs, local-history, People & Stories, poor heathcotes almanac, poor richards almanac, the old farmers almanac, westchester county almanac, Westchester Hills Golf Club, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: “Mundane Recording Angel”

Local History: “Mundane Recording Angel”

In the pages of his monthly magazine, The Westchester County Magazine, editor Alvah P. French described himself as a “mundane recording angel.” His magazine was “an historical, commercial, and social publication” whose diverse contents seem to be a reflection of French's many interests. Each issue's contents was a disarray of editorials on local politics, legal notices, obituaries for people either famous or not known outside of Westchester, Emily Post-style admonitions about social conduct, local history vignettes, classifieds, advertisements for local businesses, and unattributed pronouncements (usually philosophical in nature) seemingly written by French. We have a nearly complete set of issues
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April 21, 2017 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: alvah p french, historic newspapers, local-history, Newspapers, westchester county historical society, westchester county magazine, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: Library Hand

Local History: Library Hand

An offhand comment to a colleague about his handwriting lead us to this blog post about “library hand,” the formalized style of penmanship librarians were taught to use from the late 19th century until typewriters made the skill obsolete. Before typewriters and automated cataloging systems, librarians maintained handwritten accession books that listed purchasing and bibliographic information for books acquired by the library. Below are various examples of documents from the White Plains Collection that contain “library hand” and some that obviously do not. Even where writers used the style they were likely taught in library science school, there are variations
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March 31, 2017 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: handwriting, librarians, library hand, library history, local-history, penmanship, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: House History

Local History: House History

Discovering the history of houses or apartment buildings is one of the best uses of the White Plains Collection. Whether it's discovering architectural changes or getting to know your historical predecessors, you are sure to come away with some stories. Below are some of the resources in the White Plains Collection that can help you learn the story behind your home. Real Estate Record: Published by the Westchester Record Company, the digitized version of the Record we have runs from 1905 to 1931. It is composed of listings of real estate transactions, short articles on building and development news, and
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March 24, 2017 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: city directories, genealogy, history, house history, local-history, maps and atlases, real estate record, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: Researching Greenburgh

Local History: Researching Greenburgh

All kinds of curious researchers find their way to the library and discover the White Plains Collection can help answer their questions. I've helped people find their yearbook picture, learn about the people who used to live in their house (no American Horror Stories uncovered yet), unearth lost city reports, and find photographs they didn't know existed. Two recent research queries covered similar topics, and all the researchers are generating interesting projects about Greenburgh.   The Greenburgh African American Historical Alliance is a newly formed community-based organization created to assist in the historical preservation of African American heritage, history and
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March 10, 2017 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: African-American History, Black History, community history, fairview, greenburgh, Greenburgh African American Historical Alliance, housing, local-history, white plains collection, and white plains history.