Archives for local-history

People & Stories Oral History Project: Alexis Cole

People & Stories Oral History Project: Alexis Cole

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 2018! Below is an interview with Alexis Cole from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and Jazz Fest will include stories and music from musicians who local roots or connections, but have performed all over the world. Check out the Jazz Fest 2018 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 12-16, 2018.   “Award-winning jazz vocalist
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September 10, 2018 6:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Oral History.
Tags: alexis cole, ArtsWestchester, jazz, Jazz Fest, local-history, music, oral history, People & Stories, white plains collection, white plains history, and White Plains Jazz Fest.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Albert Rivera

People & Stories Oral History Project: Albert Rivera

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 2018! Below is an interview with Albert Rivera from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and Jazz Fest will include stories and music from musicians who have local roots or connections, but have performed all over the world. Check out the Jazz Fest 2018 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 12-16, 2018.   Albert Rivera’s musical
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September 7, 2018 6:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Oral History.
Tags: albert rivera, jazz, Jazz Fest, local-history, mediterraneo, music, oral history, People & Stories, white plains collection, white plains history, and White Plains Jazz Fest.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Brian Carter

People & Stories Oral History Project: Brian Carter

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 2018! Below is an interview with Brian Carter from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and Jazz Fest will include stories and music from musicians who have local roots or connections, but have performed all over the world. Check out the Jazz Fest 2018 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 12-16, 2018.   International professional
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September 4, 2018 6:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Oral History.
Tags: brian carter, jazz, Jazz Fest, local-history, music, new rochelle jazz fest, oral history, People & Stories, white plains collection, white plains history, and White Plains Jazz Fest.

Local History: Addicts & Addiction Pt. 1

Local History: Addicts & Addiction Pt. 1

The past few years, drugs and addiction have been in the headlines. Stories about opiates, the legalization of marijuana, and criminal justice reform have all made drug use and addiction the subject of a national conversation. Just as the civil rights and women's rights movements had historical roots in time periods when those issues were not the focus of public debate, American society has been dealing with addicts and addiction since the 18th century. Here's a look at some resources in the White Plains Collection that you can consult to see how people used to think about these issues. You
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October 30, 2017 11:24 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: addiction, addicts, alcoholics, alcoholism, bloomingdale, bloomingdale asylum, keeley institute, local-history, mental health, mental illness, nellie bly, new york presbyterian, white plains collection, and white plains history.

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. 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. 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: 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.

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: 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.

Local History: Depends On What You’re Looking For…

Local History: Depends On What You’re Looking For…

Photographs are great ways of learning about the past. They hold different levels of meaning and must be viewed critically to gain a true sense of what they represent. For instance, a seemingly straightforward picture of a row of houses might contain valuable information about the way houses were used or redesigned. A street scene with people scattered along the sidewalk might not be an accurate depiction of street life at the time–were the people posed? Did they show up because they knew a photograph was being taken? Here is a list of more questions I ask myself when using
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March 1, 2017 1:46 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: John Rosch, landscape architecture, local-history, photographs, photography, tennis, the daily reporter, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: Anti-Communism

Local History: Anti-Communism

The renovations at the library meant that we had to move the White Plains Collection to a storage area in another part of the library. In the course of the move, I came across a binder I had never seen before. It had label on the front that said it contained the “Westchester Spotlight 1955-1974.” Since that publication was not familiar to me, I opened the binder. The contents of the binder bring to life a complicated and troubling history.     The Westchester Spotlight was a counter-subversive newsletter published by the Westchester County Committee on Un-American Activities, part of
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January 13, 2017 4:43 pm | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: 1940s, 1950s, aclu, american civil liberties union, anti-communism, communism, ku klux klan, local politics, local-history, paul robeson, peekskill, westchester spotlight, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: Why Data Isn’t Boring

Local History: Why Data Isn’t Boring

Data is not boring, especially if you are interested in establishing historical truth. In the past year, Americans have been exposed to an immense amount of data about age, health, economic status, and opinions. A number we hear a lot about these days is 77,7440–the votes in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin that helped Donald Trump win the electoral vote even though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by about 2.8 million votes. With increasing levels of partisan skepticism influencing news consumers and creators alike, outlets like FiveThirtyEight and Vox can offer refreshingly empirical perspectives to those who enjoy studying history.
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January 7, 2017 11:22 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: census, data, data journalism, data vizualization, demographics, Employment, human resources, local-history, religion, statistics, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: Winter in Westchester

Local History: Winter in Westchester

The local history blog will be taking a short break during the next two weeks, returning to weekly posting in 2017. To finish out the year, I thought it was appropriate to look at the history of winter in Westchester. While this post is by no means scientific, it will hopefully serve to help readers appreciate our climate and persuade some to venture into it! The earliest mentions of Westchester's weather in the White Plains Collection are from the published journals of English colonists. Daniel Denton arrived in New Netherland (as New York was then called) in 1644 and was
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December 23, 2016 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: climate, colonialism, local-history, meterology, new netherland, new york history, weather, white plains collection, white plains history, and winter.