the chronicle / 2004 spring
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7/31/2019 The Chronicle / 2004 Spring
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A Publication of
The Bronxville Historical Conservancy
Walter Isaacson
Bronxville, New York
“The essence of Franklin is that he was a civic-minded
man,” wrote Walter Isaacson in his best-selling biography,Benjamin Franklin, An American Life. In his remarks at the 6thannual Brendan Gill Lecture on Friday,March 5th, will the famous author andformer resident of our community draw aparallel between Franklin’s belief in theimportance of organizations for thecommon good and the people ofBronxville throughout its history?Robert Riggs, co-chair of the BronxvilleHistorical Conservancy and organizer ofthe upcoming lecture thinks so.
“One Franklin characteristic that
Isaacson points to is his belief in civiccooperation, political participation andvoluntary community improvement schemes. I think Bronxvilleis a good example of a community whose residentsvolunteer their services for useful village organizations andactivities,” said Mr. Riggs, who invites everyone to attend.
The Brendan Gill Lecture, an annual public event present-ed at no charge to the community, is just one of the manyprograms the Conservancy offers to increase awareness ofthe village’s history and appreciation of its culture. Theevent honors former Bronxville resident Brendan Gill, abeloved author and renowned architecture critic.
Friday, March 5, 20048:00 p.m.
Concordia College Sommer CenterEVERYONE IS INVITED TO ATTEND
WINTER 2004
The Chronicle
Noted author Walter Isaacson presents
The Civic Virtues of Benjamin Franklin
at the 6th AnnualBrendan Gill Lecture
“Snow Mantle”A painting by Hobart Nichols
published in the February 1945 issue of “The Villager”
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“The good men may do separately is smallcompared with what they may do collectively.”
Benjamin Franklin
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e cared more about public behavior
than inner piety, and he was more interested in building the City of
Man than the City of
God. The maxim he had proclaimed on his
first trip back from London -- “Man is a
sociable being” -- was reflected not only in his personal collegiality but
also in his belief that
benevolence was the binding virtue of society.”
Walter Isaacson “Benjamin Franklin,An American Life”
Walter Isaacson is the president and CEO of the Aspen
Institute, an international education and leadership institute
founded in 1950. He was born on May 20, 1952, in New
Orleans and is a graduate of Harvard College and of
Pembroke College of Oxford University.
Mr. Isaacson's background spans more than 25 years of
journalism in a variety of roles from newspaper reporter and
columnist to magazine editor. He began his career as a
reporter for the Sunday Times of London and then for the New
Orleans States-Item. In 1978, he joined Time Magazine where
he served as a political correspondent, national editor, and
editor of new media before becoming the managing editor
of the magazine in 1995. At Time, Inc., he helped to set the
editorial and electronic media strategies for the company's
major magazines and served as the liaison to CNN, AOL and
other divisions of Time Warner.
In 2001, Mr. Isaacson became the chairman and CEO of
CNN where he had overall responsibility for leading the CNN
News Group.
The former Cedar Knolls resident is not only the author of
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003), but also the editor
and annotator of A Benjamin Franklin Reader (2003). He also
wrote Kissinger: A Biography (1992), and co-authored The
Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made (1986).
Mr. Isaacson lives with his wife and daughter in Washington,
DC, and Aspen, Colorado.
“ H
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SUBURBAN
SPOILS
The Bronxville Local History Room at the
Bronxville Library is now outfitted with a new
computer, flat screen monitor and Internet
hookup. Installed in January, the equipment was
purchased with sales proceeds from Building A
Suburban Village: Bronxville, New York 1898-
1998. The Dell 8300 computer system was
installed by local volunteer, Larry Lee, who spent
many hours in the History Room getting it up and
running.
Eventually an index to the contents of the
History Room archives will be computerized and
accessible from the Internet. The Village Historianalso hopes to have the History Room's extensive
collection of photographs scanned and view-
able on the computer monitor, which will spare
rare original prints from the risk of damage from
handling. The acquisition of the powerful new
computer system is the first step in this long range
plan. Once a data base is formatted, the History
Room will rely on part-time interns and volunteers
to help input the requisite information.
Building A Suburban Village , a 350-page, heav-
ily illustrated history of the development of subur-
ban Bronxville, was published by BronxvilleCentennial Celebration, Inc., predecessor of the
Bronxville Historical Conservancy, as part of the
100th anniversary of the
Village's incorporation.
Costs of the publication
have been recovered,
and all sales proceeds
now accrue to the ben-
efit of the Local History
Room. The book men-
tions virtually every
residence inBronxville and con-
tains fascinating
details about the
development of
the Village's resi-
dential areas. A
must for all
Village residents, it is
available for purchase at Village Hall
for $55 and at Womrath's bookshop.
BY ELOISE MORGAN
Please join us for an Art-to-Art
Talk
Art Historian
Jayne Warman
shares insights into thepaintings purchased by the
Bronxville Historical Conservancy
in its effort to bring
works of early Bronxville artists
back to our community.
Includes a special exhibit!
Friday, May 16, 2004
The Bronxville Library
Reception following
in the Burt Gallery
Members are invited to bring guests.
“Peonies in a Vase,” by Spencer Baird Nichols, 24 x 38 inchesA recent acquisition to be displayed in Village Hall
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n Bronxville’s Centennial Year, the Childe Hassam
painting “Central Park,” given to the Library in 1947 by
benefactor William Frances Burt, was sold at Christie's
auction house for a cool $4.1 million to help fund the
Library’s major renova-
tion. As a result of recent
litigation, the Library
received an unanticipat-
ed benefit: an addition-
al $100,000 as part of a
class action settlement
charging that Sotheby’s
and Christie’s colludedto fix commissions. The
Library Board has allo-
cated a portion of the
settlement proceeds to
the ongoing care of the
Library's art collection.
Library art curator Jayne
Warman says the wind-
fall will be used to
restore and reframe the
Library’s collection of
historic paintings. To date, paintings by Anson Kent Cross,
William Hart, Mary Fairchild Low, Lilian Genth and Bert
Greer Phillips have been restored and reframed and furthe
work is scheduled. Part of the settlement was a certificate
in the face amount of
$23,973 which may be
used at either Christie's or
Sotheby's in future trans-
actions to pay vendor's
commissions, risk of loss or
insurance fees and illus-
tration charges. The
Library is interested in sell-
ing this certificate, which
can also be cashed in for
full face value upon
maturity on May 15, 2007.
Anyone who is interested
in purchasing all or part o
this certificate can com-
municate an offer by e-
mailing the Library
Director, Jane Marino, at
jmarino@wlsmail.org.
A gift that keeps giving!
“Central Park” by Childe Hassam
I
W r i t e
o n !
eaders can look forward to more new highlights from
Bronxville's past when Volume 3 of The Bronxville Journal hits
the stands in the fall.
Art Historian Meg Hausberg will explore the relationship
between Lawrence Park artist Otto Bacher and James
McNeill Whistler. As a young man in the 1880s Bacher was
among a group of budding artists who studied etching with
Whistler in Venice. Years later, after moving to Lawrence
Park, Bacher's publication of his reminiscences of Whistler in
those early years created a bit of a brouhaha in the art and publish-ing worlds. Hausberg will expound on the details of that controversy.
Two other articles will focus on more recent events in Bronxville's history.
Sarah Underhill and Allison Shuker, friends and classmates who grew up in Bronxville
in the 1970s, will revisit a poignant episode in the village's past, "The Mothers' March for
Peace," a protest against the Vietnam War that both women witnessed. Marcia Lee,
former Mayor of Bronxville, will reflect on "When the Lawrence's Left Bronxville," the
departure of the family whose name in the first half of the 1900s was almost synony-
mous with Bronxville. Lee will ponder "how a once greatly influential Bronxville
family found itself 'odd-man-out' in the very community it had done so
much to create."
Historian Marilynn Hill will look at village life in the mid-1800s by dis-
cussing medical practice and care in early Bronxville as recorded in
several diaries of the period. Through a twenty-first century perspec-
tive, some medical care in that earlier era seems to have been more
life-threatening than life-saving.
With a couple of other contributions, including some new pho-
tographs from the Local History Room with commentary by Village
Historian Eloise Morgan, Volume 3 will again add new material to the
annals of Bronxville as well as interesting reading for villagers.Early Bronxville artist, Otto Bacher
R
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...OldNews...
This BRONXVILLE TOWN STABLES sign was found in the now
defunct antique store on Main St. in Tuckahoe by Elena Patterson. She
bought it and hung it on her house in upstate New York for several years
until the letters and riding figure were all but faded away. She gave it to
Charles Jackson who had it restored and it is now "on loan" at Twin Lakes
Barn on California Road. There was a stable on the present school grounds
where this sign may have hung years ago. Does anybody remember?
The Chronicle Published by the
Bronxville Historical Conservancy © Winter 2004
Designed & Edited by Nancy Vittorini
Submissions welcome!
The Bronxville Historical Conservancy was
established in 1999 to further the understanding
and appreciation of the history and current life
of the Village of Bronxville, New York.
The Conservancy furthers its mission through
the presentation of programs, publications,
lectures and special events that foster an
awareness of thevillage’s architectural, artistic
and cultural heritage and lends its support for
projects designed to strengthen
and preserve those legacies.
The BronxvilleHistorical Conservancy
P. O. Box 989Bronxville, NY 10708
Mark your Calendar!Walter Isaacson to speak at the6th Annual Brendan Gill Lecture
March 5, 2004Sommer Center
Concordia College
Read what Walter Isaacson wrote about villager John Corry’s new book,
LINCOLN AT COOPER UNION. “Lincoln believed that hisFebruary 1860 speech at New York’s Cooper Union made him president,
and John Corry’s insightful book convincingly shows why....Corry’s
narrative provides historical context, narrative drama and a cogent analysis of one
of the seminal texts of our nation’s history.” Nice. Congratulations, John.
Did you know that in the Twenties an
attempt was made in Bronxville to limit the
number of KISSES a departing commuter could plant
on his bride’s lips in the railroad station plaza?
from This Is Westchester, 1954.
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