the chronicle / 2004 spring

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”



“The good men may do separately is smallcompared with what they may do collectively.”

Benjamin Franklin



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



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



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

[email protected].

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



...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.

the chronicle / 2004 spring

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