Week of March 7

March 6, 1875 – 150 YEARS AGO

Rockland County Journal

AROUND HOME

  ☞  Now that the steamer Walter Brett is sold, the proprietors of the Rockland Print Works are making arrangements to ship their freight by the N. J. & N. Y. Railway.

  ☞  Preaching in the Baptist Church to-morrow (Sunday) by the Pastor. Morning subject— “Christ the Master”; evening—“The Coming Man.” Strangers always welcome.

  ☞  We learn that the temperance men of Haverstraw intend to make things hot for the liquor dealers, at the ensuing election. Our temperance people are asleep, apparently.

  ☞  The order and sobriety which renders our village exceptional are due to our police justice, Charles H. Meeker, and we hope he will receive the nomination and be elected unanimously.

  ☞  The time is fast approaching when kites and marbles will so absorb the attention of our youths that it will require a strong application of birch to remind them that they have a maternal ancestor.

  ☞  Dr. D. C. Wright, the popular and interesting temperance lecturer, will lecture before Nyack Division, S. of T., in their room, on Friday evening, 19th inst. The public are cordially invited.

  ☞  With the exception of a few finishing touches, the large and elegant official map of Nyack is completed. Serrell & Demerest, the civil engineers, are deserving of the highest credit for the character of the work.

  ☞  Our skaters are grumbling because the snow spoiled the skating, our lovers of sleighing are grumbling because the snow melts so fast, and others are grumbling because the snow and ice are not both gone. So, you see everybody is grumbling.

March 7, 1925 – 100 YEARS AGO

Nyack Evening Journal

MANY WERE SCARED

         The earth’s tremor that shook the whole northeastern part of the United States from Maine to Virginia and as far west as the Ohio Valley, Saturday night, is said to have startled any number of people in and about Haverstraw and stories of personal experience are being related how “pictures were shaken from the walls, dishes danced around the closets and fancy table embellishments tumbled from the sideboard,” with stories of people who had assembled in several places being so frightened they ran into the streets.

         The only authentic version of a distinct shock is given by Walter Denton of the U.S. Hotel who said “that he was in Boley’s barber chair when he felt the trembling, the rocking made him dizzy.”

         With some of the stories of the clock stopping and all that, the record does not agree and it looks as if a number of our good friends were playing with fickle imagination.

         As a contrast to some of these statements of “wearied uncanny” feeling experience most of the citizens never knew there was an earthquake or tremor. Both play houses, the Auditorium and the Broadway, had capacity audience and the only tremor anybody in the audiences of either place felt was the vibration of the music.

March 7, 1975 – 50 YEARS AGO

The Journal News

NATION’S HISTORY TO BE CELEBRATED

 [Image: Clarksville Inn in West Nyack—part of Clarkstown’s history. Journal News staff photograph by Ted Neuhoff.]

       The Clarkstown Bicentennial Committee hopes that the town’s residents will love their parade.

       At the first public organizational meeting to be held at 8 p.m. Mar. 11 at the town hall, interested residents can join committees which will develop the various projects of the town’s bicentennial celebration.

       High on the list of events to mark the nation’s 200th birthday will be a parade through the center of the town, according to Elizabeth Seeger, the committee’s chairperson.

       “Right now, we’re focusing on the parade because that has to be organized first,” she said. “We hope to have floats on various themes and a number of marching bands.”

       However, the festivities will begin long before it climaxes into the parade and fireworks display on July 4, she said.

       Each month, starting in January 1976, will represent 33 years in the nation’s history featuring displays and events centering around a historical theme, she said.

       “We want to develop a theme that is appropriate to each era,” she said. “They might represent great strides in transportation or improvements in education.”

       In addition, the committee is developing a colonial day in which people can wander through a bazaar of colonial crafts and exhibits, she said.

       Although the committee has only discussed the idea, there is some sentiment for a permanent memorial as a symbol of the town’s celebration, she said. Also, of a more permanent nature would be the development of a heritage trail through the town, emphasizing its points of interest, she said.

       Town residents will make most of the decisions on the projects, she added.

This Week in Rockland (#FBF Flashback Friday) is prepared by Clare Sheridan for the Historical Society of Rockland County. © 2025 by The Historical Society of Rockland County. #FBF Flashback Friday may be reprinted only with written permission from the HSRC. To learn about the HSRC’s mission, upcoming events or programs, visit www.RocklandHistory.org or call (845) 634-9629.