Week of November 1

October 31, 1874– 150 YEARS AGO

Rockland County Journal

SPRING VALLEY AND GRASSY POINT ROADS

       On Saturday last the Directors of the New Jersey and New York Railway Company, with friends and invited guests, rode over the new road as far as the bridge, which is being built over the creek and highway, near the Rockland Print Works. A handsome Erie coach and engine, under the conductorship of Mr. Massie and the engineer-ship of Charles Scheimer, brought the party out from Jersey City. All along the route were displayed flags and banners, and on the eminences and on the piazzas of residences were groups of women and children waving their handkerchiefs and hats in welcome. At Thiell’s Mills the citizens brought out their cannon, and again and again fired it off in honor of the occasion and to show their hearty good will towards the new railroad.

       Here were congregated many of the best friends of the road, who, through all the past three years, when the abandonment and failure of railroads was the rule, never for one moment doubted but that Mr. Patterson would carry through the enterprise and complete the road. Half a mile east of Thiell’s, the road crosses Miner’s creek, and here the excursionists were obliged to stop, the track being laid no farther; the bridge—a large structure being built by the Watson M’f’g Co., of Paterson, N.J.—will be finished and track laid to Stony Point by November 5th, 1874.

       Among the Directors and invited guests were D. P. Patterson, of Hillsdale; Robert Rennie, of Lodi; J. D. Demarest, of Oradell; N. M. Knapp, of Hackensack: E. O. Hill, Superintendent Erie Railway: Messrs. Ward & Lay, and many other. The N.J. & N.Y. Railway Co. expect to begin running their own engines and cars as soon as the new section of the road is completed.

AROUND HOME

     ☞  Persons who have been given sufficient breath to climb up steep places will he richly repaid for a visit to the top of Hook Mountain by the charming view they can get from that lofty point. Those who are not blessed with strong breathing apparatus, however, had better not attempt the ascent.

October 30, 1924 – 100 YEARS AGO

Pearl River News

SWALLOWED COIN HE HAD FOR THE MOVIES — Buddy Tillson Misses the Show and Will Hereafter Use His Pockets for His Money

       Eight-year-old Buddy, Tillson, who attends the grammar school, contemplates sadly that a pocket may be a safe place for money, after all. He reached this conclusion after having his evening spoiled by a stomach ache and a doctor.

       Buddy’s mother gave him a quarter to go to a show after school. Buddy beamed and carried the coin to school with him clutched tightly. In order that nothing might happen he gave the money to Miss Hatch, his teacher. At the end of school, she gave it back to him. He put it in his mouth for safety and hurried to the picture show.

       Just outside the ticket window Buddy gulped, grew red, and began to weep. Then went sadly away—he still had the coin, but not where he could get at it to buy a ticket. As far as that is concerned, he still has it. The doctor, however, is unperturbed.

October 31, 1974 – 50 YEARS AGO
  The Journal News

OLD VS. NEW TRADITIONS — BEWITCHING — THEY’RE THE PICTURE OF HALLOWEEN

[Image: The Lady Sarna, High priestess … Andorus, high priest watches. Journal News Photograph by Art Sarno.]

       A desire to end their centuries-old stereotype as evil creatures that worship Satan and possess unwary souls at Halloween is bringing true practitioners of witchcraft out of the shadows.

       Members of the craft do not even believe in the existence of Satan, according to The Lady Sarna, a 26-year-old high priestess of a Gardnerian coven of witches, and Andorus, 25, the coven’s high priest.

       Sarna lives in northern New Jersey where the coven is located. Andorus is a Rockland resident.

       “Witchcraft is the priesthood of the old Celtic pagan tradition,” Andorus said. “The common people were persuaded into Christianity, but the priesthood went into hiding,” Sarna said. “That’s all that is left now.”

       “There are many different traditions in the craft,” Sarna said. The basic breakdown is between traditionalists, who work under teachings handed down for years, and the hereditary who were initiated into the craft within their own families, she said.

       The latter rarely initiate outside of their own families.

       Gardnerians are a Middle English tradition born on the Isle of Man. While most traditions such as Saxon, Welsh, and Norse are named for their area of origin, Gardnerians are named for their unintentional founder, anthropologist Dr. Gerald Gardner.

       Gardner found an old coven and feared the loss of the meaning of its rituals because of its isolation and the age of the coven’s members.

       Gardner was contacted by other covens whose members also thought themselves to be the last of their kind and so became the vehicle for the resurgence of the tradition which now bears his name.

       The coven is the basic group in the craft and has a maximum of 13 members though most covens will branch off before they reach 13 members.

       Within each coven there are three degrees, according to Sarna. An initiate is called a priest at the first degree, the second degree is known as a high priest or priestess and the third degree is the highest in craft rank.

       “You’re not allowed to leave and form your own coven until then, because then you have the power to initiate,” Sarna said.

       A coven is female dominated and always headed by a high priestess. Sarna was initiated into another tradition and formed her own coven after reaching the third degree.

       Andorus, also initiated into another tradition, followed Sarna when she branched off.

Although both Sarna and Andorus believe that witchcraft is fairly widespread in the area, neither can be sure. They know of several covens in New York and three in New Jersey. “It’s hard to tell because some are very secretive,” she said.

       The Book of Shadows, the witch’s bible, although they prefer not to call it that, contains the craft rituals and beliefs. The book itself is mainly in the form of poetry.

       The three primary beliefs of the craft are belief in a god and a goddess, belief in reincarnation and in the power of magic. Like much of the craft members’ faith, the names of the god and goddess are a secret and could not be revealed.

       Sarna explained that witches believe in the power of reincarnation in a future life and in human form and that reincarnation follows a period of rest in a sort of craft heaven known as Summerland.

       “It would be more of an outdoor type thing, like the Garden of Eden,” Sarna said. The Summerland concept is basic to the craft’s dependence upon and love of nature.

       “We believe magic works,” Sarna said. “Magic is making events happen in accordance with your will,” she said.

       “We believe there is power in thought,” Andorus said. “Thoughts are things and they can affect things.”

       When asked if magic could be simple coincidence, Sarna said, “The rate of incidence is far too high.”

       “Why would it happen right then? Why not before or afterwards?” Andorus said.

       “We also get into healing work,” Sarna said. “There are people we have virtually snatched back from death.”

       Witches are also firm believers in extrasensory perception (ESP). “The five senses in high tune equal the sixth,” Andorus said, repeating one of Sarna’s theories on the subject.

       “Many people have ESP experiences when they are very excited,” Sarna said. “The sixth sense is not something strange, it’s a combination of the other five.” That is why we work to sharpen our senses and not to dull them.

       Members of the craft may have an occasional drink, but drugs or alcohol are not used as vehicles to reach a religious state as in many eastern cultures, according to Sarna. Members of the craft may have an occasional drink, but drugs or alcohol are not used as vehicles to reach a religious state as in many eastern cultures, according to Sarna.

       Like many religious or ethnic minority groups, the practitioners of witchcraft have become sensitive to books and films which portray them as blood lusting demons.

       “I realize they want to entertain the public but it’s a shame they have to do it at our expense,” Sarna said.

This Week in Rockland (#FBF Flashback Friday) is prepared by Clare Sheridan on behalf of the Historical Society of Rockland County. © 2024 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.