Out with the Old and In with the New: It's New Year's Eve 2021!

 

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This podcast is made possible by Peter F. Alexander of Site Design Associates; the Long Island Sound Institute (LISI), the Ambassador Museum United States of America, and listeners like you everywhere! Jeffrey Matthews Wealth Management joins us today to wish you Happy New Year!

From me and my family to you and yours, warmest wishes and cheers to new beginnings as Year 2022 fast approaches. 

My name is Jeffrey Bingham Mead. I’m a direct descendant of the 17th century Founders of Greenwich, Connecticut -one of America’s most interesting and extraordinary communities. 

Whether your roots go back nearly 400 years -or even 400 seconds, we welcome you with open arms. You are a part of our history -congratulations! 

With one foot in the past and the other in the present we can look forward together to an extraordinary future in one of America’s most notable and dynamic communities. 

Join us each week as we celebrate and embrace an evolving understanding of our history and Greenwich’s people, landscapes, culture, events and much more. 

Seasons change. Years come and go, but our community grows stronger. It’s another chance to start again. 

I lift my glass to all of you, feeling a special sense of gratitude for your interest and commitment to supporting this show and all of our efforts to preserve now and for the future the special history and culture of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut. 

There’s a unique magic about this time of the year. I wish you a successful fresh start with a sense of love, peace for bold, new and memorable adventures. Dream big! 

COMING UP ON TODAY’S SHOW

What are pushmobiles? In 1911 a special type of fun was on hand with Pushmobiles rushing down the hill on Milbank Avenue.

In one of my previous shows, you heard about an inquiry I received from Herbie and Missy Farquhar of Banksville Lawn Equipment. They asked about a place called Piping Brook Farm owned by Percy D. Elliot of New York, and to Richard Aston Elliot. The farm -which included parts of Stamford, Greenwich and North Castle, New York, was between 400 - 500 acres. Go to this link. And, also go to this one. 

I asked for your assistance -and for his efforts in solving this mystery, Mr. Konstantine Wells was the first to respond, and won a $20 Coffee For Good gift certificate. 

You can win one, too. Be assured that I will be asking for your help with inquiries such as this one. 

I’ll share with you how the people of Greenwich, Connecticut celebrated New Year’s Eve 100 years ago by the volunteer fire department and the Indian Harbor Yacht Club at the renowned Pickwick Arms Hotel. 

We’re coming up quickly on the one-hundredth anniversary of the unveiling of the statue of Col. Raynal C. Bolling. Located in front of the Havemeyer building at Greenwich Avenue and Arch Street, Bolling was among the first American officers in the service of the First World War to make the ultimate sacrifice. 

In January, 1922 the Round Hill Community Church inaugurated the first motion picture entertainment in its "Community Hall" -still standing on Round Hill Road today.

As we continue to mark the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Greenwich Police Department, I’ll share news of how Edwin A. Goodwin was charged with assault and breach of the peace in the home of his uncle Napoleon Bonaparte Bush on West Putnam Avenue -on Christmas Eve 1921. 

An initiative to provide a place for young people to ice skate was proposed by damming the Byram River at Mill Street. 

And, you think the high prices some will pay for Greenwich Avenue real estate is anything new? I’ll share news of a boom in real estate on Greenwich’s main shopping street a century ago. The more things change, the more they stay the same. 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls around the world! Stay where you are! We’ll have all this and lots more as today’s show unfolds. 

Contact me at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com. 

I’m on Facebook, too. Just look for Jeffrey Bingham Mead and send me a friend request. The show is also available on Facebook at Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons. 

Learn more about the show -and listen to past episodes for free- on the web at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons.blogspot.com

Our next show is scheduled for Friday, the 7th of January Year 2022. 

Merry Christmas! It's Time for the December 25, 2021 Show, You've Come to the Right Place

 

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CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO SOUNDCLOUD

SUPPORT THE SHOW THROUGH GOFUNDME. THANK YOU!

This podcast is made possible by Peter F. Alexander of Site Design Associates; the Long Island Sound Institute (LISI), the Ambassador Museum United States of America, and listeners like you everywhere!

How did the people of Greenwich, Connecticut celebrated Christmas one-hundred years ago in 1921? 

An annual Christmas part was held for the children at Byram Chapel. 

On Christmas Eve, 1921 an old fashioned Christmas party was held for the children at the Second Congregational Church. On Christmas day a musical concert consisting of Handel’s Messiah was held at the Second Congregational Church, too. 

The Sunday School at St. Roch’s Church in Chickahominy welcomed 285 children for its Christmas exercises. 

The Greenwich Social Service League welcomed 300 children to the Town Hall for the annual lighting of the Town Christmas Tree there. 

The First Congregational Church in Old Greenwich was transformed into a barn scene with a manger. 

A. Oakey Hall was the mayor of New York City, a prospective governor of New York State in the late 19th century. “Ezekiel Lemonade,” a columnist for the Greenwich Graphic, caught up wth Hall in a club in London -where former Mayor Hall shared his favorable thoughts about Greenwich, Connecticut. 

Another, a former Greenwich resident then living in what was the Dakota Territory, (now the states of North and South Dakota) returned for one last look at the town of her birth.

As we continue to honor the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Greenwich Police Department, you’ll hear about Conrad Zoell, a local carpenter who lost his way in 1911 due to intoxication, wandering around Milbank Avenue in the vicinity of the Armory off Mason Street. What happened? 

Also in 1911, Mrs. Virginia Janus of Cos Cob was highly displeased with Brooklyn NY resident Arthur DeVore, alleging $8000 in damages to her reputation. 

The Greenwich Historical Society was recently pleased to mark the debut of the John Henry Twachtman Catalogue Raisonné with an illustrated virtual talk by Lisa N. Peters, Ph.D., tracing John Henry Twachtman’s road to Greenwich, where he lived with his family from 1890 to 1899 and created the Impressionist works for which he is best known. Dr. Peters charted Twachtman’s artistic career focusing on a few key works, from his early days in Cincinnati, to European study and travel, to New York City, and finally to Greenwich. 

While the exhibition has been postponed to 2022, I’ll tell you where you can enjoy Dr. Peters’ virtual talk online from the comfort of your home, or anywhere with Internet access. 

I’ll share with you a fictionalized Christmas story I penned in 1986 set at the Ferris homestead in Riverside built in the 1700s. 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls around the world! Stay where you are! We’ll have all this, news of public events and lots more as today’s show unfolds. 

Nothing beats the comfort and soothing qualities of a good, 

hot cup of coffee in an historical setting.

Immerse yourself at Coffee For Good. 

48 Maple Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut

in the circa 1856 Solomon Mead House. 

Open 8am-5pm Monday-Saturday. 

Learn more about the Greenwich, A Town for All Seasons Show podcast hosted by Historian Jeffrey Bingham Mead at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons.blogspot.com. 

Contact us at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com. 

We’re always looking for guests to be on the show to share their stories about the history and culture of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut -one of America’s premier communities. 

You’re invited to advertise and underwrite future shows! 

 

Tis the Season! Welcome to the December 16, 2021 Show!

 

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO PODCASTS.COM

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO SOUNDCLOUD

SUPPORT THE SHOW THROUGH GOFUNDME. THANK YOU!

This podcast is made possible by Peter F. Alexander of Site Design Associates; the Long Island Sound Institute (LISI), the Ambassador Museum United States of America, and listeners like you everywhere! 

As the sun slowly rises in the east we're delighted to welcome you to the Thursday, December 16, 2021 Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons Show Podcast with Jeffrey Bingham Mead. 

The history of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut in the USA is the focus of our adventures here. The town has been one of the nation's premier communities for generations. Welcome to our ongoing 381-plus years of history! 

What's on today's show? 

We'll share some news of how Christmas was celebrated in Greenwich a century ago. Have you mailed all of your holiday packages and gifts? I hope so!

On the December 9 show, we featured news of the centennial anniversary of the first Trans-Atlantic radio message from Greenwich to Scotland. We'll have a follow-up to this accomplishment, a "Big Feather in Greenwich Hat." 

Once gracing the corner of East Putnam and Maher avenues near the Second Congregational Church, "The Elms" was quite an eye-catcher for Greenwich residents and visitors alike. It was torn down in 1942. Starting with today's show, we will be featuring stories of historic homes and buildings that once graced the town's landscape before they were demolished or destroyed. 

It was 125 years ago that the Greenwich Police Department was founded. In today's historical police blotter we'll share news of a man, suffering from delirium, who was arrested for being on his knees for eight hours at the gate posts of J. Kennedy Tod's estate, Innis Arden, in 1906. 

There are over 63 cemeteries and burying grounds in Greenwich. In 1931 a Society for the Aid of the Preservation of the Cos Cob Cemetery was formed. Its object was to restore what is the town's second-oldest cemetery, located on Strickland Road in Cos Cob. You'll hear about some of the history surrounding this often-seen but somewhat misunderstood cemetery. 

As a follow-up to our featured story in the previous show about drinking at Cos Cob School dances a century ago, a story, 'Cider at the Dances,' cited the work on police throughout the country in what was the era of Prohibition. 

We're pleased to have as one of our supporting sponsors the Ambassador Museum United States of America. Starting today, you'll hear about these extraordinary public servants, beginning with one famous to us in Greenwich: Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed, Jr.  

Besides lots of fascinating, entertaining history to share, I'll have news of public events you can enjoy!

Nothing beats the comfort and soothing qualities of a good, 

hot cup of coffee in an historical setting.

Immerse yourself at Coffee For Good. 

48 Maple Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut

in the 1858 Solomon Mead House. 

Open 8am-5pm Monday-Saturday. 

Learn more about the Greenwich, A Town for All Seasons Show podcast hosted by Historian Jeffrey Bingham Mead at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons.blogspot.com. 

Contact us at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com. 

We’re always looking for guests to be on the show to share their stories about the history and culture of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut -one of America’s premier communities. 

You’re invited to advertise and underwrite future shows! 

Christmas is Coming! Trans-Atlantic Radio, "Too Much Whoopee" in Cos Cob, Joseph Christiano Remembered and More!

 

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO PODCASTS.COM

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO SOUNDCLOUD

SUPPORT THE SHOW THROUGH GOFUNDME. THANK YOU!

Welcome to the Thursday, December 9, 2021 Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons Show Podcast with Jeffrey Bingham Mead. On this show we delve into the history of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut in the USA -one of the nation's premier communities. 

If you are a seasoned listener, then you are already feeling bouts of joy and delight -knowing that there are people like you all over the USA, and even around the world, who share a special connection to this place we call home. 

Besides lots of fascinating, entertaining history to share, I'll have news of opportunities and public events you can enjoy!

One hundred years ago this week, on December 11, 1921, an amateur radio station housed in a converted chicken coop and operated by the Radio Club of America sent the first short wave message across the Atlantic Ocean to Scotland. 

A granite monument at the intersection of North Street and Clapboard Ridge Road marks the occasion. 

I'll share with you a Christmas editorial published a century ago today that was published in the Greenwich News and Graphic. 

Two shows ago I shared a published conversation with Greenwich builder and contractor Joseph Christiano. He died on his 64th birthday in 1929. His obituary -published on the first page of the local papers- was quite revealing. It turns out this successful businessman was responsible for constructing many of the palatial homes associated with the Greenwich "Great Estates," and those in localities in nearby communities. He was also responsible for constructing St. Mary's Church on Greenwich Avenue, and St. Roch's Church in Chickahominy. 

A Mrs. John Fry, who was evicted from her home in Cos Cob, was fit to be tied and decided to sue a number of parties and the Town of Greenwich.

In 1929, during Prohibition, "too much whoopee" was all the rage at dances held at Cos Cob School. It was all quite scandalous with the Cos Cob Community Association and the Cos Cob Mothers' Social Club highly unamused -and you'll hear why. 

In November 1895 an attempt was made to burglarize the Round Hill Store. While running away, one of the burglars took a shot with a pistol at Lewis June, who was standing at an upstairs window above the store. What happened? 

This week I attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Coffee For Good, located on the ground floor of Mead House -the 1856 Solomon Mead House, 48 Maple Avenue, on the campus of the Second Congregational Church. 

One of the more colorful residents of this mansion was Sylvia Ann Howland Green Wilks. She was the daughter of tycoon Hetty Green, also known as "The Witch of Wall Street," the richest woman in America during the Gilded Age. I'll share an insightful essay about Sylvia Wilks by Lisa Albamonte published by the Greenwich Historical Society on its web site. 

We'll have all this, news of public events, and more as the show unfolds! 

This podcast is made possible by Peter F. Alexander of Site Design Associates; the Long Island Sound Institute (LISI), and the Ambassador Museum United States of America. 

Learn more about the Greenwich, A Town for All Seasons Show podcast hosted by Historian Jeffrey Bingham Mead at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons.blogspot.com. 

Contact us at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com. 

We’re always looking for guests to be on the show to share their stories about the history and culture of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut -one of America’s premier communities. 

You’re invited to advertise and underwrite future shows!