Glen Airlie, Grass Island and Greenwich Harbor, Hermit Dies, Girl in the Pilot House & More!

 

CLICK HERE OR CLICK HERE

This podcast is made possible by Alexander Affiliates, Eastern Neurologic Services, Kevin M. J. O'Connor of Jeffrey Matthews Wealth Management, and listeners like you everywhere on the Atlantic Learning Consortium Network!

On our July shows, we pleased to promote Michael Helupka Tree Service, LLC here in Greenwich. I was impressed and a satisfied customer -and you will be, too. Call 203.622.8737.

Welcome to the 25th of July 2023 show. 

On Greenwich in the Gilded Age, we return for an encore visit to Glen Airlie on Byram Shore, brought to you on today's show thanks to The Great Estates Greenwich, Connecticut 1880-1929 by The Junior League of Greenwich. 

But there's more. You learn about Addison Hanan and his family, hailing from Narragansett's society circles who perhaps came to purchase this estate. (Click here for the article). 

On Greenwich Life As It is-And Was, Erwin Edwards wrote, "Grass Island and what can be made of it, has been talked of and discussed for a long time, and thus it happens that it is not a new subject of conversation or controversy."

A century ago, Niel Morrow Ladd was appointed chairman of a committee of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce to study Greenwich's "unsightly harbor" with the goal of improving it "in a fair way." 

It was reported in July, 1907 that Isaac Scofield, "the hermit of Greenwich who lived within a half-mile of E.C. Converse's residence  at Stanwich (Conyers Manor), was found dead last Friday night among a lot of chickens at the bottom of an old cellar near the shack in which he lived." 

"Progress is making," reported the July 20, 1923 edition of the Greenwich News and Graphic, "in the construction of the new Masonic Temple on Havemeyer Place and Mason Street...and there is every assurance that the imposing edifice will be ready for dedication and occupancy on the date originally set, in October." That building still stands today.

In other historical news, 120 people enjoyed the second annual outing and clambake of The News Employee Mutual Benefit Association on Island Beach (Little Captain's Island) in early August 1908. 

In late July, 1908, Commodore E.C. Benedict's steam yacht Oneida was one of the fleet of boats to traverse the newly-opened Cape Cod Canal. 

It was reported a century ago, on July 27, 1923, that Judge Frederick A. Hubbard commented that "Miss Smith," of Stamford -the granddaughter of Captain Charles Smith of the ill-fated steamboat Seawanaka- was "twirling the spokes of the steering wheel" of the ferry boat Greenwich on the waters of Long Island Sound. 

Don't forget Crimes and Misdemeanors, our featured crime segment in our continuous observance of the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Greenwich Police Department (GPD).

There’s lots to see, to do, and to learn about the history of the Town of Greenwich.

You’ve come to the right place to learn about the history of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut, one of America's most interesting and extraordinary communities.  

We’ll have all this -and more- as our history continues to unfold. 

I'm Jeffrey Bingham Mead, your host. Thank you for listening to the weekly podcast released on Tuesdays. 

Contact me and join our growing number of listeners anytime via email at greenwichatownforallseasons@gmail.com. 

Show podcast episodes are posted weekly on various social media platforms. Click this link to the show's Facebook site. 

I also encourage you to like and visit the group You Know You're From Greenwich Ct If, where links to the show are posted weekly, too. 

Mark your calendars. The next show is scheduled for Tuesday, the 1st of August, 2023.