Briarcliff Manor Congregational Church Parish Hall

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The Briarcliff Manor Congregational Church is holding its annual Rummage Sale this weekend, 29 April 2023. This is a big event in the village. Many people donate and a lot of people volunteer their time to organize and layout all of the donations. I’m told that it raises quite a lot of money for the village.

My friend wanted to go there to talk to people about some stuff she wanted to donate so along I went.

The picture above was taken inside the large Parish Hall. I liked the triangular forms, the colored glass and the way the wide angle lens caused distortions such as the lamps looking as if they are defying gravity and tilting sideways, when of course in reality they were vertical.

Below pastor, Todd Farnsworth (here showing his humorous side) and, I assume, a volunteer whose name I, unfortunately did not get. This shows only a tiny portion of the donations. The Parish Hall was full of tables with donations of all kinds on them as well as masses of clothing on racks.

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In addition to its website the Church also has a Facebook Page.

Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XF 10-24mm f4

Croton Aqueduct in Art

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In an earlier post I mentioned Cornela Cotton and her book store/gallery (See: Cornelia). I also mentioned that she was going to give a presentation organized by the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society on “The Croton Aqueduct in Art”.

She gave the presentation to an almost full house at Briarcliff Manor’s Vescio Community Center. It was very well received.

Note that I don’t have a copy of her presentation, or the exact images she used so the pictures below, although similar are for illustrative purposes only.

For a really good overview of images of the Old Croton Aqueduct see The Project Gutenberg eBook of Illustrations of the Croton Aqueduct, by F. B. Tower.

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Taken in mid April 2023 with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE

Framed automobile pictures

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This post is for fans of vintage automobiles.

On April 24th, 1908 and event took place, the like of which the Village of Briarcliff Manor had never seen before, and has not seen since. It was called “The First American International Road Race”, more informally known as the Briarcliff Trophy Race. It was the first automobile race in Westchester County, NY and the first international stock car race in the United States. There were 22 contestants from five countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States.

The Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society (BMSHS) has a wonderful collection of 11 framed photographs of the race participants. It’s not clear what happened to the other 11.

Above: No. 20: Louis J. Bergdoll, Benz Car.

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No. 19: Hugh N. Harding, Isotta Fraschini car.

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No. 13: Barney Oldfield, Stearns Car.

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No. 11: Al Poole, Isotta Fraschini car.

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No. 9: Ralph Mulford, Lozier car.

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No. 8: Guy Vaughn. Stearns car.

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No. 7: Harry Michener, Lozier car.

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No. 6: Edwin H. Parker, Fiat car.

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No. 1: Paul Sartori, Bianchi Car.

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No. 21: Morton J. Seymour, Simplex Car.

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No. 22: William Watson, Simplex Car.

The Society is preparing a presentation on the race, which will go into much more detailed. We’re not yet sure when the presentation will take place so if you live in the area watch out for an announcement.

The pictures are available for viewing at the BMSHS at 1 Library Road (Lower Level, of the Briarcliff Manor Library), Briarcliff Manor, NY .

Pictures of the framed photographs taken with a Sony A7IV and Samyang AF 75mm f1.8 FE

Walter Law’s Mysterious Lanterns

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I recently started to volunteer at my village’s historical society: The Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society (BMSHS).. One of my first tasks was to help with the creation of a presentation on “Walter Law’s Mysterious Lanterns”

I’ve posted about them before. See:

Above long time friend of the BMSHS, Charlie Trainor introduced the presentation. In his introduction Charlie made the following points:

  • Who? Us. The Briarcliff Manor & Scarborough Historical Society
  • What? We almost became extinct.
  • Where? In this community, in this building, and in the Youth Center.
  • When? Over the past two and a half years.
  • Why? The Covid 19 pandemic and a storm named IDA.
  • How? We survived through the efforts of one very dedicated person, Karen Kotter Smith.
  • What Now? We need help. Real help. We need volunteers to assist in re-newing the kind of research and vibrant programing the Society has provided to the community in the past. Please see our “Wanted Poster”.
  • Facts you may not know: We receive no financial help from any government agency. We have on going expenses such as venue fees, storage fees, phone bills and office equipment. We are a tax-exempt 501-3C entity. We will appreciate anything you can do to help us carry on our mission to preserve and share our unique community’s history.

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Kaaren Smith, Executive Director of the BMSHS giving the presentation. She addressed such issues as who was Walter Law? What was his connection to the lanterns? How many lanterns are there?; Where are they located? Where did they come from? How did they get to Briarcliff Manor? and more.

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Some of the participants.

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The Wanted Poster

A copy of the full presentation is available here on the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough History Society website.

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon AF 24-70 f2.8 FE