Welcome back to One Century Ago, a collaboration between Patch and the .
Each week we bring you the front page of a local newspaper that covered the news in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow (North Tarrytown) one hundred years ago. This front page comes from the Tarrytown Press-Record. The Press-Record was published as a weekly from 1893 to 1946 and has been preserved by the on microfilm.
Friday, July 12, 1912:
Painter Falls Two Stories
A painter by the name of Willard H. Sarles, of Main Street, was working on the new house being built for Mr. Goodman on Fairview Avenue when he suffered a serious fall. It was early in the morning and Sarles was high up on the scaffold, at second story height. He stepped out onto a plank of wood which was attached at one end to the scaffold and at the other end to the window casement. He inched his way along the narrow plank on his knees, with a can of paint in one hand. Just as he was about to stand up, one end of the plank came free and he was suddenly “Precipitated to the Ground” with an enormous crash. He lay on the ground for a few minutes, unable to move and gasping for breath, but was later able to stand up and walk about.
Sarles remained at home for the days after his fall, and while the Press-Record insisted upon the fact that he had miraculously escaped “without injury”, he did report that he suffered excruciating shooting pains whenever he moved.
Man Saved from Drowning
Louis Goodman of Church Street was out on the Tarrytown Boat Club Float when he seriously misjudged the depth of the water and dived in, despite never having “learned the art of swimming”. He thought that the water would barely reach his shoulders, when in fact it was high tide and the water was well over six feet deep. As soon as he surfaced and found himself floundering to stay afloat, he gave a great yell “that could be heard a quarter of a mile away”.
Matthew Eade, who was standing nearby, saw Goodman and sprang from the float into the water. He seized the unfortunate youth by the ears and after a struggle brought him near enough to the float that others who were congregated there could reach him and pull him to safety.
Man Survives Electric Shock
Richard Serhey was another resident of Tarrytown who narrowly avoided death one hundred years ago. He worked for the engineering department of the New York Central Railroad and was clearing high tension electric wires off of the track near the Beef House on Main Street.
One of his colleagues attached a weight to a rope and threw it over the wires. Serhey then tied his steel tape to the end of this rope and the other man pulled it back over the wires, while serhey unreeled the tape. However, as soon as the tape came into contact with the wires there was a blinding flash and Serhey was thrown up against the fence.
His colleagues carried his limp body to the shade of the Beef House, fearing that he was dead. They took turns in pumping his arms up and down to try to restore breathing. After doing this tirelessly for about one hour, the body began to quiver and Serhey took a shallow breath. They re-doubled their efforts and soon Serhey opened his eyes and asked them what was going on.
Dr. Fairchild later took the injured young man back to his house where he treated his burns and advised him to keep quiet for a few days. The Press-Record questioned Serhey and asked him how he felt. “I’m a bit weak” he reported, “and I can’t walk very well, but I guess I’ll pull through all right. I sure thought I was a goner, though... When I returned to consciousness it seemed as if my whole body was on fire and as if my feet and hands were being burned off."
Jennings Sent to Atlanta
The former President of the Mount Vernon National Bank, Herbert T. Jennings, left his home and headed to Atlanta to serve a six year term in the Federal Penitentiary. He had been found guilty of wrecking the bank by using its funds in risky real estate speculations, causing many of the bank’s customers to lose substantial amounts of money, and even suffer bankruptcy.
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