In our One Century Ago series, we reproduce 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 on microfilm.
One Century Ago, a collaboration between Patch and the .
Tarrytown Press-Record, August 18, 1911
One Shot, One Stabbed in Fray
It seems like the Villages of Tarrytown and North Tarrytown could get pretty violent in the early 20th Century. One hundred years ago, the Villages were teeming with news that one man had been shot in the head and another stabbed in the back of the head after an armed robbery.
According to victim Tony Demilya, who could be seen "going about town with his head swathed in bandages", he had just received his two weeks paycheck when two men barged into the flat he shared with his brother-in-law, Peter.
The two robbers demanded Tony's paycheck, but he refused. At that time one of the hooligans pulled out a gun and shot Peter and then stabbed Tony in the back of the head before fleeing.
A doctor attempted to find the bullet in Peter's head on scene, but decided that any probing might prove fatal. Peter was taken to the hospital while Tony was bandaged up. Peter was given an "even chance" for recovery, and would have to undergo surgery again at a later date.
Tony apparently knew where one of the assailants resided, however, the man had "vamosed" from the area before police could question him about the incident.
Storm Causes Some Serious Damage
A large summer thunderstorm "did more damage than any other storm in recent years", accord to the Press-Record.
The greatest damage was done to Port Chester and New Rochelle, where lightening knocked out power for hours and caused at least one barn to burn down.
In Tarrytown and North Tarrytown, power was cut to the area while Cortlandt Street "looked like a small river" and Main Street could only be crossed with great difficulty.
Local Baseball Players 'Meet Their Waterloo'
The boys of Irving Hose Company were swiftly defeated by the Marathons of Mamaroneck, 10-2, over the weekend.
The defeat apparently left the Pennybridge neighborhood in South Tarrytown utterly dejected. According to a very verbose article, "Men go with heads down, women sit on doorsteps weeping quietly, while little child sniffle tearfully at their little games."
The boys of Irving "looked good" in the first couple of innings, and the game looked like it would be an exciting contest from the outset. However, in the fourth inning "things began to happen". The Irving boys had one error after another and the Marathons "kept piling up the runs".
Although the Irving boys lost and the Pennybridge community mourned their "downfallen warriors", they wished them better luck and success in their next game.
Rail Electrification on the Way
The Press-Record was jubilant at the news that electric trains would soon be making their way to Tarrytown.
According to the article, the installment of the third rail was underway and would be completed by November 1.
