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Signed S.I. Book
....... A story from the book
Mosquitoes Scare off Ulysses S. Grant
At the close of his presidency he visited Staten Island with the thought of accepting an offer from the American people. That offer was the famed Garner Mansion in West New Brighton. Except for the swarms of mosquitoes that inhabited Staten Island, the prominent American would have become an Island resident. The dwelling which Mr. and Mrs. Grant anticipated occupying was the building which had been erected by a prominent New York businessman, Charles Taber, and sold to Mr. W.T. Garner, Commodore of the New York Yacht Club. After the catastrophe during July 1876, when Mr. Garner and all on board his yacht had been drowned when the vessel capsized during a storm, the house was selected by a committee as the people’s gift to General Grant.
This plan was, however nipped in the bud by the hordes of mosquitoes which in 1876 were a scourge on Staten Island. On a gloriously bright day in June, General Grant was brought down to inspect the place. The day was ideal and he expressed himself as delighted with the magnificent property and beautiful surroundings, and all that was needed was the approval of Mrs. Grant. But the time selected for her visit proved to be just the reverse. The day was hot and muggy and the mosquitoes swarmed in the millions.
It was not possible to postpone the visit. So a pair of fast horses whirled the lady across the country, and she was actually in the house before the pests made an impression. Mrs. Grant was as pleased with the house as had been the General, and in due time suggested an inspection of the grounds. Then came all manner of excuses: she ‘was too tired for further exercise on such a warm day: inspection of the grounds and neighboring estates would take an entire day and had best be left to another visit,’ etc., etc., etc. But she was one who believed in doing it now, and the resulting trip through the mosquito infested shrubbery quenched all desire on her part for a home on Staten Island.
The building later became a prominent part of St. Vincent’s Hospital
New Dorp, Staten Island
St. George, Staten Island
Some history of Holtermann's Bakery from Ken Holtermann
My grandfather and two other brothers (my uncles) originally took the bakery over from their father
( the original owner from Germany- my great grandfather) and ran it for years and at the time when they inherited it there was a bother who was under age and was not included in the passing of the bakery at the time.My grandfather and his two brothers sold the bakery to Hathaways bakery and Hathaway ran it for years until the other brother who then was older took the bakery back from Hathaway and at that time could not use the name Holtermann's Bakery as that was the deal with Hathaway's so the bakery was called The Arthur Kill Road Bakery for 10 years ( as per the arrangement with the Hathaway sale) and then changed the name back to Holtermann's Bakery after the 10 year period and that is the way it remains today.
The old bakery used to be on Center Street in Richmondtown, Staten Island when it was purchased by Hathaway's, then my uncle moved it to its present location on Arthur Kill Road where it is today.
Wolf Meat Market 3056 Richmond Terrace Mariners Harbor
The Jolly Trolley
A very popular diner of the 50's & 60's
After much discussion and debate, it seems to be the consensus that the Jolly Trolley Diner actually moved from one location to another. Seems to be that originally it was located in an area around Clove Road and Victory Blvd. In the 60's it was forced to move because of the building of a drug store on Clove and Victory. Its location in the 60's was Hylan Blvd. somewhere in the Old Town area, with a possible address of 1429 Hylan Blvd.
There is still talk of a second diner right next to it called the "Loose Caboose" but I need more info on that.
If anyone has any info or hopefully photos of these two diners please write to this website so we can share with all.
1893 NSFD
Castleton Fire Patrol
Story about Weissglass
Our drivers resorted to delivering milk by rowboats during one of the worst storms to hit the Oakwood and Midland Beach areas in years. The storm referred to was caused by the exact right combination of extremely high tides, hurricane winds and full moon. Many families in this area were evacuated and were taken to the Oakwood Heights Community Church on Guyon Avenue. We supplied them with their milk needs. Parts of the shore area, between the beaches and Hylan Blvd. were flooded for as much as one half mile from the beach
The Original Staten Island Hospital
(Samuel R. Smith's Infirmary)
Smith's Infirmary as it stands today
(Photo courtesy of Richard Nickel, Jr.)
Staten Island - not part of New York City until 1898 - had no private hospital until 1861, when the Richmond County Medical Society established the infirmary and named it after a local doctor (Dr. Samuel Russell Smith)''who devoted himself to the poor.'' It occupied a succession of buildings near the present Ferry Terminal, until in 1887 it acquired a hilly seven-acre site south and inland of the Terminal area on an irregular block bounded by Castleton, Webster and Brook Avenues and Pine Street.
Alfred E. Barlow, the architect, designed a rectangular red-brick chateau with four round corners topped by conical roofs. The castle imagery was reinforced by the high basement, mostly without windows, the small main entrance, and the projection of the upper floor out onto brick corbelling - as if the Infirmary's defenders were at the ready to pour boiling oil onto attacking Vikings.
The basic form of the Infirmary was apparently inspired by that of the New York Cancer Hospital (1885) in Manhattan, still standing at West 105th and Central Park West, where the ''cornerless'' rooms were thought to reduce the collection of germs.
Speeches at its opening in the summer of 1890 described the Infirmary as the ''pride of the island,'' the county's ''greatest charity,'' with a ''splendid site and stately proportions.''
Getting a
Haircut on Greeley Avenue
Joseph Perrotta is the barber
His son Joseph is the boy in the back with the glasses
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This site was last updated 11/01/09
Such
Great Memories!, 
