AND NOW: THE MID-CENTURY MODERN BATHROOM

And now it is our pleasure--courtesy of Mad Madge--to bring you select pages from the 1951 Crane catalog: Fixtures for the modern bathroom. 

Click on the scans below--we've concentrated on the photos of finished rooms--stay tuned for more! We've also included a 1951 ad for THE FORMICA BATHROOM!

Can't get enough mid-century modern? You've come to the right place. Go here for more: http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2015/06/for-your-enjoyment-more-vintage-mid.html

Here's an update on that ORANGE COUCH (and more) from Rob and Monica http://www.ouradventuresamongsttheducks.blogspot.com/2015/07/fourth-of-july-weekend.html

CONGRATULATIONS 2 FRANZOSO CONTRACTING, WINNER OF THE 2015 CORNERSTONE AWARD

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

Congratulations to Mark Franzoso of Franzoso Contracting, recipient of the 2015 Cornerstone Award from Habitat for Humanity of Putnam County. Franzoso Contracting was honored for their work installing a brand new roof, as well as soffits and gutters on Habitat's most recent project. Tompkins Landscaping was also honored for the needed demolition work at the site. See more here http://on.fb.me/1Hka2RQ

PAUL STEINBERG'S 7/9/15 GAZETTE LETTER ON GOUVEIA'S COSTS, UP UP & AWAY

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

PAUL STEINBERG'S 7/9 GAZETTE LTR. ON GOUVEIA'S COSTS, UP UP & AWAY

To the editor:

Joel Gingold (Gazette June 1) says that the Village Board misled the residents of Croton, but this is simply not true.

I will concede that the initial costs have been far in excess of the public documents released by the Board prior to the acquisition. But it was well-known that the Board was not telling the truth in their public statements and hence there should be no reason for Mr. Gingold to be shocked.

The Board released over a hundred pages of Gouveia-related emails in response to a FOIL request. If Mr. Gingold had bothered to read those documents, he would have known not to trust the Board, and Mr. Wiegman & Ms. Gallelli in particular.

Throughout the Gouveia process, many people commented that the "endowment" would not be sufficient to maintain the property. The Journal-News even ran a story detailing all the properties "donated" to other Westchester municipalities which had become an albatross around the neck of the taxpayers. READ MORE HERE https://www.facebook.com/notes/croton-united/musings-from-cu-member-paul-steinberg/473298936160476

OBITUARY FOR FORMER CROTON RESIDENT ELWOOD C. "SKIP" MUNSON JR.

Elwood C. "Skip" Munson Jr., March 3, 1947 - July 5, 2015: Elwood “Skip” C. Munson Jr., 68, of St. Joseph, MI passed away Sunday, July 5, 2015 at Lakeland Medical Center St. Joseph.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held 10:30 A.M., Friday, July 10, 2015 at Starks & Menchinger Chapel & Cremation Service, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph with Rev. Michael Roth officiating. Friends may visit from 5:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M., Thursday, July 9, 2015 at the funeral home. Those wishing to sign Skip’s guestbook may do so online at www.starks-menchinger.com.

Skip was born March 3, 1947 in Peekskill, N.Y. to Elwood Sr. & Eleanor (King) Munson. He was a graduate of Croton-Harmon High School in 1966 and went on to attend Lake Michigan College and receive his Associates Degree in Fire Science. Skip proudly served his country in the United States Army. On September 25, 1971 he wed Nancy Kolberg in St. Joseph. Skip started his Firefighting career at the Croton on the Hudson Fire Department in New York, where he was still a member, he went on to serve on and retire from the St. Joseph Fire Department, St. Joseph Twp. Fire Department, Bridgman/Lake Twp. Fire Department, and most recently as Safety Officer at the Benton Harbor City Fire Department. Skip received the honor as being named Firefighter of the Year in 1984. He was a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Firefighter Training Council and the Kiwanis Club. He also taught Firefighting classes at the Berrien County Intermediate School.

He is survived by his loving wife of 43 years Nancy of St. Joseph; sons Elwood “Woody” III (Ashley) Munson of Sodus and Samuel “Sam” Munson of St. Joseph; grandchildren Aidan, Kylee, Alivia, Conner, Lily and Ariel; brother Gerald “Gerry” (Patty) Munson of Croton, NY; sisters JoAnne (Tom) Ferguson of Croton, NY and Janet Neuner of Brewster, NY and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his mother and father in law Letha & Frank Kolberg. http://starks-menchinger.com/obituaries?no_redirect=true#/obituary/elwood-skip-c-munson-jr/

CONGRATULATIONS TO CROTON'S OWN "OCEAN HOUSE"

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CROTON'S OWN OCEAN HOUSE, BEST OF WESTCHESTER, BEST SEAFOOD RESTAURANT. Frankly, we're not surprised! For more about Ocean House, visit https://www.facebook.com/OceanHouseOysterBar

NICE PIECE ON ACTOR LAWRENCE HARVEY, ONE OF OUR FAVES

One of our favorite blogs, EUROPEAN FILM STAR POSTCARDS, has put up an excellent post on actor Laurence Harvey--some of you may remember his amazing performance as Raymond Shaw in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, a 1962 American Cold War suspense thriller directed by John Frankenheimer that starred Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh, with a stellar performance by Angela Lansbury as the Communist-Operative-Mother From Hell. In fact, the acting was top notch all around in this film..and Sinatra was perfectly cast. Alas, we cannot recommend the 2004 re-make, proof-positive that there are some films Hollywood should leave alone.

And now...from our friends at European Film Star Postcards: 

7/5/15 Laurence Harvey - At the 29th edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, which ended yesterday, one of the programs was Beautiful youth: Renato Castellani. The Italian film director and screenwriter made the wonderful young love trilogy of Neorealism with Sotto il sole di Roma (1948), È primavera...(1950) and Due soldi di speranza (1952), about which I wrote about last week in my post about Maria Fiore. After the trilogy, Castellani won the Grand Prix in Cannes with a film adaptation of the ultimate drama of young love, Romeo and Julia (1954). Handsome Lithuanian-born actor Laurence Harvey (1928–1973) played a terrific Romeo in this film. Harvey is best known for his lead performance as a ruthless social climber in Room at the Top (1959), but there is much more to tell about his career and life. READ MORE HERE http://filmstarpostcards.blogspot.com/2015/07/laurence-harvey.html

2015: JULY 4TH WEEKEND @ THE CROTON DUCK POND

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

If you haven't yet visited the Duck Pond this year, now is the time. Once pronounced D.O.A. by the so-called experts--and now clear, bright and thriving thanks to the Duck Pond Citizens Committee--you just might catch a glimpse of the dozen or so baby turtles that currently call it home--the perfect place to sit and have breakfast from the Croton Mini Deli http://www.crotonminideli.com/ -- or lunch from the Croton Colonial Diner http://www.crotoncolonialdiner.com/ 

Click on the photo. Stay tuned for more.

GOUVEIA PROPERTY COSTS GROSSLY UNDERESTIMATED BY MAYOR & COMPANY, JOEL GINGOLD'S 7/1/15 GAZETTE LETTER

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

GOUVEIA PROPERTY COSTS SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERESTIMATED, JOEL GINGOLD'S 7/1/15 GAZETTE LETTER; please take a moment to read this letter from Croton United's Joel Gingold. After all, it's your money.

Editor's note: The costs outlined in Mr. Gingold's letter do not include the board's recent bonding of $200,000 for the property (as opposed to simply subtracting it from the million dollar donation). It is allegedly for improvements to the house, ADA compliance, etc. When asked, the board was short on details about exactly what the $200,000 plus bond was for.

MR. GINGOLD'S LETTER FOLLOWS: 

To the Editor,

I was not able to attend Monday’s village board work session on the Gouveia property, but I did review the documents published in preparation for that meeting.

We have had title to the property for only a few weeks and it is already clear that, as many of us suspected, the cost estimate presented by the board, when it rammed through acquisition of the property in January, grossly underestimated the actual costs incurred to date.  And this by a board that has dislocated its shoulders patting itself on the back for its fiscal acumen.

There are only two ways this could have happened.  Either whoever prepared the estimate was incompetent (or lazy), or the board knew very well that the published figures were far too low, but was afraid that if the real numbers were made public, there would be a public outcry against the acquisition.  I think I know what happened, but you can form your own opinion.  A few cases in point.

The estimate prices the alarm system at $2,000.  The actual cost was nearly $9,000.

The estimate allows $2,000 per year for tree service, assuming that the DPW would do some of the work.  We have already spent almost $15,000 on tree trimming.  Perhaps in future years the $2,000 may prove to be closer to reality, but then why wasn’t the initial tree work included in the estimate? READ THE REST HERE https://www.facebook.com/notes/croton-united/the-latest-from-joel-gingold-on-gouveia-park-spending/469532806537089

UPDATED 3/6/18  http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2018/03/highlights-only-3118-gouveia-gazette.html

ALAIN DELON, FROM OUR FRIENDS @ EUROPEAN FILM STAR POSTCARDS

New from one of our favorite blogs: European Film Star Postcards - and especially for our Paris bound friend, Claudette:

ALAIN DELON--click on the photo, read more below.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Alain Delon (1935) was the breathtakingly good-looking James Dean of the French cinema. The 'male Brigitte Bardot' soon proved to be a magnificent actor in masterpieces by Luchino Visconti and Michelangelo Antonioni. In the late sixties Delon came to epitomise the calm, psychopathic hoodlum in the 'policiers' of Jean-Pierre Melville, staring into the camera like a cat assessing a mouse. SEE MORE HERE http://filmstarpostcards.blogspot.com/2015/07/alain-delon.html

WHAT'S NEW @ CROTON'S OWN "TOM FARANDA'S FOLLY"

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

If you appreciate humor that isn't laden with obscenities, then Jeanne Robertston is the one for you. Her anecdotes about life with "Left Brain", the affectionate term she uses for her husband, and other tidbits about life in general, WILL make you laugh out loud. Read the latest: DON'T TAKE THE HOTEL ROOM KEY - COURTESY OF TOM FARANDA'S FOLLY: http://tomfaranda.typepad.com/folly/2015/07/funny-jeanne-robertson-dont-take-the-hotel-room-key-.html

COUNTY APPROVES SPECTRA, ALGONQUIN AGREEMENT, BLUE MOUNTAIN RESERVATION

PRESS RELEASE, Ned McCormack, Communications Director (914) 995-2932
Contact: Dan Branda (914) 995-2913 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 2, 2015

FACTS ABOUT WESTCHESTER COUNTY’S ALGONQUIN PIPELINE AGREEMENT

The Algonquin Gas Transmission System is an existing interstate natural gas pipeline, owned and operated by Spectra Energy, running through New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. In Westchester County, Spectra has held a permanent easement for their pipeline in Blue Mountain Reservation (a county-owned park) since 1952.

In February 2014, Spectra applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to upgrade its current 26-inch pipeline with a 42-inch pipeline. In March 2015, FERC approved the application, granting Spectra broad authority that supersedes New York State Environmental Law to take additional parkland in Blue Mountain Reservation by eminent domain as part of the pipeline upgrade.

Recognizing that Spectra had authority to proceed with the Algonquin Pipeline project in the county-owned park regardless of any county action, the County Executive negotiated an agreement that: ensures complete restoration of Blue Mountain Reservation; limits the disturbance to the park to only 4.38 of the park’s 1,583 acres for 11 months; limits the new pipeline within the existing permanent easement; and, compensates the county $2 million for access to the park.

Today, the Board of Acquisition and Contract approved the license agreement, recognizing it to be in the best interests of Westchester County under the circumstances.
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Additional news available at www.westchestergov.com 
Connect with us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WestchesterGov

ACTOR HOWARD DA SILVA, THE CROTON CONNECTION

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

Courtesy of the outstanding archives maintained by the volunteers of The Croton Historical Society:

ACTOR HOWARD DA SILVA, THE CROTON CONNECTION...

Who we absolutely loved as Ben Franklin in the film version of the play, 1776.  One of the BEST Franklins ever--and his star turn as Tammany Hall's Boss Tweed remains as relevant today--sadly--as it was then. Click on the images below. Village historian Dodie Pezanowski tells us that Da Silva lived in Croton for a great many years near what is known as the village's pump house.

MORE FABULOUS VINTAGE WEBSITES, FINDS, ETC. FROM EVERYTHING CROTON

THE JORDAN SMITH ARCHIVE

Ah...summer dresses...if you're a child of the 50's and even the early 60's, you know what we're talking about. And does anyone--anywhere--remember Petitpoint Pique? Apparently, the answer is yes: http://bit.ly/1Hyeuje

Click on the photo to see a page from the 1963 National Bellas Hess Catalog, courtesy of flickr friend, J. Smith.  

Then click on the link to see the entire catalog: http://bit.ly/1HvTLKX 

You may also have an interest in: 1959 Christmas Fashions http://bit.ly/1CL6rbw

Beautiful Dresden cones and bonbonierre jardinieres http://www.blumchen.com/dresden_trims_bonbonniere.html

Interesting Hallmark "kiddie kar" billboard and also "KC's Garage" http://www.toyconnect.blogspot.com/2015/06/hallmark-kiddie-kar-billboard.html  

Old German putz scene http://www.cardboardchristmas.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=888

Ingrid Bergman, from our friends at European Film Star Postcards http://www.everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2015/07/ingrid-bergman-from-our-friends.html

Want more vintage? Go here http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2012/09/1965-general-electric-presents-rudolph.html

INGRID BERGMAN, FROM OUR FRIENDS @ EUROPEAN FILM STAR POSTCARDS

Our friends at European Film Star Postcards have put up a wonderful post on actress Ingrid Bergman--who was unforgettable in THE BELLS OF ST. MARY, CASABLANCA, and more.

And here you go:

We're in Italy at the 29th edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna. One of the sections is about ‘Sweden's illustrious gift to Hollywood’, Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982). In the 1940s, the fresh and naturally beautiful actress won three times the Oscar, twice the Emmy, and once the Tony Award for Best Actress. Little known is that before she went to Hollywood she already had a European film career.   To read more--and see video too--about Bergman from one of our favorite blogs--CLICK HERE.