Steaming Up the Chemung

by Erin Doane, Curator

In the 1890s, a steam-powered sternwheeler named Bertha Taylor would cruise up and down the Chemung River ferrying passengers from a small dock at the foot of Columbia Street in Elmira to Rorick’s Glen and Hoffman Island. On July 4, 1891, the boat made the trip every two hours starting at 9 o’clock in the morning. The cost of the roundtrip fare was just 20 cents.

The steamer Bertha Taylor on the Chemung River

Bertha Taylor was owned and operated by Isaac Rood Taylor (b. April 16, 1851 - d. December 2, 1921). He named the steamer after his oldest daughter, Bertha, who was born around 1883. It was not a very large boat at only 20 feet long, but the shallow river would not have been able to accommodate a bigger craft. Taylor was captain, purser, engineer, mate, and pilot of the boat, and was fondly referred to as “Captain Taylor,” “Admiral Taylor,” and even “Commodore Taylor.” 

Bertha Taylor just below Mount Zoar’s Mosquito Glen

The little steamer was mentioned in the Star-Gazette on July 23, 1892. A party of about 15 young men and women had planned to take a moonlight cruise up the river, but when they arrived at the dock to board the boat, storm clouds were rolling in. Instead of going out on the river, they decided to hop on the local electric streetcar and take a ride. At about 9 o’clock in the evening, the storm came crashing down on them with lightning and torrential rain. It knocked out the power to the trolley line and the young people found themselves stranded near Eldridge Park for nearly an hour. Their mothers, thinking they were out on the Bertha Taylor during the tremendous storm, “suffered all the terrible suspense that only mothers can experience.”

Bertha Taylor towing a line of flat-bottomed boats

Bertha Taylor made it into the newspaper again on September 16, 1892. This time, it was reported that the steamer had sunk in about five feet of water between Columbia and Davis Streets. It was easy enough to salvage the small boat from the shallow river, but the limited depth of the water was sometimes a problem for Taylor. When the weather was particularly dry, his boat would occasionally get stuck. The men on board would either have to climb out and wade to the shore or help push the small craft into deeper waters. 

Bertha Taylor

Taylor kept operating his steamer on the Chemung River until the enterprise stopped being profitable. Then it is said that he “gave the boat to a man he had a grudge against.” I wasn’t able to find the exact date that he stopped running the Bertha Taylor, but by 1910, an article in the Star-Gazette was asking if people remembered when Rood Taylor had his small boat on the river.

The Life, Death and Rebirth of Clinton Island

The Life, Death and Rebirth of Clinton Island

by Rachel Dworkin, archivist

The river giveth, and the river taketh away.  Back during the early 1800s, the Chemung River gave Elmira Clinton Island, a true beauty spot of the Southern Tier.  Located between Lake Street and College Avenue, the 2,600 foot long island was covered shade trees including maple, elm, butternut, and sycamore.  The Lake Street Bridge was constructed with several of its legs actually built into the island, and there was a flight of stairs leading down from the bridge to it.  During the summer, it was a favorite spot for picnics and was the site of an annual 4^th of July celebration featuring music and rousing political speeches. 

Postcard of Clinton Island, ca. 1900

Eventually all good things must come to an end, and the end of Clinton Island came on March 17, 1865.  Caused by heavy rains, the Saint Patrick’s Day Flood devastated the island and swamped much of the city’s low-lying areas.  The flood waters knocked down trees and completely washed away the island’s charming bandstand.  The whole Lake Street Bridge was destroyed, along with the stairs to the island.  Following the flood, the island was sold to a local contractor who removed what was left of the trees and left it a dilapidated wasteland.

But then, the river gave the island back, or at least S.G.H. Turner did.  On July 8, 1921, he held a grand opening of his new island playground on Clinton Island.  He brought in his friends from the Elks Club to help him clear the island of brush and debris in what was no doubt an exhausting, and not so fun-fueled day, featuring free food for anyone who came to work.  In short order, he constructed a playground, changing house, and a refreshment stand to once again make Clinton Island a summer fun destination.  At the time, a reporter for the paper cynically suggested that readers visit as soon as possible because the whole thing was likely to wash away in the next spring flood.  Turns out, of course, he was right. 

Clinton Island, ca. 1920s

Which Baby is Best?: Baby Contests in Chemung County

By Kelli Huggins, Education Coordinator

I admittedly, and ashamedly so, have spent some time watching TV shows like “Toddlers and Tiaras” in utter horror.  I don’t get the point of putting makeup on your infant so a panel of judges in a sad hotel ballroom can give them a trophy.  But my personal feelings on the subject aside, baby shows aren’t a new idea.  Certainly, modern kiddie pageants operate in the realm of extremes (Fake teeth? Really?!?), but baby contests date back more than a century, and for periods, were very popular locally.

See #16? Babies like winning contests! From 1907.

Baby shows started in England in the 1880s and soon became popular on our side of the Atlantic.  The earliest mentions of baby contests I have found in Chemung County are from the mid-1890s.  These earliest shows were primarily held at the County fair.  As the newspaper reported, “The baby show is usually a howling success.”

Handbill from the 1896 Chemung County Fair that highlights the baby show.

By the 1900s and 1910s, the contests started to evolve, but many still were in place to find the cutest or most popular baby.  A 1905 baby contest at Bethel A.M.E. Church ended when judges “found all so pretty” that it was unfair to choose a winner, so they instead awarded them all prizes.  Local babies placed in larger regional or national competitions, too.  In 1913, Elmiran Jacob Levine won a baby contest in Scranton, PA, defeating 800 other babies.  That same year, Phyllis Jane Dixon won one of the largest national contests at Asbury Park, NJ, earning a gold medal and $15 in gold.  She won “not for beauty alone, but for physical and mental perfection.”  Other types of contests began to emerge: in the 1910s, the Gerity’s Pharmacy awarded prizes to the first baby born in Elmira each New Year.     

Gerity's 1915 winner

In the 1920s and 1930s, the shows morphed into “Better Baby” contests.  Building on some of the less destructive ideas of the eugenics movement, Better Baby shows were developed to identify and award healthy babies and to educate mothers about best child-rearing practices.  Still, the winners were almost exclusively from white, middle-to-upper class families, so the ideals of the eugenics movement were definitely adhered to.  These contests were judged by doctors who gave each child a physical examination. 

Dr. Dale examines a baby at a Chemung County contest in 1924.

The competition was fierce and a lot of maternal pride was on the line.  As Elmira Telegram opined in 1923, “The man who can act as a judge at a baby show and escape without a scratch is a born diplomat.”

Winners of a 1925 Chemung County Better Baby Contest (the crying girl on the left probably wouldn't have won if she cried like that in judging).

In 1929, one-year-old Edgar Allen Terwilliger defeated 200 other babies to win the Chemung County Better Baby Contest.  The show's real purpose was said to be educational. 40 of the 200 babies were deemed “defective,” which was a warning to their families to “keep closer watch of their health.”  In 1925, 10-month-old Ruth Barber won 3^rd place in the national Nestle’s Food Healthy Baby Show.  She won her picture and story in the “Pictoral Review,” a sterling silver loving cup, and $25 cash.

Nurses hold winning babies of a contest at St. Joseph's Hospital in 1937.

By the late 1930s through the 1950s, many of the contests again turned back towards popularity- or beauty-based judging. In 1939, the Big Flats Baptist Ladies Aid Society held a contest to “determine the most popular baby.”  Other local organizations held similar contests.  

Advertisement for entrants for the 1938 Daughters of America Baby Show (note the prizes for cutest and most popular babies).

Baby photo contest, 1945.

In 1954, the Big Flats American Legion Auxiliary hosted a snapshot photograph baby contest at Community Days.  Photos were posted on a bulletin board at Minier’s Grocery Store and judging was done by a penny vote.  The winners got to ride on a special parade float.

A rebellious 1938 local winner.

The baby show craze started to fade away after the 1950s, but clearly didn’t disappear entirely.  Early baby shows certainly had some positives, including putting a spotlight on infant health and wellness.  The wit and wisdom section of the Star Gazette suggested one other positive in 1928:

“Your baby may not win

In the Baby Show,

If you enter him. But he’ll meet

Some nice babies.”

Nothing But Net

by Rachel Dworkin, Archivist

Basketball was invented on a rainy December day in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, director of physical education at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.  After much experimentation and tweaking, the first official game was played at the YMCA in Albany, New York on January 20, 1892.  Over the next decade, the YMCA worked hard to spread their new sport.  The first basketball game in Chemung County was played in the Elmira YMCA gymnasium in 1898 and the city’s first league was established in 1900.  It initially consisted of four teams – the Easters, the Northers, the Southers, and the Westers – but new teams were created as the sport gained in popularity.

YMCA Easters featuring Gene Banker, Ed Deister, Herman Lamb, Ralph Sartor, and some other people, ca. 1900

 In 1917, the Neighborhood House organized the semi-pro NH City League which ran until the 1950s.  The Neighborhood House Currents, the YMCA Blackhawks, and the Eclipse Machines were the powerhouses of the league, but there were nearly a dozen other teams sponsored by local businesses and organizations as well.   Teams played before packed houses at the Elmira Armory.  Chemung County teams also participated in regional leagues.  The YMCA Blackhawks, Neighborhood House Currents, St. Casimir’s Eagles and Horseheads Merchants all joined the New York-Penn League when it was established in 1937.  Some later leagues include the Regional League (early 1940s); the YMCA Blackhawk League (late 1940s- mid 1960s); and the Southern Tier Basketball Association (1950s).  Elmira was even home to a professional team which briefly played for the NY-P Pro League in the 1930s and the American Basketball League in the 1950s.

Eclipse Machines, 1942-3, featuring Coach Jim Deegan, Jack asey, Leon Popelewski, Leo Makovitch, Tom Sabran. Jack Biggs, Bill Cieri, Bill Young, Bud Sink and John Gableman. 

Neighborhood House Currents, 1944 champions, featuring Nelson Collins, Bruce Hurst, Roland & Howard Coleman, Tommy Reid, Jim Snowden, Nap Shepard, and Bill Lewis.

 Beginning in the 1920s, the YMCA and the Neighborhood House hosted post-season tournaments and exhibition games.  These tournaments not only featured the usual local talent, but also attracted college players and teams from around the state.   Most of these tournaments petered out in the 1970s due, in part, to NCAA rule changes about what players could do in the off season and the fact fans could now watch the pros on TV.

Program for exhibition game between EFA Blue Devils (featuring Ernie Davis) and the Syracuse Devils, 1958

Of course, this blog barely scratches the surface in terms of amateur basketball.  All of the local public high schools have teams and, over the years, there have been a number of youth leagues as well.  Then there are the factory teams and women’s leagues.  They are, however, all stories for another day.  

Neighborhood House Youth League champions for all age divisions, 1934-5.