Monuments in Wisner Park

by Erin Doane, Curator

For generations, people have been going to Wisner Park to meet with friends, gather for celebrations, speak out about various causes, shop for summer produce, and simply sit and enjoy the green space. In 1875, the Elmira Daily Advertiser declared the spot “one of the pleasantest in this city and hardly equaled in any place in the state or country." It is also a spot to commemorate local heroes. The park is dotted with nearly a dozen statues and memorials.

View of the eastern half of Wisner Park from above, c. 1950s

Thomas K. Beecher Statue, 1901

The first statue erected in Wisner Park was dedicated to Thomas K. Beecher. In 1854, Beecher came to Elmira to preach at the Independent Congregational Church, now known as Park Church. He served as minister there for 46 years. Just two days after his funeral in 1900, Col. William C. Buck called for a suitable monument to be erected in Wisner Park to honor Beecher. Eminent sculptor Jonathan Scott Hartley was hired to create the statue and it was dedicated in 1901.

Postcard showing children posing near the statue of Thomas K. Beecher, c. 1910s

Exedra, 1924

In 1919, at the end of World War I, a Victory Arch was built across Main Street near Wisner Park. People gathered there to welcome home the soldiers of Company L. A temporary honor roll inscribed with 96 names of local soldiers who died in the war was erected there as well. On Memorial Day 1924, a permanent monument to those who served in the war was dedicated . Exedra stands “in honor of the heroes” and “in memory of those who gave their lives.” Terzo Cenci, a young sculptor who was also a veteran of the war, designed and modeled the monument, and Ernest S. Leland was the architect. In 1936, Harry B. Bentley Post 443 of the American Legion added an eternal light in front of the monument.

Postcard showing the temporary honor roll, 1919

Postcard showing permanent Exedra monument, c. 1920s

The Hiker, 1929

In 1929, a second war monument was added to the park. “The Hiker” statue honors those who fought in the Spanish-American War, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Philippine-American War. Elmira’s statue is one of at least 50 copies throughout the United States. The original statue was created by Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson for the University of Minnesota in 1906. The Common Council of Elmira and the Chemung County Board of Supervisors each contributed $2500 to purchase and erect the monument.

A gathering of veterans at The Hiker statue, date unknown

World War II Monument, 1949

During World War II, a temporary marker was placed in Wisner Park in memory of local soldiers who gave their lives in service. In 1949, the Harry B. Bentley Post erected a permanent monument honoring the 292 people who died and the 12,000 who served from Chemung County.

World War II monument, 2018

Korean and Vietnam Wars Monument, 1987

A monument honoring Chemung County men and women who served their country and gave their lives in Korea and Vietnam was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1987.

Korean and Vietnam Wars monument, 2018

Fallen Officers Memorial, 2000

On November 11, 2000, the Elmira Police Department unveiled a monument dedicated to fallen officers. It lists four men – Chief John J. Finnell, Sergeant Charles Gradwell, Officer August R. Michalke, and Sergeant John C. Hawley – who gave their lives in the line of duty.

Fallen Officers Memorial, 2018

Other Monuments

While walking around Wisner Park last week, I noticed there were several other smaller monuments that I had not noticed before. Near the Exedra monument are two black stone monuments carved to look like books. They are dedicated to two local Medal of Honor recipients, Thomas P. Gere and John Denny.

Medal of Honor monuments, 2018

Also, in the center of the eastern half of the park is a flag pole. Its base is a monument “In tribute to the honorable men and women who gallantly serve our country as we strive to preserve freedom throughout the world and establish a just and lasting peace.” It was erected by Chemung County AFL-CIO labor assembly.

Flagpole monument, 2018

Eclipse and Rebirth

By Rachel Dworkin, archivist

In the spring of 1942, with World War II raging, Elmira’s factories were all hands on deck. Or at least, they would have been if not for American’s oldest and most persistent foe—racism.

During the war, the Eclipse Machine Division of the Bendix Aviation Corps of Elmira Heights was involved in crucial war production. They made, among other things, airplane parts, starters for tanks, and mechanical delayed bomb fuses. With their male workers headed for the military, they found themselves dangerously short staffed. In January 1942, they began hiring every woman who filled out an application. Every white woman that is. Black applicants, on the other hand, were given the run around. They were given applications upon request, but never called back.

Call for more workers from Elmira Star-Gazette, December 5, 1944

A group of women from the Negro Women’s Progressive Club took a course in defense training at Elmira Free Academy and applied in mass to work at Eclipse. The company initially told them they would be hired if they found 25 Black women to work an all-Black shift. When the group showed up for their interview with twice that many though, they were told that there was “no place for Negroes” at the company.

The ladies of the Negro Women’s Progressive Club didn’t take it lying down. In June, shortly after the meeting with Eclipse, club president Grace Mann wrote to the legal department of the NAACP asking for advice. They were told to have each woman write an affidavit describing what happened to be submitted as evidence and to form a local branch of the NAACP. There had already been a branch here in Elmira back in the late 1910s and 1920s, but it had ceased operation sometime after 1927. The new Elmira branch of the NAACP was officially chartered on September 14, 1942 with Grace Mann as president. It continues to this day. 

The problem of anti-Black discrimination in war production was not isolated to Eclipse. Repeated complaints from across the state forced the New York War Council to launch an investigation of the problem in the spring of 1942. They found that Blacks were consistently barred from employment and that this posed a huge problem for war production, especially in upstate areas where there was a shortage of white laborers. In September 1942, New York state established a special unit of the State Labor Department for prosecuting employers who discriminated in hiring based on race, creed, color, or nation of origin. 

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find out what happened to affidavits submitted by the Negro Women’s Progressive Club or what, if any, legal action was taken against Eclipse. What I can tell you is that shortly after the complaint was filed, Eclipse started hiring Black men for positions on mixed-race shifts. No word though on whether anyone from the Negro Women’s Progressive Club was ever hired. 

Eclipse gun range crew (r-l):

 William Pint, Earl Palmer, Erwin Wasson, Richard G. Weeks, Alfred Spellman, Fred Jones, &  Wesley Fretz

The Six-Day Ladies’ Bicycle Race

by Erin Doane, Curator

Starting on August 28, 1900, Eldridge Park hosted “the greatest and most novel athletic event ever conceived” – a six-day-long ladies’ bicycle race. The management of the park contracted with promoter J.L. Keller to bring six professional lady cyclists in for the event. A special “saucer-shape” board track was constructed on the plot of land between the statue of American Girl and the deer reserve. The oblong wooden track was 86 feet wide by 154 feet long. The sides on the straightaway portions were banked at 22 degrees while the ends were set at a 45 degrees. Sixteen laps around the track equaled a mile. Seating for 8,000 people was also constructed around the track.

Lady bicyclist in Eldridge Park near the American Girl statue, 1899

The race promised to draw in thousands of people from a radius of 75 miles to witness the spectacle. Previous ladies’ bicycle races put on by the promoter in New York City, Chicago, Pittsburg, Grand Rapids, and many other smaller cities had drawn upwards of 10,000 people each day of the event. Elmirans were very fond of bicycling – over 7,000 bicycle licenses had been issued in the city since April 1 of that year – so there was no doubt that people would come out to watch the race.

Leading up to the event, there seemed to be some concern about the propriety of watching women race bicycles. An article in the Star-Gazette assured readers that, while professional male riders typically wore armless shirts and very abbreviated trunks, the women would all be neatly attired in sweaters, knickerbockers, and stockings. The paper also reported that when the women raced in Philadelphia, there were several clergymen in the crowd who had come specifically to see if there was anything objectionable or immodest about the race. They all went away perfectly satisfied and one promised to return the next day to see the finish.

Women wearing casual cycling outfits, c. 1890s

The six women who came to Elmira for the race – Rossie Hatch, Mary Petchard, Margaret Gast, Emma Bayne, Lucy Berry, and Clara Harvey – were seasoned professional racers. These “heroines of the diamond frame” could all easily make the 18-mile-an-hour speed required for entry. Miss Hatch was not yet twenty years old but had been racing for five years. She won $500 worth of diamonds in Chicago in 1896. Miss Gast had recently become world champion for long-distance cycling after riding 1,000 miles in 113 hours and 23 minutes. Mrs. Bayne was also a distance rider. She rode 4,500 miles in 29 days, 21 hours, and 50 minutes and then led the dancing at the ball held in her honor the same day she finished the ride. Miss Berry sang in the choir of St. Paul’s Episcopal church in Indianapolis until her voice suddenly forsook her and then she took up bicycling as a profession.

Racing began in Eldridge Park on the afternoon of August 28. The track was nearly filled with spectators. Tickets for the grandstand cost 15 cents while seats inside the track, the best place to get up close to the action, cost 25 cents. If a person rode their own bicycle to the event, they could check their wheel for 10 cents and receive a free admission ticket. Similarly, if one bought a 10 cent round-trip ticket to the park on the Maple Avenue or West Side trolleys he or she also got a free ticket to the races. It was noted that more than half the seats in the grandstand were occupied by ladies.

Races took place for two hours twice each day starting at 2:30 in the afternoon and again at 8:30 in the evening. The first day of racing was filled with excitement. Accidents were common on the track as the riders jostled for position and it seemed that every one of them was physically giving their all. Two riders fainted dead away while riding and toppled over the handlebars of their wheels onto the track. They were given restoratives and went right back to racing. Miss Gast was in the lead after the first four hours of racing with 60 miles completed. The following days of racing provided more thrills and spills as the growing crowd cheered on their favorites.

Star-Gazette, August 29, 1900

Those who attended the races found some of their own excitement outside of the track as well. A fight broke out on the Elmira & Horseheads street car after it picked up a large crowd at Eldridge park following the end of the first day of racing. One man stood up to give his seat to a lady and another man took the space. The first man punched the seat stealer in the eye. The stealer’s niece then started yelling at the man who had done the punching. The lady friend of the puncher started yelling back. The wordy fight turned into a first class hair pulling match between the two women. The fight reportedly caused considerable excitement on the packed trolley.  Earlier that same night, Morvalden Ells was arrested and charged with malicious mischief in climbing a fence at the park to witness the six-day bicycle race.

At the end of the six days of racing, Miss Margaret Gast came out the winner with 358 miles. Mrs. Bayne came in a close second with 354 miles. Miss Hatch finished in third place despite having her left arm bandaged from elbow to wrist because of several hard falls. Miss Petchard managed to get back into fourth place after taking a header over the bars of her wheel on the second to last night of racing. Miss Berry came in fifth but had to give up on the race after she fell into her trainer’s arms and was carried from the track unconscious. Miss Harvey, unfortunately, suffered a great deal of neuralgia caused by the climate in Elmira.

Star-Gazette, September 5, 1900

Thank You and Good Luck!

by Bruce Whitmarsh, Director

On August 20, our Education Coordinator Kelli Huggins let you all know that she had taken a new position at the Catskills Interpretive Center and would be leaving CCHS. Well, the day has come and gone and she has made the move. And, we at the CCHS could not be more proud of her.

What Kelli modestly did not tell you in her goodbye post was that she also won two statewide awards from the Museum Association of New York, one recognizing her as an up and coming museum professional and another recognizing The History They Didn’t Teach You in School as an intriguing and cutting edge program. She also did not mention that the many thousands of schoolchildren she reached were because of her hard work developing relationships with teachers and principals, creating programming to match classroom needs and then delivering much of that programming herself. And while you know that she managed to write a book in her time here she also found the time to serve as an adjunct professor at Elmira College, sharing her love of history with yet another group of students.

I have no doubt that the Catskills Interpretive Center is already benefiting from her knowledge, energy and enthusiasm.

The CCHS has started the process of looking for a new person to take on the role of Educator, but we know that whoever winds up with the position will not be replacing Kelli. They will, however, be building on a great foundation.

So Kelli, thank you for five very successful years. Thank you for being a part of CCHS, for making us laugh and do some silly things. I know that you will do great things in your new position and, just in case you see this, remember that it will all work out.

The Lady and the Tigers

by Rachel Dworkin, Archivist

In September of 1941, Ethel Nichols was on a mission, and so were the 300 men of the American Volunteer Group (AVG). Ethel, an Elmira native and member of the Southside Baptist Church, was headed for Gauhati, India, where she would be in charge of the Satri Bari Girls’ School for the next twenty years. She had joined the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society in 1920 after graduating from Elmira College and had been working in India ever since. She was headed back to her work after a visit home when she met an unusual group of men on her voyage across the Pacific.

Ethel Nichols, ca. 1920s

They, like Ethel, were classified as civilian missionaries according to their passports, but their mission was far less spiritual. In the spring of 1941, retired U.S. Army Air Corps officer Claire L. Chennault assembled a team of 100 pilots from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army Air Corps, along with 200 ground crew personnel to help the Chinese fight the Japanese. He did so with the supplies, funding, and blessing of the United States government.

AVG personnel were transported across the Pacific in small batches. There were thirty-eight of them on Ethel’s ship. Ethel described them in her letter of September 10, 1941: 

I mentioned a group on board. Guess I can tell you about them now. They are 38 young men, aviators and engineers, on a secret mission. We can guess that they will be on the Burma Road. They were listed as “missionaries”—part of the secret I suppose. That’s why we ran out of beer or low on it. My partner, “Twisty” is one of the “38.” We always speak of them as the “the 38” or sometimes the “38 missionaries.” We are about divided into thirds.: 1/3 missionaries, 1/3 businessmen, and 1/3 the “38.”

So much for secrecy. 

Ethel's letter of September 10, 1941

In his autobiography Baa Baa Black Sheep, Gregory Boyington, an AVG pilot described his own trip across the Pacific aboard the Dutch ship Bosch Fontein with 26 other pilots. They managed to blow their cover the first night. 

Of course it took very little time before these genuine missionaries realized that we were traveling under false colors and weren’t missionaries at all. But the manner by which they let us know that they knew was done rather cleverly…One day one of the real missionaries came up and asked if I would give the sermon for next Sunday’s services, explaining that the duty rotated. I had to decline the invitation to lead the services…As it was, the same missionary invited me to next Sunday services aboard ship. He was one of the younger missionaries, and he himself gave the sermon. But as he did so (I was seated in one of the front rows) he seemed to direct the entire sermon at me and the group I represented.  His point was how horrible it was for people to fight for money. 

Gregory Boyington's autobiography

Nicknamed the Flying Tigers, the AVG proved vital in delaying the fall of Rangoon and preventing the Japanese from advancing into China beyond the west bank of the upper Salween River. Their combat record was exemplary with a kill ratio better than any Allied unit in the Pacific theater. They were disbanded on July 4, 1942 and the surviving members were integrated back into the regular U.S. military. 

Ethel Nichols continued to work in North East India until her retirement in May 1961. In addition to running Satri Bari Girls’ School, she was established training classes to teach rural girls about basic health care and Christian life. After her retirement, the Council of Baptist Churches in North East India established the Nichols English School in her honor.