May 6, 1876 – 150 YEARS AGO
Rockland County Journal
AROUND HOME
☞ Mr. James Crumbee, of New York, is now occupying his summer residence in Upper Nyack for the season. Mr. C. drives a handsome span of horses.
☞ Company B will parade in our village this (Friday) evening, in full uniform, if the weather proves favorable. If it is stormy, they will not parade.
☞ A coal barge was sunk in the bay between Nyack and Tarrytown last Sunday by the fierce gale which blew during the latter part of the afternoon.
☞ About 250 persons were present to witness the panorama of Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress,” in the Nyack Presbyterian Church, last Monday evening.
☞ It is worth while climbing that high mountain below Piermont (if the wind don’t blow too hard) for the lovely view one gets from the plateau on the top.
May 7, 1926 – 100 YEARS AGO
Nanuet Life
MOTHER’S DAY
Sunday, May 9th, is Mothers’ Day.
It is her day—when the nation bows in humility, showing reverence for the composite Mother, who is typical of all that is good and wholesome and sympathetic.
Public recognition of the debt due mothers, that has been growing annually, is a splendid testimonial to human character, and a refutation of the common charge that people are mercenary.
A deep and abiding sentiment inspired the idea of Mothers’ Day and has fostered it and caused it to become more generally recognized each year.
Mother is a word expressive of tenderness and kindly sympathy. She exemplifies the spirit of service and self-sacrificing love—a practical sort of love that shows itself by giving all that it has.
It is the spirit of sympathy, appreciation and practicability that makes mother unspeakably precious and has won for her the expression of gratitude from a thankful people once each year.
The same measuring stick can not be applied to all mothers. They differ just as all human beings differ, but they fulfill their obligations of motherhood according to their knowledge and understanding.
There are some who are concerned about the future motherhood—whether the present tendencies that detract from the home will lower the standards of Motherhood. They need not be alarmed.
Mother will ever be mother, for her instincts are as old as the first mother, were she living, and as deeply imbedded as a part of her character. Mothers of today have as great concern for the welfare of their children as mothers ever did, but mothers change with the changing times, and their conduct as mothers can’t be judged by the same standards as a few decades ago.
LOCAL EXPERT DEVELOPS NEW RADIO RECEIVER — E. A. Spence, of South Main Street, Is Well Known for Radio Experiments and Idea — WILL MARKET NEW PATENT — Claims That New Receiver Without Batteries Will Equal Any Receiver Now Sold
From the Spring Valley Life
E. A. Spence, of South Main street, well known for his experiments along radio lines has announced that he has perfected a new type of radio receiver which uses no batteries and claims the apparatus to be the equal of any of the finer types of radio receiving sets now using batteries.
Mr. Spence states that he expects to enter the commercial field and will manufacture the sets for distribution as soon as arrangement of details are complete.
May 5, 1976 – 50 YEARS AGO
The Journal News
YOUNG SHAKESPEAREANS BEARD THE BARD WITH MACBETH PERFORMANCE
[Image: “Double double toil and trouble. . . .” The Weird Sisters share a laugh over the bloody end in store for MacBeth Friday and Saturday nights at the Palisades Presbyterian Church. From left to right: Cynthia Brock, Cissy Frye, and Laura Harrison of the Children’s Shakespeare Theater.]
“You might think MacBeth is too bloodthirsty a play for kids, but it was the kids’ own choice for this year,” said Jean Brook, director of the Children’s Shakespeare Theatre of Palisades, “and they throw themselves into it with gusto. We had done Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest the first year, and last year we did Midsummer Night’s Dream, so they really wanted to do a tragedy, and, this is the one they chose.”
Jean, an English teacher in the Orangetown school district, manages to teach, run this children’s drama group, take care of a family of five kids, and still look fresh as a daisy and ready for anything.
The kids love her. She gives them plenty of elbow room, but somehow gets them to work hard for her. Most people would think Shakespeare a bit much for kids who range in age from 7 to 14 (there are some younger, also, with walk-on parts). But the kids like it. “It’s real life,” said one. “I like the action, the fighting. It’s better than T.V.,” said another. “The words are so beautiful,” said a third, “and, besides, it’s a good education. And we have a lot of fun together.”
Besides reading, rehearsing and producing a whole play each season, they see at least two Shakespeare plays during the summer, at the Delacort Theatre in Central Park and up at Stratford, Connecticut. Sometimes they see more than that, and every play they see they read together first so they will understand and enjoy it as much as possible. They just finished reading Henry V and seeing the Oliver [sic] movie version in the city. When MacBeth is finished they will dive into a videotape version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by a parent, Stephanie Camilleri, and Jean’s oldest son, Woody Broc, who does all the lighting for the group’s performances.
The group started three summers ago when Jean wanted to take her kids to the Shakespeare Festival in the city to see MacBeth, but decided that they should read it all together first so they would understand it. Neighbor kids and friends asked to be part of it, and before Jean realized it, the Children’s Shakespeare Theatre of Palisades had formed itself. The group has grown and now Jean and her parent assistants, Joya Frye, assistant director, and Christina Anderson, costume and scenery designer, are eagerly awaiting the day when some sort of funding will be available. “A real theatre to rehearse it and give productions in would be nice,” says Jean hopefully, “a home base—permanent lighting and scenery.” Meanwhile they rehearse in community centers, churches and schools.
The kids themselves do much of the work of the production and make many of the decisions as a group. “It’s slower that way, but they learn so much more, and this way they feel that they really are a part, of things. I let them do as much of it themselves as I can. All except casting. That,” she says with a smile, “is up to me. And that is the hardest part. They all want the star roles, of course, and it’s so hard to decide. One way we get around it is by always having two casts and even things up so that one who gets a big part in one cast takes a small part in the other.”
I asked if she ever had problems with the kids fighting and getting jealous. “Oh, of course. Kids will be kids, and the world of the theatre is full of jealousy. They just have to learn to live with it, enjoy the ups and ignore the downs, like the rest of us. But most of the time it’s just a whole lot of fun for everybody, including me.” They certainly do enjoy themselves, as you’ll see if you go to a performance either Friday or Saturday night, May 7 or 8, at 8 p.m. at the Palisades Presbyterian Church on Washington Spring Road in Palisades, New York. Tickets are $1 for adults, 50¢ for children. The proceeds will go to benefit the Mobile Health Fair, a yearly project of the church whereby several high school kids from he congregation, together with a doctor and a nurse, go to a rural area somewhere in America to promote preventive medicine among people who have limited access to health care.
This Week in Rockland (#FBF Flashback Friday) is prepared by Clare Sheridan for the Historical Society of Rockland County. © 2026 by The Historical Society of Rockland County. #FBF Flashback Friday may be reprinted only with written permission from the HSRC. To learn about the HSRC’s mission, upcoming events or programs, visit www.RocklandHistory.org or call (845) 634-9629.