Hoosick Township Historical Society

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decided to install horseshoe pits in his new back yard at the White House. This interested Morrie Wheeler a member of the Bennington Horseshoe Club.

1 Hoosick Township Historical Society May 2016 Newsletter Louis Miller Museum Editor: Phil Leonard Director: Charles Filkins ***************************************************************************** The President s New Shoes In 1989 President George Bush decided to install horseshoe pits in his new back yard at the White House. This interested Morrie Wheeler a member of the Bennington Horseshoe Club. Morrie Wheeler, owner of Wheeler Brothers Brass Foundry in Troy New York, with his cousin Don Wheeler, got the idea to send custom horseshoes to the president after he heard of Bush s love for the game. The shoes are cast, ground and polished to two pounds, 10 ounces, regulation weight for the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association. In addition to the Wheelers, an Averill Park woodworker, a Rensselaerville polisher, and a Troy jeweler worked on the presidential pair. I think he ll appreciate these said Bob St. Germain, who made the patterns for the shoes out of mahogany. He probably gets all kinds of gifts, but these have a lot of real people in them.it s something we ve worked on together. Morrie said the shoes just might be unique enough to make a real impression on the commander in chief. Morrie said it was a real challenge to get the shoes exactly right. We had to make 100 shoes before we got a good pair The trick was to make them big enough to come out at the exact regulation weight after they were ground and polished. When they came out of the molds, they weighed about three pounds. Herbert Hemedack of Greenville Polishing hand polished the horseshoes. Morrie Wheeler with the Presidents horseshoes On August 12, 1991, Morrie received a letter from President Bush thanking him for the horseshoes and an enclosed signed picture of the President. The letter is framed and in his office. Friends and other members of Bennington Horseshoe Club asked if they could purchase a set of these horse shoes. Around 15 sets were made and mounted on a wooden board with a name plate. Mr. Wheeler donated his board to the museum.

Early Settlers, Part III by Corinne Eldred Gideon Reynolds: The Political Warhorse of the Town of Hoosick After his death in 1896, the Troy Daily Times published a long obituary and tribute to the

Gideon s history shows his family first settled in the town of Petersburgh in 1780. He was born there August 9, 1813.

3 Early Settlers, Part III by Corinne Eldred Gideon Reynolds: The Political Warhorse of the Town of Hoosick After his death in 1896, the Troy Daily Times published a long obituary and tribute to the man who was popularly known as Gid Reynolds, the political warhorse of the town of Hoosick. Most of the following information is taken from that column. Gideon s history shows his family first settled in the town of Petersburgh in He was born there August 9, He received much of his early education in the district school, and then furthered his studies at the Academy in Old Bennington. The Academy, built in 1821 as a private school, was considered to be the finest building in the state of Vermont. It still stands on the right hand side of Monument Avenue as you approach the hill to the monument. In 1836, at the age of 23, Gideon moved with his family to a farm in Hoosick. His father, Thomas, purchased a house built by Moses Warren, Sr. who settled in Rensselaer County in 1806 and served as county sheriff. Gideon resided in this house for the next 60 years until his death in Mr. Reynolds s public life began in 1838, when he was elected a member of the New York State Assembly on the Whig ticket. In 1843, the same party elected him County Sheriff and he served one term. His term was particularly memorable by the fact that during that same time, the anti-rent insurrections occurred in Rensselaer County and the sheriff and his posse frequently visited Present look of home the rural towns. These troubles were not confined to Rensselaer County alone, but southeastern parts of New York State. Mr. Reynolds was reputed to be an enemy of landlordism, and at once, took an active part in attempting to suppress the disorder brought about by the conflict between the anti-renters and the authorities. Even though he felt that the odds were against him, he summoned a posse of 25 men and proceeded to the vicinity of Alps, (a hamlet in the northern part of Nassau) where he had been informed a group of anti-renters were in action. When he reached the scene of the disorder, he and his posse were overpowered, their horses turned loose and Sheriff Reynolds and his band of deputies were marched to the center of the hamlet. The deputy who had been entrusted with the legal papers was tarred and feathered, and the entire body of men was ordered to depart, which they did. Soon afterward, another deputy sheriff, while attempting to serve warrants upon some of the Indians, (they wore calico disguises resembling Indians) was also tarred and feathered and sent back to his home. Eventually, the Anti-Rent party succeeded in electing sympathizers to the Legislature and new laws were passed bearing heavily upon landlords. In 1845, Mr. Reynolds married Miss Julia A. Richmond, a local resident. She bore him seven children, four of whom were still living at the time of his death

Reynolds was in the 30 th and 31 st congresses, the same of which Abraham Lincoln was a member. He became a member of the Republican Party upon its organization.

4 In 1846, Mr. Reynolds was the Whig candidate for member of Congress and was elected. In 1848, he failed to receive the party nomination, but ran as a stump candidate, and was again elected to Congress, acting with the Whig party during his term of service. Mr. Reynolds was in the 30 th and 31 st congresses, the same of which Abraham Lincoln was a member. He became a member of the Republican Party upon its organization. He was elected to the national convention which nominated John C. Fremont for the presidency in 1856, and also to the national convention which nominated Abe Lincoln in In 1862, Reynolds was appointed by President Lincoln collector of internal revenue. He served one year and then resigned. In 1867, he became a member of the Democratic Party, and had the unique distinction of serving on the state committee of both parties in this state. Mr. Reynolds also served one term as supervisor of Rensselaer County from the town of Hoosick. In whatever party his political lot was cast, his strong mind and unflagging energy, with the geniality of manner which won him many friends, made him a leader whose force commanded respect. In his home town, he served as trustee for many years at the Baptist Church in Hoosick, where he was a regular attendant. Up until two years before he died, he was said to be in rugged health. Then he was afflicted by a stroke of paralysis, which left him in a feeble condition. A second stroke brought on his death. The veteran of many hard fought political campaigns expired in his 83 rd year. He s buried in the Hoosick Rural Cemetery. His legacy reads, Gideon Reynolds was a man exceedingly popular and very much beloved. During his lifetime, he held nearly every office of honor or profit in the county, and administered all with credit. Of his offspring, one son stands out, Marcus T., a successful businessman who married the widow, Rev. Edith Craig in At that time, Rev. Edith was serving as minister at the same Baptist Church in Hoosick. She became a benefactor of many organizations in the local area. And, to this day, the town of Hoosick still reaps the benefit of her generosity. Marcus T. Reynolds Edith Craig Reynolds

Mustangs the First to Reach Tokyo Recently Bill Sargood gave me a magazine called America in WW II. The magazine is published bimonthly and this issue was the January-February 2016 edition.

The article was about a group of fighter pilots that flew off Iwo Jima, since it was the closest to Japan. They flew few missions because their portion of the war was relatively brief.

5 Mustangs the First to Reach Tokyo Recently Bill Sargood gave me a magazine called America in WW II. The magazine is published bimonthly and this issue was the January-February 2016 edition. The article he shared was called The 700 Mile Air Raid. In the article his brother- in- law, Raymond Whitey Betner, was highlighted. The article was about a group of fighter pilots that flew off Iwo Jima, since it was the closest to Japan. They flew few missions because their portion of the war was relatively brief. But they were taxed to the limit. Whitey joined the air force in January, He spent more than a year of training before he strapped into a P-51. After that, he and the other men in the squadron spent two years flying off their base in Hawaii. By the time they reached the war zone they were among the most trained fighter pilots in the world. He logged 900 hours in three different Mustang fighters while on Hawaii. The battle for Iwo Jima started on February 19, 1945, and ended on March 6, The US Marines fought the costliest battle in its history for the control of this eight square mile piece of land which was the closest airfield to Japan. Just three weeks after the battle started, his squadron started landing on the South Field. The first P-51s were part Raymond "Whitey" Betner of the unit Betner belonged to. The first to land was General Moore, followed by Major Piper, followed by First Lt. Betner. The battle was still in full swing. The first two landed safely, but Betner hit a large pot hole and one of his landing wheels dug in. The plane was seriously damaged but Whitey was not hurt. The pilots started to immediately help the marines with their land battle. They also attacked the Japanese bastion on Chichi Jima 150 miles north. Captain Betner participated in four of these missions. On April 7, 1945 all six squadrons, about 110 Mustangs in all, set off to escort B-29s to Tokyo. Seventeen pilots had to abort their flights for various reasons. Betner was one of them. The B-29s flew from islands around 1,500 miles from Tokyo. The Mustangs met them after an eight hour flight They were strapped into the cockpit of a fighter that required constant attention, flying almost Mustangs in flight entirely over water toward a heavily defended target. When they came back from the long flight they had to be pulled out of the cockpit. Betner made it to the Japanese home islands for the first time on April 12, 1945, and flew missions on April 19 and April 21. On the April 12 th mission, Whitey was plagued by radio and blower problems, and his engine was vibrating furiously. He broke away from the Japanese coast and looked in vain for a rescue submarine. He searched for a B-29 to help with his navigation and finally was able to get to the wing of a B-29 and start for home. But 350 miles from base he was told the B-29 had to leave him to get back to their field. Betner was down to 1,000 feet, losing altitude and feeling very lonely he later said. Luckily a Mustang from his base found him and guided him to a safe landing. He managed to return to Iwo Jima by his own initiative and the grace of God. His last mission was on May 19. The 54 total missions of the squadrons on Iwo Jima included 4,244 sorties (individual flights) that claimed 452 Japanese aircrafts shot down, at a cost of 130 Mustangs and 6 Thunderbolts and 124 pilots killed. Betner was sent home before the entire set of missions was accomplished. He returned to Hoosick Falls, telling his sister, Phyllis Sargood, he never wanted to fly again.

Stationary from the American House in 1915. It was owned by Mrs.

6 Stationary from the American House in It was owned by Mrs. O Brien who was the mother of Margaret O Brien who married Jack Eberle and the mother of the famous Big Band singers, Ray and Bob. It recently was demolished.

Abraham Lincoln. By: Walker Minix. Mrs. Bingham s 2 nd Grade

Abraham Lincoln. By: Walker Minix. Mrs. Bingham s 2 nd Grade Abraham Lincoln By: Walker Minix Mrs. Bingham s 2 nd Grade Table of Contents Chapter 1 Young Abe Page 1 Chapter 2 Rise To Greatness Page 2 Chapter 3 President Lincoln Page 3 Chapter 4 The Assassination