(Editor’s Note: Once again, former resident Kevin Childs has spent some time recently putting together a little story about Highland Falls history. We’re thrilled to share it with you this week … enjoy! MJP)
Mrs. Gallagher was famous for her pink house and her scramble of goats, living in the loafing shed beneath her modest home in the north end area of Highland Falls. The home was located on the North side of Homestead Avenue, and was the first residential structure on that street; and yes, it was painted a very bright shade of pink.
The fame that I refer to extended to an area just 50 yards to the east of her property, as it has since been referred to as ‘Gallagher’s Woods’. Searching my mind for additional links to Mrs. Gallagher, I can recall being told by my Aunt Helen that Mrs. Gallagher was related to the Bosch family, which would answer the question of “why did the pink house abut the large structure known as Bosch’s Garage at the corner of Homestead Avenue and Main Street”? Well, such connections, both familial and property-wise, are well documented in Highland Falls; as similar networks are commonplace in many smaller communities.
Gallagher’s Woods extended from the West Point property line to Station Road; a twisting road that leads to the shores of the Hudson River, as well as the West Shore Railroad tracks and station house. In today’s world, the east end of the woods ends at a fast food location called McDonald’s. This entire wooded area measures about two and a half acres, and when traveling east, ends at an extreme cliff edge, which, to me, looked to be about 200 feet or so above the roadside below.
Confusing? Well, I’m just trying to set the stage for two events; one sad, and the other heroic in some sense. Grazing animals must … graze, and the “woods” provided a fine area to complete that necessary daily ritual. As the time period we are in, in this tale, is the earlier part of the 20th Century … or 1900s as these years are sometimes called, restrictive local laws concerning farm animals were yet to be “put on the books”, yet alone, enforced. This is evidenced by chickens, horses, mules and many other small animals being housed in back yards all across the village proper.
As I hadn’t been told of anything other than the grazing of her goats, I’ll have to assume that those with kids would have been milked of excess when required, and that the little kids grazed with mom. I must assume a lot in this narrative, so I also imagine that the Nanny goats, and the Billy goats grazed together, accompanied by the kids (baby goats). And now onward with the actual story.
Gallagher’s Woods provided an extensive playground for the kids of the village’s north end, but there was one area that was considered to be “off limits”, as, in this region, danger lurked with each step. At the extreme eastern section of the woods, the grounds gradually slope downwards. Now, the problem with this gradual sloping would be that the “gradual” slope became “extreme” in a very sudden way. At the end of this slope was a one-way drop of about 200 feet to the road below. At this time, the faint of heart must close their eyes and/or skip a paragraph or two.
Yes, one of the kids, albeit, one with unsure hooves, did drop the entire distance; landing in the roadside. My aunt, Helen Mooney, told me that this sad event occurred in 1940, when she was but seven years old. No, the young goat didn’t survive, but the event provided fodder for children’s tales for many years to come.
More than a decade later, I can remember a friend of mine walking very close to the edge, and then ducking down out of my sight. When he jumped up a few moments later, his laughter did little to calm me, as I thought he’d taken the plunge off the cliffside. Such was the comic prowess of village kids during the 1950’s.
I understand that the ‘Gallagher’s Woods’ area was acquired by the federal government, when they purchased the Ladycliff College property, so there’ll be no more gallivanting on that property.
— Kevin Childs
