Historical Society News
Mamaroneck High School historic murals saved
A mural being rolled onto a large tube for storage after being taken down from a wall at Mamaroneck High School.
The Mamaroneck Historical Society would like to share with the community and with donors from across the country who supported the mural preservation effort, that we have successfully saved all of the murals at Mamaroneck High School. Seven of the eight are now safely stored at Murphy Brothers in Mamaroneck. One of the murals will be protected behind the new walls being constructed for the design lab at the school for future restoration.
The mural removal team was PHENOMENAL! Led by Josh Lattrell of ACA Environmental Services, Inc., the team problem solved their way through endless challenges. They invented special rigs to work in tight spaces. They figured out what worked for removal of each mural depending on the wall surface and the strength of the adhesive. The 81-year-old glue used to adhere the canvas to the walls was like cement. The removal team got into a rhythm, synchronizing their efforts while standing on a scaffold beneath the suspended tube, which wrapped the mural towards the ceiling, while carefully scraping the glue, inch by inch, to release the mural.
After mural removal, Josh created strong foam stabilizers to secure the murals now rolled on the giant sonotubes preventing mural damage. The stabilizers are being used in the storage process as well to keep the rolled murals off the floor until unrolled for restoration.
The seven murals that were successfully removed will require a range of restoration services. One of them was extremely brittle, resulting in loss of paint while coming off the wall. The canvas on other murals was thin or torn in some places, requiring repair. Others came off the wall with fewer issues but need cleaning and repair after 81 years on the wall exposed to the actions of students over time.
In consultation with the removal team, the art conservator and Steve Brugge, the Director of Facilities for the Mamaroneck School District who provided amazing support throughout the removal effort, the decision was made not to remove one of the murals, Mimi Jennewein’s “European Journeys and Influences 1826-1833”. The mural is mounted in a science classroom over a counter containing plumbing and gas lines. The scaffolding required for a safe mural removal was not able to be placed securely against the wall. Therefore, for the safety of the removal team, the decision was made not to remove the mural. The site challenge would also compromise the mural removal process, possible damaging it. Although not the outcome we had hoped for, we are confident that all involved in the removal effort worked above and beyond to preserve all of the murals.
We want to thank the community and all donors for their support. All donations have gone to the removal effort. Any funds leftover will go towards our next steps-restoration and installation in the community. We look forward to working with the community to plan next steps to restore and install the murals where everyone can enjoy them.
See below for more details, videos and photos on the removal effort and what the room, once the junior high school cafeteria, looks like after removal of the murals..
The Mamaroneck Historical Society
Photo gallery: How the murals were removed and prepared for storage
Photo gallery: The room after removal of the murals
The space was the cafeteria at the then-junior high school when the murals were installed in 1941. Now it’s Mamaroneck High School, and this is how it looked Friday, April 15, 2022, after seven of the murals were removed before creation of a design lab that would have walled in or destroyed the murals. The eighth, Mimi Jennewein’s “European Journeys and Influences 1826-1833,” was left in place for safety reasons and is covered by plywood for protection for future restoration.
“Cooper, the Premier American Romantic Writer, Born September 15, 1789 Died September 14, 1851” (4’11”x7’10”) by Mimi Jennewein is on one of the Mamaroneck High School Walls that will be torn down.. (Photo by Charles Seton)
The eight murals on the walls of Mamaroneck High School were envisioned in 1934 by the 9th grade class of Miss Roxie Hall in what was then Mamaroneck Junior High School. Their vision was to transform their spacious cafeteria by gracing the walls with WPA Era style murals focused on the life and career of internationally renowned author and Mamaroneck resident James Fenimore Cooper. This massive installation of public art has been seen by thousands of students over the past 81 years. The murals communicate to students their connection to literature, art, to the history of our country, and to pride in their hometown.
While reading James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales series, Miss Hall asked her class to identify the pivotal moment in each text. These scenes became the inspiration for five murals.
Three talented local artists volunteered to help students realize their vision. James Allen, Beth Sutherland and Paul Jennewein connected with Eugene Savage, a famous muralist and instructor at the Yale School of Art, one of the most prestigious art schools in the country. Savage set up a competition at Yale to select five artists who could translate the written word in the novels’ pivotal scenes into a painting. Out of quite a few entrants, five were chosen. And quite a group they were!
John Potter Wheat, painted the mural scene from The Deerslayer. (11’4” x 7’6”). After serving in World War II, Wheat was later designated as the official artist for the United States of the Vietnam War. His work can be found in museums and schools all over the world. The mural artist Harold Thresher also served in World War II. He created the iconic packaging and images for GI Joe, a toy that every boy knows. Each of the six artists has a story as they went on to life long careers in the arts.
The most significant connection for our community is with the artist who painted the three murals focused on James Fenimore Cooper’s life and the impact living here in Larchmont Mamaroneck had on his writing. The artist is Mimi Jennewein.
Mimi Jennewein was raised in the community and graduated from Mamaroneck High School in 1938. Mimi returned to town after graduating from Yale, and settled in Larchmont where she raised her family. Her children ate lunch in the very cafeteria that displayed their mother’s murals. Mimi enjoyed a successful career in the arts. Her work can be found at the Smithsonian in D.C.
“The Marriage of Susan DeLancey of Mamaroneck in 1811” (7’7”x7’10”) by Mimi Jennewein, in an enhanced image to show its vivid original colors. It is one of six murals that is slated to be buried behind a wall during Mamaroneck High School constructoin. (“Photo by Charles Seton)
Mimi painted the mural featured on our GoFundMe page, entitled “The Marriage of Susan DeLancey of Mamaroneck in 1811” (7’7”x7’10”). This mural is one of the six murals that would have been buried behind a wall as a result of the construction design. Another of her murals, “Cooper, the Premier American Romantic Writer, Born September 15, 1789 Died September 14, 1851” (4’11”x7’10”) was on one of the walls that is to be torn down.
Contribute through GoFundMe
to help restore the murals:
All raised funds will be used to finance the removal of the murals, their restoration, relocation, and work related to this effort. None of the funds will be used for any other purposes by the Mamaroneck Historical Society.
The murals were the result of the community coming together in 1934 to design, raise funds, and commission these massive paintings that have been seen by thousands of students over the past 81 years.
Please help us to restore and relocate the murals.
The Murals
On January 18, 2022, the Mamaroneck Board of Education voted to move forward with construction which would have resulted in the destruction of 2-3 murals and another 5-6 murals would have been buried behind new walls. They depict scenes from the Leatherstocking Tales novels of James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) and of his life. Cooper married Susan Delancey of Mamaroneck and lived in Mamaroneck for a time.
Five murals depict scenes from Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales, five novels published between 1823 and 1841.
THE LEATHERSTOCKING MURALS: The images are enhanced to show the original vivid colors and details.
THREE MURALS DEPICTING JAMES FENIMORE COOPER’S LIFE IN MAMARONECK
The three murals depicting Cooper’s life were painted by Mamaroneck Junior/Senior High School student Mimi Jennewein. The images are enhanced to show the original vivid color and details.
THE COOPER’S LIFE MURALS:
Want to help restore, relocate the murals? Help cover the cost:
Media coverage on the murals
Lohud.com: Mamaroneck High Schools murals saved, but 'There's a long way to go' (June 7, 2022)
Patch.com: Historic ‘Leatherstocking’ Murals Saved From the Brink
News 12: Urgency grows to save historic murals in Mamaroneck HS ahead of April construction
REPLAY: WVOX ratio interview: “Reisman Richter Report” hosts Phil Reisman and Matt Richter interviewed Mamaroneck Historical Society Co-President John Pritts Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, on WVOX radio about the fate of Mamaroneck High School's historic murals. Listen to a replay now:
Letter
1963 grad: Murals ‘very embodiment of the purpose of the building …. education’
Below is a letter sent to the Mamaroneck Board of Education and Superintendent. The writer, a graduate of Mamaroneck High School, copied the Mamaroneck Historical Society. He has given us permission to share his thoughtful and passionate argument about the value of the murals and who is responsible for preserving them. It is powerful.
To the Board:
I moved to Larchmont with my parents when I was three years old. I just turned 77. I graduated from Mamaroneck High School in 1963, having gone through the entire Mamaroneck school system, starting in kindergarten. Larchmont and Mamaroneck are central to who I am, who I always have been, virtually my entire life. Many of my contemporaries feel exactly the same: we marvel at how fortunate we were to have grown up there; we love revisiting; we remind each other that "Larchmont is the best."
And when we attended what was then the Mamaroneck Junior High School for three years, we ate lunch every day in a very fine school lunchroom, surrounded by imposing murals that a previous generation of adults had seen fit to provide, illustrating scenes from the works and life of James Fenimore Cooper. They were deliberately Mamaroneck-related. They were meant to teach us a sense of place, and a sense of history, and a sense of literature. They were the very embodiment of the purpose of the building in which we sat, which was education.
I have known that in recent years, with the building now incorporated into a much larger high school complex, the Cooper murals have been obscured by spaces created by subdividing the original lunchroom. But at least they still are there. Now I learn that the Board of Education has decided, as part of a new construction project, to outright destroy two or three of them, and permanently obstruct the rest.
As someone who has spent a fair amount of time in my life involved with history, and architecture, and historic preservation, I am dismayed to learn that the current caretakers of my alma mater, leaders in the community for which I have felt -- and continue to feel -- a lifelong affinity, can dismiss these works of art so easily. Certainly I can understand how people can have different experiences, different goals, and different perspectives in life -- and indeed, different perspectives on art -- but truly, an attitude like this to me is unfathomable.
What are students at MHS these days being taught about history, or culture -- or even respect, like for their community and their surroundings -- if the adults in charge of their education are willing to act in this damaging way?
Some years ago, during a high school reunion, we were given a tour of the current complex of buildings, and one of the highlights that the tour guide most wanted to talk about was a Norman Rockwell painting hanging in what is now the school library. It had been given to the school by Mr. Rockwell -- but in 1975 it had been stolen. And after it had been recovered -- after having been slashed into five pieces -- it had been restored and then rehung, under a heavy protective covering wired with alarms.
The school seemed so proud of this painting -- even though Norman Rockwell's personal connection to MHS, as a weak student who dropped out, had been minimal.
The contrast between how the school system apparently considers the Rockwell painting -- which at best has only the slightest tangential relationship to the high school's heritage -- as some sort of holy object, versus the disrespectful way it considers the Cooper murals -- which were painted purposefully for the school and have an integral meaning both to the school and to its building -- is staggering.
I can understand that the space needs of a modern excellent high school are likely always changing, but I cannot understand how you, as a Board of Education, can be unwilling to find a way to save the Cooper murals, by transferring them, or donating them, or in some way acting as responsible cultural stewards.
Please reconsider your decision, and make an attempt to find an alternate solution. For the good of the community; for its past and for its future.
Other news
Miller’s toy, bike store’s longevity honored by NY state
BROOKE ANDREWS, THE THIRD -GENERATION OF THE MILLER FAMILY TO OWN AND OPERATE MILLER’S, DISPLAYS A NEW YORK STATE SENATE EMPIRE AWARD PLAQUE PRESENTED BY STATE SEN. SHELLEY MAYER DURING A CEREMONY CELEBRATING MILLER’S TOYS’ INCLUSION IN THE NEW YORK STATE HISTORIC BUSINESS PRESERVATION REGISTRY. MAYER, TO THE RIGHT OF BROOKE ANDREWS, NOMINATED THE STORE FOR THE REGISTRY. MAMARONECK HISTORICAL SOCIETY CO-PRESIDENT JOHN PRITTS IS AT RIGHT.
Miller's toys and bicycles was recognized Oct. 19, 2022, for its over seven decades in business in Mamaroneck.
The store, on Mamaroneck Avenue since 1948 and at its current location since 1958, was added to the New York State Historic Business Preservation Registry. The registry highlights businesses that have operated for at least 50 years and have contributed to their communities' history.
State Sen. Shelley Mayer nominated the store for inclusion in the registry.
Annual meeting: Board trustees elected, students outline election proposal
Dear Members and Friends of the Mamaroneck Historical Society,
At our Annual Membership Meeting on November 16, 2021, we enjoyed our first in-person gathering since our last General Membership meeting in 2019. Many thanks to those who were able to attend.
The event was filmed by LMCMedia. We invite you to watch the full meeting below. (Scroll past the video to read the rest of the meeting summary, including the trustee election, and a message from Mamaroneck High School Teacher Joe Liberti about the school’s civic-action program initiatives.)
Members present voted on four candidates for the historical society board, three returning board members, Ray Maldonado, George Mgrditchian, and Don Sutherland and our new member, Dennis Cucinella.
We then enjoyed a fabulous program presented by four Mamaroneck High school students along with their teacher, Mr. Joe Liberti. All present were impressed by the knowledge the students demonstrated about our community and what their research suggests will make Mamaroneck stronger in the future. Please see the message below from Joe Liberti about the OCRA curriculum these students have been a part of for their four years at Mamaroneck High School.
Please check our videos page (third video down) to watch a replay of this program:
On Dec. 2, 2021, Darla Shaw interviewed Jack Brewer, whose family owned an iconic business for 140 years.
Message from Mamaroneck High School Teacher Joe Liberti
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to present on my Original Civic Research & Action (OCRA) program at Mamaroneck High School. As I mentioned, the success of this 4-year program rests on the important relationship between the community and the OCRA students, especially the community mentors that share their time, expertise, and wisdom on various initiatives. If you have an interest in a particular local issue(s), and would like to be a possible mentor, please email me at jliberti@mamkschools.org
If you’re interested in past and current OCRA initiatives, please see the list below. If you’re curious to learn more about any initiative, please email me at jliberti@mamkschools.org
Completed/Current OCRA initiatives (feel free to inquire if you’d like additional information):
Village of Larchmont App: Engaging and informing Residents-funded by an MFS grant, this student created app assists Larchmont residents in staying better informed about important municipal policies and services, community events, as well as allowing Larchmont officials to survey residents on important issues.
Green Mamaroneck App: Reducing Residents’ Environmental Impact-funded by an MFS grant, this student created app helps residents take immediate action to reduce their environmental impact.
Learning link: Closing the Opportunity Gap in Mamaroneck-funded by an MFS grant, this digital platform connects low-income elementary school students to scholarships from local businesses offering extracurricular programming, e.g., music, art, computer science, martial arts, dance, etc.
Food Scrap Recycling Pickup: Repurposing Valuable Resources-A major challenge for food scrap recycling participation among Mamaroneck Town residents involves transporting scraps to the Town’s Maxwell Ave sanitation facility. OCRA students are beginning to solve this challenge in part by creating and administering a low-carbon, cost-free, and community-based food scrap recycling pickup initiative within target zones located within the Village of Larchmont.
Increasing Local Voter Turnout: Aligning Local and Federal Elections: Low voter turnout continues to weaken representation and engagement in local government. Research has shown that one reason for low voter turnout is the frequency and number of elections. After analyzing local and national election data, this group found a positive correlation between even year elections and increased voter turnout. By aligning local election with federal elections, their project provides an important first step towards reviving civic participation in local elections by lowering the “costs” of voting.
Right to Counsel: Providing People Facing Eviction with Legal Counsel-Students have spoken with dozens of eviction prevention experts and leaders in the local community over the past three years. Working closely with the Community Resource Center in Mamaroneck, students have engaged in a variety of tactics, including passing local resolutions, generating calls and emails to the County government, and creating an online tool to help tenants connect with appropriate rental arrears and pre-existing housing assistance organizations. The students have also been working in concert with local coalitions such as the Westchester Right to Counsel Coalition. Ultimately, these students’ aim is passage of a countywide Right Counsel legislation.
Additional ongoing OCRA initiatives (feel free to inquire if you’d like addition information):
Reducing and Eliminating Single Use Plastic
Improving Recycling at MHS
Increasing Voter Turnout: Leveraging Child-Parent Relationships
Reducing Wasted Food: Capturing Usable Food from Large Local Institutions
Summer Slide: Reducing Learning Loss in Reading During Summer Vacation
Dinner and Entertainment: Increasing Consumer Demand for Local Eateries
Wage Theft: Increasing Awareness, Reporting, and Prosecution
Increasing Consumer Demand at Local Brick-and-Mortar Clothing Retailers.