Peekskill

Postcard courtesy of City of Peekskill website.

Thanks to a gift card, I grabbed dinner in Peekskill, NY tonight.

The dinner was nice, thanks for asking. I had a large burger with a fried egg and BBQ pork butt. Hey, why not?

Peekskill means more to me than a burger.

My birth certificate says "Peekskill, NY" on it.

In truth, the Peekskill city line is roughly a quarter of a mile -- if that -- from the hospital.

Flash forward to 2002. Peekskill has gone through years of change from its time as "The Friendly City." So by that point, the hospital was known as "Hudson Valley Hospital Center at Peekskill-Cortlandt."

So it is that Sean's birth certificate -- from the same building I was born in -- says "Cortlandt Manor, NY."

Peekskill has been on the radar since 1609 when Henry Hudson noted that it looked like a good place to build a town. The city was named for a Dutch trader, Jan Peeck, and combined the Dutch word kill (meaning "creek or stream"). Thus: Peek's kill.

The trivia of the town, right on the banks of Hudson to the south of the Bear Mountain Bridge, is fantastic. As a railroad town, Peekskill got a visit from Abraham Lincoln in 1861, er route to his inauguration. Peekskill can claim the origins of Crayola Crayons, as the Peekskill Chemical Company -- the forerunner to Binney and Smith, who makes Crayolas -- was founded in 1864.

The city was also the birthplace of Mel Gibson, former NY governor George Pataki, Paul "Pee Wee Herman" Reubens, and Stanley Tucci. Jackie Gleason and NBA star Elton Brand were among those who lived there.

Brand graduated from Peekskill High School, along with another NBA player, Hilton Armstrong. Nancy Adams, nee Jennings -- my mother -- also graduated from the home of the Red Devils.

Brothers Oscar, Don, Bill, and sister Nina, also went to PHS. Oscar and Don both left Peekskill for World War II.

Sadly, there's also the Peekskill Riots, which actually took place in the Town of Cortlandt, out past Hillside Cemetery where my father, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and a cousin are all buried. The riots were aimed at singer Paul Robeson, who was considered to have communist leanings. Mr. Robeson was scheduled to sing at Lakeland Acres in 1949, but violence caused the concert to be postponed until a week later. This time, the concert happened, but violence once again broke out. It's an ugly part of the history of the city.

The latter part of the 20th Century would see Peekskill change dramatically, as the shopping hub shifted towards Cortlandt and beyond, and the city continued to try to reinvent itself in various ways, including pushing to be a creative art hub. It has a vibrant restaurant scene, including the amazing The Quiet Man Public House, where you need to go say hi to Susan, who runs the place.

Back on the positive side, "The Facts of Life" took place in Peekskill. I laughed every time I heard Mrs. Garrett mention it.

It's special to take my mom there, as it will forever be that "Friendly City" to her, though I know it's bittersweet.

It's the city where my parents met, got engaged, and married in 1957.

My parents both worked there, and I can still picture the site of my dad's old job before he left in the '70s.

My two siblings were born in the old Peekskill hospital, which was actually in the city.

I have myriad memories scattered from visiting Peekskill.

I was born there. In some way, so was my son.

My father died there.

I had dinner there tonight.