Written By John R. Greenwood | Photos provided
[From the 2025 Home & Garden Magazine]
Father's Day fell on June 18, 2023, the same day as the Wilton Heritage Society's Annual Strawberry Shortcake Social. I thought it would be fun to treat my son and three youngest grandsons to strawberry shortcake and a tour of the Wilton Heritage Society Museum. We are fortunate to live near one another and the museum. The boys were six, eight, and nine years old, the perfect age to start learning about the history of their hometown. We were early enough to secure an empty picnic table outside the museum. It was the ideal setting for three generations to gather and enjoy the moment.
After a serious discussion about the differences between biscuit, poundcake, and sponge cake as a strawberry shortcake base and whether we liked homemade or canned whipped cream better, we toured the museum's two buildings. The boys were the youngest in attendance, and although they appeared wide-eyed and interested at first, that vibe faded quickly. It was only a matter of time before they were ready to move on to the next adventure. At that age, they can absorb just so many "Back in my day…" stories.
Another bonus to living in a historically rich area is our proximity to places like Grant's Cottage. The Wilton Heritage Society's Museum is on the same road that leads to the top of Mt. McGregor and Grant's Cottage. My son and I thought the boys might like to experience the McGregor overlook and, simultaneously, burn off a little of that added energy the sweetened strawberries and whipped cream provided. We went off with the promise of a ride to the top of a mountain and a possible view of their neighborhood.
With beautiful Grant's Cottage in the background, the boys barreled out of their Honda Odyssey and into the parking lot. As I attempted to explain the significance of the historical building before them, they were only interested in racing each other to the portable restroom at the top of the parking lot. Once that chapter of the Father's Day adventure was complete, we proceeded to the porch of Grant's Cottage, where volunteers had set up a "Name that Artifact" table. The table is a popular attraction for young and old. Because it had piqued the boys' interest, the volunteer suggested they might like to participate in a scheduled scavenger hunt. It sounded like the perfect activity for three rambunctious boys. She directed us to the nearby gift shop for the details and clipboards for the hunt. Once the boys realized there were stamps and prizes involved, they were all in. After discovering the first few caches, their excitement increased, and the race was on. When we reached the scenic overlook, my son and I knew the day was turning into something special.
The walk to the Grant's Cottage Overlook is short. When I emerged from the woods onto the overlook, the boys were taking turns looking through the tower viewer in hopes of seeing their home a few miles away.
The exit hike back to the parking lot is uphill and unpaved. As the two youngest boys bolted ahead, their older brother, father, and I took a slower, more relaxed pace. About halfway up the trail, we spotted something shiny in the dirt. I pointed to it and asked my grandson Caleb if it was a coin. He picked it up, handed it to me, and said, "It's just a dime." I immediately realized it was more than just a dime; it was a 1916 silver Mercury.
Kevin Greenwood (Dad), left to right Caleb, Cohen, Cameron Greenwood.
After our exciting discovery, we took a break at a picnic table near the cottage. All the boys wanted to know was how much "their" 107-year-old dime was worth. A quick Google search indicated the value might be enough to cover the sales tax of our gift shop purchases. The real treasure was three generations sharing time in a historical setting and making a historical find on Father's Day.
Returning to the gift shop was the grand finale. The patient staff gave quiet recommendations to three young and active boys as they scoured the shelves for the perfect souvenir to bring home. After checking the entire inventory of gifts in microscopic detail, we all emerged from the shop smiling and happy.
I could end the story here, but our unearthed Father's Day dime intrigued me enough to do further digging when I got home. It's incredible how these little snippets of everyday life can become a learning opportunity. With Google at my fingertips, a search of newsworthy events in the year 1916 turned into a wide-ranging history lesson.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company had purchased 1,200 acres of Mt. McGregor just two years prior. Their tuberculosis sanitarium would have been in operation in 1916. At one time, there were 350 patients and some 30 buildings costing around 3 million dollars.
WWI was raging in Europe. The US would enter the war the following year.
The 1916 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany
were canceled.
President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America.
The first 40-hour work week officially begins in the Endicott-Johnson factories of Western NY.
Clarence Saunders founded the first self-service grocery store, Piggy Wiggly, in Memphis, Tennessee.
President Wilson signed legislation to create the National Park System.
A radio station in New York City made the first audio broadcast of presidential election returns.
Born in 1916:
Walter Cronkite - Television Journalist,
Jackie Gleason - Comedian
Gregory Peck and Kirk Douglas - Actors
Betty Grable - Actress
Shelby Foote - Novelist, Historian,
and author of The Civil War: A Narrative
The moral of the story?
You never know when history will strike. It can appear as a dirty 1916 Mercury found on a dirt path, in the epitaph of a headstone, in an old diary, in a family photo album, in a library, or in a local town historian's office. New York State is brimming with history. Embrace it, support it, and most importantly, share it.