Then and Now: Commuters in Crestwood

In the November, 1946 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, a painting of a train station called "Crestwood" appeared, giving readers Norman Rockwell's impression of what a commuter suburb's train depot looked like in the 1940s.

Coincidently around this time, 12 year-old Jane Winiker of Eastchester had the opportunity to meet Rockwell at a signing in Brattleboro, VT, where she insisted to the painter that the background he used did not look anything like the real thing.

"He was kind enough to explain that he had put all those houses in to focus the viewer on the idea of commuters," Winiker remembers as she added that back in the 1940s, the area surrounding the train station was much more rural and contained a lake and a park.

Now residing in San Diego, CA, Winiker's memories of Crestwood and it's "commuters" along with her encounter with the famed painter gives us a deeper look into the history of our area, both through the eyes of a painter and the eyes of a child.

Winiker's mother Bessie helped establish the first library in Eastchester as well as a place called Harmony House, which stood across the street from Eastchester HS and was used as an after school destination for students to play and study.

To purchase a framed portrait of the painting by Norman Rockwell entitled "Commuters", click here.

What do you remember from the 1940s-1960s about the area around the Crestwood Train Station?  Leave your memories in the comments section below!