Beloved town official Alvin Jordan dies at 96
Written by Maureen Koehl
Thursday, 20 May 2010 00:00
Lewisboro Ledger
Alvin R. Jordan, former town supervisor, town historian, Yankees fan, philosopher, banker, and justice of the peace died at his South Salem home, Ridgecrest, on May 13 after a brief illness. He was hours shy of his 97th birthday. Mr. Jordan, on top of things as always, penned his own obituary to make certain that the facts were correct. And true to his Down East roots, he only included the bare bones of a life lived in service to his family, his church, his town, and its citizens. This writer (having known him for three decades) doesn’t want to interfere with his final wishes, or words, but he left the good parts of his long life’s story lurking between the lines. We shall begin with Mr. Jordan’s words, but then we shall celebrate the man who wrote them.
According to Mr. Jordan
Mr. Jordan was born May 14, 1913, in Sherman, Maine, the son of the late Arthur and the late Elizabeth (Bragdon) Jordan. He married Lucille Patterson of Staceyville, Maine, on July 3, 1937. Together they moved to Katonah, and then to South Salem in 1953. He was predeceased by Lucille, his wife of more than 70 years, on March 23, 2008. Mr. Jordan is survived by his son David O. Jordan and his wife, Anne, of New Rochelle; his daughter Janet J. Clarkson and her husband, John, of North Salem; his grandchildren Bethany L.C. Durie and her husband, Kenneth, of Stevensville, Mont.; and Eric E. Jordan of New Rochelle.
A private family cremation ceremony was held at Ferncliff Crematory in Hartsdale. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 22, at 11, at the South Salem Presbyterian Church at 111 Spring Street. Donations in Mr. Jordan’s memory may be made to the South Salem Presbyterian Memorial Fund.
Mr. Jordan was a graduate of Sherman High School in 1931 and later attended evening classes at Westchester Community College. He was a banker and served as vice president of the former Northern Westchester National Bank and as assistant vice president of the former Port Chester-Rye Savings Bank. However, much of his work was in local public service. Around the time of World War II, he worked six years as a New York City watershed inspector assigned to patrol the city’s reservoirs in Westchester and Putnam counties. He served as Lewisboro town justice for 14 years and Lewisboro town supervisor for eight years. During his retirement, Mr. Jordan was Lewisboro town historian for five years and directed a group in the publication of A History of the Town of Lewisboro, which was published in 1981 in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the town in 1731. He also was a volunteer in public and charitable organizations including the Westchester County Soil and Water Board and the Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless.
The rest of the story
Mr. Jordan was the youngest of three brothers, and he claims that being the youngest wasn’t always the easiest, especially when his brothers grew up and left him to bring in the family firewood by himself. He decided to strike out for the big world in 1937 and, with a friend, came to Westchester. When these gentlemen from Maine arrived in town, Route 35 was in the process of being built, the Todd Road area was farmland and milk was home-delivered fresh from local farms.
Mr. Jordan was a man of many talents and interests. He worked as a laborer for George Tator when he first came to town, then as the superintendent of the C. Donald Dallas farm on Mt. Holly Road. In a long-ago interview, he told this reporter about his time spent as a watershed warden, policing fishermen, checking licenses and boat permits. “We couldn’t arrest anyone, but we patrolled the reservoirs, enforcing the war-time restrictions, making sure no one approached the dams. They kept the watershed forests cleared of undergrowth in those days and you could see the water more clearly then ... And, at Christmas, we were told that if any school or church wanted a Christmas tree, we could cut one for them. My wife Lucille’s class always had a beautiful tree,” he said.
Walking the watershed wasn’t the only thing Mr. Jordan did during World War II. He took part in the Bedford Civil Defense Unit, a modern militia force that practiced military tactics in order to protect the home front should the enemy attack northern Westchester. He described for me the “taking” of a wooded knoll on the Bedford Golf and Tennis Club with his “government issue” wooden gun. The company was to belly crawl across the golf course behind their commander toward the “German-occupied knoll” when the lieutenant gave the signal. As planned, Cpl. Jordan looked at his sergeant who looked to the lieutenant who never gave the signal. Meanwhile the commander was progressing across the field on his belly. Suddenly, a bell rang out signaling the end of the exercise and the troops headed for the parking lot. The commander looked over at Mr. Jordan and said, “You fellows were terrific! I would have thought I was all alone out there.” It was many years before Mr. Jordan got up the courage to say to the fellow, “You were!”
Down East sense of humor
His sense of humor was a strong indication of his Maine roots. John Blair, a longtime friend, said he mentioned to Mr. Jordan that he was thinking of retiring and asked his advice. The Jordan advice — “Don’t tell anyone!” When I asked him once which he preferred, his working years or his retirement years, he replied without hesitation, “Retirement has been better than working! If there had been a way of doing it, I’d have been retired all my life.”
Practicality and discipline were strong Yankee traits of Mr. Jordan. He described his process for choosing a wife, as Mrs. Jordan and I listened one afternoon. It was the first time Mrs. Jordan had heard the story, too. He admitted she wasn’t the only girl he was interested in. “There were about seven girls I admired and I had a point system. I’d rate the girls by looking at their mothers to see what they would look like when they got older. If the mothers were streamlined, then I guessed it would be all right,” he said, “and there was one girl whose mother baked delicious apple pies ... ” Despite the fact that Lucille’s mom’s apple pie wasn’t quite as good as one of the other six moms’ pies, she won the contest. “I analyzed the girls and Lucille got the most points,” said Mr. Jordan.
That marriage lasted 71 years, although it almost didn’t happen. Soon after he arrived in Westchester, Mr. Jordan sent for Lucille to join him. When her train pulled into the Pleasantville station her suitor was nowhere to be seen. He thought perhaps she wouldn’t really come and had gone inside the station house. After a few anxious minutes, the two found each other and drove off toward Mount Kisco. The couple stopped for a hot dog and an ice cream cone at a stand where Ben and Jerry’s is now. After that pre-nuptial dinner, they continued to North Tarrytown where they paid $1.50 and got a marriage license, no questions asked. “All we had to do was sign the paper and pay the money. Then we drove to New Rochelle and were married by the Rev. Ralph Allen Crane, a man I never saw before and never saw again, but I never forgot his name,” Mr. Jordan told me, but they always celebrated their anniversary with a hot dog and ice cream.
Public service
Mr. Jordan spent 22 years in elected office, beginning with his election as town justice in 1955. He and Bob Green were elected the same year. Each budding politician bought himself a huge cigar so he could act the part, and both men went on to serve the town for many years. Mr. Jordan’s sense of justice suited his sense of fairness and discipline at the same time. Two notorious perpetrators were once sentenced to six weeks of attending church services at the South Salem Presbyterian Church. Justice Jordan wasn’t sure that the men would show up on Sunday morning, but show up they did, and even put something in the collection plate.
In those long ago small-town times of the 50s, Justice Jordan was often called out to one of the bars in town in the wee hours of the morning to arraign barroom brawlers or persons suspected of disorderly conduct. Since his neighborhood was extremely dark at that hour, he had a street light installed at the end of his driveway, paying for it himself. To this day, the Jordan lamppost is one of the few in town.
Mr. Supervisor
During Alvin Jordan’s tenure as town supervisor many changes began to take place. He served four hectic and productive terms as supervisor, overseeing, with Planning Board Chairman Leroy Law, the first town Master Plan and the beginning of multiple-family housing in the town. Mr. Jordan supported affordable housing even into his last days, especially for the elderly whom he felt were often forgotten when it came to housing and services. “It’s too bad the older folks can’t afford to stay here if they want to,” he once said. “When things get too expensive, it sends citizens out of town. Then we are no longer an all-American community. It’s odd that we pride ourselves on our diversity, but there is no economic diversity. We live longer, but whether the quality of life is better, I don’t know ... I don’t think so.” The Jordans spent many of their retirement years helping to make the quality of life better for all citizens by volunteering at the Katonah Community Center and serving at the Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless.
A man true to his convictions, Mr. Jordan, with the support of his Town Board, was enthusiastic about a proposal made by the UDC (Urban Development Corporation) to build 100 moderate and low-income housing units throughout the town. This state agency proposed to purchase the land, build the units and pay $25,000 yearly to the town in lieu of taxes. Lewisboro citizens were strongly against the plan and, eventually, it faded away. When Mr. Jordan left office, the Cross River Shopping Plaza was a reality, the first multiple-family dwellings had been built in Wild Oaks Village, and Vista’s Oakridge was about to get underway.
Those who worked with him on the various planning and zoning boards always found him fair and a good man to work with. Paul Lewis, a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, had a great respect for Mr. Jordan. “Al was a great supervisor and I think everybody in town really loved him. He chewed us Zoning Board members out once for a decision we made, and he was pretty harsh with us, but we didn’t hold it against him. I still think we made the right decision. We denied an application to allow the YMCA to put a large facility in on Route 35 across from the stone barns. Al was always very well respected and a stately, friendly person. I loved his Maine accent and sense of humor.”
“A great highlight of my 31 years as town attorney was the period of eight years while Al was the supervisor. I have not known any person with greater integrity, compassion, and dedication to helping others,” said Stanley Anderson. “It was a distinct honor to serve under him. The town of Lewisboro and the larger community are the benefactors of his life. He has, during his life, earned his place with God. May he rest in peace.”
Town Clerk Kathy Cory had this to say about Mr. Jordan. “Mr. Jordan was supervisor when I was hired to work full time in the Building Department. He was a typical ‘Yankee’ (in more ways than one!) in that he was a man of his word and very frugal. He was a dedicated public servant and set a standard we are still trying to emulate. He was down to earth and had that Down East sensibility.”
Not only was he a town justice, town supervisor, and town historian, he served the South Salem Presbyterian Church in many capacities, and was an ordained elder of the church for most of his adult life. He had a strong faith in God and lived a good Christian life. If there was a job to be done, whether it was a meeting to chair, or a meeting room to be painted, Mr. Jordan was always ready to be part of the action, even to the extreme, once, of considering a “stakeout” in the church balcony to catch a gang of teenagers who seemed to like gathering for a round of beer when no one was around.
Hobbies
Mr. Jordan had several passions. Chuck Tator, who visited him every day over the past couple of years and brought him his newspapers and the local gossip, said Mr. Jordan never lost his love of talking politics and baseball ... not just baseball, but the Yankees! “His mind was sharp right up until the end,” Mr. Tator said. “He read at least four newspapers daily, including the Houlton, Maine, hometown paper.”
And he loved history and politics. There never was a short conversation with Mr. Jordan when it came to politics. “He always gave people a reasonable chance to prove themselves and their ideas,” said Mr. Tator, “but when he had studied the situation and made up his mind, that was that.” He didn’t budge easily.
Their home on the crest of a hillside looking toward Truesdale Lake, afforded the Jordans wonderful bird-watching opportunities. For many years, Mr. Jordan kept a record of the red-wing blackbirds’ arrival in South Salem in his famous little black book. When he saw one, he would call me to let me know they were back. Sometimes they came to my house first, but he was the record-keeper. He was my mentor as town historian, too. It was Mr. Jordan’s vision that saw the big blue Lewisboro history book into print in 1981. I am trying hard to keep up the standards he set.
As his friend, Wynn Van Marter described him: “Alvin was a man who straddled generations.” He arrived here as the grueling Depression was winding to a close, bringing with him his north country ethics and farm boy ways, but grew into a successful banker and local politician whose greatest desire was to do the best he could for his adopted community. He loved his Maine homeland, but never considered going back because South Salem/Lewisboro was his home. I don’t think a day passed that he didn’t think of Maine, but it was as part of who he was, not a place he had to go back to. On one of the couple’s yearly trips back north, they were told by Don Heath of Sherman, Maine, the owner of the farm across the road from the Jordan family farm, “You folks who live ‘outside’ don’t age as fast as we do here.”
“That’s the only explanation I’ve had that makes any sense when I try to figure out why Lucille and I managed to live for so long,” was Mr. Jordan’s reply.
Mr. Jordan did live a long time and maintained a strict sense of justice and fairness and sense of propriety throughout his life. He was a gentleman in all aspects of that word. Charlie Ludlum, at the South Salem post office, summed up a lot of people’s feelings as he thought about the gentleman in the Yankees jacket who used to stop by the post office daily. He said, “Mr. Jordan was a genuinely nice guy and we will miss him.”
