I have developed a keen eye for finding antique store photos showing key details that help with identification. This photo caught my attention with its unique building features.

Here is a cropped version of the photo. Below it is another smaller crop showing the words inscribed in the stone above the front door. They are hard to decipher in the scan, but with a magnifying glass it clearly says: “Pelham High School”. I’ve adjusted the color and contrast to make it a little more legible.

A google search yielded quick results. The building matches the photo below included in a wonderful article by Pelham Town Historian, Arthur L. Scinta: The History of Pelham Memorial High School.

The article details the history of this building better than I ever could. The building originally housed both Pelham High School and Siwanoy Elementary School. In 1921, when a new high school was built (Pelham Memorial High School) the building became just Siwanoy Elementary School. It remains that way today, as shown in this photo courtesy of Arthur Scinta, Pelham, NY (Pelham Town Historian).

I traded some emails with Arthur who provided additional information about the photograph. He first estimated the year of the photo to be 1917. Upon closer inspection he estimated 1916 with the following note:

“I am going to revise my estimated date to 1916. There are too many teenage boys in the photo to have been taken in 1917 at which point the USA had entered WWI and there is not the sad look among the group that I see in other photos after we had entered the war.” - Arthur Scinta (September 5, 2024 via email)

Here are some of those pre-war smiles.

I have donated the original photo to the Pelham Town Historian and it will be housed among the town’s other historical artifacts where it belongs.