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The Chronicle

A Publication of The Bronxville Historical Conservancy Fall/Winter 2016

BRONXVILLE The Kennedys Golden Interval


By Eloise L. Morgan

photo credit: Bronxville History Center


Color postcard,
circa 1910, of the
house that the
Kennedys later
purchased.
INSIDE

Next years national centennial celebration acres. e 1930 Federal census for Bronxville
Historic Street Signs of the birth of Bronxvilles most famous listed the Kennedy parents (Joseph P. and
Installed resident, President John F. Kennedy, will be Rose), eight children ages 2 to 14 [Jean,
marked locally with the publication of a Bobby, Pat, Eunice, Kathleen, Rosemary,
comprehensive article outlining the Kennedy John (Jack), Joe Jr.], and six servants.
Yellow Brick Road
familys years as residents of Bronxville. Joe Kennedy estimated that he spent
Restored Westchester County Historical Society probably no more than two months per year
Trustee Anthony Czarnecki has written a on average in Bronxville, but it was another
Chief Gramatan detailed narrative of the Kennedy years in matter for his family, where Rose was a
the village, drawing on a wealth of published hands-on parent. During their 12 years in
Plaque material including Jean Kennedy Smiths new Bronxville, the Kennedy children transitioned
memoir and vintage Bronxville newspapers. from childhood to adulthood, and Czarnecki
Annual Boat Trip JFK Centennial: 1917-2017When the lls his article with tales of their lives, oen
Kennedy Family Lived in Westchester in the Kennedys own words.
County: 1929-1941 will appear next spring in Jack joined the Bronxville Boy Scouts
Aviator Penrose the Westchester County Historical Societys (1929-1931), but attended school elsewhere.
Stout journal, e Westchester Historian. His sisters and brothers Bobby and Teddy,
Although the Kennedy family lived in however, attended the Bronxville School for a
London for two of the Bronxville years and time. e village was home for Pat from the
Bronxville and also owned homes in Hyannis Port and Palm age of 5 until 17 or 18. She liked the school,
Election 2016 Beach, Rose Kennedy described Bronxville as the people, my friends, the whole scene. She
their home and main base of operations for remembered that crowds of children played
Preservation Award nearly thirteen years a golden interval in sports on their big lawn on weekends when
the life of her family. Relocating from Boston Jack and young Joe were home from boarding
to the New York City suburbs, the Kennedys school. ey would also skate on the ponds
Art Curator Jayne bought a Bronxville estate in 1929. eir and go sledding and tobogganing, because
Warman home at 294 Pondeld Road (near todays there were lots of hills and open spaces. She
1 Crampton Road) was called Crownlands, spent time with her friends at a drugstore
a 20-room brick Georgian mansion on six (Continued on page 7)
Historic Street Sign Restoration Underway

photo credit: James Palmer


The first new street sign at the corner of Elm The Masterton Road street sign exemplified A Village employee installing the first of the
Rock and Masterton, which replaces the one on the deteriorating condition of street signs. replacement street signs, complete with ornate
the right. metal brackets.

In late September, Village sta installed the rst signs throughout the Village would have continued down
new street sign at the corner of Elm Rock and Masterton, the same path as the one on Masterton and Elm Rock, with
replacing one that had become a mishmash of historic and the eventual loss of most of the Villages iconic signs.
modern elements. In the absence of available parts similar e rst, and most signicant, challenge of this eort
to the original signs that were installed almost a century was to nd a company that had the capability to fabricate
ago, the Village had been forced to improvise repairs for molds to produce a replica of the ve to eight pieces that
street signs that were damaged or had deteriorated beyond comprised the original 1926 street signs designed by H. L.
repair. Schladermundt, a muralist and resident of Lawrence Park.
e joint eort of the Bronxville Historical Conservancy anks to the eorts of Rick Shearer, chair of the BHC
(BHC) and the Village of Bronxville to restore the Villages projects committee, and Anderson Kenny, a BHC board
iconic, architecturally distinctive and historically signicant member and an architect with extensive experience and
street signs is now underway. contacts in historic renovation, a company was located and
e signs are just another example of the extraordinary the BHC agreed to pay for the cost of the molds. Should
partnership the Conservancy has forged with Village additional pieces be needed in the future, the molds can be
government, said Mayor Mary Marvin. used to create historically accurate signs.
e new sign one is of 30 that will replace other Over the next several years, the Village plans to replace
non-historical or badly deteriorated signs throughout the all of the signs that are no longer original or which have
Village. Without historically correct replacement pieces, deteriorated beyond repair.

Official Opening of Restored Yellow Brick Road


e ocial re-opening of one of the yellow
brick roads in the Lawrence Park section of
Bronxville took place May 25, 2016 with a
ribbon cutting by Mayor Mary Marvin and
photo credit: Irena Choi Stern

several Bronxville Historical Conservancy


board members and Hilltop residents in
attendance. is portion of Park Avenue
was restored using bricks that were exact
replicas of the original bricks and were
sourced and funded by the Conservancy.
Colonial Brick Co. of Cayuga, Indiana
manufactured the bricks.
l-r: Brian Smith and Mary Neagle Smith, John Toker and daughters Fleur and Belle, Bill Dowling,
Mayor Mary Marvin, Randy Frost, Bob Galbraith, Anne Poorman, Rick Shearer, Donald Gray,
Chris Zufelt, Nancy Vittorini and Dale Walker.

2 THE CHRONICLE
1666 INDIAN DEED Fact or Lore?
by Edna Gabler

For many, the blue and gold plaque at the base of witnessed by Chief Gramatan and three Englishmen, it
Sunset Hill on Sagamore Road may conjure images of Chief states, Whereas the inhabitants of Eastchester did formerly
Gramatan and English settlers at its summit, negotiating purchase a certaine tract of land of the natives in the yeare
the transfer of Eastchester to the white man. It reads: of our Lord one thousand six hundred sixty & six and part
SUNSET HILL of the same being not as yett satised . . . now know yee,
Where in the Year 1666 that wee Woariatapus, Annhooke and Porrige do owne that
GRAMATAN we have received full satisfaction of Richard Shute, John
Chief of the Mohican Indians Drake and Henry Fowler in the behalfe of the rest of the
Signed the Deed Transferring inhabitants of Eastchester, aforesaid for the said tract of
Eastchester to the White Man land, What does part of the same being not as yett
e historic marker, provided by the State Education satised mean? Did a 1666 deed signed only by Gramatan,
Department, was unveiled on May 9, 1936, as part of a which failed to cover the entire tract of land specied in the
ceremony celebrating the 1700 deed, ever exist?
270th anniversary of the Was there an agreement
sale of this Native that was never put in
American ancestral land. writing? Or if a deed
According to newspaper existed, had the Indians not
reports of the day, it was been fully compensated
here that Gramatan, who and the 1700 deed rectied
was said to have roamed this omission?

photo credit: Irena Choi Stern


over the lands that are Centuries later, and
now Bronxville, signed without citation, some
the deed. As intriguing historians of this period,
as this account is, there including Robert and
are few facts to bear it Reginald Bolton, refer to a
out. Not only is there 1666 deed signed by the
no evidence of a 1666 same three Indians who
deed signed by Chief signed the 1700 deed as
Gramatan, but there is evidence that suggests the contrary. well as Chief Gramatan,
e beginning of Eastchester, including the present day who is only a witness of the 1700 deed. ey and historians
villages of Bronxville and Tuckahoe, dates to June 24, 1664, J. omas Scharf and Alvah P. French also state that the
when Philip Pinkney and James Everts purchased land from 1666 transaction was conrmed by the Royal Patent of
omas Pell in the vicinity of todays Co-op City, and ten 1666, but this patent clearly conrms only the earlier 1664
families from Connecticut settled there and named it sale by Pell to Pinkney, Everts, and Haiden. And is it plausi-
Eastchester. is area had been part of a much larger tract ble that the same four Indians who signed or witnessed the
of land Pell had purchased from the Indians on June 27, 1700 deed would have been alive to sign a deed 36 years
1654. Some 12 years later, on March 9, 1666, the English earlier? If so, why does the marker only mention Chief
governor for the New York colony, Richard Nicolls, issued a Gramatan?
Royal Patent or Land Grant to Pinkney, Everts, and William If there was a 1666 Indian deed signed by Chief
Haiden, conrming the 1664 purchase. And while both Gramatan transferring Eastchester lands to the white man
deeds and the Royal Patent exist today, there is no evidence atop of Sunset Hill, it seems not to have survived. Without
of a 1666 deed of Eastchester from the Indians. In fact, that evidence, it is more likely that the terms of the deeds
Eastchester town records, which date back to 1664, dont of 1654, 1664, and 1700 and the Royal Patent of 1666,
mention Indians at all until December 1683, when a which can all be veried, have become entangled and,
committee was formed to negotiate a purchase from through repetition over time, resulted in the 1666 Sunset
Indians who were laying claim to some of the towns land. Hill story becoming an ingrained legend. Pure lore, says
e mystery is compounded by a 1700 Indian deed, Bronxville historian Eloise Morgan. Even so, that one
which includes a passage indicating that Eastchester phrase in the 1700 document pertaining to a 1666 purchase
inhabitants had purchased a certain tract of land from the of land from natives by Eastchester inhabitants a part of it
Indians in 1666 and that part of it had not yet been satised. being not as yett satised makes one wonder if such a
Signed by Woariatapus, Annhooke, and Porrige and document might have actually existed.

FALL / WINTER 2016 3


ANNUAL BOAT TRIP
Features Architectural Tour of NYC
by Lorraine Shanley
photo credit: David Snyder

photo credit: Lawrence Lee


Nearly 70 fortunate souls enjoyed three glorious hours e Manhattan II fully circumnavigated the island
sailing on the Manhattan II, a 100-foot replica of a wooden of Manhattan, while the guides pointed out recent and
yacht, on the Bronxville Historical Conservancys annual innovative skyscrapers, residential Starchitecture,
boat trip on Sept. 25, which this year featured an architecture enduring Art Deco and Beaux Arts icons as well as
tour of New York City. Passengers were enlightened and waterfront parks and infrastructure.
entertained by two exceptionally well-informed guides, e many new buildings and complexes, like Hudson
while feasting on a multi-course brunch of waes, bagels Yards, were described from both an aesthetic as well as an
and lox, quiche, salad and dessert. engineering point of view, and the physics involved in
One of the guides was Arthur Platt, a co-founder of constructing the impossibly narrow new residential high-
the partnership between the New York chapter of the rises was explained in laymans terms, Bierwirth said.
American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Classic At the same time, Platt pointed out older architectural
Harbor Line, said Jack Bierwirth, co-chair of the BHC feats like the Erie-Lackawanna Terminal in Hoboken,
who organized this years boat trip. And the other was Joe mentioning that the original Chelsea Piers (where the
McCarthy, a lmmaker who produced e Brave Man, Lusitania once docked) had looked very similar.
a documentary on the Battle of Brooklyn, which played a Veterans of previous BHC boat trips remarked on
crucial role in determining the outcome of the American how easy it was to get to Chelsea Piers, park, and board
Revolution. the cra, and how quickly the time ew by once the trip
While Platt and McCarthy provided their respective was under way. It didnt hurt that the group was blessed
narrations, guests sat in cushioned seats around large with spectacular weather, resulting in one of the most
tables, watching the scenery through huge glass windows. successful boat trips in recent years.
For those who wanted to enjoy the sunshine, there was
plenty of outdoor space on the bow.

4 THE CHRONICLE
A Bronxville Aviator in the Great War
by Raymond H. Geselbracht

Oh! Its a wonderful life,


he wrote, a thrilling life,
and a gentlemans life.

Penrose Stouts photograph from One of the many letters written to family members by Penrose Stout
his French Aviators License

Among the many young people Bronxville sent to war wind; the machine quivered and shook and started bumping
in 1917-1918 to ght the Germans and to make the world across the eld at a terric rate. Faster and faster, then a
safe for democracy, as President Woodrow Wilson put it, sensation of wonderful smoothness as we lied into the air.
was Penrose Stout. He was 27 years old and an architect Fouche treated his student to a rough ride, going along
working in New York City while living with his cousins, smoothly for a time, then diving abruptly for a few hundred
Frank Ross Chambers and Kate Chambers, at their feet like a rocketand rocking from side to side. Stout
Bronxville home, Crows Nest. felt like a child being tossed in the air. Fouche turned
Stout enlisted shortly aer the United States entered around once in a while to ash a big grin, and Stout tried to
World War I in April 1917 and by May he had begun grin back to make him believe that I was enjoying the rough
training at an Army camp in Plattsburg, New York. It was stu. en came a last dive toward earth and the plane
not long aer arriving in camp that Stout wrote the rst landed. Stouts rst ight was probably the longest 12
of many letters to his family over the next year and a half, minutes of his life.
describing everything he experienced in training and at war. In September 1918, Stout wrote to his mother to tell her
ese are beautifully-written letters that must have vividly he was now at the front and ying missions behind enemy
transported the reader into the strange and sometimes lines into what he calls Hunland. Aer returning from one
frightening world of a military man heading into war. of these missions over German territory, he wrote, Oh! Its a
ey are written to Frank Ross Chambers, his wife Kate wonderful life, a thrilling life, and a gentlemans life.
and daughter Margie in Bronxville and to his mother On September 28, while ying alone behind enemy
Zemmie Stout Lawton and his sister Rebecca Hoover in lines, Stout was attacked by ve German planes. His plane
South Carolina. was riddled with bullets, one of which passed through his
His rst letter is to Kate Chambers, describing life in the shoulder. He returned to base, landed his plane in a eld, and
Plattsburg camp, which he nds a bit rough, the food is not passed out. He spent the rest of the war in hospital. When
particularly good and the showers cold. But his new life has he discovered in early December 1918 that he would soon be
toughened him up, and he writes Im brown as a nut and sent home, he wrote a letter to Frank Ross Chambers, saying
Im feeling ne. that 15 months was a long time to be away from the people
By August 1917, Stout was in ight school, in Princeton, he loves, but now he is coming home, and I am elated.
N.J. and, in late December, he sailed for France to complete Stout was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on
his training. He wrote about his rst ight in a Nov. 25 letter December 28, and in February 1919 he arrived home to
to the Chambers familywhom he addresses as Dearest Bronxville where he would practice architecture for many years.
Family in the World. He went up with his instructor, a
Frenchman named Fouche. Stouts wartime letters are at the Alabama Department of
Contact, Contact, the mechanic repeats and gives the Archives and History and are accessible online at
propeller a spin, Stout writes. A wild whirr, and a terrible digital.archives.alabama.gov.
FALL / WINTER 2016 5
BRONXVILLES VOTING RECORD Preservation Award Committee
In Presidential Elections Reviews 2016 Candidates
In the 24 presidential elections for which village
statistics are available, a Democrat has won the local
vote only once, in 2008, when Bronxville voters went
with Barack Obama by a margin of 253 votes. He did
not repeat his victory in 2012.
Historically, Bronxville has been described as a
citadel of Republican strength, but there was a notice- e Bronxville Historical Conservancys (BHC) Preservation
able shi in voting patterns beginning with the 1992 Award Committee met throughout the fall to review submissions
election, when Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush. for its second annual award, which honors individuals,
Another signicant change over the years has been the organizations and businesses that have strengthened the historic
growth of those registering as Independents, although fabric of the community through their exceptional commitment
the total number in 2016 stands at only 181 residents. to preserving an understanding of its rich past and unique
Finally, in 2016, there are 1,266 registered Democrats character. e committee will continue to narrow down
and 1,608 registered Republicans in the Village of submissions across multiple categories and plans to announce
Bronxville. It remains to be seen how Bronxville voters the winner at the Bronxville Historical Conservancys annual
will lean in this years election. meeting on Dec. 14 at Siwanoy Country Club. e winner
will receive a unique plaque designed by Anderson Kenny, an
architect and a member of the BHC board and award committee.
An asterisk (*), national winner e inaugural 2015 award was presented to Peoples United
Bold names, Bronxville winner Bank, in recognition of its restoration of the 1920s Gramatan
National Bank clock located next to the Bronxville Metro-North
Year Republican Village Democrat Village
candidate vote candidate vote Station. Nominees are considered for exceptional work in
2016 Trump ? Clinton ? architectural restoration; conservation of architectural elements;
2012 Romney 1849 Obama * 1386 renovations and additions; garden and landscape design; crasman-
2008 McCain 1590 Obama * 1843 ship and ne arts; preservation of the historical record; and
2004 Bush * 1930 Kerry 1535 stewardship and advocacy. e committee also seeks to recognize
2000 Bush * 1978 Gore 1252 programs and projects that are less easily seen as preservation,
1996 Dole 1807 Clinton* 1054
such as cultural programs, art, and archive initiatives.
1992 Bush 1833 Clinton * 1072
1988 Bush * 2255 Dukakis 922
In addition to Kenny, the awards committee, appointed by
1984 Reagan * 2545 Mondale 860 the conservancy, includes Maureen Hackett, landscape designer;
1980 Reagan * 2317 Carter 656 Staord Meyer, interior designer; Sarah Underhill, freelance
1976 Ford 2570 Carter * 835 editor, writer, and art historian; Larry Vranka, lawyer and
1972 Nixon * 2855 McGovern 937 member of the Narragansett Historic Commission, Rhode
1968 Nixon * 2808 Humphrey 874 Island; and Erin Saluti, BHC co-chair. e committee represents
1964 Goldwater 2376 Johnson * 1356
a high-level of talent and expertise, providing a broad spectrum
1960 Nixon 3458 Kennedy * 629
1956 Eisenhower * 3822 Stevenson 410
of experience crucial in the evaluation of projects.
1952 Eisenhower * 3938 Stevenson 430 We are so fortunate to have this very accomplished and
1948 Dewey 3467 Truman * 351 knowledgeable group of professionals working together to review
1944 Dewey 3221 Roosevelt * 749 submissions, Saluti said. Each of the committee members area
1940 Wilkie 3183 Roosevelt * 661 of focus intersects to create an exceptionally well-balanced and
1936 Landon 2330 Roosevelt * 745 in-depth review of projects.
1932 Hoover 2158 Roosevelt * 586
e Conservancy created the award to honor those
1928 Hoover * 2266 Smith 640
individuals, organizations and businesses that make signicant
1924 Coolidge * 853 Davis 133
1920 Harding * 670 Cox 138 contributions to, or help protect and maintain, the unique
cultural and historic heritage of Bronxville. e committee
1920 is the first year for which figures are available for the Bronxville hopes that the award will inspire residents to learn about and
vote in the town of Eastchester or Westchester County records. 1920 consider the historical signicance of a structure, ornamental
and 1924 are unofficial tallies. The election of 1920 was also the first element, or landscape prior to renovation.
presidential election in which Bronxville women were able to vote.
We hope that the award will become signicant enough
This chart, researched and compiled by Marilynn Hill, was first
within the community that it might prompt residents and
published in Anne Curtis Fredericks, Election Fever in Bronxville: 1936,
The Bronxville Journal IV(2009):71. business owners to think in terms of restoration alongside
renovation, Saluti said. Moving forward, but respectfully
highlighting the past.
6 THE CHRONICLE
The Kennedys (continued from page one)
near the school with a great soda fountain (Bellis contribution to the community fund calling the charity an
Drugstore at Cedar and Pondeld), where the owner important source of support where municipal services do
turned a blind eye to students lching gum and Life Savers. not and cannot reach . . . a guarantee that Bronxville will be
Teddy and Jean both have written fondly of family the healthy, intelligent, and happy community that we plan
gatherings at the Bronxville family dinner table. Jean it to be.
described wonderful family Christmases in the house, lled Czarneckis article places the familys Bronxville years
with activity, carol singing to Roses piano accompaniment, into a broader historical context. Between 1934 and 1937,
exchanging gis and sledding. Teddy remembers Jack and Joe Kennedy lived much of the time in Washington D.C.
Bobby teaching him to ride a bicycle by pushing him down as part of the New Deal administration, while his family
the driveway. stayed in Bronxville. During 1938-1939, the family was
Rose could be a strict disciplinarian. Eunice ran headquartered in London where Joe was Ambassador to
afoul of her mothers sense of propriety when she tried Great Britain. Back in Bronxville before the 1940 election,
to raise money for Catholic missions by selling apples on eight-year-old Teddy, a student at Lawrence Park West
Pondeld Road. Teddys adventurous solo walk home along Country Day School in Yonkers, spoke at a school debate
Pondeld Road from the Bronxville School Kindergarten urging President Roosevelts re-election. Most of his fellow
resulted in punishment from a frightened mother who students though preferred Wendell Wilkie.
remembered the Lindbergh kidnapping. Bobbys village e 1940 Federal census recorded the Kennedys and
paper route was cut short when Rose discovered he was their nine children (ages 8-24) in residence at 294 Pondeld
making deliveries from the familys chaueur-driven Road, although young Joe, Jack, Rosemary and Bobby were
Rolls-Royce. Jack and young Joe parachuted another child away at school. But the Bronxville house was for sale. On
o a roof with a homemade parachute. December 6, 1940, e Bronxville Reporter announced
A devout Catholic, Rose took her children to mass at that the family was leaving Bronxville, perhaps for good.
Bronxvilles St. Josephs church, where Bobby and Teddy e estate sold a year later, and the house was demolished
were altar boys. It was a momentous occasion in 1936, in 1953.
when the future Pope Pius XII visited the family in Bronxville was gone, but not forgotten. Joe Kennedy
Bronxville.e Cardinal, in long red robes, sat on a living had once remarked to Rose while spending a weekend at
room sofa holding four-year-old Teddy on his lap. Windsor Castle at the invitation of the King and Queen of
During their rst two years in the village, Joe commuted England: Its a hell of a long way from East Boston. More
to Manhattan from Bronxville. He and Rose played golf than two decades later, President Kennedy, with Jean on his
frequently and would also take long, conversational walks arm, descending the White House staircase to host a glittering
every Sunday aernoon up Pondeld Road around the state dinner, turned to his sister to share a similar sentiment:
whole area, according to Pat. Joe Kennedy made a 1937 Its a long way from Bronxville.

Source: JFK Library Foundation

Kennedy Family in their Bronxville home in 1937.

FALL / WINTER 2016 7


Presorted First Class
US Postage
PAID
Permit #1782
White Plains, NY

P. O. B OX 9 8 9
B R ON XV I L L E , N E W YO R K 1 0 7 0 8

THE CHRONICLE
Fall/Winter 2016

Editor: Irena Choi Stern


Submissions welcome

Design: Rosemary Campion,


Blackbird Creative Services

The Bronxville Historical Conservancy was founded in 1998 to further the understanding and appreciation of the history and current life of
the Village of Bronxville, N.Y. The Conservancy furthers its mission through the presentation of programs, publications, lectures and special
events that foster an awareness of the villages architectural, artistic and cultural heritage and lends its support for projects designed to
strengthen and preserve those legacies. If you would like to become a member, visit our website www.bronxvillehistoricalconservancy.org or
mail a check for $50 or more to P.O. Box 989, Bronxville, N.Y. 10708.

B RON XV I L L E H I S TOR I C A L
C ON SE RVA N C Y
Conservancys Art Curator in Demand
BOARD MEMBERS By Marilynn Hill

Co-chairs: Residents should not be surprised this


Jack Bierwirth fall to see groups of school children
Erin Saluti and adults, reminiscent of those seen
in New Yorks museums, being led
Ellen de Saint Phalle Jane Staunton through Village Hall by their art-tour
Bill Dowling Nick Stephens guide, Jayne Warman, the Bronxville
Judy Foley Irena Choi Stern Historical Conservancys (BHC) art
Donald Gray Judy Unis chairman and curator. As part of a new
Peter Hicks Nancy Vittorini BHC partnership with the Bronxville
Marilynn Hill Dale Walker School, Warman will lead a 6th-grade
Anderson Kenny Jayne Warman advisory group to see and learn about
Michelle McBride Bob Wein Bronxvilles artist colony in general while focusing on the BHC collection
Staord Meyer Tom Welling in particular. Also, later this fall, as a service to the Bronxville Womens
Robert Riggs Bill Zambelli Club, Warman will direct a tour of the art in the Bronxville Library and
Lorraine Shanley in Village Hall.
During nearly two decades of overseeing the Conservancys art,
Warman has led a number of community tours, curated three exhibitions,
Ex-ocio
spearheaded the publication of a 10th anniversary catalogue, given
Mary Marvin, Mayor
many talks, and written several articles about Bronxville artists and the
Eloise Morgan, Village Historian
collection. All year long, portions of the collection are open to the public
for self-guided tours during business hours at both Village Hall and
the library. And, perhaps in the not-too-distant future, in response to
mounting requests, members of the Conservancy may again be treated
to a special Warman tour of our distinctive village collection.

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