Talking About The “Old Leather Man”
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- April
- 29
We’re going to leave politics behind on “High Noon” tomorrow and follow in the 19th century footsteps of one of the regions’s strangest characters—the Leather Man.
He was a mystery. Nobody really knew where he came from or why he continuously tramped a 364-mile loop that covered western Connecticut and northern Westchester County. People who lived in the small towns along the Leather Man’s path, said they could practically set their clocks by him.
Even in the hottest months of summer, he wore an odd suit of clothes made of leather. He rarely spoke, but he gladly took handouts of food.
A collection of contemporary newspaper stories about the legendary eccentric were put together by Dan. W Deluca in a new book called “The Old Leather Man.”
DeLuca will be the featured guest on my “High Noon” radio program tommorow (Thursday) at 12 noon. Tune in to 1460 AM or log on to wvox.com.
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on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 at 5:40 pm by Phil Reisman.
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Phil Reisman is a veteran journalist and native of Westchester County. He began his career in 1977 as the head copy boy of a startup New York City newspaper that quickly went belly up. Reisman was not to blame for the newspaper's failure, or so he claims.
A lot of the charm of the Leatherman has to do with the stories, legends and memories. I grew up in Connecticut, and my father knows people who still have a few family memories about the Leatherman. I currently live in Ossining, and took my children to visit his grave in Sparta cemetery. Whether the Leatherman’s true name was Jules Bourglay is beside the point. It’s part of the legend, which has done very well for 110 years. Why-
and more important, by what right-would some writer take it upon himself to “move the grave to higher ground?” And then to partially pay for a new tombstone with no name on it? How can that possibly benefit anyone, either the legend or the truth? A monument to the myth? In the name of the truth? Hah. It’s a publicity stunt for DeLuca’s book. I vehemently protest this effort to pilfer the gloss on a century-old tale and turn it to personal gain. Don’t let Dan DeLuca take the Leatherman’s grave and legend away from Ossining!