We know. You turned to “Ask Westchester” to see what witty queries we tackled this month and, instead, you see our annual quiz. For half of you, the reaction is, “Oh, a quiz!” and for the other half, it’s “Oh 🙁 a quiz.” Well, we’ve always enjoyed controversy. And you’ve always enjoyed our quizzes. At least half of you have.
Question One: In January, we solved the mystery of the disappearing Battle of White Plains plaque and cannon. The plaque was simply moved; the cannon, stolen. If we wanted to pay tribute to some of Westchester’s other Revolutionary War battles, which of the following actually happened?
(a) The Battle of Pines Bridge
(b) The Battle of Young’s House
(c) The Rye Skirmish
(d) The Skirmish at Twitching’s Corners
Question Two: Think back to February, and tell us, what’s the “Old Put”?
(a) The nickname for the putting green at The Saint Andrew’s Golf Course in Hastings-on-Hudson (America’s oldest golf course)
(b) The nickname for parts of the North and South County Trailways
(c) The nickname for the Putnam Division of the New York Central Railroad
(d) The nickname for John L. Putterson, Westchester’s first county executive
Question Three: In March, we revealed that Purchase had the most dense population of millionaires in the county. So, roughly how many millionaires are there in the county?
(a) 1,500 millionaires
(b) 5,000 millionaires
(c) 15,000 millionaires
(d) 50,000 millionaires
Question Four: You tried to fool us in April by suggesting that all those red “G”s on flags and bumpers around the area were University of Georgia Bulldogs logos. They were, in fact, Rye High School Garnets logos. That got us thinking about strange team names. Which of the following are actual team names in the county?
(a) The Cornhuskers
(b) The Chesters
(c) The B-Flats
(d) The letter “O”
Question Five: Rye, New York—is its name derived from rye bread? Not likely, as we explained in our June issue. Which of the following are actual name derivations of Westchester places, and which did we make up?
(a) Thornwood—named after the “thorn” in “Hawthorne,” which was named after the prolific author
(b) Peach Lake—named for the multiple peach trees that surround the area
(c) Port Chester—surprisingly, named after wealthy land owner Gregory Port’s gigantic estate in Westchester
(d) Mount Vernon—named in honor of George Washington’s home in Virginia
Question Six: July featured a spirited debate with Kathleen Davisson, general manager of the White Plains Performing Arts Center, over the venue’s value to the community. Speaking of value to the community, match each of the following Westchester-centric songs to its creator
(a) “Yonkers”
(b) “Katonah”
(c) “New Ro”
(d) “Westchester County”
Question Seven: One of our favorite subjects came up again in August: Metro-North. This time, a reader asked if there were any plans to wrap the trains in ads. There are not. Let’s see how well you know Westchester’s favorite railroad. We’ve removed the letters “M” “E” “T” “R” “O” N” and “H” from the following stations stops. Put them back together (they get harder as you go along).
(1) G l _ _ w _ _ d
(2) C _ _ s _ w _ _ d
(3) _ a _ _ i s _ _
(4) C _ _ _ _ _–_ a _ _ _ _
(5) _ a w _ _ _ _ _ _
Question Eight: In October, we wrote about the renovations near the Webster Avenue exit of the Hutch. We know you’ve driven the major Westchester Parkways— the Hutch, the Sprain, the Bronx River, the Taconic, and the Saw Mill—a million times. But do you remember which parkway each of the following exits can be found on?
(a) Weaver Street
(b) Wolfs Lane
(c) Central Park Avenue
(d) Crane Road
(e) Palmer Road
(f) Saw Mill River Road (two answers)
Answers: 1: (a), (b), and (d); 2: (b) and (c) are correct; (d) is completely made up, so, if you picked that, you might want to stop taking this quiz now; 3: (b); 4: (a) Yorktown and (d) Ossining; 5: (a) and (d) are true. As for (b), what state do you think you’re in, Georgia? Peach Lake derives from the American Indian word “pehquenakonck,” which means “lake”; (c) is also a myth on multiple levels. Port Chester is a shortened version of “Port of Westchester”; 6: (a)(1); (b)(2); (c)(4); (d)(3); 7: (1) Glenwood (2) Crestwood (3) Harrison (4) Croton-Harmon (5) Hawthorne; 8: (a) Hutch (b) Hutch (c) Sprain (d) Bronx River (e) Saw Mill (f) Saw Mill and Taconic.
