"Fite" the Loyal Dog

He dwelled at 218 South Audubon Road throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s.  Fite, the beloved German Shepherd, belonged to the Vollrath family.  He was quite a fixture throughout the neighborhood as the Vollrath brothers trained him to help deliver newspapers.  He would carry the rolled up paper in his mouth and drop it on the front porches of homes throughout southern Irvington.  Mrs. Vollrath would have Fite guard the tent where the brothers would have sleepovers with their friends.  She never worried about them as long as he was nearby.  He was an extremely intelligent animal, although he was not perfect. He did not get along with the family pony and he occasionally terrorized a few of the neighbors.  Like many childhood pets, he is still fondly recalled decades later by members of the family who loved him.

In the top photo, Fite stands guard near the family tent in the backyard at 218 South Audubon Road.  In the second photo, he has jumped into the wheelbarrow and appears to be staring intently at someone or perhaps at Dandy, the Vollrath's pony.  In the third photo, a young Victor Vollrath plays with Fite in the sideyard in 1926.  These wonderful historic images are courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath.