Granville Then & Now – June 3, 2021

Commemorating Memorial Day

By Erik Pekar, Town Historian

Recent weeks have been nice and warm, but this last weekend was colder, cloudy and at times rainy. On Memorial Day the clouds began to break but did not go away. The cool day did not stop Granville from commemorating Memorial Day.

Granville Post 323, American Legion and the Legion Auxiliary performed ceremonies at Veterans Memorial Park, the World War II memorial in front of the school, the memorial behind the school near the pine-tree-lined Memorial Lane to those who gave their all in World War II, at the Memorial Clock and at the Main Street bridge.

An effort to salvage a Memorial Day parade was started the week before, and cooperation with the Granville Police Department for traffic control was secured by that Friday. The parade started at 10 a.m. The Falvey-Fringi VFW Post 1653 led the parade, followed by a few floats, the Granville Engine and Hose Co., the Granville Rescue Squad, the Penrhyn Engine and Hose Co. of Middle Granville, the North Granville Hose Co. and the Hampton Volunteer Fire Company. The parade was well attended for its smaller size. The parade may have been shorter than those in past years, but a short parade is better than no parade. Thank you to all who commemorated and remembered those who gave their all on Memorial Day.

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The Slate Valley Military and Honor Banner Project has progressed nicely. The first banners were hung on May 17, along West Main Street and Main Street. More banners have been hung since then, on utility poles on Quaker Street and East Main Street. Charlie King and the Granville Village DPW have done the work of hanging the banners on the poles. Banners were also hung in Hampton last week, near the town hall on Route 22A, and near the Hampton Post Office on County Route 18.

The banners were made by Military Tribute Banners of Florida. The banners are styled in an attractive design. On the front side, a photo of the service member is centered. Their name, length of service (or note of being in active service), and branch of armed forces are beneath the photo. At the top of the banner is a blue area with text reading “The Slate Valley Salutes Our Military”. The bottom has another blue area with “Proudly Honored by a Grateful Community,” beneath which are the seals of the five branches of the armed forces. On the back side, which is identical on every banner, there is a navy blue band near the top, with the seals of the five branches as at the bottom of the front side. The central section, backed on white, reads “To all of our veterans, active-duty military, and those preparing today to serve our nation tomorrow, thank you.” This is followed by the names of Granville’s veterans organizations: the Granville Post 323 of the American Legion, and the Falvey-Fringi Post 1653, VFW. Another band of navy blue spans the banner’s back near the bottom, with the text “Giving honor to whom honor is due.”

The idea of the banner project originated with Charlie King, who has successfully made this idea come to fruition. The Granville Post 323, American Legion and the Falvey-Fringi Post 1653, Veterans of Foreign Wars, also are involved in the project. It is fortunate to see there are still “live wires” in Granville, who have the dedication, ethic and determination to set their sight on a beneficial goal and see it through to completion.

The banners will be up until mid-June, after which they will be taken down until late October for Veterans Day. In future years, the banners will be hung for a few weeks before and after Memorial Day and Veterans Day. This is being done in order to prolong the life of the banners. More banners have been ordered; if a banner hasn’t been put up yet, it will be hung for Veterans Day. Banners may still be purchased for $150; checks should be made payable to the Granville Post 323, American Legion.

The Granville area has at long last joined those towns in America that have honored those who have served or are serving in the military with banners. Thank you to all who are involved with this project.

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May 19 was a day of change in New York. After much suspense, in early May the decision was made for several changes to pandemic-related restrictions in New York State to be relaxed on that day. Most indoors businesses can return to full capacity, including restaurants, bars and stores, although some businesses will still be restricted in capacity for the time being. Perhaps the most major change was that around regulations regarding the wearing of masks. Locally, little difference was seen in business operations, aside from adjacent tables and booths being used in restaurants and diners, and changes relating to masks, or the absence thereof. on some people.

The capacity changes meant the end of an era that was irksome to some in this area: one-way shopping at the Granville Price Chopper. Since last April, there were signs on the aisle sides and on the floor at entrances to aisles noting “One Way” and “Wrong Way.” The entrances and exits at the front of the store were similarly affected. The west entrance door and east exit door were closed off, with “Entrance Only” and “Exit Only” signs placed in the appropriate places. The closed doors also had the arrow entrance sticker covered with the “Do Not Enter” sticker. During the time these signs were in use, there were many occurrences where shoppers went the “wrong way” down aisles. Reportedly there were a few times where shoppers nearly walked into the closed entrance and exit doors.

The one-way signs and changes were swiftly reversed on May 19. The markers and signs were removed from the aisles. The deactivated entrance and exit doors were turned back on and signs corrected, and now work as they did prior to last year. It remains unclear whether the aisle “traffic” signs actually worked. Shoppers have already adjusted back to entering, exiting and going down aisles as they please.