Granville Then & Now – November 26, 2020

Century-old Church Street bridge to be replaced

By Erik Pekar, Town Historian

The Church Street bridge is one of Granville’s landmarks. It serves an important purpose, as it is one of two bridges allowing vehicular traffic to cross the Mettowee River. The present structure was built in 1920. The bridge was set to be replaced this last summer, but at the present time the project has been delayed. In the meantime, the bridge surpassed the centennial milestone this fall.

This crossing of the Mettowee River has been an important one since the early 19th century. At that time, it served as the crossing for the end of the “shunpike,” today’s Church Street. The shunpike was the bypass for the north end of the old Northern Turnpike, which went from Lansingburgh (northern part of city of Troy) to Granville.

Eventually, a covered bridge was built across the river here. An iron bowstring truss bridge replaced the covered bridge in 1881.

At its Feb. 24, 1920 meeting, the town board moved to have the town clerk write to the county superintendent of highways, requesting him to act towards condemning the Church Street bridge.

At its March 3 meeting, the town board moved to request the county superintendent of highways to submit preliminary plans prior to April 1 of a reinforced concrete bridge on Church Street, with an 80-foot span and 20 feet wide.

A petition concerning the bridge was read to the town board at its meeting of May 7. It was signed by more than 25 taxpayers of the town of Granville and it advised the town that the bridge over the Mettowee on Church Street was “unsafe for public use and travel and that it is advisable, in the interest of the town, to construct a new bridge in its place.”

The clerk offered a resolution and called for a vote on June 1 for a proposition to build a new bridge to not exceed $30,000 in cost and to borrow the necessary money and issue bonds. New York deemed the bridge obsolete in late May and condemned the bridge.

The proposition was put forth by the town on June 1, and passed, 95 to 13; most voters were village residents.

At the June 10 meeting, the board was shown the proposed plans by the county engineer. The board approved the plans and approved the printing of a public notice soliciting bids for constructing the bridge.

Two bids were received and opened at the July 3 meeting. Sigmund Weinberg of Granville bid $38,872, and William M. Bronk and Company of Hudson Falls bid $27,900. The bid of the Bronk company was accepted. The terms of the contract stated that the work on the bridge had to be completed by Nov. 1, 1920.

The Washington County Board of Supervisors at its July 7 meeting authorized the town to issue the bonds to pay for the bridge.

At a special meeting on July 12, the town board looked over some specifics of the Bronk company, particularly to make sure they had an indemnity bond as the contract specified, which they did, and afterwards approved of the company building the bridge.

The bridge was designed by Orson C. Richards, then the Washington County superintendent of highways. The bridge would have a span of 80 feet, with a road width of 20 feet and sidewalks on each side. It would be constructed of concrete reinforced with steel. Construction started in late July. The new bridge was also designed to be built at a higher level than the previous bridge, by about 10 feet. This meant that approaches had to be built for Church Street to stay level with the bridge. For unknown reasons, the bridge’s approaches were not initially thought of in costs; this oversight was not discovered for some time.

At the September meeting of the town board, the issue of paying for the construction of the sidewalks on the bridge was discussed. The village board attended the meeting. It was eventually decided to have the town and village attorneys bring the issue to the Attorney General.

At the Oct. 5 meeting of the town board, the county superintendent of highways brought up the matter of building retaining walls for the bridge, as well as the cost and liability of the walls. It was decided to direct the highway department to seek out an opinion on this matter from the Attorney General.

The issue of retaining walls for the bridge was discussed at a town board meeting on Oct. 14, with the village board present. Further discussion was delayed pending information relating to liabilities of building retaining walls from the Attorney General.

The village board moved at its Oct. 19 meeting to have the village president (mayor) notify the town supervisor that the village wanted the town to build the approaches in a professional manner.

A letter concerning the retaining walls was received from the State Department of Highways, dated Oct. 22. Its writer recommended that due to the classification of the wall as a retaining wall, for protection of the street, it was not part of the bridge itself, and would therefore have the construction cost borne by the village.

The prospect of the village building the approaches and retaining walls at its expense did not sit well with the village board. The village board wrote to the Attorney General on Nov. 3, asking for advice. The reply from the Attorney General’s office came in mid-November, dated the 12th. In the letter, Section 14 of the village law (as it was in 1920) was cited; it advised that the “the expense of constructing and repairing such bridges and the approaches thereto is a town charge, unless the village assumes the whole or a part of such expense.” He added that unless the village board had agreed to share some of the expense of the bridge, the completion of the approaches would be a town matter under the authority of its commissioner of highways [now called highway superintendent] and in turn the cost of building the bridge would also be the responsibility of the town.

The village board sent a notice to the town board, dated Nov. 15 and signed by clerk Thomas E. Stanton, noting that the village had taken legal advice and considering that they had no part in anything thus far relating to the bridge, and noted that the village “refuses and declines to assume any part” of anything to do with building the bridge and approaches.

The town received the notice from the village board. The town clerk and commissioner of highways went to Albany themselves to discuss this matter directly with the Attorney General’s office and the State Department of Highways. They were told basically that the town should finish the bridge approaches so vehicles could drive across, but leave the sidewalks to be finished by the village.

The town supervisor read a statement at the Dec. 9 meeting that the total cost of building the Church Street bridge was $33,230.45. This was over the bond issue by $3,230.45, but due to technicalities with the bond, $155 of this was already covered. To pay for the remaining $3,073.45, $100 was transferred to the Bridge Fund, and $3,000 was borrowed from the Farmers National Bank on a certificate of indebtedness.

The Church Street bridge likely opened in November or December of 1920.

At the March 1921 meeting of the town board, Eugene R. Norton appeared and requested the town finish the retaining walls. The board told Norton that they would discuss the matter with the village when they so desired. No further discussion of this matter was recorded in subsequent meeting minutes of the village or town boards after this meeting, but the retaining walls were ultimately built.

The bridge was refurbished in 1987. The original concrete railings were removed and replaced with steel railings. Another refurbishing project was done in 2015. The southern approach wall had a new decorative facade added.

The decision to replace the bridge came in 2017. Properties around the north landing of the bridge, near where Church Street meets Water Street, were purchased by the county in December 2017. One of the properties, 3 Water Street, was sold off and the building demolished in January 2020.

The county announced in April 2019 that the Church Street bridge would be replaced in 2020. An information night was held in late October of 2019. At that time, it was planned that the bids would be opened in June, construction would start in July and would finish in September. The bridge would be an arch bridge like the 1920 bridge; the cost was projected at $4,300,000.

In February 2020, the construction of the new bridge was delayed to the spring of 2021. The county cited the need for a utility pole to be moved, and the work scheduling and time for the utilities to each move their service lines to a new pole. It was projected at the time that this would happen sometime this year, bids for the bridge would be made in the fall, and the bridge would be replaced in the spring of 2021.

As of November 2020, the utility pole in question has not been replaced. No new timetable for the bridge project has been released.

The Church Street bridge has been used for a century. Over that time, many from the area and beyond have crossed there. The bridge is a landmark and an important part of Granville. When the time is ready, this venerable structure will be replaced with a new bridge that will allow people to cross the Mettowee at this spot for years to come.

Granville Then & Now – December 24, 2020

Of business and nor'easters

By Erik Pekar, Town Historian

Last week, Christmas on Main Street in 1958 was recounted. This week, let’s take a look back at the Christmas advertisements of Granville’s businesses of 1958.

The Granville Florists, Middle Granville: “Christmas Joy – May the bright Star of Christmas light your way and fill your house with happiness. It is (with) genuine joy we extend these greetings to friends here and everywhere.”

Scott Furniture, Granville: “Merry Christmas – May the love and adoration of the three Wise Men who came to Bethlehem, shine brightly in your heart, this Christmas.

The Granville Sentinel: “We’re headlining our greetings for a happy holiday season to wish all our friends health and good cheer at Christmas time!”

Lasher’s Pharmacy, Granville: “Greetings – in the tradition of an American Christmas we send you our sincere best wishes.”

S. Weinberg & Co., Granville: “Merry Christmas – We can’t call on you all so we take this means of sending our many friends a Christmas greeting.”

Fred Elwell, Granville: “Greetings – To our customers and our fellow businessmen we extend season greetings.”

Spike Adams, auctioneer: “Auction – Folks, this is no auction. Just want to thank all the ones we have had auctions for and all the buyers who follow our sales. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year – Auctioneers: Mr. & Mrs. Spike Adams and Family.”

Some had short messages in their ads: “Greetings To All Our Friends,” Parker’s Dairy; “Christmas Greetings and Best Wishes,” White Rock Restaurant; “Merry Christmas, Good will to all men,” Beecher and Guthrie, “Merry Christmas – Peace be with you and yours this day,” Krause Garage; “Season’s Greetings To All Our Friends,” Red Jones Service Station.

Almost all the advertisements were accompanied by graphics of Christmas-themed imagery, such as candy canes, mistletoe, Santa Claus, or the three Wise Men.

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The Middle Granville Dollar General store opened for business Dec. 14. The store’s hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. It is located at 2039 County Route 23, on the north side of the road just west of the intersection with State Route 22.

The construction and setup of the store took about four and a half months, starting just after Primax Properties formally became owner of the property in late July and concluding with the opening last week. The fixtures and shelving were placed in the building over the week of Dec. 7, and the shelving was filled with products and wares.

This store will be operated in addition to the Dollar General in the village, which will stay open. The Middle Granville store does not sell clothing but has a much larger amount of coolers than the Granville Dollar General. Dollar General owns and operates both stores but does not own the buildings; the Middle Granville store’s building is owned by Primax Properties, and the Granville village store is in a strip mall building owned by Schuyler Companies.

Reception to this new store has been varied. Some feel that the store is convenient, and a nice addition. Others were divided between the opinion that “a store is a store”, which will bring growth to the Granville area, or that the Granville area didn’t need another dollar store.

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Granville and the northeast received a wallop last week. The projection came two weeks ago that the Northeast would get a snowstorm. Many brushed it off as being yet another light snow that would hardly leave an impact.

Granville had twice avoided snow-covered grounds this fall. The first time was in late October, when snow fell overnight and melted by the next afternoon. The second time was earlier this month, when snow fell overnight into Dec. 9. The grounds stayed covered with snow through the day and melted away by the afternoon of Dec. 10.

Early projections for last week’s storm had Granville fall in a band of a dusting to three inches. As late as the day before, projections were still a low 3 to 6 inches. By the evening before the storm started, this had risen to roughly 6 to 10 inches.

The snowstorm arrived overnight, before 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 17. This was earlier than predictions made in the days prior. When it did arrive, it came as an old-fashioned nor’easter. The snow accumulated fast. By 3 a.m., there were already a few inches; by 7 a.m., many places in the area were nearing two feet of snow. The snowstorm did not move out of the area and let up here until around 1 p.m. By this time, Granville had well over two feet of snow. Estimates run from 30 to 36 inches, or two and a half to three feet of snow.

The highways and streets were in worse conditions than usual, as the snowstorm entered the area much earlier than originally anticipated. The snow totals, being over two feet, were also higher than the original predictions.

Cleanup of the snow in Granville did not start until Friday. To get the excess snow off Main Street, and clear the sidewalks, a loader and a dump truck had to be used. The Granville village DPW was still cleaning up Main Street over the weekend.

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours this season.

Granville Then & Now – December 31, 2020

The 2020 business beat

By Erik Pekar, Town Historian

The year 2020 has been quite unusual for people and businesses everywhere, including the Granville area. Let’s take a look back at some of the business changes and events which occurred during 2020.

The Village Yarn Shop reopened on Jan. 25, after a month-long hiatus. The store has a new look, having been renovated and remodeled with a new purple color scheme, and improved arrangement of seating and shelving. The new lighting is better than the old, and a new central air system will keep the shop warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The yarn shop had been closed since late December, when a water leak was discovered. The repairs for the water leak were rather involved, and this allowed for the building to be renovated.

The pizza market in Granville expanded this year. Edwards Market began selling pizza on Jan. 21. This had been in planning for some time. The opening of Morse’s Diner and Pizzeria followed on Feb. 24. The business initially was open for most of the day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The arrival of the pandemic in March spelled changes for everyone and everything, including businesses. The restaurants first found themselves regulated to operate at half seating capacity, then after a few days, with no seating at all. This turned all the restaurants into takeout eateries. It also closed seating in any other business with seating, such as the seating in Chapman’s, Edwards or Stewart’s, or that in McDonald’s or Subway. All businesses had to change to adapt to the new regulations.

After a few days of operating on a reduced take-out schedule, Nelson’s Family Fare Restaurant announced around March 21 that it would be temporarily closing, likely until the pandemic ended. No one knew it in March, but this was the first related business casualty in Granville. As the situation dragged on for months, the reopening ultimately didn’t come to fruition.

The changes occurred with other businesses as well. All businesses deemed “non-essential” had to close. This affected many of the businesses operating on Granville’s Main Street at the time, including the Village Yarn Shop, Gemini Fitness, 2nd Time Around, Shaw’s Antiques, Bargain Busters, and The Gold Trout.

Factories were affected as well. Telescope Casual Furniture voluntarily closed its factory and offices mid-day on March 17. Products were developed that would help in the efforts of combating the pandemic, including cloth face masks, and some chaises and stands. In early April, Telescope made appeals for pandemic-related work orders on local news stations, including WRGB channel 6, WTEN channel 10, and cable-only Spectrum News. In the end, only the masks received any orders, and Telescope recalled a small amount of sewing employees for the mask manufacturing effort.

Around the start of April, a window manufacturer had interest in locating its business in the former Manchester Wood factory building just north of the village of Granville. The company applied for assistance through the START-UP NY program. A notice was placed in the Glens Falls Post-Star in early April asking for applications for employment, to be routed through the business office of SUNY Adirondack. The company’s identity remained anonymous, as do all who apply for the program. As of December, there has been no known further development with this plan.

The Granville Subway closed for renovations in early March. While the fast food eatery was intended to be reopened before March’s end, delays in construction, including the failure of a truss in the building’s structure, delayed the reopening well into April. The new Subway opened on April 28. The area and fixtures formerly used by Bongo’s and Ralphie Boys are gone; Subway now occupies the entire building, with more efficient use of the floor space.

Both of Granville’s drive-in eateries opened for business this year. MacDaddy’s reopened on April 10 and Jen’s Pit Stop opened May 15. Due to complications with window service and frequent calling resulting in the phone line often being busy, Jen’s added car hop service on May 23; this action rendered Middle Granville with its first car hop since the late 1990s.

Business restrictions relaxed in May to allow for factories to reopen. Telescope had been deemed an essential business in late April and reopened on May 4.

In Pawlet, Vermont, a longtime business building reopened for use after several years of being vacant. Mach’s Market opened on May 22, owned by Gib Mach.

The announcement was made in early June that On the Rocks would be moving to 22 Main Street. The business had been closed for a month or so. On the Rocks reopened at their new location on July 30. The new location brought the improvement of a slightly larger dining area and a larger kitchen.

By the end of May, business restrictions relaxed to the point that much of the non-eatery businesses could reopen. Bargain Busters was the first to do so, reopening June 4. The Village Yarn Shop was next on June 5. Most reopened by the end of July, with the exception of The Gold Trout, which continues to conduct business by phone order sales and online sales. The businesses have remained open, although Bargain Busters closed again by the end of July.

An era of local radio broadcasting came to a close on the afternoon of July 25. 1340 AM WVNR and 94.1 FM WNYV, the stations of Lakes Region Radio, “flipped” formats from its variety and primarily classis hits format to a classic country hits format as K94.1 “Throwback Country.” Loud Media entered into an agreement in May with Judy and Michael Leech, owners of Pine Tree Broadcasting, the company that owned and operated the WVNR and WNYV stations, to purchase the company and stations. Under the agreement, the stations would be operated under a local marketing agreement until the sale closed, pending the FCC approval of the change of ownership of the stations.

Two building sales occurred on Main Street this summer. The former TD Bank building at 6 Main Street went up for auction again in late June, with a starting bid of $25,000. Ten-X Commercial Real Estate, the company handling the auction, made an attempt to reach out to locals to see what businesses area residents would like to see there; such a post was made on the Sentinel’s Facebook page. This backfired as most who responded for unrealistic requests, or businesses unsuited to the location by area character or zoning. The only bidder this time around was a Florida company, Compu-Design USA; their bid was $50,000. With the fees required by Ten-X, the final sale cost to Compu-Design was $70,000. The sale of the property closed on Aug. 3. As of December, no action has been taken on the property by Compu-Design USA, except to keep the power on for the presently vacant building, which is the power source for the Memorial Clock.

The other Main Street building to be sold was the former Pyrofax Energy building. Through mergers, it was by then owned by Suburban Propane. The property was sold to people from Mount Kisco on Aug. 3, for $29,000. The new owners promptly went to work fixing up the building and painting the front.

Morse’s Diner and Pizzeria ran into complications by July, and an announcement was made that the business would be closing the week of July 16. Morse’s ultimately closed July 12. Many in the area wanted for the closure not to be permanent, and asked how they could help. A fundraising effort was established, with both an online aspect and a local one at Glens Falls National Bank. Morse’s reopened Sept. 10 and has been remained open.

The business restrictions preventing fitness centers and bowling alleys from reopening relaxed in late August. Gemini Fitness reopened in late August, and Slate Valley Lanes followed in early September.

With the change in seasons and weather, Granville’s eateries changed, with outdoor seating arrangements ending, depending on the business, in October or November. Granville’s car hops closed for the season as well; Jen’s in Middle Granville closed Sept. 27, and MacDaddy’s in the village closed Nov. 28.

The sale of the property at the northwest corner of the intersection of State Route 22 and County Route 23, now called 2039 County Route 23, closed in July, with ownership transferring from Clark Hicks to Primax Properties. The latter party had attended Town Planning Board meetings in late 2019 and early 2020 to gain approval for their plans to build a Dollar General store on the property. Construction started the same month as the sale closing, and the building was finished by the end of November. The store’s signs were placed in the first week of December. The building was filled with shelving, fixtures, and products during the second week of December; that week also began the training of the new employees. The Middle Granville Dollar General opened for business on Dec. 14.

The year 2020 was unusual for everyone. Granville saw changes, openings and closings with its businesses. The circumstances of the pandemic put a damper on most business activity for a few months, and it continues to affect business. As 2020 ends and 2021 begins, a happy New Year to all, and best wishes to everyone. May the Granville area prosper in 2021, and in the years ahead.