Granville Then & Now – August 27, 2020

By Erik Pekar, Town Historian

While the thoughts and concerns about reopening school muddle many a Granville parent’s mind today, the Granville parents of 1970 also had their issues to worry about. The back to school sale was in full swing at the stores of local merchants on Main Street. Wilson’s Clothing noted in their advertisement in the issue of August 27, 1970, “that time is here again… to think of what to wear for Fall and back to School. We have been planning for your Fall wardrobe for the past several weeks. At Wilson’s we have gathered the most impressive looks for young people that we have ever had… at prices you can well afford to pay.”

As for those issues, they included the voting down three times of the Granville Central School District’s propositions for the expansion of the Granville High School; and the resulting start next month (September 1970) of double sessions at the high school, where half of grades 7-12 would go to school in the morning, and the other half in the afternoon. The parents’ wallets and pocketbooks were soon to get a crunch as well: Washington County had recently approved a sales tax of 6%, effective to begin September 1, 1970.

The high school expansion project ultimately was approved in 1973 after two more rejections by voters. The newly expanded high school opened in September 1975, and with that double sessions were no longer needed. As for the county sales tax, it is still around; by 2000 it was increased to 7%, where it stands today.

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Some changes were made at Veterans Park in Granville last week. Six new flag poles were placed around the circle of monuments around the water fountain. Five of these flags represent five of the branches of the United States military: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and the Coast Guard.

Two monuments were moved to new locations within the park. The monument commemorating the members of the Veterans Park Committee was moved in front of the bandstand. It was previously located to the south of the fountain, facing Quaker Street. The monument noting Veterans Park to have been designated in 1964 was moved next to the walkway leading to the fountain from Quaker Street. It previously had been one of the monuments around the water fountain. This change is a major improvement in itself, since the monument noting that the park is Veterans Park is now at the park’s main "entrance" walkway.

The work was done by the Granville Village DPW. These changes certainly improve the appearance of the park.

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An era of local broadcasting came to a close this July. 1340 AM WVNR and 94.1 FM WNYV signed on for the last time as Lakes Region Radio on the morning of July 25. That afternoon, the stations "flipped" formats from its variety but mostly classic hits format to a country music format.

WVNR and Lakes Region Radio launched on August 1, 1981. The community of license was Poultney. The station was owned by Vermont-New York Broadcasting Corporation, which comprised Richard Ramson, Norval Ramson, and Donald Prescott.

The station was sold to John Colagrande and Burton "Ken" Barlow in September 1982. WVNR was sold in 1986 to Pine Tree Broadcasting, owned by Michael Leech.

Plans were made in the late 1980s to launch an FM station. WNYV signed on in 1990. Unlike its AM sister station, WNYV was licensed to Whitehall. WNYV since sign-on has been a simulcast of WVNR, duplicating the latter’s programming.

In May of 2020, Loud Media of Saratoga Springs entered an agreement to buy Pine Tree Broadcasting, and its two stations. As part of the agreement the stations would be operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) until the sale closed.

Loud Media initially did not make any substantial changes to Lakes Region Radio, other than adding online streaming.

On the afternoon of July 25, a major change came about. The stations "flipped" formats and rebranded as K94.1, playing "throwback country", country music hits from the 1970s through 1990s. A new website was also launched to replace the Lakes Region Radio website.

At present the stations are still owned by Pine Tree Broadcasting and operated by Loud Media under an LMA, pending FCC approval of the transfer of ownership of the two stations.

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On the Rocks Pub reopened on July 30, in their new location at 22 Main Street. The interior of the dining area has been lightly remodeled. The new location’s kitchen is an improvement over the one at their former location, being larger than the old one.