Wanted: Granville memorabilia
By Erik Pekar, Town Historian
Note: A specimen of the 1964 Granville license plate has since been donated.
There are quite a few items of Granville memorabilia in the Granville historical collections maintained by the Granville town historian. Among the holdings are a few wall calendars from area general stores, a clipboard from the Weinberg hardware store, a plastic coin bank shaped like a fuel tank, a couple of business signs; and several promotional items from area businesses, including refrigerator magnets, rulers and coffee mugs.
Some Granville memorabilia items remain elusive. One is the “Game of Granville,” the town-customized version of the “Wheeler Dealer” Monopoly clone, commissioned in 1984 by the Granville Area Chamber of Commerce. Another is the 1964 Granville license plate, also a Chamber effort. The plate was blue with yellow lettering, with the text “Granville N. Y., A Good Place to Live, Work, Play”. Still more obscure are the metal emblems for Granville area car dealerships.
Memorabilia isn’t the only thing that is elusive, however. One example of an obscure document would be the brochure sent out before the December 1968 vote on renovating and adding onto the three Granville schools. The plan that was voted on, and floor plans depicted in the brochure, would have had more classrooms, a new cafeteria, and new gymnasium, as was eventually built. This plan, however, also included a swimming pool, likely similar to that which was built in an expansion to the Whitehall high school in the late 1960s. This version of the plan was voted down. The brochures for two of the subsequent votes have turned up – May 1969 and April 1971, both rejected by voters – but the 1968 brochure has not surfaced yet.
Anyone with any of the aforementioned items (Game of Granville, Chamber plate, the 1968 brochure, metal dealership emblems) or any other Granville items or photos that may be of interest, is encouraged to donate the items. This can be done by contacting the Granville town historian, or by leaving a message with the Granville town clerk. Donation of Granville items will be appreciated, and any items donated will be preserved in the Granville historical collections.
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Paving projects are now well underway in the vicinity of Granville. Last month, the town of Granville’s highway department paved DeKalb Road east of Holcombville Road, and almost all of Aldous Road, excepting the westernmost section from County Route 23 to the top of the first hill going east from there.
Washington County began work on North Street on May 23. The street was grinded and milled from the NYSEG driveway near the rail trail crossing, south to Main Street. Pine Street will also be done as part of this project, from North Street north to where it meets the south end of last year’s paving project on County Route 25. The county also plans to repave Church Street from Potter Avenue north to Main Street. This excludes the Church Street bridge, which will have its top layer paved when the J. H. Maloy company returns to finish the Church Street bridge replacement project.
The New York State Department of Transportation is also doing road work in this area. Most of the state highways in this area have had the road markings repainted. More significantly, the DOT has been clearing brush and overhanging trees along Route 22 west of North Granville. This is in preparation of repaving Route 22 from Route 4 in Comstock to Route 40 near West Granville. The section east of Route 40 to County Route 23 in Middle Granville was repaved prior in June of 2019.
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The Penrhyn Engine and Hose Company of Middle Granville is holding its 14th annual Car Rally in June. The event takes place on June 11 from 4 to 8 p.m. behind the Penrhyn Hose firehouse on the east side of the Middle Granville road (County Route 24), just south of Depot Street. Signs have been put up along the road to help with locating the car rally. The admission fee for spectators is $3, and the car registration fee is $10. Children under 10 get in free. This is the first time in a few years that the car rally has been held. In the event of rain, the rain date is June 12, same hours. Those who enjoy looking at classic cars, or showing their classic cars, will want to stop by Middle Granville the afternoon of June 11.
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An annual feature returned to the Sentinel last week. The Memorial Day commemoration feature, which gave the names of the fallen soldiers from the Granville area who gave their all in times of war and some information about each of them, was back in a new and expanded form. Previously, the feature only covered World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. This year, there were new entries for the Civil War and World War I, with information about each soldier whenever possible. With its return the Granville area again honors its fallen soldiers who gave the supreme sacrifice.
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