Main Street – April 29, 1948

By Morris Rote-Rosen

We receive inquiries from time to time asking where the original Bishop's Corners were located, the name of our village when it was first settled by John Champion Bishop, which later was changed to Granville. We have also been disputed for locating the "corners" at the intersection of Quaker and Mettowee street, some claiming that the "corners" applied to the present village square. For the historical record, once more, we place the "corners" where we originally did - Quaker and Mettowee street.

Some years back, when we wrote the history of Granville in the columns of the Sentinel, we published the fact that John Champion Bishop had his store located at the intersection of Quaker and Mettowee street and not near the village square. Our source of information is the original deed granted by John Champion Bishop and his wife Abigail, October 7, 1805, to the first Stephen Dillingham, who bought the site for the erection of the Friends' Meeting House, the present Grange hall.

In describing the lot purchased for the Society of Friends the deed reads: "Beginning at a stake and stones, three chains and thirty-four links, from the well on the corner of the road leading from Isaac Bishop's store to Hebron." If we place the well of the Bishop store three surveyor's chains (198 feet) and thirty-four surveyor's links (22.44 feet), the well would be located 220.44 feet north of the Meeting House of the Society of Friends, (or present Grange Hall) or on the present north line of the Quaker burial ground on Quaker street. The Bishop store being a short distance north of the well, would place it in the vicinity of Quaker and Mettowee street, probably on the present site of the Saka house, formerly owned by David Owens.

Jack Huyck, poet and philosopher of Lochlea of Wells, Vt., passes along the following story from "The Christian Monitor": "A city councilman, in a certain Southern community, was delighted when he received whispered intimations that he was to be invited to deliver the Memorial Day address at the meeting of the local American Legion post. But the wording of the invitation, when he received it gave him pause. 'You are invited to be one of the speakers at our Memorial Day meeting,' the summons read. 'The program will include remarks by the Mayor; a high school student reciting Lincoln's Gettysburg Address; your speech and then the firing squad.' "

A recent news item caught our eye because the owner of a new 1946 automobile was so disgusted with it that he hung a string of lemons over it with the slogan: "This car is a lemon". About fifteen years ago Scott Severance of Granville purchased a new Cadillac sedan, paying more than $3,000 for it. Displeased with its service he made an effort to have it traded for another car of the same make but the agency he purchased it from in Glens Falls refused to trade it for him. Severance festooned two oil cloth signs on each side of his new Cadillac, reading: "My $3,000 Lemon" and drove it all over, particularly in Washington and Warren counties. It wasn't long before he received a new car in exchange.

William I. Toomey, approaching his 77th birthday, still retains his love for athletics and attended the 54th annual Penn Relay Races, held at Franklin Field, in Philadelphia. This is the fifty-first such meeting that he has attended, missing only three of them. The relay races bring together the greatest athletes in the United States. Mr. Toomey once ran one hundred yards in eleven seconds flat, which today is considered record time for any top-notch runner just below championship class. "Of course I couldn't do it now," said Mr. Toomey.

The recent item about the origin of Truthville has finally been clarified and the original source of name traced. Louise Douglas, a granddaughter of Squire Charles R. Mann of Truthville said: "My grandfather C. R. Mann originated the name of Truthville. When grandmother asked him why, he said: 'Because there are so many damn liars living here.' And the same stuck." ... Squire Mann lived in Truthville and his residence was a popular gathering place for Granville Masons when meetings were held in private homes. Charles R. Mann served as Master of Granville Lodge in 1855, 1856, 1860 and 1861.

Bill Corey, director of the Granville band is now the proud father of a little drum majorette. Hi, Pop! ... Add another improvement to our fine looking Main street: The Stewart ice cream store which should prove a paradise to Granville's young people ... Plenty of yum-yum in any flavor ... Sportsmen will salute the members of the Granville Fish and Game club who assisted the Conservation department in depositing 13,000 brown trout in the vicinity rivers, some varying in size from six to eight inches ... And isn't this the time of year when fishermen's fancy turns to thoughts of landing that big one, in the Indian river, which has been seen to leap three and four feet out of the river to shout "hello" to Charles Schermerhorn and Pat Kelly. Says John F. Evans: "I swear he is about 3 1/2 feet long!"

Bill Little shouted to a friend across the street to catch a hard boiled egg. He threw it, only the egg wasn't boiled at all. It laid fresh all over the catcher from head to foot ... Can't we find some fine young lady in Granville who will volunteer to become leader of the Girls Scouts, a swell group of girls who are eager to keep the Girl Scouts going. "We have asked several," said one of the Girl Scouts, "but we haven't been successful." ... Our young girls who seek outdoor recreation and worth while activities during their spare time ought to be encouraged and commended for their interest. Who will volunteer as Girl Scout leader? There is no finer way to serve your country and your community.

We overheard Mike Minogue praising the girls and boys of Granville. "Juvenile delinquency?", asked Mike, "we need have no fear in Granville. I think we have the nicest girls and boys in Granville and if you don't believe it look around you and see how little, if any, trouble our boys and girls have been to us." Then he thought for a moment and said: "We ought to encourage young people to bring their friends to our homes where parents will know where they are. My kids have had a house full on many Saturday nights when they take things over, and I get a kick out of them."

Fred W. Allen has passed his 80th birthday and congratulations are in order. Mr. Allen is one of the few who shows no wear and tear of the years. We remember him when he and Mrs. Allen used to come with horse and buggy to Granville, put up their fine looking rig, at Paul's livery stable, and call at the Pember theatre box office for "two of the best seats in the house" to enjoy an evening's entertainment. We have always had a high regard for Mr. and Mrs. Allen and an esteem which has grown with the years. A couple who add the tradition of the old with the living present and may they go on enjoying life for many happy years.

Looking in on a friendly game of cards the other evening we asked the players where Bert Braymer, Bill Carey, Ed Bushee and Mike Tierney were. It was a recall of the times when the cigar store of Craig Weir was the social gathering place evenings and when the back room was so thick with smoke that the electric light overhead was obscured in a fog. The round, black oil-cloth covered table, cuspidors within striking distance for the tobacco chewers, pitch games going on steadily into the midnight hours for smokes, where every one tried to sneak the low, while kibitzers crowding round the players made standing room at a premium. Days which bring back a happy nostalgia.