Main Street – December 11, 1947

By Morris Rote-Rosen

From the mail bag: Bill Williams, Fair Haven, Vt., writes: "On reading 'Main Street' today, which I always enjoy, I find that you are up to your old tricks of doing an old comrade a good turn, which I think is the best ever. And I refer to the Fred Thompson Christmas Fund which you are raising. And I, as an old friend, would like to get in on it. So please find my dollar enclosed for same" ... And from Walter Dickinson: "I'm enclosing one dollar for the Fred Thompson Fund. Good luck to you for such a good cause."

+++

Another letter unsigned, postmarked "Saint Louis, Mo., Nov. 29, 1947" addressed to the Fred Thompson Christmas Fund brings a one dollar bill with an enclosure of a pocket prayer book trimmed in gold, with a Cross and Crown embossed on the cover. The prayer book will be forwarded to Fred Thompson together with the Christmas fund, which closes Saturday, December 20. Fred Thompson will be greatly cheered to know that his old friends, and several new ones, have not forgotten him and are thinking of him at Christmas time. Thanks to the many good people who responded to the drive.

+++

And from a "Friend" from Schenectady comes a five dollar bill with the following enclosure: "I remember Fred Thompson well in my youth. Like many others of the human family he had his frailties. However, I remember him for his kindly, genial and gentlemanly qualities, which in character manifest a profound perspective of life. I am enclosing herewith a small token expressive of a sincere desire for success of your Fred Thompson Fund, hoping it will bring a little sunshine into his life."

+++

Alma Kitchell hurrying to take one last season's look at her cottage at Lake St. Catherine "before the snow comes ... Jimmy Mihalick who refuses to go to kindergarten because, he says, "the kindergarten is for cissies" ... Among our list of unsung heroines we would like to find a place at the top of the list for Carrie McCoy McDermott, who so loyally and unflinchingly sacrificed to make her late husband's four years of invalidism much lighter to bear and who stuck to him to the last. We read of such unselfish devotion once in a while, but seldom know of its existence.

+++

The boys looking at the bare, dirt skating ring with fingers crossed and hoping for a good cold spell so that it may flooded for their use ... Gino Franzoni, Rutland county sheriff, in Granville, looking for two prisoners who removed enough bricks from the Rutland county jail wall to make their getaway ... The Albany slate buyer who flew into Granville, surprised to find a landing field for his plane. In less than 20 minutes after landing, he was in a slate office, concluded his business and returned home, thanks to the foresight and enthusiastic spirit of Neal Hulett, Granville's commercial aviation pioneer.

+++

Granville's baby organization, the PTA, is fast discarding its waddling baby stage and is becoming and up and coming group which can accomplish a world of good for our community ... The members of the Henry Hose company remembered William J. Norton with flowers on his opening the new Wilson Clothing company store. "Will" has been a member of the Henry Hose company for 31 years and is still going strong, both as a fighting fireman and in an advisory capacity as trustee of the company. Best of luck, Will. May you never grow old.

+++

The protest against the enforcement, by the local police, of the ordinance against all-night parking, may be heard over in Danby. But, since the state and county snow plows will remove the snow, in the business section, from the curb towards the center of the highway, this winter, it is better to keep these cars off the street nights rather than have them plowed and pushed into the middle of the street to be hauled away like so much junk. It's the law boys, and better be good sports about it. The ordinance has been in force since 1944.

+++

The first greeting on Thanksgiving morning came from Gracie Moore Jones. "We have a lot to be thank for," she said. And we agreed ... On that day we rounded Blossom's Corners and we saw Melvin Blossom in the tractor seat, driving cross lots, the white smoke of his corn cob pipe, curling to high heaven in the cold air ... And L. L. Hopson was down on his knees outside his store in Wells, mixing some cracked cor for his hens or for his trade ... And Floyd Goodspeed was putting up his winter wood.

+++

Assisting Floyd Goodspeed was Levi Pratt, who admits that he will observe his 90th birthday next month. He was driving a wedge into a huge log, swinging a ten-pound hammer like a youth. He stopped to greet us and said: "I bucked up ten cords of wood for myself last Sunday ... Then taking another swing of the sledge hammer, splitting the log wide open,  said, "Of course, if I worked like the young fellows do today, I wouldn't be doing much." ... Another swing with the sledge hammer and then: "I'll be 90 in January, and Mrs. Pratt she is 84. Sixty-six years ago, the year we were married. I remember playing baseball in Middletown Springs on Christmas Day."

+++

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur B. Austin driving through the street on Thanksgiving day: "Which is the way to Granville?" shouted "Art" from the car window. Arthur being full of turkey, we directed him to the village square, then to turn north and stop at 4 North Street ... Lester Race telling Neal D. Hulett: "I think we ought to take care of our own people before sending millions to Europe ... If General Eisenhower throws his hat in the political ring we will have a Republican president. The ballots which will elect him will be as overwhelming as the bullets "Ike" threw at Hitler and Mussolini. What an opportunity for the Republican party. "I like Ike."

+++

Judging from the report of the hunting season casualties there have been almost as many hunters carried out of the woods as there were deer, except they were carried out on improvised stretchers instead of car fenders ... The death of Zipporah Davies of Middle Granville removes the last of the old Welsh settlers in that community ... And probably makes Tom Jones the grand-daddy of them all in Middle ... The average attendance of the Granville youth recreation program the past year totaled between 95 and 125. An answer to the necessity for such a program.

+++

From Theodore Jerome of Wells, comes an appreciative note: "As I am a constant reader of your column, I was pleasantly surprised to see my name mentioned. Thank you for the nice things you wrote about us. It is our ultimate wish to extend our energies in a direction to help make this 'our community,' to strive for better citizenship and a brotherhood of better understanding. In this world of constant strife and misunderstanding there still is a place where a kind word can be spoken of one's fellowman and make one feel that maybe this isn't a bad world after all."