By Morris Rote-Rosen
The street on New Year's day morning. Mrs. (Mary Dick) Sheldon, the first one to wave a new year's greeting to us ... Only six cars lining the curbs between the village square and the Mettowee river bridge ... The new 1948 license plates in reversed color ... Leander Carey sounds his auto horn in recognition ... And Mayor "Ted" Brown extends the new new year greetings as he enters the post office ... Alan Williams telling a listening group that "gasoline and alcohol don't mix" ... Not a hangover in sight after the previous night's celebration ... But, one old timer tries the Dwyer bar room door for a "chaser" ... The place is closed.
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Sparrows fighting desperately over a crust of bread in a snow bank ... Sergeant Hugh G. Hughes, strutting like a real cavalryman ... John Norton explaining how the Corsones accident happened which had a fatal ending to it ... The photos in the window of the Ray Brown studio, reviewing the high lights of Granville activities in 1947: Decoration day, Fourth of July, firemen's carnival, the North Pawlet school centennial, Governor Gibson in Wells, high school entertainments, patriotic and religious activities and others which made Granville history in 1947.
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The skating rink on New Year's day, crowded to overflowing, even though it is much larger than in previous years ... And proving to be a popular place for Granville's young people, as well as for some older ones ... Many future stars among the young skaters, some of whom are on skates for the first time and all doing well ... Jean Sumner doesn't mind how often she hits the ice if she can master a fancy stunt ... Little Mollie Biggs teaching her younger partner, Ann Dwyer.
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Rev. Ira M. Stanton, a skating enthusiast, enjoying himself on the rink ... John S. Gunther disavows skating after having tried it last year. "It's for kids," says John ... Carmine Fragnoli, who came to teach his young daughter how to skate, receiving a few pointers from her. "They sure grow up fast," says Carmine ... John Williams, like a whirling dervish, dodging in and out among the children skaters ... Spectators sitting in warm automobiles, watching the constant merry-go-round, and fascinated by the continuous movement of skaters ... And what happened to us on the skating rink shouldn't happen to a dog.
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Unable to write because of his sight and illness, Fred Thompson acknowledges the Christmas gift sent to him by his Granville friends. In a letter written by a hospital orderly, Thompson expressed appreciation to all of his friends who remembered him. He wishes he could come to Granville for a visit and to talk to the people whom he had known over a period of years. His letter to the people of Granville and to the others who remembered him at Christmas time reads in part as follows.
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"I have received the present and I am glad that I have so many friends. Tell them that I thank them and I only wish that I could be back in Granville to thank them personally. Also thank the one who remembered me with that prayer book you sent me. How is the old town? I hope it is getting better. I would love to see it again. I have been moved from the Red Chevron hospital to the Christie street hospital and I am feeling much better. Remember me to every one. Yours sincerely, Fred Thompson." The letter is dated January 1, 1948.
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Shades of the Green Mountain Boys! John D. Kelly, a Pawlet boy, bred born and raised in God's country, stated in a recent "Listen Folks" column in the Sentinel: "To Vermont again in the writer? Both hands up!" John D.: These are words of blasphemy and treason which is enough to make Ethan Allen turn in the grave. Recant! ... Emily Ellis of South Poultney reports seeing a gray fox loose on Church street, on New Year's eve ... Probably foraging for food because of the heavy snow fall in the woods ... Now that Henry Wallace has formed a third party, both the Republican and the Democratic parties will be deserted by the malcontents, left wingers, radicals, parlor-pinks and fellow-travelers.
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A philatelist from Troy made a special trip to Granville to seek out if there were any local scrip certificates left over from the business depression, when the village issued denominations of $1.00 and of 50 cents. He was elated when he obtained several specimens, both new and used. One contains the picture of George Washington and the other of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Granville scrip didn't work out. It was used by the village board in an effort to ease the unemployment situation and the scarcity of money in Granville in 1933.
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Wayne Irvine, little son of Dr. and Mrs. Irvine, walking home from the skating rink, rubbing his frozen hands theorized: "If we could only have skating shoes which would have the skates fold under, by pressing a button, we wouldn't have to take the skating shoes off to walk home and when we want to use the skates again, just press the button and the skates are ready." ... What Wayne was trying to invent was a collapsible skating shoe which could be used for both walking and skating, without fumbling shoe laces with frozen fingers. Not a bad idea for a new invention.
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We note with regret the passing of Dr. Arthur W. Elting of Albany, on January 2, 1948, with whom we enlisted for overseas service in the spring of 1917. His obituary in the New York Times stated that "he was a veteran of the first World War, having served as lieutenant colonel with the Army Medical Corps." Behind these few lines there is enough plot of schemes and double-cross, mixed with army politics, which would make good reading if published in full. We never knew of a man who received a rottener deal than Dr. Elting for his offer to serve his country with great sacrifice to himself and to his profession.
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Dr. Elting, nationally and internationally known in the medical profession, was professor of surgery in the Albany Medical College when he organized U.S. Army Base Hospital No. 33, to which Washington county contributed an ambulance. It was mainly due to his efforts that Albany, was able to send out one of the most complete 500-bed hospitals to serve with the A.E.F., in 1917-1918. Dr. Elting even contributed of his own funds to make the unit a success. But, because of jealousy, power politics, deceit and duplicity, he not only did not realize his hope to head his own unit, but was transferred, by army orders, to serve as a casual in France, unattached to any particular unit or group.
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From personal knowledge of the activities "behind the curtain" of this plot, we saw two colonels involved in a promotional grab game, for their own personal benefit, with Dr. Elting, who was a major at the time, as the goat in the middle. As a result, through a trumped-up charge, one colonel was declared incurably insane and returned to the United States; Colonel Elting was "banished" to France and disassociated from the unit in which he took great pride, and another colonel, with the two others out of the way, placed himself in line for a higher promotion. Dr. Elting was too big a man to complain. He took his medicine, but he never forgot the "dirty deal" he received for trying to serve his country.
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