Main Street – June 10, 1948

By Morris Rote-Rosen

If we were asked what we value more than money, or precious jewels, our reply, without hesitation, would be: "Friends." We know of no greater pleasure in life that can come to any one than to have good people of our acquaintance, who think enough of us, spare a few moments for a friendly chat. Some combine business with pleasure, others drop in for a social call and when the day is done we can sit back in a happy mood and truly be grateful to these good people because every one of them leaves something that cannot be matched with material wealth. And while these friends represent different walks in life, yet they all come with the same friendly spirit and leave us with some friendly thought. Life would indeed be empty without friends - something that money cannot buy.

Let us take one day last week and look at the friendly merry-go-round. The first one to bounce in through the door was Frank B. Allen, who had just returned after seven years' stay in La Mesa, Calif. Frank felt as if he had just been released from prison. "Gosh, it's good to be back," said Frank as he pump-handled our right hand. "Darned if it doesn't feel good to see someone smile. I am going up to Maine for Memorial Day and then I am coming back to Granville. Hear me! To stay! Granville! A wonderful place and the finest people in the world!" And, saying this, he plumped down into a chair and heaved a sigh of relief. Back among friends!

Then came Bert and Mabel Nichols just for a minute. It was good to see Nick and Mabel Rogers who recalled our high school days when they were young sweethearts. "Still the same old sweethearts," we remarked to them. "Yes," answered Mabel, "and we are proud of our children." We noticed a smile spread over Bert's face as we reminisced with them of days gone by, when the present elementary school was the Granville High school and of days when such names as Leslie Munson, Oscar Munson, George Hull, Irving Weinberg and others were real and not just a memory of good fellows who are gone.

Bert and Mabel had just left when we stood facing the kindly eyes, the the friendly smile and the hearty handshake of Rev. J. Richard Owens of Judson, Minn. No matter how long Rev. and Mrs. Owens may stay away from Granville this beloved couple is still recognized as one of their friends and neighbors by the Granville people. "We like it out there," said Mr. Owen, "but to us Granville will always be the same. We made new friends in Judson and they are very kind to us, but we can never shake Granville from our hearts." There will always be a void in our community until Rev. and Mrs. Owens return here to make it their permanent home.

Truman R. Temple, waiting for the bus, took a seat and his discussion turned to the remnants of the Grand Army of the Republic. "How many did you say there were left in New York state?" he asked. Informed that there are only two living G.A.R. members and one Civil War soldier, who is not a member of the G.A.R., Mr. Temple said that actuarial statistics once published the information that there would not be one living Civil War soldier by 1947. "The figures are not far off, said Mr. Temple. "There are less than 100 now living and most of them are more than 100 years old."

"Bill" Hughes, highway superintendent of the town of Granville, then came in and the discussion turned to the oncoming Decoration Day. "I never think of Decoration Day without thinking of the Young Men's Guild baseball games," said the best left fielder who ever represented Granville on the baseball diamond. "Decoration Day was always the opening day of our baseball season," continued Bill, "and many of us used to go into our own pockets to help finance the games." Then he told how the members of the Y.M.G. team so loved the game, that after working hard in the slate quarries all day, they would stop at the baseball field on their way home, set down their empty dinner pails and, in overalls and quarry shoes, would practice for several hours. "The boys don't do it today" and Bill was off to his job.

Rev. Maldwyn A. Davies, a newcomer to Granville, pastor of the Welsh Presbyterian church of Granville, was next offered a seat. He was much interested in the traffic and motor vehicle regulations in New York state. "How do you like Granville?" we asked. Mr. Davies talked about the cordial reception from the people of Granville and about the beauty of the country. He has only recently arrived from Wales to fill the pastorate of the church. Rev. Mr. Davies is a sincere, friendly gentleman and those who have had the pleasure of meeting him feel that his six months' trial at the Welsh Presbyterian church will develop into a more permanent pastorate for him.

And the merry-go-round of friendship swung around and around as Bertha Kingsley came in next, followed by Attorney Robert Bascom of Fort Edward and a Special Agent of the FBI. Then the telephone rang and on the other end Dr. W. E. Owen called up to leave a friendly message. And to top it off we lather found a calling card from Charles H. Lord of Plattsburgh reading, "Sorry I missed you. Charlie." He came after office hours. It was not an exceptional day, but one which is an example of what our contacts with our friends and neighbors mean in our every day life. There are few who don't have the same experience almost daily, but we don't stop to give a thought to how much friendship helps one to hurdle the rough spots which we encounter in our daily lives.

Bertha Thorne Owen was greatly interested in the recent column about "Little Known Facts About Granville," particularly the item about the rowdyism in Granville some years ago, when mining town conditions existed in our village. Mrs. Owen recalls the time when hoodlums of those days poured kerosene on a calf and set it on fire to watch it running down Main street. Her father, Leonard Thorne, was one who, with Daniel Woodard, organized the First National Bank of Granville in 1875, later the Granville National Bank. In order to induce farmers from the adjoining Granville area to come here to do their banking. Leonard Thorne and Daniel Woodard had to give them assurance that they could come to Granville and do business unmolested by the local hoodlums.

Leonard Thorne organized a reform movement in Granville in an effort to "civilize" the community. He was a noted temperance advocate and he induced more than 100 people of Granville to join the "Reform Club" which met in a small wooden building which stood on the site of the present E.C. Hewitt store on West Main street. The opposing faction did all it could to break up the club and to discourage it from holding temperance meetings. Frequently during these temperance lectures, bricks, stones, rotten eggs and vegetables would be hurled through the club windows. Granville in the early 70s was in its worst behavior in all its history. And those who talk about the present generation, stressing its faults, don't know what they are talking about. We live in one of the finest communities in our country thanks to the present generation.

Why don't more of the traveling public which comes to Granville to do its shopping, use the two free parking lots in our village? While shopping the other day we couldn't find space on the streets and drove into the parking lot in the rear of the Louis Goldberg store. Automobiles and trucks were parked on the street double, blocking traffic on both sides of the street and yet we found only six cars on the parking lot, by actual count - a lot which could accommodate 50 to 75 automobiles. The two-hour parking ordinance is not being enforced for the present, waiting for the traffic signs to reach here. AS soon as these signs are erected and the two-hour parking ordinance is enforced, the Granville police court will do a land-office business from double parking violations. Isn't it easier to park on a free parking lot than violate the traffic laws and pay a fine?

Television aerial antenne are increasing in Granville and several can be seen located in different parts of the village ... Watching a little boy climbing a six-foot ladder and talking to himself, we heard him say, "I may get killed climbing a high and dangerous mountain, but I guess I can make it all right." ... Will Barnard loading his delivery truck says that Barnard brothers have been delivering groceries for nearly 48 years. They started with horse and wagon and are still making weekly trips to Raceville, Hampton and South Poultney, the only store in this village delivering groceries out of town.