By Morris Rote-Rosen
Because he is too busy fishing Dr. W. S. Bennett did not submit a monthly health report for the month of July. When Doc. Bennett's fishing fever subsides and his pulse becomes normal once more, he will go back to his regular routine of attending his patients and to his health officer activities. Doc is suffering from "Waltonitis", an aquatic disease, discovered by Izaak Walton. Doc Bennett's exhaustion is not a rare disease. Like hay fever it strikes its victim this time of the year. The victim becomes nervous, his knees shake, his finger tips itch, he loses his appetite and fumbles with rods, reels and fish lines. He carries his hooks in his vest pocket, on his hat and in his hair, if he has any, and sometimes even takes them to bed with him. Dr. Bennett will recover - we hope.
To escape the local heat wave Sim Rising was way up in Saint Johns, New Brunswick, Canada, trying to cool off. And he probably did. On a post card from the far north Sim writes: "Morris, the frost is just going out of the ground here" ... Mr. and Mrs. Earl Coffey and son "Jackie" are on their annual visit to their Lake St. Catherine cottage and the place looks natural once more. Mrs. Coffey is the former Mary Sullivan, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Michael Sullivan of Granville and "Jackie" is no longer that talkative and voluble little boy. He is now a young man. His grandparents, if they were living would be proud of him. The only boy in the Sullivan family.
The recent death of Frank Ingalls takes away one of Granville's upholsterers of the old school. Another trade no longer learned by the younger generation. The upholsterer in Granville now takes his place in history with the tailors, the harness maker, cabinet maker, tanner, sawyer, tinsmith, miller, blacksmith and other such trades of another era. There is only one shoe maker in Granville now and when Victor Mancini closes his shop it will be the end of shoe repairing in our village. Time marches on!
When Fred Ladd of Salem stopped in Granville recently, he took the stance of a boxer, danced on his toes, shadow-boxed for a few moments then said: "I am in great shape, yes, sir, great shape. Had a doctor examine me and I told him I thought at one time I had water on my knee. The doc poked me all over, felt of my pulse and my heart and what do you suppose he said? He said that I didn't have water on the knee that I had it on the brain. Yes, sir, he thought there was nothing wrong with me except my head". And concluding his remarks he trotted out, turned back and said: "See you at the carnival!"
Watching the "Sentinel" coming off the press last week our thoughts drifted back to the days when there was a different group of people working there. It was the day of the handpress when Frank Lortie stood on a soap box feeding the cylindrical press by hand and when all the type of the "Sentinel" was set by hand. Not one of them is living today except Gene Farrar, the others being J. L. MacArthur, Frank Lortie, Bob Potter and Willie Moloney. Mary Weller was local correspondent. The paper went to press on Friday. MacArthur and Lafayette Carr were off for their week-end to the lake as soon as the paper was off the press.
Ernie Whiting who conducted a livery stable in the rear of the present telephone building, would hitch on MacArthur's favorite mare to a buggy and give her the signal. The horse would stop in front of the "Sentinel" office where Mac came out and gave her a lump of sugar. Then loaded with several steaks which resembled a half of a steer and with Lafayette Carr by his side the two would tell the mare to "giddap" and she took them to Lake St. Catherine, where the two cronies had a most enjoyable week-enmd. Mac weighed over three hundred; Carr about one hundred and twenty-five.
With the buggy looking lop-sided, weighted down on Mac's side, Carr was way up in the air. Arriving at the cottage Carr would gather the wood, Mac would put away the week-end food supply and the beer bottles. Summer or winter their routine was always the same. And when the gasoline buggy was invented Mac drove a small open roadster, which looked as dilapidated and tipsy as the buggy did. When the pesky thing refused to go Mac would call for help from "The Great Jehovah and Tom Stanley" to get them off the top of the lake hill. But "Tom Stanley" Edwards was the one who always got the Ford going.
John Carey, formerly of Middle Granville, now of Seneca Falls, stopped for his annual summer visit. He is hale and hearty and a young man in spirit. John talked of another generation of Granville and of the village as he knew it when a young man. He said that he well remembers before Main street was graded to its present level, horses were watered, on the Mettowee river, north of the present bridge. John Carey enjoys the association of many old and young friends. Being the holder of the 50-Year Masonic Grand Lodge Medal with Palm, designating more than sixty years of service to the Craft, John finds pleasure in his fraternal associations.
"The Water Wagon" is again making its rounds on Lake St. Catherine as a pleasure boat after several years of retirement by its former builder and owner Captain Walt Bdown. The Ellis boys, Alton and Clifford have rejuvenated the old boat, which could go around the lake, with its passengers, unguided, after these many years. "The Water Wagon" follows the same route as in former years and is the only pleasure boat on the lake, all other crafts on the lake having been built to disturb the peace and tranquility of the cottagers. Some of us will not get used to seeing anybody but Walt Brown at the steering wheel, but the young people will never know the difference.
This is carnival week and we hope to have a few word descriptions, of the snap-shots on the carnival lot, in our next week's "Main Street". The fireman's carnival is one of the most picturesque entertainments of its kind in this vicinity. It is more like a county fair and a home week reunion. And from the vantage point of the entertainment platform, which is elevated above everyone on the lot, the panorama which passes in review and the merry-go-round of friendly and happy faces is one of the most interesting sights there is on the lot.
To see youngsters hustling from one ride to another, or from one attraction to another; to watch the boys and girls of the teen age holding hands and passing the pop corn to each other; to see the expression on the children's faces at the fish pond, or at the duck pond; to observe the older people drifting back to the dreams of their youth by participating in some mirth provoking game which brings happiness and pleasure to them; to observe the hundreds of people milling in and around the midway, going up and down, pushed by the moving force of the crowd, all this is humanity passing in review and there is nothing more interesting in the world.
To the members of the Granville fire department belongs the credit for making the annual carnival what it is. The work, worry, effort and time which these 68 volunteers give unselfishly for the best interests of the community without any fee or reward, it unheard of, except in Granville, as far as we know. Such is the spirit of Granville. Under the leadership of Fire Chief Ed Moloney, who is beloved and respected by all the firemen, they work as one unit to make the carnival what it has been for the past 16 years - a credit to the department and to the village of Granville.
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