Granville Then & Now – April 13, 2023

Buses served Granville 100 years ago

By Erik Pekar

Cars were gaining in popularity in the 1920s, but there were other ways to move about. This article in the April 13, 1923 issue of the Granville Sentinel mentioned buses: “The Glens Falls-Granville bus started again Monday morning, not having been able to run through the winter owing to the roads. It now leaves Granville at 7:45 a.m. for Glens Falls and returns at 12 o’clock. The bus leaves Granville on the second trip at 1 p.m. and arrives from Glens Falls at 5:45 p.m.” The roads would remain in bad condition for some more years until improvements were made to certain roads between communities; today these are the state and county highways in this part of Washington County.

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People think of “making it big” in various fields, but religious circles may not be one’s first thought of a “line” in which to succeed in. One Granville native did exactly that, as mentioned in the same issue: “Rev. Dr. George C. Douglass, who Monday was made superintendent of the Central District by the Methodist Conference at Glens Falls, has been superintendent of the Northern District since 1921 and lives in Glens Falls. In 1899, Dr. Douglass received his first charge at Blue Mountain Lake. From 1900 to 1902 Dr. Douglass was stationed at Chestertown; from 1903 to 1904, at Corinth; from 1905 to 1913 at Gloversville and from 1914 to 1920 at Saratoga Springs. He has much executive ability and his work at the different charges has been productive of much good. At Saratoga Springs he made extensive improvements to the church property.”

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The Lake Saint Catherine section in the April 13 issue mentioned this item: “The Lake St. Catherine Realty Company of Poultney has contracted with Fred H. Graves to remodel one of its buildings at the north end, making a two-tenement cottage.” There is at least one other reference to a camp division around the 1920s, mentioned years later in both the Lake St. Catherine scrapbook by Iris Hopson Read and in “Historic Architecture of Rutland County”, where the “Balance Rock” camp of Norman Burdick became two, cleverly named “Calv-Inn” and “Cool-Edge” after Calvin Coolidge, the Vermont native who was President of the United States from 1923 to 1929. It is unclear how many such divisions took place, or even whether the two instances here are referring to the same camp, or two different and distinct camps.

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The surprise of the area occurred a couple weeks ago, when a Dollar General opened at 61 Beaman Street in Poultney, on or about March 31. The store inside looks like a typical Dollar General of its size, but the story of how Dollar General came to Poultney is anything but typical.

The idea of a Poultney Dollar General had been a controversial one for some years, since Dollar General’s first attempts to enter the community in 2017. The interest has always been in the same location, the former VEMAS building at 61 Beaman Street, owned by Poultney Properties. The earlier attempt culminated in a vote held on July 5, 2019 to decide whether to change the zoning to allow Dollar General to use the property. The vote amounted to a referendum on Dollar General itself; Poultney voters turned down the zoning change, 549 no votes to 302 yes votes.

Reasons cited for allowing Dollar General into Poultney included encouraging economic growth; conversely, opponents had concern that Dollar General would stifle business. When plans became public for a Dollar General in Middle Granville, Poultney residents hoped the Middle Granville Dollar General would be considered close enough by corporate to satisfy desires to serve Poultney without being in Poultney.

After the talk quieted down, Dollar General resumed its efforts to establish itself in Poultney. Eventually the circumstances changed, and Poultney Properties received the go-ahead to convert the property to make way for Dollar General. Over the winter the property was refurbished, and lastly signs went up in late March.

The store is now open, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Hopefully its presence will benefit, not harm, the business atmosphere in Poultney.

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As anticipated in our column of March 23, all four incumbents were reelected in the Granville village election on March 21 to four-year terms. Three of the candidates were unopposed: Dean Hyatt, board member, 133 votes; Dan Brown, board member, 133, and Roger Forando, village justice, 125. In the case of the mayor position, 139 votes were cast for incumbent Paul Labas, with two write-ins for Bob Tatko. One hundred forty-two votes were counted, with four absentee ballots declared void. There was no breakdown this year of which votes out of the 142 were cast in-person or via absentee balloting.

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The village board conducted much business at its annual reorganizational meeting on April 3, including designating appointed positions, committees, and official venues for various functions. Perhaps the most significant news to come out of the meeting was the appointment of Denise Davies to fill the remainder of the term of Lisa Ackert, who resigned earlier this year. Davies will be familiar to many, as she worked for many years as the deputy clerk-treasurer.

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Warmer days have finally arrived, but one group is already thinking ahead to this coming December. The Granville Lighted Tractor Parade planning committee announced last Saturday, April 8, that the sixth Granville Lighted Tractor Parade will be held on Dec. 6.

The announced date is on a Saturday. Granville’s tractor parade has been held on the first Friday of December in every year it has been held: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. The parade was inspired by a similar yearly event in Greenwich, which started several years prior, and has always been held there on a Saturday in mid-November.

The major reason cited for moving to Saturday was that some of the participants stating Friday was inconvenient for them, and some would-be participants couldn’t participate at all as Friday nights conflicted with their schedules; both groups said Saturday would work better for them. It was from these comments that the idea of holding future Granville Lighted Tractor Parades on Saturdays was considered by the committee.

We look forward to this year’s Lighted Tractor Parade. This new Granville tradition may have been started on a Friday, but tradition is not made by the choice of day on which a parade is held. Tradition is made by the Granville community coming together to watch or participate in the memorable Granville Lighted Tractor Parade. This will happen regardless of whether the parade is held on a Friday or a Saturday.

Granville Then & Now – April 6, 2023

N. Granville’s Fairvale Inn opens successfully

By Erik Pekar

A few weeks ago in “Granville Then and Now” we told of advertisements in a 1923 issue of the Granville Sentinel, including one for the upcoming dance at the opening of the Fairvale Inn in North Granville. The April 6 issue included a report on the business’s successful opening, and dance: “The Fairvale Inn opening, under the management of Messrs. Lenny and Dwyer, at North Granville Easter Sunday, was a gratifying success, a superb dinner being served to one hundred and thirty persons. It was a corking gastronomical layout, well cooked and efficiently served by Mrs. Lenny and four sisters dressed in white. Everyone who participated in the meal is now a walking advertisement for the hotel.

“The dance Monday night was attended by a crowd that could not be accommodated, at least thirty couples being turned away. As it was some one hundred and fifteen couples had the time of their young lives with a fine lunch thrown in free of charge. The new managers have now introduced themselves to the public, won its confidence and ought to command a large patronage. While regular and special meals will be furnished anytime they will make a specialty of Sunday dinners.”

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Last week we mentioned that the Granville Central School District received an increase in state aid this year and in 1983. Going back a little further to 1923, we find in the April 6 issue a reference to state aid money that was received, and dispersed in a far different form:

“The following school money has been received by Supervisor N. W. Parker for the town of Granville: District No. 1, $387.83; No. 2, $272.08; No. 3, $222.37; No. 4, $288.40; No. 5, $251.28; No. 6, $224.70; No. 7, $5,000.74; No. 8, $1,184.50; No. 9, $257.00; No. 10, $256.80; No. 11, $163.50; No. 12, $250.90; No. 13, $296.00; No. 14, $221.97; No. 15, $211.90; No. 16, $224.50; No. 17, $189.20; No. 18, $250.18; No. 19, $230.88. Total, $10,384.73.”

It is interesting to note the low amounts of the time, and that most of the districts were schoolhouse districts receiving aid in the $200 to $300 range. Two of the remaining schools received less than $200, and Districts 7 ($5,000.74) and 8 ($1,184.50), were respectively the Granville and Middle Granville union free school districts, with larger buildings and more teachers. The other districts were common school districts, and the overall system in Granville would not change until the centralization movement in the 1950s.

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Main Street is looking up. Some new businesses have opened in recent years, but there are still vacant buildings. Some are available. The 11 West Main Street building, formerly Edwards Market, is for sale at $575,000. The 23 Main Street building is for sale, price unknown. Hopefully, buyers will find these buildings and buy them, so that new businesses will open on Granville’s Main Street. New businesses would be eagerly welcomed by Granville area residents.

Speaking of business development, the future Amazon “last mile delivery” distribution center is coming along. The contractors, the Walsh Company and Rozell Construction, have been busy since last fall, and have made much progress on renovating the building, to the fullest extent of the term. An overhead roof extension is being constructed which will be for shelter from the elements when loading the delivery vehicles. Completion is anticipated by mid-summer.

The whole idea of Amazon coming to Granville – first in rumors, then in fact – set off a lot of discussion in Granville on what impact Amazon would have, with many in this vicinity having an optimistic outlook of growth in the years after their opening. An interesting aspect of how Amazon came to Granville is that they decided on Granville of their own accord. They did not ask for any assistance, not even tax abatements from the Warren-Washington Counties IDA, nor did they ask anything of local politicians. Amazon did it themselves, and they are to be commended.

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Bicycle riding is a popular pastime, and quite a few people like to travel, but it is not always the case that people get to combine both. However, that is exactly what two people originally from this area are planning to do, in a big way, by bicycling across the United States. John David Norton of Colorado, and Tom Taylor of California, will be bicycling from Santa Monica, California, to Boston, Massachusetts. While they both enjoy bicycling, this is not the only reason they are making the trip. They are raising awareness and funds for sarcoidosis, an illness which Taylor’s late wife had suffered from; accordingly, their cycling trip is called the “Sarcoid Bike Tour.” The trip has been in planning for over a year, and they anticipate leaving Santa Monica on April 7. Taylor’s family and friends will gather with the cyclists as they begin their journey. “We will be dipping our rear wheels in the Pacific and, if God willing, our front wheels in the Atlantic,” said Norton.

Their bicycle trip takes them through both established cycling routes and less common routes. To Santa Fe they will use Route 66, after which they will reorient to be further north of Route 66 in order to reach the Kansas trail system. They will go through Missouri on the Katy Trail, a rails to trails conversion of a former railroad line. They will then go along cycling routes through Indiana, Illinois, and on to Ohio. They will then go along Lake Erie and across New York on the Empire State Trail system to Albany, then across Massachusetts to Boston. Albany and Boston were chosen as they have relatives in the vicinity of those cities, including in Granville; both are originally from the Granville area.

The cycling trip across America will take several weeks to complete. Best of luck to Norton and Taylor for success with their bicycle trip and sarcoidosis awareness efforts.

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Late last year, in this column of Dec. 1, we wrote a section encouraging the supporting of local businesses, and that it is better to purchase from them than to go out of one’s way to distant stores in cities such as Glens Falls or Rutland. In recent months we have noted another trend. Since Michael “Craig” Campbell Realty closed a couple years ago, there has been a small increase in the number of properties being listed for sale by real estate agencies based well out of the Granville area. This is after taking into consideration that at times in recent years there has been a “drought” of sorts with lower numbers of available listings than in past years. For obvious reasons, we will not name the non-local firms.

It is unfortunate that some go out of their way to work with real estate agencies in the cities, and it is unnecessary as there are real estate agencies in this vicinity. The Granville area itself has four capable firms of this nature: Country Horizon Realty, D C Realty, Heritage Manor Realty, and Steve Bernard Realty. Local real estate agencies know their communities and the possibilities and potential of activities and whatnot; the distant agencies in the cities have little knowledge or interest in the trends and activities of communities such as Granville. We encourage anyone looking to buy or sell a home or any other property in the vicinity of Granville to consider shopping local with their real estate firms as well.

Granville Then & Now – March 30, 2023

This week in Granville in 1983

By Erik Pekar

In a break from recent columns over the winter, we turn the clock back to the more recent year of 1983; namely the March 30, 1983, issue of the Granville Sentinel.

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Granville veterans had recently started a campaign to updating the memorials in front of the high school for World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. A joint committee was established with members of both the Granville Post of the American Legion and the Falvey-Fringi Post of the VFW, including Gordon “Destroyer” Smith, John Kordiak, Jack Jones, Don Pardy, and Fred Roberts Jr. The start and end dates had been expanded, widening the eligibility of having served in those wars. Names were to be added to reflect these changes, and there was concern that some already eligible names of those who served in the wars had been inadvertently left off.

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Those who praised or lauded the Village of Granville this year for having the coming fiscal year’s budget present a zero percent tax increase would not envy the village resident of 1983. The proposed budget for the 1983-84 fiscal year, called for raising taxes, from the 1982-83 fiscal year’s $74 per thousand to $82 per thousand – a roughly 10 percent tax increase. The total budget for the 1983-84 fiscal year was $668,827, with $344,397 being raised by village residents.

That year also saw something that won’t be seen today in Granville for at least four years: the changing of hands of Granville’s mayoralty. Incumbent mayor Frank Caiazza decided not to run in 1983, and Wayne Williams ran for mayor and won that month. Mayor-elect Williams was quoted as noting that tax increase was the “lowest we could do and still maintain services,” and added “I don’t think it’s a bad budget… (the tax increase) is something you can’t help”.

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Speaking of taxes, there was a familiar tune of happening in regard to the Granville Central School District. Superintendent Robert Meldrum received word from Assemblyman Neil Kelleher that state aid for the district would increase by close to 6 percent for the 1983-84 school year. The original proposed state aid increase was 0.25 percent; had that stayed intact, the district would have had to make up the difference of lost aid with a large tax increase. This year the Granville Central School District also found itself to be receiving a large increase in state aid for the coming school year.

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Over in Poultney, the Firemen’s Auxiliary announced their sponsorship of a “Dance-A-Thon,” to be held on April 9 at Green Mountain College from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Those participating would arrange for collecting pledges by the hour or for the entire 12 hour event. The pledge sheets were available in Poultney from the Poultney High School, Drake’s Pharmacy, The Party Shop, or West’s Dinette; in Granville from the Granville High School or the Granville fire chief; and from the fire chiefs for Fair Haven, Castleton, Middletown Springs, West Pawlet or Wells. The music for the event was to be furnished by radio station WVNR. The funds collected were to go to the Poultney fire department auxiliary, and whoever collected the most was to receive the grand prize of a portable twin stereo cassette unit.

It has been many years since such an event was attempted in this section, but the basic concept of raising pledges through a long-duration dancing session will be familiar to some. The same concept, with a longer duration of dancing time, has been more successful over in South Glens Falls, where their “marathon dance” has been held for over 40 years.

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A few years ago, another Granville graduate asked us why a “marathon dance” event didn’t take off in Granville. There are some possible reasons, including: lack of donors (Glens Falls, Hudson Falls, Fort Edward, Moreau and Queensbury are near South Glens Falls, Granville has fewer people nearby); lack of establishment; lack of decision on where to donate money raised; lack of knowledge of interest from Granville students regarding their ability to dance for such a duration; lack of interest by Granville area organizations in sponsoring such an event; lack of interest from community members in forming a committee to start the event; and lastly, possible concern that a Granville event would be seen as “mimicing” the South High event.

Could a marathon dance event be done in Granville? If the right civic-minded people lead its committee, if Granville’s dancers sign up, if Granville people support them, then such a dance event would be successful.

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St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church celebrated its jubilee year with a special Founding of the Church Mass on March 17. The church was founded one hundred years before. Among the events on the program were a historical reading by Mrs. Agnes Statia, co-celebration by three priests who had started in the parish (John Paro, Peter Pagones, Paul Miller), and readings.

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Also celebrating an anniversary was Bardin’s on Quaker Street, which held a discount sale in honor of 30 years in business.

The annual clean-up day was announced for Saturday, April 9. Those volunteering for the event were to gather at the Little League field before receiving their assignments.

The Granville Chamber of Commerce was preparing a summer event. In a bygone era prior to the creation of the Town-Wide Yard Sale and the Autumn Leaves Car Show, the Chamber was planning a home day type event, called “Heritage Days”. Among events being considered were a craft fair, field day, parade, block dance, and barbecue.

An amusing photo made the cover of that week’s Sentinel – a candid of the Easter Bunny himself “catching up on the latest news by reading last week’s Sentinel”. He was stationed on Granville’s Main Street for Saturday (March 27).

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In the intervening years, some things have changed. Bardin’s is now out of business, as are Drake’s Pharmacy, the Party Shop and West’s Dinette in Poultney. “Heritage Days” has not been held in many years. As said prior in this column, there haven’t been many attempts at “marathon dances” in the intervening 40 years. On the other hand, St. Mary’s Church reaches its 140th anniversary this year. The Granville veterans were successful in getting addendum plaques and adding more names to the war honor roll memorials in front of the Granville High School.

Granville Then & Now – March 23, 2023

Village candidates sometimes ran unopposed

By Erik Pekar

The topic of village elections has been on the minds of some for the past week, and with that we turn the pages of time back to 1951 and 1923.

First is this report from the March 22, 1951 issue of the Granville Sentinel: “While political contests were being held in villages throughout the state Tuesday, there was no excitement at the annual election in Granville, there being no opposition to the ticket selected by the citizens at the caucus in February. Dr. V. K. Irvine is the new mayor; Trustee Michael Caruso has been reelected to serve another two-year term and George R. Woodard, a newcomer on the village board, was elected for a two-year term. Albert Berkowitz, present police justice, was re-elected for a four-year term. The total number of votes cast was 52. The new village officials will be given the oath of office by the clerk, their terms commence at moon on the first Monday of April.”

The village election of 1923 had much of the same situation, as attested in the Sentinel of March 23, 1923: “Tuesday’s charter election in Granville was a quiet affair, there being no opposition to the regular ticket. The vote for officers was as follows: Whole number of votes cast, 52. For president, D. J. Evans, 45; trustees, Hiram Norton, 46; D. E. Roche, 43. Police justice, J. M. Potter, 45. Village clerk, Anna M. Stanton, 45. Treasurer, John H. Pember, 46. Collector, John S. Jones, 42. Assessor, L. Carr, 45. The vote on the proposition for the band, 33 for and 13 against.”

It is interesting to note that the same number of people voted in 1923 as did in 1952, a big coincidence. The major difference between the two elections is that many of the positions eligible for election were changed by state law later in the 1920s decade. This accounts for why there were many more positions up for election on the 1923 ballot, while the mayor, two trustees, and village justice were the only positions up for election on the 1951 ballot.

The situation will certainly be familiar, as the same idea of a ticket of village candidates being elected with no opposition played out this year, the only difference being that the Citizens’ Party has not existed in more than 30 years. With there being no formally registered party, there has been no need for a caucus since then, down to the present time.

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Spring is here, which means the time has arrived for the opening of Scarlotta’s Car Hop, which occurred on Wednesday, March 22. For the past month there has been much preparation and planning for the reopening.

Scarlotta’s is owned by the Barlow family – Wes and Laura, and their children Payton and Matthew – and is managed by Laura and Payton. This year is the second season back, after the Barlows acquired the village car hop early last year, renovating it and renaming it back to Scarlotta’s Car Hop.

There are changes for the second season. The interior has been redecorated with new flooring and a new heating and cooling system has been installed. A few changes have been made to the menu. Everyone has been anticipating the new season.

Scarlotta’s Car Hop is located at 45 Quaker St. in Granville. It is open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., excepting Tuesdays when it is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Best of luck, and may this season be successful.

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The snowstorm last week was quite something for many; lucky for area children and an annoyance for anyone that had to shovel the stuff. Last Monday, March 13, was rather warm, reaching into the high 40s and much of the snow left from earlier storms melted away. Rain came in by the evening. There were many who hoped that the precipitation would stay in the form of rain, but this was not to be. The switchover to snow occurred around 2 a.m. the morning of the 14th, and by 6 began to really accumulate. Roads became messy. Many area schools had snow days, including Granville. The snow was of the heavy variety. The intensity began to level off by 2 p.m., and roads began to clear up then. Light snowfall continued off and on to Wednesday morning.

The snowfall totals varied greatly in the area. The noon weather report on one of the Albany area stations had a report of an 11-inch snowfall in Granville. Some areas around did get over a foot of snow, and some even as much as two feet. Granville village and Middle Granville, on the other hand, had about 4 inches by 3 p.m. on Tuesday, and about 6 inches total when the storm finished on Wednesday.

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We received a correspondence recently requesting a correction to a section of a recent “Granville Then and Now” column where one character was off, resulting in the introduction of an error. This concerns the March 9 column, in the section about the incident in March of 1951 involving the fire truck of the West Pawlet Volunteer Fire Department and a patch of black ice in Pawlet on its way to responding to a fire on Route 3 in Pawlet. In that section, we noted of the history of the Route 3 designation and how it used to extent to Pawlet instead of ending in Center Rutland as is currently the case. The error was in the last sentence of the section, regarding the year Route 133 was assigned to the Pawlet–West Rutland state highway. The last sentence should have read: “The state highway from Pawlet to West Rutland was renumbered Route 133 in 1960 and retains that number today.” We regret the error, are happy to oblige, as leaving it would introduce a detail inconsistent to the historical record for anyone researching the history of the roads of Pawlet, or any other town along Route 133.

Granville Then & Now – March 16, 2023

Granville businesses of a century ago

By Erik Pekar

A few weeks ago in "Granville Then and Now" we looked over some advertisements of a century ago. This week we continue this endeavor, reprinting or telling of those in the March 16, 1923 issue of the Granville Sentinel.

Edwards’ Garage reminded people of the coming season: "Prepare yourself for Spring and Summer motoring by having your car looked over by a man capable of doing the job." Schermerhorn and Brown had an advertisement for the new Willys-Knight automobile, as well as the Overland and F.W.D. trucks. Beecher & Guthrie of West Pawlet had the new 1923 Chevrolet.

The changing weather at the start of spring makes way for maple season, and C. L. Streeter utilized that time of year to their advantage: "Prepare for the Sugar Season now! Get your Syrup Cans, Sap Buckets, Sap Spouts, Sugar Pails, Tapping Bits, etc."

Haskins’ Drug Store advertised denatured alcohol and engine oil at 75 cents per gallon. E. C. Hewitt & Co. had a special; two cans of "New York State Bantam Evergreen Corn" for 25 cents. F. D. Ingalls reminded people of his upholstering business.

M. W. Freydberg announced their "spring opening", with the latest new clothing, including suits for men, for ladies, dresses, coats, wraps, and capes.

Spring brings mud season and both Ginsburg’s and W.F. Sweet had specials for rubber boots. Among the prices were $2 children’s boots for $1.59 and $5 men’s boots for $3.25 at Ginsburg’s, and men’s work shoes ranging from $1.98 to $5 at Sweet’s store. Adams & Snyder shoe store also announced a stock of rubber boots.

Wilson Clothing Co. also got into the trend of the changing season: "Why not think about your Spring wardrobe now. Our stock of Spring merchandise is quite complete and the styles are very much up-to-date, at prices considerably less than a year ago." Among the merchandise were top coats, suits, hats, caps, shirts, neckwear, hose, and collars. Margaret Warren’s "Ladies’ Store" also was advertising of their spring lines, and other seasonal items such as Easter greeting cards.

B. Goldberg, "the corner clothier", had new spring suits with "new styles, new patterns, new colors", and invited people to "come in and look them over." The Granville Bargain House and N. Goldberg & Son also had their new spring lines coming in.

All three banks operating in the village of Granville in 1923 – the Granville National Bank, the Farmers’ National Bank, and the Washington County National Bank – competed with one another as they encouraged people to start and use a bank account.

Barnard Brothers announced "National Canned Goods Week", with such items as: peas, 15 to 35 cents per can; corn, 15 to 25 cents per can, and a 2 cans for 25 cents deal; tomatoes, 15 to 25 cents per can; string beans, 20 and 30 cents. Other canned items noted were succotash, spinach, beets, asparagus, sauerkraut, sweet potatoes, carrots, cranberry beans, red kidney beans, green lima beans, mixed vegetables, pumpkin; all retailed from 15 to 25 cents per can, with the exception of asparagus at 45 cents per can. Also mentioned was a "wonderful line of canned fruits."

A.A. White’s Sanitary Market: pork chops, 20 cents per pound; hamburg, 2 pounds for 25 cents; pure creamery butter, 55 cents per pound; stewing beef, 5 cents per pound. The C. W. Sherman Estate store in West Rupert announced a "Special Grocery Sale" for March 16 and 17, where many items were priced 19 cents.

The Ellis & Jones grocery store announced the new Post’s Bran Flakes for 15 cents a package.

E. R. Evans’ drug store had specials in stationary, for 50 cents to $3.50; perfumes, 35 cents to $7; flashlights and batteries, 75 cents to $3; and the Belle Meade line of candies, 20 cents to $2 per box. Lasher’s was advertising Rexall products.

S. Weinberg was advertising of Andes ranges, which had the taglines of "the most beautiful range I have ever seen" and "better cooking for less money." Other items included Masury paint, "a paint for every purpose"; and wallpaper with "spring patterns." G.H. Bascom had new rugs.

Granville Candy Land, the Angelo DiBernardo confectionary, was "the place where you can get the Freshest, Best and Purest Candy at a Low Price", such as salted peanuts for 18 cents per pound, peanut butter and molasses kisses for 18 cents per pound, and vanilla and chocolate fudge for 25 cents per pound.

Granville Candy Kitchen, another confectionary owned by Harry G. Seferlis, also had some specials: fresh peanut brittle, 25 cents per pound; chocolate drops, 25 cents per pound; French vanilla ice cream, 50 cents for quart or 25 cents for pint; Neapolitan ice cream at 60 cents for quart, 30 cents for pint.

M.S. Strong called for work on monuments, headstones, markers, and other forms of cemetery work. H.E. Hemenway, jeweler and optician, had an electric motor for $20 that would allow one to "wind your Victrola by electricity." G. H. McDonald & Son headed their advertisement with the "Miss Manhattan" line of assortments, also having long cloth for 16 cents per yard and bedspreads for $1.49.

Smith’s Feed Mill advertised a cow feed product called "Purina Cow Chow." William W. Cary wanted raw furs, and was willing to pay "the highest market price." Levi Ayres was an agent for Prairie State: "Chicks – If you are going to hatch or breed any during the coming season it is none too early to order your incubators, brooders, coal burning brooder stoves or other poultry equipment."

The Granville Electric and Gas Company, which a few weeks prior was encouraging locals to purchase stock in the corporation, appealed again to the Granville public: "Let Dividends Pay Your Lighting Bills – Make good use of your spare dollars by investing them in the preferred stock of the Granville Electric and Gas Company. The dividends that are payable regularly every three months will be a great help in paying your gas and electric bills. It means a safe, sound investment with dependable returns.

"A limited amount of preferred stock is offered at $100 a share. Annual dividends at the rate of $7.00 per share are payable quarterly. Not subject to normal Federal income tax. Full and complete details concerning the stock and the attractive partial payment plan will be provided by our office or employee of the company. Apply by mail, telephone or in person Granville Electric and Gas Company, Granville, New York."

A new business opening appeared, the announcement reading: "My friends in Granville and vicinity will be interested to learn that I have leased the store in Dr. Collins’ Block for the purpose of opening a complete and up-to-date Gents’ Furnishings Establishment, with the merchandise of the highest obtainable quality. Please watch this space for date of opening. – Morris Rote-Rosen."

Dances were advertised as well. The Grange was having a dance on St. Patrick’s Night, March 17, starting at 8 p.m. with round and square dancing. The admission there was $1 per couple and 25 cents for "extra lady." A Home Folks Dance and chicken salad supper was announced for April 2 at the Fairvale Inn in North Granville. No starting times or admission were mentioned, but the dance would take place "on two floors", go until 3 a.m., and that 5% of proceeds would be "donated to American Legion of Granville Monument Fund." Both dances were to have music furnished by Juckett’s 5-Piece Orchestra.

Granville Then & Now – March 9, 2023

Icy roads proved troublesome for fire truck

By Erik Pekar

Winter weather can wreak havoc on highway travel, and one of many examples through the years is attested in the Granville Sentinel of March 8, 1951. The Sunday before the dateline (March 4), a fire was called in about 6:30 a.m., at the Roblee Mason home off Route 3 in Pawlet; the West Pawlet and Granville fire companies were called to respond.

The unusual incident was recounted: "While on its way to the Mason home the West Pawlet fire truck figured in an accident. Skidding on an icy spot at the Route 3 intersection in Pawlet, the heavy vehicle went through a large bay window in the house occupied by Mrs. Lucy Dickerson. Though unhurt, Mrs. Dickerson who lives alone in the house was badly frightened. The truck was considerably damaged but as far as is known none of the firemen were injured. It is believed the truck would have plunged into the room where Mrs. Dickerson was asleep had it not been stopped by a heavy wall."

Of note is that the local response to the Mason fire was not from Pawlet firefighters, but from the West Pawlet Volunteer Fire Department; that organization had only been formed a few years earlier in 1947. Pawlet in 1951 had no firefighting organization in the hamlet; that would not change until 1968, with the formation of the Pawlet Volunteer Fire Department.

In addition, the mention of Route 3 would baffle many, as Vermont’s Route 3 is designated only from Pittsford to Center Rutland. The article is not wrong in naming Route 3; older maps do indeed show a Route 3 starting at Route 30 in Pawlet, going to Middletown Springs, continuing east with Route 140 until splitting off to go north to Ira and to West Rutland, where it met Route 4 and overlapped that road to meet the current Route 3 in Center Rutland. The state highway from Pawlet to West Rutland was renumbered Route 133 in 1966 and retains that number today.

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In the same issue, the Granville PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) announced its next meeting on March 12 would be of a nature unlike any other: "The meeting is going to be much different than any meeting that we have had this year. We have done our business and had time for fun and refreshment at every meeting so far this year but never have we had a meeting devoted solely to the purpose of fellowship and good fun.

"At this meeting, you will be able to really rub elbows with those people you have been wanting to for some time. We are all going to meet at 6 p.m. for a family night meeting. Everyone is asked to bring a dish of food to be passed around and also dishes and silver for themselves. Everyone will be furnished with rolls, coffee, milk.

"The regular meeting is going to be dispensed with and the supper, as we said before, will start at 6 p.m. sharp. After supper, there will be a program of movies and square dancing which is bound to be enjoyable to everyone who attends." The committee who devised the fun night was composed of Mrs. Walter Sheloski, chair; Mrs. E. Owens, Mrs. L. Browde, Mrs. R. Bliss, Mrs. H. Williams, Mrs. A. Vanderminden, Mrs. K. Somich, and Mrs. E. Waterman.

Perhaps more unusual for the time period was that the PTA meeting was open to all ages: "The wonderful part about the program is that it is designed to accommodate every member of the family. Even the little tots have been thought of because this affair will be over in time for them to get home and to be before they have lost much of their usual sleeping time."

While time has passed, there is still interest in the idea of an organization that involves parents and teachers and facilitates them working together for the betterment of the education of the children within the district. The group has changed form a few times, going from a Parent-Teacher Association affiliated with the national PTA, to an independent PTO, to a PTA again, and back to a PTO, which is its current form in 2023. On the other hand, today’s wives in the Granville PTO would rightfully object if someone attempted the 1950s convention of being referred to as "Mrs." husband’s name rather than by their own names.

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The snowstorm this past Saturday was quite a break from previous storms this year. While earlier storms were preceded by ice storms or frigid weather, the temperatures the day and night before were around 40 degrees; there was no ice. With such warm temperatures, the snowfall was of the heavy, wet type. Those who shoveled or plowed that snow found it clumped together well, and due to the preceding warmer weather, there was no ice underneath. It was only after the storm had run its course that temperatures dropped.

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Granville’s winter sports had a variety of results for the conclusion of their seasons, but there was a shining star and recognition for Granville and the Golden Horde. A couple weeks ago at the New York state wrestling championships, Brent Perry finished third in his weight and school class. He is the highest placing Granville wrestler at states in recent years, and since Scott Sabo in 1981. Congratulations, Brent.

The top eight also included another wrestler of this region for which congratulations are in order, Whitehall’s Troy Austin, who finished fourth. Both are seniors, concluded their high school wrestling careers at states, and both also played on the inaugural season of the merged Granville-Whitehall football team.

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We recently visited with John "Hector" Norton, who has many compliments of thanks for those who gave him greetings and felicitations for his 99th birthday back in January. "People went out of their way to write to me, and write notes, some longer than others … some people I haven’t seen in years", said Norton. He received 197 cards in total. "I saved them all," remarked Norton, adding: "I appreciated it, and my family appreciated it also."

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Daylight Savings Time begins this coming Sunday, March 12. Remember to "spring forward" and turn the clocks ahead an hour before going to bed.

Granville Then & Now – March 2, 2023

A sampling of 1923 happenings

By Erik Pekar

Looking over the local mention column of the Feb. 23, 1923 issue, we noticed this item: "The first day of spring is less than a month away. Doesn’t look it, eh?" Early in the week of Feb. 23, 2023, the ground was almost bare, last year’s grass showing, and the temperatures were not particularly cold. The temperatures rose to near 60 degrees the week before that. It was a stark contrast from the conditions of a month ago, when there was a cold wave and the thermometer dipped below zero during two days.

The warmer, milder conditions of two weeks ago and early last week are also a stark contrast to the latter part of last week, and this week. A storm came through last Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, depositing a few inches of snow. This has stuck around, and the weather has not returned to such conditions that would melt the stuff away.

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The following is sampling of a few advertisements from the March 2, 1923 issue of the Granville Sentinel. The H.B. Rood Studio reminded people of the popularity of photos: "Friends want your photograph and they will prize a really good one. Send one to the folks at home."

Ansel Buss, an electrical contractor based on Irving Avenue, had this: "Have Buss Wire Your Home – Rates are moderate, satisfaction is assured, now is the time! – My policy has not been to see how close I can come to the minimum standard set by the underwriters and ‘get by’. I aim rather to give you better work than absolutely required. That’s why I have become an established, reliable and successful electrical contractor – Estimates cheerfully furnished."

Wilson Clothing Company used its ad that week to appeal to those engaged in agriculture: "Farmers, why not be ready when all this snow melts with your Rubber Footwear. You will surely need it. Rubber Boots, Rubber Overshoes, Heavy Shoe Rubbers, Lace Rubber Pacs, Leather Top Rubber Shoes. Ball Band, United States and Converse Products at reasonable prices." The farmer still needs these boots today to tackle the mud in the early spring, but they won’t be getting boots at Wilson’s; the store closed more than 30 years ago.

The closing of the Hickey store last week turned out to have another layer of complexity to it, as revealed in this ad for another Granville store. "Glickman says: our lease has run out in Hickey’s Store, therefore I was forced to move the stock into my store. Folks, I am real crowded, as there was a lot of merchandise left. Together with the large stock of Spring Merchandise I have bought, which is coming in daily, I am forced to move the balance of this stock at any price, so here goes. Read and save money – Henry Glickman." Such low prices included $2 dress shirts now for 77 cents, 75 cent silk neckwear now for 37 cents, and boys’ school suits valued normally to $8.50 now valued to $1.95. The Glickman store was located on Main Street in what was then called the Rigali block. Many years and some renovations later, the building is now occupied by O’Reilly Auto Parts.

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The efforts to lure prospective customers away from the merchants of smaller villages to those distant cities was nothing new in 1923. The Retail Merchants Trade Committee of Rutland, Vermont took out an advertisement in the March 2 issue for a discount day on March 14. The ad proclaimed it as "a History-Making Day for Rutland and vicinity", and that "the united efforts of all Rutland Merchants are combined in a great co-operative one day offerings of Special Values which will open the eyes of the buying public." and that it would be a big event "For All the Thrifty". The members were all in, as "all Merchants are preparing to make this Dollar Day one of the Banner Sale Days ever held in the State." The writers of the ad touted the city "as a buying center unique in scope, variety and values … this is what we hope you will remember us by in the future." More ads were placed locally, and in the Rutland Herald.

Such discount days were also done by the city to the west, Glens Falls. As for Granville, its merchants would do such days off and on in the coming decades. Granville would not make such discount days regular to attract people to shop Granville merchants until the rise of Granville Days and the Friday night raffle drawings by the early 1960s – nearly 40 years after the cities had already started similar promotional programs.

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The changing of times is again shown by this local mention item: "A company of young people enjoyed a sleigh ride to the home of Miss Freida White at North Granville Friday evening, where they were pleasantly entertained." While sleigh rides in general can be done with snow, a sleigh ride as a method of transportation is not feasible today. At that time, snow on roads was packed down with rollers, making for great sleighing conditions. Even as soon as 20 years later, snow covered roads would instead be plowed to the dirt or pavement, as is done today.

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In another news item, a Granville business owner "tied the knot": "The marriage of Louis Goldberg and Miss Zelda Miller took place Sunday afternoon at the home of the bride’s mother, Mrs. M. Miller of 1210 Sheridan Avenue, New York City, with only immediate relatives as guests. A wedding dinner was served. The bride was a former Whitehall resident and graduate of the high school in that village. The groom is a member of the firm of N. Goldberg and Son and has a legion of friends in Granville and vicinity who will wish for him and his bride a happy future." The N. Goldberg and Son store building on Main Street, since demolished, is now the site of the Granville Lions Club’s park area in front of their summer furniture sale warehouse.

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Announcements and notices made the front cover of the Sentinel of March 2, 1923. One was from the Granville Electric and Gas company, concerning their intention to "issue a limited amount of preferred stock and it is to be disposed of at home. It makes for a better realization of the necessities and problems of the company among the home people and provides safe and sane investment for funds which are too frequently used for the promotion and betterment of service in communities other than our own; investments in enterprises which are far from the watchful eye of the investor." Today, through mergers and consolidations, local utilities like the Granville Electric and Gas Company or the Granville Telephone Company are long gone, their Granville franchises now being maintained by companies with a scope of either regional (in the case of electric) or national (in the case of telephone service).

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Another front page notice was of a political nature: "If the voters of the town of Pawlet elect me as road commissioner on the west side for the coming year, I will try to serve the town to the best of my ability. I am a candidate and will appreciate the support of the voters. – F.J. Statia, Pawlet, Vermont." This was for Town Meeting Day, which was held the coming week.

Elections are coming round again this year. 2023’s Town Meeting Day is this coming Tuesday for all our neighboring townships in Vermont, to elect select board members and other town officials. Granville also has an election coming up, as some members of the village board of trustees are almost at the end of their terms and their positions up for election. The incumbents are mayor Paul Labas, board members Dan Brown and Dean Hyatt, and village judge Roger Forando, and they are running unopposed. The Granville village election will be held March 21.

All residents eligible to vote in their respective communities are encouraged to exercise their right and go out and vote in their community’s election.

Granville Then & Now – February 23, 2023

Business changes among news in 1923

By Erik Pekar

There were many news items and other information in the Feb. 23, 1923 issue of the Granville Sentinel, including several regarding businesses.

The end was near for one business advertising in the Sentinel and was well-stated to their customers: "3 More Days – Thursday, Friday, Saturday – And We Are Through – Folks, we have but three more days left in which to dispose of our entire stock, then we are through. Saturday night we close our doors. Our lease runs out and we are forced to go. Everything MUST go, regardless of cost! Remember: 3 more days and we are through; 3 more days of unheard-of values; 3 more days never to be forgotten. Come early and don’t be disappointed. – Hickey’s – Going Out Of Business – Granville, N.Y."

The Hickey store occupied the first floor of the Hickey building on Main Street, which burned in 1931. By that time it was occupied by Sam Bloom’s five and dime store, rebuilt as a one-story building (from Main Street). The building has gone through many ownership changes and businesses since Bloom sold the building and store more than 60 years ago; it is presently owned by Owen Crawford.

Around that time, another store had vacated a Main Street building, but not due to lease expiration. The same issue had an ad which had evidently run in the Sentinel for several weeks: "Notice! After January 1 our store stock in the Collins block, will be removed to our residence, Church Street, where we will keep a full stock and solicit your continued patronage. – B. Yanklowitz & Son, Granville Jobbing House, Granville, N.Y." The Collins block still stands today on East Main Street; it is presently occupied by the Opal Rose store.

Another item, for some readers when new may have brought recollections of Granville of a much earlier time: "The remains of Mrs. Frances A. Whitcomb were brought to Granville Sunday morning and taken to East Rupert for burial. Deceased was a daughter of Harry Sykes and widow of Aaron Whitcomb, they being residents of Granville prior to 1875, when Mr. Whitcomb was a proprietor of a jewelry store here. A daughter survives, Mrs. R. W. Smith of Brooklyn." Whitcomb was among the first advertisers in the very first issue of the Granville Sentinel, dated Sept. 17, 1875.

The automobile had revolutionized travel and now it was starting to make another change towards modernization. The Middle Granville column noted this item: "Williams Brothers have purchased a new truck with which they will carry their men to and from the quarries." For many of the slate companies in this era, this luxury was not available, and the slate workers made their way from Middle Granville or Granville to the quarries by foot.

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The demolition of the 15 East Main building, corner of East Main and Slocum Avenue, reached the floor level on Jan. 29. Preparations for demolition had started in the fall, but work did not begin until January. The building, which was of brick construction, served several purposes in its life. At one point it was the Noxon residence. For some years, Elliott Barrow ran his insurance agency from the building. Its most recent use was as an apartment building, some 15 to 30 years ago. It had been vacant and run-down for some time; the demolition of the building removes a dilapidated eyesore from this section of Granville.

The lot is being cleared and leveled and is planned to become parking space for the building across Slocum Avenue at 13 East Main Street (the Collins block mentioned above). The demolition also affords the opportunity, with cooperation from utilities, of slightly widening Slocum Avenue where the building formerly stood, which would remove a bottleneck on that part of the street.

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Last year, in the June 9 column of "Granville Then and Now," we wrote of the businesses and owners of Granville’s Main Street in the 1960s, and named those who owned or managed businesses then who were still living: John Belemjian, Phil Berke, John Norton, owners, and Ron Barrett, manager of the Grand Union.

Earlier this month, John Belemjian passed away. For many years, he was the co-owner of the Granville Pharmacy. He and Robert Brown purchased the Haskins Drug Store from H. Gray Haskins in January 1963. Within a year he moved to Granville with his family. During his years in Granville and at the Granville Pharmacy, Belemjian made the business countless customers and made numerous friends and acquaintances.

He sold his share to Brown in 1983 and went to other places. For some time he worked for the Mary McClellan Hospital, but within a few years he moved down south to Georgia. There, he worked for the Treasury Drug pharmacy chain and then as a pharmacy manager for a store in the Winn-Dixie grocery store chain. He retired in 1997 and was living out his retirement years in Florida.

With his knowledge and personality, through the operation of running the Granville Pharmacy, John Belemjian helped better Granville. Many still fondly recall the pharmacy and him being a pharmacist, both as being of such quality and form that is generally not seen today. He will be missed, but not forgotten.

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We were recently shown an article in another paper of this vicinity that will be of interest to Granville people. The article, penned by Anthony F. Hall, was published in the February 2023 issue of the Lake George Mirror.

The Granville connection comes in the first paragraph: "Martha Levy is best known in this area as the painter of ‘Men Working in Slate Quarry,’ the 1939 mural that hung in the Granville High School and then in the Town Hall before being moved to the Slate Valley Museum in 1995."

Hall’s article, however, concerned another of Levy’s works, titled "Winter Scene." Painted in 1934, it shows a bleak landscape of snow and hills, a dark gray sky, barren trees, and a couple houses in the distance with small evergreens adjacent. A man with a rifle has trudged through the snow and is heading towards the structures.

He wrote: "Levy’s painting is hardly a celebration of American life … (it) is, perhaps, … a response to ‘the social situation’. Rather than a celebration, it is, if anything, a commentary on life during the Great Depression, a visual critique of a political and economic system that many artists believed was the source of the decade’s bleak conditions."

Hall compared Levy’s "Winter Scene" to Elder Pieter Bruegel’s "Hunters in the Snow (Winter)", from 1565, noting Bruegel’s "inhabited landscape … with communal work and play". Hall also likened "Men Working in Slate Quarry" as a "modern equivalent of the collective spirit" displayed in Bruegel’s painting.

Hall contrasted the Bruegel painting with Levy’s depiction of a "solitary figure" returning to a darkened farmhouse, speculating "it is not his own home, but rather an abandoned farm, one deserted by the occupants or one from which the tenants have been evicted." Hall went further to surmise that the painting portrayed "not so much a faltering economic system, but its collapse."

At the time of painting "Winter Scene," Martha Levy was employed by the Public Works of Art Project, a federal "New Deal" program that financially supported artists. She later worked for the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project; it was under that program which Levy painted scenes together of Granville’s slate industry in "Men Working in Slate Quarry."

We thank Hall for the commentary on two of Martha Levy’s paintings, and the mention of the "Men Working in Slate Quarry" mural and it being at the Slate Valley Museum. It is a unique compliment to read of the mural being likened to the famed Bruegel painting. There may be publicity generated about Granville by this; Granville won’t be able to take advantage of Lake George area residents, vacationers and tourists who may be curious about the Martha Levy mural in Granville, as the Slate Valley Museum is presently closed to the public for the winter season.

Granville Then & Now – February 16, 2023

Cold snap, whipping winds hit region

By Erik Pekar

Snapshots of the recent "big chill": chilly days and chilly nights … people readying their supplies … cars parked "hood out" to facilitate easy jumping of car batteries should they malfunction from the cold … winds whipping through with no end in sight … houses and porches making "snapping" or "crackling" noises … the thermometer reading about negative 20 degrees in this vicinity overnight Friday into Saturday … businesses opening later on Saturday to give employees and customers alike time to warm up … from about 3 p.m. on Friday to 1 p.m. on Saturday, the thermometer reading did not rise above zero … people checking and refilling tires, which had reduced pressure due to the extreme cold … quiet streets overnight and into morning due to many people staying in from the cold … the dying down of wind Saturday afternoon bringing an end to the horrid wind chills … the gradual warmup over Saturday and Sunday.

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The cold snap that came through a couple of weekends ago sure worried a lot of people, with concerns of cars not starting, houses being too cold, and other situations. Some did worry, but others took it as it happened, knowing that in prior years these cold waves would come along for a week, or even a month. The temperatures had varied somewhat in late January, but not to this extent. In fact, on the first two days of February, the temps were near 30.

After Feb. 2, they fell overnight, and would not recover for a few days. On the morning of Friday, Feb. 3, it was 7 degrees at the daybreak about 7:15 a.m., and that was the warmest it would get. By noon, it was 5; by 3 p.m., it was one degree, and by 5 p.m., it was zero. The winds, and accompanying wind chill, picked up by noon. Within a couple hours, it had gone below zero.

Overnight, the temperatures continued their slow descent. By 6 a.m. on Saturday, it was -19 degrees. But this was the end of the fall. Over Saturday, the temperatures began to slowly climb back up from the low. By noon, it was back to 0. Over the afternoon, it slowly rose, stalled at around 2 degrees for a few hours, before rising to 10 degrees by the end of Saturday. Over Sunday, the temperature climbed back up out of the dip. It reached 20 around 11 a.m., and 30 by 5 p.m. The cold snap had finally come to an end; over the next several days (last week), the temps reached into the 40s for a few days.

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As the days rolled by in January, the question was on the minds of some of what television station would mention Granville in a news story first. There was also the question of whether the story topic would be human interest, developments, retrospectives, anniversaries of event, or crime.

That distinction would go to WTEN, and its news SUV was seen around town the day of Jan. 18. A few establishing video shots were taken at the corner of West Main and Glen Streets, and they were also sighted in the salon near the intersection, and just east of Granville near Loomis Trucking in the town of Pawlet, Vermont.

The news story aired on the afternoon news block the same day. It turned out that Granville made it onto television news for something roughly involving the last two aforementioned topics. It concerned the mysterious and still unresolved disappearance of Jonathan Schaff on Jan. 18, 2014, nine years ago.

As is common practice, James De La Fuente, the reporter for this news story, interviewed a local to get the sense of community feeling about this unfortunate situation. There, De La Fuente found his interviewee: Payton Barlow, co-owner of Scarlotta’s Car Hop. Barlow, like others in this town, felt the disappearance was "strange" and added that his fate is still speculated and he is still talked about today.

If anyone has any information that could lead to the closing of this unfortunate case, they are encouraged to contact the Granville Police Department or the Vermont State Police.

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Over the month of January, Christmas decorations were taken down from the houses, lawns, and businesses of this vicinity. This also included the village of Granville, where the lights at Veterans Memorial Park were turned off on Jan. 16. The Granville village DPW began removing decorations on Jan. 11. On Main Street, the Christmas trees, garland, and wreaths were removed on Jan. 12. The decorative building outline lights on the Main Street buildings were also turned off at this time. The rest of the decorations around the village were removed by Jan. 21. Decorations are now stored away until the next Christmas holiday season.

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Last month, over the week of Jan. 12, Verizon moved its telephone utility lines on Church Street to cross the Mettowee River on the utility poles put up last year. The old "detour" wires and poles near the rail trail bridge were taken down. The process was completed Jan. 17. The right of way restoration is the other "bookend" to the Church Street bridge replacement project, as right of way clearance was the first stage of the project back in winter of 2021. The new bridge looks great, and its styling will impress those who come through Granville on Church Street.

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Last month, two Granville area residents passed away, both of whom made a positive impact in the Granville community, in one way or another.

Elizabeth "Jessie" Roberts served the Granville community by helping others, namely in her more than 60 year long career in nursing, where she worked such places as the Emma Laing Stevens Hospital and Mary McClellan Hospital (both defunct), Indian River Nursing Home (now Granville Center) and lastly the Orchard in North Granville (now Slate Valley Center). She was also involved with the Poultney Area St. David’s Society. Her husband Richard T. Roberts Jr. was co-owner of Dick’s Place on Main Street in late 1940s and 1950s; the storefront is presently occupied by Maggie’s Hair Salon.

Phil Webster Sr. was involved in community functions in Granville for many years, including the Granville Masons and the Boy Scouts. Webster, along with his wife Susan, owned Bernardo’s Restaurant for a few years in the late 1970s.

Both did well to better Granville in some way, whether in business or in community involvement, and they both will be missed.

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Another change has happened that shines a spotlight on time’s march forward, and the replacement of old technology with new, as the payphone in the Granville Stewart’s convenience store was removed last month.

Stewart’s Shops announced in late 2022 that they would be removing any remaining pay phones from their stores and replacing them with phones for the associates. Until this time, any store that had a payphone, including the Granville Stewart’s, used the number as their sole phone number. The removal would be "clean", as the wall would be repaired to look as if the phone had never been there.

With its removal, Granville no longer has any working payphones. About 50 to 60 years ago there were several in the area, including: two on Main Street in the village, at the old village hall and in front of the A&P (now the auto parts store); in Middle Granville at Chapman’s; in Wells at the business variously known as the Lewis ice cream bar or Bruno’s (now the Wells Country Store). The payphone outside of Chapman’s is still present but has not been known to work for some years.

The removal of payphones, a process which has been going on for over a decade, is a result of the growth of use of cell phones and smartphones. The use of the mobile phones has permeated the population to such an extent for long enough now that the telephone companies deemed the payphones obsolete.

Granville Then & Now – February 9, 2023

Looking back at writings of 2022

By Erik Pekar

Another year has passed, and with it completes another year’s group of issues of the Sentinel. Last month, we went through a set of the 2022 issues. With a folder and a pair of scissors, we clipped out the 2022 articles of “Granville Then and Now.” A copy of each issue was saved every week for this purpose. This is a tradition that began when we first started writing for the Sentinel.

As we progressed through the stack of newspapers, clipping out the column, our attention was taken at times by historical topics or then-current items of interest. We wrote of the naming history of the Mettowee River, how it was once called the “Granville” or “Pawlet” river and emphasized that the spelling with the “o” is correct (Mettowee, not “Mettawee”).

We told of the several yearly installments of stories of “Lincolniana” recalled by Morris Rote-Rosen in his “Main Street” column during the late 1950s and 1960s. We wrote of the story of a collection of glass plate negatives found by the now-defunct Granville Heritage Society in 1979, and how the photo of the A. C. Smith ice cream parlor led to this writer identifying the negatives as being taken by photographer Nellie J. Lewis.

We wrote of the 1967 Main Street fire, of the events of that day. We also wrote of concerns, in the wake of the Wilmarth building fire in Greenwich, about firefighter access if a Main Street fire occurred again. We wrote about the elusive board game called the “Game of Granville”. We told of the 1918 influenza epidemic in Granville, its impact, and the establishment of an emergency hospital, where local nurses made a valiant effort in helping those affected.

We wrote of the Palm Sunday flower show put on for many years by Jim and Mona Crandall out of their greenhouse on the Middle Granville road. We told of the history of Daylight Savings Time, and how the village of Granville used to adjust the time so DST would not interfere with the schedule of rural non-village students who resided in the town where there then was no DST. We lamented the closing of Parker’s Dairy after more than 120 years in business, and expressed thankfulness that the land of the former Diplock farm in Middle Granville, rented out to another farmer for some years now, would remain farmed land in a continuation of that arrangement.

We wrote a retrospective of the life of Granville resident John Norton, best known for being an owner of the Wilson’s clothing store in Granville. We wrote of the owners of businesses and offices on Granville’s Main Street in the 1960s contemporary to Norton and Wilson’s. We made an appeal for Granville memorabilia and historic documents and thanked Dennis and Kathy Williams when they donated a Granville promotional vanity plate.

Reflecting on the request for a traffic light in West Granville at the intersection of Route 40 and County Route 17, we wrote of past attempts to get flashing traffic lights at other local intersections. We wrote of the history of crosswalk curb ramps on Granville’s Main Street, and the part that the Granville Lionesses played in getting the first set installed in the 1980s. We commemorated the reintroduction of the “files features” in the Sentinel and the Times last July by writing of the history of such features in both papers.

We wrote of the radio career of Granville’s Bob Bascom, who worked for many years at radio stations in this vicinity, including a few long stints at Lakes Region Radio (WVNR and WNYV). With the research request made by Elio Del Sette, we wrote of his recollections of the Granville Drama Club and “The Sound of Music”. We wrote an uncommon topic for this column, a business retrospective, on the Pine Grove Diner at its ten-year anniversary of current ownership. We wrote of the local participation over the years in the state’s Adopt-a-Highway roadside garbage removal program. To commemorate the 140th anniversary of the Granville Baptist Church’s current edifice, we wrote of the church’s history and the chronology of its pastors.

Two Granville women became centenarians within weeks of each other, and we wrote retrospectives on both Helen Macura and Marge Thomas. We wrote of the history of the naming of McGuire’s Corners, the intersection of Routes 22 and 149 south of Granville. We wrote a retrospective on the real estate career of Craig Campbell, who was in the industry for nearly 50 years. We recalled the introductions of new 1958 model year cars as advertised by local dealerships in autumn 1957, and the following week we did the same for new 1958 model year pickup trucks. The Christmas greetings given by Granville area merchants in 1952 were reprinted. We closed the year of columns with one recalling the business happenings of the Granville area during 2022.

Many current happenings also were covered or noted as they occurred. We wrote of the Church Street bridge reopening, and the Granville Community Foundation’s announcement of meeting its 2021 fundraising goal. We paid attention to events in the area, such as the town wide yard sale, Penrhyn car show, Autumn Leaves Car Show, tree lighting, Festival of Trees, and lighted tractor parade. In one issue we noticed an item which reminded us again of the marching on of time. The passing of Iva Liebig last March marked the end of an era, for with her went the longtime business of Liebig Berries. It did not reopen, and the land has been listed for sale.

We congratulated our Granville athletes, such as the varsity field hockey team making it to sectionals. We also noted the doubly interesting situation of the modified field hockey team; they had a new coach, Payton Barlow, and they completed the season undefeated.

We kept up with most, if not all, of the road work for highways in or near the Granville area. These were state, county, town or village roads, and even the Church Street bridge, the final project stages of which were finally finished. Early in the year we noted of the bad condition of some of Granville’s sidewalks, and that they had been this way for many years. After the village board approved fixing up some sidewalks in September, we commended them for taking that action, and the village DPW for doing the quality work to replace those sidewalks.

We covered new business openings and reopenings, some of them with interviews, and as always, we wished the owners the best in the new business endeavors. In the event of business closures, we lamented the loss of the business from the Granville area. From the word on the street there were two business happenings which gave the most surprise to Granville people. One was the return of Scarlotta’s Car Hop under the ownership of the Barlow family. The other was the reveal that the future occupant of the former Manchester Wood factory is Amazon, which is redeveloping the building for a type of package distribution center they call a “last-mile delivery station.”

We continued to follow the merging of the Granville and Whitehall football teams. We wrote of the approval of the merger, of the choosing and hiring of head coach Darin Eggleston and his assistant coaches. We wrote of the introduction of the first season of merged Granville-Whitehall football, which many were looking forward to, and talked with Matthew Barlow, a Granville senior on the team, who was excited about playing for the merged team. We congratulated the team on their first winning game. Their first season may not have been a breakout success, registering an overall record of 3-7, but in any case it is a start from which to improve on.

The process of clipping out the columns of “Granville Then and Now” continued until we reached the end of last year’s papers. We sorted out all the clippings of the column in order by published date and placed the stack of columns in the folder we mentioned at the beginning of this writing. Having finished clipping all of “Granville Then and Now” for 2022, we filed the folder in the cabinet and put away the scissors until next year.

Note: corrected to add missing "of" in paragraph on Granville-Whitehall football merger

Granville Then & Now – February 2, 2023

More local news as it was in 1923

By Erik Pekar

Last week in “Granville Then and Now,” the happenings in the vicinity of Granville in January of 1923 were recalled, as reported by 23 correspondents in their personal mention columns, as printed in the Jan. 26, 1923 issue of the Granville Sentinel. This week we look at more news items from the same dated issue, in the local and personal mention columns covering the Village of Granville.

The Granville local mention column originally gave news items just like the other columns. By the 1920s it was mostly club notes and news items that didn’t seem to fit elsewhere, such as people buying, renting, or moving.

A little bit of beautification effort can go a long way: “A force of men are at work placing new telephone poles on the streets and resetting others. This will make a great improvement in the streets of the village.” Despite the terminology, it is possible that in 1923 “telephone pole” could have been used as it is today, to refer to any utility pole regardless of whether the telephone line is the only type of line, or not there at all. As a result, it is unclear if this was the work of the Granville Telephone Company, or the local electric provider.

A changing of farm stewardship was reported: “John Powers, who has had charge of the Willow Glen farm, has rented the former John D. Potter farm and will move there in the spring. George Potuznick, who has been on the Potter farm for several years, will go to the Henry Welch farm in North Hebron.”

Weather, that eternal talking subject, also made the local mention column that week: “A real ‘January thaw’ developed over the weekend, and as a result of the rainfall which continued from Saturday night until Sunday afternoon, the snowbanks were freed of their accumulations of snow and ice. Walking was unpleasant and the streets were filled with slush.”

Among the news items from clubs and groups reported in the column was a belated yearly reorganization item from the Granville Masons: “At the Masonic temple Jan, 3 the following officers of Granville lodge, No. 55, F. and A.M., were installed for the ensuing year: Master, George B. Norton; senior warden, James N. Mason; junior warden, John F. Williams; senior deacon, Walter Doll; junior deacon, Merritt B. Searles; marshal, Hiram S. Norton; senior master of ceremonies, Edward L. Barnard; junior master of ceremonies, Fred I. Rathbun; treasurer, John F. Pember; secretary, Ray F. Williams; chaplain, Rev. J. C. Simmons; tiler, Lafayette Carr.”

One item reported of an interesting concept in funding for getting a new fire fighting apparatus: “The Henry Hose company at the annual meeting voted to discard its present obsolete fire fighting equipment and is soliciting funds for the purchase of a new auto-truck. They have been successful in their aim so far, having raised $1,000 in two days and only 30 signers on the subscription list. The Henry Hose company has been in operation as a volunteer fire company in Granville since 1884 and this is the first time they come before the residents of the village for financial support. By having an up to date fire fighting apparatus and no time lost in getting to fires, the citizens of Granville will be repaid tenfold by the firemen being able to arrive on time and save many dollars’ worth of property. This plan of raising funds is bound to meet with success by appreciative Granville residents who have always benefitted by the unselfish service of the volunteer fire companies of this village."

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The Granville personal mention column operated much like the other towns’ columns, except for the items that were more applicable to local mention were moved there. Some of the common topics in the other locales’ columns also appeared here. The personal mention items are sorted below by topic.

Local visiting. and visitors: Mrs. T. S. Nelson of West Pawlet, passed Wednesday in this village. – Mr. and Mrs. Dwight Parry of Rutland, have been visiting friends in town. – Mrs. Caroline Hausey of Rupert, visited her cousin, Mrs. Frank Kibling, last week. – Mesdames Elizabeth Jones, Elizabeth Lewis , Grace H. Roberts attended the Rebekah meeting recently held at Whitehall. – Mrs. Ella Wyman spent Sunday in Cambridge. – Arthur Safford of Poultney, has been in town the past week. – Mrs. Marion Ripley of Poultney, has been a guest of Mrs. H. B. Douglass. – Mr. and Mrs. Fred Potter entertained Roy Potter and family at dinner Tuesday. – Mrs. H. J. Kaulfuss and young son returned Sunday from a two weeks’ visit to Glens Falls. – Major P. R. Manchester passed Sunday with his parents, Dr. and Mrs. H. L. Manchester of Pawlet. – Attorney T. W. McArthur of Glens Falls, was the guest of his brother, J. L. McArthur, Saturday.

Illness: Mrs. Hugh Evans is improving daily from her serious illness. – George Taylor of East Main street, is confined to the house by illness. – Hortense Munson is convalescing from her serious illness. One of the trained nurses was able to leave her patient Saturday. – Mrs. Jennie Hewitt is able to be out after a few days’ illness. – Postmaster D. J. McHenry is confined to the home with a severe cold. – L. Carr, who has been nursing one of the prevalent colds, is able to be out again. – Harry Welch, who is recovering from his recent serious illness, is now able to walk about out doors a part of each day. – Dr. D. C. McKenzie is now making a good recovery. – The four children of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bastedenbeck have been quite ill with grip.

Traveling to other places: Benjamin Jones and Hugh Jones went to Albany to attend the basketball game between Albany and Kingston Wednesday evening. – Harry Seferlis, proprietor of the Granville Candy kitchen, is in Franklin, Pa., visiting old friends as well as attending to certain business interests. – P. G. Tierney has been visiting friends in Albany this week. – H. G. Johnson of Morrison avenue, spent several days last week in New York city on a business trip.

Visitors from other areas: Charles Stutz of New York and Al Smith of Troy are visitors in town. – Mrs. Claude Avery of North Attleboro, Mass., is stopping at the home of her uncle, Frank Kibling, and calling on her many friends in town. – Mrs. Walter Lyon, who has been with her husband here during the holidays, returned last week to her home in Boston, where Mr. Lyon joins her this week. They leave soon for Texas to spend several weeks.

Over two weeks we have recalled news items from the local and personal mention columns in the Jan. 26, 1923 issue of the Sentinel. Some of the names mentioned in the columns are still familiar to those in the Granville area; others are obscure or would only be known by the oldest of Granville’s “long-timers.” Today, the Raceville column is the only remaining personal mention column in the Sentinel. In any case, these columns offer an interesting view into the lives of those who lived in Granville and the surrounding vicinity, not just for this issue in 1923, but in any issue which includes such columns.