Northrup wrote, “Matt Orante considered himself not only a haberdasher, but also an artist. In addition to men’s clothing, that small place was crowded with his paintings and wood carvings.”

Matthew was more than a haberdasher

By Bob Cudmore

One of old downtown Amsterdam’s most unique stores was Matthews on the north side of East Main Street, advertised as the city’s most exclusive men’s store.

In 1952, Matt Orante, who also was a pattern maker for the state Thruway and map coordinator at Scotia Naval Depot, opened a shop at 30 Market Street.  In 1964 he relocated to 40 East Main Street and his sister’s son, Dave Northrup, went to work for him.

Northrup wrote, “Matt Orante considered himself not only a haberdasher, but also an artist. In addition to men’s clothing, that small place was crowded with his paintings and wood carvings.”

The rear section of the second floor was devoted to a small art gallery and Orante’s wife Isabelle’s interior decorating business, Eljoor.

Northrup recalled, “The paintings that adorned the walls, the choice of clothing styles for resale, even the individually hand-lettered tags on each garment, every detail in Matthews bore the mark of the proprietor’s personality.”

Northrup said the Orantes lived most of their lives at 40 Division Street, “Matt decorated the front with paintings of the Orante coat of arms, and placed sculptures on the veranda in front of the top floor apartment that was theirs.”

Northrup lives in Rochester and his essay on his uncle’s store was one of the top winners in my recent Stories from the Mohawk Valley contest.  He wrote, “Before price points, bar codes, and scanners, in stores like Matthews one pursued a way of life rather than just made a living."

Matt Orante died in 2008.  His wife Isabelle Rajkowske Orante died last year.  Northrup said, “The son of Lithuanian immigrants, my uncle had an abiding faith, shared by many of his generation, that he could attain prosperity on his own, without the necessity of having to sell his labor to a large company.” 

Remington and Gloversville

Union College professor Frank Wicks traveled to St Lawrence County for a 150th birthday gala for artist Frederic Remington, whose pictures and sculptures chronicle the end of the American western wilderness.

Wicks wrote that the artist was a distant cousin of Eliphalet Remington, who built the huge firearms factory in Ilion.  Eliphalet Remington died in 1861, the year Frederic Remington was born in Canton, New York.

Remington’s wife was Eva Caten, who lived at 85 South Main Street in Gloversville before her marriage.  Remington met her while she was attending St Lawrence University in Canton.  Eva was the daughter of Lawton Caten, superintendent of the Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Road, who opposed the marriage.  According to one account, Remington went on his first western trip because he could not wed his sweetheart.  They finally married in 1884 in Gloversville.

Remington was living in Kansas City at the time.  Eva Remington left her husband and returned to Gloversville shortly after their marriage, discouraged that her husband was half owner of a saloon.  They reconciled within a year.  The artist died of a ruptured appendix at age 48,

Wicks said Remington’s 1895 sculpture Bronco Buster has been called the most famous piece of American art.  An original cast of the statue can be seen during Presidential speeches delivered from the Oval Office at the White House.

An 18-inch high copy of Bronco Buster was given to the Gloversville Public Library by relatives of Eva Caten Remington.  In 1932 the statue was stolen by someone who had hidden inside the library at closing time.  The thief sold the statue for $100 to an antiques dealer in Woodstock.   The statue was located by authorities and returned to the library on East Fulton Street, where it is still on display.

The Greater Amsterdam School District Hall of Fame induction is coming soon.  The dinner and ceremony will take place at 6 pm Friday, September 15, 2023 at the Perthshire on Route 30 north of Amsterdam. The cost is $50 per person.  For more information email [email protected] or call or text Rich Allen at 518-878-6374

Friday, September 1, 2023

Episode 490-Christopher Gorham is author of Anna Rosenberg, The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America.

Saturday, September 2, 2023

From the archives- Episode 51, March 12, 2015,  Historian Peter Betz with Fulton County stories from the Civil War and the former Sacandaga Park in the Adirondacks

Sunday, September 3, 2023

Focus on History-Leonara Barry was pioneer union leader

Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, August 31, 2023

61 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 5:34AM

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