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It was the staff Meal
...according to Bobs cousin Betty
Cranesville restaurant had national reputation
By Bob Cudmore
Amsterdam memorabilia collector Jerry Snyder has provided a postcard view of the Tower Inn on old Route 5 in Cranesville when operated by Marion Bennett. The building today is still a restaurant, Valentino’s.
My cousin, Betty Segen Pronk was a waitress at the Tower from her senior year in high school through her early years as a teacher. Norma-Jean Qualls was the daughter of a woman who was also a Tower waitress and a teacher. Pronk and Qualls provided the following information.
Fred and Marion Bennett came from Westerly, Rhode Island, in the 1930s. Their money may have derived from Mrs. Bennett’s mother, Mary Betty Chapman Campbell Lockwood. There was a Southern aura about Mrs. Lockwood and the recipes at the Tower.
To start their restaurant, the Bennetts bought the summer home of the Morris family, local mill owners. When the Morrises lived there, the nearby railroad meant the maids changed the linens every day because of soot. Tower waitresses swept the porch daily to get rid of cinders.
Fred Bennett died during the 1940s. By then, the Tower had received five stars from Duncan Hines, the Kentucky-born food critic. Even during gasoline-starved World War II, people beat a path to the door.
Specialties included half a baked chicken (the staff meal), steak, fish, ham and lobster. Delectable dinner rolls and sweet cinnamon buns were baked first by Mrs. Lockwood, then by Mrs. Bennett. In 1948, steak cost $5 and chicken was $2.50.
Mrs. Bennett, her mother and the cook, Loutie Myers, all lived at the Tower, along with three cats. A tiger cat lived with Myers on the third floor and Mrs. Bennett had two troublesome Persian cats—Brucie and Dickie.
Pronk said, “Dickie was usually the worst but one time after we girls had set a big dinner, Brucie came tearing down the stairs and went flying down the banquet table. We had to start all over again.”
Mrs. Bennett was active in Republican politics and a friend of Governor Thomas Dewey, almost elected President in 1948. When that election approached, Mrs. Bennett wondered if Pronk’s parents—Peter and Jane Segen-- would vote for Dewey. Pronk said her mom would but her father couldn’t, as he wasn’t a citizen, lacking papers from when he came from Ukraine. Mrs. Bennett fixed it so Peter Segen became a citizen and a Dewey supporter.
Amsterdam’s doctors, lawyers, bankers, and mill executives dined regularly at the Tower. People rushed there after the Saratoga track in the summer as the restaurant stopped serving at 8:30 p.m.
Qualls, who was four when her mother started at the restaurant, said, “I ‘helped’ Mr. Bennett greet customers and assisted the ‘girls’ in setting up the tables late at night. Often I would fall asleep on the floor--it was long past my bedtime.”
Qualls said, “They had an Oldsmobile two-door coupe with a large trunk, and it was a workhorse. Mrs. Bennett would load it with a barrel of live lobsters from (I think) Quandts, fresh veggies from the Menands Market where she drove at least once a week, or to Cooperstown to get Black Angus steaks. She also picked up her peppermint ice cream from Voorhees Ice Cream shop on Prospect Street--in metal cans. I traveled with her on many of these trips!”
Mrs. Bennett succumbed to stomach cancer, around 1960. The funeral was held at the restaurant and burial was in Rhode Island.
A niece or adopted child named Jean Bennett survived and oversaw the sale of the building and possessions. Mrs. Bennett’s mother outlived her daughter, spending her last years on Market Street in Amsterdam.
Your donations to The Historians thru Go Fund Me or in the US Mail help keep the electricty on for the gadgets in this picture
Bob Cudmore at the controls in 19 something
The Historians Podcast yearly fund drive at $3125. To stay on track to reach our $6,000 goal by year’s end we need to raise $150.00 by this Friday, July 22, 2022. Please help by donating online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check in The U.S. Mail made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
Tomorrow
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Stephen Riegel is author of Finding Judge Crater: A Life and Phenomenal Disappearance in Jazz Age NY.
Despite a decades-long international manhunt led by the New York Police Department’s esteemed Missing Persons Bureau, the reason for Crater’s disappearance remains a confounding mystery. In the early months of the investigation, evidence implicated and imperiled New York’s top officials, including then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mayor Jimmy Walker, as well as the city’s Tammany Hall political machine, lawyers and judges, and a theater mogul.
“That refrigerated vulture of the dead.”
Thursday, July 21, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-Mayor Theron Akin
In Washington, Akin angered the poor and powerful. He berated a messenger on Capitol Hill who did not know who Akin was. He had harsh words for President William Taft and called New York Senator Elihu Root “That refrigerated vulture of the dead.”
Friday, July 22, 2022-Episode 432-The third Highlights Edition of 2022 has excerpts from 12 podcasts including stolen Little League Dreams, an Erie Canal balladeer and a boy’s life in Ilion, New York.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, July 19, 2022
...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 8 PM EDT WEDNESDAY...
* WHAT...Heat index values of 95 to 100 expected.
* WHERE...The Hudson and Mohawk Valleys and Taconics in eastern
New York, and northwest Connecticut.
* WHEN...From noon to 8 PM EDT Wednesday.
* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat
illnesses to occur.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out
of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young
children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles
under any circumstances.
Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When
possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or
evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat
stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when
possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent
rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone
overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location.
Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1.
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Daily Gazette
Saratoga sees opening weekend jump in handle and attendance
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Opening weekend at the track attracted more people and bigger handles than in 2021. The New York Racing…
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Opening weekend at the track attracted more people and bigger handles than in 2021. The New York Racing…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Picture:Recorder
Opposing petitions on dummy light in Canajoharie circulating
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Make Us A Part Of Your Day
https://www.leaderherald.com/
View all episodes
By Bob Cudmore...according to Bobs cousin Betty
Cranesville restaurant had national reputation
By Bob Cudmore
Amsterdam memorabilia collector Jerry Snyder has provided a postcard view of the Tower Inn on old Route 5 in Cranesville when operated by Marion Bennett. The building today is still a restaurant, Valentino’s.
My cousin, Betty Segen Pronk was a waitress at the Tower from her senior year in high school through her early years as a teacher. Norma-Jean Qualls was the daughter of a woman who was also a Tower waitress and a teacher. Pronk and Qualls provided the following information.
Fred and Marion Bennett came from Westerly, Rhode Island, in the 1930s. Their money may have derived from Mrs. Bennett’s mother, Mary Betty Chapman Campbell Lockwood. There was a Southern aura about Mrs. Lockwood and the recipes at the Tower.
To start their restaurant, the Bennetts bought the summer home of the Morris family, local mill owners. When the Morrises lived there, the nearby railroad meant the maids changed the linens every day because of soot. Tower waitresses swept the porch daily to get rid of cinders.
Fred Bennett died during the 1940s. By then, the Tower had received five stars from Duncan Hines, the Kentucky-born food critic. Even during gasoline-starved World War II, people beat a path to the door.
Specialties included half a baked chicken (the staff meal), steak, fish, ham and lobster. Delectable dinner rolls and sweet cinnamon buns were baked first by Mrs. Lockwood, then by Mrs. Bennett. In 1948, steak cost $5 and chicken was $2.50.
Mrs. Bennett, her mother and the cook, Loutie Myers, all lived at the Tower, along with three cats. A tiger cat lived with Myers on the third floor and Mrs. Bennett had two troublesome Persian cats—Brucie and Dickie.
Pronk said, “Dickie was usually the worst but one time after we girls had set a big dinner, Brucie came tearing down the stairs and went flying down the banquet table. We had to start all over again.”
Mrs. Bennett was active in Republican politics and a friend of Governor Thomas Dewey, almost elected President in 1948. When that election approached, Mrs. Bennett wondered if Pronk’s parents—Peter and Jane Segen-- would vote for Dewey. Pronk said her mom would but her father couldn’t, as he wasn’t a citizen, lacking papers from when he came from Ukraine. Mrs. Bennett fixed it so Peter Segen became a citizen and a Dewey supporter.
Amsterdam’s doctors, lawyers, bankers, and mill executives dined regularly at the Tower. People rushed there after the Saratoga track in the summer as the restaurant stopped serving at 8:30 p.m.
Qualls, who was four when her mother started at the restaurant, said, “I ‘helped’ Mr. Bennett greet customers and assisted the ‘girls’ in setting up the tables late at night. Often I would fall asleep on the floor--it was long past my bedtime.”
Qualls said, “They had an Oldsmobile two-door coupe with a large trunk, and it was a workhorse. Mrs. Bennett would load it with a barrel of live lobsters from (I think) Quandts, fresh veggies from the Menands Market where she drove at least once a week, or to Cooperstown to get Black Angus steaks. She also picked up her peppermint ice cream from Voorhees Ice Cream shop on Prospect Street--in metal cans. I traveled with her on many of these trips!”
Mrs. Bennett succumbed to stomach cancer, around 1960. The funeral was held at the restaurant and burial was in Rhode Island.
A niece or adopted child named Jean Bennett survived and oversaw the sale of the building and possessions. Mrs. Bennett’s mother outlived her daughter, spending her last years on Market Street in Amsterdam.
Your donations to The Historians thru Go Fund Me or in the US Mail help keep the electricty on for the gadgets in this picture
Bob Cudmore at the controls in 19 something
The Historians Podcast yearly fund drive at $3125. To stay on track to reach our $6,000 goal by year’s end we need to raise $150.00 by this Friday, July 22, 2022. Please help by donating online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check in The U.S. Mail made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
Tomorrow
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Stephen Riegel is author of Finding Judge Crater: A Life and Phenomenal Disappearance in Jazz Age NY.
Despite a decades-long international manhunt led by the New York Police Department’s esteemed Missing Persons Bureau, the reason for Crater’s disappearance remains a confounding mystery. In the early months of the investigation, evidence implicated and imperiled New York’s top officials, including then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mayor Jimmy Walker, as well as the city’s Tammany Hall political machine, lawyers and judges, and a theater mogul.
“That refrigerated vulture of the dead.”
Thursday, July 21, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-Mayor Theron Akin
In Washington, Akin angered the poor and powerful. He berated a messenger on Capitol Hill who did not know who Akin was. He had harsh words for President William Taft and called New York Senator Elihu Root “That refrigerated vulture of the dead.”
Friday, July 22, 2022-Episode 432-The third Highlights Edition of 2022 has excerpts from 12 podcasts including stolen Little League Dreams, an Erie Canal balladeer and a boy’s life in Ilion, New York.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, July 19, 2022
...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 8 PM EDT WEDNESDAY...
* WHAT...Heat index values of 95 to 100 expected.
* WHERE...The Hudson and Mohawk Valleys and Taconics in eastern
New York, and northwest Connecticut.
* WHEN...From noon to 8 PM EDT Wednesday.
* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat
illnesses to occur.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out
of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young
children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles
under any circumstances.
Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When
possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or
evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat
stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when
possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent
rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone
overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location.
Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1.
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Daily Gazette
Saratoga sees opening weekend jump in handle and attendance
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Opening weekend at the track attracted more people and bigger handles than in 2021. The New York Racing…
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Opening weekend at the track attracted more people and bigger handles than in 2021. The New York Racing…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Picture:Recorder
Opposing petitions on dummy light in Canajoharie circulating
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Make Us A Part Of Your Day
https://www.leaderherald.com/