The Historians

Monday, July 24, 2023-Story behind the story-Night time food wagons in Amsterdam

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Amsterdam’s Maldutis Bakery

The choice at Maldutis Bakery in Amsterdam was between light rye and pumpernickel. David Northrup, a relative of the owners, said the seedless light rye loaf “was oblong in shape and had a small white paper label glued to one end that read simply ‘Maldutis Bakery’ in green ink.” 

Wednesday, July 26, 2023-From the Archives- Friday, April 12, 2019-Episode 261-Richard Ratajak, now 87, looks back on his life as a child in Amsterdam, a soldier in the Korean War, and a priest in training who served at Auriesville Shrine.  Ratajak left the priesthood to marry the woman he loved and held jobs in state government as he gradually lost his eyesight.  He served on the board of RISE, WMHT’s radio service for the blind.

Thursday, July 27, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Castler’s Market in  Amsterdam 

Friday, July 28, 2023-Episode 485-On the road to our 500th episode.  Larry Gooley wrote the history of Adirondack serial killer Robert Garrow.  Gooley was interviewed in March 2015 on Episode 49 of The Historians Podcast.

In the summer of 1973, a serial killer's rampage in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State changed the region forever. Innocent visitors and campers were brutally knifed to death, terrifying thousands of residents and vacationers. A peaceful part of America was lost, as people armed themselves and locked their doors, living and sleeping in fear. It was a reign of terror the likes of which the mountains had never seen. And it was all the vile handiwork of one very troubled, dangerous man: Robert Francis Garrow. But there is much more to Garrow's story than a series of murders.

The Historians with Bob Cudmore, Episode #500 on the way Friday, November 3, 2023

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. 

Night lunch wagons were popular a century ago

By Bob Cudmore

   Recorder columnist Hugh Donlon, born in 1896, fondly remembered the end of the era of downtown Amsterdam’s night lunch wagons.

   Two lunch wagons were drawn by horses each afternoon, one to Church and East Main Streets and the other to Market and West Main.  The wagons were owned by the McNally family, who stored them in sheds near what is now the post office on Church Street.

   In his 1980 book “Annals of a Mill Town,” Donlon wrote, “Wafted on the summer zephyr or swirled fiercely by the winter’s gale, the onionized fragrance of a McNally western egg sandwich could be sensed blocks away.”  A western egg sandwich cost a dime; a piece of pie was a nickel. 

   Eat-in or take out lunch wagons, predecessors of today’s food trucks, first appeared in Providence, Rhode Island in the 1870s. 

   According to an article by Joyce K. Schiller of the Norman Rockwell Museum, the temperance movement sometimes sponsored these mobile eateries as a way to keep hungry working people out of saloons at night.

   William McNally from Hudson, Massachusetts, established the first night lunch wagons in Amsterdam during the 1890s.

   “The business thrived from the outset,” according to McNally’s 1944 obituary, “Chiefly because of the industriousness of the originator and the sincere confidence of the public which he quickly gained.”

   Early in the twentieth century William McNally turned the operation over to his relatives, mainly John McNally, who may have been William’s cousin.  William continued as owner and frequently visited Amsterdam. 

   Some restaurant proprietors opposed the mobile eateries.  An attempt to ban the two McNally wagons and a third mobile eatery owned by William Cooper failed to pass the Amsterdam common council in 1904.  Cooper parked his wagon on East Main Street near the local trolley waiting room.

   The newspaper reported that McNally paid twenty-five dollars in local taxes, said to be as much as was paid by businesses with brick and mortar locations.

   William McNally was tapped to co-manage the restaurant at Amsterdam’s Central Hotel in 1906 and the Recorder reported he was picked because his wagons “have come to be known all over the state for the quality of food they put out.”

   On a below zero Valentine’s Day in 1916 this lunch wagon story was reported in the Recorder, “Traffic on the Main and Market Hill divisions of the trolley line was halted for half an hour due to difficulty experienced in getting one of John McNally’s night lunch wagons in its customary station at the corner of Market and West Main Streets.”

   On June 24, 1920 a worker’s lighted cigarette accidentally ignited gasoline being poured into a tank of one of McNally’s wagons in its Church Street shed.  Both wagons, called beaneries in the story, were destroyed in the fire, the shed collapsed and damage was estimated at $6,000.  A kitchen used to prepare food in the building was damaged. 

   But the McNally wagons rolled on.  As automobile traffic increased, the wagons finally disappeared in July 1926 after the death of John McNally.

   For many years Matty Curran was chef at the Church Street wagon.  Curran later operated Matty’s Lunch on West Main Street.  In late 1936 he disappeared from his Amsterdam rooming house and died three months later after being found wandering in Birmingham, Alabama, suffering from pneumonia.  There was speculation he was the victim of amnesia.

   In 1951 another former lunch wagon chef named Charles Munsey died in Amsterdam at age 91.  After the wagons closed, Munsey held other cooking jobs then worked for retailer Montgomery Ward.  His nickname from his cooking days was Charley Beans. 

Posted by JSeelow

YouTube

Abandoned Mohawk Carpet Mill
June 10, 2017
Abandoned Mohawk Carpet Mill in Amsterdam, NY

Mohawk Valley  Weather, Monday, July 23, 2023

64 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:35AM

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

The Historians with Bob Cudmore, Episode #500 on the way Friday, November 3, 2023

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. 

Night lunch wagons were popular a century ago

By Bob Cudmore

   Recorder columnist Hugh Donlon, born in 1896, fondly remembered the end of the era of downtown Amsterdam’s night lunch wagons.

   Two lunch wagons were drawn by horses each afternoon, one to Church and East Main Streets and the other to Market and West Main.  The wagons were owned by the McNally family, who stored them in sheds near what is now the post office on Church Street.

   In his 1980 book “Annals of a Mill Town,” Donlon wrote, “Wafted on the summer zephyr or swirled fiercely by the winter’s gale, the onionized fragrance of a McNally western egg sandwich could be sensed blocks away.”  A western egg sandwich cost a dime; a piece of pie was a nickel. 

   Eat-in or take out lunch wagons, predecessors of today’s food trucks, first appeared in Providence, Rhode Island in the 1870s. 

   According to an article by Joyce K. Schiller of the Norman Rockwell Museum, the temperance movement sometimes sponsored these mobile eateries as a way to keep hungry working people out of saloons at night.

   William McNally from Hudson, Massachusetts, established the first night lunch wagons in Amsterdam during the 1890s.

   “The business thrived from the outset,” according to McNally’s 1944 obituary, “Chiefly because of the industriousness of the originator and the sincere confidence of the public which he quickly gained.”

   Early in the twentieth century William McNally turned the operation over to his relatives, mainly John McNally, who may have been William’s cousin.  William continued as owner and frequently visited Amsterdam. 

   Some restaurant proprietors opposed the mobile eateries.  An attempt to ban the two McNally wagons and a third mobile eatery owned by William Cooper failed to pass the Amsterdam common council in 1904.  Cooper parked his wagon on East Main Street near the local trolley waiting room.

   The newspaper reported that McNally paid twenty-five dollars in local taxes, said to be as much as was paid by businesses with brick and mortar locations.

   William McNally was tapped to co-manage the restaurant at Amsterdam’s Central Hotel in 1906 and the Recorder reported he was picked because his wagons “have come to be known all over the state for the quality of food they put out.”

   On a below zero Valentine’s Day in 1916 this lunch wagon story was reported in the Recorder, “Traffic on the Main and Market Hill divisions of the trolley line was halted for half an hour due to difficulty experienced in getting one of John McNally’s night lunch wagons in its customary station at the corner of Market and West Main Streets.”

   On June 24, 1920 a worker’s lighted cigarette accidentally ignited gasoline being poured into a tank of one of McNally’s wagons in its Church Street shed.  Both wagons, called beaneries in the story, were destroyed in the fire, the shed collapsed and damage was estimated at $6,000.  A kitchen used to prepare food in the building was damaged. 

   But the McNally wagons rolled on.  As automobile traffic increased, the wagons finally disappeared in July 1926 after the death of John McNally.

   For many years Matty Curran was chef at the Church Street wagon.  Curran later operated Matty’s Lunch on West Main Street.  In late 1936 he disappeared from his Amsterdam rooming house and died three months later after being found wandering in Birmingham, Alabama, suffering from pneumonia.  There was speculation he was the victim of amnesia.

   In 1951 another former lunch wagon chef named Charles Munsey died in Amsterdam at age 91.  After the wagons closed, Munsey held other cooking jobs then worked for retailer Montgomery Ward.  His nickname from his cooking days was Charley Beans. 

Monday, July 24, 2023-Story behind the story-Night time food wagons in Amsterdam

Tuesday, July 25, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam’s Maldutis Bakery

Wednesday, July 26, 2023-From the Archives- Friday, April 12, 2019-Episode 261-Richard Ratajak, now 87, looks back on his life as a child in Amsterdam, a soldier in the Korean War, and a priest in training who served at Auriesville Shrine.  Ratajak left the priesthood to marry the woman he loved and held jobs in state government as he gradually lost his eyesight.  He served on the board of RISE, WMHT’s radio service for the blind.

Thursday, July 27, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Castler’s Market in  Amsterdam 

Friday, July 28, 2023-Episode 485-On the road to our 500th episode.  Larry Gooley wrote the history of Adirondack serial killer Robert Garrow.  Gooley was interviewed in March 2015 on Episode 49 of The Historians Podcast.

In the summer of 1973, a serial killer's rampage in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State changed the region forever. Innocent visitors and campers were brutally knifed to death, terrifying thousands of residents and vacationers. A peaceful part of America was lost, as people armed themselves and locked their doors, living and sleeping in fear. It was a reign of terror the likes of which the mountains had never seen. And it was all the vile handiwork of one very troubled, dangerous man: Robert Francis Garrow. But there is much more to Garrow's story than a series of murders.

The Historians with Bob Cudmore, Episode #500 on the way this November

You may donate online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.  You may give anonymously and no contribution is too big or too small. We’ve now raised 3210 dollars, over 45% of our $7000 goal for the year.

Episode 484-Lorissa Rinehart has written a biography of groundbreaking female photojournalist and war correspondent Dickey Chapelle titled First to the Front.

North Chuctanunda Creek, Amsterdam, NY - Whitewater Kayaking

Posted by Homer D

Mohawk Valley  Weekend Weather, Sunday, July 23, 2023

58 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:27AM

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

The Historians with Bob Cudmore, Episode #500 on the way this November

History the study of past events, particularly in human affairs.

You may donate online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.  You may give anonymously and no contribution is too big or too small. We’ve now raised 3210 dollars, over 45% of our $7000 goal for the year.

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Tugboat captain Art Cohn discusses canal schooners, the tractor trailers of the Erie Canal.  Cohn was interviewed during the summer tour of the replica canal schooner Lois McClure.  Also on this episode, a visit to an authors’ fair at the Fulton County Museum in Gloversville.

Episode 484-Lorissa Rinehart has written a biography of groundbreaking female photojournalist and war correspondent Dickey Chapelle titled First to the Front.

The Sunday Read from The Gazette

Bob Cudmore Focus on History "It was in the air at Midnight"

To Waft

Amsterdam’s night time food wagons.

   In his 1980 book “Annals of a Mill Town,” Donlon wrote, “Wafted on the summer zephyr or swirled fiercely by the winter’s gale, the onionized fragrance of a McNally western egg sandwich could be sensed blocks away.”  A western egg sandwich cost a dime; a piece of pie was a nickel. 

North Chuctanunda Creek, Amsterdam, NY - Whitewater Kayaking

Posted by Homer D

Mohawk Valley  Weekend Weather, Saturday, July 22, 2023

65 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:29AM

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

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Route 5-S and the Left Bank deserve a look

By Bob Cudmore 

      The recent column regarding history on Route 5 in Montgomery County has produced a request for equal time from Route 5-S.  Route 5 runs north of the Mohawk River, while Route 5-S runs on the south, what some call the left bank.   

  “There is no doubt that the Route 5 corridor in Montgomery County presents some great historic sites,” wrote Norman J. Bollen of the Fort Plain Museum.  “However, the left bank of the Mohawk along Route 5-S has some equally intriguing history.

   “Fort Hunter boasts one of our state’s finest Erie Canal sites with two complete canal locks, a restored canal store, the towpath walking trail, a museum and the remains of the Schoharie Aqueduct.

   “At Canajoharie, we find the Van Alstyne House, originally a tavern belonging to Goshen Van Alstyne and one of the meeting places for the Tryon County Committee of Safety from 1775-77. 

   “On the hill overlooking the village of Fort Plain is the museum and Historical Park of the same name. The history of Fort Plain and the battle for the Mohawk is told in vivid detail at the museum.  A new exhibit detailing Fort Plain's role at the center of the defense of the Mohawk Valley in 1781 is scheduled to open this summer.

   “Opposite from the village of St Johnsville, hidden along the river, is Lock 33 of the Erie Canal. The canal lock was the subject of a painting by historical artist L.F. Tantillo.

   “Continuing west on the south side of the Mohawk you will find the Indian Castle Church.  Located just across the county line in Herkimer County, the church was built in 1769 by Sir William Johnson. 

  Several miles further, next to the Little Falls Thruway exit, is the home of General Nicholas Herkimer.  General Herkimer and his Tryon County Militia were ambushed at Oriskany in August of 1777. The general was wounded during the fight and died at his home 10 days after the battle. The historic conflict opened the floodgates for war in the Mohawk Valley.”

VEDDER’S FIRST NAME

Retired Amsterdam schoolteacher John Naple has asked Focus on History to find out the first name of the Vedder who founded Veddersburg or Vedder’s Mill at the intersection of the North Chuctanunda Creek and the Mohawk River in the late 1700s.  The settlement that began as Vedder’s sawmill and gristmill became what is now the city of Amsterdam.

   Naple said Vedder’s first name is given as Albert in Hugh Donlon’s history of Amsterdam (“Annals of Milltown”) and as Aaron on the Town of Amsterdam web site and other places.

   Local historian Jerry Snyder reported that historian W. Max Reid refers to the miller as Albert Veered in a 1910 article and that the 1954 sesquicentennial program refers to him as Aaron Vedder. 

   Amsterdam city historian James Marks responded that most history books give Vedder’s first name as Aaron or Albert.

   Marks said that in Germanic countries, the middle name was often used as the common name for a son if his father had the same first name.  It would be the same idea as our practice of calling a son Junior to avoid confusion with his father assuming his father has the same name.

    Marks wrote, “In the Vedder family of Schenectady the name Albertse is often seen and indicates by the “se” an ancestor named Albert.  Arent,  Arient (Aaron) are also very common.  My guess would be that (the founder of Veddersburg) was Aaron Albertse Vedder and was called by whichever name confused people the least.”

   And Amsterdam native Peter Betz came up with another Vedder query.  Does anyone know where Vedder was buried?

The Historians with Bob Cudmore, Episode #500 on the way this November

History the study of past events, particularly in human affairs.

You may donate online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.  You may give anonymously and no contribution is too big or too small. We’ve now raised 3210 dollars, over 45% of our $7000 goal for the year.

Tomorrow

From the beginning of World War II through the early days of Vietnam, groundbreaking female photojournalist and war correspondent Dickey Chapelle chased dangerous assignments her male colleagues wouldn’t touch, pioneering a radical style of reporting that focused on the humanity of the oppressed.

Episode 484-Lorissa Rinehart has written a biography of groundbreaking female photojournalist and war correspondent Dickey Chapelle titled First to the Front.

Mohawk Valley  Weather, Thursday, July 20, 2023

62 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:45AM

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

The Historians with Bob Cudmore, Episode #500 on the way this November

History the study of past events, particularly in human affairs.

 You may donate online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.  You may give anonymously and no contribution is too big or too small. We’ve now raised 3210 dollars, over 45% of our $7000 goal for the year.

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Jack Kelly is author of “The Edge of Anarchy: The Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America.” Kelly tells the story of the 1894 Pullman strike.

The dramatic story of the explosive 1894 clash of industry, labor, and government that shook the nation and marked a turning point for America

The Edge of Anarchy offers a vivid account of the greatest uprising of working people in American history. At the pinnacle of the Gilded Age, a boycott of Pullman sleeping cars by hundreds of thousands of railroad employees brought commerce to a standstill across much of the country. Famine threatened, riots broke out along the rail lines. Soon the US Army was on the march and gunfire rang from the streets of major cities. 

Thursday, July 20, 2023

History on the highway: Route 5 S 

The recent column regarding history on Route 5 in Montgomery County has produced a request for equal time from Route 5-S.  Route 5 runs north of the Mohawk River, while Route 5-S runs on the south, what some call the left bank.   

  “There is no doubt that the Route 5 corridor in Montgomery County presents some great historic sites,” wrote Norman J. Bollen of the Fort Plain Museum.  “However, the left bank of the Mohawk along Route 5-S has some equally intriguing history.

Posted by News Channel 3-12

July 11, 2023

KEYT News Channel 3, News Channel 12 and KKFX Fox 11 News broadcast throughout Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties. https://keyt.com

The latest conversation this Friday

July 21, 2023-Episode 484-Lorissa Rinehart has written a biography of groundbreaking female photojournalist and war correspondent Dickey Chapelle titled First to the Front.

Mohawk Valley  Weather, Wednesday, July 19, 2023

67 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:10AM

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Historians with Bob Cudmore

History

the study of past events, particularly in human affairs.

 You may donate online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.  You may give anonymously and no contribution is too big or too small. We’ve now raised 3210 dollars, over 45% of our $7000 goal for the year.

The Masons are seated on a bench in front of a large building with two trees in front.  The outline of what appears to be an amusement park ride is behind the building.  About a half dozen men are in front of the building behind the Masons and a man in a vest appears to be addressing that group. 

Family portraits

By Bob Cudmore 

On a July day in 1919 the Mason family of Amsterdam stopped at the city’s Crescent Park, later known as Jollyland, Mohawk Mills Park and today called Shuttleworth Park.

Frances Mason was five months old.  A photograph shows her father Charles wearing a dark suit and bow tie, holding a straw hat.  Her mother Lena, in a long white dress and dark boots, holds young Frances who looks a bit serious in her coverall white baby clothes, including a hat.

Frances’s older brother Emil is between father and mother, wearing a white shirt, long stockings and short pants.  Emil has a quizzical look on his face and well trimmed hair, like his father.  Both father and son are wearing dress shoes.  Both parents are smiling at the camera.

“They all dressed,” Frances Mason Calvano noted in a letter.

The Masons are seated on a bench in front of a large building with two trees in front.  The outline of what appears to be an amusement park ride is behind the building.  About a half dozen men are in front of the building behind the Masons and a man in a vest appears to be addressing that group. 

“My mother and her parents settled in Amsterdam when my mother was about ten,” Calvano wrote.  “My grandmother and mother sewed pearl buttons on cards.”

One of the Chalmers mills in Amsterdam made pearl shirt buttons and Calvano still has a box of Amsterdam buttons at her home in the town of Guilderland.  Some of the paths at Jollyland were said to be paved with discarded buttons.

“Father started and owned Mason’s Barbershop on Division Street in Amsterdam,” Calvano wrote.  “My brother Emil Mason was a barber and my mother Lena was a beautician.  My husband Christopher Calvano played baseball at Jollyland with the Derby Stars.”

Frances and Christopher graduated from Wilbur H. Lynch High School in Amsterdam in 1936.  Her husband, now deceased, was a Marine.

“My brother Emil was a dancer at the Jollyland dance pavilion and a great part of the roller rink,” Calvano wrote.  “In later years my brother bought the Tower Inn in Cranesville.”  That restaurant on old Route 5 is now called Valentino’s.

JOLLYLAND CONCESSION

Diane Jazeboski of Scotia wrote that her grandfather, Louis (Kuprewicz) Cooper, ran a concession at Jollyland selling soda and snacks.

Jazeboski’s mother, Dorothy Kuprewicz Dziewit, would take the trolley to Jollyland and roller skate while her parents were busy with the concession stand.

Jazeboski wrote, “It was a wonderful experience for me to trace my Mom’s family.  Her Kowalski grandparents settled in Amsterdam in the early 1900s but they seemed to move to a new address every few years.  I have been all over the city looking at homes where they lived.  My grandfather was listed as a mill hand but also operated small grocery stores at different locations.”

Jazeboski said she has a new respect and appreciation for the working class and how they lived.

She also has a question, “Do you have information about the photographers who worked in Amsterdam during the early 1900s?  I have photos with the names Kennedy’s Mammoth Gallery, 24-28 Main Street and F. Pawloski on the back.”

One photo shows Louis Kuprewicz or Kuprevicz in front of his grocery and meat market at 204 East Main Street in Amsterdam.  He is wearing a white apron over dark pants, white shirt, vest and tie.  His hands are in his pockets and he has a serious expression.

The store has advertisements for Kuprevicz Groceries, Gold Medal Flour and Star Soap—extra large, extra good, save the panels.  Canned and bottled goods are displayed in the windows.

Wednesday, July 19, 2023-From the Archives- January 11, 2019-Episode 248, Jack Kelly is author of “The Edge of Anarchy: The Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America.” Kelly tells the story of the 1894 Pullman strike.

The dramatic story of the explosive 1894 clash of industry, labor, and government that shook the nation and marked a turning point for America

The Edge of Anarchy offers a vivid account of the greatest uprising of working people in American history. At the pinnacle of the Gilded Age, a boycott of Pullman sleeping cars by hundreds of thousands of railroad employees brought commerce to a standstill across much of the country. Famine threatened, riots broke out along the rail lines. Soon the US Army was on the march and gunfire rang from the streets of major cities. 

Thursday, July 20, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-History on the highway: Route 5 S 

Friday, July 21, 2023-Episode 484-Lorissa Rinehart has written a biography of groundbreaking female photojournalist and war correspondent Dickey Chapelle titled First to the Front.

Mohawk Valley  Weather, Tuesday, July 18, 2023

74 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:35AM

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

Monday, July 17, 2023-Story behind the story-19th century bottlers drank more than soda plus Lurie’s Dept. Store (The Monday tale about Seven Minutes)

Tuesday, July 18, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Family portraits

On a July day in 1919 the Mason family of Amsterdam stopped at the city’s Crescent Park, later known as Jollyland, Mohawk Mills Park and today called Shuttleworth Park. Frances Mason was five months old. 

Wednesday, July 19, 2023-From the Archives- January 11, 2019-Episode 248, Jack Kelly is author of “The Edge of Anarchy: The Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America.” Kelly tells the story of the 1894 Pullman strike.

Thursday, July 20, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-History on the highway: Route 5 S 

Friday, July 21, 2023-Episode 484-Lorissa Rinehart has written a biography of groundbreaking female photojournalist and war correspondent Dickey Chapelle titled First to the Front.

The first authoritative biography of pioneering photojournalist Dickey Chapelle, who from World War II through the early days of Vietnam got her story by any means necessary as one of the first female war correspondents.

"I side with prisoners against guards, enlisted men against officers, weakness against power."

From the beginning of World War II through the early days of Vietnam, groundbreaking female photojournalist and war correspondent Dickey Chapelle chased dangerous assignments her male colleagues wouldn’t touch, pioneering a radical style of reporting that focused on the humanity of the oppressed.

The latest donor to our yearly fund drive is John Woodward of Rotterdam who writes he really enjoyed the podcast with Scott Haefner of Old Fort Johnson. You may donate online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.  You may give anonymously and no contribution is too big or too small. We’ve now raised 3210 dollars, over 45% of our $7000 goal for 2023.

19th century soda bottlers drank more than soda

By Bob Cudmore

   In an 1886 article on the carbonated soda industry, an Amsterdam newspaper painted a bleak picture.  The heavy glass bottles sometimes exploded when being filled, injuring workers.  The workload was heavy in the summer months.

   The Daily Democrat stated, “A soda water manufacturer said that it was unquestionably true that the majority of hands taken on for the summer trade were men in the habit of getting drunk.  But it was in a degree excusable, he said, by the extremely hard labor required of them during the busy season.”

   Just over three decades later, soda bottlers in Montgomery and Fulton counties were raising prices on carbonated beverages a month after America entered World War I.  The Bottlers’ Association of Fulton and Montgomery counties bought a newspaper ad to explain the price hike to customers.

   The 1917 ad stated that raw material costs were going up: sugar up 100 percent and extracts up 50 percent.  The price of soda cases had risen 30 percent and labor costs had increased 15 percent.

   A case of 12 pints of soda now cost customers 75 cents and a case of 12 quarts cost $1.25.  Plus the bottlers required a deposit of two cents for each small bottle and a nickel for each large bottle.

   Members of the trade group in 1917 were companies named Fitzgerald, Case, Welch and Redding in Amsterdam, Jones bottling works in Fonda and Gross bottling in Gloversville. 

   Fitzgerald’s bottling works, founded in 1882, lasted almost a century.  The bottling plant relocated in 1915 to 465 East Main Street in the town of Amsterdam on what is now Chapman Drive.  Fitzgerald’s relocated to Freeman’s Bridge Road in Glenville in the late 1960s.

   Company president Gerald Fitzgerald lived with his wife across the street from the Amsterdam plant, was known as “Fitz” and died in 1970

LURIE’S

   M. Lurie and Company of Amsterdam, the city’s premiere department store in downtown’s heyday, opened in 1908.

   History buff Emil Suda said, “Lurie's had an impressive look about it, covered in a shiny black façade with the name M. Lurie & Co. in large white block letters.”

   “What made an impressive appearance at Lurie’s was the island walk around in the center of the main entrance, that was lighted at night and showcased fashionable apparel,” Suda said.

   Lurie’s was known for its pneumatic tube cash system.  Mildred Allen from Eagle Street worked at the change room in Lurie’s, which was elevated, a few steps off the floor, creating a balcony look.

   The store had its own discount stamp books

   Isadore Demsky felt stifled working at Lurie’s in the men’s department in the 1930s before leaving town and seeking his fortune at college and in Hollywood as the actor Kirk Douglas.

   Historian Dan Weaver wrote in a 2019 Recorder article,

“Born in 1857, Morris Lurie emigrated from Lithuania to Troy, NY when he was 15.”  Lurie opened his first store on Fulton Street in Troy.

   Weaver wrote, “Over time he opened other stores in Little Falls, Schenectady and Amsterdam, NY and North Adams, MA.”

   According to Weaver’s article, Morris Lurie died in 1932. His son, Abraham ran the Amsterdam store until he died in 1945.  In 1931, Abraham and Fanny Lurie were living in Amsterdam, at 196 Guy Park Avenue.

 After 1945 Lewis M. Lurie, another son, was company president, and Howard F. Hallenbeck managed the Amsterdam store.  .

   Jona Sokolowski and Bernard Mass of New Jersey purchased Lurie’s in 1972.  The next year the state closed Lurie’s for failure to pay taxes.

   Weaver said, “The store was demolished to make room for the Amsterdam Mall.”

Mohawk Valley  Weather, Monday, July 17, 2023

68 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:06AM

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The latest donor to our yearly fund drive is John Woodward of Rotterdam who writes he really enjoyed the podcast with Scott Haefner of Old Fort Johnson. You may donate online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.  You may give anonymously and no contribution is too big or too small. We’ve now raised 3210 dollars, over 45% of our $7000 goal for 2023.

19th century soda bottlers drank more than soda

By Bob Cudmore

   In an 1886 article on the carbonated soda industry, an Amsterdam newspaper painted a bleak picture.  The heavy glass bottles sometimes exploded when being filled, injuring workers.  The workload was heavy in the summer months.

   The Daily Democrat stated, “A soda water manufacturer said that it was unquestionably true that the majority of hands taken on for the summer trade were men in the habit of getting drunk.  But it was in a degree excusable, he said, by the extremely hard labor required of them during the busy season.”

   Just over three decades later, soda bottlers in Montgomery and Fulton counties were raising prices on carbonated beverages a month after America entered World War I.  The Bottlers’ Association of Fulton and Montgomery counties bought a newspaper ad to explain the price hike to customers.

   The 1917 ad stated that raw material costs were going up: sugar up 100 percent and extracts up 50 percent.  The price of soda cases had risen 30 percent and labor costs had increased 15 percent.

   A case of 12 pints of soda now cost customers 75 cents and a case of 12 quarts cost $1.25.  Plus the bottlers required a deposit of two cents for each small bottle and a nickel for each large bottle.

   Members of the trade group in 1917 were companies named Fitzgerald, Case, Welch and Redding in Amsterdam, Jones bottling works in Fonda and Gross bottling in Gloversville. 

   Fitzgerald’s bottling works, founded in 1882, lasted almost a century.  The bottling plant relocated in 1915 to 465 East Main Street in the town of Amsterdam on what is now Chapman Drive.  Fitzgerald’s relocated to Freeman’s Bridge Road in Glenville in the late 1960s.

   Company president Gerald Fitzgerald lived with his wife across the street from the Amsterdam plant, was known as “Fitz” and died in 1970

LURIE’S

   M. Lurie and Company of Amsterdam, the city’s premiere department store in downtown’s heyday, opened in 1908.

   History buff Emil Suda said, “Lurie's had an impressive look about it, covered in a shiny black façade with the name M. Lurie & Co. in large white block letters.”

   “What made an impressive appearance at Lurie’s was the island walk around in the center of the main entrance, that was lighted at night and showcased fashionable apparel,” Suda said.

   Lurie’s was known for its pneumatic tube cash system.  Mildred Allen from Eagle Street worked at the change room in Lurie’s, which was elevated, a few steps off the floor, creating a balcony look.

   The store had its own discount stamp books

   Isadore Demsky felt stifled working at Lurie’s in the men’s department in the 1930s before leaving town and seeking his fortune at college and in Hollywood as the actor Kirk Douglas.

   Historian Dan Weaver wrote in a 2019 Recorder article,

“Born in 1857, Morris Lurie emigrated from Lithuania to Troy, NY when he was 15.”  Lurie opened his first store on Fulton Street in Troy.

   Weaver wrote, “Over time he opened other stores in Little Falls, Schenectady and Amsterdam, NY and North Adams, MA.”

   According to Weaver’s article, Morris Lurie died in 1932. His son, Abraham ran the Amsterdam store until he died in 1945.  In 1931, Abraham and Fanny Lurie were living in Amsterdam, at 196 Guy Park Avenue.

 After 1945 Lewis M. Lurie, another son, was company president, and Howard F. Hallenbeck managed the Amsterdam store.  .

   Jona Sokolowski and Bernard Mass of New Jersey purchased Lurie’s in 1972.  The next year the state closed Lurie’s for failure to pay taxes.

   Weaver said, “The store was demolished to make room for the Amsterdam Mall.”

Monday, July 17, 2023-Story behind the story-19th century bottlers drank more than soda plus Lurie’s Dept. Store (The Monday tale about Seven Minutes)

Tuesday, July 18, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-Family portraits

On a July day in 1919 the Mason family of Amsterdam stopped at the city’s Crescent Park, later known as Jollyland, Mohawk Mills Park and today called Shuttleworth Park. Frances Mason was five months old. 

Wednesday, July 19, 2023-From the Archives- January 11, 2019-Episode 248, Jack Kelly is author of “The Edge of Anarchy: The Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America.” Kelly tells the story of the 1894 Pullman strike.

Thursday, July 20, 2023-From the Archives of Focus on History from the Daily Gazette-History on the highway: Route 5 S 

Friday, July 21, 2023-Episode 484-Lorissa Rinehart has written a biography of groundbreaking female photojournalist and war correspondent Dickey Chapelle titled First to the Front.

The first authoritative biography of pioneering photojournalist Dickey Chapelle, who from World War II through the early days of Vietnam got her story by any means necessary as one of the first female war correspondents.

"I side with prisoners against guards, enlisted men against officers, weakness against power."

From the beginning of World War II through the early days of Vietnam, groundbreaking female photojournalist and war correspondent Dickey Chapelle chased dangerous assignments her male colleagues wouldn’t touch, pioneering a radical style of reporting that focused on the humanity of the oppressed.

Amsterdam NY Flyover

by Ken Bollen

Amsterdam NY New Bridge and Downtown Loop. Posted on YouTube November 30, 2016

WAMC radio film commentator, historian and archivist Audrey Kupferberg discusses pre-Hollywood filmmaking in New York State and other topics.

Mohawk Valley  Weekend Weather, Sunday, July 16, 2023

76 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 6:05AM

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/

The latest donor to our yearly fund drive is John Woodward of Rotterdam who writes he really enjoyed the podcast with Scott Haefner of Old Fort Johnson. You may donate online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022  Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.  You may give anonymously and no contribution is too big or too small. We’ve now raised 3210 dollars, over 45% of our $7000 goal for 2023.

Bob Cudmore and The Historians Weekend Radio Schedule

Today at Noon WCSS Amsterdam 106.9FM and 1490AM

WIZR Johnstown 102.9FM and 930AM and Northville 104.3

Saturday, July 15, 2023-Episode 483-WAMC radio film commentator and film historian Audrey Kupferberg discusses pre-Hollywood filmmaking in New York State and other topics.

Saturday, July 15, 2023-Episode Extra-Jim Kaplan lives in New Rochelle, the first hot spot in the corona virus outbreak in New York State. He has the latest on efforts to save historic sites dedicated to American Revolution pamphleteer Thomas Paine in New Rochelle.

Amsterdam NY Flyover

by Ken Bollen

Amsterdam NY New Bridge and Downtown Loop. Posted on YouTube November 30, 2016

WAMC radio film commentator, historian and archivist Audrey Kupferberg discusses pre-Hollywood filmmaking in New York State and other topics.

Sunday, July 16, 2023 on The Historians

(Read the story today in The Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder)

https://dailygazette.com/subscribe/

Focus on History-19th century bottlers drank more than soda plus Lurie’s Dept. Store

   In an 1886 article on the carbonated soda industry, an Amsterdam newspaper painted a bleak picture.  The heavy glass bottles sometimes exploded when being filled, injuring workers.  The workload was heavy in the summer months.

Mohawk Valley  Weekend Weather, Saturday, July 15, 2023

68 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 5:48AM

Leader Herald Make Us A Part Of Your Day

https://www.leaderherald.com/