Spring 2006

April, May, June 1906 and 1956

Glancing Backward

News items from the Naples Record 100 years and 50 years ago

by

Beth Flory

April 1906

By the middle of the month roads were fairly passible. Plowing and sowing were underway as well as plans for Easter services and maple sugar socials.

An ad in the Record invited ladies to stop in and see the spring millinery at the shop in the Benjamin Block. Several cottagers on the east side of the lake north of Sunnyside came to their summer homes in March and stayed until November. Now they wished the steamer would begin making regular trips so they could get to Canandaigua.

The grape tyers were busy in the many vineyards on the flank of Whaleback. Uncle Ed Wetmore hung a baited line from his dock and caught only a gudgeon. The postman , while coming along the shore by Jacob's Landing , found one of his hens riding along under the buggy seat. It escaped by Bare Hill, leaving behind an egg.

Up in West Hollow near John Swann's place a bridge collapsed into a deep gully causing the mail carrier to backtrack and find another route. George B. Hemenway had a fine new car and treated friends to short rides. The Village leased a steam roller which was to improve streets.

Enterprising local men decided expenses could be cut down if grape baskets were made locally. At least thirty nailers would soon be working on wooden baskets in the Walker-Boals warehouse.

The Junior class at the high school elected the following officers: President, Lawrence Tellier; Vice President, Mabel Hinckley; Secretary, Willis Buck; and Treasurer, Gertrude Graf. The roll call question at the meeting of the WCTU was "Is the use of tobacco a sin?" A lively discussion ensued.

April 1956

Charles Standish presided over the Rotary meeting to which all past Presidents were invited. All but three attended. Speaker was Lawrence Harper, President of the Moore-Cottrell Subscription Agency in North Cohocton.

Posters reading "Keep Ontario County Clean" procured by George R. Reed of the Ontario County Federation of Sportsmen'.s Clubs were to be posted in areas where trash was being dumped. Litter was a serious problem, especially along roadways.

Carpenter and grape farmer Justin Glickert died at 73. Born in Germany he had come to the States before he was three years old.

Robert J. Vierhile left for Chicago where he was in charge of advertising for the Athletic Institute of that city.

Voters in the Naples Central School District approved $486,000 for additional classrooms and a new gym and cafeteria. A third proposition for an indoor pool was defeated.

Cecil Middlebrook of Naples was seriously injured when he was forced off the road in Woodville by another car. His vehicle rolled down the bank into Manley Frazer's cottage "on Boiler Point." (The reference is to the remains of the steamboat Genundewa destroyed in a suspicious fire at the big dock in Woodville in December, 1894. The burning boat floated along close to shore before it sank. Its boiler remaining on the lake bottom, providing fill.)

Rodney Boone of the Town of Greece drowned off Menteth Point while spending the afternoon fishing with two friends. He took the boat out alone, fell overboard and disappeared. His body was recovered by Arthur A. Sterling and William Frank of Canandaigua in 125 feet of water.

The Maxfield Hose Company decided to sponsor a candidate to represent the Town of Naples in the Queen contest at the Northern Central New York Volunteer Firemen's Association convention. Girls between the ages of 14 and 18 could compete for the title and a trip to New York City. Bradley Clawson's committee would choose the local winner.

May 1906

Children in Atlanta were in the throes of whooping cough—or "chin cough"—but oddly enough they were allowed to go to school. However, because their teachers found this affliction too noisy some of the little sufferers were sent home.

Spring followed a fairly mild winter yet May ranged from 78 degrees to a snowstorm and freeze that badly damaged some of the grapes. A severe electric storm cut off telephones for several days. On Rhine Street (now called Co. Rd. 12) and on the Bristol Springs Road hailstones the size of walnuts destroyed the potential yield of several vineyards.

Most people in Naples took Memorial Day very seriously, but apparently some liked to follow the ceremonies by attending what were often rowdy baseball games. Every year the Record editor expressed his disapproval of such disrespectul behavior.

President of the Memorial Day programs was William P. Bordon. (He would continue his law practice until he was over ninety.) All of the local and outlying cemeteries were well-decorated with flowers by committees comprised of dozens of women. Members of the GAR, school children and memebers of llocal organizations marched in the parade.

Irving Brunson Lyon, born in 1822 and son of early settler Brunson Lyon died, after a long and useful life as farmer and town official. He was a great favorite with children who called him "Uncle Irving."

Summer residents along the lake were coming to their cottages and the lake boats were finally operating on schedule.

May 1956

There were white frosts in the Naples Valley. Snow flurries were reported on West Italy Hill.

The Naples Post ranked high in the number of civilian volunteers who manned the ground observation station in March. The service proved effective when an F-86 Sabre Jet exploded over Livingston County. Fifteen reports came in instantly from 15 posts in nearby counties.

Maxfield Hose Company members joined in the search for a missing Boy Scout who had become separated from his troop on an outing in Egypt Valley. The Rochester boy was found by Undersheriff Leonard Richmond and Thomas Schnurr of Honeoye about midnight. The Scout was wet and cold, but unhurt.

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Button escaped serious injury when their car was struck by that of Maybelle Clark of Middlesex.

Franklin P. Reddout would be leaving his teaching job in Gorham for a position as science teacher in the Newark (NY) Central School. Mrs. Arthur C. Parker of Parrish Hill returned home from a winter trip around the world.

Mr. and Mrs. Earl Martin and Mr. and Mrs. Donald Pridmore went to New York City to visit their daughters, Colleen Pridmore and Joanne Pridmore who, along with Dorothy Hanggi, are sharing an apartment and working in the city.

Ruth Rohlin of Naples sang with the Rochester Oratorio Society in a concert in the Eastman Theatre. The featured work was Mahler's Eighth Symphony.

Naples' eighty-eighth observance of Memorial Day began with a sunrise service in Rose Ridge cemetery conducted by the Boy and Girl Scouts. The parade featured Maxfield Hose Company's drill team.

June 1906

June would be remembered for severe storms. Five days in a row of rain gave way to electrical downpours and hail which damaged the grapes in Vine Valley. Bridges went out, creating problems for the mail carriers.

Two well known Naples women died. Hannah Stoddard, wife of Dr. Amos Stoddard, and Elvira Cleveland. George Deyo, a prominent businessman and Joseph Miller of Jacob's Landing both succumbed following painful illnesses. Gilbert Gerould of the Ingleside Road was smothered when a sand pit caved in on him. William Parr apparently suffered a seizure and, falling from his boat, drowned near the Maxfields' cottage, Ash Grove. His body was not recovered.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad offered an excursion to New York City for $8.45 round trip. Other destinations were Rochester, $1.35 and Ontario Beach, $1.35, with half fare for children. Round trip to Buffalo and Niagara Falls from Naples was $2.00.

Nearly all of the hitching posts had been removed from Main Street. Some complaints were heard but the Record editor approved: "In this day of automobiles, motor cycles, traction engines and the like is it not better that no horses be hitched in the streets?"

June 1956

Fifty years later local waters were claiming two more victims. George Holtz, 18, of Granger Point accidentally took his own life as he stood in his rowboat shooting carp in West River. David Wilder, 12, of Brighton was one of seventeen children on an outing at a cottage near Vine Valley. Although adults had been watching them, when the final count was made one
boy was missing. Later that day his body was recovered.

The newly formed People's Party declared its support for the Citizen's Party's candidate for Trustee: Lawrence S. Keith.

Only two members of the Naples class of 1906 were still living: Frances Cleveland Dunton and Bessie Smith Tibbetts. Other members of the class had been Vinnie Lyon, Mary Cleveland, Florence Hoecker, H. Jackson Slayton and Mary Tozer.

Commencement speakers for the Class of 1956 included Marian Howse, Salutatorian, and Judith Pridmore, Valedictorian. Principal Llewyn Thomas presented awards and Charles Standish handed diplomas to the graduates. R. W. Matson of the West Hollow Road told the tale of a 5-year-old girl who hooked a brown trout "so big that even two experienced grownups couldn't handle it." Matson went back a few days later to try his luck at the same spot. The fish again took the line, and as before, proved impossible to land. Matson hollered to his wife, Nan, and told her to wade in and haul out the catch. Which she did.

Beth Flory's "Glancing Backward" column in the Naples Record is compiled from
old news items that appeared in the Record. Reprinted with permission of the Naples Record.

Index of articles by Beth Flory

CLR Blog | Site Map | Contact CLR