The store that had everything

Someday soon I’ve got to write about H.S. Barney Co., once Schenectady’s premiere department store. It catered to what was called the carriage trade, the higher end customers. It sold furniture, furs, and everything in between. (Its building still stands.) And apparently it even sold airplane rides, as evidenced by this ad unearthed by the Schenectady County Historical Association, in an article on what was one of the area’s pioneering airfields, Eastholm Field. Imagine: in 1919, you could walk into Barney’s, or the Hotel Mohawk, or even Tilley’s (at this time, I have no idea what Tilley’s was), and book yourself a trip to see Schenectady from the air! (Or, apparently, just call Vrooman’s Hardware Store.)