• Union Nurseries

    •

    Carl Johnson

    C. Reagles was no Louis Menand, but his Union Nurseries in Schenectady did have a wide reputation and his plants and seeds were sold by catalog all over. That Barrett Street address was probably pretty close to Union Street, hence the name. I like that C. Reagles and Son pledged themselves to use every…

  • J. Xavier Dry Goods

    •

    Carl Johnson

    I know nothing about J. Xavier, dealing in fancy goods, toys, perfumery, &c. in Schenectady in 1862. But that illustration is incredible.

  • Airway Motors

    •

    Carl Johnson

    I don’t remember ever hearing of Airway Motors, and a search turns up very little, but in 1940 at least they were a going concern right in the heart of Rensselaer, just a short hop from the Dunn Bridge. The space where they were located was likely obliterated by the new Dunn Bridge ramp…

  • If they don’t have it, you don’t need it.

    •

    Carl Johnson

    The last great store in Schenectady to carry just about everything was Wallace Armer Hardware, which gracefully closed its doors about 20 years ago. But Armer was clearly descended from a long tradition of general stores in canal towns that carried a little bit of everything. In the case of James Walker’s store on…

  • Albany Beef

    •

    Carl Johnson

    In my experience, no one who has ordered a fish dinner in Albany, least of all someone who has ordered it in a pleasant riverside setting, appreciates being reminded that sturgeon were once so plentiful and such an important part of the food supply that they were referred to without irony as “Albany Beef,”…

  • The Railroad Fireman’s Dream

    •

    Carl Johnson

    The Albany Journal printed an article in August, 1884 titled “The Railroad Fireman’s Dream”: “A remarkable accident occurred to Mr. Douglass M. Irish, a resident of No. 49 Colonie-street, about 10:30 o’clock Wednesday night. He is employed as a fireman on the Central Railroad, and as he sat asleep by an open window he…

  • Summer re-runs: Bobsledding in Albany

    •

    Carl Johnson

    I originally posted this on My Non-Urban Life back in 2010. The folks at All Over Albany dug up an amazing test of the knowledge of eighth-graders in Albany in 1882. Not least amazing, besides the assumption that schoolchildren should know how to divide opium to the smallest scruple, was this instruction: “Write an…

  • Troy Observer and Sunday Budget

    •

    Carl Johnson

    The Troy Observer and Sunday Budget, the only Sunday paper printed in Troy (and thus the only paper in Troy with color comics) ran at least until 1953.

Recent Posts

Social Media