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Col. Elmer Ellsworth
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Image via Wikipedia I’m not usually going to be lazy and linky here on Hoxsie, but when ABC News has gone to the effort to put together a nice story about Mechanicville’s Col. Elmer Ellsworth, the first Union officer to be killed in the Civil War, then why reinvent the wheel? So click away.…
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Rural Routes
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Are there still rural routes? In the old days, if I wanted to send a letter to my aunt in West Glenville, I’d address it to her name, R.D. (rural delivery) #3, Amsterdam. The mailman who had that route was just expected to know who lived where – no road name was required. Imagine.…
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It is to weep
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That this gem was replaced by the ’70s-era pile o’ bricks plaza just makes me want to cry. That we lost all our local banks in the frenzy to make everything bigger, more competitive, and just super-duper swell makes me feel even worse. The founders of these institutions that were absolutely central to the…
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As good coal as I can buy
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Ah, for the bronze age of advertising, when advertisers begged your leave to inform you of something, and then politely stated their case John T.D. Blackburn of 108 North Pearl Street in Albany wanted you to know he wasn’t holding out the good stuff: you would get as good coal as he could buy.…
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Schenectady Newsies
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101 years ago, there was no TV news. There wasn’t even radio. The only way to get information about the greater world was by newspaper. And newspapers were sold by newsboys on the streets of every city in the country. As child labor went in those days, the newsboy’s lot was fairly cushy. I’ve…
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One of the Jones Boys
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This week I learned that Moses Jones, Practical Slater, was the man who laid the roof on historic St. Joseph’s Church in Albany, which is now owned by the Historic Albany Foundation. HAF puts tremendous efforts into maintaining this gem that anchors Arbor Hill, and which will be central to any return to greatness…
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Moses Jones, Practical Slater
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Moses Jones was a practical slater, and he knew whereof he spoke. Slate roofing is heavy, expensive, and difficult to work with, but when done right it’s beautiful and bulletproof. And as he pointed out, it’s reusable. Interesting that in the 1862 Schenectady directory, Moses Jones listed his residence before his business address.…
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Fruits, Nuts, Bird Seed, Fireworks
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Fero & Herrick, wholesale dealers in foreign & domestic green and dried fruits, nuts, dry groceries, confectionery, bird seed, and fireworks. Shoot, a fellow could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.
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