Nowadays you can find Dave Powers sipping white wine on the back porch of The Olde Bryan Inn, a place he bought on a whim back in 1979. But behind the mystique is a story of an old life across the Atlantic Ocean, all revealed in his new book, “The Intrepid Spy.”
Powers was a pilot for Pan American World Airways in West Berlin from 1985 through 1991. During his time in Berlin, Powers befriended an old-world aristocrat, Albrecht Graf von Hardenberg. Powers knew him as a Mercades-Benz salesman.
But before Powers lived in Berlin, before he met Albrecht, and before Powers received a 2,000-page dossier on his friend by the East German secret police, Powers was 22 years old with a mountain in college loan debt.
Like every other American male at the time, Powers received a draft notice in the mail after graduating from college. He fulfilled his military requirement by serving in the Air Force for five and a half years and was deployed in Vietnam during his tenure.
Following his military service, Powers started his first stint flying with Pan American out of New York City. After six years in his new career, he was furloughed.
Aimless, he decided to move back home to Delmar.
“I just didn’t know what to do with myself. I was not doing very well financially,” Powers said.
Right about that time he was driving around Saratoga when he came across an old building for sale by the Veitch family.
“I just love the civil war and presidency war era, and I saw that old building and a sign out front said for sale. So, I said geez, I’m going to stop in there, it looks like a beautiful old building.”
Upon entering Powers saw the drop-down celling and plaster and lath walls and quickly decided he was not interested; he didn’t have the money for it anyway.
But like a lot of things in Power’s life, opportunities arose over a cold beer and a conversation.
Veitch and Powers bonded over familiar family friends and American history that evening. After a while, Veitch convinced Powers to take a look at the attic.
“It was the most incredible moment of my life. When I got my head up, I saw the original walls, I could see the beams, the mortis and tenons. And I remember shouting down,
‘You know you’ve got some fireplaces.’”
‘No, I don’t,’ replied Veitch.
‘You got three fireplaces. I can see the chimneys up here.’
I was interested right away,” recalled Powers.
Naturally Powers dialed up his friend from Broadalbin and convinced him to partner with him in buying the historic building with the vision of opening The Olde Bryan Inn.
So, Powers embarked on tearing down the interior to reveal the original wooden structure, which dates back to the 18th century.
There was just one problem: Dave Powers knew nothing about running a restaurant.
“About four months into this I was messing it up so bad, and this little fanny rooster comes up to me one day, Steve Sullivan, hand on his hip and says:
‘Mr. Powers, you don’t know what you’re doing, do you?’
And I said, ‘No, I don’t.’
After about two days of him lecturing me, I said, ‘ why don’t you take over as manager?’”
At this point Powers was recalled back to Pan American and was appointed to work in Berlin. So, Powers proposed a deal with Sullivan; he would run the Olde Bryan Inn while Powers flew in Berlin. In exchange, Sullivan would obtain ownership in the business. Sullivan agreed, and Powers went over to Berlin.
Albrecht grew up in what was then East Germany, on his family’s multiple estates. The onset of Hitler’s rise to power saw the German government seize land and money from the aristocratic class.
However, the Nazi government could not capture land owned in foreign countries. Therefore, Albrecht’s father bought 8,000 acres in Denmark, far away from the imminent Nazi regime.
During Powers’ time in West Berlin, Albrecht obtained a visa to East Berlin to write a travel book for West Berliners who hoped to one day be able to return to the East.
This got the attention of the East German government. Stasi spy, Colonel Klaus Braun, was appointed to investigate Albrecht’s agenda.
“Going back to the question I knew everybody was going to ask, Was he really a spy? I don’t know,” professed Powers. “But there’s certain things that led me to believe he was. For example, the day the wall came down, he disappeared for about two weeks. And his wife didn’t tell me where he was. Why? I mean I was his best friend in Germany.”
Albrecht passed away in 2010.
When Powers returned to Berlin for his funeral, he was met with a different landscape. The wall that had separated a generation had disintegrated, and with it the network of international operatives and black-market profiteers it created.
Friends old and new were waiting to ambush Powers upon his decent into Berlin to mourn his late friend.
All in search of answers.
Who was Albrecht Graf von Hardenberg? Why was Albrecht writing a travel book to communist East Berlin? And to whom had the deed to the 8,000 acres in Denmark gone?
Pick up a copy of “The Intrepid Spy” at the Olde Bryan Inn at 123 Maple Ave to find out.
All proceeds from the book will go towards the Tunnels to Towers Foundation, which provides mortgage-free homes, specially adapted smart homes, and comprehensive housing services to wounded veterans, Gold Star families, fallen first responders, and homeless veterans.
