On May 13, 1930, two Saratoga County women set out on an all-expense paid dream trip. Sailing from New York City harbor on the S.S. Republic, they would be welcomed in Paris by French and American officials and put up in one of the most expensive hotels in the city. After visiting the sites in and around Paris, they would stop in London on the way home where they received the same first-class treatment.

It should have been one of the finest times of their lives, but it wasn’t. They were going to visit the graves of their sons who had died during the Great War. In 1921, the government had offered to bring home all of the fallen and the families of about 40,000 agreed. But about 30,000 families choose to let their loved ones rest where they fell with their comrades. 

In 1929 Congress enacted legislation that authorized the secretary of war to arrange for pilgrimages to the European cemeteries “by mothers and widows of members of military and naval forces of the United States who died in the service at any time between April 5, 1917, and July 1, 1921, and whose remains are now interred in such cemeteries.” By October 31, 1933, when the project ended, 6,693 women had made the pilgrimage. Almost all of the participants were mothers, rather than widows, so the trips came to be known at the Gold Star Mother  Pilgrimage, the gold star being the symbol hung in the windows of those families who had lost a family member in the service of their country. 

The Saratoga mothers were Mrs. George Gurtler from Saratoga and Mrs. Caroline Cady from Greenfield, both of whom lost their sons in October 1918 as the war was ending. Mrs. Gurtler was the mother of Corporal William and Private George Gurtler Jr., both of whom served with the National Guard on the Mexican border prior to World War I and with the 105th Infantry, 27th Division during the War. On October 20, 1918, as the Division was attacking the Hindenburg Line, both were killed in action and are buried together in the Somme American Cemetery. The Saratoga Veterans of Foreign Wars Post is named in their memory.   

Mrs. Cady’s son was Private Melville Cady who served with the 1st. Division. In July, 1918, the 22-year-old soldier was wounded by shrapnel but returned to action in August and was killed on Oct. 14, 1918. He is buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery. 

There were nine American Cemeteries in France and Belgium, so the women were divided into groups and bused to the appropriate site.  They visited the cemeteries for several days in a row, for approximately an hour each day for a grave site visit. 

Three other mothers from the county – Mrs. Alice Perkins, Mrs. Clarence Walton and Mrs. Clancy Record were too ill to travel. 

From 1930 until 1933, 6,500 mothers and widows were reunited with their loved ones for the last time but in 1933 the government was forced to end the program due to the Depression. 

Paul Perreault has been the Malta Town Historian since 2009. He served as principal in the Ballston Spa School District from 1978 until 1998 and as a history teacher at Shenendehowa High School from 1967 until 1975. He is a member of the Association of Public Historians of New York State, the Saratoga County History Roundtable and the Ballston Spa Rotary Club. Paul can be reached at historian@malta-town.org.

The Town of Galway had more than a half dozen churches in the early 1800s, but very little industry. It was first settled by immigrants from Scotland in 1774. A lack of large rivers or a railroad connection stifled the growth of the town, although by 1855 it had six sawmills, two grist mills, two broom handle factories, and eight blacksmiths within the village of Galway. 

The Parkis Mill complex of central Galway was not the largest grist mill in Saratoga county, but a description of its history and operations is illustrative of many others of its kind. The Parkhurst family moved from England to Massachusetts in the mid-1600s, and one of them moved to the town of Ballston just a short time after the first settlement had been established there by town founder Eliphalet Ball in 1772. Solomon Parkhurst changed his name to Parkis and went on to have 12 children. 

One of Solomon’s children was Levi, who married Jane Baker in 1852 and purchased a grist mill in Galway six years later. It was the first grist mill in town, built by Daniel Campbell, Schenectady merchant, and original landowner of large tracts of land in the Galway area. When Hiram Foster owned the mill, it was listed in the 1855 census as having “three run of stones, one employee, and works up about 6,000 bushels of rye and corn; but at what amount of profit it is difficult to determine.” The property included the grist mill, a mill pond, house, and distillery. 

The mill derived its power from the Glowegee Creek. A wooden chute made of wooden boards clamped together by iron bands brought water from the dam to the overshot wheel. When the wheel was activated, it would turn the upper grindstone while the lower stone remained in place. Grooves in the stones directed the grain to the edges as the upper stone slowly rotated. The gap between the stones was important – the upper stone would be carefully adjusted based on whether the grain was dry, medium dry, or damp. 

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Corn was ground up into a fine consistency and used in making corn meal and Johnny Cake. Wheat was ground into flour, while rye and oats were processed for feeding livestock. The mill’s specialty was buckwheat ground into flour, primarily used for making pancakes. 

In 1870 the Parkis Mill was listed as a two horsepower, two stone grist mill with a capital investment of $1,500. The total output in that year was 500 bushels of corn, 150 bushels of oats, 300 bushels of buckwheat, 10,000 pounds of meal, 12,000 pounds of feed, and 7,500 pounds of flour with a total value of $1,670. 

Levi’s son Edward took over the daily management of the mill in 1882 at a time when there were four other grist mills in Galway. Tragedy struck six years later when the mill and all its contents burned to the ground when bundles of wool stored too close to a heating stove caught fire. It was a tough winter for the Parkis family since the mill burned in the late fall and could not be rebuilt until the spring. Once a new three-story building was completed, Edward expanded the business and began offering farm equipment, fertilizer, and supplies. 

After Levi Parkis died in 1903, Edward’s son Henry returned from college in New York City with his new wife and moved into the apartment above the mill. The two began experimenting with prepared pancake flour that would require only the addition of water to prepare. In 1920 the first batch of Jolly Farmer was put on the market in half pound and five-pound bags. Unfortunately, Edward did not live to see this event, as he died a few years earlier from a dynamite explosion when trying to destroy a large boulder near his home. 

The grist mill continued to operate under Henry’s management. Wagons and sleighs were used to carry his manufactured flour to Gloversville, Johnstown, and villages in Saratoga County. His buckwheat pancake mix was popular throughout the county and the Adirondacks. After the mill shut down for good in the 1930s it was converted into a house and survived for another half century before being taken down in 1980.   

Timothy Starr has lived in the Capital Region since the age of 6 and published 18 local history books, many detailing the inventions and industry of Saratoga County. He can be reached at tstarr71@gmail.com.

The compilation of “Saratoga County Stories” began in the spring of 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, a time when we were all experiencing a major paradigm shift in our daily lives. Among many disruptions, the pandemic halted the activities and programs of libraries, historical societies, and museums, taking away an important aspect of socialization and learning.  Stepping in to help fill that gap, the Saratoga County History Roundtable began weekly publication of articles on local history. They were written by “history buffs,” including municipal historians, independent historians, and people with a passion for history. It is to these authors that we owe a debt of gratitude for sharing their stories with us. Fifty-eight of those stories have now been compiled into a book that will be available for sale and signing beginning at Author Events at Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa on Saturday, October 23 from 2-5 p.m. and at Historic Grooms Tavern in Clifton Park on Sunday, Nov. 7 from 2-4 p.m. Several authors will speak at these events. The book can also be ordered online at brooksidemuseum.org/events/saratoga-county-stories/ 

Below is an excerpt from the preface of the book. 

Every county has its stories. There are settlement stories describing the first intrepid European settlers, carving out their homesteads in a wilderness still populated with Native Americans. There are stories of men and women laying out the foundations for future communities. There are stories of those who answered the call of duty in time of conflict. There are stories that remind us of the power of nature – snowstorms, fires and floods – that had long-term effects on our communities and their citizens. There are personal stories of families and individuals whose presence and influence on our communities extended far beyond their lifetimes. There are stories of saints and sinners, often ensconced in the lives of the same people.

This book is about those stories taken from the history of Saratoga County, whose first European settlers arrived over 350 years ago. Bounded on three sides by two rivers, the Hudson and the Mohawk, the county’s early history is a tale of three cultures. The Dutch settled along the rivers beginning in the mid-17th century, 100 years before the settlement of the northern and western area by New England Yankees on the eve of the Revolution. The Mohawk tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy preceded the Dutch and the English, leaving a lasting influence on both.

The growth of settlement was slowed by the unique location of the county on the borderland between the competing British and French empires during the colonial period. Still the land of the Mohawks until the Kayaderosseras Patent was opened for settlement in 1770, the county beyond the rivers remained sparsely populated. As New Englanders began migrating west into New York in search of available land, the population swelled. Early settlers were of two minds during the American Revolution, often divided in their allegiance between rebels and loyalists.

The influx of settlers after the war for independence fostered the development of farmlands and small villages. Two of these villages in the center of the county grew because of a natural phenomenon – the mineral springs of Ballston Spa and Saratoga Springs. By the mid-19th century, these villages developed beyond their common beginnings. Saratoga bloomed into a famous resort, touting the healing medicinal powers of the springs, while Ballston became the county seat and relied on the waters of Kayaderosseras Creek for industrial development. River towns like Vischer Ferry, Rexford, Waterford and Mechanicville took advantage of the Erie and Champlain canals to become bustling centers of commerce. The hinterlands developed slowly as pastoral farmland, and more remote and scattered settlements in the northern towns relied on the woodlands for their development.

The recent history of Saratoga County is one of exponential growth, aided by the Adirondack Northway and the development of Tech Valley, which has accelerated the transformation of the county into a land of expanding suburban development bounded by rural areas that recall a former time.

Every county has a unique story, carved out of its location, time and place in the larger context of our country’s story. This compilation tells the unique story of Saratoga County, highlighting the people, places and events that contributed to our history, and by extension, the history of our nation.

Publishing this book has been a labor of love for the Publication Committee of the Saratoga County Historical Society at Brookside Museum. The team of Isobel Connell, Bob Conner, Cindy Corbett, Jim Richmond and Lauren Roberts transformed this concept into a reality with the wonderful support of the contributing authors. The proceeds from sales of this book will benefit the work of the museum in sharing the history of Saratoga County.

Jim Richmond is the coordinator of the Saratoga County History Roundtable and chair of the publications committee of the Saratoga County History Center at Brookside Museum. Jim can be reached at saratogacohistoryroundtable@gmail.com

George Herrick West died 85 years ago this month. While not nearly as well known as the “Paper Bag King” George West, GHW was a representative of the progressive era in local politics.

When in the 1870’s the realization of the need for social reform swept across the nation, Law and Order Leagues, as well as other similar organizations, sprang up to address evils as varied as social disorder, drink, and gambling. Forty years later, concerned members of the Ballston Spa community formed The Secret Law and Order League to address these same evil influences on society. The leader of this organization was G. H. West, the son of Galway farmer Matthew West. George West had been elected to the New York Assembly where he served from 1899 to 1900. 

The first evil that the Law and Order League addressed was white slave trafficking, with West drafting a bill that was introduced in the 1909 New York State Legislative session. That bill was not acted upon, but when George West again introduced his anti-white slave trafficking bill in 1910, he had the added advantage of support from Senator Edward T. Brackett of Saratoga Springs and Assemblyman George H. Whitney of Mechanicville. The Brackett-Whitney bill passed in both branches of the legislature and in 1910 it was signed into law. 

That same year the league attempted to stamp out gambling in the Saratoga County village of Mechanicville. Represented by Ballston Spa attorney Hugh Whalen, the group filed a citizen’s complaint requesting that an investigation be made to determine if the crime of keeping a gambling establishment was being committed in Mechanicville. In their complaint, they alleged that gambling houses were “running full blast” on both Railroad Street and Park Avenue. 

By December of 1910 indictments had been brought against Mechanicville residents William O’Rourke, Barney Patrick, and Edward O’Neil. When the question of whether “keeping a gambling house” was in the penal code, the cases were put over to the next court term. In response to this setback, Mr. West continued to press his case for social reform in Mechanicville, this time to the village trustees. It was his view that local police were failing in their duty to prevent the sale of liquor to minors, gambling, and “profanity on the streets.” 

In the March 1911 term of the Saratoga County Court, the cases against O’Rourke, Patrick & O’Neil for keeping a gambling house finally came before a judge. As the trial proceeded, witness after witness was called, but when none could recall when they played poker at these establishments, all the cases were quickly dismissed. 

That same year, efforts to halt gambling across the state were in full swing, with one of the most sweeping changes when the New York State Legislature outlawed the placing and recording of bets, effectively shutting down all horse racing in the state. 

Possibly due to the strong anti-gambling push across the state, the Secret Law and Order League again started investigations into gambling in Mechanicville. This time the League focused on Deputy Sheriff Albert B. Houseworth, bringing a charge of “repeated neglect of duty” against the officer in January of 1914. When interviewed by the Mechanicville Mercury, Houseworth stated that the charges against him were for allowing violations of the Sunday laws forbidding the sale of liquor & the playing of baseball, as well as allowing gambling establishments to flourish in the village. In his response, he said he was no longer the “goat for the glided reformer and never supposed that a Deputy Sheriff of Saratoga County had to act as a private detective for the Secret Law and Order League.” 

The Law and Order League responded by reminding everyone that they had written Deputy Sheriff Houseworth on numerous occasions over the previous year informing him of the business places in Mechanicville with gambling machines, and two active gambling places in the village. Once they saw that Houseworth was not willing to enforce the anti-gambling laws, they notified the County Sheriff of the existing situation and asked for him to intervene. 

On January 3, 1914, the Mechanicville Mercury reported that Deputy Sheriff Housworth was at risk of being removed from his position as Deputy Sheriff. At risk also was his $65 a month job as a patrolman for the village of Mechanicville. A week after the charges were brought against Houseworth, Saratoga Sheriff Clarence L. Grippin sent deputies to Mechanicville to shut down the places that were alleged to be involved in gambling. Though no charges were filed against these establishments, their doors were closed to business and the gambling machines removed. 

The Secret Law and Order League’s successful campaign against gambling in Mechanicville was the last time any of their activities were reported in local newspapers. George Herrick West continued to work on social reform as superintendent of the New York Civil League’s Law and Order Department in Albany, New York. He passed away in 1936 at the age of 81 and is buried in Ballston Spa Cemetery. 

Dave Waite is a resident of Blue Corners, Saratoga County and has written many articles on upstate New York history. When not researching or playing with his cat Gus, he and his wife Beth seek solitude on remote ponds in the Adirondack wilderness. Dave can be reached at davewaitefinearts@gmail.com

How do you raise money for a library in the 1950s? You do anything and everything you can possibly think of! September 23, 1952, the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Rotary and the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Women’s Club met at a combined meeting to establish the Library Association which would spearhead fund raisers and begin the process of building a library from the bottom up!

Among other things, the Library Association went door to door soliciting people to come to their homes for breakfast on a particular day—and the invited guests would then be charged for their breakfast!

A benefit musical with folk dancers, auctions, old-timers’ basketball games, bricks for a nickel, and an art show were all also used to raise money to build a library in the community. It worked!

Shortly after, Our Lady of Grace Church on Edward Street in Ballston Lake volunteered to host the first library in Ballston: in the cellar of their church building. At the time, state law mandated that a library had to operate on its own for a year before a charter would be granted by the state and, within the next year, the Townley family donated the land at the present site of the building (although a different building) to create a library in the community.

That first library actually had over 2000 books, either purchased or donated. It was open only 3 days a week but was a very popular place in the community. By 1958, the library had been placed under the auspices of the town of Ballston where it remains today. 

That library grew right along with the BHBL community. In reality, you can track many changes that occurred in our state and county by looking at the history of the library itself. The parking lot was paved in 1962, as the automobile became an essential element of suburban communities everywhere. Air conditioning was added in 1963 for the comfort of the patrons of the library. A copier was purchased in 1969, as these machines became essential to our lives. An addition was put on in 1981. Computers were added in 1982.  The American Disabilities Act of 1992 caused a great deal of reflection as some major modifications were necessary to meet that code. 

But as the community continued to grow, the building became outgrown and, in 1997, town of Ballston residents passed a resolution to build a new building, right next to where the old one was, actually in the parking lot of the old building. That new library was completed in 2001 and is still in use to this day. (The old building was torn down for a parking lot for the new one.) That new library has twice the shelf capacity of the original one and the building itself is twice as large. 

The two beautiful stained-glass windows in the building were created by local resident David Pfaffenbach. One depicts the official seal of the town; the other some of the most important features of the town, i.e., the growing of apples, canoes on the lake, the trolley that made Ballston Lake a tourist attraction, and deer who inhabit the area. 

But the library has not finished growing. A 2021 grant will allow the library to create within it a “Local History” room, dedicated to the extensive collection of local resources and allowing for a research area in which to use those resources. The library is located at 2 Lawmar Lane in Burnt Hills.

Rick Reynolds has been the Ballston Town Historian since 2004. He is a retired social studies teacher at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Middle school and is the author of the book “From Wilderness to Community: The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District. Rick can be reached at rreynolds@townofballstonny.org

This summer Brookside opened an exhibit: “Century of Ice Cream! The Dake Family and Stewart’s.” One might wonder why this successful business, with almost 350 convenience stores is named “Stewarts” and not “Dake’s” Actually, the original founder of Stewarts had a strong reputation for high-quality dairy products, long before the Dake family purchased the business.

Technically, Donald K. Stewart was not a Saratoga County native. He was born in Austin, Minnesota on May 26, 1897. However, he lived most of his life in the Ballston Spa area, where his father, Thomas F. Stewart, was in the grocery business. Stewart’s grandfather, A. B. Stewart was a farmer in the Town of Ballston, per the 1880 census. So, the Stewarts’ had been in Saratoga County for a while. The father of Donald’s mother, Lizzie, was from Minnesota, so Lizzie likely went there to be with her parents during her pregnancy.

Donald, at age 18, was already working as a retailer. The 1915 state census gave his occupation as “Salesman, Tea and Coffee Wagon.” Details of this business can be gleaned from an ad in the Saratogian in September, 1915: “Wanted: Man to take the tea and coffee business of D. K. Stewart, covering Galway, Milton and Greenfield.” Another ad, placed by Stewart, offered for sale a “kind and gentle” horse—perhaps the steed that had hauled him around.

Thomas had left the grocery business by this time. A notice in the Troy Times of October 15, 1912 said that he’d moved from Ballston Spa to a farm west of the village. Ill health had induced him to seek an outdoor occupation. Probably his son gave up his tea and coffee route and went to help with the farm. The 1920 census listed the occupation of Thomas as “farmer,” and Donald, living in his father’s Town of Ballston household, was a “milk dealer.” He had been at this for a while, because a 1919 article about increased milk prices mentioned several dairies, including D. K. Stewart’s. In March 1920, his firm, the Milk Depot, had a telephone installed at the store on Bath Street.

About this time, Thomas sold his farm, and moved into the village. The Stewarts, in Ballston Spa, mostly seem to have lived in the Ballston Avenue/McMaster Street neighborhood. Donald earnestly pursued the business of selling dairy products. The 1930 census showed him and his wife, Pearl, in Ballston Spa, with his occupation given as “retail merchant, milk and cream.” Stewart had married Pearl Jones at her parents’ home in Rock City Falls. Their honeymoon plans included touring the Adirondacks.

Cleanliness was important at the Stewart dairy business. The “Kleen Kaps” on the bottles were touted in advertisements, and customers could join the “Kleen Kap Klub.” Reliability of delivery was also a priority: a 1929 ad promised bottles would arrive on porches “regardless of the weather.” In 1932, the firm received an award from a state agency. Stewart’s milk scored high on aspects such as bacteria content, flavor, sediment, odor, butter fat, and temperature.

The year 1934 was eventful. Stewart was appointed justice of the peace, and he also purchased the Westcott garage on Church Avenue, and converted it to “one of the most modern milk dealer’s plants in this vicinity.” This was the first Stewarts shop (though the Milk Depot had been operating for quite a while before this). The site still is the location of a Stewarts store.

Stewart apparently kept up with developments in the dairy trade, as, in 1936 he graduated from a program at the Massachusetts Agricultural College. This interest in improved techniques for managing a dairy firm characterized his concern for his business. He made a modest expansion by opening a store in Saratoga Springs: an ad from 1944 warned customers that the Stewarts Ice Cream store on Church Street would be closing for an indefinite period. Pearl Stewart was identified as the proprietor. It seems there were just the two shops then.

That year, a trade publication noted P. W. and C. V. Dake, of Saratoga Springs had acquired Stewart’s milk and ice cream business. It stated that he’d started the firm in 1917, and had run it for 27 years. The Schenectady Gazette of October 4, 1944 specified that the Ballston Spa and Saratoga Stewarts stores had been purchased by the Dake brothers, but that Stewart would stay on for a short time as an advisor.

His time as an advisor may have been quite short, since in mid-October, employees gave him a surprise farewell party at the Church Avenue shop. Two days after the party, employees visited Donald at his Ballston Avenue home and expressed regret at his departure. But there were refreshments and games, so it was not totally a sad occasion. The Dakes started expanding the business, adding new stores over the years, eventually becoming the chain we know so well today.

After parting ways with the business. Donald took an interest in the Ballston Spa Village Cemetery, which was not far from his house. He was a sales agent for Temple Brothers, Inc. of Rutland, Vermont, who were. “builders and designers of cemetery memorials.” In the 1950s and 1960s, he was a director of the nearby cemetery.

Stewart died on October 31, 1971, while visiting his son, Donald K. Stewart, Jr. in Florida. Pearl died the following year, also in Florida. Both are buried in the Village Cemetery, as are their son and daughter-in-law.

Ask someone the name of a three-ring circus and their response would likely be Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey, or a combination of the two. Ringling Brothers World’s Greatest Shows was established in 1884 and P.T. Barnum’s Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Hippodrome had opened in 1871. Predating both was the biggest, most successful, though also the least known of the traveling shows, Adam Forepaugh’s Great All-Feature Show and Wild West Combined, established in 1863.

For over 30 years the Forepaugh show performed 250 times or more each year, the majority of the stops a single day offering two full shows. One example of this exhausting schedule was the itinerary for the 1889 season given in their 26th Annual Tour report. That year the season opened in Philadelphia on April 22nd and closed in October at Alliance, Ohio. In between, they had given performances across thirteen states. The nearly 400 performers and workmen would almost daily assemble and disassemble what was nearly a complete village of massive tents to house not only the show but stables, dressing rooms, maintenance shops, cooking tents, and dining halls that covered eight acres of ground.

In September of 1890, the Forepaugh show came to Saratoga Springs, one stop in a six-month season that took the performers from Binghamton to Syracuse, Glens Falls, Plattsburg, and numerous other communities across the northeast. 1890 was not the first time this show visited the region. In 1883 & 1888 Forepaugh had also toured upstate New York. The 1883 season also included shows at Albany, Binghamton, Ogdensburg, Buffalo, and on Monday, July 23rd Saratoga Springs, a stop between visits to Fishkill and Fort Edward. In Route Book of the Great Forepaugh Show, Circus Hippodrome and Menagerie: Season 1883 they reported having 478 employees, more than 300 horses, and the show and personnel transported in 64 railway cars. During August of the 1888 season, the show had come through Vermont, dipped south to play Saratoga Springs, and then afterward on to Plattsburgh and the north country.

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The August 15, 1890 edition of the Mechanicville Mercury carried an advertisement for the Forepaugh show as well as a large article highlighting the upcoming performance titled “A Mammoth Show.” Here the show was proclaimed to be a “novel and dazzling pageant,” that would offer both a Wild West Show depicting Custer’s Last Stand and Eclipse, the flying trapeze horse.

The Forepaugh railcars were moved from show to show by as many as five locomotives, often leaving one town after midnight and arriving at their next stop by early the next morning. The first to leave the train were the hundreds of men and boys who would raise the tents, assemble the bleachers and get everything prepared for the show that would start only a few hours later. Once everything was in place, a parade of the hundreds of performers, musicians, animals in cages, and chariots would move through the main streets of the town. Leading the way was a marching band and Adam Forepaugh’s personal carriage pulled by four black horses. This exhibit of all that the show had to offer was free to watch and hundreds, if not thousands would line the route taking in every detail of the exotic scenes and well-rehearsed acts of the showmen.

The two performances each day, starting at 1 and 7 p.m.,  were the same, the 1889 program giving the opening as an Overture by Prof. Geo. Ganweiler’s Military Band followed by an:

Imposing Spectacular Entrée, In Two Rings, on the Central Stage and Hippodrome Track, exhibiting the principal professional features of the Combined Forepaugh and “Wild West” Shows. Realistic illustrations of life in the romantic wild West.

Immediately following this were 29 acts both in the air and on the ground, sometimes three performances going on at one time under the main tent. After this was a dozen races that included horses, donkeys, elephants, and men. The show concluded with music and dancing ranging from Irish Reels and bagpipes to cowboy bands and music played on hunting horns.

By 1896 the show had a new owner, James A. Bailey, who soon partnered with the Sells Brothers to form the Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus. After Bailey’s death in 1905, the Ringling Brothers acquired the circus and continued operation until finally closing the show in 1911.

A century ago, Corinth was home to some of the top Rhode Island Red chickens in the state.  Backyard hens have become popular in recent years but poultry breeding was a big business in our region in the earlier 1900s.

Charles August Diedrich was born in 1877 to German immigrants, who came to Corinth in the last half of the nineteenth century.  He married Agnes Judge and opened a grocery store in Corinth in the fall of 1900.  Less than a year later he took his brother-in-law, Clifford Bush, as a partner.  The Diedrich and Bush Grocery store was located on Palmer Avenue where the current Dollar General now stands. 

The progressive grocery store later took orders and made deliveries by automobile, a first in this community.  In 1906 they were “dealers in groceries and provisions, fruit, candy, tobacco and cigars, also hardware, tinware, drugs and patent medicines.”  Seven years later they advertised the store as “leading grocers, dealers in grocery and provisions, salt and smoked meats, poultry foods and poultry supplies.”  They were also agents for Prairie State egg incubators.  This increased emphasis on their poultry line of goods corresponded directly with Mr. Diedrich’s second endeavor – the Adirondack Poultry Yards.  This part of the business was located at his home on the corner of Sixth and Pine Streets, a few blocks from the store.  Here he worked to breed some of the finest stock of Rhode Island Red chickens in the area and eventually the state. 

All across the region the Adirondack Poultry Yards had displays of their fowl – at the Saratoga County Fair, the Washington County Fair held in Hudson Falls, the Mohawk Valley Poultry Show in Schenectady and the Fort Orange Poultry Show in Albany.  Each time Charles Diedrich and his Rhode Island Reds brought home numerous ribbons and cash prizes.  In 1913 at the Saratoga Armory Show he had the biggest class of birds in the poultry exposition.   An exhibit of the birds won top honors at the state fair and he even showed poultry at Madison Square Garden in 1915.  A year later the poultry show in New York City was promoted as an “American billion-dollar industry” and visited by thousands who witnessed the Adirondack Poultry Yards receive numerous ribbons.

Tragedy hit the Adirondack Poultry Yards in the early spring of 1920.  Fire broke out at about 5 a.m., possibly from a defective brooder, a device used to keep young chicks warm.  Forty pure bred chickens and thirty large fowl died in the fire.  It was reported that all of these fowl had won prizes at the state fair the previous year and many of them were valued at more than $100 each.  Mr. Diedrich had no insurance on his poultry business.

Soon he was back in business and shipping eggs to be incubated and hatched throughout the United States.  Ironically, he even displayed pet foxes at the Saratoga County Fair in 1921.  The last mention in the newspapers of the Adirondack Poultry Yards was in 1925.  After nearly 50 years of business Charles Dietrich and Clifford Bush were ready for retirement, closing the store in the summer of 1946.  Their innovative and entrepreneurial ideas made their store a favorite for shoppers in the area.  Mr. Diedrich’s poultry endeavors were recognized throughout the state and beyond.

Rachel Clothier is historian for the Town of Corinth, operates the Corinth Museum, and is retired from Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls.

The saga of Saratoga Thoroughbred Racing has largely been told by and about the horse owners, tycoons, the rich and famous of their era.  The people who actually care for the horses, the backstretch (barn area) workers, grooms and hot walkers often receive little attention.

 Facilities to house the backstretch workers were nonexistent in the early years at Saratoga.  They slept in the hay loft, stalls, or tack rooms.  Sanitary facilities for them were equally rare.  The race meeting at Saratoga was one of relatively short duration – 4 weeks. The horse had better accommodations than those looking after its welfare.

A syndicate comprised of some of the wealthiest and influential men in America purchased Saratoga Race Course at the dawn of the 20th century.  The syndicate, put together by William C. Whitney, soon became The Saratoga Association for the Improvement of the Breed.  Many improvements to the public facilities at Saratoga followed the creation of the Saratoga Association. 

The racing elite, the tycoons of the early 1900s built their own barns on the Saratoga grounds.  The Duponts, Vanderbilts, Sanfords, Clarks, Belmonts, Whitneys all had barns, in some cases barn areas built at Saratoga. They also had “cottages” built for their trainers and built bathroom facilities for the barn workers.  Large squad tents were put up throughout the barn area to shelter the barn workers.  These tents were used into the late 1950s.  Spartan concrete block dormitories with bathrooms including showers with hot water were constructed to house the backstretch workers, beginning in 1956 after the New York State Racing Association was formed.   The dormitories have been completely overhauled in the last 5 years.

During the roaring 20s of the 20th Century The Young Men’s Christian Association thrived in Saratoga Springs.  The YMCA was housed in a multi-story brick building on Broadway.  Basketball courts, volleyball, a swimming pool, all types of activities were available in the Broadway YMCA.  The local YMCA was so successful that in the late 1920s a satellite YMCA was built on Saratoga Race Course grounds.  The building was built in a U shape.  The entrance to the building was at the center of the bottom of the U.  Admission was 25 cents in the late 50s, with a towel provided with each paid admission.  There was a kitchen in the entrance space.  Each wing was equipped with pool tables and ping pong tables.  Behind the kitchen were 2 changing rooms with toilets and showers. 

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Outside, behind the changing rooms were 2 swimming pools.  The pools were separated by a wall.  Segregation, separate but equal, was in force even in Saratoga Springs.  The wall separating the pools was gone by the late 1960s.  This YMCA building came to be called the Jockey Y.  The Jockey Y held softball games and tournaments.  An elevated, roofed boxing ring held multiple boxing matches each week during the race meet. 

The Great Depression saw the Saratoga Springs YMCA cease to exist.  The YMCA building at the race course became the property of the Saratoga Association.  In the 1990s the swimming pools were removed and the east wing of the structure was converted to a women’s dormitory.  Old timers still call the building the Jockey Y, the modern world refers to the building as the Rec Center.

Through a vast expanse of the history of racing and Saratoga Race Course a large portion of the backstretch work force were African American.  Today, the backstretch work force is predominately Latino.  There are many reasons for that turn around in the workforce.  During the 1980s the face and the language on the backstretch changed seemingly overnight.   Jobs on the backstretch never paid well with minimum wage and benefits arriving fairly recently.  The work sometimes seems constant. 

The change in the makeup of the workforce brought other issues with some issues having major impact. The language difference is perhaps the simplest to solve.  Legal immigration is difficult, a Green Card, even a Seasonal 7-month Visa is becoming harder to obtain.  And these are increasingly expensive.  In almost all cases the expense is beyond a groom’s ability to meet the trainer who employs him will, often, cover the expense.

Racetrack life has changed and is constantly changing.  Many organizations and individuals are working to improve the living conditions of the backstretch workers.  The Race Track Chaplaincy, and B.E.S.T. work very hard to improve the living conditions in the barn area.  This year an outdoor pavilion and a preschool childcare facility have been opened for the barn area workforce, through the efforts of thoroughbred race horse owners Marylou Whitney and Michael Dubb. The outdoor pavilion was the brainchild of the late Marylou Whitney.  The pavilion was opened with an ice cream social and will be used to host dinners for the backstretch workforce.  The childcare center, Faith’s House, is the result of the efforts of Michael Dubb.   Faith’s House will now mirror the services to the children of backstretch employees at Saratoga that Anna’s House at Belmont Park provides. These changes have improved the living conditions of track workers and their families, who are important contributors to the success of the Saratoga season each summer.

As the heated term of the year draws near I presume that any number of stationer clerks are asking themselves as to how, when and where they shall spend their vacations.  I want to give them a bit of advice regarding a summer outing.

Everyone knows there is no equal to exercise for a good “walk.”  My advice is to shoulder your knapsack and take a two weeks tramp.  I speak from personal experience.  My brother and I took such a walk last summer.  Taking train from New York to Albany, we made that last named city our starting point.

With fishing tackle and 15 pounds of baggage in our knapsacks, we left Albany on Monday morning and, taking the road leading to Waterford, we made Stillwater for dinner and White Sulphur Springs for supper, (The White Sulphur Spring Hotel[ was a hotel located on the east (that is, south) end of Saratoga Lake) a days walk of 27 miles .After tea we enjoyed the bites of the fish and the mosquitos on Saratoga Lake for an hour or so and then turned in for as sweet a night’s sleep as I ever enjoyed.

The next morning after a good breakfast, we started for Glens Falls, another “stint”  of 27 miles.  Our way took us along the shores of Saratoga Lake for 3 miles, thence up through Union Avenue, Saratoga Village, till we came opposite the racecourse, where we struck off around the base of Mt. McGregor, as fine a bit of country walking as I ever saw.  A fine road, well shaded, with romantic scenery, lent delight to the walker.  We made Glens Falls for supper, having taken dinner at Dow’s Corners on the way.  As the muscles of our legs had been exercised by walking, so were those of our jaws by the mastication of a so-called steak at our dining place.  Had they called it a “shingle” instead of a steak, they would have been nearer the mark.

On Wednesday morning we left the Falls for Lake George, 12 miles away.  We did that last stretch in a heavy rain, but with waterproof coats and lighted pipes we did not mind it.   We put up with mine host Seelye, at Joshua’s Rock, Dunham Bay, and spent a week of fishing and boating – mostly boating – and started back home on Friday, walking as far as Schuylerville, where we struck up with a friendly canal boat captain, with whom we took Passage from Schuylerville to West Waterford, arriving at our destination at 4 o’clock on Monday morning.  We slept on deck with our knapsacks as pillows and our pipes for company, and listened to the choice vocabulary of the drivers, who can outswear any Mississippi pirate.  Stretching our somewhat weakened limbs.we slid off down the towpath for Albany, getting there in time for breakfast, having walked 104 miles in twenty-two hours walking time and having had a glorious time, and all for the modest sum of $15 per man for the two weeks.

If there is any stationery man in the country who is fagged out and doesn’t know what to do this summer, let him throw over his doctor and spend a couple of weeks in the open air, living on country fare, and I will guarantee that by so doing he will double his abilities as a saleman and deserve an advance of salary. 

Russ Vandervoort is the Waterford Town Historian and leader of the Waterford Canal and Towpath Society and can be reached at russvandervoort@gmail.com.

For those researching the history of writing instruments, copies of The American Stationer (later, The American Stationer & Office Manager) are an invaluable resource. Many of the issues have been digitized and are available through Google Books. The article was published in the American Stationer on May 1, 1890 under Communications.