Stores in Conquest? Well, right now, Burke's Hardware is about it, but there used to be many, many business establishments in our town. This series is going to be so much fun to research and write. ... if you think I went on and on about church suppers, just get me started on stores.
Thank you to Henry Young, Caroline Crowell Roberts, Mary Burgdorf, Barbara Howell VanDitto, Bill Hecht and www.fultonhistory.com for helping with today's reminiscences - “Stores in Spring Lake.”
Counting backwards, the last person to have a store in Spring Lake was Roswell Saeli. He purchased the store from William Marshall in 1936.
Caroline remembers going into the store as a very little girl when her family had a camp on Duck Lake. “Ordinarily we would have gone to Conquest for groceries, but when we were at camp, we shopped in Spring Lake because it was closer. Mostly I remember that the store seemed very dark.”
Over and over again in the weekly Spring Lake personal columns it was reported that “Roswell Saeli went to Syracuse on business last Thursday,” - sometimes with William Wansor, often with Mr. Brown. Henry remembers that very well ... “Roswell went to Syracuse every Thursday to stock up on supplies, many of the young lads from town would meet up with him and help unload on Thursday evenings and then be treated to a popsicle for their efforts.” He built the brick house next to the store for his bride - Miss Contigulia from Auburn.
Mary's memories include prices: “Roswell sold 3 pounds of ground meat for $1. He sold the basics; many went into Port Byron or Weedsport for their main groceries. He did stock a variety though, everything from bread to shoes to regular soda pop (there was no diet soda back then) to kerosene, which was 3 or 4 cents a gallon. In season, they sold strawberries from the front porch -they were 5 cents a quart. He had the first television in town and people used to hang around the store to watch programs like ‘Midwestern Hayride.'”
Roswell was active in town affairs. He was a justice of the peace and at one time headed the Boy Scout committee. One of the personal items mentioned that he had been sick and his brother and sister were helping to run the store.
If there are other store photos or other folks that would like to share store or business stories, please give me a call at 776-4726. In another article, Barbara Howell VanDitto will help explain much of the photo.
Joni Lincoln is the town of Conquest historian.
Counting backwards, the last person to have a store in Spring Lake was Roswell Saeli. He purchased the store from William Marshall in 1936.
Caroline remembers going into the store as a very little girl when her family had a camp on Duck Lake. “Ordinarily we would have gone to Conquest for groceries, but when we were at camp, we shopped in Spring Lake because it was closer. Mostly I remember that the store seemed very dark.”
Over and over again in the weekly Spring Lake personal columns it was reported that “Roswell Saeli went to Syracuse on business last Thursday,” - sometimes with William Wansor, often with Mr. Brown. Henry remembers that very well ... “Roswell went to Syracuse every Thursday to stock up on supplies, many of the young lads from town would meet up with him and help unload on Thursday evenings and then be treated to a popsicle for their efforts.” He built the brick house next to the store for his bride - Miss Contigulia from Auburn.
Mary's memories include prices: “Roswell sold 3 pounds of ground meat for $1. He sold the basics; many went into Port Byron or Weedsport for their main groceries. He did stock a variety though, everything from bread to shoes to regular soda pop (there was no diet soda back then) to kerosene, which was 3 or 4 cents a gallon. In season, they sold strawberries from the front porch -they were 5 cents a quart. He had the first television in town and people used to hang around the store to watch programs like ‘Midwestern Hayride.'”
Roswell was active in town affairs. He was a justice of the peace and at one time headed the Boy Scout committee. One of the personal items mentioned that he had been sick and his brother and sister were helping to run the store.
If there are other store photos or other folks that would like to share store or business stories, please give me a call at 776-4726. In another article, Barbara Howell VanDitto will help explain much of the photo.
Joni Lincoln is the town of Conquest historian.
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