One of the local places of business that I left out of the first couple of columns of this type was Agosti Pantusi's Shoe Repair. Believe it or not, I hadn't really forgotten it, I just ran out of space. As a matter of fact, the south window in the museum featured Weedsport cobblers during November, and among the artifacts in the display is a photo of “Augie” Pantusi at his bench.

Unfortunately, the cute little shop with the living quarters above were torn down after his death several years ago.

It was with some surprise recently when I noticed that when the Weedsport Central School bus numbers got to “99,” they started over with bus No. “1.” Who can remember (besides me) the original bus No. “1”? I believe it was a GMC, while No. 2 and 3 were International Harvesters. No. 4 was a Ford, No. 5 another IH, No. 6 was a Mack and the personal favorite of long-time Chief Mechanic Ray Pichany. Bus No. 7, (the crackerbox) was an IH and then started a long series of REO's. The buses were green and white and several of the early ones sported fender skirts.

The storefront which is now “Nickel Back Jack's” has a long history, including many restaurants and luncheonettes, among which were Canolesio's, Jack Miller's, Matty's, George & Madeline Wescott, Butler's, the Hiron's family and others. It was also Elvin Dolph's Barber Shop, Gary Sine's magazine store, a real estate office and tanning salon, as well as other uses which escape me at the moment.

Who recalls Hoopers Dairy or market? How about the tin shop on Bell Street? How many of you used to ride down the milk can conveyor at the milk processing plant on East Street? I was reminded (by classmate Bob Hirons, no less) that he purchased the ice delivery business from Clint Hazzard for $1 and operated it as “Bob's Ice and Delivery Service.”

I recall he used to pick up unbelievable loads of ice at an icehouse in Auburn and bring it to Weedsport with the front wheels of his old Dodge half ton pick-up truck just barely touching the road. He had several large commercial customers, among which was the Weedsport Speedway.

The Weedsport Fire Department is reputedly the first volunteer fire department in New York state to operate an ambulance for its constituency (since 1934).

How many of you recall that until the mid 1960s the way to summon the ambulance was not a simple 911 call, or even the 6111 number that was used to report a fire. One had to call a member of the First Aid Squad of the fire department from a list that was published and hung next to everyone's phone.

The person called would then contact a second attendant. While this sounds remarkably casual, it worked very well for many years. The siren was never blown for ambulance or rescue calls.

Speaking of ambulances, who remembers several members of the Weedsport Central School class of 1956 purchasing the old Buick ambulance from the fire department when the fire department upgraded to a newer Cadillac? The guys had a map of New York painted on the sides of it with a star for the location of Weedsport and they drove all over the northeastern United States with this unlikely vehicle. It was rumored that they had to use the red lights and siren a couple of times, after going through a speed trap a bit too smartly.

How about the huge malt houses that used to dominate North Seneca Street? Barber Harold Morrison? Putnam's and then Dickinson's Drug Store?

The A & P, or Grand Union grocery stores? Finally this month, who recalls the whimsical humor written by Bob Fults in the local papers under the pen name “Old Dawk?”

I still have lots more for yet another column sometime. Next month, I'll write about one of my own favorite personal memories, The Zimmer family operations, which included the movie theater, the bowling alley and billiard parlor, the restaurants operated by them and the drugstore adjoining the theatre.

Denny Randall is president of the Old Brutus Historical Society in Weedsport