A History of Greenwood by Those Who Lived It

Good day! As I spend my days relaxing and visiting with friends here at Updyke’s in Hornell, my mind wanders back to my time in Greenwood. I was born April 1, 1923 to John and Blanche Wallace on a farm on King Hill at the top of Christian Hollow. Mom was born on April 25, 1902 in Whitesville and Dad in 1888. And, I had one brother, Leo. He married Vivian Andrus. She was from Hornell and they lived there on Main Street across from Jeanette and Lew Cornell. Along with working t

The businesses owned and operated in Greenwood were named JE Armstrong and Son. You have heard the stories of JE, Jesse, Jack and Muriel; now, it is Jay D's turn....the son of JE Armstrong and Son. Here I am with Dad in 1941. As you can see I had been drafted into WW2. But, lets step back and talk about the time leading up to this first. I am Jay D Armstrong, the only son of Jesse Earl and Muriel Lillian (Darling) Armstrong. I was born on May 17, 1919. Here's a picture of me

Good day fellow citizens of Greenwood! Mrs. JE Armstrong, Muriel here. My husband Jesse shared some about our time in Greenwood. Let me add a bit. But, first a little background. I am Muriel Lillian Darling, daughter of George and Evelyn Darling. I am the third of six children and was born on April 22, 1899 in Lapeer Township, Cortland County. Jesse and I had a number of businesses during our time here and I maintained our home in Greenwood until I left this world in 1986.

Hello! Remember me? Jesse Earl Armstrong. I guess from the signs on my businesses there in town, you may refer to me as JE. But, my fellow Greenwoodians and friends, just called me Jack. I'm not much for talking; but, will share a bit about my life. I came to Greenwood in March of 1933 with my wife Muriel; formally known as Muriel Lillian Darling when I met and married her in 1918. She was a might younger than me and much more outgoing which came in handy when we began to ope

As I would guess during the 1940s and 50s with many families in Greenwood, Stanley and Margaret Murray and their six children had a few traditions that they followed: 1. The tree is cut and brought into the house around the 20th. 2. It is decorated by the family two or three days before Christmas when the door is closed to the parlor and no one sees it again until Christmas morning. 3. Christmas morning, the children must remain upstairs until their dad (Stanley) comes to the

Tonight, I am volunteering for a worthy cause here in Roanoke, Virginia where I live, Illuminights. A more than 500,000 light mega display at Explorer Park. See https://www.roanokecountyparks.com/231/Explore-Park . Before, I dive into memories of lights or other outdoor decorations in Greenwood, I have a few more analytics to share with you. Since beginning in September, A History of Greenwood by Those Who Lived It, I have had over 2060 post views with 1789 visits. What doe

Kids and yes, adults too, love their animals. In Greenwood, there were the pets that lived in town and those that worked for a living just like the kids on the farms. In the 1940s, as one of many pets in Greenwood, the Armstrong boys had a dog named Prince. Check him out so regal, surveying town from his post in front of their Atlantic Station on the corner of Andover Road and Main Street. However, back in December of 1907, just three families in town had a dog. The Slocum'

During the 1940s and 1950s, while some were hosting family for a traditional Thanksgiving feast, many in Greenwood were hosting parties of deer hunters. First, let’s harken back to those somewhat formal gatherings with everyone seated around the dining table. Picture a cloth laden table adorned with a beautiful centerpiece created by a local florist and its candles casting a festive glow. The china has been brought forth from its special place in the hutch that served only as

As Albert and I both shared last time around, we had five children. The oldest was Louise or Weasy as the others called her. Then Stub, you may have known him as James if you went to school with him in Greenwood or Glenn if you knew him after he married and moved to Andover. Next was Ezzy, Evelyn, then Kathleen or Kappy, and last Bobby. As I said already, Stub lived in Andover and Bobby lived right here on the farm. The others moved around a bit. Louise locally and Evelyn and

In 1946, George Burd sent me to fix some fence on a farm he had purchased from Ames Rogers there on Greenwood Hill because he wanted to sell it. Flora here. Albert said he needed me to go and help him. I think he and George had cooked up a plan to get me to agree to buy that farm. And it worked. Well, we fixed fence for awhile and it began to rain awful. Flora and I went into the house for shelter. No one had lived there for years. It kept raining, so we looked the place over

Albert and Flora, to date, created a family of 138 with spouses, grandchildren, their spouses, great grandchildren and spouses and great great grandchildren...have I added enough greats? Now a few words from Albert, himself... I was born on the Sherm Burdick Farm on the upper part of the Vandermark in Scio. As a youngster, I attended a country school near Decker Road. My family soon moved to the Williams farm down before the railroad track toward Belmont, you may remember it

A Little, Okay a lot, of Background Albert and Flora, to date, created a family of 138 with spouses, grandchildren, their spouses, great grandchildren and spouses and great great grandchildren...have I added enough greats? Now a few words from Flora, herself... I was not a native of the Greenwood area. I was born in my grandmother’s home on Monroe Street in New Hudson, New York to Glenn Madison, who had returned from North Dakota to his home in Belfast, New York and Iva Amin

As a child, after Albert and I were first married, and then even when the children were very young, we led a pretty nomadic life. We followed the work from Belfast to Wellsville, to Hornell and Canisteo and we finally landed in Greenwood. We were living and working for George Burd on his farm in Canisteo when he offered Albert either a farm in Rexville or the one on Greenwood Hill that he had purchased from Ames Rogers. Albert thought the Rexville farm was too marshy, so he b

You can take the boy out of Greenwood, but, you can’t take Greenwood out of the boy. I was born in Greenwood and lived there until I was 20 years old. I am sixth generation, the third child and the oldest son of Stanley and Margaret Murray’s six, and named after my grandfather who was born and raised in Greenwood as was my father. My grandfather, John F Murray, the son of Stanislaus and Sarah (Rogers) Murray was raised on the farm now owned by the Mills down by the West Green

Our first through fifth grandchildren were all born between 1960 and 1965. John’s first five. You heard Stanley’s stories about the children. Yes, that Kathy Lou did have free reign at the station. But, if you asked around the family, I think they may accuse me of having a favorite too, John Robert. “I would have to agree. Stan Jr here…I lived in Australia for a while. I was home for a visit after two years. I found the cookie jar hidden away in the cupboard, full of my favor

Cuties! We had Ellen right away and just kept on until there were six, Catherine, John, Sally, Stan and Anna Marie. One of the benefits of a large family is all the helpers you have. Ellen took over from the beginning. The only issue with that was John was the oldest son, and that was an important role in the 1940s and 50s. Many a battle was had for control. As I said earlier, I taught at the new Greenwood school during the 40s. English. And, as I too said earlier, I used m

I did not grow up in Greenwood; but, spent the rest of my life there. I grew up in Geneva, New York with my parents, Charles and Ellen (White) Toombs. I had a sister Catherine and two brothers, Charles and Edward. I went to Nazareth College near Rochester and graduated with a general teaching degree. My favorite subject was Math and I was fluent in German and French as well as Latin. However, it was the 1930s and getting a teaching job in math as a woman was proving difficult

A quiet day downtown. based on the VW, 1960's. You have experienced the first of the series over the last month. I hope you are enjoying reading my blog posts as much as I am enjoying researching, interviewing, and writing them. As I have shared, I will continue to feature long-time Greenwood families and/or citizens, well, until I run out of people or stories. I appreciate the families that have already contacted me and am looking forward to our chats. Every conversation ha

How this era began... Margaret and I had great kids and they shared 20 grandchildren with us. We were blessed. We spent a lot of time with all of them. Big family dinners and holidays. Lots of outdoor activities and running all over town. They loved the Fireman’s Auction. So much fun digging through the boxes of sight unseen books and other treasures I would buy. A passel of them would go to parades and the Water Fights with the Fire Company in the summer. A couple at a tim

Do you remember these kids? Margaret gave up her room at the Rollins house and moved with me to the farm. Do you know anything about Horning Bees? Well, let me tell ya’; about three or maybe four weeks after our elopement, our friends and family decided to enact this rural community tradition. Dad, Mom, Margaret and I were spending a quiet evening, when we see headlights comin’ on down the road. I think, who is out this late and where are they going? Then it hits me and I say