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. The home, barn and property were sold at auction in May of 1987.
Jesse, well you may have called him Jack as I sometimes did too, and I ran the Atlantic Station there on the corner of Main and Andover Streets. I handled the grocery store and the soda fountain with the help of a cook. Jesse and our son Jay D handled the gas and car repair. I think he pretty much gave you all you need to know about the other businesses.
Muriel, Prince and Jay D. Who can name the others with them?
Well, I will share this, in March of 1946, The Greenwood Central School FFA broadcast live from Hornell and JE Armstrong and Son sponsored it. And Jesse didn't tell you about his involvement with bringing street lights to town in 1946. He along with a committee made up of LH Murdock (chairman), Stanley Murray (he bought our station business), William Nepshied and Virgil Hussey. Thirty-six lights were installed after a vote resulting in a 97% approval of the plan. We had hoped it would bring a glove business to town. But, that never happened.
We were busy as business owners and parents during our time in Greenwood. I think Kathy told you about my foray into working in Hornell during one Christmas holiday. Mostly, Jesse and I took care of our businesses in town. And Jay D helped when he got older. We had one son, Jay D. He attended Greenwood School and Ithica College before being drafted and serving in World War II. He will tell you a bit more about himself next week.
We lived there on Main Street, just down from the Masonic Hall next door to the Webster House. I loved that old house. I liked it to be well kept. It is a shame how it looks now.
Jay, grandson number 1, the term I use is "just so". Grandmother was quite particular about the house and that was not a bad thing. The house remained a picture victorian long after she moved from Greenwood.
I moved to New York City to be a companion to my friend Mrs Wickwire after Jesse passed away and Jay D and I sold all the businesses. She and I lived comfortably on Park Ave and traveled. I helped by overseeing the household and being her personal assistant when needed. But, I didn't give up the house.
Anna Marie (Murray) Schwartz here. Yes, sometimes, we would help out by going down and dusting and vacuuming, straightening up things at the house when Mrs Armstrong was back in town. And, she would stop by and chat with Mom and Dad and Dad would send me down to check in and see if there was anything she needed.
Jeff, number 2. We used to come back and visit Greenwood with Grandmother on weekends and for weeks at a time.
Jay again. Yes, I remember spending time with the Prof, as dad called him, Walter Redmon. We would just sit and listen to him talk about science and astronomy.
Yes, I was quite fond of Walter and his sister Blanche too.
And, I did bring the boys with me many times when visiting in Greenwood. I know they may not have enjoyed all the errands I took them along on. Young boys or even when they were young men at college were not too fond of long hours of shopping in Hornell and Wellsville or going to the brokers to deal with stocks in Hornell.
Jay again. I remember the trip to and from Wellsville and seeing a gas pump rock back and forth along the road.
We even installed one down by the NYP Deport after we bought that property. Many of us in Greenwood had gas lighting, heat and cook stoves for quite sometime. Later on, we converted some of our lights to electricity, but some of us actually kept the gas lights upstairs.
Jeff here. One of my favorite places to go when I visited was John Krieger's shop across the street from Grandmother's house. I just loved the smell of leather. You know when John passed away, they found all kinds of uncashed checks and actual cash tucked away in his backroom. I guess he was none too fond of banks.
You know, John's need to repair horse harnesses used for plowing all the time, gave us the idea to bring a farm machinery business to Greenwood. The ground was so full of rocks that the plows and other equipment were always breaking down. Jesse was so proud when he brought the first rubber tire tractors to town.
I know lots of people in town got televisions right away and signed up with Lew Cornell for cable programming. But, I was happy just listening to the radio. We had a Delco Floor Model shortwave radio. I hear it still works great. See, I told you boys.
I finally did get a small black and white TV later on. But, no cable. Those grandsons of mine were always fiddling with tin foil and whatever else they could find to get that antenna to pick up programming.
Jay back. That old TV wasn't much. Grandmother and I went over to the Baker's house to Watch the Shepard space launch and we boys sometimes went over to Clarence Websters to watch TV. He was all about The Beverly Hillbillies. He would just laugh and laugh and talk about how great that show was.
Jesse and I worked hard while we lived in Greenwood. We raised our son, Jay D. And, even after all of us left, we visited and brought the grandboys back to enjoy this small town life.
Jay, Jeff and Jon. Greenwood was always enjoyable and we thank Grandmother for allowing us to enjoy it with her.