Appendix - 1960-1969
Memorabilia Related Research Material
Contents
1960 Bob Mabey Swaps Land For Warehouse Site
BOB MABEY WASTED NO TIME in building his business Besides his regular apple runs, on weekends he was moving people's belongings. He worked around the clock sensing great opportunity, a trait we will see in action later.
Around 1959 he was also moving antiques for Chathamite John Coxon's auction business. Coxon dabbled in many businesses, real estate among them, and would play another role in Mabey's growth within the next two years.
Mabey was succeeding. Some old spiral notebooks that Mabey keeps to this day showed gross income close to $335 a week, a good sum in those days. By 1960 Mabey's Moving & Storage was emblazoned on two trucks, but Mabey knew to get to the next step he had to grow beyond his small geographical area. And the guys who met at French Lick were the answer.
Besides being the home of famed Boston Celtics hoop star Larry Byrd, French Lick, back in the forties, was a thermal spa where there were resort hotels where the owners of the fledgling Atlas Van Lines met to form a partnership that would extend their reach. But to succeed they had to grow further geographically and Bob Mabey knew this.
Mabey contacted an Atlas agent in Kingston, John Rapp, about joining Atlas. Rapp contacted a vice president of Atlas who in 1960, came out to Ghent to see Bob from their head- quarters in Evansville, Indiana.
It was 1960. The representative said to Mabey that if he could build a warehouse, he could join Atlas. Warehousing was a key element in storing people's belongings and staging for moves. Once again, like buying that first truck, Mabey thought long and hard about how he would do this.
As luck would have it, John Coxon owned some land on a hillside on Route 66 just outside Chatham. Coxon, one of those entrepreneurial angels, told Mabey that if he would keep hauling for his auctions, hed give him the land for a song, actually a land swap they did for property that Mabey owned in Red Rock, outside of town. Of course, a hillside is not the best place to build a parking area for trucks or a warehouse. Mabey friend Felix Gardina came down with his D8 dozer and cut the hillside for a flat space to build the warehouse. During construction, Mabey needed item 4 gravel for base and relished the fact that he could call the guy that fired him years ago, Dick Kearney, to haul it up. Entrepreneurs are funny people!
The warehouse was built, 100 feet long by 30 feet wide, 3,000 square feet. It seemed like a huge place at the time, but Mabey's today occupies more than 400,000 square feet of space!
With the warehouse, Mabey invited the Atlas people out again and they signed an agent agreement in 1961. It wasn't an immediate success, but better times were ahead. Before the agreement, Mabey billed $14,000 gross in 1960. ...
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Copied from Bob Mabey, A Life Lived Hard. A Life Lived Well. (Privately published, designed & written by Rich Kraham. Given to me by Steve Mabey Sr. - jhc)
1962-05-03 State Buying Vast County Tract
State Buying Vast County Tract
Plan Future State Park on 800-Acre Austerlitz Area
The New York State Conservation Dept. is in the process of acquiring 800 acres in the Township of Austerlitz for a public hunting, fishing and camping area, the Chatham Courier learned today.
Designated as multiple use site, the vast forest section is being purchased through funds made available in a $75,000,000 bond issue approved by State voters in 1960 for the acquisition or land by state and local communities for park and, recreation facilities.
The Austerlitz property, the Courier learned, is being acquired through a $15 million item in the bond issue which was earmarked for the purchase of land "other than parks".
The Conservation Dept. it was said, was, working to gain the "maximum benefits for the public" from the tract, "without harming the area, or. its resources.
The multiple use area cannot be immediately considered as a state park it was stated, but long-range plans have been made to eventually convert the county property into a state controlled park.
Unlike the Taconic State Park which bans hunting and fishing, the Austerlitz property will be open to sportsmen. Campsites will be provided, while streams and woods will be opened to hunters and fishermen.
A greater portion of the property, which the State is acquiring, is owned by Alan M. Pope of Great Barrington, Mass. It is located on either side of County Route 5 between Austerlitz and Red Rock. Extending eastward to the Massachusetts border, it will include two bodies of water, Barrett's Pond and No Bottom Pond.
The area will also include portions of Fog Hill and Beebe Hill, long considered some of the best deer hunting country in Columbia County.
Once acquired, the huge tract would be under the immediate supervision of State, Forest Ranger Stanley Engel of Ghent.
In the early 1930's the State of New York acquired a large section of Beebe mill and built a road to the top of the summit. The state had intended to erect a fire tower at the site but the plans were never completed.
Located but a short, distance from the Taconic Parkway and the Berkshire Spur of the Thruway. the Austerlitz area is expected to greatly increase tourism in northern Columbia County, a Conservation Dept. spokesman said.
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Transcribed from The Chatham Courier, May 3, 1962
1962-11-16 Pop Sweet Fiddles at 79th Birthday
Nov. 16, 1962: Pop Sweet fiddles at 79th birthday
BECKET — George R. (Pop) Sweet, well-known fiddler and square dance caller who is reported to have tamed woodchucks and wild animals with his fiddle, has turned 79.
About 90 relatives and friends attended a party in his honor last Saturday at the Mapleview Ballroom in Washington. Though retired, Pop entertained on his fiddle.
Pop’s favorite number, the one reported to have tamed the wild animals, is “Dig for the Oyster, Dive for the Clam.” It brings the groundhog out of its lair Candlemas Day, Feb. 2.
Without using his fiddle, Pop ran up the all-time record for fox trapping in Austerlitz Hill, N.Y. He trapped 90 foxes in five weeks.
During his career as a square dance caller, he headed up Pop Sweet and the Huckleberry Pickers, which for many years played for square dances all over Berkshire County and in New York State.
He was born in Peru, son of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Sweet, but at an early age moved with his parents to Lee. He is the only survivor of the 10 children born in the Sweet family, eight of whom played a musical instrument of some kind. His father and grandfather both played the fiddle. Pop played for his first square dance at the age of 14 and continued to play until his retirement several years ago. He played for the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt and taught Edna St. Vincent Millay to square dance and Ted Shawn of Jacob’s Pillow to do the Virginia reel.
In 1942, Mr. Sweet won the square dance caller contest at the National Folk Festival at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. More than 130 contestants competed during a three-day competition.
While Mr. Sweet has retired from public life as a square dance caller, he is in good health and is enjoying his retirement by pursuing another calling — fishing the local streams for trout, and the ponds for other fish. Several local families enjoy the fruits of his labors as an angler. His generous nature continues in his retirement. He also enjoys taking walks in the woods and making predictions as to what the weather will be during the winter. He expects a cold and snowy one.
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From the Berkshire Eagle: Nov. 16, 1962: Pop Sweet fiddles at 79th birthday
1963-03-21 It's Maple Syrup Time in Red Rock
It's Maple Syrup Time in Red Rock
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Correspondent RUBY M. BELDING East Chatham Phone 2-6277
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There is smoke coming out of the chimney of the old sap house and Charles Briggs is now busy making maple syrup. He has not tapped as many trees yet as usual because the snow is too deep. He drives around with milk cans in a box he fastens to the back of his tractor and collects the sap. The old fashioned way was to drive two farm horses hitched to an old woodshed sleigh on which were two barrels to hold the sap. Many is the time, as a girl, your Red Rock correspondent drove her father's horses up the hills and down to wherever the maple trees grew while her father and her brother, Edgar, gathered the sap. It scared her mother to see the places she had to drive, but she got a real thrill out of it.
Erlind Brorup, Red Rock mail carrier is also making maple syrup, but he doesn't use horses or a tractor. His children travel on skis over the deep snow to collect the sap, so we've been told.
—Mr. and Mrs. S. Fred Smilow attended a violin recital given at Carnegie Hall in New York City the evening of March 13, by Robert Gerle. Mr. and Mrs. Gerle recently purchased a summer home in New Concord.
—. R. West and Louis Loons returned home by train from New York City last week. While in the city Mr. Loons called on Mrs. Lena Rubin at her home in Brooklyn. She owns the place where he lives in Red Rock.
—Chester Osborn recently visited Arthur C. Lee Sr.
—Charles Brown was an overnight guest at the Kenneth Fords Friday.
ATTEND CONCERT
—Joan Briggs and Joseph Doyle of Red Reck went with the Chatham Central School band to Fairfield, Conn. on Saturday, March 16. They remained overnight and came home on Sunday.
Many from here attended the Jane Brown-King Van Deusen wedding at the Dutch Reformed Church in Chatham Friday evening. Mrs. Kenneth Ford of Red Rock was matron-on-honor. Jane at one time made her home in Red Reck with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. William Syre.
—Mrs. Clarence DeForest is much improved in health and able to be out again.
—James Harding was moved Friday from Columbia Memorial Hospital to Pine Haven, Philmont.
—Mr. and Mrs. Don Moss of Canaan were dinner guests of Mr. and Mrs. S. Fred Smilow Saturday night.
—Due to the great weight of snow on the roof a large part of the barn on the Abraham Hertzberg place collapsed.
—Paul W. Burson is one of the 100 trial jurors directed to report in Hudson on April 1 at 11 a.m. for the April term of Supreme Court.
—Chester Ford called Saturday on John Snyder in Chatham.
BUYS PROPERTY
—The property formerly used as a gas station and store and owned for over 35 years by Charles Briggs has been sold to Arthur C. Lee Sr. Mr. Lee is having the store bulding remodeled and will use it for his real estate office.
—Kenneth A Ford took his mother and sisters to Poughkeepsie on Sunday to, spend the day with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Osterhoudt.
—Last year Mrs. Arthur C. Lee collected over one hundred dollars for the Heart Fund. She now has $96.50 and hopes to reach her goal this year.
—Bill Durlack, Canaan Superintendent of Highways, and Tom Crandell, his assistant, had coffee at the Carl A. Foss home Monday morning. They were out with a road scraper smoothing out the ruts in the road.
—J. R. West made a trip to the Veterans Hospital in Albany Wednesday to have some dental work done.
CHURCH NOTES
—During the Methodist Church service, Sunday, Rev. Oscar Arnold discussed the reasons for the present growth of the Universalist Church. Atthe Thursday evening meeting the words of Christ in the book of Matthew were studied. The members of the church hope that the heaps of snow in front of the church will melt away before long, so they can once again hold their services in the church.
—Cards received from Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Levy of White Plains and Red Rock say how much they are enjoying a Caribbean cruise.
—Roy Harmon or Pittsford and Red Rock had his picture in a Rochester newspaper last week. It showed him gathering sap from maple trees. Mr. Harmon owns an airport at Fairport near Rochester and gives instructions to those who want to learn to fly, but every spring he enjoys making maple syrup. It's a sort of hobby with him. This year he has hung up about 80 sap pails.
SIGNS OF SPRING
—Two dozen red-winged blackbirds in a maple tree top and the pussy willow bush back of the Lamoree saphouse full of pussies —sure sign of spring.
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Transcribed from The Chatham Courier, March 21, 1963
1963-05-02 Red Rock Barn Razed
Landmark on Lamoree Farm
Century-Old Red Rock Barn Razed
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Correspondent RUBY M. BELDING East Chatham Phone 2-6277
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Lee Barden came the other day with his tractor and pulled down the framework of the sheep barn on the Lamoree farm. He started to raze the building sometime ago. The beams and much of the other material is still good and he will use most of it for a building on his East Chatham property. This old building must have been built by John Harmon over 100 years ago and was never used except as a sheepfold. The ground floor was built into the slip of a bill and was a warm cozy place for the sheep in the winter. The second story above ground held the hay which was fed to the sheep during the winter months. Down below, inside, was a water tub, into this ran a continuous stream of fresh water that came from the very same spring from which William Lamoree took the pure drinking water he sold in five-gallon bottles in Chatham for so many years. It must be at least 20 years or more since the old building has housed any sheep. It had served the purpose for which it was built a long time and now parts of it will still be useful only in a different location.
—Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Clark[e] of Hampton Falls, N.H.. and their son, Kenneth, took Mrs. Georgiana Goodrich with them on a motor trip to Florida. Mrs. Clark is Mrs. Goodrich's daughter.
—Linda Cady recently spent several days with her aunt, Mrs. Elmer Jones.
—Mrs: William Lamoree and her sister called last Thursday at the Arthur Finney and Frank Curtis homes in Flat Brook.
—Mr. and Mrs. Emerson Higgins of Ghent were Wednesday evening callers on Ruby Belding.
—Arthur C. Lee underwent minor surgery at CMH last Monday and returned home the next day.
—Joan Briggs was one of the soloists at the "Evening of Music," Friday night at Chatham High School.
—Charles Briggs, postmaster at East Chatham, was one of the hosts at the meeting of the Columbia County Postmaster's Assoc. at the Grange Hall in Canaan, April 17. Mrs. Roy Moore, Canaan post-mistress, was the co-hostess.
—Mrs. Henry S. Lott, Jr., is recovering from her operation of April 22 at Albany Medical Center.
—Mrs. William Lamoree and Ruby Belding called on James Harding at Pine Haven, Philmont, Saturday. They also visited with Roy Holmes and Jesse Reynolds, all three formerly lived in Red Rock.
—Barn swallows were seen for the first time on Sunday morning in the Lamoree dooryard. They are supposed to be heralds of summer. The blue birds must be staging comeback, because several have been seen in our valley this spring.
—Mr. and Mrs. Robert Draeger, their three children and Mr. Draeger's brother, David, of Wayne, N. J., called Sunday on Donald MacCready and also at the Lamoree home.
—Albert Hillman of New York City was at his trailer summer home on Macedonia Creek Saturday.
—Mr. and Mrs. Albert Dayton and son, Robert, of Arlington, VA, spent the weekend with relatives.
—Mr. and Mrs. William Doyle of Dalton visited the Doyles on Sunday.
—Mr. and Mrs. Ben Holt of New Britain, Conn., were guests of Mrs. Helene Kafka Saturday.
—Lorentz Kafka of Schenectady called on his mother Sunday. Mrs. William Thorne and son, Jack, also called.
—Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Doran of Yonkers were in Red Rock last Wednesday at their summer home and called on the Arthur Lees.
—William Schutte was operated on last Wednesday and is now improving.
—Mr. and Mrs. Lester Wright of Pawling attended services at the New Concord church Sunday and later in the day called on Mr. and Mrs. Clarence DeForest.
—Mrs. James O'Donnell and son, James, of Yonkers were in Red Rock and Spencertown on Sundry visiting relatives.
—Virginia Marie Blass, who was baptized April 21 in the New Concord Reformed Church is a granddaughter of Mrs. Molly Blass of Red Rock.
—Ruby Belding and her siter, Florence Lamoree, called Saturday on Mrs. Mae Coons in Mellenville.
—Nancy and Diana Ford. Linda Welch and Fred Lott went by bus to New York City on Saturday when the choir from Chatham Central School visited Radio City Music Hall.
—Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Jones, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Amirault with others who work for the Schwerman Trucking Co. of Hudson, enjoyed a dinner Saturday night at the Stuyvesant Falls Hotel.
—George and Arthur Lee were two of those chosen to caddy for the professional golf players April 28 at the exhibition match at the Winding Brook Country Club.
—Diana Ford sang with the choir at the "Evening of Music" at Chatham Central School Friday evening.
—Mrs. Chester Blass and four children called on J. R. West and Mrs. Holly Blass Sunday.
—Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kurutz went to Lewisboro Sunday and spent the day with their son and his family.
—Mrs. S. Fred Smilow went to Jamestown last Friday to attend the Federation of New York Bird Clubs, Inc. meeting on April 27 and 28. Members went on a field trip, attended a banquet and heard Roger Tory Peterson.
ME. CHURCH NEWS
Rev. Oscar Arnold's sermon topic Sunday was "Principles on Which the Early Church Was Built." This Thursday night the doctrines of the Congregational Church will be discussed.
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Transcribed from The Chatham Courier, May 2, 1963
1963-06-20 The Indian Creek
To the Editor,
The Indian Brook that flows through our lovely Red Rock valley is one of the "Hill Country Brooks" mentioned in a recent editorial in the "Courier". This brook starts from Barrett's Pond on Fog Hill and eventually joins Punsit Creek at Morehouse Corners.
At one time there were three places in our Red Rock community where large dams across Indian Brook furnished water power. This power was used for three different purposes.
The first dam was located in back of the Hiram Hayes property now Arthur Doram's place.
In a factory there cotton batting was made. This batting was used in homemade bedcovers called comforters.
The second dam was located in back of the Herbert Fowler property which is now the S. Fred Smilow home. There a large gristmill ground grain for the neighboring farmers.
The third dam furnished power for a saw mill built by Walter Kelsey on the property now owned by Dr. Harold Grayzel.
The cotton batting factory, the gristmill and the sawmill were all still standing in 1900 but only the sawmill was still being used. When the water in the brook was high, William Stickles sawed lumber. Other times he kept busy in his blacksmith's shop across the road from his sawmill. His shop stood on the corner where the road goes up the Macedonia Hill. Today that hill road is named Stonewall Road.
Now in 1963 Indian Brook doesn't turn any waterwheels, but is a quiet trout stream and the only dams are small ones used to make swimming pools for the enjoyment of the children in summer.
Ruby M. Belding, Red Rock
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Transcribed from The Chatham Courier, June 20, 1963
1963-12-19 Austerlitz Park Area Under Study
The Austerlitz Town Planning and Development committee has undertaken a study to explore ways and means of developing the area recently purchased by the State of New York for a public park.
Supervisor J. Warren Braley (R) said today the committee will call a public meeting of townspeople in January to discuss at length the advantages and disadvantages that may accrue from having the 1,300-acre park within the town limits.
The future development of the park area, Supervisor Braley said, will largely depend on "the stated wishes of the people of Austerlitz and Columbia County."
It was announced last week by the Conservation Dept. that purchase agreements totaling $84,050 have been signed with Austerlitz landowners to acquire property for the park. Future development of the park area, however, must come from legislative appropriations, a department official said.
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Transcribed from The Chatham Courier, December 12, 1963
1963-12-19 Jack Doyle Wins Young Farmer Award
Red Rock Man Wins Young Farmer Award
A 27-year-old Red Rock man has been selected as the Outstanding Young Farmer of Columbia County by the Hudson Junior Chamber of Commerce. Recipient of the award, made last night at Mahota's Restaurant, Hudson, was John H. Doyle, a partner in the 730-acre Doyle Bros. and Sons dairy farm in Red Rock.
A graduate of Chatham High School '53, and Cornell University School of Agriculture '57, Mr. Doyle has been active in the GLF, the Columbia County Extension Service, the Farm Bureau 20-30 Group and is vice president of the Rock Rock Fire Co.
In accepting the award from Gerald Oles, Mellenville, chairman of the Outstanding Young Farmer Award Committee, Mr. Doyle commended the Jaycees' interest in farming and he visualized the award as "a great incentive for other young men who are following agriculture and farming as careers.
Runner-up for the award was Adrian Langdon, Copake, with Lawrence Benson, New Lebanon, taking third honors. The trio was selected from a group of 22 candidates, all of whom "possessed outstanding qualifications," Mr. Oles said.
Mr. Doyle will now be eligible to compete in the state finals. in White Plains in February. The state winner will go on to the national competition.
The last Columbia County recipient of the Jaycee Award was Fred Mazzacano of Stone Bridge Farm, Greenport, who advanced to the state finals where he won honorable mention.
Judging the contest were John Heins, Mellenville; Albert Lockwood, Livingston, and Earl Coons, Claverack. Assisting Mr. Oles on the award committee were Paul Mosher and John O'Brien.
William Barry. Columbia County agricultural agent, was the principal speaker at the banquet.
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Transcribed from The Chatham Courier, December 19, 1963
1965-05-01 George K. "Pop" Sweet Dies
Berkshire Eagle May 3, 1965
George K. (Pop) Sweet BECKET [MA] -- George R. (Pop) Sweet, 81, well-known fiddler and square dance caller, died Saturday at Hillcrest Hospital following a long illness. He was born in Peru, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Sweet, and moved at an early age to Lee.
He played for his first dance at the age of 14 and, during his career, played engagements in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and New York, where he lived for many years in Austerlitz. He led a group known as Pop Sweet and his Huckleberry Pickers. He once gave a performance for President Roosevelt, and advised dancer Ted Shawn on the proper way to do the Virginia Reel. He is said to have taught the poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay, how to square dance. In 1942 he won the National Folk Festival calling contest at Philadelphia, in competition with 130 entrants over a three- day period. [SDHP editor's note: The 1942 National Folk Festival was in Washington, DC; the National moved to Philadelphia in 1943 and 1944.]
In recent years, he expressed regret about what he described as a loss of the gracefullness of the old-time square dances, as performed in the style in the so-called western square dancing, currently popular. "Yesterday's dancing had plenty of speed and action, together with rhythm and grace," he wrote in 1961, "but today's frenzied hopping is more like hog-rassling. . ."
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From Square Dance History Project: https://www.squaredancehistory.org/items/show/1742
1966-08-04 A Day for Red Rock
Long forgotten photographs of his friends, their homes and places of business taken more than half a century ago by the late John A. Eberle of Chatham, will be a feature of Red Rock Day on Saturday, August 13 at the Canaan Historical Society Meeting House in Canaan Center.
Mr. Eberle, a stone cutter by trade, was employed by the late William Pratt of Chatham, who conducted the Pratt Monumental Works on Main Street.
As a hobby, Mr. Eberle became interested in photography and from 1901 through 1915 he traveled through the Chatham area taking thousands of photos with a box camera which produced glass plate negatives. Many of the negatives have been lost or destroyed but a few prints remain, including the series of Red Rock familles and homesteads.
Mr. Eberle's parents were Mr. and Mrs. Eugene A. Eberle, well known actors on the American stage and abroad Mrs. Eberle played a lead role in "Little Women" and Mr. Eberle was hailed by critics for his performance in "School for Scandal".
When not touring the nation or Europe with stage companies, the Eberles and their family spent all the time they could in Red Rock, which they frequently said was "the best place in all the world". It was their wish to be buried in the Red Rock Cemetery and four of the family were.
Other items associated in some way with the Red Rock community and its old-time residents will also be on display in the museum from 2 to 5 p.m. on August 13.
There will be no admission charge. Mrs. William Lamoree of Red Rock, and her sister, Miss Ruby Belding, will be hostesses for the day.
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Featured is a photo captioned "EARLY EMPORIUM: One of the John Eberle photographs on display at the Canaan Historical Society Meeting House, August 13, will be this one of the Red Rock Post Office and general store taken in 1901. James Powell and his nephew, Jay Powell, were the proprietors. With the advent of rural free delivery the post office closed and mail has been delivered in Red Rock from East Chatham."
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Transcribed from The Chatham Courier, August 8, 1966
— revised 2024-07-24 jhc