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The following is the fourth in a series of articles about growing up in Gowanda. It is a VERY long article. You may want to save a copy of the pdf version of the article to your computer to read at your leisure. Just click the icon to the left to load the file into your browser. Then use the 'download' option in your pdf reader to save the file to your computer.

Gowanda PennySaver - March 23, 2003

I remember growing up in Gowanda ... Part 4

By Richard Westlund

     After the publication of my last article on growing up in Gowanda, I received phone calls from Stem Wallace and Bill Elliott, both telling me that I got the location of Witt and Anderson wrong. Apparently the dealership I referred to on the corner where Burger King is, was Superior Motors and they sold Buicks. The Witt and Anderson Chevrolet dealership was on the other side of Forbush, where the Napa Auto Parts store is now. As I mentioned, some of my memories are a bit moss covered. I'm sure that my friends are correct. They are both younger than I, so their brains are not as shrouded in mist.

     There was a slaughterhouse on Union Street near where the bridge is across Grannis Brook. I presume that this was a source for Moll's Meats Market on the southwest corner of Buffalo and Main streets. I'm told there was another slaughterhouse on the other side of town and another meat market, but I don't remember them.

     In recounting swimming places in the previous article I overlooked one. The present VFW was Nick Anckner's. The main building, which houses the VFW, previously housed Anckner's roller-skating rink. It was well utilized by the youth of the area. Near the far end of the baseball outfield, there was a path that went up through the woods behind the building. On the path there were several small retreat-like cottages, and at the end of the trail, a large swimming pond complete with a couple diving boards. One board was about three feet above the water, and the other was much higher, built on a small, wood frame tower. We kids used to go there frequently and swim in summer. I imagine the pond is still there.

     When Ed Fox came to town, he bought the building that housed a Western Auto Store on the corner of Buffalo and Mechanic streets and started his Pontiac dealership and garage there. I bought a used Pontiac from him later, when I was at Fort Dix during the Korean Conflict. He really stood behind it too. I came home on leave one weekend and had a glitch in the steering. I don't believe it was serious, but he made a special trip to Buffalo to get a needed part and put my vehicle back in shape over the weekend.

     Howard Hammond had a place in the rear of the building that now houses the Reitz Liquor Store, where he made Mrs. Snyder's Candies. I'm sure many old-timers remember the candy caramel corn discs that were widely distributed from Mrs. Snyder's, When I was in high school, I worked for Howard as an assistant in the candy making. The first couple times you went into the place, you were overwhelmed by the sugary sweetness that dominated the air, but after working there a while I failed to even notice it. He made a great variety of candies, especially assorted chocolates, which again were quite widely distributed in the area. The room where the candies were dipped in the chocolate had to be maintained within strict temperature limits. You could identify what kind of candy was in each chocolate by the unique swirl on the top assigned to each different type.

     One of the more expensive candies he made was similar to what you buy now as a Heath Bar. I don't know how they make Heaths, but he cooked sugar and several pounds of butter together, threw in a bunch of raw almonds and a dash of vanilla flavor. That was it. Then he dumped the whole thing on a metal table where it was spread out in a thin sheet and became fairly brittle. It was then broken into pieces and chocolate coated. It was delicious. I presume the part of the building he occupied must have been removed, because I have gone into the rear entrance of the liquor store and can't imagine where his candy-making facility was.

     I mentioned earlier about working for this farmer about four or five miles out on Zoar Road who was quite old fashioned. He didn't use a hay loader but pitched his hay onto the wagon by hand. I usually had the job of being on the wagon to receive and adjust the load, under his supervision, of course. His wife, as I recall, kept pretty close tabs on what was going on out in the field, though she never left the house.

     On this one day as we were loading hay on the wagon, she was calling out to us from the porch that our load was tipping, but he just kept on as though he didn't hear her. When we got in later and were having our noon meal, she said to him, "Didn't you hear me trying to warn you that the load was a tipping and not loading evenly?" He paused for a moment, then looking up he replied, "Oh, was that you? I thought it was just a calf-a-bellerin'." Things were pretty quiet for the rest of that meal, but we kids laughed about it for a long time later.

     She was a marvelous cook. They had Guernsey cows, which any farmer knows produce milk with a very high butterfat content. All her cooking was in cream - creamed potatoes, creamed string beans - and you could see the butter floating on top. We worked hard enough so that we wouldn't have had to worry about cholesterol even if we'd heard of it.

     Tony Pelligrino had a barbershop across from where the Jubilee market is now. He had a large picture window looking out on Buffalo Street so you could watch the passing people while getting your haircut. There was another smaller barbershop, Clark's, around the corner on East Main and Voncina's on South Water Street.

     Just for fun I'm going to see if I can name at least most of the saloons that were operating back in the '40s. I'm sure I'll leave some out. Starting up in Hidi and coming down Water Street, there was the Slovenian Club; Holocinski's, Walgus's, The Depot Hotel, Karpus's, Little Joe's (near where the Wicked Glen is now), Shell's Inn, and the Riviera behind Armes Drug Store. Shell's Inn was across from Little Joe's right on the creek bank. The buildings around the Wicked Glen have changed so much, it's hard to tell exactly where Little Joe's was. As I remember, they had a porch hanging over the sidewalk.

     Then across the bridge, there was the Legion Hall, and on Buffalo Street there was Sweda's, the Buffalo Restaurant, the Moose and the Palm Gardens. The VFW wasn't there then. That's only 14. I'm sure I must have missed a few. I thought there were more, but that's not bad for a small town. I'm sure that when this gets published, I'll get a few calls telling me some I've overlooked.

     If you remember Shell's Inn, "You look younger with your hat on," as one of the writers in the then Buffalo Evening News used to say when he wrote a column on remembering old times. The Courier Express was the morning paper from Buffalo. The Buffalo Evening News came later in the afternoon. For a brief while, I used to have a job at Shell's Inn also. I would go in about once or twice a week and sort out the bottles in the basement, putting them in the right cases. Looking back, I had a lot of jobs all over town, but in a family of five kids, it helped you get things you wanted.

     I remember saving up to buy a bicycle. My younger brother loaned me some of his money, so I could order it from Sears and Roebuck without further delay. Of course, I had to let him have a share in the ownership until I paid him back. An unforgettable memory is when the shipment came, and I peered through holes in the cardboard on the crate to see the beautiful new bicycle inside. I don't recall exactly what it cost, I think it was about $20. It was beautiful robin's egg blue with white trim, balloon tires and a tank between the cross bars. Who could ask for anything more!

     I don't stay up late enough anymore to know what the present system is, but in those days saloons on the Cattaraugus side of town closed at 1 a.m. and on the Erie side they didn't close till 3 a.m. The big joke was the traffic crossing the bridge to Erie County at 1:01 a.m. Do they still do that?

     There was a gent whose name I cannot recall, but he had one of those portable popcorn machines that you sometimes saw at parades selling popcorn to the parade watchers. When they had large get-togethers on the Reservation, he would hire me to help him. He would set up his popcorn machine at the affair, and I would load up and cover the crowd selling bags of popcorn. He would sell much more, of course, with me making deliveries. It impressed me that the Native American people always seemed to be a very good-natured group. They were always easy to get along with and quick with a chuckle or a laugh.

     A nearby neighbor of mine on Buffalo Street, Kenny Loomis, had a basketball court in the upstairs of their garage/barn. Kids in the neighborhood used to play basketball there. On this particular Sunday afternoon (I was just 14), there was quite a group of us playing. Kenny went into the house for a bit, and when he returned I remember his exact words. He said, "Hey, we're at war." It was Dec. 7, 1941, and while in the house Ken had heard the announcement of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

     I'm not sure what the nightlife around Gowanda is anymore. County or barn dances were quite numerous years ago. Some of the regular ones, as many will surely remember, were at Woodside, a big barn dance the other side of Morton's Corners. Barn dances were also held at Spencer's Barn out past Springville on Route 39. It was somewhere near where the Blue Mountain ski area was, but right on 39. The barn is no longer there. There were also dances at the Versailles Town Hall. They may still have them there once in a while. I also remember going to one somewhere in Ashford Hollow, and another off in the "boonies" somewhere, but I don't remember exactly where it was.

     You couldn't go to many barn dances in those days without dancing to the music of Harry Gross's band. I believe Harry worked in the post office. His family was the only black family in Gowanda at the time. Another popular country musician in the area at that time, who is still performing, is Slim Griffin.

     Ted Sprague of Versailles. was (and is) an excellent guitarist. For a while Ted, my mother, Ade, and myself had a little combo. We played every Saturday night at the Collins Center Hotel for round and square dancing. I played the piano accordion. Ade played a number of things, strings and drums and called the square dances. I don't remember if we were any good, but we used to fill the place every Saturday night, and keep the rafters ringing into the wee small hours. Jimmy Mason owned the hotel at the time. When the dance was over his wife, Leona, would always treat us to a fish fry. That was the first time I ever had a deep fried fish fry, and I don't think I have ever had better since. Of course, those were the days when Lake Erie had an abundant supply of Blue Pike, which adorned most plates on Fridays. It's too bad we lost them. I thought there was never a better eating fish.

     When I had my eighth birthday, we lived in Collins Center for a year or two. There used to be a pond out in the field somewhere off Route 75 right near town, where all the kids used to swim. I was just learning to swim and I jumped in where it was deeper than I thought. I started to panic and flail a bit trying to get my feet on the bottom, but it was too deep. Seeing me in trouble, Jimmy Mason, who was quite a bit older than me, jumped in and pulled me out. Thanks Jim, a fellow doesn't forget those things.

     I believe Gowanda has the most beautiful summers in the country. The heat is usually very pleasant and seldom oppressive, as it can be in many places. Whenever I've been away, it always impresses me on returning, how lush the local countryside is. It always seems like the leaves on the trees are bigger and grow more densely than in other parts of the country. The only place I've seen in America that rivals us for vegetation is in eastern Washington State. This past summer we drove through some pretty desolate country in western Washington State. I suppose our lushness is the blessing we get by being on the eastern shore of Lake Erie. It's a kind of compensation for the lake-effect snows in winter. Good water is increasingly becoming a more and more valuable resource. Someday the rest of the country is going to realize what a great place this is, then we'll wish we'd kept our mouths shut.

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