USA > New York > Monroe County > Gates > From the wilderness : town of Gates sesquicentennial, 1813-1963 > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
The old frame schoolhouse, formerly District No. 7, was a part of Warren Harding School until 1953. The date of this photo is uncertain. The picture was loaned by Mrs. Evelyn Hotto who still lives in the century-old homestead built at 1726 Long Pond Road by Christian Hotto in 1857.
In 1924 there were 206 pupils during the year and only 3 teachers. The budget had reached $7,850 and high school pupils were being sent to Spencer- port High. Electricity and fixtures were installed. A new building was needed once more, but it was not until 1925-nine years and many meetings later, that the people voted to approve the building of a new school. It was decided to adopt the name of Harding for the new school. Clyde Bray became the first prin- cipal and Julia Herburt, Clara Ouderkirk and Maude Fife completed the teaching staff.
Five years later, in 1931, Curtis Powers became principal and was followed a year later by Arthur Doty, who served Harding in that capacity for near- ly 20 years. That same year the Board of Trustees was organized into the Board of Education of the Union Free School, and Harry Harmon was the first president of the board. He was to serve on the board for the next ten years.
Adult education classes, which were held in the basement of the school, were begun in 1936. In November of 1938 a Mother's Club was organized
and served the school and the community as a whole until June 1949 when the P.T.A. was formed.
In 1951 Mr. Doty's resignation was accepted and Edward Popen became Principal of Harding. Con- ditions were so crowded that the Principal's office had to be converted into a classroom and Mr. Popen took over in a converted storeroom. The next year · a citizens' committee was organized to work in con- junction with the board on the problem of building. Mr. Popen resigned and James Annis became Prin- cipal, and still continues in that capacity.
Then in 1953 work began on an extensive new addition. The old frame building which had housed so many pupils since its erection in 1882, was re- moved and the new structure was joined to the brick building erected in 1925 to create an imposing edifice. The trustees, then serving, and whose efforts were largely responsible for the transformation were: Harry R. Tracy, president; Oscar A. Haase, Ken- neth Kemp, George J. Peterson and Harold T. Jenkinson. The new building was dedicated on November 14, 1954.
THOMAS EDISON SCHOOL
( Formerly District No. 4)
Earliest existing records of District No. 4 school (now known as Thomas Edison) date back only to 1837, although there must have been a school in this district previous to that year since the busi- ness of the first recorded meeting was "to raise by tax $25.00 to repair the school house". It was also voted that each man was to furnish a cord of wood to each scholar for the stove by the first day of November. The first known trustees were Eleazor Howard, Joseph Dewey and Moses Gage.
In March 1839, $20.00 was raised by tax to buy a library, and the same amount was paid to the teacher of the "winter school". The name of William Hinchey was found in the records of 1841 and in 1854. Chester Field, was trustee. Descendents of both of these men are still living in the town of Gatos.
A committee was appointed in 1860 to see about building a new schoolhouse, but nothing was done about it until May 1869 when $2,000.00 was voted to be raised for a new school. In later meetings it was voted to buy land next to the old school and sell the old site. Property was purchased from H. Shearman, clerk of the board.
Following in their father's footsteps, Reuben L. Field was elected trustee in 1886 and Franklin Hinchey in 1889. Expenses kept going up all the time and by 1912 it was necessary to raise the sum of $900.00 for expenses for the coming year. Inside plumbing was installed in 1916. In 1917 and 1918, Chester Field, grandson of the first Chester Field, served as clerk of the school board.
COMPLIMENTS OF
GATES AMITA, INC.
(Formerly Gates Italian-American Social Club, Inc.)
HOOKS FIRM WARKET
1923 - 1963 HOOK'S FARM MARKET 1207 SPENCERPORT ROAD
HAROLD and ALICE HOOK
ON
REALTORS
ADTACTIVE MIMITE OF CONSTITUENT BOARDY
BOARDS
ESTAD
NINA BALL ASSOCIATES REALTOR
Complete Real Estate Service Specializing in West Side and Suburban Areas TRADES and EXCHANGES MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE 2738 Chili Avenue
ID 6-1220
BASTIAN BROS. CO. 1600 Clinton Ave. N.
· Identification and Security Badges
· Convention Badges
· Advertising 'Specialties
Congress 6-5650
Compliments of JOHN LATHRON EXCAVATING CO.
HARRINGTON FLORIST
3041 Buffala Raad
Phone ID 6-6760 or TU 9-9581
FUNERAL PIECES Wedding Flowers-Corsages DAILY DELIVERY Citywide Service Flowers Grown From Our Own Greenhouses
CONGRATULATIONS FROM Thelma Carrese "Business & Professional Printing“ LOW CALENDARS · BOOK MATCHES ADVERTISING SPECIALTIES COST PARTY SUPPLIES . WEDDING INVITATIONS and ACCESSORIES
1095 Howard Rd. - Rochester 24, N. Y. Phone BE 5-1637
CONCRETE PRODUCTS
A Construction Materials Division of
MARTIN
MARIETTA
M
Rochester Plant 875 Howard Road Tel. IDlewood 6-0810
District Office P.O. Box 85, Eastwaod Station Syracuse 6, N. Y. Tel. HEmpstead 7-8021
JIM'S TV SERVICE
145 ELVIRA STREET ROCHESTER 6, NEW YORK GL 8-5382
Factory Service
All Work Guaranteed
WYNNE AUTO SPRING SERVICE, INC.
320 SHERMAN STREET ROCHESTER 6, NEW YORK
COLON
CASE'S'
CASE'S RESTAURANT 379 CHILI AVENUE
DAILY LUNCHEON SPECIALS
SERVING HOME STYLE DINNERS 4:45 - 7:00
HOME MADE ICE CREAM
Same Location 34 Years
-
-
THE LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE (Dist. No. 4)
In 1923 the original one-room red brick school- house built in 1869, became so crowded it was neces- sary to partition the building into two rooms. This was not satisfactory and at the annual meeting in May 1929 it was voted to erect a new building to be so constructed that a second floor could be added later. This was also the year a P.T.A. was formed with 13 members. The building was completed in January 1931 at a cost of $104,425.00. Since it was the year of the 50th anniversary of the invention of the incandescent lamp, it was decided to name the school "Thomas Edison". A letter was received from Mr. Edison thanking the board for naming the school after him. The new school had 5 classrooms, gym, office and basement.
In July 1929, the resolution to buy land adjacent to the present school site as an addition was voted on and passed. The sum of $7,925.00 was to be ap- propriated for this purpose.
Mrs. Marjorie Tabor was the first principal of the new school, and was assisted by Mrs. Raymond Bieber and a Miss Carter. Mrs. Bieber retired in January 1963 after 32 years of devoted and faithful service in teaching the children of District No. 4. She was honored by the Board of Education, the school faculty, the P.T.A. and many of her former pupils at a retirement dinner.
Many changes took place during the next 15 years. A kindergarten was established. A bus was purchased and a movie projector, etc. Then in 1947 Thomas Edison became a Union Free School. In- creasing enrollment made it necessary to enlarge the school again and in 1949 a second story was added which provided 6 additional classrooms and a library. A kitchen and cafeteria were constructed in the basement. Mrs. Tabor resigned as principal in July of 1951 after 27 years of continual service with the gratitude and best wishes of all those who knew her.
William Kirkmire was appointed principal in July 1951 and two years later it was found that more space was needed. Another addition, including a kindergarten and several classrooms was approved and completed by March 1955.
William S. Hodgetts, the present principal, was appointed in 1957 when Mr. Kirkmire became as- sistant district principal of the newly centralized district.
ROSES
BRAKE SERVO
ROSE'S BRAKE SERVICE, INC. 1345 Chili Avenue Rochester 24, N. Y. Phones ID 6-0402 - ID 6-0410
Wheel Alignment · Motor Tune-up General Repairs · Firestone Tires Auto Lite Batteries
CROWN PLUMBING AND HEATING LICENSED PLUMBER
RICHARD G. LA DONNA
Hopkins 7-5723
SCIENCE HILL SCHOOL
-
Although no actual records as to the date this little one-room schoolhouse was established could be found, Clayton Cady, last trustee, believes that it was built about 1835. Mr. Cady, who lives on Lyell Road in the Town of Spencerport, was trustee at the time the school was closed although that date too is uncertain-probably about 1943.
It was located just inside the Gates town line at Lyell and Manitou Roads where it still stands today as a remodeled residence.
Grades one through eight were taught there. Mrs. Edward Prevost, who is a member of the teach- ing staff of Warren Harding School and who attended all eight elementary grades in the little school, de- scribed the interior as follows: "The recitation plat- form was in the front of the room and the pupils sat on either side. In the middle was the stove, and how we all wished we would have a seat neat the stove in the winter. As far as I know there was never any inside plumbing."
Two of the former teachers of the Science Hill School are Mrs. Herbert Spencer of Spencerport, and Mrs. Ward Maurer of Gates.
AIRPORT MOTEL
395 BUELL ROAD
Dedicated to Gates - Chili
We publish only the plain and simple truth, dedicated to our readers with unbiased facts, wholesome opinions, and malice toward none.
GATES-CHILI NEWS INC.
1269 Chili Avenue ID 6-4370
We are proud to represent the Town of Gates as the Official Newspaper, and enjoy the priv- ilege of reporting all the news.
GATES-CHILI CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
--
CENTRALIZATION
With the steady increase in school enrollment, a need for centralization was recognized. Up until this time ninth through twelfth grade students had been attending high schools outside the Gates-Chili Dis- tricts on a tuition basis. Enrollment was growing beyond the capacity of these high schools and it was becoming economically impractical to continue edu- cating our high school students on a tuition basis.
The proposal for centralization was put to the voters and in December, 1955, it was voted to cen- tralize Gates 1, 4, 5, 7 and Chili 2 and 11 districts. Cecil Luffman, formerly District Principal of the Hilton Schools, was named District Principal. In 1957 William J. Kirkmire, then Principal of Thomas Edison Elementary School, was named Assistant District Principal and on Mr. Luffman's retirement in June 1962, he became District Principal.
On May 1, 1956, district voters approved the pur- chase of an 86-acre site on the east side of Wegman Road for the erection of a Junior-Senior High School. Then on June 28, of that same year a vote for the proposal and bond issue to build this school was cast. The plan also called for the construction of a
COCO'S MARKET 2048 LYELL AVE. cor. LEE RD.
Rochester 6, New York
separate administration building and a 3-stall bus service garage on the same site. The building was designed by Benedict Ade, Architect.
Work was started on June 4, 1957 and by Sep- tember of 1958, the new Junior-Senior High School was ready to accommodate 7th, 8th and 9th grade pupils of the Gates-Chili Central District Schools. The total cost, including administration building and garage, was $3,611,432.89.
Harold W. Beam, formerly Assistant Principal of Maryvale High School in Cheektowaga, N. Y., and who holds a Master of Education Degree from the University of Michigan, was named Principal. Dedi- cation ceremonies were held on May 24, 1959.
RAYMOND'S HOUSE OF BEAUTY
RADIANT LOOK OF FASHION
2384 Lyell Avenue CL 4-9655
R. L. MARTELL CO.
GARDEN CENTER - FARM MARKET
2005 LYELL AVENUE Rochester 6, New York CL 4-8250
GATES-CHILI JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
WE CONTINUE TO GROW
Even though the new high school provided edu- cational facilities for 1400 pupils, it soon became apparent from the increased population in both Gates and Chili, that it would shortly become in- adequate. The need for a transitional school to re- lieve above peak enrollments in all five of the dis- trict schools was anticipated. So, in June, 1961 informational meetings to explain a proposed build- ing program were held. On June 20, 1961 district voters approved plans for the building of a 1,000 pupil Junior High School to be erected adjacent to the present Junior-Senior High School. The build- ing was designed by Walzer and Miller, Architects.
Ground was broken on July 1, 1962 and a corner- stone laying ceremony was held on May 20, 1963. The school is scheduled to be completed by August of this year (1963) in time to accommodate 7th and 8th grade pupils within the centralized district when school resumes in September.
Lowell Benjamin, Assistant Gates-Chili High School Principal, assumed his duties as Principal of the Junior High School on July 1, 1963. Mr. Ben- jamin received his Master of Education Degree from the University of Rochester in 1959.
A FEW FACTS AND FIGURES
At the beginning of this century, both No. 43 school on Lyell Avenue and No. 44 school on Chili Avenue were included in the town of Gates, and prior to that time there were other districts located in the present city of Rochester. At the present time the centralized district includes four elementary schools: Washington Irving, Warren Harding, Thomas A. Edison and Florence Brasser; the five- year-old Gates Chili High School and the new Junior High School. Three parochial schools, St. Helen's, St. Theodore's and Holy Ghost, as well as St. An- drew's Seminary are located in the town of Gates.
During the 1961-62 school year there were 1,421 pupils enrolled in the three elementary parochial schools: 2.086 pupils enrolled in the four elementary schools and 1.461 pupils enrolled in the high school.
TYPOGRAPHY IN THIS HISTORICAL BOOK by SHEPPARD COMPOSITION, INC.
PHOTOGRAPHY by AL PICCOLI
REGIS MOONEY
CHAIRMAN OF PURCHASING
Join in the fun! Get your Sesquicentennial Souve- nirs at Sesqui headquart- ers at Westgate Plaza Mall and Paine Drug Company, 2388 Lyell Avenue.
SESQUICENTENNIAL
· Ties
· Bonnets
· Bowlers
· Top Hats
· Shaver's Permits
· SesquiBelle Buttons
· Indian Feather Headbands
· Ash Trays
· Ceramic Mugs
· Pot Holders
· Gates Sesqui Buttons
· T-Shirts
· Brothers of the Bush Buttons
· Parchments
FROZEN' FROZEN CUSTARD CUSTARD
5
ABBOTT'S CUSTARD
1170 BROOKS AVENUE OPPOSITE AIRPORT
DICK and BETTY LONGHOUSE
Compliments of
DON A. DREHER
All Types of Insurance
Serving the Insurance Needs of the Industries and Individuals of the Town of Gates successfully for sixteen years.
30 Arrowhead Drive BE 5-3987
C O M P L
M of a F E R 1 N T E S N D
VERNA B. HILL
GATES' FIRST WOMAN REALTOR
WEST SIDE SPECIALIST
Homes, Farms and Commercial Properties in all Sections 1475 HOWARD RD. (Near Westgate Plaza)
For Prompt, Personal, Dependable Service Call FA 8-0261
ST. ANDREW'S SEMINARY
Two years after coming to Rochester as its first Bishop, the Most Rev. Bernard J. McQuaid organ- ized St. Andrew's Seminary in 1870.
Occupying successively two locations on Plym- outh Avenue near the Cathedral, the Seminary has devoted its efforts to preparing young men inter- ested in the Catholic priesthood for advanced studies at St. Bernard's Seminary.
Originally a day school, St. Andrew's began to accept boarding students in 1929, housing them in a residence on Gregg St. This continued in use until 1937. when thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Frank Doud, St. William's House was built as a residence house at 1150 Buffalo Road.
With students coming in large numbers from various dioceses, new facilities were imperative. Based on plans drawn up by Most Rev. James E. Kearney, Bishop of Rochester, and Monsignor Ed- ward M. Lyons, Rector of St. Andrew's, ground was broken for a new Seminary building in September 1948. Formal classes in the new Seminary began under Monsignor Maynard A. Connell, the new Rector, in November, 1950.
Presently the Seminary is headed by Monsignor Richard M. Quinn assisted by a faculty of fifteen. Students are offered four years of high school and the first two years of college, all state approved, the remaining years of college and theology being taken at St. Bernard's Seminary. About three hundred and fifty students make up the student population, one third of whom are from outside the Rochester area.
FIRST P.T.A. PICNIC, WASHINGTON IRVING SCHOOL
Members of the first Washington Irving Parent-Teachers' Association enjoy a picnic at Phillipson's Grove, formerly located on Fisher Road. The year is thought to be about 1931.
COMPLIMENTS OF
HERSEY-SPARLING METER CO.
A Full Line of
WATER MEASUREMENT DEVICES
NORMAN A. DENSBERGER Sales Representative HERSEY PRODUCTS
401 MAIN STREET
LITTLE FERRY, NEW JERSEY
FA 8-7171
CLEARY OIL CO., Inc.
· KEROSENE · FUEL OIL
If no answer, please call NO 3-6060
"Say It With Flowers" by
SPITZ The
Florist
TU 9-4746 14 CHESTNUT RIDGE
World Wide Wire Service City-wide Delivery
F.T.D.S
GREETING CARDS Hallmark
Open Daily 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
COMPLIMENTS OF
STAR
MARKETS
We Gather Ongether in ask the Lord's Blessing
For the first fifteen years that Gates was a town, going to church meant packing a lunch. The early settlers had no asphalt nor gravel to pave their way to the nearest churches in Rochester and Parma. Good road conditions allowed the luxury of a buggy, but many were the Sundays when a sturdy stick was the only support for a long muddy walk. In 1828 this Sabbath day commuting ceased to be a necessity. Two churches were organized in that year, and since then seven others have shared significantly in direct- ing the course of our community. This is their story.
Cates Presbyterian Church
The First Presbyterian Society of Gates, now GATES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, was organ- ized on October 28, 1828. In the home of Eleazer Howard at the southeast corner of Buffalo and How- ard Roads this small group met together. Sunday school meetings were soon being held in the brick schoolhouse known as District No. 7 and the log schoolhouse just west of the church.
The first church building was a small frame struc- ture costing about $400.00. The site was donated by Eleazer Howard, together with the land for the ad- joining cemetery. The Rev. Mr. George Sill, although not a permanent pastor, was very active in the build- ing of the first church. This small sanctuary was soon outgrown.
A new church was erected on the present site at a cost of $1,000.00. The Rev. Mr. James Ballantine was the leading man in building this church. He was ably assisted by Spencer Woodworth and Matthias Garrett, who had helped in the construction of the first church. The sheds were built in 1854 by Deacon Sperry at the cost of $180.00. Frank Hinchey gave a melodeon.
After some sixty years of housing Presbyterians at worship, the old frame church was destroyed by fire in 1906. For a period of about two years, serv- ices were held in the Union Hall. The present sanc- tuary was dedicated in May of 1912, and the new educational building was completed in 1954.
The Civil War years were difficult ones with a Sunday School record of 1863 noting, "Our Young Men's Bible Class is broken up, most of them having joined the army". Members returned bearing the scars of battle and the "horrors of prison life in a rebel prison". It was also in those difficult times that a pastor, journeying from the city, was kept from church attendance because "the City of Rochester was under water through the central part".
The first resident pastor, the Rev. Mr. Frank G. Weeks, came to the church in 1895. Since this time the church has been served by seven pastors. The Rev. Mr. Edward Claflin followed the Rev. Mr. Weeks in 1905. The others have been: the Rev. John B. White, the Rev. Andrew F. Rauth, the Rev. George C. Van Artsdalen, the Rev. Herbert E. Pic- kett, Jr. and the Rev. Franklin B. Lane. The Rev. Mr. J. Allen Breedlove is the present pastor of the church.
Three assistant pastors have served in the church. Presently, the Rev. Donn F. Vickers is the assistant. Prior to this, the Rev. Wm. H. McKee and the Rev. Gordon Prout were the assistant pastors.
Gates Presbyterian Church. This is the second building which was built in 1844 and burned in 1906.
Elmgroue Methodist Church
About the same time the Presbyterian Church was formed, the ELMGROVE METHODIST CHURCH convened in a log cabin schoolhouse at the northwest corner of Elmgrove and Spencerport Roads. The present church property was purchased for $30.68, and one year later in 1848 a frame build- ing was erected. According to the record, "There were two doors entering the building, one on the right, and the other on the left. Ladies entered by the left door ... the men by the right ... " It was the custom for each family to have its own pew so that once in the door husbands and wives could join one another.
A good Methodist contribution to religion on the frontier was the circuit riding preacher. During many of its early years, the Elmgrove Church was served by these ministers on horseback. The church was part of the Ogden circuit, which included the Meth- odist Church in Spencerport.
By 1875 the church was credited with having 20 regular members, and during this year people raised $500.00 for repairs to the building. Oyster suppers proved to be popular and an effective way of fund raising. There is an account of one such supper which netted a profit of $100.00. The price of oysters in those days was $1.00 per gallon, less 5c per gallon discount to charitable organizations.
These early frame churches seemed most sus- ceptible to fires for in 1900 a bad fire destroyed the building. Two transients, looking for a warm place to sleep, had broken into the building and built a fire which over-heated the kitchen stove. By 1904 the new building was completed at a cost of about $2,000.00. This is the building presently standing at the southwest corner of Spencerport and Elm- grove Roads. In 1927 an addition to that building was completed and properly dedicated.
Berean Christian Church 91 LEE ROAD
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Acknowledgement is made to the Rev. Donn F. Vickers who prepared and edited the church history material; to Mrs. Frank P. Litzenberger, willing typist; to Dennis V. Cooney, Gates Town Clerk and his staff; to the members of the Monroe County Historian's Office for help and advice, and to all those who submitted material used in the preparation of this history.
On January 6, 1952, in a special ceremony, these words were spoken, "We gather here together to . . . celebrate that freedom of all indebtedness in- curred by the building of this hall. Let us give thanks to our heavenly Father for enabling us to meet our every obligation and to our former pastor and good friend, the Rev. Mr. Kerrison, for his untiring efforts in his mortgage reducing campaign". Now serving the church is the Rev. Paul Irwin.
Gay's Country Kitchen 1370 BUFFALO ROAD Rochester 24, New York
DONALD J. CHAMBERY General Contractor
Complete Remodeling Service
· CARPENTRY
· PAINTING
· ROOFING
· FLOORS
98 Fenton Road Rochester 24, N. Y.
Holy Ghost Church
The HOLY GHOST CHURCH is located in the settlement of Coldwater where nearly one hundred years ago lived a group of German-speaking families of the Catholic faith. Their desire was a religious education for their children and they engaged a layman part-time to teach their children. Many of them had been walking nearly ten miles to attend Mass at. St. Joseph's Church in Rochester. Thus it was in 1865 through their efforts that a school was begun.
The parish began as a small mission, and in 1875 the first brick church was constructed. Most of the men of the parish mounted horseback to meet the first Bishop of Rochester, the Most Rev. Bernard J. McQuaid, and to escort him to the parish plot for the cornerstone ceremony. In 1876, the church, a mission of St. John the Evangelist's Church, Greece, was incorporated. The Rev. P. Kraus served from 1876 until his death a year later.
In 1906 the present Medina stone Gothic church edifice was dedicated by Bishop McQuaid.
On June 8, 1908, the mission was created a par- ish and the Rev. Peter A. Erras was appointed resi- dent pastor. Father Erras served Holy Ghost Parish for 24 years and died November 27, 1936. For some years the parish was served by the Rev. Elmer Heindl under the administratorship of the late Rt. Rev. Msgr. Edward M. Lyons of St. Andrew's Sem- mary.
Father Erras was succeeded on June 25, 1937, by the Rev. Joseph C. Wurzer, then vice-principal of Aquinas Institute of Rochester. It was during his four-year pastorate that the parish hall was erected by Joseph Entress, builder and lifelong parishioner, with the voluntary aid of parishioners.
On October 26, 1938, the ravages of fire leveled the school - the former first church building. Ground was broken at once for the first four rooms of the present modern school, which was dedicated by Ilis Excellency Bishop Kearney on April 21, 1939.
Father Wurzer died unexpectedly in the parish rectory on July 28, 1943. The Rev. Albert J. Geiger, present pastor, was appointed to succeed him on August 16, 1943. The Rev. Thomas Erdle was as- signed as Assistant to Father Geiger in July of 1959.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.