USA > New York > Cattaraugus County > Historical review of Cattaraugus County > Part 11
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Perhaps the most important of these was the automobile and its agricultural supplement, the tractor. During the nineteenth century both oxen and horses had been used as beasts of burden. The former gradually faded from the scene, but the latter continued as a neces- sary factor of rural life. In addition to the heavier duties imposed upon horses, their use extended to work usually of a lighter form,. that of passenger transportation. "Horse-and-buggy" was the reg- ular means of travel in short distance journeys ; doctor, lawyer, clergy- man and pleasure-seeker alike accepting this crude means of travel without murmur. It was not uncommon to see families proudly as- sembled in the double-seated surrey on Sundays on their way to church or, in the afternoon, to pay a social call to some relative. In the days of the neighborhood cheese factory or creamery, the light wagon or platform buggy was the general vehicle used to bring the milk daily to its destination.
The change from the use of horse-and-buggy to the automobile in passenger transportation and less bulky freight transportation was a gradual one. Previous to the World War the number of automobiles was small; professional men, a few of the more progressive farmers and some of the "better fixed" villagers possessed cars. The price of new automobiles, however, was considered beyond the reach of most people. At that time the inclosed car was practically unknown except for taxis, and a common subject of family argument was the discus- sion of whether the top should be up or down. Yearly improvement in their manufacture was accompanied by a gradual reduction in their price, and the era of prosperity during the 1920's was featured by a general increase in automobile sales. The policy of using them for short business trips and joy-rides of ten or twenty miles was gradually changing to the policy of making them the means of taking trips to distant points-thus "cutting in" on the railroad passenger traffic.
The general spread of the use of automobiles was accompanied by a demand for the enlargement and improvement of highways. Previous to their advent, practically the only surfaced roads in the county were some of the streets of Olean, Salamanca, and a few of the villages which had been paved with brick, chiefly to do away with the
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IN
An Early Automobile Taken at Randolph about 1901. Albert G. Dow, left; Dr. Frederick Larkin, right. The Car Was Owned by Frederick Larkin, Jr.
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area of mud which had occupied the streets. Slowly the process ex- tended to the outlying highways in the form of the "macadamized" road or the concrete road. Among the first improved roads were sev- eral sections of Route 17, which followed the main line of the Erie Railroad from Hinsdale to Salamanca, thence through Little Valley, Napoli and Randolph. The present surfaced highway through Steam- burg and Red House, which now forms part of Route 17, was not opened until about 1929.
The expense of maintaining road-signs, parking lots and other forms of service, including the use of road maps (at one time road maps were both expensive and rare, which is greatly in contrast to the present) was often met by local automobile clubs. Automobile clubs have greatly declined in influence since the burden they once carried has been assumed by public and private groups.
Surfaced roads were built with funds furnished by the state, the county, the town, or by a combination of these units. In one case of the latter, a situation of unusual excitement developed. The state and county authorities, in planning a route from Ellicottville toward the county-seat, clashed over the course of the highway. State officials, sent to make a report of the route they deemed the most proper, re- ported in favor of following the Fish Hill road from Ellicottville to- ward its summit, then following the road known as Murder Hill to a point south of the village of Little Valley. County authorities on the other hand favored a route which would approach Little Valley by the Dublin Road rather than Murder Hill. The route proposed by the county, although covering a slightly longer mileage, would avoid the ascend of the summit which the state's proposal would make neces- sary. More important still, the Murder Hill route would be almost de- void of any homes along its course, while the Dublin Valley was occu- pied by numerous residents, it being the seat of a thriving dairying community.
Joyce Kilmer has expressed in verse what might be considered the county's main argument in this controversy :
"If you call a gypsy a vagabond, I think you do him wrong,
For he never goes a-traveling but he takes his home along.
And the only reason a road is good, as every wanderer knows,
Is just because of the homes, the homes, the homes to which it goes."
Such appeals to sentiment, however, would have been wasted in dealing with the state officials, who looked upon a highway as primarily a means of linking communities together. The state bluntly threw down the gauntlet to the county, threatening to withdraw the appro- priation if their proposal were not followed. This pressure having been exerted, the county Board of Supervisors, a majority of which had favored the Dublin route, reluctantly approved of the Murder Hill
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proposal. It has been pointed out in recent times that the slippery condition of this road during the winter is evidence that the county's proposal would have been safer; on the other hand, automobiles have been so greatly improved in power since this controversy occurred that dread of ascending or descending the Fish Hill-Murder Hill sum- mit must be looked upon now as a dead argument. It has been said that the years immediately following this highway's completion were featured by a policy on the part of prospective automobile purchasers of giving limousines a try-out for power by testing their ability to ascend this summit on high.
The policy of building surfaced roads included an effort, prac- ticed especially in more recent years, of eliminating curves. The elim- ination of railroad crossings by undergrades have also taken place, the most recent being on the Portville-Ceres section of Route 17 and on the Salamanca-Great Valley section of Route 219.
The perfection of the automatic signal has lessened the danger of peril on railroad crossings. The Erie and B. & O. have placed these signals on nearly all crossings of considerable use.
The spread of the use of automobiles had a deadening effect on the passenger traffic of both trolley lines and railroads. The Western New York and Pennsylvania Traction Co. had re-organized and become known as the Olean, Bradford and Salamanca Railway. Trolley traffic was declining so rapidly in the late 1920's that the number of trips was curtailed, and one line after another the service was abandoned. The line from Salamanca to Little Valley was removed about 1925, although it had stood in disuse for some time previously.
In various parts of the country buses were rapidly being sub- stituted for trolley cars, by comparison clumsy, bothersome and of necessity compelled to hold a course set by the rails. In Olean and Salamanca, local companies were granted franchises to give city bus service. In the course of time the West Ridge, Greyhound and other companies were granted franchises which covered various highways in the county. A notable exception was the Great Valley-Ellicottville- Ashford route toward Buffalo, where attempts at securing bus privi- leges have been unsuccessful.
The substitution of buses for trolley cars-the latter launched with high hopes only about a score of years earlier-presented the unusual situation of electric power being replaced by gasoline in a day when the general tendency was toward, rather than away, from elec- tric power.
The effect of the increase in the use of automobiles on passenger traffic of the railroads was also noticeable. For the villager who de- lighted in going to the depot to meet the train the change became a sorry one indeed. The number of passenger trains declined; some were
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combined with freight or express trains; and the depots which had served some of the smaller villages saw their windows and doors boarded up. The Erie station at Limestone, once one of the village's most frequented resorts, today maintains the status of a building more noteworthy for sentimental and historic value than for shelter- ing purposes.
Passenger service on the Olean-Rochester and Olean-Oil City divisions of the Pennsylvania Railroad, as well as the Salamanca-Dun- kirk branch of the Erie, has recently been abandoned. These steps followed the example set by the Shawmut line several years previously.
The use of tractors on farms in the county has proven beneficial in bringing about a higher and more efficient standard of agriculture; nevertheless their use is neither universal nor, according to evidence, necessary. Tractors have brought about a marked improvement in threshing methods. Their ability to plow a much greater piece of ground than horses in the same length of time has been a tremendous help. Horses, while not as numerous as formerly, are still of prime importance. Their use in haying, cultivating, drilling and reaping makes their possession a paying proposition.
On some farms, including many of those in the "marginal" class, a practice has been followed of using tractors made from antique automobiles.
In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, electric power be- gan to assert its many uses as a result of the experiments of Thomas A. Edison and others. Olean, Salamanca, Franklinville and other com- munities, became the scene of plants manufacturing electricity, coal usually being the fuel employed. In the course of time hotels, fac- tories, hospitals and a few private homes were furnished with elec- tricity, practically the only use employed generally being that of using the power for lights. Previous to the coming of electricity, the com- monest form of light in villages was the gas light, considerable of an improvement over the oil lights used at an earlier date.
The era of prosperity following the World War was featured by a great increase in the number of private dwellings "wired" for elec- tricity. Toward the end of the 1920's, the home in a city or village which still used gas lights was the exception rather than the rule. The coming of Niagara power lines, operated by the Niagara, Lock- port and Ontario Power Co. to the county, greatly increased the elec- tric consumption, for which many uses besides light were now em- ployed. The policy of manufacturing electricity locally was abandoned in favor of purchasing a supply from the power company.
The servicing of the farms along the leading highways with elec- tric power can be said to date from the coming of the Niagara power lines. Previous to that time some of the farms near the cities and villages had made arrangements which secured them electric power, but its use did not extend any great distance into the country. Per-
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haps one of the conditions which increased the desire in some quarters to secure electricity was dissatisfaction over attempts at the use of carbon lights. This system, the power for which was furnished by a carbon plant on the property, resulted in a severe accident at the Schweichert home near Ellicottville, in which several of the family were seriously injured. The decade beginning with 1930 saw the ex- tension of power into the outlying regions at a rapid rate. It was not unheard of for dairy farms doing business of considerable bulk to find themselves with several superfluous gasoline engines on hand as a result of having been furnished with electric power.
The cost of electricity is rigidly regulated by the Public Service Commission and has become within the reach of people of all classes.
The use of electric lights rather than kerosene lamps detracted from the poetic atmosphere of rural scenery as viewed in the twilight. The occasion of passing along a road in the early evening at "lamp- lighting time in the valley" was substituted by the sight of the well- known brilliance of another kind of illumination. It is, however, not easy to find an individual or a family who rejected electricity on sentimental grounds. Perhaps even a poet, while he might ponder over the beauty of oil lamps when seen in others' homes, might be the first to install electricity in his own if he were forced to live in the same valley.
The conflict between the progressive and the conservative-senti- mental points of view had a chance to assert itself in another direc- tion, that of the rural and village school system. From the days of the early pioneers, the general system of education included the practice of maintaining many small school buildings throughout the country- side to make long daily walks by the students unnecessary. It came about in the course of time that many country schools shrank to an enrollment of a mere handful, a condition which entailed considerable expense both to the state and the local community.
The idea of bringing pupils a considerable distance daily by buses over narrow roads and antique bridges was looked upon with disfavor by a large share of the rural element. It is quite likely that a senti- mental attachment to the neighborhood school, with the stars and stripes waving proudly in the breeze, with its suggestion of liveliness and activity, the school which the parents themselves had attended and which held a store of precious memories of former days, aided in fostering this opinion.
Sentiment, however, is a futile argument when finance is involved. Year after year saw a larger number of rural schools closed and a corresponding increase in the number of school buses which usually brought the students almost from their front door step. The system, looked upon originally with anxiety and doubts, was found to be high- ly successful.
In 1933, after the old story of trouble arising from the district meeting had occurred in Thorpe Hollow, town of Great Valley, the
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school was closed and arrangements made to bring the pupils to Kill- buck by bus. Its closing was in line with the general policy of the time, both in this county and elsewhere.
The general policy of bringing students to larger institutions in buses has resulted in several new school buildings, elaborate in their curriculum and handsome in appearance. Cattaraugus, Gowanda, West Valley, Hinsdale, Machias, Limestone and Randolph are centers of enlarged school systems, courses in scientific methods of agriculture being especially valuable in these dairying communities. Delevan, in accordance with a landslide vote in favor of such a proposition, has be- come the latest seat of a centralized school. In general, construction of these buildings can be attributed to cooperation of federal, state and local units.
The Chamberlain Institute had been taken over by Major Dunn, who conducted a military institute there for a number of years. Its old enemy, destructive fire, again attacked the academy however, and in 1915 it was discontinued. Its remaining buildings were razed in 1931 and a short time later Randolph Central High School was erected on the institution grounds. This school, containing courses in agri- cultural and mechanical studies, is far more advanced in curriculum than many schools in larger communities.
The old style of school architecture, with its huge tower climaxed by a flag pole, has been abandoned in the construction of these build- ings, and a more modern plan, noteworthy for its simplicity and prac- ticability, has been followed.
The construction of the new high school in Olean (1935) was the occasion of an incident which aroused the ire of students and others in that city and gained wide publicity. Rivalry between Olean and Bradford high schools had become intense and victory in the football game played each fall was a goal which each school strove after pug- naciously. While the new building was in the constructive process, workmen were astonished to find one morning that on one of the large blocks of tile two words had been roughly painted. "Beat Olean" was the inscription, and it was believed that the paint had penetrated the tile in such a manner that its removal would be difficult, if not im- possible. Civil and school authorities in Bradford cooperated with authorities on this side of the state line, but all efforts at finding the guilty party or parties failed. The principal of the Olean school took occasion to mention, perhaps as a reminder to his students, that rascality is its own reward, that a similar statement, “Beat Brad- ford," had been found on the Bradford school at a previous time. This statement, however, had been wrought with chalk or some other less enduring substance than paint.
Olean students gained some consolation from their victory in the contest itself, the suggestion of the "Beat Olean" slogan not being carried out by the Bradford eleven.
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SECTION EIGHTEEN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS SINCE THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
The fate of Cattaraugus County economically and socially during the first four decades of the twentieth century may be said to closely parallel that of other regions of a similar background. Noteworthy in the economic set-up were the general prosperity of the railroads, the rise of the furniture industry in Salamanca and the glue manu- facturing industry in Gowanda, the foundations for small, locally owned industries both in the cities and larger villages, the general decline of the tanning business, and continuance of an agricultural system based on dairy farming.
During the early part of this epoch, the well-being of the rail- roads was not yet seriously threatened by motor transportation, and the Pennsylvania, Erie and B., R. & P. systems employed a large per- centage of the working population in Olean and Salamanca.
The losses sustained by the railroads following the mass-commer- cialization of motor transportation in more recent years, however, has resulted in considerable reduction in employment from that source, noticeable in both Olean and Salamanca. The general increase in the number employed as truck drivers, mechanics, gas station operators, etc., throughout the county may be taken as compensation for the reduction in railroad employment.
The furniture industry developed in this period, factories being located in Salamanca, Randolph, Olean and Ellicottville. Among the prominent figures in this industry was Thomas P. McCabe, whose enterprise gave employment to several hundred in Salamanca during the 1920's, but collapsed at the end of that decade. Other Salamanca factories included the Sterling Furniture Co. and Fancher Furniture Co., the latter owing its origin largely to the civic pride of A. T. Fan- cher. Products of the Fancher Co. have been selected by the United States government in furnishing the American Embassies in several foreign countries.
The tanning business suffered severe reversals in the United States since the turn of the century, attributed by some to the rise of the industry in South America, where the supply of hides began to center itself. Tanneries which had flourished in Olean, Allegany, Limestone, Randolph and Cattaraugus have been closed, leaving only the Union Tannery at Salamanca and the Moench Tannery at Gowanda operating at the present time.
Gowanda had become a center of activity in glue manufacturing by the firm Gaensslen, Fisher & Co., the manager of this firm, Richard
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Wilhelm, opening a glue factory of his own in 1904. Wilhelm's fac- tory grew in size and volume of business until it occupied nearly one hundred acres, reputedly the world's largest glue factory. Other large glue-making establishments were associated with the Gowanda firm, all under Wilhelm's leadership. At the time of Wilhelm's death (1940), he was recognized as the glue king of the world, his success being ascribed to the fact that he "stuck to the glue business."
In recent years, the mass production of baked goods has devel- oped into a thriving industry in Salamanca.
In 1916 a sanitarium was established at Rocky Crest, a short distance from Rock City, for residents of the county suffering from tuberculosis. This institution, maintained by the county, has been of tremendous importance in aiding in the struggle against tuberculosis and other forms of suffering. In recent times the drop made in the number of patients at the sanitarium led to discussion in some quarters as to the advisability of closing it. The general opinion, however, has been that it constitutes a fundamental part of the county's system of health maintenance, and it seems likely that it will endure as a permanent institution.
A similar, though much larger, sanitarium had been established at Perrysburg about 1910 by the city of Buffalo, known as the J. N. Adams Memorial Hospital, for patients suffering tuberculosis and other ailments. A bus line connects the hospital with Gowanda, from which point communication by both railroad and bus with Buffalo is maintained. The establishment of this hospital aided in giving the village a progressive spirit, and in 1916 Perrysburg took its place among the county's incorporated villages.
The entry of the United States into the World War was accom- panied by a rousing of patriotism, featured by such tendencies as the purchase of Liberty bonds and war-saving stamps, also by movements by women and children such as raising "war gardens" and knitting clothing for the army. The coming of "troop trains" through a town at which the train stopped often resulted in demonstrations; one of the means used to show favor to the troops was that of delegating a group of children to carry a large flag into which coins could be tossed.
The end of the war resulted in ex-service men organizing, chiefly in the American Legion, an organization which has promoted social and humanitarian movements. Baseball received especial attention from this organization. In its early years, it sponsored the Catta- raugus County League, each locality represented being backed by the local post.
A legend to the effect that the general blowing of whistles in Olean or Salamanca would be a signal of the collapse of the huge dam holding back the waters of Cuba Lake was remembered by a few citizens. Hence the general blowing at the report of an armistice
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caused some misunderstanding of its significance. However, the gen- eral public held no such delusions.
On the afternoon of July 21, 1923, one of the most devastating fires in county history raged on the south side of the Allegany River at Salamanca. Probably starting from a bon-fire near a large frame building used as a skating rink, the flames quickly consumed the rink building itself, spreading in a westerly direction and sweeping before it most of the Main Street business blocks, chiefly frame buildings, between the river and the Broad Street intersection. Dynamite, oil and other combustibles stored in a hardware store which was one of the early scenes of attack by the fire, joined with a "favorable" wind in spreading the destruction. The City Hall itself, located on the west side of Main Street, next to the river bank, was quickly; destroyed. The flames spread westward from the Broad Street intersection, destroying eight residences on Clinton Street in a row, then, after sparing several other houses, completely destroyed another a long distance from the main center of the fire. A large frame building at the Broad St .- Main St. corner was dynamited in order to prevent a similar destruction of homes on Broad Street. The fire extended from a western extremity near the present Moose Temple on Race Street to an eastern extremity on Clinton Street, near East Street, although a considerable number of blocks and dwellings, some in the very heart of this zone, were left unharmed. Practically no damage resulted in the area north of Broad and Clinton Streets.
The effects of this catastrophe on the community, while serious in itself, was made the more so by an air of ill-feeling which accom- panied it. A short time before the fire, a controversy had taken place over the relative value of volunteer and salaried fire systems. Mayor Henry McCann had cast his lot with the latter system. During the fire, friction developed between the Mayor and some of the city's lead- ing citizens, thus hampering the work of fighting the flames. Follow- ing the fire, the Mayor became a storm-center of attack by critics. For his part, Mayor McCann vigorously denied two widely-circulated rumors concerning his actions, one that he had refused to call out-of- town aid, the other that he had disapproved of the use of dynamite.
Damage was variously estimated between six and eight hundred thousand dollars. It deprived the community of the City Hall, includ- ing the fire station, jail and city offices, and left a large number of residents with the problem of finding suitable living quarters. Also, several important business firms were removed from the scene, up- setting the community's economic frame-work. It left the city torn by resentment and ill-feeling. The one silver lining to the dark cloud which enveloped the community was the fact that, in spite of the devastation wrought by the fire, no death or serious injury resulted
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