USA > New York > Cattaraugus County > Historical review of Cattaraugus County > Part 12
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from it. Some of the homeless families camped in the high school park until more permanent living quarters could be established.
The "roaring twenties," noted for gangsterism, terrorism and racketeering in the larger cities, likewise cast their sinister shadows on some of the smaller communities. Salamanca, Bradford and Olean saw the effects of the influence of terrorism. According to reliable report, Salamanca was for a time the headquarters of a gang whose operations covered territory from Niagara Falls to the coal regions of Pennsylvania. A series of murders in the vicinity was believed in the popular mind to be chiefly the result of this terrorism. Perhaps the highlight of this group of slayings was the discovery of the dead bodies of Valentino and Cook, found in a car on the back road between Limestone and Bradford, near the former village. According to a newspaper report, a short time after this discovery, two dead frogs were found on fence posts near-by, supposedly a symbol in gangster code.
Among the acts of lawlessness of the twenties were the attempts by three highwaymen to stage "hold-ups" at three different places on the highways between Olean, Bradford and Salamanca in May, 1924.
On the night of October 27, 1924, fire devastated a section of the business district of Gowanda, causing damage of several hundred thousand dollars. The theatre and several valuable business blocks were destroyed or damaged. Like the Salamanca fire of the previous year, the community derived satisfaction from the fact that no seri- ous casualties resulted.
The ancient idea of deriving commercial use from the Allegany River was again heard of in the early 1920's. Geography books used in some of the schools actually indicated the river as a navigable body of water, upstream as far as the state line.
There were times, of course, during the high water which follow- ed the spring thaw, when it was possible to navigate boats on the Allegany River. Clarence Tingwall, an officer of the Salamanca police force, followed a policy of conducting an annual trip each spring down the Allegany. The climax to this series of annual excursions came when Tingwall made the blunder of constructing a boat in the cellar of his home, which, being completed, the dimensions were found to be such that it was impossible to remove it from the cellar. Tingwall's "boner" received wide publicity and may have influenced one of the leading comic strips, "Uncle Walt of Gasoline Alley," being pictured as performing a similar blunder.
The destruction of the Ellicottville basket factory, while not rank- ing with the county's most serious fires, was nevertheless a dramatic spectacle due to the brilliant reflection it made on the evening sky.
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The setting might be compared with that of the destruction of Grand Pre as beheld by the unfortunate Acadians while awaiting their exile. According to newspaper reports, a resident of Randolph seeing the reflection on the horizon, motored to East Randolph, believing the fire to be at that suburb. Arriving there and still seeing the reflection on the sky, he concluded it was in the vicinity of Little Valley. Upon reaching Little Valley, he observed it was still at a distance and final- ly reached the scene of the conflagration at Ellicottville.
Under the presidency of Father Thomas Plassmann, a world-re- nowned biblical authority, St. Bonaventure College continued to occupy a prominent position among western New York's educational institu- tions. At the very time when preparations were being made for the institution's diamond jubilee, however, tragedy was destined to over- take it. On May 5, 1930, fire broke out near the top of the monastery,. a four-story brick building. By the time the fire was discovered, it already had wrought heavy destruction and a "lack of water and a stiff breeze" aided the fire in spreading to the seminary and church, both of which were completely destroyed, in addition to the monastery .. The earnest but futile attempts by the baseball squad to check the flames was followed by a general rush to the scene by fire companies from surrounding communities and after the fire had wrought destruc- tion amounting to perhaps one million dollars, including valuable books and works of art, it was brought under control about three hours after its outbreak.
The rapidity with which the institution began to rebuild is to be largely credited to the high position it held in the minds and hearts of its alumni, also to cooperation from public spirited citizens as well as to the untiring energy of its officials.
Less than three years after this catastrophe, another fire, the result of Lynch Hall being struck by lightning, caused damage of about $50,000, a large part of which was caused by water. The second fire was followed by the construction of De La Roche Hall, a building named in honor of the Franciscan who is believed to have been the first white man to view the famous Cuba Oil Spring.
The Republican Party continued to be the dominating factor in the county's political make-up, although at times the Democrats were able to take considerable advantage of dissentions and factional quar- rels among the majority party. However, the Democratic candidates for the offices of sheriff, county clerk, etc., usually received less than half the number of votes of their Republican opponents, and the con- tests for these positions usually were decided at the Republican primaries.
In the field of political discussion, a storm known as the "tomb- stone scandal" broke out, in which it was alleged that county funds
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had been misused in the purchase of tombstones, ostensibly for those who had rendered their country military service. The "tombstone scandal" became the subject of cracks by "wiseacres," especially re- garding the charge that a tombstone had been purchased for a "vet- eran of the War of 1812" when it was maintained he had been born: after the close of that conflict. Ed Scanlon, humorist, in commenting on the Cattaraugus County scandal, suggested that some were of the opinion that "grave disclosures would be made." .
The Windfall Cyclone of 1834 had left its name on a brook empty- ing into the Allegany River near Carrollton, and the small community of Indian dwellings west of Carrollton came to be known as "Wind- fall" or "Horseshoe." The Senecas dwelling in this section, generally speaking, had become more "Americanized" than their kinsmen in the Cold Spring area, taking little or no part in practicing the ancient rituals and ceremonies of their ancestors
In the spring of 1932 an incident occurred in the Windfall sec- tion which, although petty and obscure in itself, nevertheless is note- worthy in that it probably represents the last bloody collision between the Indians and white people in New York State, and, as far is gen- erally known, the only engagement of its kind on the Allegany Res- ervation since it was established in 1798. The fight was the out- growth of a twilight baseball game, and, in the few minutes of its existence, displayed the characteristics of a general "free-for-all" engagement. The ball game had been for the most part a quiet affair. It was a contest between an informal aggregation coming from the northern section of Salamanca, and a likewise informally organized group from the Windfall section. The white team from Salamanca was managed by an orchestra leader who christened his ball club by the identical name his orchestra bore: the "No-Go-Homers," a fact which was to be the source of "wise cracks" in subsequent weeks.
The manager-musician, who was also the pitcher for his nine, took no part in the disturbance which followed the game, although several of the players, besides the umpire and score-keeper (both white men), as well as some spectators of both shades of complexion par- ticipated in one way or another. An attack on the umpire set the fire- works in motion. Actual combat was not limited to the fistic variety, three white men receiving scalp injuries as a result of being struck with a club wielded by an Indian spectator, while some of the action on the Caucasian side was not of a technique permitted by Queens- bury boxing rules.
None of the injuries, however, could be termed serious, and the Windfall disturbance is perhaps less noteworthy for the injuries in- flicted as for the result which might have come about if quiet had not been restored when it was. Wooden clubs were present on the scene and serious consequences could easily have followed.
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The twilight battle at Windfall practically sounded the death knell of the recently laid-out baseball field, for although a few games were afterwards played on it, reports of the disturbance which had followed its first game spread rapidly and the former diamond could be seen yielding a goodly crop of weeds, possibly fertilized by the blood of Indian and White man alike. For the most part, however, normal relationship between the two peoples was resumed and other baseball games in which some of the participants of the Windfall skir- mish took a part were without incident.
In 1936 a group of C. C. C. youths at work in the vicinity of the state fish hatchery at East Randolph, excavated a part of a skeleton of a mastodon, an extinct animal akin to the elephant in appearance, although of a larger size. The skeleton, easily discernible as what it was claimed to be, was taken to the state museum at Albany. If made sixty years sooner, the discovery would have played into the hands of Dr. Frederick Larkin, whose archeological survey was centered in that district. A touch of humor colored the incident when some of the elderly citizens of that region claimed to remember seeing this huge animal roaming the country-side !
Dr. Larkin had suggested that mastodons might have been con- temporary with the mound-builders and speculates on the possibility that they were used as beasts of burden by those people.
In recent times, efforts made by Federal, state and local units toward reforesting abandoned farms and wastelands has made steady progress. In addition to large areas in the state park reforested by the C. C. C. and by state employees, many acres of abandoned farm land, largely property taken over in default of taxes, have been util- ized by the county in this manner. The city of Salamanca has dis- played remarkable energy in this movement, fostering the growth of large areas of spruce and pine in the Newton Run area as an aid in protecting its highly-perfected water system.
The Calumet Club of Ellicottville maintained a policy of conduct- ing an annual summer festival known as Old Home Week, featuring midway concessions, pavement dancing, parades, etc. In recent years other communities have been the scene of similar festivities, usually sponsored by volunteer fire companies.
The combination carnival-convention has come to be an accepted form of entertainment in Salamanca, Allegany, Cattaraugus and other localities. Without the local prestige enjoyed by fire companies, it might be difficult or impossible for carnivals to locate at some of these communities.
In 1939 a carnival at Salamanca offered the public a display of a man wrestling with an alligator, among its several side-shows. Dur- ing the latter part of the week of the show's presence, the alligator died. The show continued the act the remainder of the week, how-
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ever, the performer heroically wrestling with the dead carcass before an array of unsuspecting spectators:
{ "Confidence in the integrity of many of the chance-games and raffles staged at traveling carnivals has become nearly extinct, and the efforts of some of the "barkers" to arouse enthusiasm has become almost pathetic, An exception to this generality is the stand offering popular "Bingo" games.
· The now famous "depression" of the 1930's may be said to have affected this section in about the same general degree as other similar quarters of the northeastern states. Throughout the country it was observed that rural and village life suffered less during this period of hardship than the cities, hence most of the village industries, chiefly locally owned, were able to storm the tide. Both Olean and Salamanca suffered severely from unemployment, however. Employment on the railroads in both places was seriously curtailed and furniture manu- facturing in Salamanca and oil refining and machine shop work in Olean suffered heavy reverses.
Capital-labor disputes, frequent occurrences in most industrial districts in recent years, have been almost wholly absent in the county, the most recent major collision being the railroad strike of 1922. Conflicts of opinion among laborers in the tanning industry over union organization have thus far failed to develop serious con- sequences.
¿1, In the early evening of September 30, 1939, the valley known as Fox Hollow, "in the town of Ashford, was devastated by cyclone- probably the most destructive one to visit this area since the Wind- fall Cyclone more than a century before. Serious damage was inflicted on the entire six farms in the valley, resulting in the destruction of. cattle, shattering of buildings and uprooting of trees. Clayton Fleck- enstein, who, according to newspaper report had been pinned under the wreckage of a barn, died a few days after the catastrophe. His wife, also present in the barn at the time, was thrown into the granary where the oats protected her from the wreckage. The effect of the cyclone also reached the electric power lines, breaking poles and snap- ping wires. Mrs. Konrad suffered from the effects of electric shock. The cyclone differed from the Windfall catastrophe in that serious damage was practically limited to a single community.
The late spring of 1940 was featured by havoc coming from an- other source-destructive floods. On June 11, a storm which quickly assumed "cloud-burst" proportions, raged in the vicinities of Leon and Conewango. Elm Creek, attempting to assume the burden of remov- ing a much greater volume of water than its channel could safely con- trol, overflowed its banks at East Randolph, resulting in considerable destruction to the ground floors of houses and business places, as well as to gardens, lawns and poultry houses. Several small bridges
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were made useless by this flood, chiefly over the section of Elm Creek north of East Randolph. After the storm had subsided, an array of spectators assembled at the Randolph bridge over the Little Cone- wango, the stream into which Elm Creek empties, where the increase in the stream's depth could be followed by observing objects on the banks of the creek, until it was believed to have reached the greatest depth since that bridge was completed. Damage in the village of Ran- dolph, however, was not as great as in its sister-village to the east.
Several days after this flood heavy rain storms in the vicinity of Cattaraugus, Otto and Mansfield caused damage more serious than that resulting from the Elm Creek flood, due to the fact that it cov- ered a larger area. In all, several bridges in six different townships, chiefly on dirt roads, were destroyed by one or another of these floods. The county highway department immediately began making plans for the reconstruction of necessary bridges and the repair of washed- out and otherwise damaged roads.
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SECTION NINETEEN
PROGRESS OF THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY
The progress made by the dairying business from a mere in- cidental of pioneer life to an occupation almost completely dominating the agricultural resources of the county explains the thriving rural life of Cattaraugus County at present. In the early days of the lum- bering industry along the Allegany River or in the valleys of the Ischua and Great Valley Creeks, there is no indication that this occu- pation was fostered on a commercial scale, although it seems likely that a small amount of milk was produced for local use.
The dairying business received its earliest start as a major in- dustry in the townships in which lumbering was a lesser light, such as Leon, Dayton and Lyndon. In the town of Great Valley, destined to be one of the greatest fields of milk production, its promotion awaited the then more important work of clearing the dense forests of pine and hemlock.
Col. Dan Huntley, of Dutch Hill War fame, has been credited with possessing the first regular dairy farm.
A drift toward the cooperative system swept the dairying regions of New York and Pennsylvania in the latter half of the eighteenth century, resulting in neighborhood proprietorship of cheese factories and creameries. Previous to this era, butter and cheese had been made in small lots for home consumption or barter at local stores. The advent of cooperative factories and creameries, however, made pos- sible the shipment of these products to distant cities and villages, the railroads being definitely established as commercial units by this time. These cooperative associations often became the center of petty squabbling and quarreling, thus impairing the system's smooth oper- ation. Their value can perhaps best be appraised as a transition be- tween the near-nothing which preceded it in marketing dairy products and the more elaborate system of condensing and preserving which followed.
The improvements and discoveries made in the science of milk condensing and preparation for use in ice cream, candy and baked goods resulted in several plants of this sort being established. The Mohawk Company have become operators of milk plants at Catta- raugus and South Dayton. The Cattaraugus plant had previously been operated by Nestles. The most recent addition to the county's list of milk plants is that established by the Gorden Baking Co. at Salamanca, in 1939.
A system of cooperative marketing by dairymen also found its way into this section. "The Dairymen's League Cooperative Asso-
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ciation" maintained a policy of selling milk collectively. Borden's, a milk firm of nation-wide repute, became the purchaser of a large part of the county's milk through this association. Borden plants are main- tained at present in Ellicottville, Little Valley, West Valley and Ran- dolph, the last mentioned devoting much of their energy to making cans in addition to actual milk preparation. Borden's plant at Arcade also is a market for part of Cattaraugus County's dairy products.
The successful results produced by the Dairymen's League- Borden alliance encouraged the cooperative movement and a some- what similar arrangement, although taking different form of organiza- tion, was made by the Sheffield Co., which maintained a plant at Franklinville for many years. The Sheffield plant has now passed in- to the hands of the Breyer Ice Cream Co.
Rivalry between the Dairymen's League and the Sheffield forces over their efforts to hold and enlarge their fields of supply became in- tense during the late 1920's. Both groups published pamphlets up- holding their causes and appealing for support. It is quite possible that the policy of the Dairymen's League in purchasing small milk plants, then closing them up, leaving them with boarded windows and doors, produced a psychological effect which reacted unfavorably on the league.
The price paid to the farmer for milk was so low during parts of the year that its relation to the price of feed came close to causing havoc. After studying this condition, members of the State Legis- lature produced a plan which has been intended to alleviate the situa- tion. A commission known as the Milk Board, has been set up, with power to set the price of milk after considering the various angles, such as prices of feed, costs of transportation, ability of the consumers to meet a certain price, etc.
Like many such agencies, the Milk Board has been both praised and condemned. Whether through its efforts or not, it can safely be said that the economic condition of the dairying industry has been greatly improved since the Milk Board's establishment.
Another plan put into operation in an effort to aid the dairying industry was that of appointing a "bargaining agency"- a commis- sion whose field of work was broad in scope-in an effort to bring about an agreement on the price of milk. The metropolitan "bargain- ing agency" was aided by other similar agencies more local in their outlook.
The effects of rapid rise of dairying produced great changes in the lay-out of farm land. The general tendency being toward enlarge -. ment, it happened that small adjacent farms often were combined in- to one large dairy farm. Where the early or middle 19th century saw two or three small farms, each maintaining a herd of eight or ten
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cattle, the proceeds of which supplemented the income from lumber, tan bark or maple syrup, the twentieth century saw these same hold- ings combined into one large dairy farm, the income from wood prod- ucts now next to nothing, but a "milk check" arriving monthly as the one steady source of revenue. Thus it can be explained that the ap- pearance of abandoned dwellings along the highways is not neces- sarily an indication of abandoned farm land, since it is possible that they may be the symbol of a small holding swallowed up by a large dairy farm. ! !
The organization known as the "Patrons of Husbandry"" was founded in 1867. It fostered local rural organizations known as "Granges" in various parts of the country. The primary purpose of this movement was a desire to aid the farmer economically and so- cially, although in time it took on a political aspect in some quarters. In this county, Granges was organized in most of the dairying town- ships and their membership has been fairly large. One of the efforts of the Grange was the practice of buying feed collectively. An effort to promote recreational activities such as picnics and dances also has been made by the organization.
.The following passage from the "Randolph Register" gives an idea of activities promoted by the Grange:
"Mrs. Florence Waite received first prize in the sugar-cookie con- test held at the Randolph Grange meeting. Second prize went to Mrs. Isabelle Caswell, third to Miss Edith Shipherd and fourth to Mrs. Carrie Hyke. The program of the evening was provided by the lec- turer, Mrs. Rose Chubb, reading 'Good Chicken Sense;' Mrs. Clara Horton, reading 'When Tourists Go Tripping By,' Miss Edith Shipherd 'Grange Quiz' and Mrs. Dorothy Freer reading 'No Quit.'
"Ice cream and cookies were served by the committee."
In recent years the tendency toward emphasizing the educational side of agriculture has gained ground. In addition to the courses offered by Cornell, Alfred and other colleges, many of the rural high schools offer subjects in this field. Efforts in this direction include the promotion of "Future Farmer" enterprises, project work and "4-H Clubs." The last mentioned movement has swept certain rural areas in the county with an increase in membership which approxi- mated "land-slide" proportions. . . . .
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SECTION TWENTY
PARKS AND PLAYGROUNDS IN CATTARAUGUS COUNTY
Progress made in developing recreational centers in this county has been rapid. One of the earliest and most frequented of these was Rock City. The late Mrs. Catherine Bradley, of Olean, is author of a booklet describing this phenomenon of nature. She suggests that the first white men to visit the rocks may have been the surveyors laying out plans for the Kittaning Road, which passed close to the rocks. Professor James Hall commented on the group of rocks as follows: "To these broken outliners of conglomerate, the fanciful name of 'Ruined City' has been applied; the broad fissures resemble streets and the huge rocks on either side resemble houses. There are sub- terranean passages and courts (formerly) ... the abode of bears and wolves."
"Fat Man's Misery," "The Three Sister Rocks" and "Table Rock" were names applied to some of these huge bolders. Rock City was famous as a picnic ground and holiday resort, also as an attraction to tourists and students of geology. The old narrow guage railroad was discontinued, but the traction company operated a trolley line through the Rock City area making it. within a few minutes travel from Olean and Bradford. In recent years Rock City has declined as a resort. The discontinuance of trolley service may partially account for this.
Three geologists who visited various fields of rocks in the state between 1836 and 1840 referred to the group north of Salamanca, be- tween the headwaters of Newton Run and Hungry Hollow, as the most imposing. This group has never become a heavily frequented resort. "In recent years the C. C. C. has opened a road from Hungry Hollow to a point close to the rocks.
Lime Lake, in the town of Machias, was the scene of ice harvest- ing by the Webster Ice Co. of Buffalo for many years. Two ice houses, one at each end of the lake, were used in this business. Lime is present not only in the water but also in some of the soil which surrounds the lake. Sensing a possible field for commercial activity, Orrin Pierce, owner of land at the northern end of the lake near the outlet, organ- ized a system of extracting lime from the soil to be used for fertiliza- tion. Mr. Pierce died within a short time after beginning this busi- ness and it was never revived commercially. The practice' of 'ex- tracting ice from the lake was also discontinued in the course of time and at present the value of Lime Lake may be considered in recrea- tional rather than commercial terms. "An abandoned milk plant which has stood at the northern end of the lake for years has been rebuilt as a skating rink. Cottages have been built along the lake shore and
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