USA > New York > Wyoming County > Perry > History of the town of Perry, New York > Part 20
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Work on the sewer outlet began the last week of October, and all of the trenching on the several streets had been com- pleted by November 1st. An inspection was made during the first week of December, when a few leaks were discovered and repairs were made.
The Board of Trustees prepared a set of sewer regulations and the system was ready for use before Jan. 1st, 1902, a con- siderable number of property-owners having had connections made with their residences to furnish bath room conveniences. and from that time on, every house constructed in the village has had the connections made.
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When the time came for final settlement with Contractor Sherman he presented a bill for extras amounting to nearly $10,000, his principal claim being that he had not been allowed a sufficient sum for rock excavation. Engineer Hopkins dis- puted his claim, advising the Trustees that he had made gener- ous allowance for extra rock excavation. He checked up the contractor's list of extras and pointed out to the Trustees the items for which Mr. Sherman was entitled to compensation. but as that showed the amount due in final settlement to be sev- eral thousand dollars less than Mr. Sherman claimed, the con- tractor threatened to sue unless the Trustees accepted his figures.
It was understood that Mr. Sherman lost money on the contract, and the Trustees felt that he might be endeavoring to recoup his loss by presenting his bill for extras. They offered to settle with him at the figures given by their engineer, Mr. Hopkins, but as he was unwilling to do so, there was a dead- loek. A few months later, Mr. Sherman brought suit against the Village Trustees in his home county of Oneida. The Trus- tees applied for a change of venue to Wyoming County, which was afterward granted. Before the case came to trial, how- ever, Mr. Sherman requested the Trustees to meet him in Roch- ester for a conference, with a view to an amicable settlement without an extended legal contest. They complied with his re- quest and he made several propositions, which the Trustees refused to act upon at that time. They had retained Hon. W. F. Cogswell for their attorney, and he had told them that Mr. Sherman had no case against them. Mr. Cogswell said that Mr. Sherman "didn't have a leg to stand upon" and advised the Trustees not to pay anything more than Engineer Hopkins had recommended. In answer to the question whether it would not be better to settle rather than defend a suit, Mr. Cogswell told the Trustees that if they felt it would be cheaper in the
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end to pay Mr. Sherman $500 in addition to Engineer Hopkins' allowance and thus clean up the matter with a receipt in full for all elaims, it was a matter for the Trustees to decide. They notified Mr. Sherman that they would hold a meeting after their return home and would advise him promptly of their de- cision after it had been reached. A meeting was held the same evening and it was voted to offer Mr. Sherman $500 above the Engineer's figures, in full settlement of all claims. After much protest, Mr. Sherman agreed to accept the offer and the matter was closed.
The maximum estimate for the system, as previously noted, was $54,000. Prior to the suit instituted by Contractor Sher- man the Trustees had made three semi-annual interest pay- ments on the sewer bonds, a total of $2,385.00. With other ex- penses incurred the amount reached about $3,000. Deducting that sum from the original estimate of $54,000, the actual cost of the sewer system proper was $51,000, or $3,000 less than the maximum estimate. The work was well performed and the installation of the system accomplished what was expected, a material increase in the amount of water rentals and the pro- vision of city conveniences for the residents of the village, with vastly improved sanitary conditions for the conservation of public health.
CHAPTER XXII
Street Lighting, Local Telephone and Natural Gas Systems-Their Rapid Development from Small Beginnings Had Important Part in Promoting Growth of the Village.
Prior to 1877, no action had been taken by the municipal- ity for providing lights for the streets of Perry. Before the time mentioned, however, a few of the more enterprising citi- zens had installed lamp posts and lights in front of their resi- dences, but these were few and far between, and at night the streets in general presented avenues dark and gloomy.
At a meeting of the Village Board held on Feb. 5th, 1877, Lyman D. Loomis moved that the clerk, R. D. Higgins, draw up a petition asking the Legislature to pass an act granting power to the Board of Trustees of the village to raise money by tax to light the streets and maintain the expense. The motion was carried, and at the Board meeting held on March 5th, the petition was presented and accepted. It was made a law by action of the Legislature, and in October, 1877, an order was given for 26 street lights, to cost $128.21, and these were placed in the most important locations throughout the village. James L. Wade was engaged as lamp-lighter at $7.50 per month, but as the number of lamps were gradually increased, the wages were increased to $30 per month. Mr. Wade was succeeded as lamp-lighter by C. Minot Griffith, Oscar D. Chase and William Mckinley. The adoption of this method of lighting the streets added somewhat to the general appearance of the village and was a great convenience to the citizens, although for some time the old-fashioned lantern did not entirely disappear.
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PERRY ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY
The Perry Electric Light Company was primarily organ- ized in the early part of 1892, and a franchise was granted to the company by the Village Board of Trustees on July 23d of that year. On Nov. 21st, 1892, the Electric Light Co., opened its plant and turned the current through the wires. Before the elose of the year, they were furnishing current for 22 street lights and 400 incandescents. At the present time they are fur- nishing 93 street lights and approximately 10,000 incandes- cents, beside power for several of the smaller industries. Perry consumes nearly twice as much electricity as any other town in Wyoming County.
The formal organization of the Company was effected on March 11th, 1893, at which time the following named officers were chosen : President, Milo H. Olin : Vice-President, Henry N. Page; Secretary, Clarence M. Smith; Treasurer, Wm. D. Page; Manager, G. K. Page. None of the persons named is at present identified with the organization, having disposed of their stock at a private sale to Mr. E. L. Phillips of New York and Mr. G. W. Olmsted, of Ludlow, Pa., who hold a majority of all of the stock.
Mr. C. W. Smith was engaged as Manager in 1901, and served in that capacity until June, 1911, when he was suc- ceeded by E. D. Hamlin, who was in charge for a period of a little more than one year. Mr. C. W. Torrey, the present effic- ient Manager, has served continuously since that time.
On June 4th, 1912, the plant was practically destroyed by a fire which caused a loss of more than $20,000. The plant was rebuilt as soon as possible, the current in the meantime being supplied by the Tempest Knitting Company.
The Company having acquired franchises in Warsaw,
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LOCAL ENTERPRISES
Gainesville, Castile and Perry, it is the intention in the near future to construct and equip a central power plant and supply all of the towns named from one point, thereby reducing the excessive cost of operating individual plants. A line is under construction from Perry to Silver Springs as a beginning of the project.
The following named are the officers of the Company at the present time : President, G. W. Olmstead ; Vice-President, L. P. Benedict, of Perry ; Secretary, Henry R. Frost of New York; Treasurer, C. W. Torrey of Perry. These gentlemen also con trol the Warsaw office.
TELEPHONE SYSTEM
The Perry Electric Light Company gave Perry its first tel. ephone system, and for a period of ten years the two were oper- ated under one management. Early in 1894, the directors can vassed the citizens to ascertain the number of people who would become subscribers to a local independent system. By the last of May, 50 persons had agreed to install telephones at a cost of $1.50 per month. As this was considered a fair num- ber to begin operations with, the Company ordered a Strowger automatic switchboard, 50 telephone instruments, 22 miles of covered wire, poles and accessories, and on July 18th, 1894, these telephones were placed in service. The Perry Telephone Company was the first independent telephone company in New York State to install the automatic service, which was similar to the type now used by the Federal Company in Buffalo. The system was somewhat experimental at the time and did not give generally satisfactory service. Following is the original list of subscribers :
M. H. Olin & Son, hardware; Perry Knitting Co .; Citizens Bank ; First National Bank ; Hotel Perry; Silver Lake Railway depot ; Walker House, Silver Lake; Silver Lake Assembly; A.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PERRY
W. Tallman, hardware; M. A. Wilcox, livery ; Edgerly House ; W. O. Davis, furniture ; Hateh & Cole, grocers ; W. H. Herron, grocer ; S. S. Caswell, grocer ; C. G. Martin, coal office ; Buffalo Ice Co .; Lewis Hough, milk depot ; R. R. Dow, warehouse ; J. H. Watson, drug store; Smith, Kennedy & Co., builders; C. Suth- erland & Co., monuments; F. L. Howell, furniture; Smith & Ineson, livery ; Record office ; Herald and News office; Dr. G. R. Traver, Dr. P. S. Goodwin, Dr. A. B. Straight, Dr. Annie II. Pierce, Dr. M. A. King, physicians ; Dr. F. H. Cole, dentist ; M. H. Olin, C. M. Smith, W. D. Page, Mrs. H. N. Page, Mrs. A. D. Keeney, Mrs. C. T. Wyckoff, Mrs. M. J. Olin. Mrs. C. A. Cleve- land, M. A. Wilcox, F. L. Howell, W. B. Tallman, Walter T. Olin, Charles A. Toan, F. B. Smith. G. M. Traber, J. E. Cole, R. T. Tuttle, A. J. Wood, residences.
In 1895 the Strowger switchboard was replaced by a 100- line Hunnings board and instruments. As the business of the company increased, several changes in the switchboard had been made necessary.
For several years previous to the organization of the local system the Bell Company had maintained a long distance sta- tion in Perry, for the greater part of the time located in the rear of the shoe store of C. S. Smith & Co. In May, 1901, Mr. E. Stinson and Mr. R. S. Baker were sent to Perry by the Bell Company and a 100-line board was placed in the store; two booths were installed for the central office calls, and the Perry Knitting Co's office was directly connected. The last named was the only subscriber that the Bell Company ever had in the Village of Perry. Mr. Smith relinquished charge of the toll station after several years and a pay station was later installed in Hotel Perry.
In 1903 a connection between the Perry Telephone Co. and the Bell Company was established, giving the local subscribers
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facilities for out-of-town service. At that time a "central energy" or common battery switchboard was installed with two operators. By the end of 1904 the subscribers numbered over 300, and the farmers were being given the service as rap- idly as possible. In 1915, lines had been extended in every direction from the local office and 86% of those living in the territory were connected with the service. The total number of subscribers at the time referred to was 1240.
The late Charles W. Smith was local manager from Oct. 23d, 1901, until his death in July, 1912. He was succeeded by Ralph S. Baker, the present manager. The Perry Exchange has a State-wide reputation for being one of the best equipped and best managed independent systems in existence. Its offi- cers are : President, C. M. Smith; Vice-President, C. A. Toan; Secretary, L. P. Benedict ; Manager, R. S. Baker.
PAVILION NATURAL GAS COMPANY
During the year 1906, people in the vicinity of the neigh- boring town of Pavilion became possessed with the belief that natural gas could be found in that town, their conclusions be- ing based on indications that seemed to be favorable. After some agitation, a test well was sunk and their expectations were fully realized. The success of the experimental well at- tracted outside capital, and some time later the Pavilion Nat- ural Gas Company was organized, composed of Pittsburg and other capitalists. A number of other wells were sunk, and suc- cess continued to attend the efforts to secure an abundant supply.
The Pavilion Natural Gas Company was granted a fran- chise by the Village Trustees of Perry on Sept. 23d, 1908, and in the following Summer the gas mains were laid throughout the village, connection with the gas field being made on Dec. 15th, 1909. The Company began operation here with 345 con-
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PERRY
nections, and in the six years succeeding of their local history their business increased remarkably. In 1915 there were 1186 consumers of gas in the Perry district, a larger number than in any other town in the Company's field of operations. A num- ber of the smaller industries are using the gas for power pur- poses.
The supply comes from wells in the towns of Pavilion and York, the average pressure bein gabout 5001bs. The supply is furnished to Perry at a pressure of about 60 Ibs.
Mr. W. R. Buell was resident manager from October, 1909 to 1910, when he was succeeded by Mr. W. M. Aiken, the pres- ent manager.
The Perry district embraces Silver Lake, Perry Center, LaGrange, and as far east as the Pine Tavern.
CHAPTER XXIII
Musical Organizations-Singing Societies, Philharmonics, Bands and Orchestras That Were Features of the Social Life of Perry and Won More Than Local Reputation.
Perry has differed very little from other towns of its size in the matter of music and musicians. In vocal work the town has had the usual quota of singers who were willing to give their time and talent in return for the pleasure that they might derive from that kind of service. "Singing Schools" of the earlier days, and Singing Societies of the later period have been numerous, but were usually short-lived, organizing in the Fall and disappearing after a "grand concert" held in the lat- ter part of the Winter. While Perry has had many good sing- ers, there have been only a few who possessed exceptional voices. Augustus Barton, who sang in the Universalist Church in the early '70's, was considered to possess the best baritone voice in this section of the country, and later, Mrs. E. M. Clarke located in Perry. She possessed a splendid contralto voice and brought with her a reputation won in Brooklyn, New York and Rochester churches. She was a solist of some note and soon won a distinctive position in the community. Mrs. Jenny L. Nobles has been Perry's best known soprano. Her exceptional ability, her position as teacher of music in our High School, and as director of the Presbyterian Church choir for several years, gave her particular opportunities for service and she has prob- ably done more than any other one person to develop local talent along musical lines.
Among the "Singing Societies" may be mentioned the Philharmonics who gave concerts back in the '70's, with M. N. Crocker as director ; and a Choral Society with German Sweet as the leading spirit and director. The Perry Choral
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PERRY
Society under the leadership of Prof. VonLiebich of Buffalo. and the Perry Oratorio Society, organized in 1913 and con- ducted by Mr. J. W. Royce. The last named society sang a better and more difficult class of music than was attempted by its predecessors, and among other noted compositions has rend- ered " The Crucifixion" twice, "The Messiah " and The Prodi- gal Son." Out-of-town soloists assisted in the first two men- tioned, the choruses of over eighty voices in each of the orator- ios under the direction of Mr. Royce handled their difficult parts exceptionally well. In 1914, the Society in conjunction with several other similar organizations from other towns in this section of the State, sang with the community chorus in a great music festival given in Exposition Park, Rochester. There were about 2000 voices under the direction of Prof. Harry Barnhart and the festival received the highest commen- dation from the press and the large number of people who heard the rendition of the splendid numbers given.
The vocal music in our churches has been mostly furnished by chorus choirs. However, the distinctive organization that. is best remembered by our townspeople as having presented for the greatest length of time the highest grade of music is the former Presbyterian Quartet, composed of Mrs. Jenny L. Nobles, soprano ; Mrs. E. M. Clarke, contralto ; Mr. W. D. Page, tenor : Mr. G. K. Page, basso; Mrs. W. D. Page, organist. Mr. C. S. Smith succeeded Mr. G. K. Page as basso for several years. several years.
ORCHESTRAS
No records have been found giving any information re- garding the orchestras of Perry's earlier days. The first or- ganization of which much is known was the "Chapin Orches- tra." Organized in 1853, it began its career with the following named members : Earl Chapin, first violin and leader; M. N. Crocker, second violin; H. A. Barton, flute; Robert Crake.
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'cello ; John Clark, bass; Miss Addie Walker, piano. The organ- ization seems to have been better than the ordinary, and the class of music played was more or less pretentious for those days and required considerable ability. The overture, "Caliph of Bagdad," was their favorite, although "Gen. Boulanger's March " was a close second. The leader composed a number of their selections, some of which are in existence today. These and other numbers were rehearsed at meetings held in Walk- er's Hotel. Beside furnishing music for local functions, they appeared at Warsaw and other nearby towns. Earl Chapin left Perry and followed violin making as a business for many years. His instruments became well known and some of them sold for over $500 each. He served through the Civil War and died in the Soldiers' Home at Milwaukee about the year 1910. Mr. Chapin was the ruling spirit of the Chapin Orchestra, which disbanded at the time he left Perry.
The Silver Lake Orchestra was organized in 1866 by James L. Wade as manager and first violin; Oscar Edgerly, second violin ; Clark Edgerly, 'cello; Frank Pritchard, bass. Mrs. Clark Edgerly afterward became pianist, and her husband cor- netist of the orchestra, which had an existence of about 20 years, during which period it played engagaments at Saxon's Hall at the lake for many seasons and also during the Fall and Winter in many of the surrounding villages.
The most widely known of all orchestra organizations is the little group who began their career in 1893 as a High School orchestra. With a membership of seven, including Mrs. Jenny Nobles as pianist, F. M. Washburn, E. M. Read and L. G. Stainton, violins ; L. P. Benedict and C. N. Read, cornets ; and Lee H. Cotton, clarinet, the organization began playing for rhetoricals, chapel exercises, etc. This line of work, while en- joyed immensely, served to increase the desire of the ambitious youngsters for something better, and they began taking small
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PERRY
engagements at lectures, etc. Their success in this line led to the formation in 1894 of the Casino Orchestra, with the follow- ing named as members : E. M. Read, first violin and leader ; F. M. Crocker, flute and manager; Lee H. Cotton, clarinet ; Cleve- land K. Nobles, pianist; C. N. Read, cornet. Mr. Nobles was succeeded as pianist for several years by Seward Edgerly, and there have been many changes in the personnel, but the Casino Orchestra as an organization has been playing for over 20 years and is still in existence. During this period they have played in nearly all of the nearby towns and for four years served as the orchestra at Walker's dance pavilion at Silver Lake. When The Auditorium was opened as a theatre, the Casinos became and remained its orchestra for a period of 14 years, and during the winters of 1898-99-1900, the members played in Buffalo for the University of Buffalo's dances, receptions, etc., under the name of the University of Buffalo Orchestra.
Dr. E. M. Read and Dr. F. M. Crocker are the only members of the original Casino Orchestra who have retained their mem- bership since the beginning, and in the 20 years of their orehes- tra life they have played together in over 1600 engagements.
For several years previous to this writing, the orchestra has consisted of the following members : Dr. E. M. Read, first violin and leader ; Dr. F. M. Crocker, flute and manager; C. Read Clarke, slide trombone; Mrs. E. M. Read, 'cello; Miss Isabelle Cole, piano; F. A. Allen, drums and traps.
BANDS
The first local brass band of which we have any informa- tion was known as. "Maxon's Band," organized by Charles Maxon in the year 1857. This band was in existence until the beginning of the Civil War, when it was forced to disband, owing to the greater number of its members withdrawing to join the army.
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The "Perry Center Cornet Band" was organized in. 1866 by Amos W. Austin upon his return from the Civil War, in which he was a member of the First New York Dragoons Regi- mental Band. There were 18 members in the local organiza- tion, which disbanded in 1869.
In the late '70's an organization was formed among stud- ents of Perry Academy and styled itself the "College Band." James E. Crichton was leader and it existed for about two years, but never acquired much proficiency.
The Perry Helicon Band . was organized in 1879 by A. W. Austin, who was also leader. Their instruments and uniforms were purchased from the Saranac, Mich., band that had bought the equipment for use in an engagement at the Centennial cele- bration in Philadelphia in 1876. Disbanding a few years after- ward, the local musicians heard of the opportunity to make the purchase at a bargain and secured the firm of Hatch & Cole as financiers for the enterprise. They bought the complete set of instruments, uniforms and band wagon, making an outfit unequalled in any country town in the State. This band drew from the College Band, James E. Crichton, Charles W. Rudd and others of its most capable musicians and materially strengthened its organization. With frequent rehearsals it soon became unusually proficient, developed several solists among its members and gained a wide reputation. For several years it accompanied Erie Railroad excursions annually to various points, participated in several band tournaments, played in many of the surrounding towns during Presidential campaigns, and at the height of the roller skating craze played a season at the Armory Rink in Buffalo. Mr. Austin was suc- ceeded as director by the late Clark Edgerly and after a suc- cessful career of a number of years the organization passed into history and the town was without a band for a time.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PERRY
The members of the Helicon Band remaining in town formed the nucleus for a new organization calling itself "The Citizens' Band of Perry." It was first under the leadership of Clark M. Edgerly, then of Wi. Gilbertson and later of C. W. Rudd. It was re-organized in 1902 with John A. Wright as
JAMES L. WADE (From a War-Time Picture)
director, a number of skillful musicians having moved into town as a result of our industrial growth. Mr. Wright brought extended experience and soon developed the organization into
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MUSICAL ORGANIZATIONS
a fine concert band with a membership of twenty or more. He won for it a reputation comparable with that of the old Helicon Band in the surrounding section. Later, it again reorganized and its name was changed to the "Perry Military Band," by which title it is known at the present time. Mr. Wright con- tinues to serve as director and his long and faithful service are generally appreciated by the townspeople, who turn out in large numbers during the Summer season to hear the Saturday evening concerts.
Mr. James L. Wade is the only known survivor of Max- on's Band, and with the exception of the College Band, has played continuously in each of the village bands mentioned. Mr. Wade was bugler of Company A, First New York Dra- goons, and was also a member of the regimental band, in which he served until the close of the Civil War. He has probably had the largest part in the development of band musicians in this community, and as a snare drummer has a reputation that extends over Western New York.
The Citizens Band of Perry Center was organized in 1911 with a membership of twenty-nine and under the instruction of Prof. Lloyd of Warsaw gained a considerable degree of profi- ciency. Citizens at the Center erected a band stand in the square and the organization gave a number of concerts, but as its membership decreased the interest lagged and the organiza- tion disbanded after an existence of about two and one-half years.
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