Sesquicentennial celebration | Turning back the pages | Sun Community News Fifty-five years ago

Fifty-five years ago – Winter 1963 SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION This year, in 1963, the Town of Warrensburg and Warren County will celebrate the 150th birthday anniversary of the date on which the town and county were founded, Feb. 12, 1813. "Warrensburgh" was named (supposedly) in honor of James Warren, who came to this locality in 1804 and opened a tavern, later a store, and eventually a potash factory. He died on April 28, 1812 when he drowned in the Hudson River near Thurman. Warren County was named for General Joseph Warren, the hero of Bunker Hill. The Warren County Board of Supervisors and the Warren County Council of Chambers of Commerce have been actively preparing an appropriate celebration of this historic occasion. (Update: Currently, on Feb. 12, 2018, we celebrated the 205th anniversary of the town and county. In 1963 Robert Muncil was president of the Warren County Council of Chambers and John Gould was the newly installed president of the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce. Many gala events were scheduled in Chester, Bolton, Warrensburg, Lake George, Stony Creek, Thurman and North Creek.) NEW CONSERVATION BUILDING The five-county headquarters building of the New York State Conservation Department on upper Hudson Street, Warrensburg, was dedicated at a formal ceremony on Sunday, May 19, 1963. Conservation Commissioner Harold G. Wilm and Sen. Eustis Paine were the major speakers. The building, with 7,300 square feet of usable office space, was erected at a cost of $226,236. About forty employees of the Conservation Department will make their headquarters in the building. The target date for opening the building is June 1, 1963. PLANS FOR A NEW CHURCH Hope of obtaining the old, unused Athol Methodist Church and property was abandoned a few weeks ago by the congregation. Land to build a new church has been donated to Christ Community Church of Athol by Mr. Nathan Ingraham, an Athol resident. When the gentleman saw that it was not possible to obtain the old property he presented the deed to the new non-denominational church. Further donations of labor, materials and money will be gratefully received by the executive committee headed by Joseph Gedeon, president and Paul Mosher, vice-president of the church committee. SENIOR CLASS ENTERTAINS The Warrensburg Central School senior class will present a three act comedy on Friday, April 5, 1963 entitled "Bull in a China Shop," by C.B. Gilford, at the school gymnasium under the direction of Mrs. Thomas Sprague. The play takes place in an ancient boarding house, where lives five old maids and their landlady. (Update: Today, 55 years later, same class, different times, different students, history once again repeats itself when the Warrensburg Central School District theatre will present "The Secret Garden" on Thursday, March 24, 2018 at the Junior-Senior High School, 103 Schroon River Rd. This presentation is a musical based on the 1911 novel written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The play premiered on Broadway in 1991 and the Warrrensburg presentation is directed by James Corriveau. Time presses on!) WARRENSBURG HONOR ROLL Listed on the first grade honor roll at the Warrensburg Central School in April, 1963, are Edna Latham, Marsha Morey, Brian Pryme, Peter Redfield, Tamara Ross, Barbara Whitford and John Zwart. BUSINESS IS BOOMING Former Warrensburg Quality Buick dealer Marcus "Mark" Bruce, at his new place of business at 624 Glen St. in Glens Falls, where he has been since 1960, says that his stock of 1963 Buicks "are going out almost as fast as we get them!" He is expecting two more carloads at any time now. (Update: Mark Bruce started his automobile business in 1945 when he ran a Jeep agency on River Street, Warrensburg. In 1947 my husband, Merv Hadden started out selling clean used cars on River Street also. Mark and Merv were both born the same year, 1917. They went to school together. Merv used to tell me that he and Mark started out in the business world when they often traded bicycles in grade school. Mark sold new Buicks and Merv sold new Studebakers for a short time. Both sold used cars and both dealt heavily in land and real estate. The two other notable dealers in town at that time were Bill Maltbie and Karl Duell. Mark was a fine man and a very successful hard worker. After his death the town named Marcus Bruce Park, on Hudson Street, in his memory. Marcus Fourier Bruce died in 1970 and Mervin Robinson Hadden died in 1994. Mark's wife was Cora Kenyon, who passed away in 1952, and Mark's second wife was Edna Millington. With Edna's zest for living, pretty blonde hair and great personality, she was the queen of the village and everyone loved her. Just a few weeks ago, out of the blue, I was surprised to get a telephone call from Florida. I was ever so pleased to hear from Edna and we reminisced about "the good old days." For many years her name has been Edna Sullivan and she caught me up on what "all the retired Warrensburg people were doing in Florida" That is a story for me to tell in another column.) Readers are welcome to contact Adirondack Journal/Sun correspondent Jean Hadden at jhadden1@nycap.rr.com or 623-2210.

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Sesquicentennial celebration | Turning back the pages

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