President’s Message: Membership Dues

It is a fact of life in today’s world that nothing is free. Not only that, but costs keep going up, requiring price increases that no one likes. We at the Historical Society have been able to provide many free services to our members and to the community as a whole, but we have expenses too.

We have opened a second Museum building with offices better able to serve the public than ever before. We continue to offer quality programs which we are able to get free of charges or fees from the generous speakers. We have numerous members who give their valuable time to serve as “sitters” so that the Museum(s) can be open to the public free of charge. We also offer a newsletter four times a year to our members, incurring considerable cost for printing and mailing.

It is the newsletter costs that have prompted us to include some limited advertising to help defray some of the expenses. We have noticed, however, that a number of our annual members have not always been as diligent in renewing as they should be. An annual membership costs $10 for adults. We spend almost $2 per issue to print and mail the newsletter. This leaves little for other costs, which we have to cover largely by the generous donations of some of our members.

We will be investigating other ways of distributing our newsletter to members who would rather receive it via email or access it on the web. We already post each issue on line at our website, usually on the same day it is mailed. In the interim, however, we need to ask each of you to be sure to renew your membership when it comes due in January. There will be an indicator on your January newsletter address label that will show if your dues is in arrears. If you do not renew for 2009, we will have no choice other than to remove you from our mailing list.

Please continue to support our efforts with your membership as you have done in the past! Thank you.

Richard Axtell, President

• • • Coming This Month • • •October 12, 2008 10 AM to 3 PM: Harvest Pie Sale at Octoberfest.

Stop at our booth to purchase some of the best home-baked pies around! The Museum will be open from 2 to 4 PM, then closes for the season on this date.

October 22, 2008 7:30 PM: Quarterly Meeting and program: Great Graves.

Chuck D’Imperio, aka “Big Chuck” of WDOS radio fame, will recount fascinating stories of former famous and some infamous NY State residents from his book Great Graves of Upstate NY. Refreshments will be served following the meeting.

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DHS NewsThe Official Newsletter

of the Deposit Historical SocietyOctober 2008:Vol V, Issue iv

The Deposit Historical Society145 Second Street

Deposit, New York 13754(607) 467-4422

Website: www.deposithistoricalsociety.org

Note: You can view our newsletters with color pictures in pdf format on our website!

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Bob Boyd: A History of Our Area

The July Quarterly Meeting was held on Wednesday, July 23 at the museum when the society was treated to an informative program given by Bob Boyd. Bob currently resides in Binghamton, but was born in Cannonsville and later moved to Deposit. He was also an attorney with Hinman, Howard and Kattell.

His ambitious and widely-ranged program allowed him to include details from the Ice Age’s impact on carving out the geography of upstate New York, the earliest explorers of the Americas, the encounters between the Iroquois and “pale-faced” British settlers, and even the Phoenix landing and Martian rocks, all the while explaining the connections between territory, terrain, ownership, and political and cultural power in the rich history of New York State.!

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Zane and Dolly Grey—the Lackawaxen Years.

Did you know that Zane Grey wrote 83 western novels, 10 fishing books, 3 books for young people, 3 books about baseball, 3 more about his Ohio ancestors, and others? Did you know that he played baseball in Deposit, NY? On August 20th, Dorothy Moon, Cultural Resource Manager for the Upper Delaware Scenic and

Recreational River National Park, presented an exciting program for the Deposit Historical Society on Zane and Dolly Grey—the Lackawaxen Years.

Zane Grey was born Pearl Zane Gray on January 31, 1872 in Zanesville, Ohio. He eventually dropped his first name and the family changed the spelling of their last name to Grey. His maternal ancestor Ebenezer Zane founded Zanesville. While growing up in Zanesville, Grey developed strong interests in fishing, baseball, and writing. In fact, fishing was more a philosophy that governed his life.

Zane Grey came to the East Coast when studying dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania where he has a scholarship to play baseball. He was an indifferent scholar but an excellent baseball player. He graduated in 1896 and went on to play minor league baseball with a team in Newark, New Jersey and also with the

Orange Athletic Club. He practiced dentistry in the offseason.

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It was during this time that Grey often camped in Lackawaxen, PA with his brother Romer (R.C.) Grey and fished in the upper Delaware. Zane Grey was much more interested in baseball and fishing than in dentistry. During one of these trips, he saw an attractive young woman, Lina Roth, getting off the train. Better known as “Dolly”, Lina was 17 years old and had just finished a year at New York Normal School which is now known as Hunter College. Grey initiated a 4year courtship.

In 1902 he gave up baseball and began writing. The first article he sold “A Day on the Delaware”, earned him $10.00. The next year he sold an article to Field and Stream Magazine. He wanted to get his novel Betty Zane published. Rumor had it that either a grateful patient, or Reba Smith (Brother Romer’s rich girlfriend), or Dolly paid to have the book published after Harper & Brothers rejected it. The book did not sell well because it was not adequately promoted.

Around this time, Zane Grey bought property at the confluence of the Delaware and Lackawaxen Rivers. The money came from Dolly. She had devoted herself to him but he continued to see other women. In 1905 Grey moved to Lackawaxen with his mother and sister. He married lived in a farmhouse while he worked on his next novel, The Last Trail. He eventually built a lodge and heated the old farmhouse for his cats. His brother Romer bought 2 acres next to him. The house that Romer built is now the Zane Grey Museum.

Grey lived on Dolly’s inheritance and encouragement for years. He eventually joined the Campfire Club that was an organization for men that promoted hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities. By 1907 Grey had

run out of ideas for books and articles. It was at this time he attended a lecture at the Campfire Club by a gentleman, Buffalo Jones, trying to save the remaining buffalo in the West. Jones travelled east to raise money. Zane wanted to go on a trip west with Jones. Dolly was against the idea since it would take the remainder of her inheritance. It didn’t matter; he left on the trip with Buffalo Jones without her.

The trip did not get off to a good start. Grey discovered that Jones was a great fabricator of stories that often had little to do with the truth. Grey travelled around the Grand Canyon for about 6 weeks. When he returned home, he worked on The Last of the Plainsman in which he related the adventures of Buffalo Jones. Harper & Brothers also rejected this book. In 1908 he met with the managing editor of the Deposit based Outing Company.

In 1910 Harper & Brothers finally published one of Grey’s novels, Heritage of the Desert. They remained his publisher.

In 1918 the Greys moved from Lackawaxen. Zane made a final visit during the summer of 1929. He passed away in 1939 and Dolly in 1957. They are both buried in Lackawaxen.

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Kelly and Steinman Cut GlassPart Three

On September 15, 1919 the Kelly & Steinman sold their large plant to Pearson and Rausch, the silk mill proprietors. Kelly & Steinman continued to lease the part of the building that housed their equipment while they looked for a site that better suited their business. They wanted to be closer to the railroad in order to eliminate cartage.

In January of 1920, Mr. Albert Steinman bought out Mr. Kelly’s stock in the business. He and other members of the Steinman family planned to build a new structure about 100 x 35 feet with two stories and a basement. In March a site was chosen—the corner of Front and Allen Streets. The property was known as the Exchange House and was owned by the C.P. Smith estate. Excavation began on March 29, 1920. Frank Evans did the concrete work and George Munson the carpentry. The foundation was reinforced concrete and the walls were built of

concrete blocks made on location. July 1st the factory was completed. It wasn’t until August 4th that the roughers began working. It was two weeks later that all of the equipment had been moved in and everyone was working.

Phil MacDonald who started working as a smoother for Kelly & Steinman when he was 14 or 15 remembers some of the people who worked in there. They are:

• Lester Smith of Oquaga Lake• John Harahan’s wife and sister• Charlie Greco (who was a polisher)• Harold Guyer• Hayes Cornwell• Vic Bodley• James MacDonald (Phil’s father)• Manny Buchanan’s three sisters: Bertha, Myrtle, and Dorothy• Frank Cunningham and his sister-in-law Mary Egan• Mildred Cable and her two brothers Tommy and Doad• Fanny Basto• Madelyn Gransbury• Lester Lee and his wife• Isabelle and Bill Thompson

For about five years after the move into the new building, all seemed to go well for Kelly & Steinman. Then things started to fall apart. A foreclosure action on a $10,000 mortgage against them started on April 27, 1926 in Broome County Supreme Court in behalf of Jacob Bassin and five other plaintiffs: Clayton M. Axtell, Robert Brown, E.D. Cummings, C.V. Latimer, and John Lewis. These individuals had turned money over to company to help it get through some financial difficulties. These loans were secured as mortgages. The cut glass factory was valued at $38,000. The lawyer for the plaintiffs, H. William Smith, stated that no effort would be made to stop the operation of the factory. Nevertheless, the foreclosure action continued and a public auction took place on the front steps of the Farmer’s National Bank on July 26, 1926.

Watch for the next Deposit Historical Society Newsletter to learn what happened next!

Again, many thanks go to DHS member Ellen Jogo! She is the source of much of the information contained in this article.

Indian Villages of the Unadilla ValleyOn September 24th, the Historical Society offered a presentation entitled Indian Villages of the Unadilla

Valley. Speaker Buzz Hesse presented a slide show to a large audience of both adults and children. He used the slide show to describe a dig he organized and conducted near Sidney. He only had four days to complete the dig, because the owner of the land, a farmer, was going to put a building on the site and couldn’t wait any longer.He brought a number of artifacts from the site to share with the audience. These included old coins, buttons, gun flints and trade beads. After his presentation, many of the audience remained to view the artifacts and ask questions. The museum lights were still on with people talking past 9:45 PM!

Part of the funding for this issue of our newsletter comes fromthe following businesses.

Please thank them with your support.

COLLECTOR OF FOLK ART, FIREARMS, AND MILITARY RELICS

Crane’s Restaurant

JOHN O’CONNOR 607-467-2406 LYNN O’CONNOR 66 SECOND ST. DEPOSIT, NY 137454

Mystery -- A Contest ContinuedThe mystery featured in the last issue of the newsletter was a contest to see who knew what the object in the photo is. No one was able to successfully identify the object.To make this contest more interesting, we are offering one person who correctly identifies the object a $10 credit toward a purchase totaling $10 or more at the Museum Store or toward membership in the organization. If there are multiple correct entries, a drawing will be held to select the winner.All entries must be received by November 26, 2008. You may email or U.S. mail your identification of the object, along with your name and address to the newsletter editors.Go to http://www.deposithistoricalsociety.org/index.html and click on the Newsletters button. Open the July 2008 Newsletter file. Hint: An article appearing in the October and July newsletters is related to where and how this object was used.

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Upcoming Events at the Deposit Historical Society…Be sure to check the DHS web site for the latest details and updates.

October 12, 2008 10 AM to 3 PM: Harvest Pie Sale at Octoberfest.Stop at our booth to purchase some of the best home-baked pies around! The Museum is open from 2 to 4 PM, then closes for the season on this date.

October 22, 2008 7:30 PM: Quarterly Meeting and program: Great Graves.Chuck D’Imperio, aka “Big Chuck” of WDOS radio fame, will recount fascinating stories of former famous and some infamous NY State residents from his book Great Graves of Upstate NY. Refreshments will be served following the meeting.

December 14, 2008 2:00 to 4:00 PM: Annual Christmas Open House.Join family and friends as we celebrate the holidays in our beautifully decorated Museum. Enjoy delicious refreshments and special musical entertainment by the Holdridge Family Singers.

Contact the DHS News editors for information, suggestions, or address changes...

If you have information to share with us about our mysteries, historical events, or suggestions for new articles or projects at the Museum, or if you have moved, mail it to DHS Newsletter editors Mary Colvard and/or John Bartsch at 24 Bobolink Ct., Deposit, NY 13754, or email it to one of us at mcolvard@tds.net or jbartsch@tds.net. We will be delighted to hear from you! Thanks!!

The Deposit Historical Society Newsletter 24 Bobolink Ct. Deposit, NY 13754