From the Thousand Islands Sun, courtesy of Jeanne Snow, editor, transcribed by Holice Young: Mina Herrick King's reminiscences of Redwood. Thanks to Shirley Carpenter for supplying the postcard pictures which accompany the article. Remember to click on the underlined words to access the pictures.
REDWOOD
The settlement of Redwood came before my day, but I recall hearing that it
had a nice glass factory and lime kilns that employed many people who came
from other countries. Mostly German and French built the homes on one
street called French Hill, these were thrifty people.
Redwood was once a busy place where people thrived and were prosperous.
It was surrounded by lakes and the prospects of it being the proper place
to start a lasting industry were good. My father's farm in Goose Bay was
six miles from there, but most of our needs could be found in the numerous
stores they had.
The Holmes brothers, Wallace and Gilbert, had a full line of dry goods and
groceries, men's suits, overcoats, shoes, boots, silverware, dishes and
other items. Adam Bickelhaupt's store across the street carried the same
line of items. George Crawford was also well supplied with people's needs.
There were also smaller stores: Fred Hofferberth and Fred Carmon, who also
had charge of the telephone line. There were very few telephones installed
in Redwood.
As this area was rural and farming was the chief source of income for most
people, horses were the only transportation. And since all of the farming
was done with horse, they had to be well shod. The many blacksmith shops
were kept busy. Some of the blacksmith shops were owned by William
Kimball, Louis Bruso, Alfred Preston, and Philip Quincer. Frank and Clark
Layng were always busy with leather and harnesses. They also carried other
things of interest, one being the gramophones with cylinder records and
big horns. George Kabel's shop supplied with wagons, cutters, and other
small vehicles.
I believe there were two meat markets, but George Roy kept most of the
people supplied. He also delivered in the countryside with horse and
covered wagon.
There were three barber shops owned by Fred Carmon, Frank Dillon, and
Henry Ordway. Christian Ahles stayed busy like all of the rest in Redwood.
He made shoes and did good cobbler's work.
Jerry Rexford was very proficient in his work of watch and clock repairs
and also jewelry.
Benton Cook had a sawmill which kept him busy as he made cabinets,
cupboards, window frames, and other millwork. James Marsaw built many
houses and barns in Redwood. Ellis and Fred White carried a full line of hardware and also did
some plumbing. The Holmes Brothers had a feed mill where farmers could get
their own grown grains ground into feed for their cows and horses.
Nean Springer had big ice houses in Alexandria Bay and supplied the ice
boxes in Redwood which a few people had. Only a small amount of electric
power was provided by the Holmes generator at the mill and this was limited
for lights at night until midnight.
Jacob Quincer had a big business with lumber, cement, bricks, coal, paint,
wallpaper, furniture of all kinds, carpets, rugs, dishes, and other things.
Coal was delivered to those who were in need.
CHEESE STORAGE
Adam and Carl Bickelhaupt had a big cold storage building where Limburger
cheese from the numerous factories was stored, until it was shipped out by
train to most anyplace in the United States. Several men were employed to
fill the big ice house in the winter. Some with horses and sleighs were
also hired, but for a short time.
MILLINER SHOP
Two milliners kept the ladies up on the latest hat styles, and they would
make hats to suit various needs. Elizabeth Ahles and Martha Cassey were
kept busy, as all ladies had to have many hats to correspond with what they
wore.
FARMERS AND BUYERS
William Brown was the milkman who delivered the milk to homes that
supplied their own container. The men who bought the farmers' hay and
built big hay barns for storage, were Fred and Ferd Rebescher, Will
Cosgrove, William Getman and a Mr. Evans from Hammond. The Rebschers also
bought cattle and calves. In the spring, Saturday was a big day when they
had a car on the track ready to ship them out; and the farmers were waiting
around to get them weighed and sold. Addison Bare was the man who drove
herds of cattle for the Rebschers to a storage barn and from there sold to
dealers or shipped them out on a train for out of town markets.
THE DRUGSTORE
Chester Tanner's drugstore was well stocked with all medical supplies except
for drugs which were ordered by prescriptions of a doctor. He also had a
small ice cream and soda fountain and this attracted many young people.
Near Tanner's was a little store or lunch place which Mrs. Andrew (Kate)
Dollinger managed. This attracted the teenagers as she had many little
things they could buy. Henry Ahles had a combination store of groceries
and small soda fountain with ice cream. These three places were nice as
they gave the young people a good place to go and pass away the time.
CHURCHES
In the early days Redwood had five churches. All five were well attended.
But as times changed, so did the congregations. The Catholic Church was
the oldest and it was constructed of native stone. An annex had to be
added, as the church became too small to contend with the lake people who
came in the summer.
The Episcopal church was also one of the oldest. It had a small
congregation and services were not held regularly. The Methodist Church
also had a small congregation, St. Paul's Lutheran church is one of the
older churches and was first used by the early German people. They had a
pastor who could speak both English and German and would alternate services
to please everyone.
The Baptist Church at one time had a rather large congregation when a
Reverend Shaffer presided. He was an ardent worker and by donations from
parties and other means of raising money, they were able to carry on. But
as the older members were no longer able to help and others died, the
church was closed. The church and the parsonage were then sold to the school.
MAIL SERVICE
The mail service was quite different from the present day. It came in to
Redwood by train and was left at a depot from where it was then taken to
Alexandria Bay by horse drawn wagon or sleigh in the winter. At Redwood,
the faithful Thomas Martin met the train with a hand pushed two-wheeled cart
which he used to transfer the mail to the post office, which was at one end
of the Dyer Hotel. Henry Ahles was postmaster. Several of the postmasters
through the years were: Louis Martin, Boswell Steacy, Richard Gates, Lowell
Felder, and Lyle Spies.
Mr. Martin was swamped with mail as people in the early days did a lot of
buying from catalogs; and many packages came in the mail from the stores.
For rural people this was especially convenient, since they had no cars to
get around in. Horses were in use on the farms, therefore, the rural
mailman would have his conveyance so full that sometimes he wouldn't have
enough room for everything. The mail was posted en route at some
designated location. Bert Hawkins carried the rural mail after Edward
Elliott retired and before his son, Albert, took over the route.
DOCTORS
Redwood had good doctors, dentists and lawyers in years past but now
(1978), we have to go elsewhere for their assistance. Dr. Elmer Eddy was
always ready when he was called up onto come to a home and attend to any
illness, and also to deliver babies. In his later years he once told me
that he had delivered over one thousand babies and had lost only one
mother. He did most of his traveling by horse and had one man to help him.
His name was "Little" Eddy Smith as he was a very small man. He helped
care for the doctor's horse and drove him wherever he was called to care
for the sick.
Dr. James Ryan had his brother Charles drive him and care for his horse.
Dr. Catlin had served in the army as a doctor and was often called in on
cases as a consultant. He did not take on a regular practice because of
this age. There was also a Dr. Klink and his son, Michael, to administer
to patients as well.
As far as the dentist was concerned it was difficult to get an appointment
with him, as he would mostly extract a tooth that was giving a person pain.
MERCHANT
Another merchant was Mark Jewett and his son, Morris. They had the
biggest fur trading business in the United States at one time. They
traveled over most of the United States and also into foreign countries for
some very valuable furs.
OLD STONE SCHOOL HOUSE
My mother and I attended the Old Stone Schoolhouse where so many others
had gotten their high school education. It was beautifully built with
native stone and only had two floors in the beginning. An extra classroom
had been added when I attended, using the big room for students. Classes
were held on the second floor. On the first floor were two rooms whited
pupils up to the seventh grade. After a few years there was more classroom
for grades downstairs and a larger auditorium and classroom upstairs.
My mother told me of the early teachers he had in the older part of the
school--Don Watson and William Cosgrove. She also had attended
Lafargeville school where Mr. Eddy was one of her classmates. The only two
high school principals that I had in 1905-07 were William Laidlaw and Frank
Hyde.
With the tracks, trolley cars, and the old school building gone, it
seemed that we were left to nestle up with the numerous lakes and enjoy
their beauty; Mid, Butterfield, Millsite, and Crystal Lakes. The
quietness is enjoyed by everyone from all around. Even though the stores
are few, and the nice tree that was over the town pump was taken away by
the highway, I hope to remain a resident in Redwood in my twilight years.
HOTELS
Redwood did have two good sized hotels that served meals, the Dollinger Hotel
and the Dyer Hotel. One could go in during the day at most anytime and be served a good meal., They both had a dance hall and sometimes they would have dance parties going on at the same time, with music filling the
air and the patrons' horses all tied up outside.
HORSE RACES
In the winter time, there were three days of hose races conducted on the
frozen Butterfield lake. Since the horses were well cared for and stabled
properly, all went well for the racers. There were large crowds of people
from everywhere. The Canadians came also as they had some of their horses
entered in the races.
If you have additional information, comments, or suggestions, please contact: Nan Dixon
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