From the Thousand Islands Sun, courtesy of Jeanne Snow, editor, transcribed by Holice Young: Mina Herrick King's reminiscences of her childhood at Goose Bay in the 1890s.
The Martin Springer farm was one of the most well kept farms in Goose Bay.
The buildings were very nice with a big dairy barn, a large horse barn,
blacksmith shop and a nice home for the family. The Springer sons, Mark and
Fred, were still at home. Mark was interested in horses and had about
twelve, other than those used for farm work.
They had made a half mile race track near the barns and employed a horse
trainer who was also a blacksmith. Horses were trained daily. My father
loved horses as well, and brought his to this track. Since he had no son
he employed me as a substitute to go along with him.
One summer a Mr. Perry was training hoses on the track that was on the
property now owned by the Edgewood Resort. My father engaged him to train
my horse, "Cecil." I was there about every week to see how she was
progressing. I rode on the track a few times and really enjoyed it.
In the winter time the ice on Goose Bay was cleared of snow and a track
was made for fun races. I remember Peter Connley who ran his horses on the
Springer race track and on the ice. Peter enjoyed sports so much that he
gave the young men in the neighborhood a ball diamond near his house.
Peter purchased a grandstand so everyone could enjoy the games. He and his
brother lived alone and this provided great company for both of them.
Since horses were our only means of transportation, we often went to the
Methodist Church in Alexandria Bay in our double buggy with the fringe on
top. It was a challenge to go up the steep Reester Hill with the horse and
buggy so sometimes we had church services in our Goose Bay schoolhouse.
Daniel Springer had charge of Sunday School and the services there. We
often walked the two miles on Sunday and enjoyed it very much as others
joined us along the way. Reverend Hancock often walked five miles to call
on church members in Goose Bay. Some of our family would take him back
home at the end of his calls.
We didn't have the many varied attractions that young people have today.
But we were happy with our simple life style and enjoyed every minute of
it. On winter evenings after the chores were done and school work
finished, some of the neighbors would drop in for an evening of fun. We
played dominoes, checkers and old maid. One night a big sleigh had arrived
with music and refreshments. We square danced in the kitchen. I recall
singing with Ross and William Northup, Charles Overacker, Jennie Northup,
Martha Babcock and many others.
As we grew up we often surprised each other with birthday parties in the
winter months. Mine was in December and when I reached sixteenth birthday,
a large crowd arrived with best wishes, refreshments and a gift presented
on behalf of those attending the party. I am still at a loss as to how the
horses were taken care of at these parties. In the summer months the
picnic parties were held on the shores of Goose Bay.
There was a General Electric employee from Schenectady who made my father
a radio. It was made without a cabinet and run by a battery with
earphones. It was a great thing to hear from the outside world, even
though KDKA Pittsburgh was the only place available. For Goose Bay this
was a great treat and many came to listen.
It was about 1900 when we girls found it to be very entertaining for us to
go through our fields to the shoreline on our farm and watch the men who
were loading stone on a scow to be used in the building of Boldt Castle and
other buildings. A Mr. Hoadley owned the scow. They would spend several
days before a sufficient load was made. Several men were hired for this
work and usually one of the wives did the cooking. We enjoyed visiting
with her as she came to our land for sod and top soil for some of the
islands that wished to improve their lawns. This was interesting for us to
know that some of Goose Bay's land could help to beautify other places in
the St. Lawrence River.
Not far from where the scow landed was a good fishing place and several
people from Alexandria Bay came here to enjoy our Catfish Rocks. Some of
those were the Howard Scotts and Welby Marshalls. They were friends of my
parents and would often relax from their fishing at our house.
~~ * * * ~~
With better roads, many people came to Goose Bay to fish and picnic. As
my grandfather lived at the entrance to the road reaching the shores, many
left their horses in his barn. Some of these people were the Claude
Makepeaces, the Ross Hunters, and the George Hardys of Philadelphia.
Leander Hibbard had placed a long table on his land and some big family
picnics were held there. It was a pleasing place to drive to and enjoy
eating together. All this made Goose Bay more popular each year, as cars
became more available for transportation.
In the fall and winter of 1920-1921, the road to Kring Point State Park
was laid which made the park available to all who wished to reach it by
land. This soon changed the park a great deal, as many new buildings were
added to make it a very desirable place for a vacation. However, it became
much too crowded to enjoy the day picnics of long ago.
On the Goose Bay side of the point was a more quiet area. Two Civil War
veterans enjoyed their small houseboats and spent most of the summer each
year anchored there. I have pleasant memories of staying a few days with
James Dillon and his daughter, now Mrs. Charles Putnam, on their houseboat.
Solomon Makepeace of Plessis lived alone in his houseboat which was also
anchored here.
My father had purchased a motor boat and moved our boathouse to the Goose
Bay shore, as the road made it better for us to reach it there. A small
camp was later added. We also had two skiffs for fishing. In a short time
this little camp was a popular place for several men from Albany to spend
their vacations. Father would take a little time from farming and load the
boat for trips around most of the islands in the river and Alexandria Bay.
If you have additional information, comments, or suggestions, please contact: Nan Dixon
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