1950-2000

These are stories about the Town of Greece covering years 1951-2000

Richard Laurette – Memories of Dewey Stone Area

by Richard Lourette

After reading Bill Bartling’s story about Dewey Stone in the 1940s in our May Corinthian, GHS member, Richard Laurette sent us his story about the 1950s.

My parents moved to the suburbs in February 1944. I came along in November. (You can do the math.) Coincidental­ ly to Mr. Bartling’s previous piece, we moved to 42 Dalston Rd. We lived four houses from the two pillars at Dewey, Gulf & Sunoco Gas Stations. Moving north there was a building between the Gulf station and Beaumont Rd. Like an­cient Gaul, it was divided into three parts. Esler’s was on the South, Lincoln Bank in the middle, and a toy store on the north next to Beaumont. The toy store had Yo-Yo contests at the beginning of each summer. It was quite some­ thing when my sister won one summer and beat all the boys. The toy store moved out and Loblaw’s moved in. Eventually, Loblaw’s moved into the field just east of Barnard school. Esler’s moved to the north end and Cadet Cleaners took its place on the south end.

Dew-Stone plaza was built north of Beaumont. It was cool because you could enter Star Market from either Dewey Ave. or Stone Rd. On the south end next to Beaumont was a bakery and then later Fay’s Drug Store. The Dutch Mill was always a presence. One thing I could never figure out was when I delivered the Times-Union newspaper, how could so many guys work at Kodak days and yet be on a bar stool at 3:00 p.m.

I happened to know that Mr. Jackson learned the bakery business at Schliff Bake Shop downtown, went in the Navy, and then came home and opened his business at the corner on Beaumont & Stone. He moved his place across the street for better parking. Have you tried parking in front of Jackson’s lately?

Directly across the street from Dalston was a Laundromat, and then going north was Veltri’s Shoe store and then a children’s clothing store on the corner of Shady Way. I still see Carl Veltri at the YMCA.

Across Shady Way, the central point of the neighborhood (except for those on the bar stools at the Dutch Mill) was, for some, Johnny’s Sweet Shop Restaurant (a place to also buy your Easter candy). Next to Johnny’s was the Towne Men Shop. I personally worked there for Harry Melon for 10-12 years. Going north in the same building: a Barber Shop, Dance Studio, and Mortillaro’s Paint Store as well as Mortillaro’s Jewelry Store.

Continuing north, they tore down an apartment building on the corner of Shady Way. Lincoln Bank built a new building and moved from across the Street. Jumping up to Stone Road there was the Corner Service (my favorite place to get junk food), Barnard Meat Market, another bakery, Bill’s Barbershop, and Kujawa’s Television Re­pair. West across Dewey was a Rotary Gas Station. Between it and Barnard were the new Loblaw and Cramer’s Rexall Drug Store.

Beyond the two schools (Barnard & St Charles) & the two churches (St. Charles & Bethany Pres) was the firehouse. Where would any kid have been without the 12:00 & 5:00 whistle or the field next to Clark Park to play sports?

Finally, Nick & Erwin’s Dry Cleaners certainly added to the neighborhood.

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Streets and Roads

by William Sauers
 Book by May Hill & William Gray Arbuthnot January 1, 1950

Back in the 1950s many of us remember the “Dick & Jane” books or another series called “Streets and Roads. They were simple stories about living in the neighborhood and getting along with others. We never gave much thought about what a street or road was or why it was called what it was.

Civil engineers might define a street as something that connects people for interaction, while a road connects towns and cities for travel. Although in the real world these distinctions aren’t always made.

In the Town of Greece, there are over 1,050 streets and roads with all kinds of names. But are they streets or roads? Or does anyone really care?

For the trivia aficionados, in the Town of Greece, there are only 25 Streets and 173 Roads but there are approximately 369 Drives, 160 Lanes, 94 Courts, 94 Circles, 40 Avenues, 25 Ways, 7 Boulevards, 21 Trails, and fewer of Commons, Coves, Estates, Landings, Boulevards, etc.*

There are over 80 streets named after the original farm families who lived there. We have some named for the seasons: Spring, Summer, and Autumn, but no Winter. There are animal streets: Fox, Deer, Hawk, Owl, Eagle. Several have female names: Judy Ann, Jackie, Laura, Roseanne, but very few have male names and there are 14 named after saints. There are “state streets”: Kentucky, California, and Florida, but no “State Street” (although one wing of the mall calls its self Main Street but that doesn’t count), and even some named after the pilgrims; (Mi/es] Standish and (John] Alden. Wood seems to be the most popular with 97 containing the word wood in them, but surprisingly, for a town once known for its orchards, only eight with Apple. Then there are 40 Creeks and 14 Brooks, but no Stream. We even
have one named after a card game, Canasta. Of course, some developers couldn’t resist sneaking in their own names: Willis, Britton, and Alfonso (DeNardo).

You can explore the Interactive Map Here it has at least 80 of the most important named roads in Greece, NY on the map to provide you with some of the information on the naming of that road, street, drive, or other types of roads.

*The numbers are approximate and may vary somewhat from what is stated in this story.

**Our museum has a free-standing kiosk with an interactive map explaining the origins of at least 80 names.

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Bill Bartling’s – Memories of Dewey Stone Area

by Bill Bartling

This is what it was like in the 1940s growing up in Greece in the Dewey Stone area.

When I was 5 we moved to 22 Dalston Road. It was the first house on the street behind Sarvey’s Gulf station. Across Dewey, one block toward the city, was Shorty Junker’s Barnard Grill. Directly across from Sar­vey’s was a Hart’s grocery. It was sort of a 7-11 before there were 7-11s. Next to Hart’s going toward Stone Road was Veltri’s shoe repair. Back on the West side, next to Sarvey’s was Esler’s, which sold records and probably some other electronic stuff. Back on the East side was a little strip shopping center with a little haberdashery shop and on the corner of the center was Johnny’s Diner. Then there was Cowan’s drug store. Across from Cowan’s was, and still is, the Dutch Mill. There was nothing behind the Dutch Mill at the time, just an open field. Back across Dewey there was a small country store on the Northwest corner. Going East on Stone there was McBride’s Tavern. Heading west on Stone was Barnard School and behind Barnard was St. Charles. Back on the other side of Dewey was a church and farther down the Barnard Fire House. The firehouse was much smaller then. There was a large home just before the firehouse with a large open lot between the house and the firehouse. The homeowner let the firefighters make a large garden on the lot where they grew food for firehouse use.

You’d find mostly homes from there to the Britton Road area except for Hope Lutheran Church. Every day at noon the firefighters sounded the siren. I don’t know if that was to test it or to let everyone know it was time for lunch. The si­ ren’s real purpose was to alert the volunteers that it was time for action when there was a fire. When the siren sound­ ed shopkeepers would come running out of the stores, jump into their cars, and head for the firehouse to learn where the fire was.

Kids would be out all day in the summer and after school when it was in session. Parents didn’t worry about the chil­ dren’s safety and usually the Barnard school playground was the destination. Smaller children played on the swings, slides, monkey bars, and whatever else was there while the older kids played baseball, football, or soccer, whatever was in season. With no assigned teams, we chose up sides, and had no coaches or even adults. I almost think this was better. We learned a lot about life without an adult directing what we should do and how we should act. There were no school buses; we all walked to school.

Every year a group of Gypsies came and camped in the lot behind the Dutch Mill. We youngsters always went there to talk to the exotic people who were really quite nice to us. Today people would never let their children go there un­ supervised. Later, the shopping area around the back of the Dutch Mill was built and the Gypsies’ camping grounds were no more. One of the shops there was a bakery. A young ex-sailor by the name of Jackson started his bakery which still exists today now found across the street.

One event we always looked forward to was the minstrel show performed by the Barnard firefighters and exempt members. It was amazing to see people we knew performing- some with great talent and others with great enthusi­asm. The shows were stopped because they were considered racist I believe. We were too young and innocent to understand racism and we all wanted to be one of the End Men (as they were called) when we grew up.

Another annual event we looked forward to occurring was the Christmas party the Fire Department conducted for children of the firefighters. We always were given a net stocking filled with hard candy, a little toy, and an orange which was a real treat. We only had whatever fruit was in season in those days and seldom from a faraway place like Florida……… So many more memories…..

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Remembrances of Long Pond and Latta Roads in the late 1940s to 1955

by Alan Mueller

The crossroads of Long Pond and Latta Roads are now a very bustling area. Back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, it was very much a rural area with farms in all directions. The 19th-century one-room school, just northeast of Long Pond Rd., was then still educating students. Crowding the school to the immediate west was the “Windmill Grocery and Gas Station” (see photo). An enterprising Henry Maurer and his wife Bessie had been the early owners since the late 1920s, when automobile traffic began to increase. Improvement in main roads hastened the new car owners to venture out (on sunny days) into the near countryside for a Sunday drive!

After World War II gasoline and rubber tires ceased to be rationed. Travel by car increased year by year. It was very grueling operating a grocery-gas station seven days a week. The Maurer’s had sold the “Windmill” to Ken Lindsay just after the War. He and his wife made improvements as time went by. “Flying A” Gas (later Sunoco) was still dispensed by an attendant along with gratis windshield washing. You paid the attendant, who might also mention, as he counted out your change, “Your left rear tire could use some air”. Free air was always available to all, bicycle, motorcycle, or car! The bicycle crowd liked the grocery because there was always candy available or other snacks. Often several boys would pool their money and buy a quart bottle of Orange Pop to quench their thirst after a ride north on Long Pond or east on Latta. The grocery was popular since the larger groceries, such as Wegman’s, Star, and Loblaw’s had yet to move into the still rural area…

The one-room school house would not be operating too much longer, since consolidation and new K – 8 schools had already been anticipated or built, prior to the war. The explosion of school-age children was just beginning. Most children ate lunch at their desks. To walk home and back took too much time away from the lunch break, especially during bad weather. It just so hap­pened that young Gretchen Howe’s family lived on the former Frank Beattie Farm at the southwest corner of Latta and Long Pond Roads. Gordon Howe, was then town supervisor and her father. Beverly Himes and her family lived on the northwest cor­ner. Note the article on their never absent, never late record. Both girls could be home in five minutes. Ken Lindsay would bring the bottles of milk over each day for the teacher to distribute to the children at lunchtime.

Thanks to a lifelong resident of Latta Road, Gary Clum, we recently obtained a photo (see below) of the second-grade class at that school in June of 1954. The lone teacher for all grades was Gleenice Heald, standing behind the children on the school steps. Young Gary is first at the left in the top row!

Mr. Lindsay sold the “Windmill Grocery” to Mr. M. Vereecke in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Progress soon engulfed the entire area and the Windmill, along with the store, came down, replaced by a modern self-serve gas station. The Windmill Grocery and Gas Station was one of the pioneer gas and convenience stores in the area, not unlike the Speedway and similar convenience­ gasoline stores of modern times. Geisler Realtors now occupies the one-room school, the last surviving building that remains from the Windmill Grocery-Gas Station era at Latta and Long Pond Roads.

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The Cupola That Almost Got Away!

by Alan Mueller

Our story begins more than sixteen years ago, at 2505 West Ridge Road near Long Pond Rd. A cupola on the ninety-year-old Greece Town Hall was about to be taken down with the rest of the abandoned building. The new Town Hall on Long Pond Road was dedicated with much ceremony in December of 1997. The new building had its own lantern-type cupola and had no reason to reuse the old one.

First, just what is a cupola? Webster’s dictionary tells us it is “A small structure built on top of a roof”. That description fits the louvered, copper-peaked construction atop the old town hall roof. So, back to our story which moves on to April 1999 and the start of demolition of the vacant Ridge Road building. As an interested observer of the operation, Lorraine Beane (then executive director of the Greece Historical Society) saw the cranes and other heavy equipment dive into the brick walls from several directions. She noticed the cupola still untouched on the main roof. A few inquiries around the fellows in the yellow hats led her to one of the proper supervisors with her question, “What is go­ ing to happen with the roof cupola?”….”! believe someone has put in a bid to buy it”…. replied the worker….!!! Within a flash, Lorraine was on her way to the new Town Hall and spoke with those in charge of the entire Ridge Road “leveling project”! We’ll shorten the story a bit… In the end, the cupola would remain in the Greece area with the Greece Historical Society being the permanent custodian. With the cooperation of the Greece D.P.W., other Greece Departments, and the Supervisor, the rather formidable “roof ornament” was now safely moved to the Society’s backyard lawn. The next few months were spent raising funds for the rehabilitation and proper founda­tion for its preservation. The Cupola Project Chairman was Thomas Schommer, former president of G.H.S. Other key workers were Society members Walter Berl, Fred Meredith, and Larry Zarnsdorf, along with the sign architect, Richard LaCroix, and the men and equipment of the Greece D.P.W. Many others were involved in achieving our preserva­tion goal.

A final site was chosen on the front lawn of the 595 Long Pond Road Society office and museum. The work proceed­ed from the Spring of 2001 and the final touches for the rehabilitated Cupola, new brick foundation, wall, decorative fence, and lantern were completed in late October of 2001. A proper dedication was held on November 4, 2001, at the new Greece Historical Society sign. President of the society, Vi White, introduced Supervisor John Auberger, whose remarks included great praise for the preservation of the Cupola and its unique blending into the new muse­ um sign. Moving ahead to 2017, I wonder how many people take note of our own one-of-a-kind Greece Museum sign in front of our museum? The above folk mentioned should not be forgotten for their work and dedication to save, preserve and re-purpose a great piece of Greece History.

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Outdoor Ice Skating

by William Sauers

The opening of the outdoor skating rink on the Greece Town Campus should bring back memories of the “good old days” to many of us who have lived in the area for a half century or more. Back then there were many opportunities for outdoor ice skating, including public schools, community parking lots and natural ponds.

Residents of Greece were frequent visitors, until 1991, to the Maplewood Park pond. In fact, the building near the pond that is now City offices was specifically built with ice skating in mind. The Ontario Beach Park parking lot was another favorite spot for us as were the nearby ponds along the lake. A January 4, 1948 Democrat & Chronicle article talked about the thousands that crowded area skating rinks.

In the 1940s and 50s Barnard and Britton schools, and I am sure other schools, were also sites of public ice skating and they were true community endeavors. The DPW would roll down the snow and bring in an old voting booth as a shelter. The local volunteer fire department would flood the field. (No plastic liner or safety bumpers back then.) When the snow needed to be cleared off the ice, plenty of shovels were available for anyone who wanted to help clear the snow. In 1948 a group of volunteers from the Greece Youth Foundation cleared four acres of land on Britton Rd near Forgham Road for a rink with water supplied from Fleming Creek. It was on private property but was used by anyone who came by.

By the 1960s, the Town converted the lighted tennis courts at Carter Park into an ice rink in the winter and in 1975 built a shelter large enough to provide a place to change skates.

We all had ice skates back then, whether you were a good skater or not. New skates were always a great Christmas gift. If not a Christmas gift there was always Cooks Hardware who did a thriving business in used and new skates along with sharpening skates.

As indoor rinks opened and times changed, outdoor ice skating seemed to disappear around the early 1990s, albeit for a few artificially cooled rinks around the County. Maybe it was the changing climate or other activities to keep us occupied, but it seems kids don’t own skates anymore. If the weather cooperates and more outdoor skating becomes available, things may change or maybe we just never will go back to the “good old days”.

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Truck Farming on Stone Road – The Thomas Farm

by Alan Mueller

Seventeen-year-old WIi­liam J. Thomas immi­grated to Greece from Cheddar, Somerset County, England, in 1882. The following year, he purchased 11 acres of farmland on Stone Road, not far west of the intersection of Eddy Road (now Mt. Read. Boulevard).

At that time, the average size of a Greece farm was less than 100 acres, only rarely exceeding 200 or more acres.

By the late 19th century, Greece farmers were principally raising root vegetables, such as car­rots, beets, turnips, parsnips, etc. Some farms with larger acreage had apple and peach orchards as well

The Thomas farm had a large greenhouse, kept warm by hot water piping, the heat coming from a coal-fired boiler. Here, early spring crops such as radishes were raised.

A large root cellar (an insulated building, partly underground) stored the root vegetables through the winter. Gradually, these vegetables were, taken to market all through the non-growing season.

Several times a week, the horse-drawn wagon (shown in the circa 1912 photo with William at the reins) would be loaded with produce and taken to the public market or sev­eral wholesalers in Rochester. The wagon left at 4 am for the market, and the wagon and driver often did not return until early afternoon.

By the late 1930s, tractors were replacing horses for farm work, and by the 1950s, horse-drawn equip­ment and wagons were completely gone.

Through the years, more farmland was added to Thomas’ original 11 acres, and his three sons con­tinued to operate the farm after their father’s death in 1938.

By the 1960s, however, it was apparent that a moder­ately large-sized farm could no longer be profit­able in Greece. After more than 65 years, farming finally ended on the Thomas property in 1960.

By 1963, the land had been sold to developers.

Similar to the majority of former farms in Greece, only the sturdy 2½-story farmhouse remains, shielded from the road by tall shrubs. These farm­ houses remain as ghosts of an important era in local history.

Photos of the Thomas farm from Mr. Frank Thomas, the grandson of Willam Thomas.

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“Keeping Greece roads clear in the 20th century”

by Alan Mueller

Winter snows prior to the early 1900s weren’t a problem for the Greece highway dept. There was no highway department, as such, and they had no snow-moving equipment. There might have been a few farmers who contracted with their team of horses to pull fairly large rollers to pack down the road snow for a path to allow various types of sleighs on the main roads. The first “improved road” in Greece was a section of North Greece Rd. from the hamlet known as “Jenkins Corner” at Latta Rd. to about a half mile north and the “Hojack” (R.W.&O.) railroad and station in 1903. Shipments could be received there from Canada and the west and from eastern New York State and Rochester.

By 1909 the town board appointed the first highway superintendent and retired the numerous “Pathmasters” who had been the overseers of Greece’s various main roads. The town board minutes of 1919 make the first mention of snow removal in the budget. Four thousand dollars were to be allotted for snow removal. Little by little, during the 1920s, early town trucks would have added snow plow equipment for winter, to keep the main highways free of snow. The increasing use of automobiles had become more reliable and those adventuresome drivers could now keep their vehicles on the road with the aid of chains on their tires, rather than being stored on blocks until spring.

The town highway department soon outgrew the several small buildings that housed their equip­ment behind the town hall on Ridge Rd. In 1935 land was bought and developed on property formerly owned by Emmett Cooper, (long-time highway superintendent) on Long Pond Rd., north of Latta Rd. A much-expanded department operates from that spot to the present time.

Snow Report from the Democrat & Chronicle

Photos, data supplied by Alan Mueller, Greece Historian’s Office.

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“The Main Street of Greece” – From The Historian’s Desk

by Alan Mueller

Ridge Road in photos: 1909 -1960

Every few years, if not sooner, a news article about the Ridge being expanded or improved pops up in news­ print or other media. From what was once the eastern edge at Lake Avenue to the western edge of Greece at Manitou Road, Ridge Road has always been in a state of fluctuation.

The early 1800s saw what had been a narrow Native American trail turns into a muddy dirt or occasional wood plank stretch of road by the mid-1860s. The fifty-year span from the early 1900s saw the fastest transfor­mation of the Ridge in the 20th century.

Eastman Kodak, introducing folding and box cameras near the turn of the century, made outdoor photography simpler and cheaper to take satisfactory photos. Hence, we began to have photos similar to the circa 1909 view of Richard and Katherine Emrich standing in muddy Ridge Road (east of Dewey Ave.) with their home be­ hind them. The other photos from the early 20th century speak for themselves. How many of the shops and stores do you recall? If you are younger than a certain age…..all would be foreign to your eyes…

Ridge Rd, Emrich Kids 1909, one of the earliest photos of Ridge Rd, W of Kodak Pk.
Cube-block installation Ridge Rd. 1909
New Grader for Greece 1928

Alteration, transition, variety, and diversity would apply to “The Lewiston Road”, one of several variations given to Ridge Road as it traversed our town. For further information and history about the Ridge, check out our ever-popular publication, Eight Miles Along the Shore, available in several formats at our museum shop.

“Things changed, people changed, and the world went rolling along right outside our windows.”

– Nicholas Sparks, Message in a Bottle
Ridge at Dewey 1940
Naum Bros. Ridge Rd. 1955
N.W. Corner Ridge Rd. at Stone Rd. 1956
Ridge Rd looking west at Pepperidge Dr 1956
Long Pond at Ridge Rd. Greece Baptist Church in the background while Greece DPW and Monroe County Water Authority upgrade the sewer lines in 1961

More of this can be seen in the Bicentennial Snapshots episodes 11 and 12

Bicentennial Snapshot # 11 – The Ridge Part 1 This covers the beginnings of the Ridge till the early 1900s.

Bicentennial Snapshot # 12 – The Ridge Part 2 covers the 1900s till the early 2000s and some parts of the current times of the ridge.

Photos, data supplied by Alan Mueller, Greece Historian’s Office.

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What’s in a Street Name? From the Desk of the Historian

by Alan Mueller

What are the origins of many of the Greece Street names?

From Arlidge Drive and Armstrong Road to Weiland Road and Wendhurst Drive, you will also find the oddball names of, Canasta Road and Hojack Park! Who named these Greece streets and why do they have these varied names? Why was McGuire Road originally called Sage or Ottaway Road? Podunk Road became Mill Rd., which actually had a Cider Mill on a Creek near Long Pond Rd. English Road was not named after The United Kingdom, but for the Nathan English family who were farmers in the area, and Eddy Road, north of the Ridge, became Mt. Read Boulevard.

The end of World War II saw a huge influx of street development and housing. Multiple adjoining streets were named after wildflowers, types of fruit, variations of common names, etc. A housing tract running north of Ridge Rd., East of Long Pond Rd. acquired a group of early New England names of towns and illustrious citizens. Some of the names are Alden, Cabot, Duxbury, Nantucket, Standish, etc.

The Corner of West Ridge Road and Hoover Drive
The corner of West Ridge Road and Hoover Drive looking north, the 1980s. There is now a footbridge over this intersection allowing for access to the Route 390 bike trail.

When the Greece High Schools were built, starting with Olympia in the late 1950s, they would all carry Greek names. It was natural that Greek names would be used for new streets near the schools, i.e.: Olympia Drive, Arcadia Parkway, Athena Drive, etc.

The introduction of full Zip Codes caused a rethinking of how streets would be named. The Postal Dept. and Town Hall certainly were in frenzy during those years. According to data from our DPW, the town presently has 261 miles of roads it maintains. Monroe County maintains 72 1/2 miles and New York State has 19 miles. There are 1000 roads in Greece, plus 57 which are private.

1909 – New Cement Cube Paving on Ridge Road Office of the Town Historian
1950 – View of Woodcroft Drive During Residential Development “Boom” Office of the Town Historian

The compiled list shown below is what I have been able to gather with over seventy Greece Street names that are linked to early settlers, farm families, and tract developers, plus a few miscellaneous names not directly connected to the Greece area.

See last month’s June 2014 Corinthian on page 5, for the first article on “Google Mapping” the street names. In the future, you will be able to go to Google Map Engine Pro and find some of these streets with a short sentence about the origin of their names and more. That will be an interesting but ongoing project. The Latest on the Project can be accessed in a future post the Naming of Streets and Roads has an interactive map in the post and this is a project that Joseph Vitello and Alan Mueller are working on.

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Tales of Winter in Greece – From the Historian’s Desk

by Alan Mueller

“A White Hurricane” – tracking a record storm…

“Cruelest Month” – storm drops 9 inches of snow…

“City Reels Under 25 Inches of Snow” – one of the century’s worst blizzards…

Are these the headlines that could apply to our winter thus far? How about the winters of 1993, 1979, or 1966? Those three winters were all unusual for snowfall. Looking back over a century or more, the records show unusual snowfalls for the 1890s, and then a period of five years from 1904 -1909 with snowfall of fewer than seventy inches.

The 1920s into the early 1930s saw a dearth of snow, but sub-zero temperatures for several years.

The average snowfall from 1922 to 1956 was never above 100 inches. Low snow depths were reported through the 1980s….and so on into the present. Are we into a Global Warming period today? We’ll find out in a bit…..we think.

Enjoy the various winters in Greece from ninety to one hundred years ago. Few automobiles braved the winters before the 1920s. The horses and sleighs still held sway for a while. Public transportation was by electric trolley on the Lake Avenue line to Charlotte or the Dewey Avenue line that ended at Ridge Road. Bus service was started on Ridge Rd in the early 1900s but proved unreliable and lasted but a few years.

Note the two young ladies ready with their “Junior Racer” sled, and note the small building directly behind them. It’s not a telephone booth….NO ….but it was necessary before the days of indoor plumbing. Drinking water was from the pump, if it wasn’t frozen. The kitchen stove and the “Round Oak” stove are out (unlit). The coal is wet because there is a leak in the basement cistern (caused by the low temperatures). The slab of bacon is hard as a board and the cream has popped out of the milk bottle in the kitchen window “cold box”. Morning in “The Good Old Days”-were they???

Photos, data supplied by Alan Mueller, Greece Historian’s Office.

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North Greece Hotel, Domino Inn, or Cosmo Inn? – From the Historian’s Desk

by Alan Mueller

OK! What’s in a name? When the new hotel (replacing the earlier Larkin Hotel) was built at Latta and North Greece Roads it was simply called The North Greece Hotel. That was in 1909; but not long after it opened, it be­ came the Moerlbach Hotel named for a new local brewery that supplied its beer to the hotel bar. Just prior to World War One the name again reverted to North Greece. The start of the 1920s saw the 13-year run of Prohibition, a change of ownership, and the new name, The Domino Inn. Newspapers of the period often mention the federal agents raiding the hotel and seizing illegal beer and liquor or the running of a still. Because of the numer­ ous saloons along Latta Road, certain local clergy of the time called Latta Road, “The Road to Hell”. This did not stop the popular spot from hosting political functions and local fire company events with good food featured in the enlarged dining room at the rear. Dancing to live music was featured at least four nights a week.

Old Larkin Hotel
N Greece Hotel 1915

For a very short period in the early 1930s, the name was again changed, this time to Cosmo Inn. Nineteen thirty-eight saw new owners now calling it the Corner House Hotel. Their annual Valentine, St. Patrick, Mother’s Day, 4th of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving events continued until the beginning of World War Two. Partially because of rationing and scarcity of goods, the Hotel closed for a few years after 1941.

The end of the war saw the final and most memorable years ahead for the hotel. Raymond and Irene DeMay bought the closed building in late 1945. A thorough refurbishing, updated restrooms and kitchen greeted the eager clientele at its reopening. More popular than ever, the celebration of holidays, banquets, and parties continued. The usual Fish Fry on Friday night was followed by a Teen-Hop from 8 to midnight.

DeMay Hotel 2013

The husband and wife partnership continued until Ray’s passing on June 23, 1974. “Ma or Mother DeMay”, as Irene became known, continued the business. She celebrated the 40th anniversary of the DeMay Hotel on April 4, 1985, with a special Genesee Beer Night. With each passing year, it became harder to continue as it once was, but it did go on until Irene’s death, at age 83 on March 10, 2000.

Now, thirteen years after the Demay Hotel was shuttered, a malaise of melancholy and decay has overtaken all the happy times and memories the tired walls shelter. Unless a buyer is found soon, “father time” will claim one more historic building in Greece.

Photos, data supplied by Alan Mueller, Greece Historian’s Office.

More on the Hotel of Many Names is featured in the following Bicentennial Snapshots:

Bicentennial Snapshot # 23 – The Larkin Hotel
Bicentennial Snapshot # 24 The Hotel of Many Names
Bicentennial Snapshot # 25 Hotel De May
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