Living in Greece

These articles offer perspectives on what it was like to live in the Town of Greece in the past. Many are from the archives or newsletters of the Greece Historical Society. If you would be interested in learning more about the Town of Greece’s history, please feel free to contact us at (585) 225-7221.

(These stories, are the property of the Greece Historical Society, which retains all right thereto. The contributors to these stories provide them for non-commercial, personal, educational, and/or research use only. Prior written permission from the Greece Historical Society and the individual authors must be obtained for any other use; including but not limited to commercial or scholarly publications, or any reproductions or redistribution of any kind.)

Share Your Stories and Memories

We love to read stories and memories by YOU or your organization. Each of us has a story to tell. Submit a story about your group or a local history story or memory of growing up in the Town of Greece. Please email your story with photos as a zip file to: greecehistoricalsociety@yahoo.com and in the subject line put Share My Story of Local History or Memories Of Greece N.Y. and the title of your story along with a photo and brief bio so when we publish your story in the newsletter and on the web just like the stories below. Your story should be no more than 500 words. Don’t worry if you’re not an English scholar — we will edit as needed for continuity, grammar, punctuation, etc.

Ontario Beach Park – a series of articles written by Dick Halsey (also contains access to other historical content)

Our Interviews and Older Publications prior to the ones published in the Corinthian Newsletter

Some of the stories of living in Greece may bridge the years that the story is based on some may bridge all years and some may only bridge 2 or 3 of the 50 years spans per each 50-year span starting with 1800-1850, 1900-1950, 1950-2000, and 2000-Present.

A picture containing garden Description automatically generated

Longtime Agricultural Farmland Transitions

May 1, 2023Gene Preston1800-1850,1850-1900,1900-1950,1950-2000,2000 - Present,Guest Stories1924 Maiden Lane,Arc of Monroe,Arc of Monroe Foundation,Bill Murphy,Britton Family,Britton Farmstead,Clarence and Adrienne Preston,Earl and Anna Davis,Frank and Julia Herman,Gene Preston,Greece Common School District #9,Greece Methodist Church,Herman Farm,John and Eva Easton,Judge Frank Herman,Kenneth Preston,Preston Circle,Preston Family Farm,Rochester Public Market,Rochester Telephone Company,Town of Greece 2nd Ward Councilman,Tracy Crosby,Tracy Petrichick,Willis N Britton164

Back in early Greece history much of the farmland around Long Pond Road north of Maiden Lane was owned by the Britton Family. Opposite this land down at 1048 Long Pond Road stood a stone structure...

Happy Birthday Monroe County

March 1, 2023Marie Poinan1800-1850,1850-1900,1900-1950,1950-2000,2000 - Present,Guest Stories,Living in Greece StoriesMarie Villone Poinan33

On February 23, 2021, we celebrated the Bicentennial of the founding of Monroe County. Named for President James Monroe, the county was carved out of land taken from both Ontario and Genesee Counties; it became a...

The Stories That Find You – Camp Sawyer’s The Well

February 1, 2023William Sauers1900-1950,Corinthian,Living in Greece Stories1930s,1937,1943,1970,2018,Boy Scout Troop 14,Camp Sawyer,Empire Clay Product,Gilbert Holtz,red sandstone,Sawyer Park84

Every historian knows that while researching a specific subject, it is not unusual to stumble on a completely unrelated subject that sparks your interest. One day, not that long ago, while looking for an obscure fact...

Paddy Hill School

January 23, 2023William Sauers1800-1850,1850-1900,1872 Common School Districts,1900-1950,1950-2000,Greece Central School District,Living in Greece Stories,Bernard and Mary O’Neil,Bicentennial-SnapShot,Common School District Number Five,Diocese of Rochester,Greece Historical Society,Harmon Poray,Holy Sepulchre,Holy Sepulchre Cemetery Corporation,Latta Real Estate Corp.,Maureen Whalen,Milton Carter,Monroe County,Mt. Read Blvd. and Latta Road,Paddy Hill School,Patrick and Margaret Rigney,Picturesque Drive,Pioneer Families,State Supreme court,Union Free School District #5,William C. Pomeroy Foundation111

Every year or so, with shifts in population, there seems to be changes where our children go to school, but change has been going on since children have been attending school. One hundred years ago, most...

A Farewell to Frear’s Garden Center

August 21, 2022Maureen Whalen and Pat Worboys1850-1900,1900-1950,Corinthian,Living in Greece Stories1892,Arthur Frear,Barnard Crossing,Clarence Frear,E. Frear & Sons.,Ernst Frear,German immigrant,Maureen Whalen,Vick’s nurseries,Warren Frear119

Frear’s Garden Center 1892 to 2022 130 Years of Local Gardening Expertise Gallery of photos at the end of the story The Frear family has been part of the Greece landscape for 130 years, 93 of...

Greece Special Police, the Former Civil Defense Auxiliary Police

July 1, 2022Michael DiCataldo1950-2000,Guest Stories,Living in Greece StoriesDefense Emergency Act of 1951,Greece Auxiliary Police47

The Special Police Unit of the Greece Police Department was also known as Auxiliary Police. In 1951 the Federal government passed legislation that civil defense would be a vested joint effort between the federal government and...

The Dutch Mill – A Community Gathering Place

May 1, 2022William Sauers1900-1950,Dewey-Stone Area,Living in Greece Stories1932,1947,1948,1984,2016,2022,Ann Marie and Bob Simmons,Barnard Fire Department,Bertha Cox,Chester and Sharon Ventura,Cinema Restaurant,Clam bakes,Donald Hall,Leon Cox,Odenbach Peacock Room,Old Mill,old windmill,Thomas Brierly Jr.,Thomas Brierly Sr.39

The Dutch Mill – April 17, 2022 Every community or neighborhood has a gathering place. Over time many come and go, they may change hands or change their name, but eventually something happens and the old...

How Did the Term HOJACK Come to Be?

February 1, 2022William Sauers1850-1900,Corinthian,Living in Greece StoriesArch Merrill,HoJack,Jack Welch,Lake Ontario Shore Railroad,William Aeberli37

Established to serve the communities along the shore of Lake Ontario, a rail line founded in 1871 was active for nearly 100 years. Over the years the line was operated by several different rail companies and...

Milton H. Carter Park

February 1, 2022Keith Suhr1900-1950,Guest Stories,Living in Greece Stories1931,1960,1968,1970,Edna Carter,Gordon A. Howe,Greece Police,Greece Volunteer Ambulance,Milton H. Carter,Milton H. Carter Park,Ridge Road Fire District,The Mall at Greece Ridge,World War I,World War I Veteran33

What’s the story on.Milton H. Carter Park? Carter Park is a 12-acre recreational landscape located on Long Pond Road near The Mall at Greece Ridge. It hosts a playground, baseball fields, basketball, and tennis courts as...

The Ridgeway Air Park

January 1, 2022William Sauers1900-1950,Living in Greece Stories"Power Puff Derby",1947,1948,1955,1956,Army Air Corps veteran,Britton Field,Brizee airport,Burritt Road,Erie Canal,Genesee Airfield,Greece Aero Club,Greenleaf Flying Club,Henrietta,Hilton,Hilton Airport,Honeoye Falls,Hylan Airport,Jim Earl,Koda Vista,Kuhn Road,Latona Tract,Lee Roads,Leroy,Marsh Road,Monroe County,Pittsford,Richard (Dick) Kaiser,Ridgeway Air Park,Ridgeway Avenue,Roy DeVal,Salt Lake City,Scottsville Road,Shoremont,The Greece Press,Town of Greece,Woodward Field,World War I,World War II,WWI,WWII29

For years during the 20th century, many communities in our area had their own airports ranging from grassy fields to paved run ways with hangers to store airplanes. Hilton had the Hilton Airport on Burritt Road...

Greece Demanded Decency- No Topless Bathing!

October 1, 2021William Sauers1900-1950,Living in Greece Stories1930s,1933,1934,1937,Chief Carter,City of Rochester Public Safety Commissioner,Democrat & Chronicle,Greece Town Law,Milton Carter,Milton H. Carter,The Greece Press,Walter Cox,West Coast26

“Your Bathing Suit Must be Right Kind in Greece or You’ll Visit the Judge“ This was a headline in an August 1934 issue of the Greece Press newspaper. Of course, it was about modesty, but you...

Briarcliff Club Memories

July 1, 2021William Sauers1900-1950,Dewey-Stone Area,Hamlets of Greece,Living in Greece StoriesBarnard Except Home,Barnard Exempts,Boxart Street,Briarcliff Club,Briarcliff Rd,clam bake,Dewey-Stone,Strathmore Drive,Strathmore Drive Athletic Club,Valleywood Club,Victory Gardens,World War II27

Ration coupons, victory gardens, salvage drives, saving cooking fat, “buy bonds today.” All familiar words to a home front generation during World War II. Unlike our wars since, World War II affected every single person in...

Bible School Association of Greece

March 1, 2021Kate Huppé1900-1950,Guest Stories,Living in Greece Stories1905,1906,1921,A. E. Truesdale,Bible School Association,Bible School Association of Greece,Democrat & Chronicle,Dewey Avenue Reformed Church,J.J. Kelly,Kate Huppé,Mary Moall,Michael Oberg,Reverend J.J. Kelly,Sunday School30

Last year the Greece Historical Society acquired a handwritten book containing the secretarial notes and minutes of the Bible School Association of Greece dated 1905-1921. Kate Huppé, a recent graduate from SUNY Geneseo, offered to write...

Leaving a Message for the Future

February 1, 2021William Sauers1900-1950,Living in Greece StoriesCOVID-19,Democrat & Chronicle,Gordon Howe,Greece Democratic Party,Holy Sepulchre Cemetery,John J. Walsh,Justice of the Peace,Rochester OPA (Office of Price Administration) Control Board,St. John the Evangelist Church,Supervisor,The Greece Press,Times-Union,Typographical Union No. 1521

It is quite common here at the Greece Historical Society to receive a phone call or email asking a local history or family-related question, which we are always happy to help with. We also get calls...

Rotobowling Never Quite Caught on in Greece

January 1, 2021William Sauers1900-1950,1950-2000,Living in Greece Stories1940,1946,1954,1956,1957,1960,AMF,Barnard School,Boem's,Charlotte,Cramer's Drug Store,Damm Brothers,Dewey Ave,Donato Fasano,Edgemere Drive,Ernest Fasano,Fasinos,Frear Estate,Gambling,Lyon's Den,Maiden Lane,Maiden Lanes,McCall,Michael Fasano,New York State,Northgate Plaza,Orville Whittle,Pin Boys,Pin Spotter,Ridge Bowling,Ridge Bowling Hall,Rotobowling,Sam Mink,Schantz Construction,Stone Road,Stutson St.21

In the late 1940s, as bowling was becoming more popular, the residents of Greece had several choices of where to bowl, including Boem’s on Edgemere Drive and the Charlotte bowling hall on Stutson Street. Along the...

The History of Jazz 90.1 WGMC-FM

November 1, 2020Rob Linton, M.Ed.1950-2000,Guest Stories,Living in Greece Stories24/7/365,2500 watts,47 years,Board of Education meetings,German Radio Program,Greece Athena High School,Greece Central School District,Greece Town Board meetings,Jazz 90.1 FM,public jazz,radio stations,WGMC -FM28

Did you know that one of the nation’s last 24/7/365 public jazz radio stations resides in Greece, New York? Jazz 90.1 FM (WGMC-FM) has been an important part of the town’s history since 1971, providing jazz...

History of Historical Roadside Markers in Greece

October 1, 2020William Sauers1950-2000,2000 - Present,Living in Greece Stories25

Roadside historic markers are our windows to the past. They educate us, they make us curious to investigate, or they provide a nice excuse to take a break and stretch our legs while we read what...

The Victorian “Survivor” on the Ridge

September 1, 2020Alan Mueller1800-1850,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece StoriesDavid Todd,David Todd Mansion67

More than 170 years is a long time for a structure to survive on West Ridge Road. Directly across from the south end of North Avenue at 3349 West Ridge is one of those survivors, a...

The Rochester Park Band at Manitou Beach in 1906

July 1, 2020Lisa Kleman1900-1950,Charlotte,Guest Stories,Living in Greece Stories1890s,1906,1920,1920s,1924,19th Century,20th Century,54th Regiment Band,amusement park at Manitou Beach,Automobile Club,Baseball,Braddock Bay,Canal Street,Chralotte,Elmheart Hotel,Fred Zeitler,James Cunningham & Sons.,Manitou Beach,Manitou Beach Hotel,Manitou Beach Trolley,Manitou Hotel,Manitou Trolley,New York Central train station,Odenbach Hotel,Orphans Day,Rochester Park Band,Theodore Dossenbach,William Bausch33

Want to have some fun? Let’s go on a company picnic to Manitou Beach in the summer of 1906. We’ll join the nearly 1,000 employees of James Cunningham & Sons, a huge company with several factories...

Lakeshore Garden Club History

July 1, 2020Ann Weitzel1900-1950,Living in Greece Stories23

“The Lakeshore Garden Club is one of the oldest garden clubs in this area. It was founded in June of 1935 at Char lotte High School under the leadership of Mr. Walter Bennett, who was its...

The Tale of Three Bricks Or – “It only took 25 years”

June 1, 2020Alan Mueller1900-1950,1950-2000,Living in Greece StoriesGreece Memorial Hall,Town Hall,Town of Greeece27

More than a month ago we received a call from a fellow inquiring if our museum collection would be interested in having a few bricks gathered from one of the many piles around the demolished Greece...

A Community That Saved a School

May 1, 2020William Sauers1900-1950,Dewey-Stone Area,Living in Greece StoriesBarnard Fire Department,Bishop James Kearney,Catholics,City of Rochester Hose Company 24,Democrats,Dewey-Stone,Easter Break,Good Friday Eve,Holy Thursday,Jews,North Greece Fire Department,Protestants,Rabbi Philip Bernstein,Republicans,Rochester Diocese,Sheriff Albert Skinner,Simon Stein,St. Charles Borromeo Parish,St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic,St. Charles Borromeo School,Temple B'rith Kodesh,The Greece Press,Western New York47

During the 1920s and ’30s Greece experienced an increase in population, especially in the Dewey-Stone area. Among that increase were very many Catholic families; so in 1926 St. Charles Borromeo School on Dewey Avenue opened with...

Greece Link to the National Football League

February 1, 2020Marie Poinan1900-1950,Guest Stories,Living in Greece Stories1920,1928,1963,1965,1976,American Professional Football Association,Charlotte High School,Joseph Maurice McShea,Joseph Maurice McShea Jr.,Leo Lyons,Leo V. Lyons,Marie Villone Poinan,Mary McShea,Miss Marguerite McShea,National Football League,NFL,Pro Football Hall of Fame,Rochester Jeffersons,Tom McShea,Tom Sawnor31

As we celebrate Super Bowl LIV and the NFL’s 100th season, we might want to consider the very “focal” Greece’s connection to the game. Joseph McShea was a talented athlete who grew up on his family’s...

How Different It Might Have Been?

October 1, 2019William Sauers1950-2000,Living in Greece Stories1953,1961,75000 people,800 employees,City of Rochester,Democrat & Chronicle,Dewey Ave,Edgemere Drive,Haloid Co.,Hollenbeck Street,Joseph C. Wilson,Ling Road,LOSP,Mario Berardi,Monroe County,Northgate Plaza,Odenbach,Odenbach Shipbuilding Corp,Odenbach Shipbuilding Corporation,Ray Cole,Webster,Xerox29

The fall of 1953 was a rapidly changing time for the residents of the town of Greece. The Lake Ontario State Parkway (LOSP) was under construction and contractors had all they could do to build new...

Town’s First St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, in 1836

September 1, 2019William Sauers1800-1850,Living in Greece StoriesG. Moore,Henry Benton,Judge Nicholas Read,Nicholas Read,Squire Nicholas Read49

Our History… by Bill Sauers Legend holds that the ancient Greeks were the first to wish someone good health while raising a glass and drinking. It is said that it was to prove that the drink...

Greece “Roadhouse”

September 1, 2019Alan Mueller1900-1950,Dewey-Latta area,From The Historian's Files,Hamlets of Greece,Living in Greece Stories18th Amendment,1919,1920,1923,1958,1965,1968,Bar,Canada,Canadian,Canadian Liquor,Deutsch,Dewey Ave,Dewey/Latta,Dodge Brothers,Dutch,Eddie Surridge,George Maier,Germany,Hague St,Henry Ford,Island Cottage Hotel,Jim Davis,John Frank Maier,John Frank Maier III,Juke Box,Kirkwood Rd,Lake,Lake Ontario,Latta Road,Long Pond Pond,Midge,Neon Signs,Olive Hager,Prohibition,Restaurant & Residence,Roadhouse,Round Pond,Rum Runners,T.W. Beatty and Son.,T.W. Beatty and Son. Island Cottage Hotel,The Maier Family,two-and-a-half-story,Volstead Act,Wenzel Maier,World War II30

A Roadhouse (United States, Australia) or stopping house (Canada) according to a recent dictionary is Roadhouse: a tavern or inn along a country road, as in the 1920s. John Frank Maier was born and grew up along with his...

“Apples, Pine Trees and Boxing Gloves!”

September 1, 2019Alan Mueller1900-1950,Living in Greece Stories1225 Ridge Road West,1914,1920,1928,1933,1948,1964,Alice Conroy,Apples,Bankruptcy,Bowling,Boxing Gloves,Clement Versluy,Cuba,Democrat and Chronicle,Edward Sturm,Europe,Henry Clune,Joseph Ave.,Lake Ave,Manitou Road,Mexico,Mike Conroy,Pine Tree Inn,Pine Trees,Shale Gans,Shales (Sol) Gans,Speakeasies42

We’ve explained apples and pine trees…… What about boxing gloves…? Mr. Edward Sturm had once been in the furniture business on Joseph Ave. and knew well how to greet custom ers and run a successful retail...

Willow Creek Ranch

March 1, 2019Gene Preston1900-1950,1950-2000,Living in Greece Stories"Cap" Preston,1036 Long Pond Road,1118 Long Pond Road,1944,Arabian gelding,Bob Thompson,bronc busting,Bucking broncos,bull dragging,calf roping,Charlotte,Cobourg,Duke Thunderbolt,Gary and Bob Thompson,Gary Thompson,Gene Preston,Greece Press,Hamlin,Irving James Thompson,knot tying,Kodak,Lucky Boy Williams,Maiden Lane,Monroe County Sheriff,Nebraska,New York,Preston Family,Preston Farm,Ray Slaght,Red Cross,Rodeos,Ronald J. Arndt,Ronald J. Arndt Funeral Home,Round Pond Creek,Tommy Thompson,western horse show,Willow Creek Ranch34

Located at 1118 Long Pond Road about 80 years ago was the Willow Creek Ranch. Far in the rear of the 10 acres was a farm house. Owner, Irving James Thompson known as ‘Tommy” Thompson, was...

Proposed Community Center and Park

December 1, 2018William Sauers1900-1950,Dewey-Stone Area,Living in Greece Stories1929,1942,1949,2006,Almay Road,Barnard Fire Department,Catholic Diocese of Rochester,Churchville,Clark Park,Dewey Ave,Eastman Dry Plate & Film Company,Eastman Kodak Company,Ellison Park,Fall football,George Clark,Glendemere Farms,Gordon A. Howe,Gordon Howe,Great Depression,Greece Community and Senior Center on the Greece Town Campus,Greece Planning Board,Mendon Ponds,Monroe County Parks Commission,Mr. Clark,St. Joseph's Villa,Villa of Hope,W. Chandler Knapp22

In June of 1929, our town of only 13,000 was growing rapidly and there were no provisions for playgrounds or recreation. Then W. Chandler Knapp, chairman of the Greece Planning Board, with the backing of leading...

Greenleaf Flying Club

November 1, 2018William Sauers1950-2000,Living in Greece Stories1964,1969,1974,1975,Airstrip,Brockport,Father's Day,Gene Preston,Greece Arcadia,Greece Police,Greenleaf,Ledgedale Airpark,Lloyd A. Feary,Sweet Acres Drive,Wesley Bell20

Guess Where? The Greenleaf Flying Club owned a small private airfield in Greece. It closed sometime in the 1970s and is now a tract of homes. The first person to guess exactly where it was will...

A Civic Club’s Legacy

September 5, 2018William Sauers1900-1950,Corinthian,Living in Greece StoriesBarnard Civic Club,Barnard School,Basil Marella,Bou Scout Troop 14,Boy Scouts,Braddock Bay Park,Dr. Sherwood Sawyer,George Badgerow,Milton,Milton Carter,Mrs. Antoinette Grabowski,Webster,William Hogan,YMCA53

The residents of the Town of Greece enjoy a variety of parks within the Town. Their features and size are certainly diverse, from the 577-acre Greece Canal Park to the 4-acre Henpeck Park. But their history...

Richard Laurette – Memories of Dewey Stone Area

July 4, 2018Richard Lourette1950-2000,Guest Stories,Living in Greece Storiesarnard Market,Barnard Carnival,Barnard Crossing,Barnard Fire Department,Barnard Meat Market,Barnard Park,Barnard School,Barnard's Crossing,Beaumont,Bethany Presbyterian Church,Bill's Barber Shop Kujaqa's Television Repair,Cadet Clearners,Common School District # 15,Dew-Stone,Fay's Drug Store,George H. Clarke Park,Greece,Greece Historical Society,Gulf Gas Station,Jack Symonds,Jackson's Bakery,Johnny’s Sweet Shop,Kodak,Lincon Bank,Loblaw's,Maiden Lane,Mortillaro's Jewelry,Mortillaro's Paint Store,Nick & Erwin's Dry Clearners,Richard Laurette,St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic,Stone,Sunoco Gas Station,The Dutch Mill,The New Dutch Mill,Times-Union Newspaper,Towne Men Shop,YMCA,Yo-Yo72

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...

Streets and Roads

June 1, 2018William Sauers1950-2000,Corinthian,Living in Greece StoriesCorinthian,Greece,New York,Roads,Streets225

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

Bill Bartling’s – Memories of Dewey Stone Area

May 1, 2018Bill Bartling1900-1950,1950-2000,Guest Stories,Living in Greece Stories1940s,Barnard Fire Deparment,Barnard Fire House,Barnard School,Bill Bartling,Chief Carter,Cowan's drug store,Dewey Ave,Dewey-Stone,Esler's,Gypsies,Hart's grocery,Hope Lutheran Church,Jackson's Bakery,Johnny's Diner,Milton Carter,Sarvey's Gulf station,Shorty Junker's Barnard Grill,St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic,The Dutch Mill,Veltri's shoe repair58

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...

“Climate Change in 1918?” – YUP Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

February 2, 2018Alan Mueller1900-1950,Living in Greece StoriesAlbert Bowers Jr.,Alfred Bowers Sr.,Charlotte,Christmas,Dewey Ave.,Farmer's Almanac,Kodak,Kodak Park,Lake Avenue,Mrs. Bowers,Parma,Ridge Road,Stone Rd,Thanksgiving,World War I23

Was anyone aware of climate change one hundred years ago? Was that term even used then? More than likely not… The local families (usually farmers) spoke of a harsh winter or damp spring. The Farmer’s Almanac...

Twelfth Night – A Forgotten Ritual

January 1, 2018William Sauers1900-1950,Dewey-Stone Area,Living in Greece Stories49

Twelfth night is the last evening of the 1 2 days of Christ mas and according to an old European custom it calls for one final burst of feasting and revelry to commemorate the close of...

Christmas Greetings Cards 1875-1900

December 1, 2017Alan Mueller1850-1900,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece StoriesBoston,Christmas,Christmas Eve,Civil War,England,Facebook,Greeting Cards,Holidays,Instagram,Linkedin,London,Mass,Pinterest,Saint Nicholas,Santa,Snapchat,Tumblr,Twitter,Whatsapp,YouTube30

Greeting cards for the Christmas season were very slow to gather popularity in the United States prior to the Civil War ( 1861-1865). The first commercial Christmas card was introduced for the season of 1843 in...

A Tale of Two General Stores: “From Apples to Zithers”

October 1, 2017Alan Mueller1850-1900,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories,UncategorizedGeneral Stores,Gilbert (Burt) J Wagg's,H.C. Phelps,Kodak Park,Lake Ave,Lake Avenue,North Greece,Pullman Ave,Wagg's General Store32

Our History… by Alan Mueller Small general stores (as they were often called) were in the Charlotte area from the earliest days. In the 1850s general merchandise businesses were established along Ridge Road West. Henry C...

Greece memories: Farmer’s diary shows 1800’s life in the Island Cottage area

September 1, 2017Alan Mueller1800-1850,Living in Greece StoriesBuck Pond,Charlotte,Civil Warr,Ellen Burns,Fort Sumter,Island Cottage Road,Janes,Janes Road,Jimmy Goodwin,Lewis,Mother of Sorrows,Mr. Allen,Mullen's Cooper Shop,Nancy Beaty,Nancy Connelly,President Lincoln,Railroard,Valentine's Day,William Connelly49

The William Connelly family lived for many years in the Island Cottage and Janes Road area. Connolly was born in Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland in March 1818. At the age of eleven, he immigrated to the...

American soldiers with a French Machine Gun

“Calling Home” in The Great War, World War One

May 1, 2017Alan Mueller1900-1950,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories1917-1919,A.E.F.,Charles Evan Hughes,Cog - 38 inf,Congress,Flags,French,French Machine Gun,Harry G.,Penny Postcards,U.S.,War,Woodrow Wilson,World War I21

Incumbent President, Woodrow Wilson, barely won a second term over the Republican candidate, a former Governor of New York State, and an associate Supreme Court Judge, Charles Evan Hughes. Wilson’s propaganda re-election promise had been, “He...

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

April 1, 2017Alan Mueller1950-2000,Living in Greece Stories25

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...

The Cupola That Almost Got Away!

March 1, 2017Alan Mueller1900-1950,1950-2000,2000 - Present,Living in Greece Stories1997,1999,2001,2505 West Ridge Road,Cupola Project Chairman,Fred Meredith,Greece D.P.W.,Larry Zarnsdorf,Long Pond Road,Lorraine Beane,Richard LaCroix,Supervisor John Auberger,Thomas Schommer,Walter Berl98

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...

Outdoor Ice Skating

February 1, 2017William Sauers1900-1950,1950-2000,Living in Greece StoriesBarnard School,Britton Rd,Britton Road School,Carter Park,Cooks Hardware,Democrat & Chronicle,DPW,Fleming Creek,Forgham Road,Greece Department of Public Works,Greece Town Campus,Maplewood Park pond,Milton Carter,Milton H. Carter,Milton H. Carter Park,Ontario Beach Park22

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...

Truck Farming on Stone Road – The Thomas Farm

December 1, 2016Alan Mueller1850-1900,1900-1950,1950-2000,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories,Uncategorized1882,1930s,1938,1950s,1960s,1963,19th Century,2½-story farmhouse,beets,carrots,Cheddar,coal-fired boiler,Eddy Road,England,horse-drawn wagon,Mount Read Blvd,non-growing season,parsnips,root vegetables,Somerset County,Stone Road,turnips,William J. Thomas23

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...

The Post Card Craze Helped Popularize Halloween and Thanksgiving

November 1, 2016Alan Mueller1900-1950,Living in Greece StoriesChristmas,England,Frankfort Temple,Germany,Halloween,LYRIC CLUB,Masquerade,New Year's,Thanksgiving,Thanksgiving night,World War I26

The postcard craze of the early 1900s embraced all the holidays. Two of the holidays, excluding Christmas and New Year’s, were the next largest, Halloween and Thanksgiving. For one cent, a colorful, often embossed card, the...

“From tractors to tracts!” – From The Historian’s Desk

October 1, 2016Alan Mueller1800-1850,1850-1900,1900-1950,From The Historian's Files,Pioneer FamiliesDeConinck,Kirk Road,Latta Road,Mitchell,Pioneer Families,Preston,World War II,Yarker42

It is not quite a century since rural Greece slowly and sometimes not so slowly started to turn from an almost completely agricultural community to street after street of home developments. After World War II the...

Music in the air for over 130 Summers at Ontario Beach Park

August 1, 2016Alan Mueller1900-1950,Charlotte,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories1870s,1900s,1910,1919,1920s,1924,1925,54th Regiment Bands,Bartholomay Cottage Hotel and Pavilion,Columbia Records,Dossenbachs,Edison Company,Edison Records,Edna White,Gilmore Band,Herman,Japan Day,John Cummings,Lapham's "Red Husser" Band,Link,Ontario Beach,Patrick Gilmore,Rochester Park Band,Skycoasters,Spencer House,The Dady Brothers Grand Band,The Greece Jazz Band,The Lapham,The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra,Theodore,Theodore and Herman,Thomas Edison32

This 2016 summer season of Wegman’s Concerts by the Shore has concertgoers hearing such varied groups as The Dady Brothers Grand Band, The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, The Greece Jazz Band, and the Skycoasters, with more to...

Marketing to Farmers From the 1850s to the 1900s

March 1, 2016Alan Mueller1850-1900,Living in Greece StoriesBavaria,C.W. Barnes Store,Chicago,Chromolithograph,Civil War,Colored lithography,Cracker's Buffalo Phosphate,Dearborn,Genesee Farmer,Germany,Greece Grange,Greenfield Village,H. C. Phelps,Hiram Sibley,Hiram Sibley & Co. Seed Box,Karle Lithographic Co.,Keystone,Mensing-Stecher Co.,Michigan,Monroe County Horticultural Society,Montgomery Ward,Moore's Rural New Yorker,Sears-Roebuck,The Patrons of Husbandry,United States,W.H. Rowerdink Co29

Prior to the Civil War (1861-65) the farmers in Greece got the latest information concerning all aspects of farming from fellow farmers or a number of monthly publications such as The Genesee Farmer (founded in 1831)...

The Dance years at the Elmheart – Manitou Dance Pavilion – From The Historians Desk

January 1, 2016Alan Mueller1900-1950,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories38

The Elmheart Hotel was built about the same time as the Manitou Beach Trolley line was constructed, circa 1890. George Weidman Sr. and his brother-in-law, Michael O’Loughlin ran a saloon on State Street in the city...

Manitou Beach Hotel – “From the Historian’s Files”

May 5, 2015Alan Mueller1850-1900,Corinthian,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece StoriesBraddock Bay,Charles P. Odenbach,Charlotte,Charlotte Beach,Damon's Orchestra,Fred J. Odenbach,Fred Odenbach,Frederick S. Odenbach,John H Odenbach,Manitou Beach Hotel,Manitou Road,Manitou Trolley,Marie Villone Poinan,Matthew P Odenbach,Olcott Beach,Sax Smith,Tommy Tucker,Vincent Lopez,World War II54

By far the largest and the most elegant of all the late 19th and early 20th century hotels along Lake Ontario in Greece was the Odenbach Manitou Beach Hotel. It was located at the far western...

“Keeping Greece roads clear in the 20th century”

January 1, 2015Alan Mueller1900-1950,1950-2000,Living in Greece Stories1903,1919,1935,Canada,Emmett Cooper,Greece Department of Public Works,Greece Highway Department,HoJack,Jenkins Corner,New York,North Greece Rd.,Rochester20

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...

Homer J. Buckman – Sold Milk, Cream, and Lollipops!!!

November 1, 2014Alan Mueller1900-1950,Ada Ridge,Corinthian,From The Historian's Files,Hamlets of Greece,Living in Greece StoriesBuckman's,Buckman's Dairy and Bakery,dairy,Homer J. Buckman,Lollipops,Ralph DeStephano Sr.176

Explore the story of Homer J Buckman. It might be a surprise to learn that a man that founded one of the first dairies in Greece also sold "suckers" in his very modest store, attached to...

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

September 1, 2014Alan Mueller1900-1950,1950-2000,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories"The Lewiston Road",1900s,1909,1928,1940,1955,1956,1961,20th Century,Cube-Block,Dewey Ave,Eight Miles along the Shore,Emrich Kids,Greece DPW,Kodak Park,Lake Avenue,Long Pond Road,Manitou Road,mid-1860s,Monroe County Pure Waters System,Monroe County Water Authority,Native American,Naum Bros.,Nicholas Sparks,Pepperidge Dr,Ridge Road West,Stone Road42

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...

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

July 1, 2014Alan Mueller1950-2000,Corinthian,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece StoriesAlan Mueller,Alden,Arcadia Parkway,Athena Drive,Cabot,Canasta Road,Cider Mill,Corinthian,Duxbury,Eddy Road,Hojack Park,Hover Drive,Joseph Vitello,Mt. Read Boulevard,Nantucket,Olympia Drive,Ottaway,Podunk,Standish,Street Names113

From the Historian's File What's in a Street Name? What are the origins of many of the Greece Street names?...

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

March 1, 2014Alan Mueller1900-1950,1950-2000,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories23

“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...

First Christian Church then Greece Methodist Church Latta Road GHS

“A stone is a stone is a Cobblestone!”

November 5, 2013Alan Mueller1800-1850,Corinthian,Designated Landmark,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece StoriesAllan Mueller,Cobblestone,Cobblestone Masonry,Cobblestone Museum53

Webster’s New World Dictionary (College Edition) has the following: Cob-ble–stone (kab‘ I ston’) A rounded stone of a kind formerly much used for paving. Well, that is fine, but mention Cobblestone to the average Western New...

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

May 1, 2013Alan Mueller1900-1950,1950-2000,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories,North GreeceCosmo Club,Domino Inn,Hotel DeMay,Moerlbach Hotel,North Greece Hotel32

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...

Post Mark North Greece, N.Y. – From The Historians Desk

March 1, 2013Alan Mueller1850-1900,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories,North Greece14515,1880,1900s,1945,1963 New Construction of North Greece Station 1,1964,1967,Alfred Phelps,Ann Piazza,Cracker Barrels,Doris Cutter,Florence Germeroth,George Germeroth Jr.,Greece,H. C. Phelps,Kerosene,Latta Road,Melinda Germeroth,Molasses,North Greece,North Greece Fire Department,North Greece Road,Phelps General Store,Pickles,Post Office,Trailer,United States Post Office,William Aeberli,William T. Filer,World War II,zip code33

After turning the corner at Latta Road to go south on North Greece Road, one might quickly pass a plain red brick building at the rear of a small parking lot. Across the right front of...

Ice Harvesting in the Long Ago – From the Historian’s Desk

January 1, 2013Alan Mueller1850-1900,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories100lbs,1910,1920s,1930s,25lbs,300lbs,400lbs,50lbs,Buck Pond,Cranberry Pond,electric ice box,Electric Refrigerator,GE,General Electric,HoJack,Ice,Ice Box,Ice breaking-off bar,Ice Harvesting,Ice Hooks,ice house,Ice Multi-Toothed Plow,Ice Planner,Ice Poles Hooks,Ice Saw,Ice Scorer,Ice Scraper,Ice Swing Guide,ice-making machines,Kathie Firkins,Long Pond Pond,Manitou Beach,Manitou Beach Hotel,Manitou Road,mid-1920s,Mrs. Happy Housewife's,Skinner,Skinner Family,Sleds,Sleighs,Walt Goulding33

When some local farmers saw the thermometer dipping colder and colder below freezing for a few days they knew that it would be time to get the ice harvesting equipment ready for use on the ponds...

The Manitou Trolley – Charlotte to Grand View Beach – “From The Historian’s Desk”

September 1, 2012Alan Mueller1850-1900,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories1895,1907,1908,1917-18,1924,1925,Beach Avenue,Braddocks Bay,Buck Pond,Charlotte,Children's Ticket,Cranberry Pond,East Manitou Hotel,Edgemere Drive,Edgewater Hotel,Elmheart Hotel,Grand View Beach,Grand View Beach Hotel,Island Cottage Hotel,Little Round Pond,Long Pond Pond,Manitou,Manitou Beach Hotel,Manitou Line,Odenbach,Ontario Beach Park,Rail Spikes,World War I37

By the mid-1880s a steam railroad was planned to run from Charlotte to Grand View Beach. This plan never went beyond being chartered and was soon abandoned. The electric trolleys that began to appear on the...

“Let’s Go For An Sunday Excursion” – and never leave the county

July 1, 2012Alan Mueller1900-1950,Charlotte,Living in Greece Stories"The Breezer'',"The Hawaiian Gardens","The Pink Ticket Trip",1900,1912,1924,Birds,Charlotte,Clinton Street,coats,East Main Street,Glen Haven Park,Hojack Line,Irondequoit Bay,J.D. Scott,Japanese Garden,Lake & Bay Belt All Resort Ticket,Lake Avenue Trolley,Lake Ontario,Lake Ontario Shoreline Railroad,large ladies hats,Main and State,Main St,Mr. J.D. Scott,Naphtha or Gasoline Launch,Newport House,Ontario Beach Park,peanuts,Philadelphia,Pt. Pleasant,Rochester Trolley,Sea Breeze,Sea Breeze Pier,Sodus Bay,St. Paul Street,State Street,ties,Turkey-Trot!,umbrellas,West Main Trolley,Worms,Wurlitzer Orchestra Piano32

That is just what families and couples might do in the summer of 1912. Sunday was the ideal time for an outing as the aver age work week was 5 and one-half days. The Rochester area...

Shopping Long Ago in Greece from the 1900s-1940s

March 1, 2012Alan Mueller1900-1950,Living in Greece Stories1900s,1910s,1920s,1930s,1940s,7-Eleven,A & P,Anderson Grocery,Cooper's Deli-Grocery,Cooper's Deli-Grocery and Service Station,H.C. Phelps General Store,Hart's grocery,McBride's,Norman Cooper,Red and White,Reichenberger's Meat Market,Ridge Road Food Store,Wagg's General Store,Wind Mill Grocery and Gas Station27

Shopping in Earlier Times (1900s-1940s) In the early 1900s, going to the general store such as H.C. Phelps General Store and Anderson’s Store (just east of Mitchell Rd. on Ridge Rd.) would mean you could buy...

“A Greece Winter Wonderland in the Early 20th Century” – from the Historian’s Desk

January 1, 2012Alan Mueller1900-1950,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece StoriesSnow,Winter26

All seems so serene and calm in most of the accompanying photos of winter circa 1910-1920 in Greece of a century and more ago. What fun to go on a sleigh ride or cross-country skiing through...

Why was it called the Elmheart – “From The Historian’s Files”

November 1, 2011Alan Mueller1850-1900,Corinthian,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories"The Elmheart Hotel",Alan Mueller,Archives,Corinthian,Faulding W. Skinner,Fred Odenbach,George Wiedman,Hick's Point,Manitou Beach,Mathews and Servis Company,Michael O'Laughlin,Mr. Johnson,Odenbach,Sheriff Albert Skinner,William "Bill" Carroll,William Carroll90

Back in the early 1890s, Frederick Odenbach, a Rochester liquor dealer, bought land on Manitou Beach and started to build a hotel. The newly built Manitou Trolley from Charlotte had finally been extended over a trestle...

The cover for the sheet music "School Days" by Cobb & Edwards.

Back to School in 1911 – From the Historian’s Desk

September 1, 2011Alan Mueller1900-1950,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece Stories"School Days",1869 Charlotte Grammar School,1908,1950s,Charlotte High School,Cobb & Edwards,Common School District # 14,Common School District # 17,Common School District # 4,Common School District # 7,Eastman Kodak Company,Frisbee Hill,Frisbee Hill School,Gus Edwards Music Pub. Co.,Janes Road,Joint School District No. 14,Lane's Corner26

As the Greece kid of 1911 were headed for the first day of school It doubtful if they were singing a popular song of the day, “School Days”. The refrain asks one to “take a trip...

“An Italianate Beauty in Greece” – FROM THE HISTORIAN’S FILE

March 1, 2011Alan Mueller1850-1900,From The Historian's Files,Living in Greece StoriesAbner Shearman,Colby-Shearman home,Jeanette,Rhoda,Wegman Companies Inc.,Zaccheus Colby30

The Colby-Shearman home was moved (due to the construction of I-390) in April 1968, in two sections about one-half mile from its original location at 1777 Ridge Road West to 550 Latona Road. The imposing, early...

South side of 1066 Long Pond circa 1904- The Brittons standing on a stone wall.

1066 Long Pond Road- THE BRITTON FAMILY HOMESTEAD – “FROM THE HISTORIAN’S FILE”

November 1, 2010Alan Mueller and William Sauers1850-1900,1872 Common School Districts,Living in Greece StoriesAlanson Phizarro Britton,Beals,Brighton,Britton Farmstead,Civil War,East Avenue,Erie Canal,Falls Cemetery,Greece Common School District #9,Hubbard Squash,Laura Lewis,Supervisor,Toll Gate38

Coming to Monroe County in the early 1800s, the Britton Family were early settlers in what was then called Rochesterville. Alanson Phizarro Britton, the ninth child of thirteen, was born in the tiny village in 1820...

A German field gun helps win the war

November 13, 2008William Sauers1900-1950,Corinthian,Living in Greece Stories105 mm German Howitzer,1941,American Legion Post,Canon,Commander Cyrille Ver Weire,Cyrille Ver Weire,Dewey Avenue Presbyterian Church,Falls Church,German Howitzer,Gordon A Howe,Gordon Howe,Greece Legionnaires,James Whitley,Legionnaires,Memorial DAy,Milton Cater,Rev. Alfred Wangman,Tin Cans,Veterans,Veterans Day,World War II114

A German field gun helps win the war. Veterans Day and Memorial Day are special days for Americans. especially for our veterans. On these special days all across America, we gather 'round our war memorials to...

Share Your Stories and Memories

Explore Living in Greece, NY

Share this:

Like this:

Useful Links

Archives