Living in Greece Stories

Stories and recollections from the people, places, and publications that document life in the Town of 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. Submit a local history story or memory of growing up in the Town of Greece by emailing a zip file with your story and photos to greecehistoricalsociety@yahoo.com. Use the subject line: Share My Story of Local History or Memories Of Greece N.Y. plus your story title. Include a brief bio and one photo for publication.

Your story should be no more than 500 words. We can edit for continuity, grammar, and punctuation. Stories may cover one span or multiple spans: 1800-1850, 1900-1950, 1950-2000, and 2000-Present.

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A building with a sign on the front Description automatically generated

The Grand View Beach Club

April 2, 2024 |
In the early 20th century, Grand View Beach Club on Rochester's lakeshore was a social hub for entertainment and civic advocacy. Built in 1902, it hosted dances, movies, and raffles until membership dwindled in the 1950s. Closed and dismantled by 1964, today, only memories and the club's sign remain with...
Categories: 1850-1900 1900-1950 1950-2000 Living in Greece Stories
Tags: $3500 1882 1902 1940s 1946 1947 1949 1950 1951 1961 1963 1964 1977 2286 Old Edgemere Drive Annual field days Barb Bray Bill McCormick card parties carnivals Clambake dances Democrat & Chronicle Don Blanchard Dr. Ed Hardenbrook Dr. Joe Martin Sr Dr. Joseph W. Martin Jr. early 1950s Edmund M. Lambiase entertainment Fred McCormick Grand View Beach Grand View Beach Club Grand View Beach Hotel Grand View Fire Department Greece Press Harold D. Cross Jim Bell Joe Mahler Joseph C. Murrer Joseph Mahler kid friendly movies Lake Ontario Leonard B. Finewood Long Pond Rd Manitou Trolley meetings Mennonites minstrel shows paraphernalia Pat Martin Protestant church Robert F. Gifford Rosenbach’s slot machines Turkey Raffle Committee William L. Dibacco
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A picture containing grass, outdoor, plant, garden Description automatically generated

They Gave Their Talent for the Benefit of the Community

June 1, 2023 |
Deep in the back of a rather large yard at Paddy Hill, hidden among the weeds and overgrown brush, is what appears to be the foundation of an old structure. Adolescents finding this structure could easily imagine themselves as an explorer discovering the ruins of an ancient civilization. A less...
Categories: 1900-1950 1950-2000 Living in Greece Stories
Tags: "shanty" "The Cat and the Canary" 1931 1946 1947 1948 1955 1957 76 Productions Auditorium Theater comedies Common School District 5 Cornell University Democrat & Chronicle Greece Post melodramas mysteries Paddy Hill Paddy Hill Players Paddy Hill Players troupe philanthropic group premier amateur theatrical group PTA Statewide Contest Times-Union Newspaper Walter Whelehan Whelehan Whelehan Family Farm
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How Different It Might Have Been?

October 1, 2019 |
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 homes for Greece's growing population, as 100 people a month moved into the town....
Categories: 1950-2000 Living in Greece Stories
Tags: 1953 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 Xerox
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Outdoor Ice Skating

February 1, 2017 |
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,...
Categories: 1900-1950 1950-2000 Living in Greece Stories
Tags: Barnard 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 Park
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