Greetings all! 2005 marks the 75th
Anniversary of the Alplaus Volunteer Fire Company. We are planning for a bigger
parade this year to honor this special event. Since July 4th falls on a Monday
this year, all the events will be condensed into one fun-filled weekend!
We
are also planning a float competition with prizes to be awarded for the best one.
Get together with the neighbors on your street, your fraternal or civic
organization, or anyone you can shanghai into participating - and enter your
float in the parade. We will be holding a Firefighter Skills Competition again
this year just prior to the block party. Turn out and cheer the volunteers on,
it promises to be great fun.
Sunday, July 3rd – 10:30 AM
Ecumenical Community Church
Service at the Alplaus Firehouse Pavilion.
Sunday, July 3rd – 7:00 PM until midnight
Firefighter Skills
Competition.
Block Party at the
Pavilion. Food, drink, conversation,
music and friends.
Monday, July 4th – 11:00 AM
The Parade. Line-up forms at Glencliff School Road
promptly at 10:00 AM.
ALL ARE WELCOME AT ALL
EVENTS !!!
Parade Entrants: Please complete and return
the parade entry form on the last page of this newsletter no later than Monday
June 20th, 2005 to Lt. Mike Sheppeck, Parade Chairman.
Remember,
your position in the parade line-up will be provided after you arrive at
Glencliff School Road the morning of the parade. Don’t be late!
Alplaus
Historical Society
by Bob Culver
At the meeting of May 19, Jack Erickson, who now
lives in Rexford, gave a very interesting account of his family's purchase of
their home on Hill Street (now occupied by the Gary Vedder family) from author
Kurt Vonnegut.
It was
noted that at that time Mr. Vonnegut worked for General Electric and was not a
well-known author. Jack read a letter to the group from the Vonneguts written
some time after the Ericson purchase, detailing some of the events in the village
in the late '40s and early '50s.
Kurt
Vonnegut joined the Alplaus Fire Company in October 1947, sponsored by his
brother Bernard, who lived where the Sheppeck family now lives.
One new
House History was received. The committee will pursue this project; it is the
goal to obtain as many House Histories as possible to build an album of our
community.
The next meeting will be on September 15 at
7pm.
Glenville
Seniors
by Betty Vedder
This might be a good time to publish the rules for
membership and the many activities available at the Senior Center. Anyone
who is 55 years or older in Alplaus is eligible to join the Glenville group for
an annual fee of $10. Those who are outside of the Town of Glenville and wish
to join us can do so for $20.
It is difficult to
mention all of the activities but we can print some. Ballroom dancing,
line dancing, weekly card playing including bridge, pinochle, canasta and Mah
Jong, a book club, Tuesday Koffee Klutch with Konversation, Pickle ball,
bowling, golfing and bocce, photography club, free computer lessons and
more. There are also many classes offered and taught by trained
instructors. Several social functions are scheduled throughout the year
with entertainment and yummy refreshments.
Younger
and older Seniors who are interested can go over to 32 Worden Road and look the
place over. There is always someone at the front desk to welcome, direct, and
answer questions. You might also take note that their outreach picnic will take
place on Wednesday, July 20, at our own Alplaus Firehouse Pavilion.
Reservations can be made by calling 393-1946.
Samuel's
We have been enjoying an extremely successful month
here at Samuel's and are anticipating a very busy Grand Opening, which, by the
time you read this, will have come and gone.
The staff at Samuel's would
like to thank all of you for supporting us and we hope you are enjoying your experiences
with us as much as we enjoy meeting with and getting to know you.
If
you have not stopped by yet you are missing out on the best fresh baked goods
in the Capital Region (Aunt Nette's Sweets & Stuff) along with the most
unique coffee in our area. We also feature Italian Sodas, our own Arctic Raven
(a delicious frozen concoction), Tazo teas and hot chocolate.
We
have had many requests for a lunch menu and while our vision for Samuel's has
always been to be an excellent coffee house we value your input and are
considering adding a lite fare menu in the future. We are in the process of
hiring more staff which will relieve Jenn and me from our 12 hour work days,
thus giving us more time to consider menu additions, etc.
If you are
a firefighter, police officer or you are in the military, the staff of Samuel's
would like to honor you with a complimentary card good for ten free drinks of
your choice. Thank you for everything you do for your community on a daily
basis. Just drop by anytime to receive your card.
Thank you again for welcoming us, we look
forward to seeing you all,
Matt, Jenn and Cherie
Memories
by Betty Vedder
As the time for the Grand Opening of Samuel's drew
near, it brought back many recollections of the building itself throughout the
years. I first remember it as the grocery store owned and operated by
Marvin DuBois, I was about 5 or 6 years old. This period of time was about
the height of the depression years. There were two other Alplaus grocery
stores, Boice's where the Post Office is now and Vadney's where the Winchester
apartments are now. There were no commercial businesses on Saratoga Road
and larger grocery stores were in the heart of Schenectady. Not very many
people owned cars, so some folks would occasionally take the trolley into the
city for groceries.
DuBois'
was in the center of the hamlet and seemed to be the busiest. The Post
Office was held at the front left side of the building. In any of the
three stores you could run a " Bill " if you had to. This helped
many of the Alplaus people get through the depression. Marvin maintained
the store for many years. The next ones I recall were Marion and Bob
Morris who were originally from Charlton. Bob had been working a mobile
grocery business around the area. After they took over I worked at the
store when I was a teenager on summer vacation. It was fun because you
knew everyone and they were good to work for.
When Bob
retired Sam and Esther Rubin took over. Sam was very well known for his
excellent meat products. People came from all over to purchase them. When
Sam's health gave out he had to give up the store. At this point the
Alplaus grocery business began to diminish. Once it started, Saratoga Road
quickly became crowded with commercial buildings, one after another. Central
Market, which later became Price Chopper, put our little stores out of business
because more people owned cars to
drive up for cheaper prices.
Through
these later years some folks have tried to make a success of different
enterprises in the old store. Lance Giles from the Alplaus Farm, Don Hickerson
, then Lorie with light refreshments with the Post Office in the rear. Together
the two projects were more than one person could handle so she moved the
Post office up to where it is now.
Many of
you know that a few years ago a very caring philanthropist from Alplaus bought
the building for Y.F.C. Everyone was very appreciative of this but the building
had to be completely renovated. I'm not so sure when it was built but I
know how old I am so it was many years ago. Everything from top to bottom
had to be restored and all had to be done with donations and
volunteers. If you found yourself saying "What's going on with Samuel's?
When is it opening?", that's why it took so long.
I
sincerely believe that the finished building greatly exceeds any goals that
were set. It's not only for the youths it was begun for, but now includes
everyone, young and old alike. We can sit down together and enjoy each other's
company in a beautiful and warm setting.
Let's face it, this is what our Alplaus is
all about and always has been. If anyone has problems we share them and help if
we can. We're there for the kids, the young people and us old folks. I
thank God that I was born and brought up in Alplaus. I hope to see you all
at Samuel's sometime for a special happy visit. Bring along your friends.
Mildred
C. Lundy
Mildred C. (Engels) Lundy of
Bradenton, Florida, born in Newark, New York on April 23, 1908, passed away
from this earthly life on April14, 2005, to her eternal rest with her Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. She is survived by her daughter, Ruth E. Mosher of
Bradenton, her son, Clifford G. Lundy of Chattanooga, Tennessee, five
grandchildren, and ten great grandchildren.
Mrs. Lundy was married to Richard T. Lundy in
Lyons, New York on August 8, 1929. They lived in Alplaus on Mohawk Avenue from
about 1940 to 1963 and retired to Bradenton in 1964. Richard
Lundy died in 1988.
In lieu
of flowers, the family requests
that gifts be made in her memory to her church,
the Palma Sola
Community Church, 8604 - 9th Ave NW. Bradenton, FL 34209.
Ladies
Auxiliary
by Vicki Watkins
The Auxiliary has been extremely busy this first
week of June. By the time you read this issue of the HTN the Village Wide Flea
Market and Garage Sale will be over as well as the annual Old Timers' Fire
Company dinner. We would like to acknowledge and thank the following businesses
who made donations of food and/or beverages for the Flea Market: Culligan
Water, Dunkin Donuts, Freihoffer Baking, Glenville Beverage, Hannaford, Pepsi,
Price Chopper, Sam's Club, Save-More Beverage, Saratoga Springs Water,
Stewart’s and Wal-Mart.
Now that the rain has finally stopped you
may have noticed the new flower plantings around the firehouse and the Ted
Schwarz Memorial Park.
Many thanks to our Beautification Committee, headed by Elizabeth Burke, Kathy
Boyle and Kim Sheely for brightening up our community. We appreciate these annual flowers donated
to us by the Schenectady County Soil and Water Conservation District and
Cornell Cooperative Extension horticulture job training program in
Schenectady's Central Park.
Our
flags are once again flying along Alplaus Avenue. I would like to acknowledge
and thank Jamie MacFarland, Town of Glenville, Director of Human Services, for
making this possible. Thanks also to Gary Withey for putting up our flags in
time for Memorial Day.
Even
though we will be on vacation until September, we are already making some plans
for the fall. We will be sponsoring the
National Safety Council’s Defensive Driving Course on October 6th
and 13th from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. This class will be open to the
community and sign up information will be in the September issue of the HTN.
Our
first meeting after the summer break will be on Monday, September 26th
at the firehouse. It will be a covered dish supper and will start at 6:30 pm. The
Auxiliary is open to anyone who lives within the fire district. We are always interested
in welcoming new members. Please feel free to attend any of our meetings. Call Vicki Watkins at
399-0184 if you have any questions.
Best wishes for a wonderful summer.
