2January2009

News Letter January 2, 2009

Happy New Year from a cold and white Cambridge. We started 2009 at 1 degree (-17 wind chill) and 8” from a snowfall on Wednesday. That’s nowhere near as bad as the Blizzard of 1888 where snow drifts exceeded 40 feet and temperatures fell from the 50’s to minus 30 in a day. More on that blizzard next time, including a photo of the snow drift on East Main.

Virtual Tour of CCS
I walked the halls of CCS on Tuesday talking photos. I assembled them into a virtual tour of CCS on the website, but then removed them. Unfortunately, the staff was cleaning, fixing, and rearranging everything. So the school was quite a mess and the photos were none too flattering. Next week when school is back in session, I’ll take photos of a clean CCS and put the virtual tour online. Stay tuned.

One-Room Schoolhouses
Two years ago the town historians for White Creek, Jackson, and Cambridge put together an album of all the one-room schoolhouses around Cambridge (38, I think). The album included photos old and new, class photos, and maps. I’m working to put the album on our website. Maybe in February.

Growing up I remember hearing Cambridge described as a village of gas stations and churches.

Pearl Welling Brownell ‘53 gave me the attached photo of the Cambridge Garage from the 1920’s. It was located on East Main in the building across from King Bakery, two buildings west of Hubbard Hall. Dan McInerney had a furniture store there in the 1960’s.

The sign over the door says Sales and Service – Lincoln, Ford, Fordson – Cars, trucks, Tractors. The headlights of a new car can be seen in the right window and a Firestone tire in the left window.

The pump at the curb of East Main says Socony. Following the break-up of Standard Oil in 1911 the Standard Oil Company of New York or Socony was founded, along with 33 other successor companies. In 1920 the company registered the name "Mobiloil" as a trademark. In 1931, Socony merged with Vacuum Oil to form Socony-Vacuum. In 1955, Socony-Vacuum was renamed Socony Mobil Oil Company. In 1963, it changed its trade name from "Mobilgas" to simply "Mobil", introducing a new logo. To celebrate its 100th anniversary in 1966, "Socony" was dropped from the corporate name.

Gas Stations and Garages in Cambridge
Here’s my list of gas stations. Help me fill in the blanks. The Will Moses Cambridge History Book (1788-1988 Old Cambridge with the Will Moses painting on the cover and back) has a great section about the old garages. I didn’t cheat. I did my list from memory and then read the book. Fascinating.

Route 22: South to North

Corner Rt 22 and Cross Road – was it a gas station or just a garage? Can’t remember name of any occupants until Richardson Auto Sales
Across from CCS – Mobil - Pete Clark, Albie Messina. I’ve heard that Bill Hatch owned this before Pete. I’ve also heard George Brimmer’s name associated with this station. Last year it became a used car dealer.
Corner North Park and Ave B – Shell – Pete Clark moved here after being across from the school. Was it a garage before that? Did someone move in after Pete?
Randles Garage – current home of Subway and Schoolhouse Pizza. Someone told me that in the early 1950’s Ken Randles used his car as a bus to pick up students on SchoolHouse Hill. George MacArthur ran it after Ken. It was a car dealership too. Dodge? Pontiac?

BTW, in the field behind Randles Garage was the estate of John P Putnam, site of an early Cambridge school. After the village incorporated in 1866, the East End and West End wanted to combine the schools. Unfortunately, they couldn’t agree on the location of the school, so they opened two schools. On the West End, the old Cambridge Washington Academy at the corner of Academy Street and Pleasant Street became Cambridge Union School of the West District and the Putnam estate became Cambridge Union School of the East District (aka Putnam Institute).

Stewarts – I seem to recall a small Chevron gas station here in the late 1950’s, even though it’s right next to Randles.
Corner South Park and East Main:
1. Southwest corner - after the Red Brick Hotel was torn down (1965?) I think there was an Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) station there. Was something else there before Cumberland Farms took over? When did Cumbies move in anyway?
2. Northeast corner – Ayers Esso station was there in the 1950’s but was torn down along with the Grange Hall when the new A&P was erected (1962?)
Corner of North Park and Spring Street – Ken Keys had a station there. Can’t remember if he built it or what kind of gas. Stevens & Sons run a Citgo station there now.
Just south of the RR overpass – I know this overpass was torn down years ago (date?) but I still use it as a reference point. DuRoss had a small garage in a stone building that was just torn down in 2007. You could get gas there at any time day or night. Just pull up to the pump, honk your horn, and eventually he’d come out.

Main Street: Ash Grove to Coila

Corner Rt 313 and East Main – someone told me that Bennett’s Corner Store used to have a pump
Between Hubbard Hall and Cambridge Diner – Cambridge Garage described above
Corner West Main and North Union – there was a Flying A station there but I don’t remember who ran it. After the pumps were removed they still did repairs in the garage. There was a used car dealer there after that.
Next to the Cambridge Creek:
1. Bell & Costello had a garage on the north side of West Main. It was a car dealership too, but I can’t remember what kind. Kinney Motors is located there now
2. Dave Moore had a garage on the south side of West Main. I don’t remember the following owners but I recall Scott Smith being there in the 90’s.
Across from the Coila Church – Earl Thurber ran a gas station.
Corner of Rt 372 and Content Farms Road – Coila Garage. Believed to be the oldest garage in Cambridge, was once the largest garage north of Albany. Leslie Maxwell ran it in the 1920’s, then his son, Horace. They sold Indian motorcycles. They don’t sell gas any more but Colia Garage is still operating