Lake Titus

From the collections of Steven Bryan and the Franklin County Historical and Museum Society:

1938

1936

Watercolor painted by M.E. Parmelee

Taken near Crowner Camp, ca. 1971

Last Train departs Malone

The end of railroading in Malone came Sunday, March 30, 1980, which saw the final train depart from the Malone Junction.   This image and brief caption in the Malone Telegram served as the only fanfare.

Camp Edgewater, Lake Titus

Editor's Note:  Steven Bryan, son of Eleanor Hale Bryan (dau. of Robert Hale, son of G.H. Hale) noted our reference to the extensive collection of O'Neil and Hale Insurance materials at the Franklin County Historical and Museum Society in previous posts and brought by a small sample of his Hale Family materials.  We are indebted to him for sharing these materials with us.

The Hale-French camp on Lake Titus, "Edgewater," was established in 1891 by Hiram F. and Hannah E. French, who purchased the property from the esate of A.B. Parmelee.  Ownership passed to their children, Gertrude French Hale and Calvin A. French, in 1903 and then in 1941 to Robert F. and Dorothy Stephenson Hale and Eleanor French.  In 1951 Robert and Dorothy Hale took full ownership, and the camp was sold out of the family in 1979.  [L.M. House, et al. (2005) Our Lake Titus. Potsdam, NY:  Parkhurst Brook Publishers.  P. 280]

The Hale and French families, and their many guests, logged their days at Camp Edgewater in a series of "camp books" that include photos, poems, sketches and narrative entries describing the weather, visitors and daily activities at camp.  The set of camp books spans nearly the entire time Edgewater was in the family, from 1891-1979.  The entries paint a colorful picture of life on Lake Titus, from trails hiked to fishing holes plumbed, to games played.

Robert Hale, Libe Washburn, Calvin French, J. Stewart Gibson at "Community Flag Pole" at Lake Titus, ca 1933

(click image to enlarge)

This entry from August 1, 1924 reads:

Although I have known Lake Titus for many years yet my present visit has impressed me more vividly than ever before with its many charms.  Instead of losing its wilderness characteristics by the passage of the years and the increasing occupation of its shores by people the lake has developed a still greater appearance of unspoiled seclusion.  The lovely forests clothing its shores and the embracing hills continue to grow and extend a sheltering fellowship to the homes set in their midst and to welcome the people to one of nature's delectable places.  To the wayfarer like myself Camp Edgewater with its dear and friendly habitants adds the human touch that makes a sojourn here an added joy and departure a gloom.  
-  EW Nelson  August 1/24

Another entry, this one from September 3, 1923:

It reads:

"Labor Day, Sept 3rd, 1923.
The Day we leave.  "The best summer yet" was the unanimous vote at the breakfast table on this the last morning of the vacation of 1923.  Good health, good eats, good funs, much gaming (mostly Mah Jongg) and dancing have all helped to make glad the days that have passed all too swiftly.  A pleasnat time was had by all on two grand picnics; one on Brown's Mountain, the other on Owl's head Pinnacle; not to forget the most enjoyable expedition to Skerry and Coat Hill.  Many fine hikes have been particiapted in by various members of the camp - some along familiar trails and some over new territory.  "Yes, we have no bananas to-day," "Beale Street Momma," "Barney Google" and other classical melodies have enlivened our spirits and our feet at early morn and late at night.  Only ten months till we come again.  Hasten the glad day."

The Mah Jongg set mentioned in this entry is still owned by Nancy Hale:

The temperatures and barometer readings recorded daily during the summer of 1923:

This 1934 poem by Dorothy S. Hale indicates that recording the weather thus was routine at Edgewater:

      THE CHART KEEPER
One panel in the living room is lined
With weater charts full ten years old and more.
And all the years my memory serves there's been
Beside the wet thermometer upon the wall,
A paper neatly lined and numbered off
Showing the days both passed by and to come:
And those passed by all neatly written in: -
What wind- what sun and what precipitation.

----------------------------------------------
Other Resources:
- June 11, 1885 Malone Palladium article by A.B. Parmelee recalling an 1842 excursion to Lake Titus
- "History of Lake Titus" by Robert F. Hale in Franklin Historical Review, vol. 6, 1970.
-  L.M. House, et al. (2005) Our Lake Titus. Potsdam, NY:  Parkhurst Brook Publishers.

- Lake Titus Potpourri by Frances Willson Daily

Loon Lake Railroad Station

From the collection of the Franklin County Historical and Museum Society:

Loon Lake, after 1918

(click image to enlarge)

Chateaugay Historical Society Antique Appraisal

An Antique Appraisal, sponsored by the Chateaugay Historical Society, will be held on October 23, 2010 from 10 AM to 3 PM at the Knights of Columbus building located on Rt. 374 in Chateaugay. Four Appraisers will be available: 

Barb Bilow – Toys, dolls and general items. 
Dee Skinner – Coins, Jewelry, dishes and porcelains. 
Frank Bova – Furniture. 
Shirley Fleury – Articles from the 20’s thru the 50’s. 

Donations welcome.  Food will be available.

Questions?  Call:
John Martin 497-6855

Peggy Roulston 425-0425 or 497-0497

Composer James Houston Spencer

Franklin County, NY native James H. Spencer is being honored in the 30th season of the Adrian, Michigan Symphony Orchestra.  A former professor at Adrian College, Spencer composed The Fiddler of the Northern Lights, which debuts as part of the  Adrian Symphony Orchestra's October Program.

From the ASO website's program note by Amy Winberg: 

The Fiddler of the Northern Lights


James Houston Spencer (1985–1967)

These past few weeks, the Music History class of Fall 2010 has had the opportunity to delve into the past and become acquainted with our wonderful new building’s namesake, James Houston Spencer. We would like to thank Hildreth Spencer, James’s daughter, for taking the time to help us reconnect with our past. Peeking into this composer’s mind has allowed us to experience history, both in the past and currently in the making. We invite you to join us as we venture deeper into the life that was James Spencer.

James Houston Spencer was born on July 28, 1895 in Malone, New York, a small town on the border between New York and Quebec, to parents Franklin Talmadge Spencer and Mary Elizabeth Houston. Even without formal training, both of his parents were proficient musicians, his father in trumpet and violin and his mother in piano, which exposed James to the joys of music from a very young age. Spencer studied piano and cello during his childhood in Malone and later pursued music at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It was here that Spencer made the decision to give up the cello in favor of the organ and pursue his interest in conducting and composition, studying under Arthur Foote as well as George Whitefield Chadwick. In the summer of 1921, Spencer interviewed for the position of music director at Adrian College and soon made Adrian his home, teaching and composing numerous works. Tonight, we remember Spencer with the premiere of his final work, The Fiddler of the Northern Lights.

Fiddler was finished, according to the final page of the score, at 4:00 pm on September 29, 1966. It combines Spencer’s natural story-telling ability with his mature musical style. Living so near the Canadian border, the local store would sell to customers not just from Malone, but also those who came down from Canada, specifically those from Quebec. We see this cultural influence in the appearance of the two French folk songs employed in the piece, "Frère Jacques" and "Allouette," and in the story from which the work draws its inspiration.

Fiddler is a tone poem depicting the old French Canadian folk legend of the myth of the northern lights. According to the legend, a mysterious, grisly old man would appear unannounced in the night carrying with him a black fiddle and would come knocking on the door. If the unsuspecting family allowed him entrance, he would begin to play. As the stranger began to play, the Aurora Borealis would appear in the sky and the more frantic the music became, the more brilliant the ethereal lights would flash, until as quickly as he had come, the fiddler would disappear again into the night.

The Fiddler of the Northern Lights was the last piece James Spencer ever composed. After his death, Hildreth and her mother decided to allow the Detroit Public Library to house his compositions in the Burton Historical Collection, but elected to retain his last, feeling that it would not live up to his normal standards due to the fact that Spencer was dying of prostate cancer at the time of its composition.

However, sometime after her father’s death, Hildreth Spencer brought the work to the attention of a Dr. Poole, a staff conductor for the Detroit Symphony, who pronounced the piece workable after viewing it. After holding back the score for over 50 years, Hildreth brought the manuscript to Adrian Symphony Orchestra Music Director John Thomas Dodson, who then prepared a performing version of the work for tonight’s premiere. The Fiddler of the Northern Lights, then, is the last fantastic tale told in music by James Houston Spencer, the father of our new building.

According to a 1928 article in the Malone Farmer, Spencer took music lessons from the Mother Superior of the Ursuline Convent in Malone, Rev. Mother Stanislaus, who also taught at St. Joseph's Academy. 
 

B.A. Whitney & Son Music Store

A Franklin County resident recently inquired about the firm of B.A. Whitney & Son, Malone, NY, which was on his piano.  A little research turned up multiple newspaper ads and the 1931 obituary of Byron A. Whitney, which reads in part:

  "Byron A. Whitney, for many years engaged in the piano and music business in Malone, and a former trustee of Malone village, passed from mortal life Saturday evening at his home, 115 West Main street, aged 85 years.

[...]
   Byron A. Whitney was born in the town of Dickinson in June 1845, a son of Peter ad [sic] Lucinia Whitney.  His parents were pioneers of the town and came to Dickinson with others from Alburgh, Vt., making the journey by ox team and cart, when this North Country was little more than an unbroken wilderness.  Peter Whitney and his wife were among the founders of the hamlet of Alburgh, a community which lies partly in the town of Dickinson and partly in the town of Moira.  They gave the first settlement the name of Alburgh in honor of the Vermont town from which they came. 
    Byron A. Whitney received the rudiments of his education in the district schools of Dickinson, and later completed his education in the old Lawrenceville Academy.  For several years after his graduation he taught school in the districts adjacent to his home, being an instructor [in] nineteen school terms.  He possessed natural talent in music, and while engaged as a district school teacher also taught singing school in various communities.
    He later went to Des Moines, Iowa, remaining there for a few [years].  Returning east he established himself in business in Norwood, remaining there until he removed to Malone in 1893, and established his piano and music business here, eventually purchasing the property at 115 West Main street, which was thereafter his home and business location.  At the time of his comign to Malone he conducted an insurance agency as a branch of his business, but later disposed of the agency to O'Neil & Hale and devoted his entire time to the sale of music merchandise. 
    In this he was busily occupied and for years he personally delivered the pianos and organs he sold, driving his delivery team and wagon long distances to all parts of Franklin and St. Lawrence counties.  Always greatly interested in church muisc he presented organs to many churches in the local territory.   Four years ago he sold his business to his son, Olin H. Whitney, who has since conducted the piano and music business at the West Main street location.  For a time the firm was known as B.A. Whitney & Son."

January 29, 1897 Franklin Gazette:

1895 ads from Franklin Gazette: 

From 12-21-1894 Franklin Gazette:

   

Fourth Grade School Program

Busy minds and hands at the first day of the fall 2010 Fourth Grade Museum Day school program at the House of History museum in Malone: