You will remember that the Lane Hotel occupied the northwest corner of Main and Liberty Sts. for many years and that the structure still stands today as an apartment house. Moving north along the west side of Main St., there are three similar small structures. The first appeared in an 1878 drawing of the Lane Hotel. Identity of the early occupants of this structure, at 5 North Main St. is unknown at the moment, but by 1896 it was a general store operated by Houghwot and Heirs. In 1930, Earl Ruland rented the space. By 1942, the shop was known as the “Yellow & Black Store”. A newspaper ad at the time urged readers to “bring the coupon on page 9” to the Yellow & Black Store to get “2 Large Pkgs” of Oxydol “for 37 cents” with the newspaper coupon. From 1952-1962, the Yellow & Black Store was run by Earl Ruland, Doris, and Ray Hewitt. Louis Benson took over the operation of Benson’s Yellow & Black Store from 1963-1973. He advertised a “Complete Selection of Groceries and Meats” and, wait for it, customers received “S&H Green Stamps” with their purchases. You could even call in your order. Those were the days of seven-digit phone numbers where the first two digits were identified by letters; theirs was PL 7-4710. From 1979-1994 the establishment was known as the “Bushel & Peck General and Grocery Store”. William Peck was the entrepreneur.

The building at 9 North Main St. was constructed after those at 5 and 11 North Main St. While its actual construction date is not known, from 1903-1930 it was a meat market. In the 1950s it was Edie’s Beauty Parlor, and from 1971-1992 Elmer Roberts operated a printing business.

Again, the date of construction of the building at 11 North Main St. is not known. For a time, the front of the building housed the office of Moll Hide. Another Moll building was behind the Main St. office; it still is there. The Russell Community Library was on the second floor of the Moll building for a time. The T. T. Moll Shoe Store occupied the structure from 1915-1926. Somewhat later, from 1964-1994, Hammermill Paper Co. (later International Paper Co.) had an office in the front portion of the building. Employees, Warren (Skip) Bobeau and Ron Snyder, were housed here. I remember visiting Skip Bobeau here to get permission for a forestry research study on Hammermill property in New York State administered from this office. After IP closed the office, Dawn Whitten sold quality, second-hand clothing from her shop, “Raspberry Boutique”.

Dawn Whitten didn’t have far to go to work. She lived next door at 13 North Main St. in a house previously owned by the Mansfields. In August 2012, the Whitten property was purchased by the Russell Methodist Church. The house was removed from the property by the Russell Volunteer Fire Department, who used it for a controlled burn training exercise in July 2013. The barn belonging to the property still exists at the rear of the property.

Photos submitted to Times Observer Santa listened to the Christmas desires of children for presents at the Russell United Methodist Church, where refreshments were being served. Kendyll and Bodie Tome pose with Santa after relating their requests. Photo by Steve Horsley.

The Russell Volunteer Fire Department had conducted another controlled burn at the former Bailey house next door, at 15 North Main St., in the mid-1990s.

The next house north of the Bailey house was the Russell Methodist Church parsonage. Remodeled in 1970, the parsonage became surplus after a new parsonage was purchased in 2003. This building too was demolished in 2008 to make way for a new Ministry Center.

17 North Main St. is the address of the Russell United Methodist Church. The original church structure was erected in 1854 for the princely sum of $2000. Several renovations were made over time preceding the construction of a new Ministry Center completed in 2015.

The remaining two houses on the west side of the block at the corner of Main and East Sts. were those of Rensselar Chapman at 19 North Main St. and D. Clark (probably Dr. William A. Clark) at 21 North Main St. Chapman first appears in the 1840 census of Russell and in subsequent census records through 1880. The census records for 1890 were destroyed in a fire; Rensselar Chapman was not in the 1900 census record. Dr. William A. Clark (born May 11, 1920, died November 9, 1886) was a well-respected physician in Russellburg who is buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery. In January 1914, the Bell System telephone office was moved to the house of Alice Clark. Alice was the Bell Operator and her home served as the Main Office until March 1, 1937, when the dial system came to Russell. Both the Rensselar and Clark residences were torn down when the Russell Methodist Church parking lot was built.

Crossing to the east side of Main Street at the corner with East St. is 26 North Main St. The Hummel house is thought to have been built by Samuel Allen, a local farmer, about 1880.

Moving south on North Main St., the house at 24 North Main St. is thought to be the Christenson home, built by John Hatton, a local wagon maker, about 1873.

Twenty-two North Main St. was the Burlingame house. This was the site of the Jones Evergreen Nursery. A newspaper ad for the nursery advertises “Christmas trees, Scotch Pine, Balsam, Spruce, Red Pine” at the 22 North Main St. address. The trees actually may have been in the vacant lot (20 North Main St.) to the right of the house.

The Thomas Chase house at 18 North Main St. was built about 1865. More recently, Edward Voty housed his insurance business there. In August 2011, the Russell United Methodist Church acquired the property and the house was removed in January 2012. Today, the lot is vacant.

Asa Carr is shown as the owner of the property at 12 North Main St. on the 1878 map of Russellsburg. From 1899-1912, Carr operated a livery stable with an ice house on the second floor of the building until 1906. From 1946-1990, William Barrett operated a garage and Texaco gas station. Keith Niver took over the business in 1990. The same 1993 Pennsylvania legislation requiring catchments beneath underground gasoline storage tanks to prevent water pollution that resulted in the suspension of gasoline sales at Willard Weatherby’s Keystone Service Station also applied to Keith Niver’s Texaco Service Station. The gasoline storage tanks were removed, though car repair services continued for a time. Today, the property is for sale, though renovation of soil around a lift within the building may be required to use the property for purposes other than a car repair shop.

Beginning in 1886, P.F. Lewis operated a funeral parlor at 6 or 8 North Main St., next to the Adams Hotel. In 1906, Willis C. Hale purchased the building and opened a hardware store. Gerald and Harold Hale operated the business from 1906-1963. Interestingly, the building had the only public restrooms in town. The building was destroyed by fire in 1963 and was not rebuilt.

Since last month’s article on the businesses at the corner of Main and Liberty Sts., there is some new information to report about the old Adams Hotel structure that eventually became Swanson’s American Hardware Store. The building has been sold and the new owner is preparing it for business. The new business has not been disclosed. Stay tuned.

The information in this article is not complete. There is still much to learn about Russell in the days before our time. If you can contribute to this knowledge, please contact the ROAR Committee at the town office building.

ROAR Meeting December 2, 2019

The Russell “Hometown Christmas” event sponsored by ROAR on November 30 was a great success. Santa arrived on a Russell Fire Department fire truck during the tree lighting at Larimer Park, sponsored by the Pine Grove Lioness (Photo 1). Over at the Russell United Methodist Church, attendees were served soup, cider, hot chocolate and cookies, and kids had a chance to give Santa their list of desired Christmas presents (Photo 2). Following refreshments, the Chautauqua Belles and Conewango Clippers regaled attendees with Christmas music. Outside, hayrides around town were offered. Overall, there were about 100 attendees and a good time was had by all.

In other business, several amendments were made to the Articles of Incorporation for the ROAR 501c3, which was approved on November 12. Final approval should be in the next three to six months.

The date for the 2020 Pine Grove Days celebration was set for Saturday, May 25.

The next ROAR meeting will be held Monday, January 13, 2020, at the Pine Grove Township Town Hall on Liberty St. at 6:30 pm. Residents are welcome to attend.

Supervisors Report

(Dec. 11)

The construction project to upgrade the municipal water system in Russell is nearing completion. The replacement of old, outdated mains is finished and now work crews are hooking up individual households and businesses to the new lines. The improvements include the new mains and installation of services to customers on the new lines. In addition, several “dead ends” have been eliminated which helps reduce sediment in lines. While the major construction is nearly completed, final clean up, lawn and street repairs will likely have to wait until early spring. The results of this project should be a significant reduction in water loss due to leaks, easier maintenance of the system and improved water quality.

Several projects, issues, and initiatives are on the township’s winter agenda. First, the township is hoping that it can complete the bank stabilization at the mouth of Johnny Run. Although the township has had the necessary permits to undertake the repair work for several months, we were restricted from doing so until January of 2020. This was due to Johnny Run’s designation as a wild trout stream. We are hoping for a spell of mild weather, along with low streamflow, which would enable us to complete the work necessary to remove the large tree blocking the mouth and repairing the severe bank erosion caused by the tree. The township has approved a contract to replace approximately 1300 feet of the guide rail. It is anticipated this work will be done within the next few weeks. The construction of the township’s salt storage shed is about to complete. This shed will protect road salt from loss to weather exposure. The building also will provide much-needed storage space for the township’s road grader. Due to the anticipated opening of a landfill just across the state line from northern Pine Grove Township, the Board of Supervisors will be passing an ordinance to bond the Howard and Gouldtown Roads. This will protect these two roads from potential damage due to heavy truck traffic accessing the landfill. The supervisors have been concerned about the growing number of Russell residents who are not paying their water and/or sewer bills. Many of these people ignore repeated overdue notices. While the municipal authority can shut off water for delinquent bills, it cannot do so with sewers. The township has become more aggressive in filing claims with the district magistrate and placing liens on homes or businesses for delinquent bills. A list of individuals with overdue amounts greater than $500.00 will soon be posted on the Pine Grove Township website. Another major issue that has recently emerged is the dumping of household garbage and refuse at the township’s site on Cider Mill Hill Road. This site is open to township residents for disposal of tree trimmings, leaves, and other organic yard waste. It is not a garbage dump. If this practice continues, we will be forced to place a lock and gate on the site. Obviously, for the convenience of our residents, we do not want to do this.

Planning for 2020 road work is underway. Major work on Pine Street and lower East Street which was postponed due to the water construction project will be given top priority. Several roads will be graded and seal coated. Input from residents on the 2020 road work schedule is welcome. Residents can email their suggestions, call the township office or attend a Board of Supervisors meeting to offer their input. The Board of Supervisors will be changing its membership in January. Charlie Morrison, who has served on the board for 12 years, is being replaced by Linda Farnsworth. Charlie’s dedication to serving the residents of Pine Grove Township is appreciated. His knowledge and expertise will be missed. Linda will officially begin her duties as a township supervisor on Monday, January 6 when the annual organization meeting of the Board of Supervisors will be held. This meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall on East Street. As always, the public is welcome to attend. Additionally, residents are reminded that the Board of Supervisors meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m.at the Pine Grove Township Hall. All meetings of the supervisors are open to the public.

From all employees and supervisors of Pine Grove Township, we wish all a safe, happy and peaceful holiday season.