Afton Historical Society

A look back at the 1981 AHS winter sports awards.

Over the holiday break, I purchased this envelope for my collection. I found that Charles Decker had written about the RFD and have copied below from his Tri-To...wn News post #177. At the 1996 Afton Fair, the Post Office booth had special displays and a cancellation commemorating the Centennial of Rural Free Delivery. R.F.O. did not just happen with the enactment of federal legislation. A trial period was first established on October 1, 1896, in Charles Town, Uvilla, and Halltown, West Virginia, near the home of Postmaster General William L. Wilson. City people had had free delivery of mail for years, but farmers had had to go to their local post office to pick up mail. Many of these were small 4th class post offices in the corner of a store. Farm organizations, especially the Grange, promoted R.F.D. as a timesaver for farmers and as an equalizer of services for city and farm folk. Not everyone was pro-R.F.D. Storekeepers who had post offices did not want to lose the business they received by the frequent visits of farmers to pick up their mail. Star Route drivers, who were under contract to carry mail from post office to post office, did not want to lose their business. They were also free to carry merchandise and passengers for a fee. Although downsizing was not yet a household word, cost was a very large concern in Washington. Establishment of R.F.D. would mean the elimination of some small post offices. Routes were to be at least 24 miles long and to serve 100 families, but there were extenuating circumstances. Congressmen were torn between the desire for support from the farm vote and for the pressure to taxpayers to save money. There was also considerable regional rivalry. Most of the early R.F.D. routes were in the Northeast and Mid-west. The South felt neglected and protested strongly. Agents went to any area to investigate possible routes when any group of farmers sent a petition to the Post Office in Washington. They were in great demand, and at the height of activity, set up 9,000 routes in one year. Afton's routes 1 and 2 were made from sketches made by Special Agent Tallman on June 6, 1904. It showed the direction of travel, the location of each house, church, and school, and the name of each corner.

About five o'clock Sunday morning a broken wheel on train 94, a fast freight leaving Binghamton at 2:30 a.m. derailed the train near Nineveh Junction and twelve... cars were piled up and destroyed. None of the train crew were injured. There were two tramps on the train and one of them was quite badly injured. He claimed to be a veteran of the late war having been recently mustered out after serving in Puerto Ricco. One leg was broken, his side injured and one or more ribs broken. He was taken to the Binghamton city hospital and it is said will recover. [Unadilla Times, Unadilla, NY, Friday, May 12, 1899, p. 1] The picture shows another train wreck in Nineveh Junction, at a later date, with the Arrowhead Store in background.

Here's a look back at the 1980 Afton Girls Basketball team on their second Susquenango Eastern Division Championship win.

The bandstand was located in the island by the present day Mirabito store. It was built in 1876. In those days the road was wider and not paved. Horse and buggi...es were used. Over time the roads were paved and cars were used and the island became smaller in size, though it was used until the 1940's for concerts and gatherings. The postcard shows Horton Hardware in the background on the left. The bandstand fell into disrepair and was taken down. A replica was built in 1976 and later was relocated to Foster Park. See more

We have discussed in the past the progression of bridges that have spanned the Susquehanna here in Afton. You can search on this page for those postings. But th...is article I ran across from July 23, 1937 in the Isabelle Jennings scrapbook held at the Museum. So, I dug back into the bridge files to give you a little background on this. There was a covered toll bridge which served the community form 1826 to 1867. It was 440 feet long and 18 feet wide, according to a report filed in the County Clerk's Office in 1849. This bridge was destroyed by "a fearful tornado", leaving only a scow for crossing the river. AC Hyde, as noted below, operated the scow. Another covered bridge replaced the first one in 1867, but it was carried away by an ice floe in 1868. It was described as "A reproach to the builder and a disappointment to the company". About 18 stockholders financed these two bridges. Following this bridge was erected the first suspension bridge in 1868. All of the bridges have been in the present day area.

Make time tomorrow to exercise your right to vote, if you haven't already! VOTE!!

Have a boo-tastic Halloween weekend! Remember to turn back your clocks tomorrow night too.

AHS Senior Class Halloween party invit and mask held at the Loomis home from 1938. From Helen Bunce scrapbook provided by Larry Silverstein.

From the Afton Enterprise, 1944, "School Opening Postponed". It has been decided that Afton Central SChool will not open on September 5th as previously announce...d due to the prevalence of Infantile paralysis. The opening date will depend on the trend of the epidemic. While there are at present no cases in Afton proper, there are several in the area served by the school buses. Parents are strongly advised to keep children from all places of public gathering and especially where polio contacts are probable. Teachers will meet on September 5th and remain available to call on short notice. See more

I want to thank everyone that wished me well as I had a total knee replacement done 6 weeks ago. I am making progress, slower than anticipated. I will resume posting next week ! Kathy Ouimet, Afton Historian

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I will be offline for the coming two weeks as I undergo a total knee replacement tomorrow. I look forward to feeling better and able to share more history with you soon!

Well the school year may have started for your family this week or will in the coming weeks. These little ones look overjoyed to be in class with their teacher,... Aletta Carpenter. This is only partially identified and undated: Front row- Rowena Barr, Joseph Delello, Charlotte Hurlburt, Frances Hurlburt Pratt, Mildred Benedict Glenn, Curtis Halpin. 2nd row: Pauline LeSuer, Leonard Thomas, Dominic Delello, Stanley LeSuer, UNKNOWN, Cathleen Camp 3rd row: Thelma Brown, UNK Sanders, UNK Tarbox, Robert Tew, Doris King, Elizabeth Barre, UNKNOWN. 4th row: Fred Harris, Bridget Gates(last two) 5th row: Myron Harris, UNKNOWN, Leta Miles, Mildred Scott, Thelma Tripp.

Family reunions were very popular when I was growing up. Nowadays our families are spread across the country and it is difficult to arrange a time or location t...o get together. My husband's family has been having a family reunion for over 100 years. They have a book that all the attendees are noted in and the births, deaths and marriages are recorded in it as well. They even had a song that they sang to honor their ancestors. This is a photo of Henry Carr holding Harriet Carr VanValkenburg in June of 1923 at the Carr family reunion in Afton. Henry was the oldest attendee and Harriet the youngest. Henry Carr was born in 1844 to John and Cordelia Hoag Carr. He ran one of the drugstores in Afton for many years and served as the Town Clerk. He married Mary A. Grover in 1868. He died in 1939 at the age of 94 and is buried in Glenwood cemetery. Harriet Carr was born in 1922 to Harry and Florence Sackett Carr. She married Milton "Mike" VanValkenburg. Harriet worked as a Teacher. The second picture shows Harriet with the desk that her relative Henry used when he served as Afton's Town Clerk. It is in the Museum's collection. Harriet died in 1998 at the age of 75 and is also buried in Glenwood Cemetery.

As we look back at the Class of 1920 and the Afton School, here are a couple of photos of the interior of the building that were included in the Yearbook. The Y...earbook was also dedicated that year to Howard French. He was a Junior, that year, and died due to complications of appendicitis. The photo of Howard is from the Museum files of him in his Boy Scout uniform. The Scouts acted as pall bearers at his funeral. The poem was included in the Yearbook.

The 1920 Yearbook has the following picture of its staff and their credentials. Here is a little bit about two of them: Lillian Lord, standing in the back row o...n the left, was the second wife of Rep. Bert Lord. She taught for over 20 years at Afton. She died in 1937 and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery. Florence Sackett Carr- was the wife of Justus Harry Carr. She taught in the school system for over 40 years. She was a DAR member, She died in 1977 and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery.

As school readies for a definitely different look this year let's take a look back 100 years on the Class of 1920 this week. Here is a class photo of the 7 memb...ers of the class and their bios included in their yearbook and highlights of their lives after school.. Alice Dodge-lived in Afton and never married. She was a member of the Methodist Church, DAR and was a Teacher. She died in 1979 and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery. Marie Dodge-Graduated from Syracuse University. She married John Eckler in 1931. A member of the Methodist Church, DAR and Class Advisor for the AHS Class of 1946. She taught over 35 years at AHS. She died in 1990 and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery. Marion Holleran-married Guy Olendorf Williams. She died in 1965 and buried in Glenwood Cemetery. She had been a member of DAR. She is buried in Glenwood Cemetery. Dorothy Shaw-married Victor Gregory, She had been a member of the Presbyterian Church and the DAR. She died in 1977 and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery. Verla Pendell-attended the Boston Conservatory of Music. She married Nelson Kellogg Richtmyer. She wrote several children's books and a book on her life, named "Verla". She died in 1991 and is buried in Coxsackie, NY. Ada Weeks-married Harold Ireland in 1955. She died in 1992 in San Bernardino, CA. Muriel Royce - married Wallace Brown in 1921. She died in December of 1948 at the age of 47, leaving a husband and son.