RAZE TIME: If you haven’t seen the city’s skyline since the old
Eagles building was torn down on East Washington Street, come check
it out. Its absence is a big improvement to the downtown.
Meanwhile, we heard from Lee Morehouse of Bradford about that
building’s history: “The building that is being demolished on East
Washington is referred to as home of the Eagles club. Long before
the club was in there, back in the early ’50s, Leon Taylor had a
thriving upholstery and furniture business in that building.
Incidentally, Leon was an avid barbershopper.”
Lee also has some information about that old “fluoroscope”: “The
other item is in reference to the machine for checking shoe fit. In
the early 1940s, I worked in the Triangle Shoe Store in Olean.
There was such a machine in the center of the store which we simply
called the X-ray machine. That was long before there was felt a
danger from over exposure to X-rays and we used it
extensively.”
Speaking of that X-ray machine, we had a clarification from Mary
Lou Cauley of Bradford: “I guess you might say I grew up in Brown’s
Boot Shop. My dad, Sheridan Henretty was manager there from 1940
until he retired in 1963.”
“At that time my husband, Bill Cauley, was named manager. He
held that position until Brown’s closed their entire chain of
stores in the mid-eighties. I worked there part-time when I was in
high school, graduating from St. Bernard high school in 1949. As I
recall, the X-ray machine was up the street at Ash shoe store.
“I am not completely certain about that, but I am certain there
never was one in Brown’s. I have many fond memories of Brown’s and
the men and women who worked there over those 45 years. Main Street
was bustling in those days, and was a fun place to work.”
EAST END: Dave Wells writes about stores at his end of town: “…
The Tarport Inn, Thomas’ restaurant; Where the parking lot is there
was a shoe repair guy and a barber shop in the same building.
Colburn Jewelry and the Atlantic filling station where Togi’s
is.”
WRONG ROSE: A 40-year reader corrects an item we had about a hat
shop owned by Rose Kreinson. Actually, it was Rose Tierney’s hat
shop.
