Endicott - Beirne.com

Endicott
T
here are many members of our collective family who worked in the Triple-Cities area. All migrated there for the opportunity that it represented to so many people. My mother Mary Sammons Beirne was no exception. She went there because of Ideal Hospital.
Ma lived and worked in Endicott for 65 years (1929-1994). During that time, she had approximately eleven different addresses. These were book-ended by the hospital. She started there
after graduating from nursing school in 1929 and died there in 1994 when it was known as the Ideal
Living Center. Even when she was living outside of Endicott for some brief periods, she commuted
to the hospital to work. It was the central focus of her working life and her primary means of supporting herself and her family.
She never drove so she had to walk or use public transportation. Therefore, her home (apartment) selection was constrained to an area that was commutable to the hospital. She lived most of
her working years in the Union area between Bridge Street (Vestal Avenue) and Badger Avenue.
Later, she moved to central Endicott to Garfield Avenue and Monroe Street.
Originally, the state of New York was comprised of ten counties. Albany County was one of
these and was formed in 1691. From that emerged Tyron County in 1772 and was later changed to
Montgomery. In 1791, Tioga County was created from Montgomery and the Town of Union was
established as one part of it. The Town of Union remained part of Montgomery until Broome County was formed in 1806. This is the county that eventually included all of the cities that we know as
Endicott, Johnson City, and Binghamton (the Triple Cities).
The earliest settlers came to the area as soldiers in the army of Sullivan and Clinton during the American Revolution. The two armies converged in an area called “Union” on August 19,
1779. That was how the area became known as the Town of Union. The first non-military settler
was Joseph Draper and he settled in an area called Nanticoke. In that area was a gristmill and it was
located along Nanticoke Cree where it enters the Susquehanna River. This was the only settlement
between Owego and Newburg, New York, so a hotel was built there in what was known as Union
Corners.
Sullivan-Clinton Campaign
The purpose of the revolutionary expedition of these armies was to burn and destroy Indian
villages, mostly along the Susquehanna River. The ultimate destination was Tioga Point in Athens,
Pennsylvania. This is the current site of the Tioga Point cemetery where our great-grandfather,
William Henry Sammons (1848-1924), is buried. The armies were assembled at the source of the
Susquehanna River at Oswego Lake. From there, they traveled south to Chenango Point (now Binghamton). They later traveled west where they met in the Town of Union. A monument to that effort
was erected on the corners of Main Street and Badger Avenue near the area where we lived.
In the earliest beginnings, most of the residents were involved with farming and lumbering
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and were supported with gristmills and blacksmith shops. The sequence of incorporation for the
various villages was Union in 1871, Johnson City (then Lestershire) in 1892, and Endicott in 1906.
Before the area became industrialized, there were three large farms along what is now Oak
Hill Avenue on the north side of Endicott. The Union Endicott High School was part of an operating
farm.
The first main industrial shoe company was the Lester Brothers Boot and Shoe Company,
constructed in Lestershire (now Johnson City). The Village of Endicott was named in the honor of
Henry B. Endicott who had been born in Massachusetts in 1853. In 1875, he founded a Leather
Goods business and established offices for the company in Boston. One of his customers was the
Lester Brothers' Boot and Shoe Company in Lestershire (later to become Johnson City).
The Lester Company was not going too well and was unable to pay its bills to Mr. Endicott
so he took stock in the company instead of payment for his services. Later, he bought out the rest
of the interest of the Lester brothers and became its president and CEO. He took over the company
and, in 1899, he made George F. Johnson the superintendent of the entire factory and that's how
George F. Johnson came to the Endicott area. In 1901, Endicott-Johnson (known as E-J) opened their
new shoe factory in the village of Endicott.
The largest increase in population came between 1920 and 1966 from the efforts of EndicottJohnson and IBM. Countless immigrants (foreign-born and domestic) came to the area because of
the opportunity and to participate in some of the very progressive elements of working for EndicottJohnson (home ownership, medical care, profit-sharing, etc.).
Early in the 1920s, Endicott-Johnson began a residential development program, building
many homes for its workers. They were then sold to the workers and provided many with their first
homes.
Enjoie Park
All along the river in Endicott were a variety of parks and neighborhoods. At the end of what
is now Washington Avenue, where it converges with Riverview, was an area called Casino Park. It
was called the Ideal Pavilion and Club House and would later server as the location for both of my
sisters' wedding receptions. In 1920, a concrete swimming pool was erected at Ideal Park and it was
the largest and finest in the state at that time. It was also a part of a racetrack that included excellent
horse stables behind what is now Union Endicott High School. Later, the track itself would become
the Union Endicott High School sports’ track and field location and the center of it was the football
field.
In the winter in the 1950s, they found ways to flood what is that center oval of the park so
that it would freeze for ice-skating for the public at large. In the 1930s, they changed the name of
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the park to the En-joie Health Park. In addition to the annual fireworks (see later), there were free
band concerts offered at the park with performances by some of the best bands in the country. The
Town of Union had four different parks, each built and equipped by George F. Johnson. The first of
these in Endicott was opened in 1934. One of their main attractions was a merry-go-round for the
children. For many years, Endicott-Johnson operated all of the parks. This was done at its expense
and there was no charge for the children to ride any of the merry-go-rounds.
We all used the park and facility during our development years. Below is a photo circa 1910.
The Susquehanna River
The first destructive flood was in March 1936 when the river rose to the highest point that it
had reached since the great flood of 1865. The entire length of the Town of Union was hit hard by
high water as were the rest of communities in New York and Pennsylvania. The current Ty Cobb
Stadium and the E-J horse stables were completely under water. Immediately after the flooding in
1936, it was decided to protect the adjoining lands by constructing a series of levees along the entire
course of the river. These weren't completed until 1960. These levees were constructed from Round
Top all the way to Johnson City from a west to east direction. During the 1950s, the construction
directly engaged all of us as kids who played at Mercereau Park and also were involved with Victory
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Gardens along the Susquehanna River. The gardens were planted all along what is now Mercereau
Park and River Terrace in Endicott. A later flood in the 1960s really impacted the Elmira region and
had a positive influence on reconstruction businesses, including floor covering, where my sister and
her husband were running their business.
E-J Medical Service
Soon after the founding of E-J, Mr. Johnson initiated a company medical service available to
workers and their entire families. The primary purpose of the company was in tanning leather and
manufacturing shoes. Business was conducted by 17,000 workers out of a pool of 60,000 individuals in the total community. Mr. Johnson instituted medical care and housing as major benefits for his
employees. E-J basically built the Village of Endicott before IBM became a major player. It is said
that Johnson influenced Watson in ways that caused IBM to institute very good benefits programs for
its employees. There was so much opportunity that some people started at E-J, moved to IBM and
then returned to E-J. Much of this movement was due to the benefits programs at E-J.
Free Shoes
For many years, the Johnsons treated all school children in Endicott and Johnson City to a
new pair of shoes (free of charge). It was very common in the August-September time frame to see
hundreds of people converging on the E-J stores to claim their shoes.
West Endicott
The area identified as West Endicott was basically a bi-product of the E-J Corporation as it
first began operations. It's about two miles down river from the Village of Endicott and consists of
the area between Nanticoke Creek and Page Avenue on the west and east and the Susquehanna River
and the railroad tracks on the north. Although many of the areas in this district had been settled as
early as 1785, it was during the years after that when it became what we experienced.
In that specific area, two businesses were established years ago that became regular haunts
and havens as we grew up. One was Mike and Louie's Restaurant, which later became Kelly's Bar
and Grill, owned by an old and dear friend. The other was Fusco's Restaurant. Gregorio Fusco
started Fusco’s after he came from his native Italy before the turn of the century. In about 1892, he
first lived in Vestal and then he went to work for Endicott Johnson where he became acquainted with
Mr. Johnson. He eventually moved his family to one of the first of small houses built on Clark Street
by E-J. In 1905, Mr. Fusco purchased the area that later became his restaurant. He initially started
out with a greenhouse that provided vegetables, fruit, and other produce to the area. In later years,
he discontinued that and built a restaurant in 1919. Initially it was called The Brothers and Sisters
Restaurant and he opened the new restaurant serving most of the workers who ate their lunches from
the Endicott-Johnson factory. Later, in 1923, he built a new building and he called it Fusco's Beer
Buffet.
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There were two other restaurants on Nanticoke Avenue: Augie’s and the Paradise. On the
very rare occasion that we dined out, Augie’s was the choice. We would load-up on bread and butter before any meal was served. Next door was the Paradise where I had my own shoeshine stand
(parlor) in 1957-8. There had been another shoeshine business as part of a barbershop located in the
basement of the Brown Building in 1901. It was run by a former slave (Laughing Charlie) after he
escaped via the Underground Railroad.1 He eventually moved to the Binghamton and the Erie Train
Depot where he was a bootblack for years.
Each of the new streets in Endicott was built with sidewalks and provided with water and
sewers, all at the expense of Endicott-Johnson. Workers could play ball after work in various
leagues on company ball diamonds and the company built parks outfitted with all types of playground equipment for the children. Mr. Johnson made it very affordable for E-J workers to own their
own home and usually it was their first one. The highest price for an E-J home was $4,000. At 5%
interest, that's only $200 per year, not including taxes and insurance.
Union District
Where else could somebody grow up and experience a movie theatre for 25 cents on a Saturday afternoon, a golf driving range on the 4th story of a turn-of-the-century building, or a pool hall
replete with all of the characters out of a dime store novel? That was life for me in the Union district
of Endicott.
1
Meredith, Susan and Ed Aswad; Broome County 1850-1940; page 20.
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The people, places and things that existed there cannot be replaced. Simple things like the
Redman’s Club, which was adjacent to Waples Bar, offered help to families who were members by
giving them food during the depression and other bad times. Later, when I was growing up it was
possible to go into the Redman’s Club and swap/trade comic books. In fact, there was many an occasion when a homework project was long overdue and the “Classics Comics” were used instead of
the full novel. I was not the first to make this discovery.
This was a tavern (see photo above) since 1860 and would be owned and operated by Joe
Waples. It was located in the same block as our home (such as it was) in the Jenny Evans house. This
was the site to see early television and the fight nights were popular occasions. The local taxi company used the area behind the tavern for its operations. In the summer, the owners erected a temporary
fire pit using cinder blocks so they could cook spiedis, a local favorite.
A Tavern Story
According to the records, the Tavern was built in 1860. It was a time of great
conflict and change in America. The country had been divided over a number
of issues including slavery, internal development, etc. The political parties
were changing and evolving. A new Republican Party had emerged and Lincoln was their nominee. Their platform included opposition to the extension
of slavery to new territories. His election precipitated the secession of seven
Southern states beginning with South Carolina in December. The Civil War
began and would devastate the US
until 1865 when it officially ended.
My direct experience with the Tavern began about 89 years later when
it was then known as Waples Bar
& Grill. As a young lad, I was able
to see and hear various events from
outside because the door was always
open. It was one of the rare places
that offered television. There was
always some sporting event being telecast for the regulars. Baseball, wresting and boxing were the favorites.
Fast-forward another 30 years or so
and I visited the saloon and its owner
one Saturday with some old friends
from Endicott and New York City.
The Big Apple contingent had a few
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who thought that these upstate bars were filled with “country bumpkins”
who were ripe for the picking.
We settled in for a few hours of pool and Ballantine Ale around midday.
There was a jackalope displayed over the bar that seemed to attract one of
the NYC lads. Mr.NYC was very smart and confident and did not like to lose,
at anything.
He was already doing that (losing) on the felt table so he vented his frustration by asking more direct questions about the trophy, critically implying
that it could not be real. We tried to explain that it was a very rare species of
rabbit and was occasionally called “warrior rabbit” because it was so aggressive. We further explained that it was fairly common in upstate NY but difficult for anyone to see because it was so secretive and evasive. He couldn’t
let it go so we directed him to the expert, also known as the bartender and
owner.
NYC: Another round please. What is that? (Pointing at the jackalope)
Owner:
A jackalope. (Pause and silence)
NYC:
That can’t be real. It must be a hoax.
Owner:
I don’t think so
NYC:
Why not?
Owner:
If you look at the opposite wall, you will see a real photo taken in
the woods that catches one in the midst of jumping over a log. (The picture
had been doctored by a local artist such that it appeared to be a real snapshot).
NYC:
That’s unbelievable. I have never heard of such a thing. Have
you ever seen one? (The hook is set)
Owner:
Only once, when a guide took me hunting. He coached me about
how to hunt them. He said that because of their antlers, they need to back
down into their dens. When seen, they run to their hole entrance and then
turn around. That is when they are most vulnerable and that is when I was
able to bag this one.
By this time, NYC was hooked, but still skeptical, although he was no longer
hostile about it.
Later, his attitude changed back to hostility when the bartender and the rest
of us disclosed the truth and proceeded to rub in the fact that Mr.NYC had
been hustled twice by the upstate hicks (pool & jackalope). It took several
doses of beverages to salve his pain!
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On the corner, over the corner drugstore, was a driving range on the fourth story that was
open in the wintertime for people to improve their golfing skills.
The local pool hall, Sackett’s, also had
all the fishing supplies for the local outings
and trips. This was the same place that housed
older boys and men, never any women. As
a young boy, I would stand outside Sackett’s
looking in with the hopes that I could see what
they were doing. This was when I was ten or
eleven. Later, as my confidence increased, I
would step inside the door in the summertime
and then later inquired what it would take to
play a game. Below is a photo taken in 1949.
There were many characters that visited this
establishment. The owner/manager fellow was
Smiley.
In 1816, an East & West stage route was
opened to service the area between Newburg
and Owego. It made two round trips weekly
and Union was one of the stopping stations
along the route. That stage served Union from
1816 until 1849 when the New York and Erie
Railroad came into the area. The stagecoach
ride had not changed much by the mid 1860s
when Mark Twain described his experience
with it.
An Overland Journey
In 1861 Mark Twain and his brother traveled West by an overland stagecoach. In “Roughing It,” Twain described the coach as a cradle on wheels, as it
rocked on its thorough braces instead of bouncing on steel springs. They rode atop the flying coach, dangled their legs over the side and leveled an outlook over
the worldwide carpet that was all about them for things that were new and strange
to gaze at. It thrilled him to think of life and his wild sense of freedom on those
fine overland mornings.
Other travelers had a less adventurous opinion of the trip: “A through-ticket
had 15 inches of seat with a fat man on one side, a poor widow on the other, a
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baby in your lap, a bandbox over your head, and three or more persons immediately in front, leaning against your knees, forming your position as well as your
sleeping place for the entire trip,” was the statement of Demas Barns, who made
the overland trip in 1866.
Passengers could carry 25 pounds of baggage for free. Metal foot warmers
and coals helped out in cold weather while leather shades blocked the desert sun
and dust of the summer. Travelers grabbed hasty meals of boiled beans, salted
meat and coffee at “home stations” that were reached, with luck, about every six
to eight hours.
The first home that I ever owned was one that I bought from a man by the name of Burt
Leadbetter on North Street in Endicott. It was one of a series of homes that he built in one block and
he lived to be 98 years of age. Mr. Leadbetter told me a story of his growing up in the area. It turns
out that his father was nearly 50 when Bert was born in 1876 and was able to relate first-hand history
to him about what it was like to live in that area long before there was any recognition of the town of
Endicott, Johnson City or Binghamton, for that matter.
One of Burt Leadbetter's father’s business ventures was to cut timber under contract for the
Erie Railroad. His contract called for the placement of the timbers in pre-specified numbers and locations along the entire route of what became the Erie Railroad. The contract specified how many to
stack and at what intervals. He did this and, when it came time for payment, the company refused to
pay on the grounds that the railroad ties had not been properly spaced. Bert’s father feared complete
financial ruin and he hired an attorney to represent him. The attorney argued using some common
sense logic provided by Bert’s father. He argued that the railroad's use of the railroad ties constituted
acceptance of the materials and it should either pay or return the ties to Mr. Leadbetter. Obviously, it
paid.
There was a stage that conducted business between Newburgh and Owego from 1816-1849.
The New York and Erie Railroad arrived circa 1849 and that eliminated the stage service. They
placed a depot in the Union area on Railroad Street. The street was later renamed North Street. This
same depot (i.e. station) was the departure point for many of out trips when we left for college or
other life events. Later, a local saloon was established across the street called the Station Inn. (See
photo below).
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Erie Train Depot @ Union
The Union district, as we know it, was fairly well developed by 1866. Some of the areas
that we lived in were on the main routes then. For example, where we lived near Mercereau Park
on what is known as Bridge Street (Vestal Avenue), there had been a toll house on the Endicott side
of the river as people came across the river (both ways) by bridge from what is now Vestal. Later,
we lived in the area on the corner of Liberty Street and Main Street in the Evan's home, which was
an identified residence in 1866 when it may have been quite luxurious. It hadn't changed much by
the time we lived there in the 1940s, including never having been painted. Also, we lived down the
street just past the intersection with Nanticoke Avenue for a number of years from the early to the
late 1950s. Several photographs exist of the particular area during the times just before 1900. For
example, we lived two doors down the street from what is now known as Waples Bar and Grill.
However, that was a saloon as far back as 1860.
The Corner Drugstore that we knew on the corner of Exchange and Main Street was once
known as the Brown block. There were some major and serious fires fought there over the years
although the building continued to survive, as different businesses were located there. The Corner
Drugstore was on the main floor and on the Exchange Avenue side was the barbershop and shoeshine
and repair shop. All of this was across from Sackett's pool hall and bait shop (more on this later).
As recently as 1910, a picture shows Main Street and the Union District as having a trolley
and a set of trolley tracks on a dirt road. Waples Bar and Grill (The Tavern) was still in existence
through the 1980s. Vaughn's clothing store and the associated gas station were a hotel and stable.
There are several photos that show the development through the earlier years with a view of Main
Street and its trolleys:
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Main Street looking East circa 1906. Nanticoke Avenue is on left
This is the intersection of Nanticoke Avenue and Main Street facing West circa 1906. It was before
the Brown building was erected.
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This is Main Street circa 1912 looking west. Nanticoke Avenue was dead-ended at Main
Street at that time. Later, it was extended to become Exchange Street when the hotel (shown on the
left) was removed to make it possible. On the immediate right is a livery that would have been just
west of the Tavern. The Brown building is on the right where the Corner Drug Store would begin in
the future. Just past the Brown building is the site where there was a cigar factory and the future site
of the Elvin Theatre and one of our homesteads when we occupied an upstairs apartment. The new
Farmers National Bank (built 1910) is seen on the left. Later, after Exchange Street was created, the
bank was a prominent building on the corner of the Main and Exchange Streets’ intersection.
The Brown Building is on the corner and this is a view from Nanticoke Avenue before the
cut was made to extend Nanticoke through Main Street to become Exchange on the other side. The
horsedrawn wagon is a bread truck and the streets are still dirt. The door opening next to the bread
truck would one day be the home of Rudolphy’s barbershop where many of us had our first regular
haircuts and many men frequented for a straight shave (see picture).
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Brown Building circa 1912
The Village of Endicott
The start of the Village of Endicott goes back to the year 1899 (the same year my father was
born), when George F. Johnson bought a shoe company located in Lestershire. At the age of 42 he
became a partner of Henry B. Endicott. In 1901, excavation of what would become Washington
Avenue was begun using work teams brought to the village. These teams used horses, mules, and
manual labor as their main method of excavation. The entire city grew around Washington Avenue
and by 1902 400 new buildings were being erected. By 1904, Mr. Johnson had built his home on
Broad Street.
The first Endicott-Johnson factory was built in 1901. It was along Railroad Street (later to
be called North Street), right at the end of Washington Avenue and was the first factory in Endicott.
It was located directly across North Street from a whole series of saloons that included Harvey's, a
favorite watering hole of the factory workers (and others) for many years. Their delicacies included
pickled pigs' feet, pickled hard-boiled eggs, Ballantine Ale (see Aleman insert) on tap, and very, very
inexpensive whiskey.
In those days, the factory was located on North Street and it was knee-deep in mud most of
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the year. Endicott was then known as "Shoe Town USA" as the Endicott-Johnson Corporation was
the principle employer. One man went to work there in 1917 as a machinist helper for 28 cents an
hour and a 48-hour workweek. He lived in a rooming house on Washington Avenue where he had a
sleeping room above a pool hall. There were no meals, no private bath, and no women allowed.
In 1906, engineers from Buffalo came to Endicott to stake out a new plant for the International Time Recording Company. It had begun as the Bundy Corporation and would later become IBM
in 1914 when it was led by Thomas J. Watson.
This particular area went from fully agricultural to a major industrial center in less than six
years. Therefore, many people referred to it as a magical event, deeming it "the magic city." Later,
one of the businesses in the town was the Magic City Ice and Milk Company. We purchased dairy
products that were packaged there and it also delivered ice before we had electric refrigeration in
1950. One of my friends (Don Stack) worked there many summers in the cold of the ice rooms.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Endicott continued to grow while most of the nation struggled with
the Great Depression. Endicott was blessed with wonderful businesses to work for and a rich community of parks and open spaces for families to grow and live. Layoffs were rare in industrial Endicott. Washington Avenue had the first paved streets in 1915.
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Ideal Hospital & Round Top
The Union area has a well-known geographical place called “Round Hill”. Everyone called
it “Round Top.” In 1852, there was smallpox alert and the county board of health mandated that
Union must respond by erecting a “pest house” for quarantining infected people. It was built on
Round Hill on land owned by Peter Mersereau.2 Below is a view of Round Hill in the 1800s:
2
Meredith, Susan and Ed Aswad; Broome County 1850-1940; page 30.
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In the mid 1920s, George F. Johnson gave land and a monetary gift for the construction of a
hospital. Ideal Hospital was built as a hospital and nurses home, as seen in the picture. In 1929, my
mother, Mary Sammons Beirne, graduated from nursing school and was already aware of this excellent opportunity for work and employment. Ma made her living at this location from 1929 until she
retired. Several of us were born here.
A Village Dump
The Village of Endicott had undergone tremendous change between 1900 and the 1940s
when I arrived on the scene. It was still continuing to evolve through the 1950s and 1960s. In the
midst of all of the residential development that occurred between the Union District and the Washington Avenue area of Endicott was a geographic location that started out as a large, shallow swamp.
It was located between Main Street and North Street and bordered Cleveland Avenue on the east side
and Mechanic Avenue on the west side. It eventually became the village dump. Prior to that, it was
a swampy area that was located behind the Jenny F. Snapp School and was just far enough off Main
Street that it was not obvious to people at that time.
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During the course of the next several years, significant dumping occurred in this area from
both the Endicott-Johnson Corporation and the IBM plants. Often, young boys would wait for the
refuge to be dumped from the IBM plants so that they could sort through it, looking for any kind of
salvageable materials that they could sell on the open market. This all continued until about World
War II. It gradually became filled and, unfortunately, the dump at this time was actually at the center
of the Village of Endicott. Complaints were heard about the odors emitting from the area. In addition, there were huge rats that lived in the dump. We were always warned to stay away, which
naturally made it a magnet for drawing us to that area when we had nothing better to do.
Triple City's College
Triple City's College was a school that had started as an extension from Syracuse University
in 1932. At one point, it was located in a mansion constructed on Lincoln Avenue called "Colonial
Hall." Later, this would become Harpur College and then the State University of New York at Binghamton. All of its beginnings were in Endicott.
It was during the early 1950s that we used to walk by Colonial Hall after school while en
route to our various homes. For many of us it was fairly easy to walk through the front yard of Colonial Hall where we would encounter the Harpur College mascot (a Billy goat) usually tethered in the
front yard of the old mansion. The billy goat would frequently be the recipient of a wonderful snack
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of some poor paper that we didn't want to share at home!
George F. Johnson had a magnificent home that was built in the manner of the wealthy in the
early 20th century. It was located near what is now the police department and Village office buildings. After he died, the village used it as a library for years. The photo shows the home and its
carriage house and stable in the background. The carriage house was my place of employment from
1959-1964 when I worked for the Police Department. We stored our equipment for traffic line painting and repair.
Theaters
There were four movie theaters that existed in the Endicott and Union District areas (Lyric,
Strand, Elvin and State). Some of these names likely had origins in London’s Shaftsbury Avenue.
This was a street that connected Bloomsbury and Piccadilly Circus where some of the best-known
theatres were located including trhe Lyric.
In 1917, Benjamin Dietrich built the Lyric Theater. It was located on the corner of Washington Avenue and Monroe Street. The same individual also constructed the State Theater in the Union
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District in 1939.
In addition to those, Sam Ammerman constructed the Elvin Theater in 1924 in the Union
District. It was on a site that had previously been occupied by a cigar factory. Its sister theater was
the Strand Theater which was opened on Washington Avenue in 1929. For a number of years we
lived directly over the Elvin Theater (1951-1958). My sister Mary was a ticket seller for a brief time.
My brother Mike had a job as marquee, ticket taker and cleaning attendant.
When movies came to the Union Endicott area, they typically came to the Lyric Theater first
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and then moved to the State Theater or they operated between the Elvin and Strand Theaters. Those
were the two sets of sister theaters that played the same movies and shared specific franchises.
Bridges
The main connection between the north side of the river and the south side was located on
Bridge Street in Endicott to connect Endicott with Vestal. Because the Susquehanna River had
overflowed its banks on many occasions, the bridge system was critical to maintaining this connection. The first bridge was actually built in 1851 as a toll bridge and there was a toll bridge pay booth
in 1866 that was located right on the corner of Mercereau Avenue and Vestal Avenue (Bridge Street).
Several different floods washed out the bridges and the new bridge was eventually erected in 1894.
This particular bridge was washed out in the great flood of 1936 and was replaced with the metal one
that exists today. We lived in this section on two occasions (Mersereau Avenue & Bridge Street).
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The Square Deal Arch
The arch that exists on Main Street saying "Home of the Square Deal" was completed in
1920 and had been erected as a memorial to the E-J workers.
Square Deal
In 1898, Theodore Roosevelt was the under secretary of the Navy and
39 years old. On February 28th of that year, he was the only one available
in command to make certain decisions. Without getting prior approval,
Theodore ordered Admiral Dewey to be ready for war and to make sure all
of his ships had sufficient coal to be able to operate in war-time conditions.
The Spanish-American War was conducted shortly thereafter and Dewey
destroyed the entire Spanish fleet in the Philippines virtually within one day
without ever losing a single man. As people were going to enlist in the military to fight against the Spanish, one of the favorite songs was “There’ll Be A
Hot Time in the Town Tonight.” This was all one year before my father Jim
Beirne was born.
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It was always interesting to me to see the stone arches that existed in
both Endicott and Johnson City. These arches crossed over the Main Street
of both towns. On both sides of the arches it reads, “Home Of The Square
Deal.” I often wondered where that term came from and have discovered
that it has much to do with Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1902, there was a major worker vs. management issue that surfaced
within the coal industry. It resulted in the coal strike of 1902 when the striking workers were trying to get a nine-hour workday. In the past, most of the
government interventions had been on behalf of management. In this case,
Theodore Roosevelt ordered the US Troops to re-open the mines and then
manage them. This was the first time that the managers of the mines were
replaced by military people. This resulted in the settlement of the strike and
what he called a “square deal” for labor. This became a famous saying over
the ensuing years and later became the words that were used in the monuments in Endicott and Johnson City, NY.
During the election of 1912, TR ran for the “Progressive Party.” TR’s’
domestic program was called “the Square Deal” and the party’s platform
was called the “New Nationalism.” His cousin Franklin adopted pieces of
each for his “New Deal” program in the 1930s.
The Boys' Club
One of the principal areas that was used for boys' activities was the Endicott Boys’ Club. It
was located on Broad Street and had formerly been the home of Chester B. Lord, a prominent member of the community. That home had been used as a hospital for handicapped children and when it
was finally moved to Binghamton, the home was given to the community to be used for the development of boys. In 1944, the Boys' Club began its activities. Many memorable people were a part of
that and I still remember getting my first Boys' Club card, an indestructible piece of material, upon
which your name was written in indelible ink. It was a prized possession. It gave access not only to
play different sports and activities at the club, but it was also a place to go and learn from the older
boys and experience some significant people who were key parts of our development in those days
(Jerry Reynolds and Slim Sylvester).
St. Ambrose Church was erected in 1908 and became the church and the school where most
of us had some experiences growing up. Later, several of us would even be married in that particular
church.
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The Best Things Always Disappear
Baseball
George F. Johnson loved baseball and liked to play it. It was his game. Consequently, he
developed a field in what is now Johnson City as a major baseball park. He actually played for the
Lestershire team in 1901 and was a significant pitcher for that team. He later brought a minor league
baseball team to the Triple Cities called the Binghamton Triplets and the field was always known as
Johnson Field. For some number of years, he paid the expenses to bring the New York Yankees to
play exhibition games with the Triplets. He paid all the expenses for the ballpark and allocated large
blocks of tickets to be given to workers so that they could attend the games for free. It later became
a major team or the New York Yankees and some of the Yankees that played in the area included Joe
DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Bill Fisher, Babe Ruth, and Whitey Ford. The park was completely eliminated when the state erected a new interstate highway through the area.
The Big City
Endicott was not far from Binghamton, which was considered the “big city.” One of the curiosities
was to go to Binghamton and see the street of "sin" on Water Street. At the time, Binghamton was
a major cigar center for the United States. Many of the employees were hand-rolling cigars in the
front windows and they finished the cigar ends by rolling the tips in their mouths. Obviously, germs
and mouth cancer were a few of the hazards of the industry back in those early days.
One of the owners of a cigarette factory, George Hull, played a terrific practical joke on the world in
1880. He secretly had an eight-foot stone giant carved and then buried on his cousin's farm. It was a
prank that was known as the Cardiff Giant which is now located in the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Interestingly, this was the same area of the state where Joseph Smith discovered
the “Book of Mormon” and began the Mormon Church. I wonder if there is any connection!
Spiedis and Pizza
No summary of life in Endicott could be written without mentioning some local delicacies.
Spiedis were an ubiquitous item from the spring to fall seasons. A spiedi is a marinated skewer of
meat that is grilled and then presented on the skewer with a piece of hard Italian bread at the end.
Most saloons built a fire pit of cinder blocks so they were always grilling. The smells would draw us
to the pit where we would buy whatever we could afford. They were sold for a price of three for a
dollar back then. In the early 1950s, most of the spiedis were made with lamb because it was cheaper
than other meats. Many people made their own using deer meat. Today, they are available through
Lupo’s using their mail order business.
There were numerous places to get pizza. It came in the traditional thin crust variety at numerous restaurants as well as Sicilian crusted version through Roma’s bakery. While there were/are
great bars and restaurants all over Endicott, one of my earliest recollections was of my first pizza. I
was invited to accompany the Malias to Duff’s Inn on the north side. Duff Consol owned the busi-
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ness and he made what he called “Hot Pies” (a.k.a. pizza). They were a thin crust version and some
of the best ever. In the early 1950s, they sold for about 60 cents.
When I left the area and went to other restaurants selling pizzas, I once ordered a “hot pie”
and was given a piece of warm apple pie! They just did not understand Duff’s terminology. Below is
a photo of Duff making his own tomato sauce in the 1940s.3
3
There are numerous sources for this material including many interviews. Several books
were utilized to help prepare this chapter including: Tom Cawley (a Picture Postcard History of New
York’s Broome County Area, 1985); James Fiori (A History of the Town of Union, 1990); Suzanne
Meredith: (Footsteps In Kindness, 1998), (Images of America-Union, 1999), (Broome County in
Vintage Postcards, 2000), (Broome County 1850-1940, 2002)
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