1893 Reference Book

for Everyday Use

I found this book in the society's collection, C.Y. Moyer's The Business Manual; A Complete Guide in all Mercantile and Legal Transactions and Reference Book for Every Day Use, published by N.G. Hamilton & Co. It has everything from various types of contracts to penmanship, determining how much wallpaper needed for a room and the page I have scanned below on how to determine the capacity of a wagon-box. Very handy indeed!

 

Kids Learn About Elsie

Elementary students visit the Arcade Historical Society at the end of every school year. This year we talked to them about how "cheese built the Gibby House" - via Mr. Gibby's cheese factories - as well as two other important milk industries in Arcade, the Merrell-Soule and Borden's powdered milk plants. As we all know, there are more cows than people in Wyoming County, NY and milk products have always been a big export. Pictured here is a page from Borden's 100 year anniversary comic book for children. 

On a Ship in the Pacific

One of "Shorty" Roblee's experiences during WWII.

As a result of the historical society's annual Walking With Heroes cemetery tours held on Memorial Day weekend and the Post 374 V.F.W. 75th anniversary last year, the society has begun to compile an archive of veterans' service experiences, both to honor them and maintain their experiences as a historical record. Here is one of those remembrances.

 Anson (Shorty) Roblee served in the U.S. Marine Corps aboard the USS Bunker Hill from March 1943 to August 1945. On Mothers’ Day 1945, kamikaze planes attacked the USS Bunker Hill. As told by Shorty in an article for the Arcade Herald, “ ...I heard what everybody thought was our attack planes coming back from another strike. All at once a meatball“ (Japanese plane) “came in over the island structure, dropped a 500 pound bomb and crashed his plane into our planes at the aft end of the flight deck.  The bomb went through the flight deck, hanger deck, and blew up in the port quarter of the ship. This immediately started huge fires on the whole aft portion of the ship.” Soon a second Kamikaze dove at the ship, crashing his plane into the base of the ship’s island.  “We fought the fires and further Jap attacks for 26 hours.” Meanwhile, back at home in Arcade, his mother had a strong feeling he would be in trouble on that day, but didn’t find out about the attack until weeks later.

Confusing "Times" in 1938

May 20, 1938 Arcade newspaper had the following notice:

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

Daylight saving time is again with us to confuse the unwary. Buffalo, East Aurora and Holland are on daylight saving time, while Arcade and south including Olean are on standard time. Rochester remains on standard time.  Last week Perry voted to stay on standard time, while Batavia voted in favor of daylight saving time.