News

History calendar makes a comeback

By Dave Gordon

GREENVILLE — The Greenville history calendar is back.

The Local History Group sponsored the calendars from 1991 to 2005. Town Historian Don Teator said the $5 price of the calendar doesn’t cover the cost of producing it, so this year the cost is being underwritten by Jeannette Rose and Linda Berger in memory of their parents, John and Isabelle Stroell Singer.

Teator has been collecting photographs of Greenville’s history since he became town historian in 1989. Shortly after taking office he began looking at collections of postcards held by many individuals in town, he said.

“These collections included pictures of Greenville’s communities, some of them now gone or nearly gone,” he said. In addition to the main commercial section — Freehold, Norton Hill and Greenville Center — Teator’s collection includes such “bygone or nearly bygone communities” as Surprise, West Greenville, East Greenville, Gayhead, O’Hara’s Corners, Place’s Corners and Newry.

Teator borrowed Gerald Boomhower’s collection and held several community duplication sessions. Since then he has built up a collection of nearly 3,000 historic photos. Since Teator took office, he and his wife, Debra, have been taking pictures of Greenville’s communities and building a historical record. So far they have recorded every structure in town, as well as many community events. Debra has also taken aerial photos of the town at regular intervals.

At a recent photo showing, Teator said the couple has begun photographing the town’s cemeteries.

This collection contains some 10,000 photographs arranged by road names, Teator said.

The cover of this year’s calendar features the covers of all the calendars from 1991 to 1996. The inside cover displays the remaining calendars’ covers — 1997 to 2005. The inside back cover tells the story of the Alberta Lodge and its owners, the Singers.

John Singer’s experience in the hospitality business included weekend work at Henry’s Bay View on Long Island Sound, a popular spot for New York Yankees players. He met such stars as Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto and Yogi Berra. During the week he worked for Consolidated Edison.

The Singers vacationed in Greene County each summer and in 1949 they decided to buy the Alberta Lodge, which had been closed for 10 years, and make Greenville their permanent home. They restored and expanded the old resort — a family business that included their daughters, Jeanette Rose and Linda Berger.

John and Isabelle Singer retired to Florida in 1979.

The February page of the calendar shows a photo of the front of the Alberta Lodge, with an inset of a dining room the Singers added in the 1970s. Other pictures include the Miracle Mile sign in Norton Hill, the former Corner Restaurant, Sutton’s blacksmith shop and the Glen Royal Hotel. Inserts on some pages show the sites as they look today.

There are also group shots: the Greenville Free Academy Class of 1929 and a group of Greenville and Norton Hill men out for a day of target shooting. The December page features an aerial shot of central Greenville as it looked in 1960.

There’s no special theme to the calendars, Teator explained. “We just choose pictures we think will be of interest. Some are historical; some are more recent,” he said.

Teator is looking for a sponsor for the 2010 calendar. The sponsor gets the inside back page for a family history, a business history or an advertisement.

Calendars may be purchased for $5 at the courtesy desk in Bryant’s and at the Greenville Public Library.

Reader Comments

Submit a Comment