Tag: Agriculture

Cat Links Overlooked Orleans

Lyndonville Canning Company Pioneered Applesauce Production

Posted on Matthew Ballard

Vol. 5, No. 18 Taken some time in the late 1920s or early 1930s, this image shows thousands of bushels of apples piled outside of the Lyndonville Canning Company. Yates farmers established a cooperative canning company in 1916, which was then purchased by Theodore and Frank Visscher in 1917. The Visschers marketed their products under the “V.B.” label, which stood for “Visscher Brothers.” In the early 1920s, the Visscher Brothers advertised the sale of Cumulative Preferred Stock at a cost of $100 per share; the annual dividends of seven percent were paid to owners on a quarterly basis. Shortly after,

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Cat Links Overlooked Orleans

Blacksmiths Provided Essential Services for Local Farmers

Posted on Matthew Ballard

Vol. 5, No. 17 Taken after 1903, this photograph shows the blacksmith shop of Frank W. Donohue as it appeared on Mechanic Street in Holley, just south of Public Square. This building and the billiards room showing to the left were situated south of the block currently occupied by Holley Falls Bar & Grill. Frank “Duff” Donohue, pictured right, stands in front of his business with George Jenks (left) and Joseph Haight (middle). Mag the horse is the centerpiece of this photo, demonstrating the work primarily carried out by blacksmith shops; the sign reads “F. W. Donohue, Horse Shoeing and

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Cat Links Overlooked Orleans

Free Silver Candidate Attracted Attention at Knowlesville

Posted on Matthew Ballard

Vol. 4, No. 43 Amidst the Gilded Age, American workers experience a spike in perceived prosperity as average wages rose above those in Europe and immigrants flooded into the United States. Yet, as the name suggests, the Gilded Age provided the outward appearance of growth and success while a run on currency, closing banks, and overextended industry led to a severe economic crisis extending from 1893 to 1897. The appointment of receivers for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad on the advent of President Grover Cleveland’s inauguration indicated a serious and extended financial situation looming on the horizon. The issues facing

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Cat Links Overlooked Orleans

Apple Shipping at Knowlesville

Posted on Matthew Ballard

Vol. 4, No. 40 October is National Apple Month! This photograph, likely taken in the latter quarter of the 19th century, shows the New York Central Railroad Depot located at Knowlesville. This particular image was taken east of the Rt. 31 Bridge that crosses over the railroad tracks; the photographer has pointed his camera to the southeast. A number of horse-drawn wagons are pulling loads of apples to be loaded into refrigerator cars positioned along the tracks. In the earliest years of the county’s history, wheat was the primary product shipped out of the area. The opening of the Erie

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Cat Links Overlooked Orleans

Bicentennial Provides Opportunity to Celebrate the Extraordinary and the Ordinary

Posted on Matthew Ballard

Vol. 4, No. 25 The passing of a bicentennial is a once in a lifetime experience, a milestone that brings with it an aura of prestige and pride. For younger generations, we did not have the opportunity to experience the excitement that came with the passing of the national bicentennial in 1976, but we can look forward to other significant milestones looming on the horizon; the Orleans County Bicentennial in particular. As we celebrate the Erie Canal Bicentennial (2017-2025), the towns of Shelby and Barre are celebrating 200 years of their “independence” from the towns of Ridgeway and Gaines, respectively

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