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Bits & Pieces of Oil, Timber, & Development of Industry in the Area....

Preface by the Webmaster, Ron Taylor (2005)

Emma Lou (Cleveland) King was Town of Alma Historian for many years and accumulated items of interest which were loaned to me by her brother Sidney Cleveland & wife, Sandra Vincent Cleveland.  I have published on this website many of those items, mostly within the "Town of Alma" pages.

Included in the collection were some really fascinating letters and other papers which were conversations & historical stories that had traversed between Neal Wilson (Cuba & formerly Bolivar resident & Oilman of NY & PA) and County Judge Peter Sprague (Now retired Supreme Court Judge) of Cuba,NY.

I asked Judge Sprague for permission to publish some of the material and he offered to update the stories with more files that he had kept over the last 50 years.  He has now given permission to publish the pages which will follow.

It will take some time to complete this section, so be sure to check back often......humorous,   factual,  a bit of lore, and a lot of factual history...just fascinating reading.  Take no offense at the language--it represents the true grit of the area...I know, I'm a native!

To quote Judge Sprague, "my Neal Wilson project sort of out grew it's pair of shoes and became a little more than Neal Wilson.  This material has been compiled by Peter Sprague with the help of some pretty good story tellers and friends over the past several decades of the 1900's." dated July 20, 2005 at Cuba,NY

The tales told here are reflective of so many of the lost stories that will never be told about our pioneers of the area...I am proud to present these writing.  rt

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