Friendship History 1915-1965

The first one hundred years ended on a note of prosperity. The Town of Friendship was growing. The farmers were improving their cattle with registered stock. Tractors were being purchased and there was an increasing number of automobiles. The first cars were not very dependable and suffered frequent breakdowns. James McCarthy had a Buick as early as 1909 and there were others before that. Maxwells were common as well as a few Dodge cars but the really popular car was of course Henry Ford's "Tin Lizzie". An advertisement in the Friendship Register of 1917 prices a Saxton car at $395. Many stories were told of drivers yelling "whoa" instead of putting on the brakes. The comer at the end of East Main and the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave. were frequent scenes of automobile crashes.

Main Street swarmed with merchants. Some of them were: Tefft Drug Store, Carter Hardware, Frank S. Mason-furniture, Ben Reisman-men's clothing, Wit & Lane, Insurance, Stevens & Robinson, Insurance, Friendship Telephone Co., Federal Telephone, Graham Grocery Store, Union National Bank, Kandy Kitchen, Star Theatre, Hess Bros.- men's clothing, W. E. Brady Department Store, E. J. Hart-horseshoeing, Cleveland & Van Horn-groceries, Jones & Hyde-hardware, Nick Paoliello-shoe repairing, Owen Conley-horse shoeing, W. C. Willis Garage and others.

Although not many people were concerned about it, war had broken out in Europe in 1914. However the plight of the Belgians and the efforts to raise food for the starving refugees brought the possible involvement of the United States to the attention of more people and soon after the sinking of the Lusitania the people of Friendship found that their fears were realized - we were at war.

Soon troop trains loaded with soldiers were roaring through town. Friendship boys were saying "good bye" to their loved ones and going for training and it was not long before they were overseas and in the midst of battle. The Honor Roll in the Friendship Register of 1917 lists the following as already in service - Willard Wellman (the first to enlist from Friendship), Paul Kruger, Paul Judd, Chas. McDermott, Harold Sanborn, Arthur Sanborn, Guy Coats, Orlo King, Leo Eagle, Lyle Mulconery, George Mastin, Chas. Hyde, Ralph Sanborn, William Burdick, Paul Canfield, Frank Ellsworth; Vanama Jones, Bert Hazzard, William Whitford, Farmer Hills, Leal McCarthy, Russell Rumsey, Albert Jones, Paul Green, Lloyd Lane, Harold Howe, Morse Willis, Harold Johnson, Lloyd Tefft, Albert Pierce, Joe Latta, Ralph Hills, Willard Jones, Claude Mulkin, Donald Murphy, Walter Rumsey and Arthur McClay. Of this list three died. Paul Canfield was killed in France; Willard Wellman, a wire- less operator, died of the terrible flu epidemic of 1918 and Farmer Hills died in France of pneumonia hours after the war ended.

Life in Friendship changed with the war. There were Liberty Loan rallies and in the Second Liberty Loan Campaign over $45,550 was raised. The school children were enlisted as farm cadets and were allow- ed to leave school and work on farms. "Over There", "A Long Long Trail" and "Buddy" were the songs on everyone's lips. Farmers plowed up every avail- able acre of land - even pastures - to raise grain. Farm prices were rising fast. Eggs were bringing as much as two dollars a dozen in New York City.

There was no radio so that only newspapers and a few letters brought word of the war. Even the news of the war's ending was incorrectly reported. A few days later it was official and Friendship staged a big parade in that fall of 1918 and most of those present believed that this was the war "to end all wars". In a little over twenty years this was proven to be very wrong, indeed.

There was some excitement in the war period that, although it at times did resemble a battle, was not exactly that. Women had long sought the right to vote and many states had granted them the right but not New York. During 1917 there was much agitation to pass such a law in New York. Mrs. Elisa Fries was one of the leaders as was Mrs. Chas. Guilford and Mrs. Burrows of Andover. The local newspaper had a long editorial in 1917 which said in effect that women were unpatriotic not to keep their minds on the war.

At a Firemen's Convention Dorothy Thompson, famous writer, was to speak. Although she had been given permission to give an address the band started to play just as she was about to speak and continued to do so until she was forced to leave the platform. This episode found its way into the city papers and at the time of her death a few years ago was mentioned in the Buffalo Evening News.

The war's ending was the beginning of a new era. Automobile factories in Detroit were sending out a stream of cars and roads had to be built. Farmers no longer needed so many hired men and they were leaving town to find work in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse or in the shops in Friendship or neighboring towns. In 1921 electric lights brightened Main Street. The building where Rex Voorheis now has his barber shop was built for the Friendship Light- ing Company. The two telephone companies were consolidated and later took over the co-operative rural lines. Friendship acquired a new doctor in 1921 - E. Stanley Webster.

In 1921 the first attempt of a group of farmers to take on a powerful milk company in a demand for a decent price for milk was staged in Friendship. The recently organized Dairymen's League demanded that the Borden Company bargain with them but this the Company refused to do. The farmers withheld their milk. If the cheese factories could not take care of the milk it was dumped. The amount of milk received amounted to a trickle. Efforts were made to by-pass the League and get farmers to deliver milk but this failed. When the farmers bought a piece of ground and stated their intentions of building a large cheese factory, the Borden Company capitulated.

The Friendship Farmers Co-Operative was formed in this period by a group of farmers for the purpose of buying feed and farm supplies at a lower price. They purchased most of their supplies from the GLF, a co-operative organized by the National Grange and the Dairymen's League. They bought the big store house adjacent to the Erie Railroad on Depot St., and have acquired other buildings. It has been a very successful business. Fred King was manager for a number of years and was succeeded by Herbert Green who retired a few years ago. They not alone sell feed but fertilizer, farm supplies, and provide a lime spreading and custom grinding service.

In about 1923 the radio began to find its way into homes and along with a better quality motion picture made most small towns seem no longer isolated from the world. Automobiles were getting better and roads were extending everywhere. In 1929 the White Creek Road to Belfast was built by the County. The roaring twenties was not exactly that in Friendship but the Prohibition Amendment had a few thirsty people building stills. In general the period was of prosperity and no one had any doubts that the future was bright for everyone including our town. The stock market crash was the first realization that all was not well. Many people lost their savings and the Pitt Memorial Library lost a great amount of its endowment as did some churches.

The farm prosperity continued for a time until the lack of money of consumers resulted in the lowering of prices. In 1933 gold was no longer legal tender and on March 4, 1933 all the banks were closed. Like the proverbial well - one never misses a bank until it is closed. For eleven days the bank was closed and during this time a good credit rating was to be prized.

The thirties were as bad a time as farmers had ever seen. Mortgages were called and farmers lost their possessions. Cows were bringing lower prices than even in the early days. Milk was selling as low as sixty cents a hundredweight. Many of the people in town went to work on government projects such as the WP A. Relief was not as common as now and most families had to work out their o~ problems. Many men worked for a dollar a day. To add to the discomfort 1934 was the coldest winter ever experienced in Friendship. There was little snow and temperatures as low as 45 degrees below zero were reported. Frozen water and gas pipes were common.

The depression for farmers continued long after things began to improve in the cities. New farm machinery with rubber tires was beginning to be built and since the wages of workers in farm machinery plants, steel, automobiles were beginning to rise through the efforts of powerful unions, fanners could not compete for workers so more machinery seemed to be the answer.

No one in 1917 had ever expected to live to see another war but soon Hitler was over-running Poland and the Second World War was on. As in 1917 we had no idea we would be involved but while tile Japanese envoys were talking peacefully in Washington, Pearl Harbor was bombed on a quiet Sun- day afternoon December 7, 1941. On the next day we declared war on Japan and three days later on Germany.

The second World War was quite unlike the first for the motorized equipment entirely replaced horses and the airplane, although used to a small extent in 1917, was responsible to a great extent for the winning of the war. Many more men were called from Friendship than in the war of 1917. The Friend- ship Register at one time sent one hundred and forty free copies a week to the boys in service. Residents spent their spare time in map study for many of the places the war was being fought had no meaning such as the Coral Sea, Solomon Islands, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Frederick Lapp, who lived on the White Creek Road lost his life in the Philippines. He was one of the first to enlist. Ralph Smalley was lost when his airplane was shot down by the Japanese over the Island of Truk. Donald Cole, Watler Rumsey Jr., Walter Kruger, Miles Kelly, Robert Blossom and Howard Bessey were others who lost their lives. "Bud" Corbin spent many months in a German prison camp until rescued by the Russians. Chas. Conkin of the North Branch Road spent a long time as a prisoner of the Japanese. Virginia Middaugh and Kate Cole were members of the Navy and Army women's corps.

The ration books were something new for residents of Friendship. The lack of gasoline and fuel rationing were hardships for many but there was little complaint - only a fervent wish that the war would soon be over. On May 7, 1945 the Germans surrendered and on August 6, 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. On September 2nd, 1945 the war with Japan officially ended with surrender. The atomic bomb made most people realize that if there was to be another war it might mean the end of civilization.

1945 was not alone the end of the war but a new plant was built in Friendship - the Daystrom Building near the site of the old Borden Milk Plant. Metal furniture was manufactured by the plant in Glean and much of the upholstering was done in the Friendship plant. It was in operation until 1958.

The period of 1940-1965 was the most revolutionary in the rural section of any period in history. The machinery used on farms had changed very little from their first invention. A reaper could still be recognized as such sixty years after the first ones were manufactured, but suddenly manufacturers discovered farmers were potential buyers and the market was flooded with tractors with electric lights, rubber tires, automatic shift and power steering. There were power mowers, improved rakes, hydraulic controls on machines, balers that baled hay and threw it into a wagon and hay and corn choppers that chopped up the material and blew it into a wagon, automatic feeding of cattle, sheep and pigs.

Dairy cows produced more and more milk each year. Beef cattle had tendered steaks and hens laid more eggs. The efficiency of the farmer resulted in a great surplus of wheat and corn. More and more farmers were leaving the farm. The number of farms in Friendship is less than half of the number in 1915. In recent years great numbers of people from Buffalo and other cities have bought property around Friend- ship for hunting camps and summer residences. In the last fifteen years great numbers of ponds have been built around Friendship. There are at least fifteen such in the Town of Friendship. Many farms have been abandoned and many farm barns and houses fall down each year.

With the decline in the number of producing farms the stores in the Village decreased in numbers. Hess Bros. the last men's clothing store closed. I. D. Stout Store was the last of the department stores. The motion picture theater closed shortly after TV became a household necessity. The Shawmut tracks were taken away and in the latter part of the 1950's the Erie shrieked a mournful hoot as it sailed by the abandoned station. The bank became a branch of the First Trust Company of Wellsville. The final blow was the sale of the Friendship Register to the Belmont Dispatch. Although the paper carried considerable news it was felt that the town had lost its identity.

As soon as the Friendship Register was no longer published in Friendship there was a great desire on the part of many to start a new paper. It was felt that something should be done, not alone, about the paper but starting some organization to stop the decline of industry and farming operations. Several enthusiastic meetings were held and the Friendship Development Association was formed. Among the leading residents who helped in the formation were Henry Macler of the Drake Manufacturing Company, Craig Weart, Dr. Webster, Albert Lunn, Bea Dunning, the Armbrusters, Jacques Potter, Leslie LeSuer and many others.

The first objective of the new organization was the starling of a newspaper. With a volunteer editor and volunteer helpers the first paper came out July 14, 1960. The name "Volunteer' was selected in a naming contest. The first office was in a building owned by the late Richard Barron, now razed, on Main St. The paper was printed by the Allegany Printing Company and the copy was carried to Bolivar by local travelers. Most of the people con- nected with the paper were strictly amateurs. Bea Dunning put in long unpaid hours as editor. Local people did the typing, sent out bills and did the bookkeeping. In the. fall of 1961 Mrs. Dunning moved to Rochester and Mrs. Marilyn Lester became a paid editor in January of 1962. Volunteer help aided her. Because of financial and other difficulties the paper since July, 1963 has been managed by Allegany Printing at Bolivar with Mrs. Lester as local editor.. The office for several years has been on the second floor of the LeSuer Hardware Building.

In 1950 a memorial was dedicated to the young men of Friendship who had died in war. The boulder was presented by Mr. A. J. Muench and was placed between the Friendship Free Library and the Friendship Central School. Memorial Day exercises are held at the spot. In 1950 another Friendship boy died. This time in Korea - Michael Doran, son of Raymond Doran.

CONCLUSION

One hundred and fifty years is a long time and we may feel that in 1965 we have little in common with the pioneers of 1815 but as we study their lives we find that what they wanted we want too. The pioneers wanted to find what was beyond the blue hills; the pioneer of 1965 wants to know what is on the moon and planets. The 1815 pioneer wanted a home, work to enable him to live and associate with his neighbors and to build a good community with churches and schools. In 1965 we want the same but our wants are a trifle more elaborate than theirs.

The first period had two wars - 1812 and the Civil War so they wanted peace, too. They knew nothing of atomic war but to those who had felt the rigors of a southern prison camp or a long death because of the lack of medical attention, the atomic bomb might not be worse.

The second period was a period of peace except the Spanish American War which did not greatly effect Friendship. It was the golden age of the small town. The pioneer days with their terrible hardships was behind and rural economics was good. Merchants were prospering too. Conveniences, never dreamed of in 1800, were now a reality - automobiles, gas lights, moving pictures, new homes and telephones. Truly it was a good age.

The last fifty years have been the most revolutionary of all. Two wars and the threats of others has left its mark. We have no lack of food because of mechanized farming but the farm population de- creases year after year. Stores have a greater variety of products but buyers seek the bargain centers of the larger towns and cities. Automobiles clutter the streets and kill as many persons as in a full scale war. We have more college graduates and fewer people who know how to repair a leaky faucet or put in a window pane. We see cabins springing up in the rural section as more people from the cities seek our solitude. We have lost some industries and merchants but we are still a thriving town. The people, themselves, have changed very little in thinking or acting. They are better educated and more traveled. Most of the young men have traveled abroad in the armed services. We still get angry at high taxes and things that public officials do or do not do. We have pride in our homes, our town and our country. We are still a baseball town and are proud of our ancestors and use as much as we can afford of their hand-made furniture and utensils to furnish our homes.

What the future holds for Friendship we do not know but at least we can all say - "WE HAVE HAD ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP" .

The material for this history has come mainly from personal knowledge, contributed articles, newspaper articles, documents furnished by Mr. Stiles, Minards' History of Allegany County and Herrick's Empire Oil. We wish to thank all those who wrote articles, furnished pictures and prints. All articles which had to be cut will be filed as originally writ- ten by the Historian.

Committee

Mrs. Bernice McCarthy Miss Mina Guilford Mrs. Arlene Hess

It has been impossible to chronicle all the important events in the History of Friendship. If any reader feels we have omitted events that should have been included, we are truly sorry. The Historian will be pleased to include in her files all material anyone has to offer of concern to the people of Friendship.

(back to: Friendship Page)