Shaker Plaza

In light of the recent tragedy during which the shopping plaza located at 901 Shaker Road in town was destroyed by a fire (November 23, 2021), the Longmeadow Historical Society wanted to take a look back at how there even came to be a shopping plaza in that location. The story of what would become known as the Trading Post of Longmeadow Shopping Plaza began in 1960 when a group of Longmeadow residents sought to create a shopping center to serve the residents of Longmeadow and neighboring Enfield, CT. Their planned development was just part of many real estate ventures that were being planned in Longmeadow at the time that were looking to take advantage of the rapid growth the town was experiencing in the post-war era.

The group consisted of:

• Bruno M. Gallerini, the president of the Trading Post Inc., who was a WWII combat veteran and served on the Park Commission.

• Robert A. Thomas, the treasurer of Trading Post Inc., also a WWII vet and was a self employed criminal defense attorney who would go on to found the Bottle Shop and serve on the Select Board in town.

• Frank C Knight, a real estate developer who rounded out the group.

The group began their endeavor by purchasing a gas station from Janice Scheller and George Zunner III, both of West Hartford, CT. Scheller worked with her husband Oswald in the real estate business after he retired from the Connecticut Life Insurance Company. George Zunner III was a general contractor who was notably responsible for building the Popular Market building - which now houses the Big Y in town. Scheller and Zunner had originally purchased the gas station in 1955 and signed a 5 year lease on the gas station with ESSO Standard Oil Corporation. As their lease was ending, they decided to sell to the Trading Post group.

In its original iteration, the group decided to build a plaza with 5 storefronts with parking in front of and behind the plaza and keep the gas station in its current location. Since the property was already zoned for business, the group only needed to win approval for their parking plan from the Zoning Board of Appeals as was required at the time. While it did face some opposition from the general public, the ZBA unanimously ruled that the parking plan should be approved and the Trading Post Inc. could begin construction at once.

When it opened its doors in February of 1961, the Trading Post Plaza featured four tenants with a fifth in the works. The anchor of the plaza was a Geissler’s Supermarket, which was owned and operated by Connecticut grocer Adolph Geissler, which would quickly become Armata’s in 1963.

Next was the Trading Post Pharmacy run by Nathan A. Davis.

After the pharmacy was Hairstyles by Harvey owned by Southwick hairstylist Harvey Isabelle, who was known for his demonstration of beauty products and new hairstyles to the women’s groups of Western Massachusetts.

The final business that opened in February of that year was Jiffy Cleaners and Laundrette run by Silvio Mendill and Norman Dallaire. It is noteworthy that Mendill was charged with operating the business on the Sabbath in April of 1961, was found guilty, and fined $50 (about $465 in October 2021 dollars according to the CPI inflation calculator).

The final business to go into the original plaza was the Bottle Shop, which required a liquor license. This was no small detail since the Longmeadow Select Board had not issued a liquor license for a package store in 14 years. Thankfully for the Trading Post group, the liquor license was granted and the Bottle Shop opened in September of 1961 filling out the plaza.

For over 60 years this plaza has served the Longmeadow community and it is the hope of the author that for the sake of the employees, owners, and customers of the various businesses affected by the fire that they are able to rebuild.

Images credit: GenealogyBank.com and The Springfield Union

Works cited

Hampden County, Massachusetts Deed Book 2419: 278

Hampden County, Massachusetts Deed Book 2441: 465

Hampden County, Massachusetts Deed Book 2776: 101-102

Hampden County, Massachusetts Deed Book 2780: 291, 294, 297

Hampden County, Massachusetts Deed Book 2813: 289

Hartford Courant, The (Connecticut) 02 July 2003, obit for SCHELLER, JANICE (GAGER), GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/0FC0CBD1543B1B8D-0FC0CBD1543B1B8D : accessed 4 December 2021)

Hartford Courant, The (Connecticut) 25 November 1991, obit for O. P. SCHELLER, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/0FEEE1BE667D6709-0FEEE1BE667D6709 : accessed 4 December 2021)

Hartford Courant, The (Connecticut) 3 July 2005, obit for ZUNNER, GEORGE III, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/10B2B72295496AC8-10B2B72295496AC8 : accessed 4 December 2021)

Market, Armata's. “Superior Service, Personalized Attention.” Armatasmarket.com, 2021. https://www.armatasmarket.com/.

Republican, The (Massachusetts) , obit for Robert A. Thomas, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/183A688D3A73FD40-183A688D3A73FD40 : accessed 5 December 2021)

Springfield Republican, The (Massachusetts) 6 April 1946, Bruno Gallerani Wed at West Palm Beach, GenealogyBank.com

(https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2:11BC3DF3E61E32B5@GB3NEWS-12ABAEC627C6A657 : accessed 5 December 2021)

Springfield Union, The (Massachusetts) 6 September 1949, Guerty-Isabelle, GenealogyBank.com

(https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2:12AE9C35A497B0E8@GB3NEWS-12B9757D3ACAEBC7@2433166-12B529316000C5CD@25-12B529316000C5CD : accessed 6 December 2021)

Contributed by Tim Casey, LHS Board Member

Originally published December 16, 2021

District School Registers 1850-1851

Tucked away in a folder in the archives at the Storrs House Museum are more than a dozen attendance registers for the eight District Schools in Longmeadow, MA for the year 1850-1851. These registers reveal teacher names and salaries, student names, ages, and attendance histories for the three different school terms: Winter, Summer and Fall. Many also contain the names of textbooks required of students - the same books required in each of the small district schools. Each district school building contained either one or two classrooms, allowing for a mixing of students of eligible age within the classroom space and outdoors as well.

Just as today, placing each area of town into a particular district was an attempt to create equality in school population size and fairness in proximity for students who travelled to school Monday through Saturday of each week for each of the three terms. Regardless, sometimes there was a large imbalance. For example, in the Summer Term of 1850, the District 3 school had an enrollment of 17 students ages 4-12, while District 1 enrolled 46 students ages 4-12. Yikes! It’s important to keep in mind that in 1851, the town of Longmeadow still included what today is the separate town of East Longmeadow. In that sense, it’s a wonder that eight schools was enough!

District 1 Register of 42 Students for the Summer Term 1850 An additional 4 students are listed on the next page

Examining these registers reveals a few interesting insights:

• Summer terms running May through September were usually the domain of the younger students, ages 3-12, while the Winter Term running December through March saw a large influx of teenage students. Presumably the older children in a family were needed at home to work the farms during the busy warm weather months.

• School Board members visited several times throughout a term to check on the behavior of students and the aptitude of the teacher. Unfortunately for the District 7 teacher during the Summer Term of 1850, her class of 32 students ages 3-14 were found “not above mediocrity” with a “want of punctuality and order.” It’s not clear if the teacher was to blame for the mediocrity, or the families.

• Most teachers taught only one term and did not return for the subsequent term.

• It appears that in every instance, male teachers were paid more per month than their female counterparts. For example, Parsons Henry was paid $29 a month for his term teaching at District School #4, while Laura Stebbins was compensated only $17 a month for a term teaching at the same school that year. Mr. Henry taught 25 students ages 10-19 that winter, while Miss Stebbins handled 46 students ages 4-12 over the summer term.

Selectboard records indicate that the town funded the education of its young residents by paying teacher salaries, room and board for the teachers who lodged in the homes of local families, firewood to keep the buildings warm, and even a small amount( $1.00) to someone tasked with lighting the stoves within the school buildings.

Selectman Records noting payments to support the schools

The only school we have an image for is the District 3 School which stood just south of the intersection of Maple Road and Longmeadow Street. It’s also the school that saw the lowest enrollment that year.

District School #3 stood just south of Maple Rd on Longmeadow Street

Pupils were encouraged to bring their own books if their families could afford them, otherwise the town was legally required to provide them. Titles covered during the 1850-1851 terms included the popular series of Webster’s readers, spellers, and dictionary, as well as Mitchell’s Geographies, Goodrich’s U.S. History, Weld’s School Grammar, Greenleaf’s Series of Arithmetic, Watt’s On the Mind, and Miss Swift’s Natural Philosophy. Some differentiation must have been made for the youngest students as Smith’s First Book in Geography and Peter Parley’s 1st and 2nd Books of History seem more tailored to younger readers.

Contributed by Melissa Cybulski, LHS Board Member

Originally published December 9, 2021

Designing To Get An Apprentice Boy

On October 31, 1774, Rev. Stephen Williams of Longmeadow wrote in his diary, “this day, my son Samuel set out on a journey for Boston (designing to get an Apprentice Boy)…” Samuel returned to Longmeadow on Nov. 9 and Rev. Williams recorded that “in the Evening my Son, returned home in safety – has had a comfortable journey…My Son has brot home a little Boy, ye Lord help us to do our duty to him and make him a comfort & blessing to us.”

This little boy was 5-year-old Oliver Blanchard. According to the records of the Boston Overseers of the Poor, on May 26, 1774, “received into the House Oliver Blanchard a Child of Margarett Thorps 5 yrs. old March 24th 1774.” Unfortunately, we do not know more about Oliver's parents. Oliver lived in a Boston almshouse until he was indentured to Samuel and Lucy Williams on November 3, 1774 and brought to Longmeadow on November 9. The archives of the Longmeadow Historical Society contain a copy of his indenture, a portion of which is shown above.

In the fall of 1774, Samuel and Lucy Williams had six daughters and a newborn son. The family lived in the Longmeadow parsonage (where the Community House is located today) with Rev. Stephen Williams and his wife; this must have been a full household indeed. Rev. Williams mentions young Oliver frequently in his diary and these references provide a glimpse into his life as an indentured apprentice.

Oliver's tasks included helping Samuel Williams with farm work. In doing so, he learned skills which he would need to be a farmer. He must have proven trustworthy for, even as a young boy, he was given a great deal of responsibility for the family’s livestock. On June 27, 1777 (when Oliver was 9 years old), Oliver successfully brought oxen from Somers to Longmeadow by himself. Rev. Williams wrote “I was much concerned for Oliver who was alone – (i.e., without any human person) bringing ye oxen, from J. Bumstead – but God was with & preserved ye child, so that he was not so much as wet, being at Jonathan Burts in ye time of ye Shower…” On four other occasions, the diary refers to Oliver’s tending of the farm’s horses and cattle.

The Williams family cared for Oliver when he was sick with the measles in 1778 and when he was injured in January, 1782: “Oliver Blanchard fell down from ye Hay loft in ye Barn, upon ye colt, and was Hurt – considerably…” Two days later, Oliver was still in pain, so “his master took him in a sleigh & carried him up to Dr. Pynchon who gave advice and direction…” The next morning, he had improved: “Oliver is better – blessed be to God.”

Per the terms of his indenture, Oliver was to receive 13 pounds, 6 shillings, eight pence at the end of his indenture in 1790. This payment was designed to provide Oliver with some capital so that he could make his way as a productive citizen of the community and state.

And, Oliver did just that. In 1793, Oliver Blanchard was established enough so that he could marry a local girl, Clarinda Cooley. By 1798, he was one of the wealthiest citizens in town, according to the tax valuation.

How did this enterprising young farmer earn his money? The archives of the Longmeadow Historical Society include the account books of Erastus Goldthwaite and Asa Colton and our president, Dr. Al McKee, has examined them for clues to Oliver's financial success. These books list business transactions with Oliver and, from these, we can tell that he grew hemp (used for making rope and other products), wheat, corn, rye and tobacco. The Blanchards also probably had an apple orchard and raised sheep.

Page from Account Book of Erastus Goldthwaite

Oliver Blanchard joined First Church and, in 1803, was elected to a position of authority within the church - tythingman.

Oliver and Clarinda were not blessed with children, but Clarinda’s brother, John, honored him by naming his son born October 4, 1808 after him – Oliver Blanchard Cooley. Shortly afterwards, on October 31, 1808, Oliver Blanchard died. The inscription on his headstone notes that "he was an affection husband, kind neighbor and a valuable citizen."

Longmeadow Cemetery Photo by Al and Betsy McKee

Sources

1. Longmeadow Historical Society archives

2. Diary of Rev. Stephen Williams

3. The Eighteenth-Century Records of the Boston Overseers of the Poor, Eric Nellis & Anne Decker Cecere, 2007

4. Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988

5. Massachusetts and Maine Direct Tax, 1798

Contributed by Elizabeth Hoff, LHS Board Member Originally published December 2, 2021