This issue of Strictly Business is a first for us. It is the first time we have featured businesses that are 100 or more years old. Two have been passed down in the same family; two have had more than one owner but maintained an unbroken business service record.
Our cover feature, Glazier Packing, was started by Howard Glazier in Owls Head, a hamlet as far back in the Adirondacks as you can go. Now, 120 plus years and five generations later, the company is a thriving business serving New York and Vermont clients in a 200-mile radius of its home base in Malone.
Wilson’s Appliance opened a storefront in the downtown area in 1920. The building, which burned to the ground in 1940, was located in the area of today’s Sip restaurant. Don’t miss our article about EV Wilson and how he and his door-to-door salesforce got their start in the appliance business.
Brown Funeral Home was started in the 1890’s on what was then River Street (now City Hall Place). Two fires later Brown, his sons and son-in-law moved the business to a former church parsonage on lower Broad Street, just outside the downtown Plattsburgh area.
Ausable Chasm holds the longevity record in this issue of SB. Discovered in 1765 and open to the public for 150 years, the Chasm has evolved from a roadside attraction to a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts. Its history is a fascinating look at the evolution of life in the Adirondack region.
Even this month’s Insight article features a 100-year-old business. Alex Edwards, of Alexander Edwards & Company, and his son, Forrest, continue the family accounting practice on lower Bridge Street in Plattsburgh.
Strictly Business is excited to welcome Dr. Colin Read, professor of economics and finance at SUNY Plattsburgh’s School of Business & Economics, as a regular contributor. Colin has been a friend for nearly 20 years and we look forward to his monthly views of business in the North Country and across the nation.
Garry Douglas wraps up this issue with an encouraging look at U.S.- Canadian relations. When the pandemic forced the closure of the border the region experienced a shock few could have anticipated. Having the Chamber step up to lead the way through these difficult times has made an enormous difference. A collective “Thank You” to Garry and his amazing staff.
At a time when businesses, large and small, are struggling we believed the stories of Glazier Packing, Brown Funeral Home, Wilson’s Appliance, Ausable Chasm, and Alexander Edwards & Company could serve as inspiration. Through fires, floods, depressions, wars, and civil unrest they persisted and came out the other side. We salute them! The history of the North Country has always been built on determination and hard work…
…and that’s good for business.
I want to take a moment to give a special thanks to our SB advertising sales person, Shirley Sansone, who has been all over Clinton, Franklin and Essex Counties collecting the wonderful old photos you will enjoy in this issue. Her work gives the issue a richness enhanced by family memories.
Thank you, Shirley.