Train/Car Crash in Schodack NY 1958

 I am on a small rural road named South Schodack Rd in the upstate community of Schodack NY. I am standing near the railroad tracks. In my hand is a small piece of what appears to be an old piece of car chrome, I have dug it up about one quarter of a mile from this small dirt side road. It is heavier than a modern chrome is and appears slightly melted. So why is this of any importance? So as I stand there my mind goes back to a memory I have stored away. In a sense I go back in time to circa winter of 1958. Most likely January / February. A woman by the name of Loretta Harris who was a member of The Eastern Star was coming home from a meeting of said group. On the way back from The Main St area of Castleton NY where the Lodge was she dropped off Ruth Hudson a fellow member and sister in law to her home. They talked about how it had recently started snowing  and rather hard at that. Was she going to be OK returning home. She had a relatively new car a 57 Chevy Bel Air a car that was destined to become a car collectors classic. So she felt reasonably safe. She drove slowly on into the night. She passed by the then new Maple Hill High School and turned onto South Schodack Rd. This road was not a very populated road  Even now after some development in this century it is sparsely populated still. Lots of corn and soy farmland now , a couple of dairy farms and corn fields then ,  she and her husband Donald  owned a several acre apple orchard on that road at that time.
 Ms. Harris drove slowly that night as the snow had picked  in intensity. As she came up to that dirt road that veered off South Schodack Rd  didn't realize she had come to the point where the road was a right curve and she went off onto the gravel and dirt side road that emptied into corn field as it does to this day. Only she got  stuck on the railroad tracks. Try as she might for the next 7 or 8 minutes she was stuck.Then she heard the train whistle. looked to her North and thought through the heavy snow she might be seeing a dim light in the distance. PANIC.  She tried quickly to back up. Tires spun , smoke arose. The whistle was much louder . She grabbed her purse got the door open and got out of the car. Stumbled down towards a large in a panic A few moment later there was one hell of a bang and crumple of sheet metal and chrome glass and rubber. Heavily applied air breaks wailed out in to the dark snowy night. The car was pushed down the tracks dumping off pieces of the car body as it went. From what witnesses said it was a good half a mile or more before it stopped. The car was burning and totaled of course.
 Loretta Harris was found sitting against a tree by the neighbor nearby.  She had been crying and was in a state of shock. She was wearing a long evening gown dress as is often Eastern Star protocol.It was dirty and torn and the farmer threw his coat over her , His wife called the State Police and her husband.
 It was a long night of firetrucks , state police cars and wrecker trucks. The next morning Doctor Austin our local MD stopped by the house checked her over and it is said administered her a sedative to allow some sleep. That next evening several family members gathered with her to be of support. By the way a couple of days later her husband hit the ceiling as we used to say. Her son David tended to side with his father.
 Back in the present the road looks the same , the neighbors house sits abandoned nearby and the piece of possible semi melted  Chevy chrome is my possession. It was a peaceful warm late summer day. Not like that night more than 60 yrs ago

Back Again

 Well I have been gone for quite a while but I am back. Not that  I have not been busy. Been doing alot of old man thinking. So I will be seeing you soon.So be seeing you

Goodby Sir Roger Moore...Bond & Templar

 Today the third man to play 007 in the movies and play Simon Templar on Television died. I have written a few blogs on Bond and Templar so I  thought I would write a short few more words.. He lived a long life , an interesting life. Whether he was a member of The Mavericks or Bond he was an old fashion movie star. He did work for UNICEF using his star power for good.  Though he was not able to revive The Saint {one of last projects}. He dies as a man who was part of a rich & interesting era now gone by still influential. So goodby Sir Roger. RIP

Thinking About 1967 in 2017

 I have been really busy the last couple of months.....Traveling around North Carolina , Blue Ridge Parkway , Asheville , a  good size VW car show in N.C. Working on my health etc. Anyway , I am searching a road in my hometown {South Schodack Road}. Doing some research there and planning a dig. But as a side event I am going back 50yrs to 1967. It started with a lecture on CSPAN TV from a panel of historians and one archeologist discussing the year. This was in January of this year. As I dwell in that old era perhaps that year has more to it than I would have thought. Done a couple of interviews so far and a little basic googling. By the end of the year I will see if it is worth a blog or two. I know what your thinking......what the hell kind of life does he live. Oh by the way in Asheville I finally gave into a long held temptation.....with my history / archeology hobby. I bought an Indiana Jones hat. So I guess I go on these quests to make myself worthy of  THE HAT. Be Seeing You.

Goodby GM.'s Opel Subsidary in Europe

Last week GM closed a deal to sell their Opel Division in Europe. Well as some readers may know during the 60's and 70's Opel was a brand sold in North America.  For a few short yrs the brand really did give the VW imports a run for their money in our market.  For those that are to young to remember they were a line of cars from a basic small  Kadet to a Opel GT sports car.  They had a fastback , station wagon and a sedan called an Opel Rallye which was the car I wanted as a young man. I have a poster of one in my home office. It is derived from an ad in 1967 , the year they introduced  the model.  It talks about the more powerful engine , 24% more horsepower. Dual carbs and exhaust.Steel belted radials. Rally lights which  really functioned as fog lights. They said the cockpit  was worthy of a "fine road machine". The price in 1967......2,192 dollars. She was the kind of semi sport car that didn't look so hot but  could move and handle quite well especially on the back roads  of my hometown of Schodack NY. 
 My mother owned the basic Kadet , that she drove to work when she was the Town Clerk. in the 60's and early 70's. She would not buy a VW Beetle even though she loved them because of WW1 and WW2 and the brands association with one Adolf Hitler. It was a boxy little car that had a very small engine but was fun to drive....really. My friend Ron Kunicki loved to drive it. One late summer long weekend we drove it all the way to SUNY Fredonia dropping off people to college along the way.
 Perhaps at a car show you might see one but from talking to some people that owned one they have fond memories associated with that car brand. One Robin Zimmer with her Opel station wagon related to me how she used to love passing big trucks on gradients with it. It probably brought out the wild woman in her as she was the quiet type in high school LOL. So anyway , fond memories aside it was an important section of automotive history. Decently priced cars , that were overall the reliable second family car or starter car of my generation. I thought it deserved  a bit  of a send off from me. Who owned one and enjoyed it. Goodby GM's Opel and thanks.

Secret Masonic Lodge NYS Capitol

 I am not really a conspiracy kind of guy. I don't see world domination groups in various corners of the world. However , I do know of a semi Masonic order that was located near the State Capitol  Bld in Albany New York. I suppose I should tell you first how I know this......well I had an uncle {now long dead} who was in the NYS Assembly in the 1960's.. He told me about it in the 1980's shortly before his death. He came from Rensselear County in upstate NY. Recently I interviewed a former higher up member of the NYS Secretary of States Dept. Reluctantly , he told me about it. So here is what I know.
 It was started during the Alfred E. Smith era  when he was Governor in the teens and twenties. It is rumored he was himself a member. It was located away from the Capitol in a private club an example being The Fort Orange Club. Members included elected state political figures members of the Governor's office and various other state dept. One had to go through  what they called a {service}. One pledged silence , brotherhood  and what they referred to as  { civic cooperation}. One was "tapped"  for membership by a mysterious person only referred to as "The Butler".  Membership I was told by my uncle was highly selective. It costs 500.00 dollars in 1962 to join. The most important element for one to be chosen was the ability to keep ones mouth shut about your membership. What was discussed in the lodge was usually NYS business , politics ,  deals.
 So.....now you know what I know.....by the way I doubt it still exists to be honest. Though it is not something one can easily inquire about. Animo non Astutia

Small Pet Graveyard Castleton NY 12033

 Castleton NY is a small village in the upstate region. It has seen better days. The manufacturing is gone , the main street business district is all but disappeared. It is now a bedroom community. In better times a great house was built on a street called Green Avenue.....somewhat mansion like. Next to it is a seniors development called Castle Hill built on old Hudson farm property. Between them is the remnant of an old bridle path used as recently as the mid 1970's by one of the previously owners the Lindy family. They also had a ski rope tow in the back wooded area. As a young kid I walked that area and set off to confirm an old memory. About 100 or so feet from the street I discovered the remnants of an old pet graveyard. Started in the early 1930's by a couple who lived there untill the early sixties. They would use old pieces of 2 by 4's as grave markers. Much has disappeared over the years and grown over. But with careful searching I found the location. The marker I found and examined was I believe was a dog named Shep that died in 1946 as was stated on the marker. Took time to clean it off and read it. Since been returned. To create this I presume that those dog owners truely loved their pets and visited . A memorial I believe built with love and concern and a ration of grief. People do love their pets. Rediscovered for a moment as it all returns to dust and ashes.RIP.