I've received several requests for this one. It's about the start of the '50's. The War was over and prosperity is coming on to Lockport and the USA! The memories are of good times at this Lockport landmark anchoring the corner of East Avenue and Charles Street. Directly across the street on the south side of East Avenue is Lockport High School --- making this a natural gathering point for those of high school age. Castle's Diary and the dairy bar at this location (seen through the big plate glass windows) is a field of memories for anyone who lived in Lockport for those wonderful years. I spent a lot of time here. I hope you don't mind me going on for a bit.
Castle's was owned and operated by Lockport's Castle family. What a great bunch! "Casey" Castle was a favorite and for many years ran the operation which included full processing of dairy products (ice cream, milk, and real cream). Note the remains of the Wyles Diary name on the smoke stack to the rear. Above the street level dairy bar, soda fountain (with lots of table seating), and retail sales was the second floor offices. "Casey" held forth in the office with windows looking out on the right side of the building. The dairy processing plant and ice cream manufacturing is to the rear extending down Charles Street. Castle's had their own delivery trucks and they were garaged here through the large vehicle doors that faced out on Charles. Where the station wagon is parked, during evenings for many years, "car hops" would come out and take your order from the car. Castle's, along with Gascoyne's and (Kenan's) Randleigh Farms offered home delivery of milk products in those days. Each dairy had their own glass bottles (ask Lockport collector Paul Oates about them). Whoever wrote that recent editorial in the Union-Sun & Journal saying "local control" means little...should have lived in Lockport back in the days when we had locally owned diaries. Believe me, folks, this was Lockport's golden age! ---Lou (7/4)
In a local breakfast house a few days ago a lady asked the waitress, "Can you tell me where the Union-Sun & Journal is located now?" The waitress thought they were out on Transit. "Oh, no," the lady replied, "I was just out there and they've moved." Another patron offered, "They've moved everything to Niagara Falls." Yet another said "They're now in North Tonawanda." Everybody looked at me at this point. Being a Senior Lockportian has its recognition, I guess. Well, I spent a few minutes explaining they have indeed moved to both Niagara Falls and North Tonawanda but they still have an office here in the city. "It's up over a drug store out on East Avenue." I then gave the woman instruction on how to get there.
In 1946 the paper was locally owned and it was right on
Main Street. The picture shows "Red Goose Shoes" on the left, and to the
right was Noah's Ark and then Webber's Jewelers.
The newspaper used all floors of the building (which once even housed their radio station briefly). Those of us who were US&J newspaper boys would gather out back to pick up papers off the dock for delivery on bikes around the city.
The Corson family moved the paper to a brand new facility at South Transit and Summit sometime later because they needed more room. Everything was under one roof. This is where the paper was printed, sold, edited, produced, composed and photographs processed right here in Lockport. The advertising department and top management were right here in downtown. The editor was here (unless he was down the street having a snack at The Maple Leaf Restaurant.). The publisher was here. The owner was here. What's left in Lockport could perhaps fit in a small part of the shoe store seen in this picture. See more US&J Recollections of this era under Lockport Yesterday.
Lockport historian, Peter Buckholtz, corrects and adds some information about the Red Goose Shoe Store. He recalls the proprietor was Gus Jamison and he had a fine large green parrot that resided in the store. Says Peter, "It made marvelous loud squawks and said 'hello' and may have had a larger vocabulary than that, but that's all I remember it uttering." --- Lou (4/26)
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