Sayre, Pennsylvania is located in the Penn-York Valley along with the towns of Athens and Waverly. The New York-Pennsylvania border cuts through the valley, but there are no physical borders between the three towns, which have seamlessly connecting street grids. According to Ken Bracken, President of the
Sayre Historical Society, the Waverly Sayre & Athens Traction Company provided streetcar service for the three towns from 1916 until 1930. Mr. Bracken also mentions that the street looks very much the same today, except for the bank on the corner, which was badly damaged by a gas leak explosion one night in the 1960s.
Sadly, after 1930, there was no public transit for a very long time. Today, the Endless Mountain Transportation Authority provides bus service in the area.
I also would like to mention a great website if you are conducting any history or genealogy research on relatives from Bradford and Tioga Counties in Pennsylvania or Chemung County, New York. Joyce Tice has put together an incredible
genealogy and history website for the area.
Streetcars... and the assorted cars along the curb provide a vivid portrait of technology at the time.
ReplyDeleteAnother terrific street scene. Always makes me nostalgic for the days when everyone shopped and hung out on Main St., not the mall.
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ReplyDeleteMain Street @ Disney still seems to be doing pretty well... The small towns that are too far from a big city to access the malls or too small to attract a Wal Mart probably still have some semblance of a Main Street, although given enough time, online shopping will probably take care of that.
I love this street scene, too! I wonder what the men outside the bank are discussing!
ReplyDeleteAimee, you're right. They're gathered together, but seem engaged in separate conversations. Straw boater on one man, orange sky (morning sky?). I'll nip. A couple of Sayre heavyweights waiting for the stock market to open. They're talking WWI hysteria, or the effects of Prohibition on grain futures, or the truck-load of Canadian whiskey smuggled in through Buffalo.
ReplyDeleteL-You're right, too. I live in a metro area of maybe 600,000, my income's in the low grass, but I have to order online for some goods. Small-volume, full-service retail is getting its doors blown off. Jack/Youngstown
I'm guessing those fellas are wondering where the heck the getaway car is that was supposed to pick them up after they knocked off the bank...
ReplyDeleteGood one, Anon.! These days the guys who rob the banks are the banks.:-) Jack/Youngstown
ReplyDeleteNo comment req'd J/Y...
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