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The last class at Bloomingdale High

The original caption from this 1970 Enterprise says it all, or nearly all. The village created a huge pile of snow in Riverside Park and the Bloomingdale Scouts dug out snow caves and spent the night in the cave. Scoutmaster Sandy Hayes told me that three of the boys did not have very good sleeping bags so the village let the boys stay in the “pump house” over night. It’s that brick building next to Little Italy. (Enterprise photo, courtesy of Sandy Hayes.)
The town of St. Armand Veteran’s Honor Roll used to stand next to the town hall. Augie said that the sign had fallen into disrepair, was taken down and stored away. I wish someone could stir up a movement to have the sign repaired and placed on its rightful site outside the yown hall. I don’t know? Maybe someone like Julia Cotter could stir things up. She loves Bloomingdale and Bloomingdale history and after all, her Dad, Don Essex, a former Marine, certainly has his name on the honor roll. There may be other names that should be added to the honor roll. Veterans from Desert Storm, Iraq or Afghanistan. But I’ll bet if Julia asked for help from, say, veteran Bob O’Neil, Sandy Hayes or Don Rumble, (who creates works of art with a hammer and saw) it would be a great start. (Photo provided)
The Bloomingdale High School with Augie just visible by the flag pole. (Photo provided)

My friend Augie Simpson has taken me to task because a few years ago I claimed that Geraldine O’Neil, sister of Bob O’Neil, was the last person to graduate from Bloomingdale High School. Augie, along with three other guys, was in the last class to graduate from the school in June, 1943 … and he has the Commencement Exercises program to prove it.

Augie, age 96, the only surviving Bloomingdale WWII vet, remembers a bustling Bloomingdale, as I do, and so does Bob O’Neil, age 91. Lots of stores, a barber shop, hardware store, a drug store. But here is what I don’t get — Augie says there were five gas stations in Bloomingdale. There were not nearly as many cars back then, and it was a long trip to go Plattsburgh, so who was using all the gas?

Of course, the farms had equipment that used a lot of gasoline. We had a Fordson tractor, a 1930, ton-and-a-half stake-body Ford truck and a 1935 four-door Ford sedan.

Augie also supplied all the photos and illustrations used in today’s column.

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