Syracuse - New York that is

Syracuse.  Just a name.  Just a place.  One of 6 cities in the United States so called, it was named by John Wilkinson (its first postmaster and attorney) in 1819.  He compared it to Syracuse, a city on the isle of Sicily. Quite a stretch, but it stuck, and here we are.

Today it claims as its own some 145,000 souls.   And it offers them some distinguishing tidbits of trivia to live with.  It is the largest “Syracuse” in the country, and the 5^th most populous city in our overtaxed state of New York. It is the worst city in the country for tipping.  Syracuse University has been named the number one party school in the country.  The list could go on, but I’ll spare you.

On the plus side, it has also been named to the top ten best places to raise a family.  And, it is the safest city in the US for refuge from natural disasters. That alone should make you want to pitch your tent right in the middle of Salina St., the main drag through town. 

What will make you want to fold your tent and find greener, warmer pastures is our famously, infamous winter season.   With snow, cold, and winds, all fueled by our proximity to the great lakes, we enjoy through the dark winter doldrums what we call (interspersed with adult words) lake effect snow storms.  Just think blizzard.  And no sun, precious sun.

But, back to the beginning for just a minute.  Over the years, it grew and prospered and from the pages of its many newspapers, sprang heroes, villains, and vagabonds. Just like most places, I’d imagine. And along the way it made some history, and gave to the world some interesting additions to enhance the life of  people near and far.  Which is really the point of this post.  Here, I present some 20 “things” Syracuse has given mankind.  Who would have thunk it….not me.  A mild surprise, they give me a chance to smile at my home city, but only until the sun is once again blocked out by clouds.  In about 15 minutes.

The Brannock Device for measuring shoe size

Remember when you used to go to a store dedicated to just footwear, or to a big department store with a shoe department, and people actually waited on you, and measured you, and all that stuff? Well, the thing used to determine the length and width  (and hence, the size) of your smelly little tootsies, was invented by one Charles Brannock.  He made the fist one in 1926 and now they are the international standard for measuring for footwear….samples are even in the Smithsonian! BTW, if you want to experience again that old fashioned customer service, head to your nearest Fleet Feet store.  They have a Brannock waiting for you.

 

Look familiar?

The loafer

A shoe without laces.  Sounds like a Syracuse thing.  Invented right at the A.E. Nettleton Shoe company.  Thank you very much.

The serrated edge bread knife

Thank Joseph E. Burns for this patent. They work on other stuff as well, so go experiment.

The Mutoscope (first personal motion picture projector)

Patented by Herman Casler on November 21, 1894, this first projector did not project on a screen, but to only one person at a time.  It was controlled by the viewer.  It used coins to run the machine.  Think peep show.  Only in Syracuse!

The Franklin automobile

Made here by the H.H. Franklin Manufacturing Company, it utilized the air-cooled engine, also invented right here in Syracuse, on the corner of East Fayette and South Geddes Sts.

The first ever traffic signal

The Crouse-Hinds Electric Company, established in 1897, made the first traffic signals in the U.S.  Another Syracuse first….the only traffic light in the country where the green light is on top and the red light on the bottom.  It’s on Tipperary Hill, so you can thank the Irish for this one of a kind light.

      

The Brown-Stillman pneumatic tire

When you say pneumatic, think…air.  What a concept!  Alexander Brown was an engineer, businessman, entrepreneur, and in his spare time…an inventor (typewriter, shotgun, bicycle gears, to name a few).  His tire appeared in 1895 and was an instant hit…it increased greatly the comfort level of riding in the new fangled “motorized wagon.” They were used in the first automobile race held in the United States.

The first multij-shift bicycle gear

See previous….it wasn’t a big hit in the early days of bicycling (remember that bike with the HUGE front wheel?), but it soon found an eager friend in the automobile.

Salt potatoes

Take our local version of gold – aka salt – add an influx of Irish immigrants working on the Erie Canal and in the salt mines, and you have the recipe for our area’s number one side staple.  How’d it really start….for lunch, the Irish miners boiled potatoes in the salt brines, and they tasted good!  And they stuck ever since.

Cathedral candles

Family owned and operated candle maker - the Cathedral Candle Company was founded in 1897 and has operated its sole manufacturing operation at 510 Kirkpatrick St.  ever since! That’s a miracle in the business world. Cathedral candles, as the moniker would imply, is one of the leading suppliers of church candles in the United States.  They have been used by bishops, cardinals, and popes, and I’m sure, for lighting pumpkins on that holiday first celebrated by heathens - Halloween….it’s all about balance!

That’s enough for now, my editor is starting to drift off to slumber.  I can feel it.

The last 10 next time. 

Mark Twain Quote: “Inventors are the creators of the world-after God.”

(Note:  Twain probably did not believe in a God….but he hedged his bets when it suited his purpose)

William Ward Crossett

Doesn’t that name just grab you? Strong, powerful, rhythmic, it is a man’s name.  It is a name made for a movie marquee, or for the protagonist in a best selling novel.  I do love that name.

And alas, it sits on the other side of my family.  My grandfather, William Ward Jr. had two sons, first born William Ward III, and Donald, my father.  So close, oh so very close.

Now, all this means that the very first William Ward, the “Sr.” of the line, was my great grandfather.   Much of what I’ve learned about him can be reduced to the usual cold statistics that accompany one through life, the numbers that define and confine us.

Born - 1855 - moved to Syracuse in 1862 - married at 23 in 1879 - 6 children (2 sons-4 daughters).  Worked for a stationer before opening his own store in 1893.  This he operated for 15 years.  Was an Alderman for the city of Syracuse from 1899 to 1908, serving the 13^th Ward (Bellevue section of Syracuse).  Then went to work for the city as Supt. of construction in the Bureau of Water (as was his father, William L – see previous post).  Died - 1923, in the performance of his duties. 

Thankfully, I was able to learn more about this unique man I am proud to have as an ancestor. Obituaries are made mostly of the aforementioned statistics, but his life was lived so that others were inclined to write more about him.

James (brother) and William Ward (on right) c. 1880

From newspaper accounts at the time of his passing, was written:

 “Will Crossett’s sudden death is a real loss to the community.  Father and son, the Crossetts were the men who actually built the great system of waterworks which is the city’s pride, and their name – perpetuated now in the beautiful street that passes their early home on Reservoir Hill – is inseparably connected with it.  They both served Syracuse well.”

And this:

“Will Crossett was a gentle, kindly, likeable man, who made friends without trying.  Thousands will recall him as proprietor of a little stationer’s shop on West Washington Street, as alderman of the Thirteenth Ward and virile force in the Common Council, or as a capable, courteous official in the Bureau of Water.  He died, as he probably would have wished to do, in harness, stricken while working – without rest or sleep – on two breaks that threatened the conduit system he cared for so well.  The city will miss him, as public servant and citizen, as keenly as will the neighbors in the Bellevue section he worked so hard and successfully to build up.”

William Ward c. 1890

 And finally:

“Will Crossett enjoyed a large circle of friends and acquaintances in all sections of the city. At city hall, his reputation for quiet efficiency and loyalty to duty was exceeded by that of no person in the city’s employ in the last decade.  Always kindly and courteous, he was the type of executive that subordinates strive hardest to please, and as superintendent of construction, he handled an enormous amount of work without the least sign of friction or trouble of any kind.”

Kind words indeed, honorably earned, they brought my great grandfather to life for me, revealing as no statistic could, his character and personality.  Lord knows there’s no one living today that could do that.

There was a conversation “enhancer”  that used to be popular awhile ago that usually went something like this– if you had your choice of  having dinner with any 3 persons you could, living or dead, whom would you choose?  The popular answers, without fail, gravitated toward:  Jesus, Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington, JFK, Einstein, Grant, da Vinci, Edison, Clemens, Dickens….you get the idea. (aside-I wonder what choices  people would make today)

They all come to mind, of course, but for me, I would take dinner with my great grandfather, thank you.  Oh, if you wanted to, you could throw in Samuel Clemens for good measure, but that wouldn’t be necessary, and there’s no need for a third.  William Ward would do just fine. It would be my privilege. I would love to meet him. 

Mark Twain Quote:  “Honor knows no statute of limitations.”