A Walk Through Fulton's History

Have you ever wanted to experience an important moment in history? Have you wished you could hear the voice of someone who made that history? Or wondered what it was like to live when your great-great-grandparents did? Well, the city of Fulton has just the opportunity for you.

This fall, Fultonians, along with their friends and visitors, will have the chance to take part in the first ever “Fulton’s Living History Tour,” a memorable walk (or bus ride) down one of the history-rich streets of our city. Organized by a group of enthusiastic Fultonians who call themselves the Reimagine Fulton Committee, the Living History Tour offers a program featuring several stops in our city that have historical significance. At these stops, a narrator will entertain and inform participants with stories brought to life by actors in period costumes.

The route for this tour will begin at the Fulton Post Office, on the corner of East Broadway and South First Street. The narrator will explain the significance of our Post Office and then lead the group to the tour’s next stop, the Pratt House, where our city’s Historical Society maintains important memorabilia. The group will be greeted by an actress portraying Mrs. Pratt, the matriarch of this prominent Fulton family.

Next stop will be the Fulton Library, its shelves filled with rich history. Right next to the Library is Veteran’s Park, where participants will learn about the contributions made by soldiers who fought to defend our country. While at this stop, the narrator will discuss the original Case family home, located across the street from the park. Charles Case, the family’s patriarch, was an abolitionist that helped further the efforts of the Underground Railroad.

The tour will conclude at the corner of South First and Cayuga Streets, which once was part of downtown Fulton’s Dizzy Block, a vibrant shopping, dining and entertainment center. Actors will again recreate a scene from the Dizzy Block’s past. After this presentation, those interested can attend a reception at the Blue Moon restaurant, where light food and beverages will be provided.

Lori Blackburn, a member of the tour planning committee, has been involved with developing the narrator’s and actor’s contributions to this. She offers this perspective on this project:

“Fulton’s Living History Tour will delight audiences of all ages as the cast of local actors from Fulton and Oswego transport us back in time. Playwright Wayne Mosher has crafted a wonderful living play that will introduce us to Father Le Moyne, Mr. Case, a school principal and dignitaries from the Post Office and the Library. We will get some lessons from a nerdy professor, an eccentric painter, learn some etiquette from a spinster and do some toe tapping while the jitterbug dancers put on a show at the Dizzy Block. With a cast of 13 actors ranging in ages from 12-65, there is sure to be something for everyone as we span over 100 years of Fulton’s rich history.”

There are three opportunities to participate in Fulton’s Living History Tour: Saturday, September 30; Sunday, October 1; and Sunday, October 8. Each tour begins at 1pm and will conclude at 2pm. (The Blue Moon reception follows the program.) On all three of those dates, participants can walk the approximate ½ mile route. On Sunday, the 1st and Sunday, the 8th, a bus will be provided for those with mobility issues or concerns.

There is no registration fee for Fulton’s Living History Tour, as funding has been made possible through the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York and the New York Academy Of Medicine, an organization that Fulton has worked with through our city’s Fulton Block Builders Program. Linda Eagan, FBB director, initiated the Reimagine Fulton Committee’s grant application for the Living History Tour, and has this to say about our partnership with the Health Foundation.

"The HFWCNY's focus for this grant is to ‘Build Neighborhoods Where People of All Ages Can Thrive.’ Fulton Block Builders is pleased to partner with this impactful foundation and believes that the Living History Tour will enhance life in Fulton for people of all ages and abilities."

Although registration for each tour is not limited, the refreshments that follow will be available for up to 75 people. Also, a seat on the bus is first come-first serve. To select a date to register for the reception and/or the bus, please use this link: Living History Tour signup Those with questions or who are unable to use the link, may contact me (I am a Living History Tour committee member.) and leave a short message at 315 402-6164. You will receive a return call to confirm your registration or address your question.

Don’t miss out on this exciting chance to not only learn about history but to see it, hear…and live it.

The Fulton Public Library, which first opened in 1906, will be one of the stops on our city’s first ever “Living History Tour.

A Taste of Fulton's Chocolate Memories

Are you among the thousands of people who miss the days when the city of Fulton smelled like chocolate? Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to work in a factory that produced some of America’s favorite sweet treats? The answers to those and many other questions are now available! Beginning this April, the Fulton Chocolate Works Museum Committee is offering a taste (pardon the pun) of what it meant to have the Nestlé factory in our city.

The Museum Committee, which includes former Nestlé employees as well as interested Fultonians, is committed to creating a permanent location to honor those who produced all that yummy chocolate for all those years. (The factory made chocolate from 1906 until 2003.) While searching for the right location for their museum, the Committee has been invited to offer a temporary showcase at the Friends of History in Fulton’s Pratt House.

Chocolate Works Museum Committee President Bob MacMartin explained what the group has in mind for the museum. “We want visitors of all ages to experience what it was like to make chocolate. We’ll display artifacts and other memorabilia to preserve the history of a century of chocolate manufacturing in Fulton. We’ll tell the story of the factory’s history as well as the generations of employees that worked there. We think it’s important to remember how those employees and the community contributed to that growth.”

MacMartin walked me through the display rooms at the Pratt House that the Committee has prepared. There are large panels with photographs depicting the factory’s growth and expansion. There’s a section to honor significant people who created such groundbreaking confectionary treats as The Crunch Bar, Toll House Morsels, and Nestlé Quik. Another exhibit is a step-by-step look at how the Fulton factory turned cocoa beans into mouth-watering chocolate. Visitors will also find out what part of the process created that city-wide smell of chocolate and what it was like to be on the candy wrapping line, trying to keep up with the conveyor belt. Did workers really feel like Lucille Ball?

They’ll be displays of the contributions that the Fulton Chocolate Works and its employees made to the city: the short-lived, but fondly remembered Chocolate Fest, the colorful floats in summertime parades, and the Nestlé Park complex where many played sports and attended picnics.

Visitors will enjoy the cabinets full of Nestlé memorabilia, bottles, canisters, cups, glasses…there’s even an oversized Toll House Morsel pillow! A video of the factory in action shows how during its busiest years, the workers produced one million pounds of chocolate a day.

Designing and creating all those displays are the Chocolate Works Committee members. Here’s how Committee member Ed McCormick, who worked in many departments at the factory throughout his 31 years of service, sees the museum’s purpose and goals: “The displays are important to the museum as they create a timeline of chocolate as it existed in Fulton. Chocolate has been good for the city. It offered good jobs, tax revenue for the city and over the years has participated in many community events. The museum will show how the people of Fulton benefited from the gift of chocolate that was given to them.”

Mike Malash, another Committee member who worked over 35 years for the company, explained the importance of honoring the factory’s contributions to Fulton: “The Chocolate Works was a vital part of the city for over 100 years. Its history needs to be made available to the residents of the city and to those that enjoy history. Visitors can ‘dig into’ why Henri Nestle got involved with baby food. They can learn why Daniel Peter, who created the milk chocolate bar, moved from being a candle maker to milk chocolate.”

Not only former Chocolate Works employees themselves, but also their children and grandchildren have reason to value the museum. Jackie Klaiss Brons is the daughter of Chris Klaiss, a Swiss-born chocolatier who shared his craft with Fultonians while employed at the factory from 1969 until 1991. Jackie lives in Switzerland now, but has memorabilia from her father’s work she’d like to donate to the Museum. Here’s why:

“The museum commemorates the many years of product innovation that took place in Fulton, as well as the close relationship that existed between the facility and Fulton, and among the many families whose livelihoods were directly dependent upon Nestlé's presence in the city. I hope the museum provides an impetus to those wishing to pursue new possibilities in Fulton and the surrounding area.”

While the Committee collects memorabilia, finds financial support and selects a location for their museum, they are appreciative of the Pratt House’s offer for their temporary exhibits. Friends of History in Fulton’s President, Tom Brown, knows why having this display is so important:

“The Friends of Fulton History, which is in charge of the Pratt House and decides what exhibits are on display, strongly supports the Chocolate Works Museum. As a museum for the city, we are the caretakers of a fantastic history of Fulton. People do not realize how important the city was for the economy of New York and even the entire country. We were a city that the Great Depression missed because we had so many factories. Now the Chocolate Works Museum Committee is looking for a permanent home and The Friends of History has reached out as good neighbors, offering our newest museum a temporary home. I believe Fultonians will really enjoy seeing the city’s newest museum.”

The Chocolate Works Museum displays opens at the Pratt House, located at 177 S. First Street, on April 12. Their days and hours of operation are Wednesday through Friday, 10am until 3pm. Plan to visit this exhibit multiple times over the coming year as the Committee promises to change displays regularly. But one thing that will remain throughout their time at the Pratt House—and you won’t want to miss this—is how the Committee has recreated the smell the chocolate within the display area. It’ll feel like you’re back in the days when the city of Fulton smelled of sweet chocolate.

Memories of when our city of Fulton smelled like chocolate will come alive with a new display at the Friends of Fulton History’s Pratt House.

Remembering Perkins Corner

I have great memories of Fulton’s Dizzy Block, a section of our downtown that was bordered by South First and Second Streets, and Oneida and Cayuga Streets. For decades, not only Fultonians but also folks from surrounding rural areas and small towns would make an event of visiting the many stores welcoming them. Within that block area you could buy clothes, jewelry and watches, school and sporting supplies, furniture and so much more. Then, after a busy few hours of shopping, you could treat yourself to a cup of coffee, a sandwich or an ice cream at popular places like Perkins Corner.

Recently, I talked with Don and Debbie Perkins, who are cousins with familial ties to Perkins Corner. Their grandfather was Leo H. Perkins, who purchased an existing cigar and tobacco store on the corner of South Second and Oneida Streets in 1918. Leo and his wife, Sarah, had three boys: Debbie’s father, Bob; Don’s father, George; and Paul. A few months ago, Don posted a memory of Perkins Corner on Facebook and I contacted him. He shared some newspaper clippings that helped me piece together the history of Perkins Corner.

Leo’s new business got started with a November 13, 1918, advertisement in the Fulton Patriot: “I have taken over the Cigar, Cigarette and General Tobacco Business of the late Horace Sylvester at 6. S. Second Street and will be pleased to meet all old patrons as well as new ones,” announced Perkins. Don provided a little more information about their Grandfather Leo’s life prior to the purchase of the store.

“He was raised by his grandfather, George B. Perkins, who owned a business known as Perkins Wagon Works. It was on South First Street and repaired wagons. He did things like change the wagon wheels to sled blades for winter. Our Grandfather Leo worked with his grandfather some and then he was employed at the Fulton Post office before he bought the tobacco store.”

In those early years, the store was not known as Perkins Corner. In a December 19, 1935, Fulton Patriot ad, the business was listed as “L. E. Perkins.” (It is unclear why Leo’s middle initial was written as E and not H.) At that time, the store specialized in tobacco products, with a 1936 ad mentioning “pipes, cigarettes [and] pouches for men.” There was some variety, though; the ad also mentioned “packaged candies for her and sporting goods for the outdoor boy’s gift.”

The store managed to thrive for decades, despite facing challenges. First, Leo, who’d been suffering from heart ailments for some time, died in March of 1943. According to his obituary, he worked right up until a few days before his passing. During the World War II years, all three of the Perkins brothers were in the military, but the store remained open, as Debbie explained. “Helen, Paul’s wife, and Bev, my mother, ran the store during the war. At one point, my mother even sold costume jewelry there.”

Indeed, an October 23, 1947, Fulton Patriot ad announced the opening of “Bev’s Jewelry.” This feature of the Perkins’ store was active on and off for years. A March 3, 1955, Valley News ad announced that “Bev’s Jewelry was Reopening.” And, over the years, the store continued to diversify what visitors could purchase there. “Along with cigars and cigarettes, Perkins sold newspapers, Golden books, Russell Stover candy and magazines,” Debbie said. “You could have a tuna or egg salad sandwich with ruffle potato chips and three little bread and butter pickle slices…and, if you liked, a side of potato or macaroni salad along with a cup of Campbell’s soup. Eventually a hot dog steamer added to the options.” “People have said that it was like a drug store without the drugs,” Don added.

By the late 1940s, the store had adopted a new name: Perkins Corner. In Fulton’s 1949 City Directory, Perkins Corner was listed as a business for “ice cream, sporting goods and smokers supplies.”

Both Don and Debbie had memories of being in the store as children. They described the black and white flooring tiles. There was a jukebox. Don remembers, “My brother Richard and I worked behind the soda fountain when we came to Fulton to visit. It was sunk down a little lower than the counter. People loved the hot fudge. Our pay was whatever ice cream concoction we could make. I ate so much ice cream that I got sick.”

Debbie mentioned that her father employed many high school students. Here’s another Perkins Corner memory, this one I heard years ago from Dennis Casey, who worked at several Dizzy Block stores, including Perkins when he was younger. “We had a popcorn machine at Perkins, and in the summer, around 6 or 7 pm, I’d roll it out on the street and start popping corn. Its smell would drift down the street and bring people in. Those who were heading to the drive-in would stop and pick some up. It was 10 cents for a small bag, 25 cents for a large.”

For many who grew up during the Dizzy Block years, Perkins Corner filled our senses with memories. Visit any online social media site commemorating Fulton history and you’ll find Perkins Corner stories. Nan Walsh Jacobson posted that her grandfather was a press operator for the Fulton Patriot, with its offices across the street from Perkins Corner. Nan worked the night before the paper came out to fold the two sections together and insert the ads. “I always ran over to Perkins to pick up something to eat for my grandfather. I remember the smell of the food when I walked in the door.”

Perkins Corner remained a destination until the early 1970s, when Urban Renewal changed the landscape of our downtown. An April 1974 Palladium-Times article reported that Fulton’s Canalview Urban Renewal project would include the construction of the new Columbia Savings Bank’s innovative “bank in the round” to be built in the site of the former Perkins Corner establishment.

That building still stands, although it is no longer a bank. Some days, when I’m sitting at the stoplight on the corner of Oneida and South Second Street, I like to close my eyes just for a moment and remember those good old days of ten cent popcorn, a dime in the jukebox to call up a favorite tune, and a spin on one of the Perkins Corner stools, waiting for my hot fudge sundae.

Perkins Corner was once a favorite place for Fultonians and visitors.