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Flander Familiy
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Helen Flanders Farmer and her husband, Bob, now call
Erie, PA their home. Helen and Bob were early residents of this village and
maintain a summer home here and, in case you haven’t already met these
charming octogenarians, I would like to briefly introduce you to them and at
the same time relate a little bit about Helen’s favorite uncle, who old
timers (like me) knew as A.B. Flanders.
After having moved to Pennsylvania to pursue their respective careers, the
Farmers found their family grown and themselves in retirement. They became
world travelers — Europe, Asia, South America, etc. — their favorite visit
being Ireland, where Helen, pursuing her Irish roots, got to kiss the famous
Blarney Stone.
They never forgot, however, the memories of Tupper Lake, where they were
born, grew up, graduated from high school and were married.
As the Farmers visited many of the old-world countries, the rivulets of
history and tradition they encountered coalesced into a configuration and a
pattern emerged. The pattern was the pride that those countries had in their
past. Helen and Bob soon found themselves students of history, and with it
came the realization that their own home town also contained a rich history,
and they became anxious that it would be noted and preserved.
The Farmer family were early settlers in this community and were involved
with the growth of railroading. The Flanders family were also pioneers.
Helen’s father, Bill, owned a grocery store (burned in the 1899 fire); Dan
Flanders, an uncle, owned the Prince Albert Hotel and another uncle, Allen,
was known as the “dean” of building contractors and at one time owned 556
building properties in Tupper Lake, according to Leo Dayhaw, his former
bookkeeper.
Lumbering and railroading, two of the very real reasons that this village
was established, survived and prospered. With that realization came also
what Helen describes as the verity of impermanence.
As she told me one day recently: “We have both seen so many changes in our
lives, traditions lost, scenic places destroyed, a home no longer there, and
a lack of interest on the part of the young people in their community’s
past. We are also well aware that we are nearing the end of our lives. After
all, we are both in our late 80s and in our own small way we hoped before we
died that some token of recognition might be given to the lumber finishing
mill and the important railroad spur that serviced the mill and provided
access to uptown.
“With that idea in mind,” she continued, “we approached the village board
with the request that we be allowed to erect a simple historical monument
designed by Mike Richer to be placed on an existing large stone in what is
now a mini-park where the uptown train station existed (until 1932, when it
was destroyed by a fire and never rebuilt) and near my Uncle Allen Flanders’
finishing mill. We also requested and were given generous approval for a
small park bench and a flag pole. The marker will bear an inscription noting
that this is a historical site, and we feel strongly that it will be an
enhancement with significance for residents and visitors alike.”
This writer agrees. History, after all, adds to the knowledge of our past
and allows the present a better perspective. As a travel in time, history
provides a connection and markers such as the one the Farmers wish to endow,
while it is only a punctuation to the real text, shows that the community
has pride in its past. Most residents, I’m sure, will welcome this effort.
Allen Flanders, in whose memory the historical marker is dedicated, arrived
in Tupper Lake in 1899, lured no doubt by the prospect of the opportunities
available here at the time.
What had been only a cow pasture and clearing belonging to old Bill
McLaughlin, the pioneer settlement was growing overnight into a boom town
with the result of being a terminus for Hurds Railroad and also because of
the enormous railroad and lumber mill that Hurd had erected where the ball
diamond is now located.
In a memoir written in July 1981 by the late Tom Fortune who knew A.B. (as
he was called) described him this way: “When I came to Tupper Lake in 1917
as a young man 22 years of age to work, I became acquainted with Allen
Flanders, who was then in the building business on the lake shore of Tupper
Lake. He had an office (Dave Johnson’s law firm building, Lake Street), a
bookkeeper, building supply and lumber and everything. I was told at the
time Allen had only a team of horses and a wagon when he came to Tupper
Lake. He built more houses, I dare say, than any other firm and continued
all his life building and selling houses. I would not attempt or guess how
many he built during his life. I do know he had 125 houses when he died.
Allen was always ready for a deal when a purchaser was short on cash for a
down payment. Allen would accept a horse or a cow or model T Ford car to
close the deal. He was a man full of business until the day he passed away.”
Editor and historian Louis Simmons also noted that “a $400 loan to a Tupper
Lake man, who subsequently ‘went broke’ in the logging game and settled his
debt with a carload of building material, started Mr. Flanders off in the
construction business here.” He erected some of the first buildings on
Whitney Park, and among other constructions jobs were the Kildare Club and
Read and Strange Park. Later, in association with Octove Frechette, he built
the US Bobbin Mill and the Lake Colby School in Saranac Lake.
A capable and hard-working businessman, he was a sound judge of character,
and it is said of him that he extended a helping hand to many a Tupper Lake
resident by giving him the opportunity to purchase his own home in the form
of rent without a down payment.
The village should be commended for their cooperation and response to a
loving niece who sought recognition for a significant individual who was an
important part of this town’s history. |
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