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Looking back takes a lot longer than it used to
By GERIANNE WRIGHT
Staff Writer
I’m not originally from around here, although I’ve often asked, how long do you have to live somewhere to start saying you’re from there?
I remember when I was a young reporter and met a woman who, with her Air Force husband, moved to Plattsburgh 18 years prior to our meeting in the early 1980s. I thought, “Man, that’s a long time to have been here,” having only been “here” a year or so myself. I wondered where I’d be 18 years from that moment. It seemed like an eternity.
This past Jan. 30 marked my 25th year in Plattsburgh, but it also marked something more significant: I have finally been here long enough to have personal memory of events that are chronicled in the weekly “Look Back” column, which appears every Monday in the paper.
Now that’s saying something. It’s saying I’m a little long in the tooth, and that woman’s 18 years in Plattsburgh pales in comparison.
What caught my eye and made me realize my longevity was a mention in this week’s “Look Back” about the fire that claimed Scott’s Discount Store and The Rook bar on Margaret Street. I had never been in either establishment. They burned down 13 days after I arrived in Plattsburgh (purely coincidental, I assure you).
What makes this a milestone in my life is the fact that the Sunday, Feb. 12, 1984, fire was not only my first solo flight as a weekend photographer (very scary, shooting a night fire in the middle of a snowstorm – my first fire), but it was also my 23rd birthday.
Now, 1984, being a leap year, meant my 1985 birthday would not be on a Monday but rather on a Tuesday. In those days, I had Mondays and Tuesdays off, so I wasn’t in the newsroom on either day when planning went into a retrospective of that fateful downtown fire. (People mourned the loss of The Rook bar for years to come.)
The retrospective page appeared on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 1985, the same day that Plattsburgh Restaurant Supply went up in flames on Margaret Street a stone’s throw away from where The Rook et al stood a mere 366 days earlier.
Having significant parts of downtown burn to the ground on your birthday not once but on two consecutive birthdays is disconcerting. It certainly made them memorable. But now I’m relieved to know I don’t have to rely on my memory any more. I’ve made it to the “Look Back” years.
Comments
I enjoy your commentary, but find it tedious to see the same post for 18 consecutive days.
Posted by: Jim | March 2, 2009 8:03 PM
I can tell you the Rook burning down was probably a blessing in disguise .Looking back and down memory lane. I think I drank at the Rook on 5 or 6 occasions I remember some scary-looking great dane when you walked in, and the atmosphere was dreary and dangerous. I, for one, have nothing good to say about a bar that once was a business other than that .I don't remember what was there prior. I know it stood somewhere near the old Woolworth building .My favorite building on Margaret Street because my sweet Aunt Eva worked in the restaurant,around the 1960s and '70s Woolworths was a cool place. Later on, around the time of the fire, my dear friend Karen also worked in the Woolworths restaurant. You see I have been sober for 18 years 11months. Your blog made me realize our memories help us through life's journey .Things change faster than we ever know. These fine ladies will forever be etched in my mind .They both served the community with pride and dignity always with a friendly smile. Thanks for reminding me of the fires downtown because I had forgotten about them . II also think your blog is very interesting. You write it with style and it is informative and professional. I thought you should hear that . I noticed you wrote it on the day before your birthday so Happy belated birthday.
Posted by: David LaPier | March 4, 2009 10:33 AM
Thank you for your comments and good birthday wishes, David. And congratulations on your sobriety.
Posted by: Gerianne Wright | March 4, 2009 1:07 PM