This week’s question: This week’s photo is a stained glass window in one of our churches. Do you know which one? What is significant about 2020 in the life of this church?
Last week’s answer: Last week’s photo was taken Friday, June 12, 1896, on the porch of Jacob Amos’ summer home at 16 W. Oneida St. A party of cyclists had come by train from Syracuse to the village for the afternoon where they were entertained by the Amoses.
The Gazette reported that a “dainty supper” was served by Florence Amos assisted by several friends and the Amoses’ young daughter Christine. Around 7 p.m. the guests took their leave and returned to the city on their wheels. It was noted that the cyclists “were very enthusiastic over our beautiful homes and well kept lawns” and that “they presented a striking appearance as they rode through town on their return home.”
Both the guests and their hosts were prominent members of Onondaga County’s business, civic and social circles. Seen in the photo are: lower row (left to right): Charles R. Jones, Will H. Olmsted, Child, Syracuse Mayor Amos, Mrs. Marjorie Suydam, Mrs. William Hawley, Mrs. Clark R. Jones, Mrs. Frank Banta, Mrs. Gaylord P. Clark, Christine Amos and Newell B. Woodworth. On porch are Mrs. Suydam, Dr. Gaylord P. Clark, Mrs. Olmsted, Mrs. Barker and Mrs. Jacob Amos.
Several of the visitors were involved in the bicycle industry, including Jacob Amos who was vice-president of the Empire Cycle Co. Many of them were also active in the City Cycling Club of Syracuse.
Cycling was the hot craze of the 1890s and Syracuse was “the hub” of the bicycle industry. By 1895 one local company alone turned out 500 bikes per day. During the 1890s streetcar revenue dropped as more than 10,000 cyclists took to the road.
Bicycles were both practical and entertaining. Riders had flexibility and were not bound by roadways, tracks and schedules. Bikes were reasonably affordable. As designs became more sophisticated, used bikes were also a big business. Repair shops sprang up everywhere, much as gas stations would later. By the mid-1890s the village had several repair shops as well as retail outlets, a cycling instructor, and even a small bike manufacturer, Fancher’s Bicycle Works, located at the Downer/Canton Street intersection.
By February of 1896 Baldwinsville cyclists had formed the Seneca Cycling Club. Dues were $1 per annum. At its organizational meeting the club endorsed a New York state bill that would require railroads to carry bicycles as baggage. The immediate goal of the club was the construction of a cinder bike path that would link the village to the city where the City Cycling Club had already begun a reciprocal project.
Existing roads were unpaved and rutted from use by horses, carriages, oxen, wagons and farm equipment. Cinder paths afforded safe and smoother surfaces. Bike paths required planning, construction, maintenance and funding. By September the Baldwinsville club had raised $100.
Local contractor Allen Gates surveyed the path. The route ran along the east of today’s Maple Road and south towards the city, along the west side of Onondaga Lake, between the boulevard and the railroad tracks. Eventually it networked with paths to several of the lake resorts.
The bicycle was more than a new mode of transportation. It influenced the culture of the day. It was used for both work and play (from commuting to work, going to school or the store, outings and racing). It was available to all ages, men, women and children. And it opened the door for women to now engage in active sports. Hems were shortened, skirts were sleeker, hair styles were simpler. The feminine form emerged ready to bike, march for suffrage and lobby for temperance.
Email your guess to [email protected] or leave a message at 315-434-8889 ext. 310 with your guess by noon Friday. If you are the first person to correctly identify an element in the photo before the deadline, your name and guess will appear in next week’s newspaper, along with another History Mystery feature. History Mystery is a joint project of the Museum at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse and the Baldwinsville Public Library.
