Hey! My beloved city of Gloversville is being besmirched. I, SU class of 1964, and my father before me, SU class of 1926, are Gloversville people. I've been here all my life. A lot of SU grads and fans here. Let me tell you some things about Gloversville. There are Gloversville and Syracuse U connections.
But first, I know Sno Kone Joe - he lives a few houses away from me, and he is a nice guy who is protective of his business, as we all would be. Mr Ding-A-Ling is owned by an out-of-towner so I always give my business to the Gloversville fellow, Sno Kone Joe, to help the local economy. I also give my business to his Gloversville competitor, Mr Pop Pop, a friend who has great chocolate ice cream tacos. If a parade goes by my house (I live on the local parade route), I'll let Mr Pop Pop set up on my lawn. Please don't tell Sno Kone Joe about this, as I don't want any trouble.
More about G-ville, as we call it. At one time, it was a very prosperous community. As our name suggests, we had the world's glove industry here. My grandpa on my mother's side manufactured gloves. Why did the city become the center of the world's glove industry. Because of forests of hemlock trees, which produces bark used in the tanning process. Because of many deer for deerskin gloves. Because of an abundance of soft water. Soft for the best tanning.
G-ville and SU connection #1. As for the water, G-ville is in Fulton County which is known as the Land of 44 Lakes. We have a lot of water bodies but 44 may not be exactly right. You see, the G-ville advertising professional who coined the phrase tried to count the lakes but gave up. For instance, is a "pond" or is a man-made "reservoir" really a "lake?" He had trouble with the count but needed a number. Then, as he told me, he thought of his favorite SU football players, Brown, Davis, and Little, all wearing 44. He decided "That's it, 44 Lakes." So we are the Land of 44 Lakes, all because of SUs illustrious 44s, even though 44 lakes is not exactly true. Most locals believe we have 44 lakes, but I just gave you the true story. Just don't tell anybody, as I don't want any trouble.
G-ville and SU connection #2. There is a mural on an outside wall of the Huntington Beard Crouse Hall. It is The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti, by noted artist Ben Shahn. It is a work of art on a side of a building. Among the several people instrumental in obtaining this for the SU campus was a G-ville person who knew Shahn. The mural would not be there if not for this person, whose daughter attended SU. It is dedicated to the memory of a young man killed in an accident while an SU student; the G-ville person was a friend of that family who live in our twin city of Johnstown NY.
G-ville and SU connection #3. SU has the Schine Student Center. The Schines were Gloversville people, very successful in the movie theater and hotel business. Their daughter, also very successful, SU class 1950, was the benefactor of the building, dedicated to her parents. Our families were acquainted and her parents and mine are buried in a Gloversville cemetery in plots next to each other.
So, Gloversville, which can be a nice place to live, is a bit downtrodden, but had a proud past, and some interesting connections to Syracuse U.
(Even we Phoenicians made fun of Fulton, the “ity with an uture”, as the sign said.)
