Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Chestertown Newsstands!

For almost a century, Chestertown's downtown newsstands have been important gathering places to learn local news, share rumors and gossip, greet friends, neighbors and visiting tourists, and buy items as disparate as snacks, musical instruments, shoes or antiques.

One of the first, opened in 1918, was Charles C. Schreiber’s Wholesale and Retail Confectionery store at 337 High Street in downtown Chestertown. Shoppers would not only find newspapers and magazines there but also paperback books, school supplies, ice cream, candy and fireworks. As one long-ago resident said, “All it was missing was Christmas trees in December”. Schreiber’s even employed two young Chestertown men to deliver newspapers to town residents. In the book IMAGES OF AMERICA – KENT COUNTY,* Page 102, there is a photo of Mr. Schreiber of Schreiber’s Wholesale and Retail Confectionery. * IMAGES OF AMERICA – KENT COUNTY is out of print but copies are available on Amazon.com.

Dorothy’s Card Shop opened next door to Schreiber’s a few years later at 335 High Street and carried not only cards, but also newspapers and magazines. Dorothy’s was often called Bartley’s, a bow to Dorothy’s husband Barber R. Bartley, who often helped out in the store. Barber and Dorothy bought the building in February of 1946. They closed their business sometime in the 1960s. Will Quigley, the son-in-law of Paul and Edith Sipala who owned Paul’s Shoe Store, owned Will’s Music Store at 229 High Street (now the White Swan Tavern). When Dorothy’s Card Shop closed, Will added newspapers to his inventory. Will closed his music store in the late 1960s, and Paul and Edith took over the location, continued with the newspapers and added magazines to become the P & E News Agency. The P & E News Agency operated until the late 1970s. The space is now part of the White Swan Tavern and Paul and Edith’s son, Mike, now owns Paul’s Shoe Store next door.

To fill the void when P & E News Agency closed, Elmer Horsey and his wife, Joan, opened the Chestertown Newsstand in 1979 at 302 Park Row in downtown Chestertown in a building owned by Park Row Ventures. Elmer Horsey was in his first term as Mayor of Chestertown at the time. The HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY published by Fred G. Usilton (1630-1916) and William B. Usilton, III (1628-1980) and now out of print on page 366 notes that the newsstand, managed for the Horseys by Harrison W. Vickers, III, was the “largest distributor of newspapers and magazines in downtown Chestertown”. Page 510 also shows Vickers standing in front of the newsstand at its Park Row location, but makes reference to its new home after the Horseys moved the business across the Fountain Park to 313 High Street, a building owned by Shirley Fox Goldstein and Ruth Fox Schreter. The women were the daughters of Baurice and Jeannette Fox who for many years operated Fox’s Five Cent to One Dollar Store also on High Street.

In 1982, with the permission of the owners, the Horseys sublet the 313 High Street building to Margo Bailey when she bought the newsstand business from them.

On December 20,1991, Mrs. Ruth Gsell, who worked for Mrs. Bailey at the Chestertown Newsstand, told the Horseys, since they were the lease holders for the building, of her concern about a dangerously unsafe condition to the floor at the front of the building. She was very concerned that someone might fall through it.

Elmer Horsey immediately contacted the owners of the building who asked that the building be immediately evaluated in the interest of public safety. When the structural condition was checked it was found that the foundation and joists underneath the first 25 feet of the building were close to collapsing because of extensive termite damage. It would require joist replacement and considerable treatment of the soil.

The building’s owners authorized Elmer Horsey to proceed with contracting for the repairs as quickly as possible. The contractor estimated that the structural work would take a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of one month to complete.

Elmer Horsey advised Margo Bailey she would have to vacate the building in order for the repairs to be made and suggested available alternative locations. Mrs. Bailey chose to relocate to 207 S. Cross Street (where Gabriel’s is today) and the Chestertown Newsstand remained at the Cross Street location until Margo Bailey closed it on August 14, 1992.

A spectacular fire on August 29, 1992, at McCrory’s, located next door to the former 313 High Street newsstand building (and owned by the same members of the Fox family) damaged both buildings beyond repair. 313 High Street sat vacant until it was sold to the Town of Chestertown in February of 1994, a month after Mrs. Bailey began her first term as Mayor when she won election against Councilman Vito Tinelli, Jr. Elmer Horsey had ended his 4th term as Mayor. The Town eventually demolished the newsstand building. The space is occupied today by Houston’s Dockside Emporium, Dunkin’ Donuts and offices.

Following the closure of the newsstand on Cross Street Joyce Huber Cafritz (now Smith) began carrying a few newspapers in the lobby of the Chester Theatre (formerly Chestertown’s only movie house called the Prince Theatre, now refurbished and updated and called the Garfield Center for the Arts and Kohl Lobby) located at 210 High Street. By the time Mrs. Smith decided to give up selling newspapers (in1992), Anna Scott, who owned Scottie’s Shoes at 307 High Street, had added newspapers, magazines and greeting cards to her shoe store business.

In fact, Anna brought Chestertown’s newsstand scene to full circle, making it much like Schreiber’s in 1918 with an interesting array of merchandise way beyond many out-of-town papers including locally-made doll clothes for 18- inch dolls, antiques on consignment, tickets to most cultural and entertainment events and always the latest up-to-date local news and answers to visitors’ questions.
Note: The above information was compiled by interviewing Carrie Schreiber, Marianna Sipala Quigley, Michele Sipala and by reviewing the personal correspondence of Elmer E. Horsey.

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