The Peru Gazette

August 8. 2:30 pm. Redford Glass Uncovered with Helen Nerska, The Grand Room, Meadowbrook Healthcare, 154 Prospect Ave., Plattsburgh.

The presentation will take participants back to more than 200 years ago to learn about the short-lived history of the Redford Glass Company. Although the company was in business for only 20 years, it produced products that demonstrate craftsmanship that still survives. By the end of the presentation, participants will see how the Company, which was once famous and esteemed for its crown glass windowpanes, has become synonymous with unique and priceless glassware.

August 18, 12:30 pm. Redford Glass Uncovered with Helen Nerska, Plattsburgh Senior Center, 5139 North Catherine Street, Plattsburgh.

The presentation will take participants back to a period more than 200 years ago to learn about the short-lived history of the Redford Glass Company. Although the company was in business for only 20 years, it produced products that demonstrate craftsmanship that still survives. By the end of the presentation, participants will see how the Company, which was once famous and esteemed for its crown glass windowpanes, has become synonymous with unique and priceless glassware.

August 19, 10:30 am. Walking Tour of the Oval. Begins at 98 Ohio Avenue, Plattsburgh. Hear stories and see photos of the buildings first constructed in 1894 by the US Army. We will see inside an Officer’s quarters residence and the Plattsburgh Memorial Chapel by special agreement.
Call 518-561-0340 to register for the tour.

August 22, 2:30 pm. The History of the Lozier Company and Family with Dick Soper, The Grand Room, Meadowbrook Healthcare, 154 Prospect Ave., Plattsburgh.

The Lozier story includes rarely-seen photos of the family and company operations. Henry Abrahm Lozier was an Indiana-born sewing machine and bicycle manufacturer. After selling his bicycle business, Lozier moved to Plattsburgh to manufacture boats and marine engines. In 1905 he started the Lozier Automobile Company and entered the automobile manufacturing business. He produced the luxury Lozier, in Plattsburgh, from 1900 to 1915. Loziers were top-line luxury cars and, for a time, were the most expensive cars produced in the United States. The 1910 model featured cars priced between $4,600 and $7,750. That same year, a Cadillac could be bought for about $1,600 and a Packard for about $3,200. A pre-assembly line Ford Model T of the same year retailed at approximately $850 and the average annual salary in America was approximately $750.

Mr. Soper was born in Plattsburgh and served in the US Air Force, stationed in Germany, in the field of Communication. His vast experiences in the area of transportation included work at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in Connecticut, where he built jet aircraft engines. He also worked at Bombardier Transportation building passenger rail cars. For 12 years, he has worked at the Champlain Valley Transportation Museum as Director of Exhibits. He is currently a member of the Clinton County Historical Association’s Board of Trustees.

August 22, 6:45 pm, The Creative Destruction of Plattsburgh: From Village to City in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries by James M. Lindgren, Emeritus Professor of History, SUNY Plattsburgh. Lake Forest Senior Retirement Community, 8 Lake Forest Drive, Plattsburgh.

Examining the era’s cultural and economic scene, Lindgren explores the rapid rise of industries, the expansion of the area’s infrastructure, and the “civilizing” of the village as it became a city. These changes led to demolishing a downtown neighborhood to create an image of a “progressive” city.
While teaching US history at Plattsburgh State for thirty-seven years, Lindgren authored four significant books on US historic preservation and some seventy-five other publications. He retired from teaching in September 2021.
Doors open at 6:30 pm.