A Mystery to Solve - Now Solved!

I’ve been working on reorganizing, archiving and indexing my genealogy material. While adding items to my Agard Box #1, I came across a letter my great-grandfather, Arthur Agard wrote to his son, Merritt Agard, who was wintering in Florida. The letter was dated 17 February 1968, just two weeks shy of when Arthur died in his sleep.

My great-grandmother, Jessie Tucker Agard, started the letter and then handed it over to Arthur to share his news. And that is where the mystery comes in.

Below is a transcription of Arthur’s news and I wonder to what issue he is talking about. It refers to a road reconfiguration, so I thought maybe they were considering building a road diagonally from Route 96 to Route 89. But that doesn’t make sense. My cousin thinks it might have to do with zoning. Or, could it be gerrymandering? The Ulysses Town Historian is checking with his colleagues at the historical society, and my cousin is checking with the local zoning officer. I was hoping any Blog readers from the Town of Ulysses, Jacksonville or Trumansburg might have an insight as to what this issue was in winter 1968.

Arthur wrote:

“People are curious about the road and make all kinds of remarks. The Boulevard suburbanites held a meeting at Glenwood Pines and asked Bill (Agard) to come to it as he had the most inside information. As he and Bennett Stover went to Syracuse and saw the maps and since has had a set here to study, but did not take them to Glenwood meeting. It goes south of Scotts and crosses the creek and takes the old Spicer (?) house at top of hill and crosses the old Fowler 9 acres and woods and crosses the swamp on Furman and crosses Kraft and hits us (Agard Road) about 500 feet wide. Railroad counted out. Takes English’s and Ogden’s and schoolhouse (Willow Creek School) and all of Frasiers and 9 acres of the Atwater place and on to Paul Vann’s. There are no crossovers on the map. They work them out as demand calls for.”

14 June 2017 
Thanks to cousin Nan Agard Colvin, Sarah Koski, Ulysses Deputy Town Clerk, Darby Kiley, Environmental Planner, Town of Ulysses, and Carissa Parlato,Clerk, Town of Ulysses, the answer to my mystery is solved. In a link to the Official Minutes Books 1959-1976 I found a mention in the March 6, 1968 minutes that the state was planning an extension of Route 96 that goes between Ithaca and Trumansburg. I don't know what the plan was exactly, but according to Art Agards letter, it might have planned for the road to veer down to connect with other roads in the Willow Creek area, run across the top of the ridge, and come out near the hospital. That's only a guess. 

Today in Willow Creek History – 21 January 1944

Photo from National Archives

On 21 January 1944 Jessie Tucker Agard writes in her journal that her husband Arthur Agard and Willow Creek neighbor Paul Vann have gone to John Rice’s to the 4^th War Loan drive. That drive was probably in Trumansburg. 

“During World War II, the U.S. Treasury conducted “War Loan Drives”, set periods of time during which an onslaught of entertainers, radio programs, posters, newspaper ads, articles, magazines, and short films urged Americans to purchase as many war bonds as possible to help fund the war effort. And the money was needed---on November 19, 1944 President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that the war was costing the United States $250,000,000 a day. There would ultimately wind up being eight numbered War Loan Drives during the duration of World War II, with the eighth and final one being dubbed the “Victory Loan Drive”. Similar War Loan Drives had been conducted during the first World War---but whereas the propaganda for those campaigns relied largely on posters and newspapers, during World War II a coalition of actors, comedians and singers would help lead the way.” [Jack Benny in the 1940s]

On the home front two days prior, Arthur and Jessie’s son-in-law, Louis Tamburino traveled to Utica, NY for his physical test. He passed and is now officially in the Navy.  Six days later he is in Sampson, NY for naval training.  

The Village of Trumansburg did its part for the war effort. According to A History of Trumansburg by Lydia Sears, the town of Ulysses surveyed available rooms to house evacuees of bombed metropolitan areas. The silk mill was used by the defense industry, emergency mass feeding plans were put in place, and collections of scrap metal, rubber, silk stockings, tin, copper, rags and paper were encouraged.  Food and gas rationing was in place.

Just north of Trumansburg the Seneca Naval Station, later called Sampson was constructed employing 17,583 people. The majority of those required housing.