Stories and Essays by Skip Barshied

The following story of local interest regarding the Old Courthouse in Fonda was compiled by Willis Barshied, Jr., Town of Palatine, an authority on early Mohawk Valley and Civil War history.  Present plans to remodel the old Montgomery County Court House at Fonda combined with information recently found have called attention to an early resident of the Town of Palatine.  Do you know who Lawrence Marcellus was? If you are not able to answer the question no one will condemn you for not learning your history lesson. Just as so many others now long gone, Lawrence Marcellus was a common man who stepped forth from the rank and file to serve his fellow man and faded into oblivion. Some scraps of paper help to show how Marcellus served as a public official and a craftsman.  The early documents, yellowed by age, and an old day book inscribed on the fly leaf, “Lawrence Marcellus—Day Book for the Montgomery County Court House”, were discovered while the writer was pursuing a favorit...

  By Willis Barshied, Jr. A joint announcement has been made by Harry Hoke, president of the Tryon County Muzzle Loaders, Inc., and Willis Barshied, Jr., president of Fort Klock Historic Restoration indicating that a new lease arrangement securing the future of Fort Klock as a museum has been entered into by the two organizations. The previous lease was granted to the Tryon County Muzzle Loaders, Inc., a membership corporation by Alex Don on September 20, 1954. That original lease was drawn for a term of 20 years with an option to renew for an additional 20 years. No provision was included for the positive future of Fort Klock as a museum. For some time the Tryon County Muzzle Loaders explored possible ways of safeguarding' the Fort from becoming simply a social organization's headquarters sometime .in the future. The final decision was to preserve the Tryon County Muzzle Loaders much the same as in the past while creating another organization with a charter membership composed...

The following article was written by Willis Barshied in February 2003 for the Fort Klock Newsletter.  The article tells the story of how an old rifle led to the restoration of Fort Klock.  Sometime during 1952, I became acquainted with St. Johnsville veterinarian, Fred Cairns and Herby Mueller.  Our common interest was old guns.  We spoke several times about starting an organization composed of people with a like interest.  Fred Cairns sent several postcards to prospective members inviting them to a meeting to be held at the VFW room over the old stone store on the corner of Main Street and Kingsbury Avenue in St. Johnsville.  The meeting was held on March 4, 1953, with twelve members in attendance (Fred Wagner, Herbert Smith, Fred Cairns, Max Haak, B.R. Keifling, Harold Green, John Warn, James Triumpho, Richard Mueller, Donald Nellis, Herbert Mueller, and Willis Barshied).  The first officers were Willis Barshied, Jr., President; John Warns, Vice Pres...

  By Willis Barshied, Jr.  In the summer of 1954 when members of the Tryon County Muzzle Loaders first began to clear the brush and debris from the Fort Klock property, old Fort Klock School stood silent, shuttered, and overgrown. The building had been last used for classes in the mid-1930s. Alex Don, owner of Fort Klock, had stopped the central school system from selling the building on the strength of the statement his grandfather, Amos Klock, made that the property under the school was to revert to the Klock family if it was not used for school purposes. No deed was found by lawyer, William Crangle, Jr., who represented Alex. After that, Alex felt he owned the property. He allowed Lew MacWethey to use the building as a bookstore for a period of time. Thus we come to a sunny Sunday and a sad day for the old school.                                               ...

  Time is an unusual commodity. It slips by so casually that the passed portion is not always easily measured. That is the case with this story. How many years ago was it that I first met the friend of this story? All I can say is that it was quite a few. Let me trace my footsteps and recall a treasured memory. Having succumbed to a disease called Collecting many years ago, I like flea markets and antique shows. Someone told me about one being held in Brookfield, New York on a certain weekend. To get the jump on the crowd I was told to go on Thursday. Unfortunately, when I arrived no one was there but me because the show did not start until Friday. It was early in the morning and the question was what I should do for the remainder of the day. About then I remembered an old-time gun collector and dealer that I had met just after World War II ended. His name was Glade Keith. I had met him and his friend Ralph Holdridge at gun shows many times through the years, but had never been at ...

  At 87 years of age, I am not willing to apologize for every step or misstep I have taken in any endeavor. Yes, I am one of those sometimes-despised collectors. However, in collecting the material possessions of bygone eras, I've tried to amass accurate knowledge regarding them. My education does not go past high school. Does this discount the years of searching beneath my feet for that which was lost or cast off by those who have gone before me? Does it negate that which was derived from a lifetime of searching the structures many of which are now long gone? Can it disregard that which was gleaned from the memories of those who actually lived in an age before we were born? Through the years, professionals in many fields looked down on amateur collectors to some extent. Thankfully, that trend has begun to change. Good, accurate information is valuable regardless of where it is derived. Disregard collectors of their collections and valuable information is forever lost. The foregoin...