|
Powers Corners 1930s Post Card
|
|
Date: 7/8/2003 2:34:12 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: r.o.zellner@att.net
To: JoyceTice@aol.com
Hi Joyce,
Are the two pictures I sent the proper resolution? I had to make a
compromise between resolution and file size.
I don't know what you know about Powers Corners, but here's a little
history from the 1950s era. My father, John Zellner, bought the Powers Corners
property, all except the community house, in 1949. We lived in the big house by
the creek and renovated the cabins and operated the business as Esso gas
station, a snack bar and tourist cabins called "Cabins by the Brook". In 1950 in
cost two people $8.00 to rent a cabin for a night. When my brother, John C.
Zellner, and I, Robert O. Zellner, left for the Korean War in 1950 and 51, my
father couln't run the place by himself so he leased the gas station and snack
bar to Leon Aumick of Mainesburg and continued to rent the cabins in the summer
time. He worked around Tioga County at a few different jobs for a year or two
and then went to work as an Ad salesmen for the Corning Leader newspaper. In the
meantime, Morgan Smith of Mainesburg offered to buy the gas station about 1956,
so my father sold it to him and he operated it for a number of years. Sometime
around 1958 My father was approached by WNBT radio in Wellsboro to come to work
for them as a salesman. He accepted, and within a few years was the station
manager. He retired in 1966.
Rt. 549 used to pass to the left of the gas station past the big
house, over a bridge and up the hill. The state changed all that bout 1955 and
moved Rt.549 about a quarter mile east and took out the bridge. You can still
see the remnants of the road going up the hill across the creek.
As the tourist cabin business faded because of modern motels, my
father moved three of the cabins together and made them in to a small house and
he and my mother moved in and sold the big house by the creek. They lived there
until my mother, Emily B. Zellner, died in 1970 when my father, who had become
blind, moved in with my family in Apalachin, NY. A little over a year later
Hurricane Agnes came through the area and completely destroyed the little house
along with Dick Smith's stable and mobile home on the next lot. My father died
in 1975.
As you no doubt know, the property has gone down hill steadily since
then. The old house is almost decrepit now and the gas station and community
house are gone. I don't get to see it very often since I now live in
Mechanicsburg, PA, but I am saddened whenever I do.
One of my fond memories of that time was the Saturday night square
dances we used to hold in the Community House every week. They were usually
attended by the Zellner family, the Denzel Rose family, the Harold Clark family,
the Boyd Smith family, the Wilbur Smith family, the Priest family and
others I can no longer remember.
Regards, Bob Zellner
Subj: Power Corners
Date: 09/29/2003 12:36:43 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: r.o.zellner@att.net
To: JoyceTice@aol.com, JoyceTice@aol.com
Hi Joyce,
In my note to you about Powers Corners I said that Morgan Smith
bought the gas station from my father. I got a note from Norma Mattison today
correcting me. The station was bought by Morgan Cook and his wife Ruth.
Bob Zellner
 |
 |
| Powers Corners Community House - Above two photos dated early 1960s.
1960s Photos from Bob Zellner |
I believe the Community House is the one in the postcard (at top) on far left. |
 |
 |
| Community House 1985 (1985 Photos from Joan NASH O'Dell) | |
 |
Powers Corners 19 DEC 2002 by Joyce M. Tice. Red Truck & Blue Car are about where the Community House was. Building in center that was the old gas station was razed spring 2003. Without knowing it, I got this photo just in the nick of time. The other buil;ding in the photo was also razed. |