28 degrees and a few clouds in The City of Amsterdam at 6:08AM-Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, February 27, 2024-...HIGH WIND WATCH IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON...* WHAT...West to northwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 60 mph possible. * WHERE...The Mohawk Valley, Schoharie Valley, Helderbergs, Capital Region, central Taconics and Berkshires. * WHEN...From Wednesday evening through Thursday afternoon. * IMPACTS...Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are possible. Travel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The strongest winds will be in the wake of the cold frontal passage Wednesday night when gusts up to 60 mph are possible. Winds of 40 to 50 mph are expected during Thursday. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...Monitor the latest forecasts and warnings for updates on this situation. Fasten loose objects or shelter objects in a safe location prior to the onset of winds.
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Historian Bob Cudmore and Historian Mark Silo this Friday, March 2, 2024-Episode 512- British colonist William Johnson “made his bones” by defeating a French army who attacked his army at Lake George in 1755. King George II made Johnson a baronet, “Sir” William Johnson. Parliament awarded Johnson 5,000 pounds. Historian Mark Silo tells the story with commentary from Old Fort Johnson site manager Scott Haefner.
A long-running local store
By Bob Cudmore
The Castler family operated a meat market on East Main Street in Amsterdam from the 1930s through the 1950s.
The name Castler is Dutch and others with a similar name often spell it without at. One story in the Amsterdam Castler family is that an ancestor put the his name to confuse the authorities when he enlisted underage in the Civil War. To qualify for veteran's benefits, the family kept the extra letter.
Family members recalled an ancestor named William Castler founded the market but the best remembered proprietor was Charles Castler. It's not known how William and Charles were related,
For many years, the proprietors were Charles J. Castler and Francis Burns. In 1932, the Castler and Burns market was at 113 East Main Street, between Walnut and Washington, on the same block as the popular chain grocery, the Mohican Market. In 1932 Charles Castler lived at 16 Bunn Street with his wife Ethel, and Francis Burns lived at 363 Division Street.
The 1932 City Directory listed over 100 groceries and meat markets in Amsterdam. Some were chains such as A & P and Central Market. Local markets included Shelly's at 283 East Main, Alexander Zielinski at 13 Hibbard, Beer's Grocery at 86 Prospect and Albino Barnell at 50 Florida Avenue. One grocery on the list in 1932 that remains in business is Salamack's at 263 Division Street.
FAMILY BUSINESS
In the 1950s, Charles Castler went into partnership with Langdon Cross. The name of the store was shortened to Castler's Market.
Charles Castler's cousin Floyd Castler, who once lived over the store but later resided at 38 High Street, was employed at the market throughout his life. Other family members worked full and part time at the family store.
Floyd's son Frederick had a job at Bigelow Sanford carpet mill but also had Saturday duties at the market. Frederick's son Ray worked at Castler's after school and on weekends in 1949 and 1950.
Ray Castler said, I would mix the hamburger in big wooden tubs and the sausage using both hands. Charlie Castler would reject a side of beef if he didn't like it. Castler's was known for selling good meat. We also carried fruits and vegetables and groceries.
Henry S. Miller, Jr., an Amsterdam native who moved Massachusetts, worked at Castler's starting in 1948, delivering groceries the weekends in old-fashioned bushel baskets.
Typically, I would knock on the customer's door and be invited into the kitchen, empty the contents of the basket on the table, and collect the fee, Miller wrote. Charlie was generous. Every week, I would deliver several baskets to poor families and was instructed not to collect the fee.
Miller said that Castler had a magic potion to add to hamburger so it would stay red all week. Their motto was not the cheapest, but the best.
The late John Palombi, and his partner, Mike Sagarese (who had operated a store on Chestnut St.), bought the market from the Castler family in 1960, according to Palombi's daughter Sharon Smrtic of Amsterdam.
In 1974, the store was forced to move because of downtown urban renewal and relocated to 56 Reid Street in the same building as Brownie's, the popular hot dog restaurant. A fire that year destroyed the building housing both businesses.
Castler's Market then moved to 56 Bridge Street on the South Side. Smrtic said that Castler's closed for good in 1999.
To this day, Ray Castler remarked, when people hear his name, the question frequently asked is: Did you have anything to do with Castler's Market?
