Marshall Historical Society

When I was young, Cittadino had a quarry up on Rt 12 and Bush (Maxwell) Road. I think it was in the 1970's that Eastern Rock bought them out and closed it. Eastern Rock was from Oriskany Falls and had many names after that currently Hanson of New York. At the end of Post Street there were quarries. At the foot of the hill, before you get to Shanley Rd, was the entrance to Dawes's quarry. Jim and Billy Dawes from Clinton ran that. Now John VonBergen owns it. As you drove into the pit there was a crusher. They took truck loads of Big Rocks around a road to the upper level and dumped them in a crusher and small stone came out the bottom. Art Dawes was the son of one of them, Jim I think. He was young and drove a dump truck delivering stone. This would be in the 1930's. He later served as Highway Commissioner for the Town of Kirkland for many years. One day I was hiking up the road. Maybe from school and he stopped and offered me a ride. So I hopped on the running board like a big shot and rode there. When he got to our house he was slowing down to stop and I hopped off. Only he was going a little faster than I figured and I did a nose dive in the road. He stopped, but I was OK (I said). Might have skinned an elbow and maybe tore my pants.

On the south side of Shanley Road was a pit that had been opened sometime. I don't know if Dawes opened that or not. It was on the Schachtler farm.

One summer night, probably 1946, we heard a vehicle growling up the road for a long time. (15-20 minutes anyway). Finally we saw a truck pulling a monster machine. It was a stone crusher. They moved in to Schachtler's quarry and set up a big operation. They put a scales and weigh house on the corner of Post Street and Shanley and had a big crusher set up. We had a lot of trucks going by for a few years. (Mostly 2-3 ton) Maybe 10 wheelers but they weren't real big trucks then.

A lot of the stone went to build a Drive-In Theater. I don't remember if it was Marcy Drive-In or the WGAT Drive-In which was where the Kallet Shopping Plaza is (Toy's R-US now).

It seems like some went to Rome Air Base. I don't know when that was built, but I think some went there. Politics got involved. Someone decided the stone had to be washed. The quarry up here had no water so they lost out. Probably to Eastern Rock. That was the sort of the end for them and they moved out. They might have been here 4 or 5 years.

Nobody ever asked us if they could come. We just accepted it. Not like today when everyone can tell someone else how to run their business.

When Mary Beth was small, her imaginary friends Mavis and Lavido lived in the scale house.