Manley L. Rusho

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  • 19 posts

Life on Grindstone Island in the 1930s – 1940s

Weekdays, there was a routine that never changed; out from the warm bed under the feather-tick cover, we emerged to put feet on the cold flo

Volume 18, Issue 3, March 2023
Manley L. Rusho

Doc to the Rock

My Aunt Eleanor (Calhoun), my father’s sister, was pregnant; we were told that she was having trouble with the pregnancy, and she needed a doctor.

Volume 18, Issue 2, February 2023
Manley L. Rusho

An Old Ice Boat

Somewhere around 1943, my cousin John (Dano) and I had a winter project to fix up an old ice boat. We had been working on this old ice boat for several days now, salvaging parts from all over . . .

Volume 18, Issue 1, January 2023
Manley L. Rusho

Winter Duck Hunt on Grindstone Island

It was two days before Christmas in the early 1950’s. I was up at 4 am, dressed and out of the cellar door with my flashlight in hand. I headed to the boat house . . .

Volume 17, Issue 12, December 2022
Manley L. Rusho

Raccoon Hunting with Uncle Aaron

Uncle Aaron was a true outdoorsman; he knew how and where to catch squirrels, how to find wild honey trees, where to gather hickory nuts, how to trap a muskrat, and where the fish were biting – a true man of all seasons.

Volume 17, Issue 11, November 2022
Manley L. Rusho

The Barn Dance

This story is about the barn on Grindstone Island and in particular, the dance that occurred there in October of 1941, when I was ten years old.

Volume 17, Issue 10, October 2022
Manley L. Rusho

The Binder and Threshing Machines on the 1940’s Farm

By mid- August, the grain fields on Grindstone Island had changed to a light brown, the grain heads were full with seeds, the stacks were brown, and it was time for the grain harvest . . .

Volume 17, Issue 9, September 2022
Manley L. Rusho

1940’s Summer Haying

Starting in late June and usually the entire month of July, daylight was consumed with the hay harvest on the farm. The fields that had been set aside for growing hay were cut and the hay was placed on wagons and hauled into the barn.

Volume 17, Issue 8, August 2022
Manley L. Rusho

Childhood Adventures at the Bridge on Grindstone Island

Arriving at our paradise one morning, my brother and I were pleased to see an old and frequent visitor to the bridge, Nate McCarty, a one-eyed old man . . .

Volume 17, Issue 7, July 2022
Manley L. Rusho

Memories of our Little Bay on Grindstone Island

Growing up on the little bay on the south side of Grindstone Island, where the Lower Town Landing is located, there were five boathouses that provided shelter from the west winds.

Volume 17, Issue 6, June 2022
Manley L. Rusho

The Muskrat

If there was one animal that everyone on the island admired, it was the muskrat.

Volume 17, Issue 5, May 2022
Manley L. Rusho

Childhood Memories of Bullhead Fishing

A bullhead is a primitive looking fish, armed with fins that are capped with very sharp horns, one on each side on top of the head. Fishing for bullheads is a ritual, an almost sacred ceremony.

Volume 17, Issue 4, April 2022
Manley L. Rusho

Memories of a Spring Duck Hunt

This was 1944, so even shot gun shells were rationed because of WWII, and there were no choices in the store as to size or brand. When we needed supplies, we would travel to Clayton and visit Nunn’s Hardware Store.

Volume 17, Issue 3, March 2022
Manley L. Rusho

The Ice Harvest

Before electric power was expanded into the Thousand Islands, there was a small, but brutal business called ice harvesting. Basically, it consisted of cutting large chunks of ice from the frozen St. Lawrence River . . .

Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2022
Manley L. Rusho

The Grindstone Island Skating Trip

Manley Rusho is home from Korea and spends the day on newly formed ice, skating around Grindstone Island. From Rusho Bay past Ken Deed's house, around Point Angiers and more.

Volume 17, Issue 1, January 2022
Manley L. Rusho

The Christmas Play

Somehow, I ended up with the role of Bob Cratchit, the father of Tiny Tim, although I don’t remember how this happened . . . I was embarrassed and I tried to avoid my role but to no avail.

Volume 16, Issue 12, December 2021
Manley L. Rusho

The Dobbs

My father obtained the boat, which we called the Dobbs, in 1945 or ‘46. The boat was a 21-foot launch-type boat, built in Morris Heights, New York City, around 1904. A quaint little boat, she was narrow, maybe 6 feet wide, with a round bottom.

Volume 16, Issue 11, November 2021
Manley L. Rusho

Building an Ice Boat

Bob LaShomb started it all. It began in early February, around 1953. Bob, at that time, was the mail carrier for the US Mail from Clayton to Grindstone Island – two miles across the St. Lawrence River.

Volume 16, Issue 9, September 2021
Manley L. Rusho