Stained Glass Window Series: Manley A. Rusho

Manley “Fud” Almarion Rusho was born on Grindstone Island in September 1884, the youngest of three sons from two long-established island families, the Rushos and the Calhouns. His mother, Frances Calhoun Rusho (1885–1941), was the daughter of Benjamin Calhoun (1824–1878) and Olive Bartlett Calhoun (1827–1911). His father, Freeman Rusho (1848–1904), was the son of Christopher Rusho (1805–1880), the first known Rusho on Grindstone Island and Julia Alger Rusho (1820–1879). Manley’s brothers were William (1874–1963) and Jasper (1881–1952), and the family lived in Rusho Bay on Grindstone Island on a farm.

In 1904, tragedy struck when Manley’s father, Freeman Rusho, drowned in the St. Lawrence River while returning home to the island from Clayton. Afterward, Manley cared for his mother, who later lived with him and his family after his marriage.

In 1908, Manley married Alice Atherton (1887–1988) in Seneca Falls, New York. Alice was a fellow resident of Grindstone Island. She was born in England and came to Grindstone by ship at the age of seven with her mother and four of her siblings. They followed her mother’s family, who had previously moved to Grindstone to work in the quarries. Manley and Alice settled on a farm in Rusho Bay and raised three children: Leon Moreland Rusho (1908–2004), Eleanor Frances Calhoun (1915–2017), and Carlyn Ann Hammersley (1924–2015).

Manley was a shrewd businessman and entrepreneur who formed a working relationship with Charles Emery, the wealthy tobacco magnate who built Calumet Castle and the New Frontenac Hotel on Round Island. During this time, Emery was buying land on Grindstone and Picton Islands. He bought massive acreage around Delaney Bay on Grindstone for farming fruits and vegetables for his hotel, Grindstone was well-known for its rich black soil. Picton Island was well-known for its granite. On Picton Island, Emery set up a granite quarry that Manley worked at as a steam engineer for a time.

Manley had a keen interest in the dairy industry and studied pasteurization during a winter semester at Cornell University in 1904. The family is not certain but thinks Emery might have made this connection and paid for the education that Manley received at Cornell. Emery started a creamery and dairy business; that was called Grindstone Dairy.

After Emery died, Manley bought the dairy from the estate and established Frontenac Dairy. This was a successful creamery on Grindstone Island with quite an elaborate set up for efficiency and sanitization of the milk bottles and bottling the milk as well as pasteurization. This was a time before there were any food inspections or quality control and Manley implemented many of these safeguards before it was required by law. His exceptional dairy products were well-known and sold all over the region. There are still some of the original milk bottles from the dairy in existence and have his initials red paint: MAR Frontenac Dairy, Grindstone Isl.

In 1925, Manley and Alice bought another Grindstone Island farm located at the Lower Town Landing, not far from their property in Rusho Bay. Built around 1901 by wealthy Pennsylvania businessman Samuel Vandergrift, the new farm was larger and included additional land, a large barn, houses, a boathouse, and an icehouse. Manley moved his creamery building across the frozen river from Rusho Bay to the new property. Today, that former creamery serves as a summer camp, and all the original buildings remain except the icehouse. The large red barn, perched high on a hill, is visible from many parts of the island as well as the St. Lawrence River and Clayton.

Manley ran a successful ice business, cutting large blocks of ice from the frozen St. Lawrence River to sell and deliver to customers. In the winter, he and his crew used horse teams to harvest ice, store it in the icehouse, and deliver it to surrounding island residents and hotels. In the summer, he regularly delivered fresh eggs, vegetables, fruit, and dairy products from Grindstone by boat to other island residents and hotels.

The family faced another tragedy in July 1937 when Manley died of a brain tumor at the age of 54. His death devastated the family, and his son Leon, then married with two young children, assumed responsibility for the family farm and businesses. Manley’s wife, Alice, spent most of her long life living with Leon and his wife, Marjorie. She remained an active, influential family matriarch to the entire family for many years and died in 1988, just two months shy of her 101st birthday.

The Rusho family has long been part of the heart of the Grindstone Island community, with a special devotion to the church. After Manley’s death in 1937, the family honored his memory by contributing to a memorial stained-glass window. This came during a major renovation of the Grindstone Island Church, much like the restoration taking place today in the church.

Manley A. Rusho was my great-grandfather. Although I never met him, I grew up hearing warm and heartfelt stories about his life and many accomplishments. My late father, his grandson, Manley L. Rusho, was named after him and took great pride in carrying his name, a name I later gave to one of my sons as a middle name. My great-grandfather was remembered as a kind, intelligent, honest, and hardworking man who was always willing to help others. Though his life was cut short, he achieved much and left a lasting legacy for both our family and Grindstone Island.

By Cindy Rusho Hagemann

Cindy Rusho Hagemann was born in Alexandria Bay, NY, to Manley and Mary Lou Rusho – she is the third of their four daughters. In 1969 the family moved to Sanford, FL, where she grew up, but she was lucky enough to spend her summers on Grindstone Island with her grandparents. Cindy has been married to USN Commander (Ret) Jon Hagemann for 38 years and they have four grown children and three grandchildren. They live in the mountains of Tennessee on a hobby farm with alpacas, goats, pigs, dogs, and chickens.

Cindy is a marketing professional and serves on the board of the Grindstone Island Church and is a committee member of the Grindstone Island Heritage Museum.

Cindy helped her father, Manley Rusho, a long-time resident of Grindstone Island, write his many stories of growing up on Grindstone Island. We’re grateful to Cindy for encouraging her Dad to write these stories, to help him edit them, and send them to us to publish.

Important Notice: Cindy has been writing these vignettes in support of the Grindstone Island capital campaign called Save our Sanctuary Campaign. Please consider a sending a donation to: https://www.giumc.org/donate/ or by mail: P.O. Box 411, Clayton, NY 13624. Together we can help repair this historic and community worship center for the next generation of islanders.