THE ILION OF 1952
VILLAGE OF ILION
HERKIMER COUNTY, N.Y.
The following is taken from "Ilion 1852-1952." We thank the Mayor and
other officials of Ilion for granting us permission to provide this
information to our visitors.
THE ILION OF 1952
A century has passed since the days of David D. Devoe and his
contemporaries, a century marked by many changes, improvements almost
unbelievable to the men of that era. What would David Devoe think if he could
revisit the village to which he gave the name "Ilion"? It had been his
privilege to see that settlement grow from infancy through childhood to
lusty youthfulness by the time of his death in 1882. Would he be proud
of the adult or would he find evidence of decay?
Surely he would be proud of those village institutions in which he had
shown so deep an interest. Imagine his amazement at our Post Office
with its spacious building, modern equipment and staff of thirty two! He
would recall with some amusement his contract to bring the mail from
Mohawk to $12 a year, an actual pocket loss to him of $44.00. He would
recall with some nostalgia the crude mailboxes he had built of pieces of
discarded lumber.
Treading with interest the modern concrete sidewalks, he would marvel
at the growth of his Ilion, and especially at the huge factories.
Watching the thousdands of workmen and women stream forth at the closing
hour, he would recall that in his day, there were fifty men on the
factory payroll.
He would be proud that Ilion provides--spiritual advantages through
its many churches, excellent schools for its youth, a library free for
all readers, and a hospital for its sick. He would admire the municipal
building and the work of the various commissions centered there.
Himself a musician, he would thoroughly approve of the musical
opportunities offered to both the youths and adults of Ilion. He would
approve the work of the recreation commission which provides recreational
facilities such as playgrounds, skating rinks, a swimming pool, all with
excellent supervision.
A close friend of Eliphalet Remington, he would be sincerely pleased
that the Remington name is known around the world, famous for the
quality of its products.
Seeing all these things and many more, might he not leave us with this
word of caution:
"We of our generation builded better than we knew, you of the
twentieth century are reaping the bountiful harvest. Look you
also to the future - build for tomorrow."
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