The Life and Times of "Main Road"

When passing in our present time as we ride up E.92nd Street formerly known as Main Road) past the beautiful row of new homes and see the beautiful display of roses at the corner house on Avenue J, we can't forget. at this very same spot when there was no Avenue J, and E.92nd Street was a dirt road leading as one of the only two outlets to get to and from the city.

In 1909 on this spot was the big barn of well known blacksmith Al Skidmore, with helper Sam Giles, where most of the farmers and, oystermen dealers brought their horses to get new shoes put on. This was before the auto came into use. In front of the shop stood a big oak tree, where on a hot summer day we kids would stand and watch Al and Sam doing their jobs.

Al would stand by the open fire and turn a handle with a bellows to keep a red-hot flame and Sam would bring a brand new pair of steel shoes on a big pair of pliers. When they were placed on an anvil to hammer into the shape of the horse's foot, the sparks would fly all over the spot and when placed on the foot of the horse you would get a good whiff of burnt hair.

As they measured to fit him and as Sam or Al cut away a part of the hoof, we thought this hurt the horse, but this wasn't true, and when all four feet had new shoes on, the horse stood up very proud.

Across on the opposite corner was the ice cream parlor of Joe Trent, who also was the superintendent of the new Canarsie Cemetery at Remsen Avenue and Avenue K. The old one stood in the back of Grace M.P. Church where many of the original settlers of Canarsie were buried.

When the City of New York decided to open up what is now East 91st Street, the contractor who put the sewer through the center of this cemetery threw up with his steam shovel many parts of the remains of old timers. The people protested but could not get anywhere, and when this work was finished they opened the street.

During the 1930's they used a gang of W.P.A. to break up the tombstones and bury them except a couple of them which were moved over to the new one. As you ride down E.91st Street now you see a wooden fence on each side of what was the former cemetery between Church Lane and Avenue K.

The back of the church, where the kids played leap-frog a terrible tragedy occured when one of the tombstones toppled and crushed litte Sam Giles who was the son of the horseshoer Sam, who lived just across from T.F. Winterberg the grocer on E.92nd Street All the kids used to go through the yard and play.