Gloves

Gloversville, New York, in the Mohawk Valley, was once an important center of leather production and, as you might guess from the name, the leading glove-manufacturing location in the world.  I don't think there's too many gloves being made in Gloversville anymore, but it is an interesting place to grab a sandwich and spend an afternoon looking around.

The writer Richard Russo grew up in Gloversville.  His first novel, Mohawk, is set in a fictionalized version of the town, and his Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Empire Falls, is a much better written version of Mohawk.  I wasn't thinking of the novels while I was there otherwise I would have taken a picture of the downtown diner.

The Glove Theater opened in 1914 and was eventually the home base for the 120-theater chain owned by the Schine family.  The theater is being renovated by volunteers in the community.  Among the mementos in the front window of the theater is an autographed photo of Ernest Borgnine, which gets two thumbs up from me.

Comments

[Cheryl]

I'd never heard of Gloversville until I saw this post today. Coincidentally, "Empire Falls" is the next book in my to-read pile.

And just now, looking up the bio of Frederic Remington (he lived in Kansas briefly), I come across another Gloversville reference. Remington got married in Gloversville:

1884
March: Moves to Kansas City; invests first in a hardware store, then in a saloon
October 1: Marries Eva Caten in Gloversville, New York; couple returns to Kansas City
***

[Joe]

"Empire Falls" is really well written.

I ran across a reference to Remington as well. I don't think he stayed in Gloversville for too long.

Samuel Goldwyn, the G of MGM, lived in G'ville for a while as well.