If you started walking at the very north end of Highland Falls (just outside Thayer Gate) and went south as far as what’s now CTown Market, can you list the businesses you just saw? What about walking the same route but thinking about what businesses were along the way 50 years ago?

That’s exactly what happened at last week’s Sit & Chat session in Highland Falls. Two local ‘non-experts but have a lot of local history in their families’ led a full discussion of what Main St. looked like long ago. And in the audience? About two dozen other ‘non-experts but folks with great memories’, who helped fill in some of the blanks that Agnes Saffoury and Sue Schwartz were fuzzy on!

It was just another discussion that folks didn’t know they needed! And, if you missed it, the good news is that it turns out it was just ‘Part 1’, according to Saffoury who moderates the group.

“The next Sit & Chat will be on Wednesday, December 2 – same time, same place. This week we ended at Parry’s Corner (i.e. the northwest corner of Main St. and Mountain Ave.) at around 7:15 p.m. So, the participants were given the option of staying longer and having us race through the east side of Main Street and S. Main St. or meeting again to finish the program. It was consensus that we meet again!”

So, while Sit & Chat usually takes December through March off, the group will meet again in December – at the American Legion Hall, Old State Rd., at 6 p.m. All are invited to attend – some of the businesses that might be part of the discussion include Shorter’s Men’s Shop, Ben Frankin, Grand Union, Melvin’s Gift Shop, Henry Knapp’s dry cleaner, Fashion & Fabrics, Bavaro Dry Cleaners, Eve’s Sweet Shop and many others.

And what was discussed last week? Everything from Bosch’s Taxi to the Florence Hotel to Finklestein’s liquor store to Gallietta’s Jewelry, to the Radio Bar, to Blank’s Clothing Store to Kopald’s Fashion Shop, to Moe Kay’s Toy Store, and, again, more.

A map, and listing of where all of the discussed businesses was provided for all to follow along, and fun facts were provided along the way.

For instance – if you’ve been here a long time, do you remember Sophie Greenberg and her little dogs at the Variety Store? Do you remember Chewens’ subs? If you were a Boy Scout do you remember your mom buying your uniform pieces at a Main St. shoe store (but, Girl Scouts apparently had to go to JC Penney in Newburgh to get their uniform pieces)? Do you remember when there was a rose sketched into the concrete sidewalk in front of B. Rose Hardware? And finally, from Schwartz, do you remember going to buy a pickle and the man working behind the deli counter simply rolled up his sleeve and stuck his hand (“whole arm, really”) into a big barrel full of pickles and just handing it to you?

If so, the December meeting might be for you!