Age 6 months in 1914                                                                                     Age 16 in 1930

    Alice was born in Gibson, town of Corning, Steuben Co. NY  Feb. 17 1914. A photocopy of her original birth certificate lists her father as William Andrew Bond age 30 & her mother as Willow Wave Morris age 19. The original has a correction stamp on it with the name “Walter” written in over William. Her actual fathers name is Albert Howard Coleman Jr. This & other errors in her birth certificate will be covered later in this page & on  her ancestral page.

Next official record we have of Alice is Town of Starkey, Yates Co. NY 1915 census. This shows Alice Bond , age 1 yr., as a boarder in the household of Benjamin Lane age 34. Benjamin aka Benson [1880 - 1938] was her mother’s second husband. Also listed in the household is a Lulu Bond, a servant, age 22. Lulu must be Alice’s mother, Willow, whose actual age would have been 20.  Where is Walter Bond ? Willow’s 1st child Genevieve, age 4 is probably with her grandmother, Genevieve Morris. Ben was a widower with 2 children, Harry age 10 & Mildred age 8.

    The 1920 Starkey census lists Benson Lane age 39. Wife W. Wave age 25. Daughters  Genevieve M. age 8 & Alice M. age 5, under the name “Lane”. Added to the family is Ben & Wave’s son  Floyd B. age 2 years 5 months. Also in the home are Ben’s children Harry age 15 & Mildred age 12. They are living on Glenora Rd. southeast of Dundee, Yates Co. NY.

  The 1925 census finds the family living in the town of Milo, Yates Co. NY. Benson S. Lane a farmer, age 49. Wife Willow Wave age 29. Children: Genevieve Lane age 15, Alice Lane age 11, Floyd Lane age 7, Orville Lane age 3. Floyd & Orville are Ben & Wave’s children. Also in the household are Ben’s daughter Mildred age 18 & her husband Guy SeChrist age 25 along with their baby daughter Willow Wave. Ben’s son Harry, about 20, has moved on.

    In 1925 the family was probably living on or near the Dundee-Himrod Rd. close to the Milo & Starkey town line [green dot]. Alice’s school report card for 1927 shows her going to the Starkey #1 District. The school house, probably a one-roomer, was located there. Also her mother’s 1926 drivers license gives a Himrod NY address. Himrod is in the town of Milo.

The report card above does not have a school grade. It’s probably grade 8. Alice was 13 at the time.

Alice at age 17, 2nd from left in front row. A member of the Girls’ Athletic Club.

Penn Yan Academy - 1931

Alice at age 18, Front row far right.

Spanish Club. Penn Yan Academy -  1932

    Assuming she started school at age 5 in the fall of 1919 & missing no grades, her graduation year would be 1932. She is shown in the Spanish Club above in the 1932 school year book but does not have graduation picture. As told to the author, she failed one class in history which prevented her from graduating. Much to her later regret she did not go back to make up & get her diploma. She did very well in other subjects & Spanish in particular. Her dream was to become a nurse & work in Latin America.

    Her dreams were not to be. Exactly where & when she met husband-to-be, Charles W. Blakesley is not known. Probably they met at a square dance which they both liked to do. No doubt some where around the Penn Yan area. He was living near Potter NY & working in Penn Yan, probably at Penn Yan Boat Co. She kept a photo of him dated 1932. They probably met that year. 

    At some point she got a big surprise. In mid 1933 she need to get a birth certificate for her pending marriage to Charley. Someone in the family told that her name was Alice Bond not Alice Lane. The someone was most likely her mother’s sister. Cecil Golden/Davenport. All this time [19 years !] she thought Benson Lane was her father. Neither he nor her mother told her otherwise. She always considered Ben as her “Dad” & he always treated as his daughter. Alice said he saved her from punishment by her mother numerous times. Alice may have been a difficult child. She related a story about being sent to live with her maternal grandmother Genevieve “Eva” Morris [1864 - 1924]. After a few weeks she brought Alice back & said “Don’t ever send that child to live with me again”. Since Eva died  in 1924, Alice must have been very young. She never did say what was done to anger her grandmother so much. Alice did get a statement from the NYS Dept. of Health dated  Sept. 26 1933 listing Walter Andrew Bond as her father & Willow Wave Morris as her mother.     

    Alice & Charley were married in Reeds Corners Ontario Co. NY on Friday Oct. 28 1933. Divorced  Friday Dec. 9 1944.

    Over her lifetime Alice held many different jobs. One of her first paying jobs was berry picking. She started as a child & continued as a teenager. She continued to do this for home use up until her mid 70s. Penn Yan newspaper articles show her & stepsister Mildred working at Belona [Yates Co.] Kraut factory & the Yates Lumber Co. in 1934. Alice may have worked at Barden & Robeson in Penn Yan NY. They were manufactures of fruit & vegetable baskets. Her mother, sister Genevieve & stepsister Mildred also worked there. The author can remember being there with them about 1937-1940.

Her next known job was at Comstock Canning Co. in Rushville NY. A photo dated 1941 shows her setting on a large pile of beets waiting to processed. It is not known how many seasons she worked there.

    Alice had a job in a garment factory somewhere on Main St. Canandaigua NY around 1942. She was a seamstress doing piecework, that is getting paid by the piece completed. One day the boss came to her & said she was doing too many & the other girl were complaining They were afraid the management would raise the minimum quota. If you didn’t make the quota you get a reduced rate for your work. Alice told the boss were to put the job. She went across the street & got a job at Burke’s Seneca Restaurant. This started a 50+ year career as a waitress. 

    Alice stayed with Burke’s for about 15 years until the family sold out around 1958. She then went to Caruso’s a 1st class restaurant at 158 Lake Shore Dr. in Canandaigua. She stayed there for 22 years. When the Cusiimano family sold out around 1980, she was not fond of the new owners & moved on. She did return 3 times so she could say she never missed a New Years Eve for 25 years !

Alice as a waitress

    During those years she also found time to work occasional parties at the Canandaigua Inn, the Town Pump Restaurant in Orleans NY & other places.  In later years she worked in several smaller places.

    With arthritis & old age starting to catch up her working days ended about 1995. As she said “nobody wants to hire an 80 year old waitress”. She managed to keep busy with her crochet work & taking care of a friend’s aged mother. She also acted as a hostess for a weekly gathering of retired businessmen, lawyers & doctors most of who were loyal patrons of hers during her waitress days.

Burke’s Restaurant, 169 So. Main St. Canandaigua NY

[Left of the bus, about 1930]

How they got a bus thru that alley is a very interesting question.

Thendara at 4356 East Lake Rd. [NY Rt. 364] on Canandaigua Lake. Another 1st class restaurant where Alice worked from about 1980 to 1990.