Plessis, May 6. -- The unusual record of the Makepeace store in this village, in continuous business for 73 years is exceeded by the business of the Norton family, founded here by James Norton in 1861 and still flourishing under the management of the son, Horatio Norton.

The Norton firm has changed its business production to keep pace with the times. The founder was a maker of carriages, sleighs and wagons. Today the business includes a sawmill, planing mills and gristmill. The old shop where wagons were made still stands and is still in use as a blacksmith and repair shop but that is only a minor portion of the business.

Today Horatio Norton told of the business of the firm, as he recalls it. “My father, James Norton, was a native of Brownville and opened his first shop here in Plessis in 1861 -- or 76 years ago. He first located on the village side of the creek and soon had his brother, Silas G. Norton, associated with him in business under the firm name of Norton Brothers. They considered Plessis an unusually good stand as it was the center of a wealthy farming community and at that time Plessis did an all-year business much larger than Alexandria Bay. Its one near and keen competing center was at Theresa.

“In the old carriage building shop were employed a number of helpers in the busy times, for the carriages, hand made, were all ironed-off and painted here. It required the services of a good blacksmith to iron-off a carriage, sleigh or wagon and good painters were also employed. The trade was brisk and one of the first setbacks the firm had was when its shop burned about a half a century ago. A new shop was built across the creek from the first one and business started anew. Shop made carriages began to take the place of hand-made stock before I joined the firm in 1891. I have been in business here for 46 years.

“In the year 1901 it looked as if we needed to enlarge our line and so I formed a partnership with Charles Hardy of this village and we purchased the nearly new George Wheeler sawmill at Hyde Lake flats and took it down to move it to Plessis. We located it right on the creek, just back from the carriage plant and started in business sawing logs, operating the planing and finishing mill, which is a part of the plant. Mr. Wheeler died soon after the mill he built was erected.

“In 1907, I bought out Mr. Hardy’s interest and have operated the business alone for 30 years. I installed a gristmill in connection with the mill plant and that keeps me pretty busy between the times I am operating the other mills.

“Now this may sound strange to you, but this past winter has been one of the best seasons in a long time for the sawmill. Farmers seemed to be getting ready to do more building and repairing and got out their own logs to get the lumber for the work. And this makes our other mill busier and, take it all in all, this past winter and spring have been unusually good.

“Yes, Claude Makepeace and I are the veteran business men of Plessis now. You might add that I served as town clerk for Alexandria for a term or two. The small community still offers opportunities to men who want to do business and will change with the times.

“You see my nearest neighbor here on this flat rock where my mill stands, is the old Union church, built in 1833. That is over a century old and our firm just a little past the three-quarters century mark and Claude Makepeace will touch that mark in two more years.”

Mr. Norton is a director of the Farmers National Bank of Theresa. While he was telling about his business a truck drove in, coming from Muscallonge lake in North Theresa. They had a genuine red-cedar log, fished from the bottom of the lake, maybe five centuries old and Mr. McAllister of New York city, who is installing a new fireplace in his cottage there, wanted a mantel made from the log and Mr. Norton started in to saw, plane and finish the choice timber.