One of the things I’ve been a curious about since the time capsule came into our midst is the ownership history of the Riverside. Cassie is its current owner, having come into some cash as a result of her divorce, and the business is doing quite well.
This much is common knowledge. I have questions, however, about its history.
My time in the courthouse is long and arduous. I realize that I’ve skipped lunch.
The good news is that I have a hearty smattering of documents from which to choose as whomever preceded me and the others was meticulous about maintaining Middle Valley property records for well over a hundred years.
It appears the owner prior to Cassie ran it for about 15 years and only sold it when age forced him to give it up. Two others owned it before that, during and after the Civil War. They were both quite successful, perhaps due to the lack of eating establishments in the area – it was the only joint in town, essentially.
The owner prior to that which sold to Cassie, I’ve come to learn, was Shirley’s father, Nate Scott, who managed it for a time after her grandfather died and handed it down. It’s unclear what made Mr. Scott disassociate from the business in less than a year, but that is what the papers show.
Of course, we have a sense now of some of the illegal activities going on along our riverbanks around that time – perhaps the idea was to disassociate? Nonetheless, he went on to start his real estate business.
The bar business, I guess, was not for him.
I look up from my work for one moment to see a phone call coming in from Bitsy. At some point, I’ll have to meet with her. Not this very second.
Jenny Page