It's been a placid day out here in Le Roy today. It's cold but not too cold. Grey but not too grey. So many homes here have shutters. It reminds me of the Parisian suburbs, peopled with tree-lined rues and avenues and stately, majestic homes. After a morning of work and wandering and talking up the few folks I already know in the area, I pulled up a stool at the Eagle Hotel for a hot lunch.
You can't read the plaque in this photo—obviously—but it's there, behind the tree. It reads: "Here at the Eagle Hotel the LeRoy village government was organized on July 12, 1834. Presented in honor of the LeRoy Sesquicentennial 1984." Sesquicentennial means 150th anniversary. Of course, 2009 would then make this the 175th anniversay of the village. Rochester and Toronto are also in the midst of their 175th. That's the demisemiseptcentennial for you other logophiles out there.
So we know that the Eagle Hotel, too, has been around for at least 175 years, likely more. Unfortunately, the owner, Nancy Scott, was not around to chat with me when I stopped by for a fish fry—tasty and served with a smile—earlier today. I'm looking forward to finding out more about the place. A couple folks at the bar were able to tell me enough to only whet my appetite further. For example, it used to be a stagecoach stop on the route between Buffalo and Canandaigua. A few folks even swore that much of the furniture inside, including an old liquor cabinet and the bartop, are leftovers from the days when the Eagle likely served sarsparilla and the clientele knew the difference between the withers and the croup.
Anyhow, the Eagle is old, and, according to the bartender who readily admits a fear of the ghosts who haunt the place, it's got its share of stories to tell. Once we find out more about the place, we'll share it with you.
