Who was M. Sonn?

And newspapers delivered

By Darren Johnson
Journal & Press

I just got back from delivery of this thing.

Hannaford moves most of these. I leave a few extra for the shoplifters.

(In case your email app blocks photos, please activate them for these emails from The Journal & Press, as I tend to include plenty of images. We do now live in what is called a Visual Culture.)

In case you’re wondering what Greenwich looks like pre-dawn, here’s a photo.

Now, this was shot with a newer iPhone, and the use of newer iPhones, which have AI, brings up an interesting debate in journalism — when is a photo no longer “true?” While AI helped its lighting and color composition, this photo is fine to use for journalistic purposes, but say there was a person in it, and he/she/they was brightened or darkened by the AI? Say the AI decides to highlight something that exaggerates what really happened, say a storm is made to look worse, or a person running made to look faster? Anyway, I digress. It’s an old argument, as even famous photos like “Migrant Mother” were somewhat staged.

I have to get to the post office before the carriers, to get the paper out today in Greenwich, and I made it. I bring along this guy.

Don’t worry — if you are allergic to dogs, he’s in the front and the papers are in the trunk.

I delivered papers for years, including through college, and did find these pre-dawn hours, before most people were awake, to be important in my reflection and the growth of my inner voice. If you’re not an early riser, try it some time.

Just another aside — we posted some new Dan Pemrick basketball photos on our Facebook page last night, if interested.

Driving into the Village of Greenwich, I saw this M. Sonn marker. Blocks here used to be named after their most prominent business.

No one talks about M. Sonn, first name Michael, anymore, but I pore through the newspaper archives and his name pops up all of the time. He had a discount clothing business.

The Greenwich business is gone (the site is now Flynn Bros. Funeral Home), but he also had this store in Schuylerville (Print Says is below).

That kind of shows what a pain travel was back then; going up the hill to Greenwich was really inconvenient! So open a second store!

Here is an announcement of the closing that ran in our paper.

A German immigrant, Sonn did have a son at one point, who sadly passed away, as did his wife, Adelheit, in 1938, as well as two daughters.

I do not have any Sonns on my subscription list, but he has descendants here with the surname Sharp. He also helped 15 people emigrate here from Germany. Some of their descendants must remain.

The business was sold and operated under out-of-town owners into the 1940s. But not everyone is talented, hardworking and lucky enough to maintain a Main Street business — we see that often today even — and eventually, M. Sonn, the business, departed, too.

Here’s an ad from the end of the 19th century.

Michael Sonn’s death merited front page headlines on January 24, 1945:

He also embedded himself in local affairs and was instrumental to helping bring public water and electricity to the Village.

You see, a local business person — to succeed — should participate in civic affairs.

So, RIP M. Sonn — you did a lot here! Thank you!