Mont Pleasant High School - Montaneer Yearbook (Schenectady, NY)

Page 12 text:

MONT PLEASANT BUSINESSES Interview with Thomas Nuzback, President of the Crane St. Merchants Association Mont Pleasant High School students tend to be high consumers at the Mont Pleasant diners and bakeries rather than the clothing and hardware stores. Mr. Nuzback personally employs two MPHS students and finds our students who work in the local business areas to be outstanding employees. He also observes that current economics have produced less part-time job oppor- tunities for students who may need to work. In response to a question regarding economic trends, Mr. Nuzback feels consumers have become very price con- scious. The opening of the Crane St. Coop has helped gen- erate a better business flow in the area, yet it’s clear times are tough.

Page 11 text:



Page 13 text:

DOWNTOWN SCH’DY Harry Rector, a leading downtown businessman and head of the downtown business association, was recently interviewed by the yearbook staff. Mr. Rector is a businessman who believes that you can’t make it anywhere, let alone downtown, without hard work and deter- mination. He feels that Schenectady is on its way to a good recovery. It is doing well right now, he thinks, but “kids are still somewhat mall-oriented but that too, is changing.” When you go into malls, he says that “you see stores that are empty.” He feels that the new apartments and new stores coming into downtown might create again the hub of activity Schenectady was in the past. Mr. Rector hires about one-third of Mont Pleasant students from the overall percentage. He says that his business is mostly from the working girl who has her first job and has two or three hundred dollars to spend. The most interesting thing about Mr. Rector was his philoso- phy on kids. He believes that kids are basically the same. It’s the teachers who have changed. They’ve become apathetic, unhappy people who feel they should be getting more. He doesn’t believe that school work and sports should be a problem. He says that most sports are only about two months. If a kid really wants to be in that sport, he will arrange his needs. He hopes that kids and teachers will shake off the deep sleep they’re in and start to care again about school and each other.