When the Northland was first built is unknown, but in the 1920s it caught fire and was rebuilt after that. It was known as the Canadian Hotel at the time. It had five rooms with private baths. Charles and Mary (Turpin) Abdallah put in a new Coffee Shop in 1935 the year they purchased it, followed by the addition of a porch and upper deck with railings. This made the warehouse looking building look like a hotel. In 1936 they also added a large amount of kitchen equipment.

 In an Old Timers Column in the January 5, 1935 Tupper Lake Free Press, an article relates the beginning of the Charles and Mary Abdallah’s owner- ship of the Northland Hotel:  “Do you remember 48 years ago when Joseph Gauthier first came to Tupper Lake? The sale on January 1 of this year of one of the oldest landmark hostelries in town recalls many incidents in connection with pioneer days which will be of interest to older settlers.”

 The sale referred to is that of the Northlands Hotel at the juncture of Front Street, Broad Street and Wawbeek Ave, a venue in Lakeview suburb - more commonly know as “French Village. The ostensible disposers of the property were Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Gauthier and the purchaser is Charles Abdallah, business man of Sears Hill district for several years. It is alleged that the transaction approximates $32,000. Possession was given to the new owner on April 1, 1935.

 (the following was written from Mary Abdallah herself) 

“We were a family business, but at times we had many on the payroll. I remember one year we had bus boys, relish girls, waitresses, cleaners and mostly they were local help.”

“In 1946 it was a sad year for our family. Our dear son was killed in a car accident. He was only 17 years old. I lost interest in the business. We all missed him so very much. You never get over it, but we must go on” 

“Both Thelma and Jeanne went off to college. It was lonely for me after they left. I did not like the noise from the bar.”

 “My husband died in 1960 at Georgetown University Hospital in Georgetown, VA. He was there for three months. I closed the hotel then and in 1963 had it auctioned off. I went to work at St. Lawrence  University for five years as Head Resident.” (Live-in manager of the resident hall).”

Marie had contacted tuberculosis and lived only two years more. She died in 1916. During those two years, she lived with her mother who had remarried Thomas Savard Jr. sometime after 1908. A 1905 census shows great-grand mother residing in Ovila’s household and the grave stone shows Thomas Savard’s first wife died in 1908.

 Upon Marie’s death, it is likely that Ovila Turpin did not return to Massena, but he and the children remained in Tupper Lake near their grandmother Angele Savard until her own death in 1919. Mary Turpin-Abdallah recalled keeping house for the father and family when she stated: “I was only 12 or 13 when I was keeping house for him.” She shared some stories about that time period, the year would have been 1917 or 1918:

 “The Circus came to town and I wanted to take the children. I carried Rosemary so I would not have to pay if she was ‘a child-in-arms’ but the attendant said: Why not put her down and let her carry you! Guess he wasn’t fooled.”

 On another occasion, her father gave Mary a dollar to take Rosemary to the dentist to have a lose tooth pulled, but it was so lose that Mary said, “I pulled it out myself and kept the dollar“.

One time her brother Dick (D. John Turpin) came home crying and crying. She said, “Oh, quite, you big baby!” She learned later that he had broken his collarbone. I too, recall daddy telling this story, but I recall, he added that he had not told anyone that his collarbone was broken at the time for fear of being disciplined. He had been playing ball and he indicated that he was supposed to have been working“.

 Continuing the stories about my father, Mary said that one day Dick was not behaving and she tied him up in a chair; this was at the time she was only 12 or 13 and he was 10 or 11 years old, guess, he knew to “mind his elders” even if it was a sister only two years his senior!

 Also, it is speculated that upon the death of Grandmother Malboeuf-Savard, Ovila gathered up his children and moved to Herkimer, NY where his brother, Jules Turpin, resided with his wife, Delia Levac.

 Like his wife, Marie, Ovila also contacted tuberculosis. It is possible that by 1919 he became so ill, he could no longer work and support the children. Mary said, “the three youngest children, Julia, Bill, and Rosemary were in an orphanage for a short time and Ovila was barely existing in a dwelling without water or electricity in Herkimer.” D. John Turpin used to tell his children, “I was on my own at age 12”; so that would have been during this same year of 1919. Adelaide, too, was soon to be on her own.

 Mary recalls living with her Aunt Delia in Ilion, NY when she was 14 years old in 1919. She said: “Aunt Delia put up my hair so I would look older and I got a job at the Mark Factory.”

 A year later in 1920, the following two events occur in the family history: First, the oldest daughter, Adelaide, married Steve Kasprowicz (children name changed to Kasper in 1944 and Adelaide’s in 1955). Second, Pine Crest TB Sanitarium at Salisbury Center, NY, opened and Mary, was employed there when her father was admitted as one of the first patients. Mary related, “He was so ill when they carried him in. I remember it so well.” and that was her recollection after seventy-two years! Ovila Turpin lived at Pine Crest for fourteen years.

 It was not until 1925, on 28 April, that Mary married Charles Abdallah who was born in Tupper Lake on February 2, 1903. He died on October 4, 1960 at Georgetown University Hospital, Georgetown, VA and is buried at St Alphonsus Cemetery, Tupper Lake NY.

 It would be ten years before the couple purchased the Northland Hotel. They operated it for the next 25 years.

MEMORIES OF HOTEL NORTHLAND BY WILLIAM TURPIN PLOOF   04/12/2007 

I would like to take this opportunity to share some of the memories I have of my Aunt Mary and the Hotel Northland. My first visit to the Hotel was in 1940 shortly after I was born. My Uncle John and Aunt Rose Mary (Turpin) Dewey bundled my mother Juliette miles in a snow storm to deliver us to the Hotel Northland so that I could be cared for while my mother recovered from the flu. I’m told that cousins Thelma and Jeanne Abdallah both wanted me to stay in their room, but soon relinquished all claims to me when I decided to “serenade” them through the night. Joe and Thelma Abdallah both were my Godparents when I was baptized at Saint Alphonsus Church on the 14th of April 1940. 

Throughout my childhood I always looked forward to my family’s trips to the Hotel Northland to visit the Abdallahs. Aunt Mary once told me that as a toddler, I “helped” out

in the kitchen by rearranging every pot and pan that I could lay my hands on. Aunt Mary introduced me to so many great tasting foods (I particularly enjoyed the kibbe she prepared) and the Hotel was such an exciting place for a young child. What a great place to play hide and seek and to read all those stacks of magazines in the spacious lounge. 

In addition to the many visits with Aunt Mary during my childhood, I later worked at the Hotel Northland for a few weeks in the summer of 1957. My primary job was dish washing but I was also called upon to dispatch lobsters prior to cooking them, keep water glasses filled in the dining room and clean and ready rooms for guests.  

One evening I also filled in as host in the dining room when the regular hostess was unavailable. That was the night I received my first lesson in mixology when I served a couple the Gibbsons they had ordered and was asked where the onions were. It turned out that Uncle Charlie had run out of cocktail onions. To this day, I always make sure I have the required two cocktail onions before making a Gibbson. 

I came away from the Hotel Northland with a wealth of experiences and fond memories. 

My Years at the Hotel Northland  by George Kasper, 2485 Starling Dr., Paso Robles, CA 93446 

I have great memories of my Aunt Mary and here is a little history of the Hotel years. My dad died in the fall of 1944, soon after my mother sold our home in North Ilion, NY. Aunt Mary needed help at the Hotel and we needed a place to stay and Aunt Mary invited us to come. My mother worked at the Hotel and we lived there. I was 10 years old at the time my dad died so after a few years I was doing small jobs around the Hotel. During this time I was washing dishes in the kitchen, then on to bus boy and later waiter when I was in high school and college. During the summer of 1944 Mary’s daughter Thelma got a new car and she took a trip west. She included me, which was exciting for me. We stopped at our Uncle Dick’s place in Indiana and then on to Uncle Bill’s in Illinois, visiting each family. Also during my time working at the Hotel, I picked up skills at working and management from Mary. She used more honey than vinegar to get things done. Later years in construction as a  Supt. and V.P. I found this worked best with the unions and the clients. 

Each year that we went back to Tupper Lake we always visited Mary, who lived alone until the last year and taking her out to dinner was fun - - she was still checking out the dinning rooms and would have a glass of scotch. This last year we visited her in the nursing home and she was still very sharp.

Aunt Mary always enjoyed recalling the funny antics of George when he worked with her at the Northland. I recall she told me more than once how she had asked him to toss the salad in preparation for the dinner crowd one evening. Giggling, she said that she had gone into the kitchen and there George was literally “tossing” the salad from one bowl to the other. There were other incidents, but I do not recall them at this moment. She was very fond of George. And like many former helpers at the Northland, he kept in touch with her over the years.

This following is from George Williams

 “Frank “Thanks for keeping me informed about Mary. My sincere condolences to the entire family.” The letter from Byron Park whom I have not seen since 1953 was of interest to me. Mary was a one-of-a-kind employer. She was filled with love and generosity...

“I worked at the hotel in the early 1950's with Byron Parks. Late in the evening after working at the hotel, Mary would take Byron, Don Trombley and I to Little Wolf to go swimming and refresh ourselves. It remains quite vivid with me even today.”

Letter to the editor, Tupper Lake Free Press from Byron Parks March 22, 2007

Dear Sir:

I have just now learned of the death of Mary Abdallah on March 11, 2007, at age 101. Although saddened by her death, I appreciate the fact of her long and productive life. When I was 15 years old, Ms. Abdallah hired me to be a bus boy at the Northland Hotel, and she accompanied me to the school office to help me get my first “working papers” in 1951. As an employer, she was a wonderful role model. This lady was a hard-working, dedicated achiever, and the Northland restaurant acquired an outstanding reputation for good food and service as a result of Ms. Abdallah’s sense of commitment. She was a kind and thoughtful employer, and she made my first job as a teenager meaningful for me in a every positive way. 

I last visited Mary Abdallah in her home when she was 89 years old, and still living alone in Tupper Lake and enjoying life to the fullest. I mourn her passing, but I am grateful for her life and for all her contributions to our home town. Growing up in Tupper Lake was good for me because of Tupper people like Mary Abdallah.

 Sincerely yours,   Bryon Parks

 Marie (Turpin) Hockemeyer and her son Greg

 Marie (Turpin) Hockemeyer and her son Greg were able to make it to Tupper Lake for the viewing and the funeral. They flew to Burlington, VT., rented a 4-wheeler, and ferried over just south of there. Flying in just a few hours later and they would have been stranded as were many of you.

 They were pleased to meet some of the family and were “very impressed with the respect paid to Aunt Mary by three generations of townspeople.” She said it spoke well of her standing in the community.

 When they got to the funeral home, “there were more than two dozen people there. None were relatives.” but they seemed to know immediately what Marie was related to Aunt Mary. Yes, in these later years Marie does look more like Aunt Mary before her cataract surgery and the thick lenses.

 Marie related that at one restaurant, she was looking at old photos on the wall and asked if one was of the Northland Hotel. A group of people immediately gathered around and said they thought it was the hotel that burned before the Northland was built on that site but that “so-and-so” would know and sure enough about then that man walked in and confirmed that it was. They found the towns people very warm and friendly.

 She said she tried to show Greg the gravestone we had laid on our grandparent’s grave site in 2002 at the Holy Name Cemetery, but the snow was up to her knees so she could only point in the direction of the site. Greg took photos for future reference.

 While visiting Sunmount where Mom and Dad met in the early ‘30 when it was a VA Hospital, Marie was questioned by the police for taking photos of the buildings. But as usual she was able to talk her way out with the story of how her parents met there.

 From Bobby Turpin comes the following: (Leonard, Bobby and Ann Thayer are Uncle Bill’s children)

 “I was very sorry to hear that Aunt Mary died. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep me in the loop with plans and arrangements in Tupper Lake and after the services. Just wanted to let you know, that my cousin Alex Jenson Dame attended the funeral and that I have sent a donation in Aunt Mary’s name to the Tupper Lake Rescue Squad which was her choice in lieu of flowers. Bobby”

 Alex met Aunt Mary at a brief cousins gathering we had in September of 2002. The purpose at that time was to place a headstone on the grave site of our grandfather and grandmother, Ovila and Marie Turpin.

 Uncle Bill married Harriet Leonard whose family has a 1890s Adirondack Camp near Bloomingdale and north of Saranac Lake. We also met Dan and Betty Leonard at that gathering and they in turn were at the 100th celebration in 2005. 

From Dan Leonard on Sunday, 11, 2007:  

“Thanks for keeping us up-to-date, “Mary was indeed a great lady! Dan Leonard”

 FROM THE COUSINS ON THE GREAT UNCLE JULES SIDE OF THE FAMILY

Barbara Turpin Shivka, daughter of Edward Turpin and sister of Deborah Mosher writes:

“Hello, I just got your message from my sister, Deb Mosher about our cousin. Mary Abdallah’s passing. How sad, but how wonderful to have had such a long life. We shall all remember her with affection. I, for one was glad to have been able to be at her 100th birthday celebration and meet so many of the Turpin clan. I will always remember our visit to Tupper Lake and our stay at Hotel Northland when my sister and I were very small children. Our father, Edward Turpin, (Mary’s first Cousin) took us up there to celebrate Thanksgiving. She (Mary) was so gracious and lovely. My sincere sympathies to all.”

Her sister Deborah Turpin Mosher writes:

“Thank you so much for letting us know of Mary Abdallah, 101 years! What a wonderful long life. “She seemed so alert and happy at her party in 2005. Thank you again”

From Penny Watkins, grand daughter of Leona Mary Turpin:

“I appreciate being informed and shall pass on to this side of the family the news of Mary Abdalla’s death. I am glad that my sister Glenny, my daughter Michele and I were able to attend the celebration for her 100th birthday in 2005. 

Edward and Leona were children of Jules Turpin.

He was your great-grandfather’s, Ovila Turpin’s, older brother. The two of them were the only children to live to adulthood of the 10 who were born to our grand- parents, Onesine and Adelaide Turpin, between 1869 and 1885. Adelaide died four days after the last infant’s birth.

MESSAGES FROM OTHERS UNRELATED BUT WHO WORKED FOR AND KNEW AUNT MARY

Maribelle Carter (Mrs. Reinald) writes:

“Friday, March 16, 2007: “Mary has been on my mind this week and then I was in a gift shop and saw some Abdallah Chocolates. I am sorry to hear she passed away, but she certainly had a long life. Please pass along my sympathy and how much I enjoyed my summers working for Aunt Mary. She taught me a lot about life.

Maribelle is Marcia Bealsey’s friend and attended Mary’s 100th celebration in 2005. She and Marcia worked at the Northland Hotel when they were 15 and 17 years old respectively. Maribelle worked there for four summers and Marcia for three.)

SOME MEMORIES OF MARY ABDALLAH FROM HER GRANDCHILDREN

Your grandmother, my Aunt Mary, held a very special place in my life. I loved, respected and greatly admired her. She was my first “boss”,my friend and my mentor. My cousin George Kasper and I talked about doing a booklet of remembrances for you, her grand- children, and he was immediately supportive. He said he could best help by furnishing some photo and later he sent word from his friend Bryan Parks who, also, had strong memories and wanted to shared the article he sent to the Tupper Lake Free Press after seeing their Obituary of Aunt Mary. Therefore, in place of flowers or a monetary donation, we felt that sharing a few remembrances with you might be appropriate and be our tribute to that grand lady. With affection, Marcia L. Beasley, (Mrs. Allen O.)

REMINISCENCES OF AUNT MARY BY MARCIA BEASLEY

My first memories of meeting Aunt Mary was when she, Uncle Charlie and Jeannie, then only 16, visited us in Indiana on their way to and from California for the winter. It was in 1948 and I was 10 years of age.

On their return home I recall Mother served strawberry shortcake. Well, this wasn’t just a little twinkie cake with frozen berries and Cool Whip. oh, no it was a big sweeten, fluffy shortbread biscuit, split in half and served on individual soup platters with lots of fresh, sweetened strawberries and heavy cream poured on top.

I tell you this because Uncle Charlie told Aunt Mary, “THIS is the way you should serve Strawberry Shortcake at the Hotel.” Of course she knew he’d go broke if she did! Mother grew her own ‘berries.

Uncle Charlie was very generous with us. When they returned from California he had a complete cowboy outfit for brother Joe including leather chaps and all the accessories. Jeannie had played violin in a symphony orchestra out there and I always admired how she could play on the violin any tune you could hummed. In her later years I was pleased she had returned to the violin.

We, also, traveled to Tupper Lake a few times after that visit so I was familiar with the Hotel even before I worked there in the summers during 1955, ‘56 and ‘57. Aunt Mary had a significant influence on my managerial style. My job as waitress at the Hotel was my first real job and I quickly learned that a question asked by her was more than likely a request for action. She had a kind way of asking that a task be performed: “Do these menus need retyping? Wouldn’t these flowers look nice in front of the mirror?”

I attribute her method to a form of “participative management” and it served me well for 20 years in the Army Medical Department. When Ossie and I would visited her annually, over the last 15 years, she had organized her requests into “to do” lists. There was always one ready for us and I know others have shared that experience, too.

Once when she still had the old Packard, she confided to us that when she had parked and gotten out of the car at home one evening, the light inside of the car stayed on. Not knowing the cause, she laughingly told us she had called the police office who sent someone out to turn it off. Her ability to get others to do simple tasks without offending was remarkable!

I frequently was the benefactor of her desire for environmental simplicity. In my early years I just thought she was generous but in later years I realized she was not so attached to material things as are so many of us. She constantly was weeding out her possessions and assuring that others received something of hers.

I still recall a beautiful blue velvet rain coat that she passed to me in the 1960’s and I enjoyed wearing it to the Kennedy Center. I recently had a locket-broach repaired that Aunt Mary gave me. I do not know the history of it and the jeweler said it was painted gold, (not physically valuable) but I enjoy wearing it with 1890 costumes for local reenactments and knowing it was her