Fred & Leona [Powell] Flack (2001)
“Fred and Leona Flack have been an integral part of our town forever. They provided us with a marvelous bakery for years before moving to Freehold. Leona has always been a sustaining force on the Library Board, while Fred has served as Town Chair, Town Supervisor, and County Legislator and Treasurer. Fred and Leona have truly made a difference to the quality of our lives through their dedicated services.”
-Anna T. Pratt
Born in Coeymans Hollow, Fred Flack was razed on the Alcove Road farm his parents moved to in 1924. He attended the local one-room school house until 5th grade, and then to GCS when it opened in 1932. Fred would work on his father’s farm until 1946.
Leona Powell was born in Medway, attended the one-room schoolhouse in Medway until eighth grade, and graduated from GCS in 1941.
Fred and Leona met at a Medway Congregational Church party, and were married on New Year’s Day, 1943. In 1946, they opened one of Greenville’s Main Street’s pleasant memories, Flack’s Bakery, where they worked side-by-side for 23 years. For most of those years, they lived on South Street in Greenville.
During this time, Fred and Leona were active in the Cub Scouts, Chamber of Commerce, Old-Timers Christmas party, and Greenville Fire Company. They raised two sons, Dick, who graduated from Kansas State University, and Jeff, who graduated from the University of Maine.
Fred was elected town supervisor in 1964, and had been on the Republican Committee for several years before. Next, he was elected to the Greene County Legislature representing Greenville, New Baltimore, and Durham. In 1970, Fred was elected county treasurer and served until his retirement in 1980. He was also asked to serve as Interim County Administrator – a newly established office in the county.
Meanwhile, Leona served on the Cooperative Extension Board, the Office of Aging Board, and a newly formed Greene County Health Board which became the Central Assessment Unit. Leona’s main interest is the Greenville Public Library for which she was a trustee for 20 years. She was chairperson of the new extension, an effort that led to the 1996 library edition (refer to the Sept 1997 calendar). Leona served a five-year term on the Mid-Hudson Library Board, and was recognized as this five-county Board’s Trustee of the Year in 1986.
In their retirement on Red Mill Rd., Fred serves as a trustee for the Freehold Fire Company and spends time as a Mr. Fix-It for the community. Leona keeps busy volunteering at the Library.
In many ways, Fred and Leona represent Greenville – raising a family, working in the community, being good neighbors. It is, however, for their lifetime of service, effort, and achievement to our town that the Greenville Local History Group recognizes Fred and Leona (Powell) Flack.
By Don Teator, Greenville Town Historian.