Glens Falls in 1945 — Celebrating victory

News broke in the Glens Falls area at about 7 p.m. Aug. 14, 1945 that Japan had agreed to surrender, essentially ending World War II.

About 10 minutes later, a pharmacist in Hudson Falls telephoned Len LaBarge, owner of Warren Pharmacy on Warren Street in Glens Falls, to inquire if LaBarge planned to close the next day.

“Close up tomorrow? — I’m closed now. Good night,” LaBarge replied.

“It was the first night in 18 years that the store has been closed, and, of course, V-J night was responsible,” The Post-Star reported the next morning.

LaBarge had double cause to celebrate.

The pharmacist who assisted him would soon be coming home from military duty, and LaBarge would have a more flexible schedule.

“He hopes that the end of the war will bring home a pharmacist soon and enable him to have a vacation and enjoy what he has missed the most — an occasional round of golf.”

At Hudson Falls, Sandy Hill Iron and Brass Works, which had been manufacturing ship gear for the U.S. Navy, shut down Aug. 15–16 so that employees could celebrate.

“During the past two years the plant has operated 24 hours daily, seven days a week. The force, willingly and patriotically, kept countless machines in continuous operation, thereby meeting, and more often advancing, the Navy required shipping schedules.”