Elsie Boring enjoys the friendships and competition at the bowling alley

Elsie Boring lines up her shot at Oak Orchard Bowl, where she has been a regular since the Albion business opened in 1960.

ALBION – Oak Orchard Lanes is celebrating its 60^th anniversary this year. One of the constants over those six decades has been Elsie Boring, one of the top bowlers in the ladies’ league.

Boring, 80, started bowling at age 20 with her late husband Chet. She bowled with him in a couples’ league and bowled with women on Tuesday nights.

She had the top average for many of those years. Currently, her five-woman team is ranked third out of the 10 teams in the league. The team is known as Franny’s Angels in honor of the late Fran Nayman. For many years he was the team’s sponsor.

Boring enjoys the chance to see friends once a week at the bowling alley on Route 98. Many of the other bowlers in the league are young enough to be her grandchildren.

“It’s enjoyable,” she said. “It’s a night out.”

Boring, when she was in her 60s, was carrying a 175 average for the season. She has bowled a 248 game before, and often broke 600 for a three-game series, including one day when she had three games at exactly 201.

She is disappointed she isn’t at that level anymore. She said arthritic knees make it hard to bend down on her follow through. She currently has a 117 average.

“I can’t do what I used to do anymore,” she said.

She is using a lighter ball these days, down from 15 pounds to 9 pounds. The lighter ball doesn’t get the same pin action as a heavier ball.

But her teammates said she is still consistent and formidable at the bowling alley. Boring throws a straight ball with a slight hook at the end.

“She has always been a tremendous bowler,” said Marcia Zambito, an alternate on the team.

Bowling has been a big family activity. Boring’s late husband Chet enjoyed the sport, and the couple taught their children – Susan, Darlene and Brett – to love the game as well. Susan bowls in the same league with her mother, on a different team, and currently has the highest average, 185, among the 50 bowlers in the league. Her brother Brett bowls in the men’s league and has a perfect 300-game to his credit.

Elsie Boring, 80, remains a key contributor on her five-women team in the ladies’ league.

Oak Orchard Bowl is celebrating its 60^thanniversary this month. Randy Hanks, owner of the bowling alley since 2006, said Boring stands out as a league bowler during all 60 years of Oak Orchard’s existence. (It was originally Oak Orchard Lanes but changed its name to Oak Orchard Bowl in 2004.)

Boring, who is retired after 32 years as chief clerk for Orleans County Family Court, remembers when all 18 lanes were used by the league, and then a second group of teams would play later at night, for 36 teams total. Sneezy’s Bowling in Albion also hosted leagues. That 8-lane alley closed in 1997.

She is encouraged to see a lot of women in their 20s and 30s are bowling in the league, which runs for about 30 weeks from November to April with a weekly charge of $12. That price hasn’t changed in years.

Pat Hellert, 81, is another long-time bowler. The retired Albion fourth-grade teacher at Albion has been a teammate with Boring for many years and has been in the ladies’ league for at least a half century. Hellert is carrying a 123 average this season.

Pat Hellert jokes with Alishia Foss, 27, of Brockport. Foss, a Medina native, was bowling opposite Hellert on Tuesday. Foss said the older bowlers in the league are inspiring.

“Watching them bowl and throw the ball down the lane is so cool,” she said.

Pat Hellert and Elsie Boring look forward to see each other and their friends Tuesday night during the ladies’ bowling league.

Return to top

ALBION – Two downtown business owners, Amber Mogle and Courtney Henderson, have led an effort to have Albion be considered for the “Hometown Takeover” by HGTV.

They have submitted a 2-minute, 12-second video showing the downtown and historic sites in Albion, highlighting some of the deterioration and the potential. The video starts with a drone image showing the Courthouse Square. (Click here to see the video.)

“They did a great job highlighting the positives in the village,” said Mayor Eileen Banker.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Courtney Henderson, left, and Amber Mogle pushed to enter Albion in Hometown Takeover, an HGTV series. They both run businesses on East Bank Street.

She is one of three community leaders who make an on-air pitch in the video. Banker said she is proud to have grown up and stayed in Albion.

“We are a home-grown hometown,” Banker said in the video, while standing on an East Bank Street sidewalk. “People grow up and raise their families here.”

Dan Monacelli, a retired Albion school principal, speaks in the Pratt Opera House on the third floor in downtown Albion.

“What we’re looking for is someone to come on back in this town and give us the spark that we need so we continue to grow and stay close,” he said in the video.

Amy Sidari, owner of Gotta Dance by Miss Amy and the Cabaret at Studio B, is shown outside her business on Bank Street.

“Things are alive here in Albion, New York and they can even get better,” she said. “HGTV we need your help, looking for you.”

Henderson and Mogle narrate the video, which shows many scenes from the community’s business district, neighborhoods, the Erie Canal and popular sites, such as the tower at Mount Albion Cemetery.

“Albion is Friday Night Lights, Albion is family dinners, Albion is Sunday morning church. We are a small but mighty town, filled with love, history and diversity.

“Our community comes together in times of joy and celebration. More importantly our town comes together in times of heartache and loss.”

They highlight famous residents – Charles Howard who started a Santa Claus School, George Pullman who lived in Albion before striking it rich with the railroad industry, and Grace Bedell, the girl who wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln, encouraging him to grow a beard.

“Albion is the home of the Santa Claus School which reminds us every day to believe, to believe in magic, believe in ourselves and believe in our little town and all of its potential,” the video states.

Henderson and Mogle said the downtown business owners are committed to the community, and keeping their historic buildings alive.

“As individuals we are doing our best with revitalization efforts but our historical buildings on Main Street need and deserve more of a facelift than we are capable of doing alone,” they state in the video. “A Hometown Takeover in Albion, New York would improve our community and make lasting impact on the quality of life for our residents.”

Henderson and Mogle a week ago decided to push to enter the contest after seeing people post about it on Facebook. People wanted to see Albion enter, but no one seemed willing to take the lead.

Mogle set up an on-line fundraising page, seeking $1,000 to hire a videographer. That fundraising pitch went live at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. The next morning it was halfway there. It’s at $1,350 as of 3:30 p.m. today.

Albion graduate Joram Bierdeman was hired to make the video. Henderson wrote the script on Saturday morning. Bierdeman arrived that morning for filming and completed the video by Sunday. It has more than 2,000 views on YouTube.

Henderson and Mogle both said they’re happy to see such positive feedback on social media to the video.

“I feel like it summarizes Albion,” Henderson said today from her women and children’s clothing shop, Milk and Honey. “It was fun to put together and see it come alive.”

Henderson, 31, and Mogle, 30, have become big Albion boosters. Henderson is president of the Albion Merchants Association. They are optimistic about the community.

“I love this place,” said Mogle, who turned a former pizza shop into a hair salon, Roots. “I see the potential. I feel like our town is so beautiful and I don’t think people realize it.”

HGTV is looking for towns with a population less than 40,000, communities with great architecture longing to be revealed, and a Main Street that needs a facelift.

“If they choose us they will be blown away by the beauty of this town,” Mogle said.

Return to top

ALBION – An expert did an indoor air investigation of the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School and found no significant issues that would account for a high rate of breast cancer.

The Albion Teachers Association has been pushing for an environmental assessment of the building. The ATA said there is a high breast cancer rate among the teachers and staff.

The ATA in May told the Board of Education that the ATA counted 25 teachers and staff who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. That includes cafeteria workers, clerical staff and teacher aides, as well as teachers.

Nellie Brown speaks during a community meeting in Albion on Jan. 31, 2019.

The district reached out to Nellie Brown, director of the Workplace Health and Safety Program for Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, for the indoor air study.

Brown was at the district on Sept. 23 and Sept. 30 for an indoor air investigation of the school building, which is 179,300 square feet. The original school was built in 1957 with remodeling in 1965, 1985, 2000-2002, and 2004. The building occupancy includes 850 students and 98 staff.

Brown’s report was given to the school on Jan. 17. The Board of Education discussed it during its meeting on Monday.

“In general, our building was well built, has been well cared for and well maintained,” said Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent.

The district will give the report to James Bowers, an epidemiologist who studies diseases for the state Department of Health.

Kathy Harling, the Board of Education president, said she was pleased with the findings in the report.

Brown in her investigation focused on five areas:

1. Insufficient ventilation: The carbon dioxide measurements showed there is sufficient ventilation, and temperature and humidity meet requirements by the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers).

Brown did suggest that the district’s buildings and grounds staff mow grass away from uninvent air intakes. (There were some grass clippings on the air intakes at courtyard A and B.)

Brown also made other observations: no HVAC at the band office, room G7 has an air-conditioner but no ventilation; An AccuTemp oven should be moved further down the range hood for better exhaust; Room J11 restroom exhaust vent draws poorly – the vent screen is covered in lint and needs regular cleaning; Both the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms exhaust have little to no flow – the system needs to be evaluated for operation; Restroom exhausts for J1 and J2 had slow flow – all other restroom exhausts worked well.

2. Inside sources of air contaminants: Consider upgrading vacuum cleaners to HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) if not already using. Recommendations were made to discontinue products/dispensers of perfumes and fragrances, and to discourage the use of products not purchased through the school district’s purchasing program. (The district buys environmentally products from the “green list” but some teachers and staff were bringing in their own cleaning products.)

3. Outside sources of air contaminants: No significant issues.

4. Biological sources of air contaminants: There have been historical water problems. Carpeted classrooms have carpet right up to the sinks/water fountains. The infrared moisture meter indicated numerous rooms with drips and splashes of water on the carpet. As moist areas can lead to mold or bacterial growth, it is desirable to have hard flooring in front of sinks/water fountains.

Removable, cleanable floor mats could be located at exterior doors; this is very useful to stop dirt and moisture being tracked into the building where they can provide habitat for fungal growth in carpets.

Water stains were observed on the ceiling in several rooms. While these were found to be nonactive as per the infrared moisture meter, potential sources of the moisture should be identified and resolved. Care should be taken to make sure that moisture from watering plants does not wet carpet so as to prevent fungal growth in carpet. Plants should not be allowed to drop debris into the univents.

5. Building fabric sources of air contaminants: No significant issues.

(Click here to see Brown’s more detailed report from her investigation. You have to scroll through the information from Monday’s Board of Education meeting to get to the report.)

Bonnewell said the district has already addressed many of Brown’s findings. The district hasn’t yet replaced carpeting with tile by sinks in classrooms. Bonnewell said there is some concern that tile could be slippery if it gets wet.

Brown also met previously with the cleaners and buildings and grounds staff to over the materials they use for cleaning the school. She provided an indoor environment training program to staff on April 12 and June 10.

Brown also spoke for an hour during a community meeting on Jan. 31, 2019, outlining numerous chemicals that can be potential causes of breast cancer or endocrine disrupters.

Brown, during that meeting last January, said determining the causes of elevated breast cancer rates is challenging due to the complexity of the disease and many risk factors involved. It also takes a long time for breast tumors to develop, at least a decade after an exposure to a carcinogen.

(Click here to see an Orleans Hub article from Feb. 1, 2019, headlined, “No easy answers in determining if Albion teachers have elevated cancer rate.”)

Return to top