Brett Sobieraski inspired many by running 1,300 miles in 50 days in honor of slain Rochester PD officer

Provided photos: Brett Sobieraski, a Carlton resident, is shown on June 4 entering New York State, the eighth and final state of a 1,300-mile journey on foot.

Orleans Hub each year recognizes outstanding citizens who inspired the community, and worked selflessly for others or to move a difficult project forward.

We posted our list on Jan. 1, recognizing eight people for their efforts in 2023. We should have had nine in the list of extraordinary people.

I forgot about Brett Sobieraski. Brett does mighty feats frequently. In 2015, he swam 32 miles across Lake Ontario for a charity that helps support the surviving spouses and children of fallen soldiers. In 2018, he ran over 175 miles for 50 hours nonstop to raise money and awareness for Special Olympics.

Sobieraski is a retired Rochester police sergeant who lives in Kent. He ran for Orleans County sheriff in 2019, and was edged by Chris Bourke.

In 2023, Sobieraski announced he would be running a marathon every day for 48 days, traveling on foot from Florida and Rochester, going 26.2 miles a day. He would run the marathons to honor the memory of Rochester police officer Anthony “Maz” Mazurkiewicz. He was killed in the line of duty on July 21, 2022. Sobieraski also sought to raise $100,000 for Mazurkiewicz’s family.

That goal was expanded to 50 marathons in 50 days, and Sobieraski would raise $110,000 for the family.

The journey began April 23 in Palatka, Florida and ended June 11 in Rochester. Sobieraski added two marathons near the end. He was allowing two rest days but added more when he was feeling strong and the mission had such a following as he passed through communities and reporters picked up the story.

Tony Mazurkiewicz

One of his extra days was June 10. He ran from his house in Carlton to Albion, and then ran the Albion Strawberry Festival 5K, and then ran back home. He wanted Orleans County to be part of the epic adventure.

The “8 States for Maz” marathon mission was featured by the Today show in a moving feature about the loss of a fallen police officer and the impact on Mazurkiewicz’s family.

Sobieraski said he felt like the community too quickly moved on after the death of Mazurkiewicz. Sobieraski said he wanted the officer’s family to feel love and respect from the community, and know Maz’s life of service is deeply appreciated. The response was far more than Sobieraski could have imagined. In the last 5K of the final marathon, 850 people joined him.

Sobieraski announced the plan to run the marathons on Facebook and posted short videos of each the day’s journey. He started April 23 in Palatka, Florida and finished June 11 in Rochester. When Sobieraski announced the 8 States for Maz, it seemed preposterous to me. Sobieraski is 56 years old. I didn’t see how the mind or body could take such a beating.

But Sobieraski shocked me. He ran fast, too. His times got faster, consistently around 4 hours. He pushed through pain in the feet, shins and hips.

Sobieraski said he met many inspiring people along the way, and their kind words and hospitality kept him energized. He is writing a book about the “8 States for Maz,” which he said was a humanity tour. He wants to share highlights from the journey, and honor the memory of Maz.

“I met so many amazing people,” Sobieraski said. “I saw too many great people and saw great things not to tell the world all about it.”

Brett Sobieraski, right, is joined by his son Zachary on June 11 when Sobieraski ran the last stretch of his 50th marathon and 50 days.

Sobieraski spent much of the trip as a lone solitary figure, running along the side of a road, often carrying an American flag. He took a chance in committing to such a demanding goal, including sections that were up mountains.

In the end, he brought together the community, and honored Mazurkiewicz, a Rochester PD veteran who was shot in the upper body on Bauman Street. He worked in RPD’s Tactical Unit 8. He investigated many of the city’s toughest cases. Sobieraski said Maz was deeply respected in the RPD. Sobieraski picked eight states to run with the eight in recognition of Maz’s tactical unit number.

“We need to pay attention when cops are murdered,” Sobieraski said. “These are our people, and their families are suffering.”

The Orleans Hub is planning an awards celebration for the outstanding citizens in April. Click here to see the other outstanding citizens from 2023.

Each year since the Orleans Hub started in 2013 we’ve honored a group of Outstanding Citizens who stood out the past year for extraordinary contributions to improve the community.

This past year many residents pushed projects through to completion or stepped up as volunteers in response to difficult circumstances. Orleans County is fortunate to have many citizens who give of their time, talent and money, with the main focus to make this a better place to live.

Skate Society president led push for new skate park in Medina

Alex Feig, president of the Medina Skate Society, holds a skateboard during a ground-breaking celebration on June 2 for a new skate park in Medina at Butts Park.

For more than four years Alex Feig organized fundraisers, wrote grant applications and worked with village and community leaders on a dream: a new skate park in Medina.

The $550,000 project became a reality in 2021. The Luke Nelson Skatepark was dedicated on Sept. 4 to a late skateboarder from Middleport whose family also was influential in raising money and building support for the project.

The new skatepark has already proven an attraction, bringing in skateboarders from throughout the area as well as drawing new people to the sport from Medina.

Feig worked with the Village Board and the Medina Skate Society to line up $250,000 in donations from the community, which allowed Medina to maximize a $250,000 matching grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. The Skate Society also secured $42,000 for an Environmental Impact Award grant by The Skatepark Project, formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation. That money goes towards storm water management and bioswales.

The new skate park in Medina has elements for skaters at all skill levels, from beginners to intermediate and more advanced.

The previous skate park was a repurposed tennis court that had cracks and old equipment. The village DPW took out the old asphalt and Spohn Ranch Skateparks built the new setup, which include 2.5-foot to 4-foot quarter pipes, a 2.5-foot mini-ramp/beginner bowl section, a fun box, hubbas (grind ledges) and grind rails, a kidney-shaped bowl begins at 5 feet and waterfalls down to 7 feet. The most prominent feature faces South Main Street is a functional art installation (steep slant) that is 9 feet tall and 24 feet wide.

“On behalf of the village board, I thank you for adding to the quality of life in Medina,” Mayor Mike Sidari said during a ribbon-cutting on Sept. 4.

Kids and some adults have fun at the new skate park on Sept. 1.

Holley teen inspired in courageous battle against leukemia, pushed to finish Eagle Scout project

A group of Boy Scouts and other community members gather on June 5 for the dedication of an Eagle Scout project led by Evan Valentine. He inspired a team of scouts and volunteers to build a veterans’ wall around the war memorial in Holley by the Post Office and the American Legion.

Evan Valentine passed away from leukemia at age 18 on Feb. 21. He fought the disease for 2 ½ years and inspired the Holley community with his optimism and perseverance through it all.

Evan Valentine

He also stayed focused on a life goal: becoming an Eagle Scout. While he was hospitalized in December 2020, he earned the final merit badge for the Eagle.

He also had the plans ready for his community service project to attain Scout’s highest rank. After Evan passed away, his fellow scouts and community members completed the Eagle project: a veterans’ wall around the war memorial in Holley on Route 31 next to the Post Office and the American Legion.

The wall was dedicated on June 5. The stone wall includes a sitting area in front with an inscription, “Forever Remembered – Forever Missed.”

Evan approached former Legion Commander John Pera about the project back in 2018. Evan and his father Neil researched the stones and dimensions to build the veterans’ wall.

“The main part of an Eagle project is the planning and providing direction to the volunteers to make the project a success,” Evan’s friend and fellow scout Andrew Drechsel said during the dedication. “Evan completed all of this. He facilitated this project from the beginning and wanted to be a part of each step. As much as he wanted to be there, the volunteers knew it might not be possible and they worked to get the project completed on Evan’s behalf.”

The wall includes a plaque noting the project was the result of Evan Valentine’s community service requirement to be an Eagle Scout.

Jim McMullen, the Scout executive for the Iroquois Trail Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said he was inspired by Evan’s determination to obtain Scouting’s highest rank, and to take on an important project for the Holley community.

“I think it’s very profound that he wanted this last piece for the community,” McMullen said on June 5. “He is an Eagle Scout and he earned it. He provided the leadership to get the project done.”

Evan was an active student at Holley, playing on the soccer and golf teams, and was enthusiastic member of the music programs. He was confirmed at St. Mary’s Catholic Church and was the altar server of the year in 2018 in the Western New York Diocese.

Business owner brings optimism, can-do attitude to Albion

Natasha Wasuck holds her daughter, Ephy, then 3 ½ when Tinsel opened in June 2019 in Albion. Wasuck and her husband John Hernandez have since opened a wedding and events center in Albion, while pushing through several community projects.

A Spencerport resident has become one of Albion’s biggest promoters through her business and several community projects.

Natasha Wasuck and her husband John Hernandez have transformed a former auto repair shop along the Erie Canal into The Lockstone, a weddings and events center. Part of the building also is an ice cream shop, Tinsel. The Lockstone brought thousands of people to Albion for about 30 weddings in 2021 and is booked for about 50 marriage ceremonies and receptions in 2022.

Wasuck works in real estate and saw lots of promise in the former vacant building right next to the canal. She also sees Albion as a gem, with its historic architecture, small-town feel and role as home to the first Santa Claus School, which was operated by the late Charles W. Howard from 1937 to 1966.

She named the ice cream store as Tinsel to connect to a Christmas theme. She also raised the funds and hired the artist for a Santa-themed mural on the Lake Country Pennysaver building next door to the Lockstone.

She has helped organize events through the Albion Merchants Association, from wine-tastings to Christmas celebrations to welcoming hundreds of cyclists on the canal. She also pushed to start a farmers’ market on Main Street in 2021.

Wasuck took the lead in connecting with other downtown building owners to apply for a Main Street grant through the state. Albion was awarded $311,079 in 2021 through that program that will help 10 of the downtown building owners as well as provide $47,613 for streetscape improvements.

Wasuck also served on a committee that identified ways to better utilize the Erie Canal in Orleans County.

“We see this as an opportunity to ‘create the community you want to be a part of’ here in Albion,” she said in July. “We recognize the importance of the Erie Canal for tourism and appreciate the unique history this village has to offer.”

Justin Suarez works on a mural in 2020 that celebrates Albion’s role as home to the first Santa Claus School. The north stucco wall was transformed into a winter scene, with a prominent reindeer, snowy owl, and a Santa’s outstretched hand in a white glove. The wall acts as a welcome sign, proclaiming Albion as “Home of the original Santa School.”

Medina man creates Bluebird Trail – 168 birds fledged from 45 bird houses in first year

Daniel Rosentreter is pictured at State Street Park in Medina where he installed several new birdhouses.

Daniel Rosentreter enjoys wildlife and believes seeing and hearing birds lifts the spirits of local residents.

However, many of the nesting areas for birds have been removed with dead or decaying trees taken down in the Medina community. Those trees had cavities for birds to make nests and lay eggs.

Rosentreter, 29, worked with the Village Board and the DPW to get permission to install 45 birdhouses as part of a new Medina Memorial Bluebird Trail. The birdhouses proved popular spots for birds to nest this spring and summer.

There were 168 birds fledged from the boxes – 124 house wrens, 29 bluebirds and 15 tree swallows.

Rosentreter recruited volunteers to install the bird houses near the perimeter of Boxwood Cemetery, Butts Park, Gulf Park, Lions Park, Pine Street Park and State Street Park. The bird houses are set up on ¾-inch galvanized electrical pipe.

Rosentreter checked the boxes weekly to see if there was any activity, and he took photos of what he saw with his phone and posted the pictures on the Facebook page for the Medina Memorial Bluebird Trail.

Sometimes he opened the box to see a bird on the nest, getting ready to lay an egg. He has pictures of the eggs, freshly hatched babies and feathered birds ready to fledge and leave the nest.

“We’re helping them to repopulate,” said Rosentreter, a wildlife photographer and customer service representative for a local insurance company. “They will go wherever they can find a house.”

The Medina Village Board also deserves credit for giving residents a chance to move forward with projects, providing encouragement and some assistance in working through bureaucracy and seeing the projects to fruition.

Albion man leads effort to upgrade long-time Little League field at Sandstone Park

Bruce Sidari speaks on June 6 during the season-opener for the Sandstone Park team in the Albion Midget League.

The kids at Sandstone Park in Albion have been playing youth baseball games at the East State Street diamond for more than 60 years. A group of volunteers keep up the field. It’s not a village or town park.

In 2021, the team celebrated a series of upgrades to field. Bruce Sidari is part of three generations of Sidaris who have been involved with the team. His kids and grandkids have aged out of Little League but Sidari remains a fan of the team – and the park, which is located next to his mother’s home.

Sidari rallied the Sandstone alumni and other team backers for $30,000 of improvements to the field. Sandstone is an original member of the Albion Midget League, which started in 1956. Sandstone has fielded a team every year and won the championship this past season.

The league once had 18 teams and is down to four. There are fewer kids locally these days compared to decades ago and baseball has lost some of its popularity.

But Sidari still feels pride for Sandstone Park and wants the team to play in a place they can be proud of.

The upgrades at the field include a new flag pole, overhauled dugouts and a backstop, a new scoreboard, an inscribed stone in the shape of a home plate thanking the founders of the park, and a new outfield fence.

Sidari played on the team beginning in 1957. His son Geoff played for Sandstone and so did grandson Patrick Ricker.

“This a special place to us and always will be,” Sidari told the crowd on June 6. “I’d like to salute everyone who has contributed over these last 65 years. I think this field and this team speaks volumes about the quality of the men and women – all the participants – who supported their efforts.”

Sandstone Park gets ready for its season opener on June 6 with an overhauled home field.

Kathy Blackburn leads many efforts at Medina – planting trees, promoting small businesses, honoring veterans and keeping up historic cemetery

Kathy Blackburn is very busy in Medina as Tree Board chairwoman, small business promoter (here dressed as Snow White during Beggar’s Night), and as the Wreaths Across America coordinator at Boxwood Cemetery.

When Medina village officials need a project done, they often turn to Kathy Blackburn. She heads the Tree Board, the Boxwood Cemetery Commission and heads up the Wreaths Across America effort each December.

She also serves on the Planning Board, is active in the Medina Area Partnership that puts on many of the events and small business promotions, and also serves on the committee trying to land a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative. Medina has just missed out on the grant in recent years. She recently finished a project as chairwoman of a committee for a local waterfront development plan that identifies ways to better utilize the canal and Oak Orchard Creek.

Blackburn, as leader of the Boxwood Commission, has been able to remove dangerous trees and upgrade the historic cemetery on North Gravel Road. She wants to make improvements to the chapel and bring more events to the cemetery, including walking tours.

As Wreaths Across America coordinator, that effort has grown from seven wreaths on veterans’ graves in 2013 to 315 last month. Blackburn said she has commitments for wreaths in December 2022 at all veterans’ graves at Boxwood and also St. Mary’s Cemetery.

Blackburn has connections throughout the community, from Scout troops to teachers to state legislators, and she calls on them for many projects to make Medina better, whether planting new trees, honoring veterans, promoting small businesses or just making the community more fun.

She also heads up an annual Faery Festival in Medina and dresses up in costume for the annual Beggar’s Night in the downtown, when nearly 1,000 kids go door to door at businesses. She is a can-do person who is a key part of Medina’s success.

For more than 40 years, Community Action employee helped people in crisis

Annette Finch stands with Barry Flansburg outside Community Action in Albion on Dec. 17, 2016 when the Albion FFA delivered 33,000 pounds of produce to support local food pantries. Finch forged strong partnerships with many local organizations, bringing food, clothing and other supplies to residents in need.

Annette Finch retired last month after working 44 years on the front lines of helping local people in need work through a crisis.

Annette Finch is shown with a motorcyclist wearing a Santa suit in September 2013 in a motorcycle ride that supported kids served by Community Action.

It was a high-stress job for Finch, director of emergency services for the agency. She managed food drives, toy drives and other events to bring in resources for people served by the agency. Those efforts were often in the news. Finch did a lot behind the scenes in helping people to not have utilities shut off and find emergency housing.

She was a steady presence, a voice of encouragement and master problem solver for people in very challenging predicaments.

In the past year in a half, when her career was winding down, Finch took the reins of managing food distributions in Albion and Holley. She worked with the Office for the Aging to organize the events, where several hundred people showed up early to get boxes of food.

She also ran the annual Red Kettle drive, lining up volunteers to be bell ringers. About $25,000 a year was collected to support people served by Community Action.

Finch built up a big network in her career – from social workers to state legislators – and she used those connections to help people in need.

“She would advocate continuously for children, seniors and families,” said Bonnie Malakie, director of Children’s and Youth Services at Community Action. “Our agency’s mission statement says, ‘To provide services with dignity and respect to help people become self-sufficient.’ Annette epitomizes that goal.”

Major restoration completed at one of Medina’s most prominent buildings

Roger Hungerford in 2021 reopened the Bent’s Opera House after a painstaking restoration over several years.

In recent years construction crews have transformed the Bent’s Opera House from a dilapidated structure into a reborn site with a restaurant on the first floor, hotel rooms on the second floor and an events center on the third level of a building that opened in 1865.

Roger Hungerford speaks during Dec. 9 in the Bent’s Opera House events center. He was recognized by Leadership Orleans as a distinguished leader in the community.

Roger Hungerford led the transformation of the site, which is one of downtown’s most prominent structures.

The site had been vacant for many years and fallen into disrepair. The rehab proved a daunting challenge and construction was slowed due to Covid restrictions in 2020.

A new restaurant opened in June and the rest of the building came alive later in the year. It is a first-class destination for Medina and Orleans County.

“What I expected to be a several million dollar project turned out to be much more,” Hungerford said in an interview in September 2019. “Still, it is on a key corner of my hometown and I knew I could develop multiple businesses within it that would result in it being economically rebirthed.”

Bent’s Hall was built in 1864-65 by well-known sandstone builder and Medina native, Patrick O’Grady. Built at the height of the Civil War and the Lincoln presidency, it is one of the oldest surviving opera houses in the United States.

The Orleans Renaissance Group did some initial stabilization of the site in 2014. The most pressing need was the rapid deterioration of the main beam carrying the entire Main Street façade, most notably the southeast corner of the building. The beam had deteriorated to a point where the corner was visibly shifting and in danger of collapsing.

The non-profit ORG didn’t have the resources to tackle the entire building. Hungerford agreed to take on the project and he said he saw it through completion out of love for his hometown.

Hungerford also is working to turn the former Medina High School into apartments. He also owns the Olde Pickle Factory, which offers premier manufacturing space for Baxter Healthcare, which makes infusion pumps and other medical supplies.

Hungerford has shown he can see the most challenging projects to completion, and do them in a top-notch fashion. The Bent’s Opera House makeover is a gift to the community.

Medina business finds new way to help community celebrate holidays

Takeform created a gratitude display at Rotary Park to help the community reflect on blessings during a time of challenge.

Takeform in Medina has been a big part of Medina’s Parade of Lights and the Olde Tyme Christmas celebration in recent years, twice winning for best float.

Bill Hungerford

In December 2020 it lined Rotary Park in the downtown with typography about the Christmas season.

This past year the company led by Bill Hungerford took a new focus of wanting to help the community reflect on thankfulness, especially during a time of suffering and disruption from Covid-19.

Takeform employees were out in cold on Nov. 27 at a booth on Main Street during Olde Tyme Christmas, asking people what they are thankful for in their lives. The 350 quotes submitted are part of a display that will be up until mid-January. Some of the messages include gratitude for family, organ donors, deer season, chocolate and “This Wonderful, Friendly Town of Medina.”

Hungerford also has taken a company from nine workers in 2003 to about 200 now. Takeform continues to grow, adding full-time employees in engineering, graphic design, sales, customer service, project management, machining, fabrication, engraving and assembly.

Hungerford stresses community service for his employees and strives to take care of its workers, said Darlene Hartway, Chamber of Commerce executive director. The Chamber named Takeform its business of the year in 2021.

Takeform adapted quickly during the Covid-19 pandemic and assisted many businesses with signage and partitions to meet state regulations for keeping businesses open to the public. The company retooled to offer floor markers, protective shields, sanitizer/PPE stations and other products during the pandemic.

Hungerford, who served many years on the United Way board of directors, also has many Takeform employees join in the United Way’s Day of Caring.

Editor’s Note: Bill and Roger Hungerford are brothers. Both have distinguished themselves in business and community service.

Discussions delve into injustices and how to be engaged citizens

Four of the panelists during a June 17 session on racial justice included, from left: Rev. James Renfrew, Kim Remley, Kae Wilbert and Bob Golden. Not pictured is another panelist, Sister Dolores Ann O’Dowd.

Bob Golden, a retired probation director at Orleans County, wanted to help the community move past sound bites and dismissive attitudes towards those with differing opinions.

Bob Golden

Golden, 85, has been an engaged citizen all his life, and hasn’t slowed down as a senior citizen. For many years he organized a jazz festival in Orleans County, and has written many letters to the editor over the years. He is chairman of the Holy Family Social Justice Committee in Albion and helped organize several discussions in 2021 at Hoag Library, events put on by the Community Coalition for Justice.

The group led discussions on voting rights and how new laws in several other states will prevent easy access for voters – particularly voters of color, young voters and the elderly and disabled.

Golden and the group looked at “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander, a book that argues that the war on drugs has created a new racial caste system in America disproportionately punishing Black people and thus disproportionately denying them voting rights.

A program in October drew a crowd of 75 to hear from RPO musician Herb Smith, who shared about discrimination in music industry, going back centuries.

Another program in September focused on injustices at Native American boarding schools from generations ago.

Twice in June the coalition led book discussions on “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo.

Golden is the driving force behind the coalition, which wants the community to have a deeper understanding of different points of view. Golden is a firm believer that knowledge is power, and better appreciating other people and their backgrounds builds a more compassionate community.

Editor’s Note: Orleans Hub hopes to have an awards presentation in the spring. The past two years the event has been cancelled due to Covid restrictions and concerns. The awards have instead been presented individually.

Each year since the Orleans Hub started in 2013 we’ve honored a group of Outstanding Citizens who stood out the past year for extraordinary contributions to improve the community.

Orleans County is fortunate to have many citizens who give of their time, talent and money, without seeking any fanfare. This past year, with the Covid-19 pandemic, many residents pushed projects through to completion or stepped up as volunteers in response to difficult circumstances.

Medina woman makes Dog Park a reality

Photo by Tom Rivers: Alaina Zapf is shown with her dogs Batman (left) and Bailey in September at Medina’s new Dog Park on North Gravel Road.

After three years of planning and fundraising, the Medina  Dog Park opened this summer at 260 North Gravel Road, next to the former composting plant.

Alaina Zapf, president of the Friends of the Medina Dog Park, led the group in raising $20,000 for the park.

Zapf wanted a place for dogs to socialize and get some exercise near the village. The dog park is a first in Orleans County. People have inquired about it from Rochester to Buffalo. Zapf is thrilled to see the response to the park, where the dogs can roam leash-free.

“So many dogs do not have adequate room to run around,” she said. “Here they can get all that energy out. They are happier and less aggressive.”

The group expects to add a small dog enclosure, more equipment in the dog agility section and a water station.

Zapf, 30, convinced the Village Board to back the project. She organized many fundraisers, including a dunk booth with several community leaders, Dog Park frisbees and other merchandize. Many local residents generously donated to the project as well.

Zapf often brings her two dogs, Batman and Bailey, to the park. When she lived in North Carolina, she would drive 15 minutes to take the two lab mixes to a dog park. When she moved to Medina, she wanted a place for her dogs to get exercise and socialize with other dogs.

Albion mom coordinates ‘Adopt-A-Senior’ program for 136 students after school year disrupted

Sara Mathes holds a T-shirt – “Senior Skip Day Champions – Class of 2020.” The shirts were distributed on May 17. Mathes coordinated a steady showering of gifts for Albion High School seniors at the end of their senior year after in-person classes and events were cancelled in mid-March.

Sara Mathes felt bad for the Albion High School seniors, including her daughter Chloe, when in-person classes were cancelled in mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There weren’t any spring sports, no prom or senior trip, and no graduation ceremony with the class together in front of 2,000 people in the gym.

Mathes wanted the seniors to feel some love from the community during a time of uncertainty and disconnection. She saw how the Ken-Ton school district adopted seniors, with residents committing to buying a senior in the class a gift. Mathes thought Albion might do the same for the 136 members of the senior class.

But she was nervous there might not be enough people willing to adopt a senior, given the difficult economic times. She floated the idea on a Facebook group for seniors and within an hour and half had 136 people committed to adopting a senior. By the end of the day she had two people or families for every senior.

Provided photo: Mekhi Rivera has a big smile when he received a gift from an adoptive community member.

She created an Excel spreadsheet to match names with seniors after getting a list of each student’s hobbies, favorite snacks and other interests. She passed the list on to the adoptive community members.

Mathes assigned the students randomly to the people in the community. From April through graduation in late June, students received gift baskets and boxes at their homes. They were very appreciative.

Mathes also coordinated getting a yard sign for each senior that was paid for by donations. The students also received T-shrts that said “Senior Skip Day Champions – Class of 2020.” That effort was coordinated by Lynn DiBella, a retired aide in the pre-kindergarten program. Angie Wolfe, a kindergarten teacher, helped with the T-shirt distribution.

Mathes was pleased to see hundreds of community members support the Class of 2020.

“It was definitely worth it,” she said. “It was to make them feel special and to celebrate them in a different way because we couldn’t celebrate them all together in the gym.”

Mathes was so thankful the community stepped forward and showed love for the seniors, including students they didn’t necessarily know.

“The seniors were able to see that Albion comes together and helps each other,” Mathes said.

Mekhi Rivera, one of the Albion seniors, appreciated the gifts from the adoptive community members.

“I am so thankful to be a part of this adopt a senior thing we are doing!” Rivera posted on the Adopt A Senior Facebook page. “Thank you for doing this and ever body else that is doing this. We are all thankful for the time and money you have put into us it means a lot.”

Mathes switched to coordinating another effort in December. Her mother-in-law, Brenda Winters, lived in one of three houses badly damaged by a fire on West State Street. Local residents again were quick to volunteer to help.

“The community has shown such an outpouring,” Mathes said. “It’s been amazing and definitely helped her get through this.”

Developer completes massive transformation of former Holley High School

The transformed former Holley High School has new columns, windows, paint and a major overhaul inside for 41 apartments and the offices for the village.

For years, even decades, the Holley community has longed to see one of its most prominent buildings get an overhaul. The former Holley High School closed in 1975. A business, Liftec Manufacturing, used part of the space but went bankrupt in the mid-1990s. The building was left vacant, and often was the target of vandals for more than 20 years.

Nelson Leenhouts, chairman of Home Leasing and Home Leasing Construction, celebrates the $17 million transformation of the former Holley High School during a ribbon-cutting in November. The construction project took two years, with the building turned into 41 apartments and the Holley village offices.

It pained the Holley community to see its gradual demise – the many broken windows, peeling paint, rotted columns and a fate that seemed destined for the wrecking ball.

Holley village officials reached out to developers over the years, pitching the site for apartments and other uses. But a deal never came together – until 2018.

Home Leasing and Home Leasing Construction in Rochester committed to transforming the building into 41 apartments for seniors and the Holley village offices, with the auditorium space being a meeting room.

Home Leasing would use tax credits for investing in a historic structure to help make the project work financially. The village also committed to being a tenant which helped to seal the deal.

Nelson Leenhouts, leader of the company, has tackled ambitious projects before in buildings that have faced years of neglect. He has 50 years in the construction business. He said he’s never seen a community rally behind a project like they did in Holley.

Local, state and federal officials, including U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, all were critical to the $17 million project’s success. Leenhouts also praised an enthusiastic community for steady encouragement along the way.

Leenhouts deserves credit for tackling the project in a small village, and seeing the it through to completion when the Covid-19 pandemic slowed construction work.

Besides improving housing options locally, the building provides handicapped accessible office space and a meeting room for the village.

But it also is a major morale boost for the Holley community, and puts a shining success on the eastside on one of the main gateways into Orleans County. It is part of major improvements in Holley, which is also tackling water and sewer upgrades and new sidewalks in parts of the village. The restored school building sends a message that Holley is on the upswing and wouldn’t back down from a major challenge – reviving a school building that had fallen into significant neglect.

The building, shown here in Dec. 11, 2018, just before the construction work started, had steadily fallen into disrepair and was a blight at Holley’s main intersection, routes 31 and 237.

Iroquois Job Corps volunteered at food distributions throughout the county

Julie Horton, left, and Hannah Donley of Iroquois Job Corps in Medina were among the volunteers on Sept. 11 during a food distribution in Albion at the parking lot of the Main Street Thrift Store. Job Corps employees volunteered over several months at distributions in Albion, Clarendon, Holley and Medina. The events would have been a challenge without them.

For many Fridays from April through mid-December, there were hundreds of boxes of food available in the mornings. Those food distributions have been in Albion, Clarendon, Holley and Medina. A long line of cars were start to form around 6 a.m. for distributions that were advertised to begin at 9 o’clock.

Krista Fiegel, an employee at the Iroquois Job Corps, rips the plastic off a pallet of boxes of food during a food distribution on Dec. 11 in Albion. She was one of four Job Corps employees who helped that chilly morning.

It takes at least a dozen volunteers to make the events go smoothly. There were many volunteers at the distributions in April and May, when many non-essential businesses were shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As the restrictions eased on businesses, the volunteers were harder to come by to carry 30- to 40-pound boxes of food to trunks of cars or to set on the truck beds of pickups. They volunteers needed to be masked up – whether in stifling heat or bitter cold.

Staff from the Iroquois Job Corps proved critical to the food distributions later in the summer, throughout the fall and in December. There were often at least six Job Corps staff at the distributions and they came to ones at Holley and Clarendon – which was on the other side of the county from the Job Corps Center in Shelby. They went to ones in Albion and Medina, too, and they tackled the tasks with zest.

Some events there would be extra produce and it would need to be sorted and put into boxes. It wasn’t pre-boxed like the meat and dairy boxes. The Job Corps personnel worked hard, without complaints and were well organized.

Without them, the organizers say the food distributions would have been difficult to pull off, especially later in the year.

Gaines historical buff helps relocate 1930 log cabin to cobblestone schoolhouse

Rick Ebbs is shown in September with a log cabin from 1930. He orchestrated moving the cabin from an Albion backyard to behind the Gaines Basin cobblestone schoolhouse.

When a log cabin from 1930 was settled onto a foundation behind a cobblestone schoolhouse on Oct. 1, Rick Ebbs let out a sigh of relief.

“I was worried it would fall apart,” he said after the cabin made a 4-mile journey on a flatbed trailer.

Ebbs, a local carpenter and historical enthusiast, coordinated moving the log cabin from an Albion backyard to the behind the school, which is owned by the Orleans County Historical Association.

The log cabin was built by Boy Scouts and one of their dads in 1930. Ralph and Patricia Moorhouse agreed to donate the log cabin after being approached by the Historical Association, which wanted to display and preserve the authentic cabin.

Mrs. Moorhouse’s father, Faris Benton, was one of the scouts who built the cabin with help from his father, Fred Benton. The scouts dragged logs from the nearby woods. They built a fireplace on the inside and outside. That fireplace deteriorated over time but will be reset and repaired in its new location.

Rick Ebbs reached out to Keeler Construction, which moved the long cabin on Oct. 1 from Linwood Avenue to the former schoolhouse on Gaines Basin Road. Ebbs also was able to line up help from the Town of Gaines Highway Department.

Ebbs had the delicate task of bracing the inside of the cabin, to give it structural support when it was picked up with a fork lift and set on the flatbed. He put plywood sheets inside the cabin with cross-bracing to help keep the cabin together for the trip.

The 10-by-14-foot log cabin had withered in recent years, partly due to woodchucks. They damaged the concrete floor causing it to heave.

The reinforcements from Ebbs worked just fine. The cabin didn’t buckle when it was picked up with fork lifts, or when it headed down the highway, or when it was set down on a concrete pad with a new wooden base for the cabin.

It’s in a more visible site near the Erie Canal next to the historic Gaines Basin No. 2 cobblestone school, which was built in 1832. It is the oldest documented cobblestone building in the area.

The Historical Association thought the log cabin, which was built by children, was a good fit next to a school.

Ebbs was impressed with how well the scouts built the cabin. Despite some deterioration and rot, the structure has held up remarkably well for nearly a century. Thanks to his efforts, it should stand for a long time to come for the community to enjoy.

Church volunteer served others despite fight with cancer

Angela English carries a sack of cabbages for the food pantry at the Lord’s House on Dec. 12, 2015. This was at Community Action in Albion when the Albion FFA unloaded produce donated from local farms. English took on many roles to help the church serve the community.

Angela English was a bright light in the Albion community, coordinating a Toys for Tots program, keeping a food pantry stocked at the Lord’s House (a church run by her parents), and offering enthusiastic support at her kids’ sporting events, cheering for them and their teammates.

English was 37 when she passed away on Oct. 19. She was diagnosed with cancer on Dec. 27, 2019, and started chemotherapy last January.

Her son Omar is 17 and graduated in 2020. Her daughter Olivia is 12 and in the sixth grade. Angela was in the stands at her son’s soccer games and her daughter’s basketball contests.

Angela served as missionary at the Lord’s House, a church led by her father, Eddie English, and mother, Rose. Mr. English is the church pastor. His daughter was a praise leader, pastor’s aide, sound system technician, lyrical dancer and the Toys for Tots coordinator.

The church has run the Toys for Tots since 2008, serving about 40 families. In some years, they partner with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, which delivers the toys to the church.

Eddie and Rose English have been leading the Lord’s House since it started 15 years ago in downtown Albion. They renovated a former United Methodist church in Waterport, after acquiring the site at an auction in 2011. The building had been vacant for 20 years.

Angela English has been a big part of the journey and the Lord’s House mission to reach out to the community.

Members of The Lord’s House in Waterport sold sweet potato pie and many other baked goods at the Albion Save-A-Lot in this photo on Sept. 29, 2018. Pictured from left include Angela English, Brenda Winters, First Lady Rose English and Nadine Johnson.

K of C leader gives veterans a fitting tribute on Courthouse Square

Greg Dugan, the grand knight for the Knights of Columbus in Albion, speaks to a crowd of about 50 at a dedication ceremony on Nov. 11 for a new memorial for veterans.

Greg Dugan, an Albion barber since 1991, has cut hair on thousands of heads over the years. Many of his most loyal customers have been veterans.

Once they are in the barber chair, Dugan said many veterans open up and share about their experiences, including in combat.

He mentioned the late Albion Town Justice Bill Larimer, who was a POW in World War II. He has cut the hair for other World War II veterans and people who served in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Members of the Honor Guard were present on Nov. 11 for a dedication service for a new veterans’ memorial at Courthouse Square. The Knights of Columbus, Albion Council #1330, took the lead in the project.

“I’ve had contact with so many veterans, young and old, since 1991,” Dugan said before a dedication ceremony on Nov. 11 for a new veterans’ memorial on the Courthouse Square.

Dugan and the Knights of Columbus led the project, which took a little longer due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

There is a new flagpole, granite benches and a headstone for the monument. The headstone includes the inscription: “Dedicated to our courageous brothers and sisters of this community who served our country in times of peace and war. We thank them for their service. And especially to those who gave their lives in that service. May God grant them eternal rest.”

The stone includes the insignias of the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Army National Guard and Merchant Marine.

The new flag pole includes a flag that recognizes the different branches of the military.

The memorial includes two granite benches. One bench has an inscription, “To Commemorate.” The other has the words, “To Heal.”

Dugan and the Knights of Columbus pushed the project to completion and put a fitting tribute for veterans in one of the community’s highest profile locations.

Dugan has been an active leader for the K of C in recent years, leading the group in many parades around the county and organizing a “Blue Mass” at Holy Family Parish in Albion to honor and pray for law enforcement officers, corrections officers, coroners, firefighters and medics.

Dugan said he has deep appreciation for first responders after they saved his life when he was critically injured in a motorcycle accident on Aug. 6, 2012. In that accident Dugan broke both knees, both wrists, separated his pelvis, fractured his left hip, and lacerated his left leg.

That accident has turned him into a very strong advocate for first responders and veterans in the community.

“Thank you for taking the time to remember our veterans,” Dugan told the crowd during the dedication on Nov. 11. “They never gave up on us and we can’t give up on them.”

Retired museum director adds another asset to historic Childs hamlet

Bill Lattin welcomes visitors to the Vagg House on Nov. 7 following the Cobblestone Museum’s annual meeting. Lattin led the transformation of the Vagg House, at the corner of routes 98 and 104, into a home decorated in the 1920s and ’30s. The event on Nov. 7 was the first public event at the Vagg House since it was redone and added to the museum’s campus.

Bill Lattin has been a caretaker and storyteller of Orleans County history for the past 50 years. He is officially retired as Orleans County historian and Cobblestone Museum director. He served in those roles for 35 years. (He retired from the museum in 2010 and from the county on Dec. 31, 2014.)

But he remains an active force in preserving important local sites and documenting history. In 2020, he helped relocate a log cabin built by Boy Scouts in 1930. It went from an Albion backyard to behind a cobblestone school built in 1832 on Gaines Basin Road. Lattin has been a key worker on saving that school in recent years. He has handyman skills and deep connections to rally the community to a cause. That school and the log cabin are recent examples. But that mission started long ago. He was a key leader of the Save the Tower committee that raised $30,000 in the mid-1970s for the Civil War Memorial at Mount Albion Cemetery. Lattin has given new life to many local structures.

Bill Lattin shows Doreen and Gary Wilson a 1930s food mixer and a green enamel hot plate on Nov. 7 during the first public tour of the Vagg House. There is also a Kalamazoo kitchen range that was made in 1935. The Vaggs used it for heat as well as cooking. Museum Trustee Maarit Vaga is at right. Visitors will notice a big difference between the 1920s-era  Vagg house and the cobblestone Ward house, furnished in the style of the 1880s.

He doesn’t seem to be slowing down. At the Cobblestone Museum this past summer, Lattin and his grandson Freeman painted several of the buildings on the Route 98 campus.

The museum acquired the Vagg House at the corner of routes 98 and 104, the main intersection in Gaines and the Childs hamlet. The site was most recently owned by Lattin’s partner, the late René Schasel.

Lattin led the efforts to curate the former home of blacksmith Joe Vagg and his wife Nellie, who was active in the temperance movement. The house includes many of Schasel’s antiques, with many of those items given to the museum in Schasel’s memory through his estate, which Lattin is co-executor.

Lattin also was able to find additional antiques to decorate the house in a 1920s, ’30s theme, with many of the early electrical appliances.

(Lattin even built an outhouse for the site to help it match the others on the museum’s grounds.)

The Vagg House is a new “jewel” in the Cobblestone Museum’s crown, said Doug Farley, the museum’s current director. The house can be used for small gatherings of less than 30 people, such as meetings, rehearsal parties or teas, and other museum events.

Lattin continues to be a mentor and strong supporter of Farley and other historians in the community.

Medina couple pushes modern public art murals to enliven alleyway

Chris Piontkowski of Cheektowaga paints a floral-themed mural on a cinder block building on Proctor Place, a one-lane street that starts near Rudy’s Diner. He is shown on Nov. 28. This is one of four large-scale murals added to Medina last year.

Tim Hungerford and Teresa Misiti, a married couple in Medina, are pleased to see so much investment in the Medina community in recent years, especially in the downtown business district.

Tim Hungerford and Teresa Misiti met with the Village Planning Board on Aug. 4 to discuss regulations for public art.

The two are among those investors, doing a major renovation of their loft apartment in the downtown and at the restaurant they own, Mile 303.

Hungerford and Misiti believed there was a missing piece in the community: dramatic modern art. They also felt there were some rough spots in the downtown, mainly back walls off Main Street.

They are part of the Form Foundation, a non-profit looking to bring public art to Medina. They coordinated having four large-scale murals off Proctor Place, a one-lane street a block from Main Street. Hungerford and Misiti met with village officials and found a way to accommodate public art in a historic district.

The projects have created another attraction in Medina without altering the historic structures. The murals are painted on cinder block walls. Hungerford and Misiti pushed to get the murals done during the pandemic, wanting to bring some positive energy during a difficult year.

They plan to replace the murals every two years and hope to add more locations.

Chuck Tingley shows a traveler with a message, “Fake It Til You Make It!” with this mural on the back of 410 Main St., which faces Proctor Place, a one-way street a block from Main Street.

Julian Montague, an artist from Buffalo, painted two walls of a building at the corner of Pearl Street and West Avenue. The walls are 14 feet high and 80 feet long. Montague paints geometric patterns with eyes and mouths to give the mural some added personality. “It’s playful and a little weird,” he said.

The “Canalligator” mural was the first of four in Medina in 2020. Artist Tim Meyers painted the “Canalligator” that stretches more than 50 feet on a cinder block building on Proctor Place.

The Orleans Hub usually has an awards program for the honorees. It is unlikely a ceremony with all the attendees and their family and friends will be allowed soon due to Covid-19 restrictions and concerns. We’ll work out a way to present them with their awards.

Each year since the Orleans Hub started in 2013 we’ve honored a group of Outstanding Citizens who stood out the past year for extraordinary contributions to improve the community.

Orleans County is fortunate to have so many citizens who give of themselves without seeking any fanfare.

4 Boy Scouts lead effort to build war memorial in Kendall

Photo by Tom Rivers: These four Boy Scouts – Jayden Pieniaszek, Noah Rath, Brian Shaw and Ryan Barrett – join local veterans for a group photo on Sept. 29 at the new Kendall War Memorial, which the Scouts worked on together for their Eagle Scout community service project.

Four Boy Scouts in Kendall teamed to build a war memorial in Kendall. Each Scout took a different phase of the memorial as part of their Eagle Scout service project.

The memorial was dedicated on Sept. 29 with about 500 people attending the ceremony. It culminated a year-long effort by the four scouts – Jayden Pieniaszek, Noah Rath, Brian Shaw and Ryan Barrett.

The Scouts first presented the plan to the Kendall Board of Education in the fall on 2018. The plan quickly gained momentum in the community and was complete within a year of that initial meeting.

The Scouts thank the community for supporting the project. The Scouts include, from left: Jayden Pieniaszek, Noah Rath, Brian Shaw and Ryan Barrett.

Ryan Barrett led the first phase, which included putting in the foundation for the wall, a stone memorial and three flag poles. Two of the poles are 30 feet high and one for the American flag is 35 feet.

Jayden Pieniaszek led the second phase which includes construction of the brick wall, which is 39 feet long, 3 ½ feet wide and 4 feet tall.

Noah Rath headed up phase three which includes the medallions for each five branches of military. Rath also had the electricity set up so the memorial and sidewalk can be lighted up at night.

Brian Shaw coordinated phase four which includes final grading and planting of cedar trees behind the memorial, which provides a buffer for the neighbors and also enhances the site. Shaw also led the work for the plaques on the memorial for the different wars where Kendall soldiers served.

The four scouts were praised for their work in creating an enduring memorial that is a new focal point for the town.

“This remarkable memorial would not be possible without these four Eagle Scouts,” Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata said during the dedication service on Sept. 29. “Because of them we can, from today and going forward, have a lasting tribute to all those who have served. From the soldiers that shivered and starved through the winter at Valley Forge to the doughboys crouched in the muddy trenches of France to the platoon who patrolled the hazy jungles of Vietnam and the young man or woman patrolling the mountains of Afghanistan, we remember and never forget them.”

Kendall Scoutmaster proves excellent motivator for scouts

Photo by Tom Rivers: Ken Spohr, Kendall Scoutmaster, stands next to State Sen. Robert Ortt and salutes while the flags were raised during a Sept. 29 dedication for a war memorial. The project was led by four scouts in Troop 94 where Spohr is the scoutmaster.

It was an ambitious project: build a war memorial for the Kendall community and coordinate different phases of the project by four Boy Scouts.

Ken Spohr was up for the challenge. He offered guidance to the Scouts, but let them lead each phase, their community service project to become an Eagle Scout.

Ryan Barrett, Jayden Pieniazek, Noah Rath and Brian Shaw were able to turn an idea into a completed war memorial within a year. The project was dedicated on Sept. 29 with about 500 people at the ceremony.

“Ken is definitely one of the most outstanding people I’ve met,” said Ryan Barrett, one of the Scouts who worked on the project. “He is the anchor of our group. He is the light that shines on our path.”

Spohr tracked the donations and expenses for the project. He drove the Scouts to community presentations, as well as one in Albany at the State Capital.

He also has many connections with businesses and organizations, and he was able to point the scouts to people who could handle the masonry, and other work with the memorial.

When the four Scouts presented their plan for an ambitious memorial, Spohr didn’t flinch. He was a calm influence and constant encourager.

“His commitment to this project and all of us boys is incredible,” Barrett said. “He has been the unspoken hero behind this project.”

Spohr also motivates the troop for other community service projects, including a food drive for the local food pantry. He also recently agreed to take many pies in the face during a fundraiser for the troop.

“He does it all to ensure the future of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in Kendall is secure,” Barrett said.

Bellavia, after receiving Medal of Honor, becomes ambassador for Orleans County

Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead: President Donald J. Trump presents the Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Bellavia on June 25 in the East Room of the White House. Bellavia is a Lyndonville graduate and continues to live locally. He is the first living veteran from the Iraq War to receive the nation’s highest military medal.

David Bellavia received the Medal of Honor on June 25 in a ceremony at the White House. He is the first living veteran of the Iraq War to receive the nation’s highest military honor.

Bellavia, 44, has been in high demand since then, traveling the country to give speeches about his service, and his acts of valor on Nov. 10, 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq. That day, his 29^th birthday, he led an infantry squad clearing houses of insurgents, saving the lives of the members of his unit.

Bellavia praised his experience in the Army. He encourages people to enlist and serve. He said military service brings together people of varying backgrounds, beliefs and skin color, uniting them in a common goal.

In his message, Bellavia speaks of his upbringing in Lyndonville, where he played on the soccer, basketball and baseball teams, and performed in the school musicals and with the band. He has become an ambassador for the county and small-town America.

David Bellavia shows the Medal of Honor to Lyndonville fourth-grader Christopher Atkins. Elementary students lined the hallway for Bellavia when he visited the school on Nov. 21.

Bellavia also has given several speeches in Orleans County since October, receiving a standing ovation each time. He spoke at his alma mater on Nov. 21 and told the student body they live in the greatest small town in the world, a place where people are engaged in service to others.

At Lyndonville, they can be in multiple school activities – several sports, the band, the musical and more. They know their classmates and the kids in the grade levels above them and below them.

It’s a great place, but Bellavia didn’t realize that when he was in school.

“I spent my childhood just wanting to get out of here,” he told the students. “You get out in the world and you realize I have the best hometown in the world.”

Bellavia, in his local appearances, gives everyone a chance to hold the Medal of Honor. He said he feels like the community raised him and shaped him.

Bellavia enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantryman in 1999 and worked about two years in recruiting for the Army while his infant son received medical care in Syracuse. Bellavia, during a June 11 news conference, said he appreciated that compassion from the Army.

In 2001, Bellavia had a decision to make. He could change his military occupational specialty, submit a hardship discharge, or remain as an infantryman. He chose to stay in the infantry after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Bellavia’s unit in 2003 deployed to Kosovo for nine months and then was sent directly to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. From February 2004 to February 2005, Bellavia and the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, were stationed in the Diyala Province along the Iranian border. His task force took part in the battles for Najaf, Mosul, Baqubah, Muqdadiyah and Fallujah.

“I’m forever grateful to the United States Army,” Bellavia told reporters at the Army Recruiting Station in Cheektowaga. “They gave my life purpose and direction. They gave my life meaning and value. I’m a better human being because of my service and I think most of the people I served with can tell you the same thing. I encourage any man or woman that wants to become an individual in their community to serve the United States military.”

Ridgeway woman led effort for banners of Hometown Heroes in Medina

Photo by Tom Rivers: Mary Woodruff, organizer of the Hometown Heroes, is shown on May 19 with a banner of her brother-in-law, the late John McElwain, a local electrician who was very active in the Medina Lions Club. The YMCA hosted a reception for families and sponsors of the banners to see them before they were displayed in downtown Medina before Memorial Day.

Downtown Medina has been enjoying a renaissance with new businesses and millions of dollars of private investment in recent years. In 2019, the downtown became a display for Hometown Heroes, with 38 banners of soldiers from the community, going back to World War II.

Mary Woodruff saw a similar effort in the Alfred community. Her father-in-law, Burr Woodruff, was one of the soldiers honored in Alfred. She thought the display was reminder of the sacrifices of soldiers and families from Small Town, America.

“I want people to feel patriotism and restore pride in the USA,” she said. “When you see a vet, say thank you.”

She did the research and pushed for Hometown Heroes’ banners in Medina. She convinced the Medina Village Board to back the effort, and lined up support from Ridgeway and Shelby town offices as well.

She had a short window to get the local approvals, and then send the information and photos to the company that made the banners. In all, there were 38 banners the first year. Woodruff is planning to add more in the following years.

“I was extremely pleased,” she said when saw the banners after they were delivered in May. “I had goosebumps.”

The banners are $200 and the families or sponsors can keep them after about three years. Before they were displayed in the downtown on village-owned poles, there was a reception with all the banners in the Orleans County YMCA, which is a former armory where many of the local soldiers trained.

Many of the families were moved to tears seeing the faces of grandfathers, fathers, brothers and friends on the double-sided banners that are 5 feet tall by 2 ½ feet wide.

Woodruff, a retired social studies and math teacher at Roy-Hart, also is a member of the Ridgeway Town Board.

Joe Cardone, the Orleans County district attorney, thanked Woodruff for organizing the banners of the Hometown Heroes. He attended the reception on May 19. His father, the late Vincent Cardone, served in the Army during World War II and is on one of the banners.

“It’s not every day you can look into our past and see the faces of the people who contributed so much to our community and country,” Cardone said.

Clarendon firefighter committed to training new generation in fire service

Photo by Tom Rivers: Clarendon Assistant Fire Chief Bob Freida is one of the mentors of a First Responders Youth Group that is a combined effort of the Clarendon, Holley and Fancher-Hulberton-Murray fire departments. Freida is pictured with three of the youth group members, from left: Nate Smith, 13; Teanna Church, 13; and Homer Mathes, 12.

Bob Freida has been involved in the volunteer fire service since he was 16, starting as an explorer with the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Company. Freida, now 50, worries about the declining number of firefighters and the increasing demands on those volunteers, particularly with EMS calls at all hours of the day.

Seven years ago when he was fire chief at Clarendon, he teamed with the leaders of the Holley and Fancher-Hulberton-Murray fire departments to start a First Responders Youth Group where students would learn some of the basics of firefighting and could be connected to their local fire department. The program is run as an activity through the Holley Central School.

Freida has stayed an active mentor in the program, which meets every Monday evening. Some of the youth group members have become adults and joined their local departments. One member, Dalton Major, is in college and wants to become a career firefighter.

The youth group has maintained a steady core of about 10 to 15 students. Freida has been a constant, a dependable mentor for the group. He teaches them teamwork and some firefighting skills. He also will join the students in parades and on trips, including one to New York City to see the Sept. 11 memorial site.

“I love doing it,” Freida said about his role with the youth group. “I want them to be kids and have fun. At the same time there needs to be some professionalism.” Freida has struck the right balance. The past two Mondays the students were on break and there wasn’t a schedule youth group meeting. But the students insisted on a meeting, and Freida obliged.

Bob Freida and the First Responders Youth Group participated in four local parades during the holiday season, including this one from Medina. Freida said he tries to give the students interesting activities, including a trip to New York City to see the memorial from the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Freida also was among the fire officials who wanted to find a solution to improved response time to fire calls during the day on Wednesdays, which tend to have the highest call volume during the week. Nearly every Wednesday this year, Freida has been at either the Holley or Clarendon fire hall from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., ready to jump in a fire truck for a call.

He also led a committee the past 2 ½ years to upgrade two Clarendon fire trucks. A new squad truck arrived in November. That will be Clarendon’s primary EMS vehicle. A new combination pumper-rescue truck is due to be delivered in January.

Freida ran for town highway superintendent in November. He didn’t win. The next day after the election he was back at the fire hall to volunteer for a 10-hour shift. He hasn’t let the election defeat sap his enthusiasm for community service.

Dave Smith of Holley has a son, Nate Smith, in the youth group. Dave, a past fire chief at FHM, said Freida is committed to developing a new generation of firefighters and maintaining quality service to the residents.

“He puts a lot of time and sweat into this building and these kids,” Smith said Monday during the youth group meeting at the Clarendon fire hall. “We couldn’t do it without him.”

A generous gift ensures Lyndonville veterans will forever have wreaths on graves during holidays

Photo by Tom Rivers: Steve Goodrich, commander of the American Legion in Lyndonville, and Anna Stelianou are pictured earlier this month at the grave of her parents, Ary and Konstantina, who emigrated to Lyndonville from Greece after WWI. Anna Stelianou provided the funding for an endowment to pay for about 400 wreaths to be set at veterans’ graves each year in Lyndonville.

Anna Stelianou wanted to do something to honor veterans – every one of them in Lyndonville. She read about the Wreaths Across America program. Medina has been doing that at Boxwood Cemetery since 2013. Each year, a wreath at $15 each can be set on a veteran’s grave in December.

Stelianou liked the idea. She saw Steve Goodrich, commander of the American Legion in Lyndonville, while they were each pumping gas. She told him about an idea. She wanted to purchase a wreath for every veteran’s grave in Lyndonville. That adds up to 402.

Goodrich said that would be a nice tribute. He thought Stelianou was making a one- or two-year commitment. The annual cost is about $6,000.

Stelianou said she wanted to do it – forever. Goodrich and Stelianou then met with the Lyndonville Area Foundation and she gave the funding. The anticipated interest on the donation is enough for an endowment to pay for the wreaths for long into the future.

Stelianou said she is doing it in appreciation for the community’s kindness to her parents, Ary and Konstantina. They emigrated to Lyndonville from Greece after WWI. Stelianou also donated the money for the program in honor of her five brothers who served in WWII and the Korean War.

Stelianou said the community looked after her parents and their children, especially during the lean years of the Great Depression. Farmers in particular made sure the family had enough food to eat.

The Stelianou couple ran a small store on Main Street serving lunches, candy and ice cream. Anna Stelianou said the Lyndonville community welcomed her parents and helped them achieve the American dream.

With the funding available for the wreaths, Goodrich worked with Wreaths Across America to arrange for the delivery and the placement of the wreaths. He had identified all the veterans’ graves about five years ago. At the time, he was researching the veterans’ graves for when the Legion organizes placing American flags on each veteran’s grave just before Memorial Day. He was prompted to research the grave sites after a discussion with Peter Stelianou, Anna’s brother and a long-time Legion member. Peter served in World War II. He was 94 when he passed away on Nov. 8, 2018.

Orleans Hub wants to recognize both Anna Stelianou and Steve Goodrich for making the wreaths possible in Lyndonville.

Gooodrich and Stelianou are both pleased to see the wreaths at six Lyndonville cemeteries. They stand out in the snow, and are a physical reminder that a local resident served the country in the military.

“For me, every single one of them is hallowed ground,” Goodrich said about the 402 veterans at Lyndonville cemeteries. “People like to put down the small towns, but this is the history of our country. They went out and did amazing things. You can see it right here.”

Albion man promotes participation in the great outdoors

Provided photo: Dan Conrad is pictured with his daughter Ryleigh. Conrad started DC Outdoors, and has helped connect many community members to fishing and hunting.

Dan Conrad said he just wanted to create a forum where hunters and fishermen could encourage each other and share some tips. He started a Facebook page, DC Outdoors in October 2018.

That group quickly gained members and created a community of people who enjoy the outdoors. It now has 2,500 members and counting.

“I just wanted a nice family-oriented page,” Conrad said. “I thought it could be a place where people could post pictures of deer and fish.”

Conrad noticed the strong camaraderie in the group and decided the members could do more than post on social media. DC Outdoors on July 13 held its first fishing derby, with 60 kids participating. DC Outdoors members served as mentors and provided the equipment. Charlie Miller and Joe Rotoli were the leaders of that effort, Conrad said. DC Outdoors also lined up prizes and food that were donated by businesses and the community.

During the fishing derby, Conrad and the DC Outdoors members noticed a lot of trash at Point Breeze. So the group had a trash pickup in August, filling 8 garbage bags.

Conrad and the group have also collected Christmas presents that were given out by the Hands 4 Hope ministry, where Conrad is a volunteer. Conrad even wore the Santa suit to help collect the presents as part of a fundraiser at Oak Orchard Lanes in Albion.

Conrad, 37, said he enjoys community service. This year he joined the Albion Lions Club and the Hoag Library board of trustees. He also volunteers at the Warrior House in Shelby, taking veterans out hunting. He also started a new job as a UPS driver.

“It makes me feel good,” he said about volunteering.

Benefactor pays to have World War I cannon restored at Medina park

Photos by Tom Rivers: A World War I cannon is unloaded on May 1 after being restored over 14 months at Altoona, Pa.

The World War I cannon at State Street Park was rotting away. The paint flaking off and the metal corroding.

Local veterans and community members were alarmed about the deteriorating condition. They thought it sent a disrespectful message to veterans, to have a prominent display in shabby condition.

George Bidleman

But it would be a big price tag to restore the cannon – $40,000. Local veterans in 2018 began an appeal. They expected it would take years to come up with the money.

They went to George Bidleman, owner of Orleans Ford in Medina. They hoped for a contribution. Bidleman thanked the group for their service to their country, and for their continued involvement in the community with the American Legion and VFW.

Bidleman told them he would pay the entire restoration cost. They didn’t need to do a collection effort that would take years.

The cannon was hauled away in March 2018 and returned to Medina on May 1, in time to be rededicated for Memorial Day. Seed Artillery Reproduction and Restoration, in Altoona, Pa. The company completely stripped and disassembled the cannon, and needed to fabricate some new parts. The big 15,000-pound gun was reassembled and painted with historic accuracy.

“It’s absolutely stunning,” Bidleman said when the cannon returned on May 1. “It’s beautiful.”

Bidleman is notoriously low key and doesn’t want publicity for his good works. He serves on the United Way board and he and his employees support that organization.

He has expanded his car business to include the Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership in Albion with Sam LaNasa.

George Bidleman, left, watches the cannon be delivered to its spot in front of State Street Park on May 1.

The B.L. 60 Pounder British field gun has been a fixture at State Street Park since 1935. There are only 10 of the cannons like this remaining, with five in Europe and five in the United States, said Jim Freas, a past commander of the Butts-Clark Post for the American Legion in Medina.

“We have one of them,” Freas said. “It’s priceless.”

Glenn Whitmore, commander of the American Legion Post in Medina, said Bidleman’s donation was a big relief to the veterans’ organizations.

“When George stepped forward we couldn’t believe it,” Whitmore said. “His heart is bigger than he is.”

Orleans Hub will have an awards celebration in early 2020 for the Outstanding Citizens.

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