Church will present Al Capurso with humanitarian award
Photos by Tom Rivers: Al Capurso sings, “Till We Meet Again,” during a rededication ceremony on June 9, 2017 for a bronze tablet listing the names of 24 soldiers from Orleans County who died in World War I. The tablet was installed at the Orleans County Courthouse.
ALBION – Al Capurso has led several preservation efforts in Orleans County in recent years, and has been active in environmental and social justice causes for many years.
An Albion church is holding Capurso as a shining example for the community. Capurso will be recognized with a humanitarian award at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Pullman Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church.
Capurso is retired from 30 years with the county working in social services and with at-risk youth. He also owned the Bait Barn for about 25 years, selling fishing supplies for many years.
He is a life-long resident of Orleans County who has been married to the former Chris Rodden for 45 years. They have four grown children.
Capurso is the current president of the Orleans County Historical Association. He is on the board of directors for the Cobblestone Society Museum and also served as the Gaines town historian.
He is also a musician who performs at many local community events.
Capurso also stands out for his “gentle kindness,” said Darrell Dyke, a member of the board of trustees for the Pullman church.
Capurso ran for the County Legislature last year, the first campaign by a former county employee. Don Allport held off Capurso in the election.
Capurso has been active with Stop Polluting Orleans County (SPOC), which opposed a new landfill in Albion. He also has spoken out against a new quarry in Shelby near the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.
The public is invited to the service at Pullman at 11 a.m. on Sunday. A reception will follow at noon at the church, 10 East Park St., Albion.
Al Capurso is pictured on Oct. 17, 2015 when a new historical marker that was unveiled by a former one-room schoolhouse on Gaines Basin Road, just north of the Erie Canal. The schoolhouse was built in 1832 and is one of the oldest cobblestone buildings in the area. Capurso led the efforts to save the schoolhouse.
