Softball games, dancing contests and egg-throwing competition among the events

These husbands at right appear to relish throwing raw eggs to their spouses who appear to be a little more apprehensive.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

Illuminating Orleans – Volume 6, No. 20

MEDINA – On Wednesday, July 28, 1948, just before 9 a.m., some 1,300 Heinz employees and family members boarded buses at the Heinz plant on Park Ave. in Medina and travelled to Olcott Beach for the company’s summer family outing.

The H.J. Heinz Company first opened a cider mill in Medina in 1899 and later expanded to vegetable and tomato processing. It was the largest employer in the area and regularly hosted “employee appreciation” events.

That sunny day in 1948 was perfect for swimming and boating on the lake. A variety of games, races and sporting events entertained participants and spectators alike. Softball teams captained by George Maryjanowski and John Brennan played a hotly contested softball game which ended with a 3-2 score in favor of Maryjanowski’s team. Helen Levanduski and Mary Stawicki captained the ladies’ teams, with Levanduski’s team winning 16-2.

Dance contests were held in the afternoon. Josephine Grabowski and Julian Kwiatkowski were deemed the best waltzers, Mary Mondo and Douglas Kilbourn, the best jitterbugs.

Hattie Budzizewski and Rose Chandler were best in the polka competition. Attendees were provided with free tickets for rides, concessions and refreshments.

Many brought picnic lunches. Cash attendance prizes were given away throughout the day. Members of the organizing committee served free coffee and lemonade.

Robert M. Stack was general chairman of the event and was assisted by George Becker, Charles Ingersoll, William Hickey, Louis Gillmeister and others.

One of the more unusual contests was the raw egg throwing contest for couples. Participants were encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to “get even.” Remarkably, there were no “direct hits.”

(Left) Robert M. Stack, event organizer presents a prize to Mary Vahoviak, winner of the Mystery Person contest. (Right) Theresa Mondo and Anna Mae Beyer hold the dolls they won in the rope-skipping contest.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

 “Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 19

Invitation to an Independence Ball held in Gaines, July 4, 1848.

GAINES – In 1848, residents of Gaines celebrated the July 4th holiday at an Independence Ball, held at the Assembly Rooms. Hamilton’s Cotillion Band provided the music.

In 1849, residents of Medina celebrated the holiday “with the usual ceremonies of the day: the ringing of bells, the firing of canons, processions, music, readings, orations, toasts and fine words.” In Carlton, boat excursions were available at the Oak Orchard Harbor while landlubbers enjoyed “dancing on the green.”

In 1850, activities at Oak Orchard harbor began with a national salute at sunrise, excursions on the lake and a display of fireworks in the evening.

In 2026, Orleans County residents continued the tradition of celebrating Independence Day with processions, music, and activities, ending with a display of fireworks in the evening.

This year, we had the added element of marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The document was read aloud at some venues.

If you were unable to attend a reading, you may access the text at https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.

File photo: Terry C. Abrams, a resident of the Tonawanda Indian Reservation, is shown speaking in may 2024 at the Cobblestone schoolhouse in Gaines. He was one of the presenters during the Leadership Orleans program. Abrams will speak today at 7 p.m. at the Gaines Basin Cobblestone Schoolhouse – 3286 Gaines Basin Rd. in Albion.

Press Release, Orleans County Historical Association

GAINES – The signing of the Declaration of Independence, the subsequent Revolutionary War and the politics of the post-war years had a profound impact on the Native American population.

The Orleans County Historical Association has invited Terry C. Abrams, a resident of the Tonawanda Indian reservation, to speak on the topic ”The Haudenosaunee Perspective of NY 250” today at 7 p.m. in the Gaines Basin Cobblestone Schoolhouse (3286 Gaines Basin Road, Albion).

Abrams is the Curator and Collections Manager for the Niagara County Historical Society and a member of the Council on Iroquois Research. He lectures frequently on issues pertaining to Native American history.

This free event is open to the public. All are invited to attend.

Future History Talks

• July 1 – “Revolutionary War Veterans: Sharing their Stories.” The program will be at 6:30 p.m. at Fancher-Hulberton-Murray Fire Hall and will be presented by Deborah Wood, the Murray Town Historian.

The following programs will begin at 7 p.m. at the Gaines Basin Cobblestone Schoolhouse:

• July 29: “Soldiers Who Served in the Revolution from Orleans County” with Tim Archer

• Aug. 26: “Songs and Stories of the Erie Canal” with Don Dwyer

• Sept. 30: “The Burned Over District Part II-The Fire Was Not Easily Distinguished” with Doug Miller

• Oct. 28:  “Neat Stuff from the Hoag Library History Collections” with Dee Robinson

Bruce Burch (sporting dahlias on his lapel), Harry Hillman (center) and Norma Wheeler photographed in 1928 with the West Lyndonville Dahlia Gardens sign.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 18

LYNDONVILLE – It never ceases to amaze us how random photographs can survive and surface after many years to give us a tantalizing glimpse into a moment in time.  Naturally this happy photograph caught our attention. And, wonder of wonders, it was dated and the and the subjects were identified.

But Dahlia Gardens? West Lyndonville??

West Lyndonville was at one time recognized as a distinct area.

For some years, a local correspondent contributed news of area milestones and social activities to the Lyndonville Advertiser.

The 1920s has been referred to as the “golden age” of dahlia breeding as the variety and intensity of colors and forms appealed to the Art Deco Jazz Age aesthetic.

We traced the history of the West Lyndonville Dahlia Gardens through advertisements and news articles. Appropriately, the enterprise dates from that time. The first reference appeared in the Times-Union, Sept. 13, 1924:

“Perhaps the most beautiful colors of dahlias in this vicinity can be seen in Mrs. H. P. Wheeler’s garden in West Lyndonville. Every conceivable color is there, from the lighter shades to blossoms that are almost black. The flowers are large and the double-quilled ones, one variety of which is called the “Country Girl” is especially beautiful.”

Sue Starkweather Miller, Village of Albion Historian, is a dahlia enthusiast. Shown here are some of the dahlias she has grown. The varied forms include semi-cactus, ball, and water-lily.

An ad in The Buffalo News, September 26, 1931, mentioned 400 varieties of dahlia in full bloom at the gardens. What a sight that must have been! Dahlia blossoms are intensely vibrant in the fall.

Pinpointing the actual location of this idyllic garden was a puzzle. To those of us now accustomed to precise directions, the instructions given in the ads were delightfully vague: “One and one fourth miles south-east of Lyndonville” or “Take the first three left-hand turns after passing north through Lyndonville and crossing the railroad.”

Finally, we located the Wheeler property in the 1913 New Century Atlas of Orleans County at the intersection of Angling Road and Marshall Road.

The lady responsible for the dahlia gardens was Mrs. H.P. Wheeler (Lena Boughton). She was listed as a florist in the 1930 Census. Tubers, bulbs and fresh-cut flowers could be purchased at the gardens. Gladioli were added in later years. The business continued until 1943.

Lena died in 1963. She and her husband, Harry Wheeler, are buried in Hartland Central Cemetery, Gasport.

Early appeal of site: ‘No beer or liquors may be sold on any part of this property’

In 2004, the Oak Orchard Harbor Light Committee reprinted the marketing booklet originally produced by the Oak Orchard-on-the-Lake Committee.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 17

CARLTON – “Here we escape the Summer’s heat

And gain new life and strength”

Around the turn of the last century, the lucrative potential of Orleans County’s assets attracted a variety of speculators. In 1911, a group of New York city investors who had incorporated as the Western New York Farm Company, acquired a large swath of swamp land in the southern end of the county and developed it for agricultural purposes.

Prior to that, in 1891, a group of Buffalo area businessmen incorporated as the Oak Orchard-on -the-Lake Company and purchased four hundred acres of land located on the west bank of Oak Orchard Harbor and along the south shore of Lake Ontario.

With a General Office at 39 Chapin Block in Buffalo, the Officers and Directors of the company were: Edwards D. Emerson, President; George T. Wardwell, Vice-President; Frank E. Sickels, Secretary and Charles H. Robinson, Treasurer. Emerson was a Standard Oil manager in Buffalo, Wardwell and Sickels were Buffalo attorneys, while Robinson was chairman of the J.L. Hudson Company, Buffalo clothiers.

As they described it “the land gently slopes toward the lake and for nearly a mile is bounded by a beautiful unbroken sandy beach that allows unobstructed access to the water of the lake.” The property also included water frontage of three quarters of a mile on Oak Orchard Creek “one of the most picturesque streams in Western New York.”

 “The lake and creek fronts of this property will be offered for summer homes, while the remaining land will be so worked as to be a never-failing source from which cottagers can draw those necessities which are required for the refreshing of ‘the inner man.’”

The promotional booklet’s flowery prose extols the joys of cottage life, “the unexcelled advantages which it offers for sports, boating and bathing; of the pure air and cool breezes which it furnishes its cottagers; of its healthfulness, freedom from dangers for children; of the social life, refined and yet jolly, which characterizes the place…”

The company had a local office at 2 Swan’s Block in Albion. Dwight C. Beckwith, a wholesale apple shipper and lumber merchant was the local General Manger.

The lake and creek frontage was subdivided into building lots, each with a minimum of fifty feet of frontage. Lot prices ranged from $100 upwards. Generous terms were offered: “We shall be content with a small cash payment and the balance in small weekly or monthly installments.”

Recognizing the desirability of a water view, the company produced a layout which set the streets at right angles from the shoreline. This, combined with a gradual rise from the water’s edge, assured each cottage an unobstructed view.

A promotional article in the Times-Union, May 23, 1892, claimed that “the special feature which will render this a most desirable summer resort is that no beer or liquors may be sold on any part of this property.” In the summer of 1897, the Buffalo News reported that the cottages at Oak Orchard-on-the-Lake are filled to overflowing.”

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Vol. 6, No. 15

HOLLEY – Previous columns have highlighted Orleans County ladies who braved the conditions of war to serve as teachers or nurses:

Civil War nurse Lydia S. Johnson of Lyndonville, Minnie Goodnow of Albion, a surgical nurse in France during World War I and Irene Gibson of Holley whose fluency in French qualified her to instruct French cadets in navigation during World War II.

Yet another candidate may be added to that list: Sara Shaw of Holley who served as a nurse in two wars and later had a distinguished career in the efforts to eliminate tuberculosis. Born on April 30, 1871, Sara was the daughter of Dennis and Ella (White) Shaw. She trained as a nurse at Bellevue Hospital in New York, a program established in 1873 which adhered to the principles of Florence Nightingale’s and emphasized strict hygienic standards.

In 1898, Sara joined the American Red Cross and was one of early volunteers for service in the Spanish-American War. She was one of nine nurses dispatched to a US Army camp in Tampa, Fla. to treat an outbreak of typhoid fever.

During the Spanish-American War, Nurse Shaw was stationed in Puerto Rico and Cuba. Conditions were far from ideal. Nurses worked 14-hour shifts and diligently tried to maintain sanitary conditions. They operated in makeshift tents, overcrowded buildings and finally, on board the S.S. Lampasas which became a hospital ship. She recalled the many deaths.

Sara Shaw of Holley responded to the American Red Cross appeal for nurses.

“It was necessary to bury the soldiers at sea, and one of our young  doctors read the burial service, and the sisters held the Flag over the bodies.”

None of the nurses in that campaign were killed in combat, but 153 died of disease. Sara contracted typhoid fever and returned home to Holley to recuperate. While on leave, she was presented with a diamond ring by the Red Cross for her service in Puerto Rico and Cuba.

The American Red Cross was not officially recognized by the U.S. Army before the Spanish-American War, but the organization’s efficiency during that campaign made it clear to the Army that trained nurses were a necessity in war. Accordingly, each of the nurses who had served were recognized as members of the Army.

In March 1899, Nurse Shaw was one of a contingent of nurses serving officially with the U.S. 7th Army Corps who left for Manila in the Philippines, a journey of over forty days through the Suez Canal. Arriving in the middle of the Insurrection, the nurses set up a hospital in a convent in Manila where they dealt with epidemics of typhoid fever and malaria.

Following her return to the U.S., Sara worked as a private nurse for several years, then later accepted a position  at Bellevue Hospital in 1909. Active again in World War I, she was appointed Chief Nurse of the Italian Commission of the American Red Cross in 1917. Shaw established a nursing center in Milan and supervised nurses in six Red Cross hospitals that served American servicemen in Italy and Sicily.

Sara returned to work at Bellevue in June 1919 and was Director of Nursing in the Tuberculosis Clinic until her retirement in June 1940. Over the years, she maintained her connection with Holley and frequently returned to holiday with family members. Her death on Feb. 5, 1948  was the subject of a New York Times obituary. She is buried in Hillside Cemetery, Holley.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 14

Gary E. Bullock, who died in the Vietnam War at age 24, is shown as a schoolboy in Holley.

HOLLEY – Memorial Day, the national holiday which honors American military personnel who died in service, was celebrated annually on May 30 from its inception in 1868 until 1971 when federal legislation changed its  observance to the last Monday in May.

This year, Memorial Day was celebrated on May 25, the earliest date possible for this calendar occurrence. The next time the holiday will be as early as this will be 2037.

Originally referred to as Decoration Day, the first official observance took place at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. The first nationwide observance of Decoration Day was in 1870.

On that year in Albion, a sizeable Military Procession convened at the Courthouse Square under the direction of the Chief Marshal, Col. E. M. Spaulding. Preceded by Hadley’s military band, it processed to Mt. Albion Cemetery.

Following prayers, the grave of each Civil War casualty was decorated while Captain Thomas Bell gave a brief military history of each of the deceased. The procession then reformed formally and marched back to the Courthouse Square where it was dismissed. Flowers for the decoration of the graves had been contributed and assembled at  the Grand Jury Room in the Courthouse on the morning of the parade.

Recently, the paper records of Spec. 4 Gary E. Bullock were donated to the Holley Depot Museum. A slim file, it poignantly illustrates the human cost of war.  The file contains records of his birth and education, photographs, military records, death, burial and insurance records, as well as carefully clipped newspaper articles, now yellowing.

The only son of Mr. & Mrs. Dayton C. (Lolita) Bullock of 85 S. Main St. in Holley, Gary E. Bullock, aged 24, was killed in  action in South Vietnam on Tuesday, January 31, 1967, when a bunker collapsed on him. His enlistment was almost over. He had been looking forward to leaving Vietnam on February 27. He was the fourth of the nine casualties of the war from Holley.

The “Statement of Casualty” announces that Gary Bullock died on Jan. 31, 1967 in Vietnam “as the result of injuries received while in a bunker which collapsed on him.”

The “Final Disposition” telegram. Spec. 4 Gary E. Bullock is buried in Hillside Cemetery, Holley.  (Material courtesy of Kim Dalheim)

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 13

RIDGEWAY – Our photo at top shows Fred Grey’s white horse and surrey standing south of the Universalist Church, at 3064 North Gravel Rd. in Ridgeway.

Mr. Grey was the husband of Mary Pells, a granddaughter of Seymour Murdock, an early settler and one of the founding members of this church. A sandstone stepping-stone was conveniently placed by the corner at the front of the church. Drive barns, which would have provided shelter for horses and buggies, can be seen at the rear of the church.

“We, the inhabitants of the towns of Ridgeway and Yates, at a meeting at the house of Jasper Murdock on the 14th day of December 1833, organized as the First Universalist Society of the Towns of Ridgeway and Yates.”

Seymour B. Murdock, Philo Elmer, Daniel Hunt, Samuel Bidleman and Nathan Sawyer were the trustees of this newly incorporated church. At this first organizational meeting they also voted to raise $1,000 to build a church by January 1, 1835.

Julia Perry, wife of the entrepreneurial Joseph Perry who was a postmaster, shipping agent, and owner of the hotel and tavern at Ridgeway Corners, donated the site for the new church. The site was on the west side of what is now North Gravel Road, just south of the intersection with Route 104.

Contributions were solicited and pews were auctioned to raise money for the construction. Pew prices ranged from $10 to $65, while contributions ranged from $5 to $100.

The Universalist Church at Ridgeway was dedicated in June 1835 by Rev. L.L. Sadler. Rev. Charles Hammond was the first Universalist preacher at Ridgeway. He divided his time between Ridgeway and the Universalist Church in Middleport.

Ridgeway Universalist Church in the early 1950s

This small but active congregation celebrated its centennial on December 14, 1933. But as time went by it became more difficult to find pastors. Services were discontinued in 1961 following a period of decline. The New York State Convention of Universalists took over the building in 1961 and sold it to Faith Bible Baptist Church in September 1973.

Firefighters from Ridgeway, Lyndonville and Medina battled the early morning fire at the Faith Bible Baptist Church, with assistance from East Shelby and Middleport.

On October 11, 1993, a fire of unknown origin destroyed the 160-year-old structure. In June 1994, the Middleport construction company of Barden and Robeson started construction at the site of the original church. The new 7,400 square foot Faith Bible Baptist Church was dedicated on Sunday, January 8, 1995.

‘He subsisted for 15 days on a pint of flour and a dog’s liver’

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 12

MURRAY – This bronze marker set on a millstone is located at the northeast corner of the junction of Routes 104 and 237 in the Town of Murray.

It was dedicated on October 12, 1932, by members of the Orleans Chapter DAR and the Jewell Buckman American Legion Post in Holley. It commemorates “the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of George Washington and the Men Who Fought in the American Revolution and Sleep in the Town of Murray.”

Many of the early settlers of Orleans County were Revolutionary War veterans or the sons of veterans. In other instances, aging parents later came to live with their families. An estimated 65 Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in Orleans County.

The Orleans Chapter of the DAR and the Rochester Chapter of the SAR have maintained records of these burials. In addition, Luci Borello and Sutton Sanders, two students from the Albion Middle School, have researched and presented a list of the Revolutionary War veterans buried in Orleans County with the guidance of their teacher, Tim Archer. They also obtained graveside markers for unmarked graves and replaced a damaged headstone.

They will present their findings on Saturday, May 16, at 10:30 am at the Pierce-Smith Pioneer Cemetery at 3960 Hulberton Road in Holley. This event is open to the public.

During this current year-long recognition of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, there has been a renewed interest in the wartime experiences of the Continental Army soldiers.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the National Park Service have created a Citizen Archivist Mission project to assist in the transcription of the 80,000 pension application records on file. Perhaps you may be interested? https://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/missions

Adam Tabelski, a former mayor of Medina who now lives in Batavia, has contributed several transcriptions of the experiences of these veterans buried in Orleans County to the Orleans County Department of History records:

John Percival (1754-1837)

According to his pension deposition in 1833, Percival saw much action during the war. He enlisted on May 16, 1775, with a Massachusetts company under General Heath and was involved in the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. He volunteered for the ill-fated Continental Army expedition to Quebec under Col. Benedict Arnold later in 1775. He testified that:

“They were supplied with Boats to carry their Baggage and provisions (at Fort Winslow) and they went up the river through a dreary wilderness. The river was very rapid, and the soldiers were obliged to wade and push the boats upstream. In many cases, the boats were taken out of the River and carried upon their shoulders…..At this time they were in the greatest distress for the want of provisions. He himself subsisted 15 days on a pint of flour and a dog’s liver.”

He was part of the group that retreated following the unsuccessful attack on Quebec. In 1777, he was involved in the burning of two British schooners and the fortifications at Fort George as well as the destruction of bridges and felling of trees tin an effort to  deter the advance of General Burgoyne’s troops. Later he was “out on one or two short alarums after Tories and Indians”. He testified that he never received any of his monthly wages except for the Quebec Expedition. Apparently, the Continental paper money soldiers occasionally received as pay for service was often worthless.

Two of Percival’s sons resided in Orleans County: Montgomery in the Town of Carlton and Samuel in the Town of Gaines. In 1824, Samuel built the hotel/tavern which is still in operation currently as  the Tavern on the Ridge, formerly the Village Inn.

John Percival is buried in Gaines Cemetery.

Robinson Smith (1761-1828)

Smith enlisted in the Continental Army in 1782 and served in General Washington’s Life Guard, a unit of the Continental Army, about 180 strong, which protected Washinton as well as the money and papers of the Continental Army. Smith was discharged in 1784. He applied for a pension in 1818 and was awarded $8 per month. Eligible to reapply in 1820, he had to cite financial need. His testimony gives a vivid description of the difficulties of the times.

By 1820, he was a farmer with a wife and four children. He could do little labor as he was “badly ruptured.” His debt amounted to $30. His itemized possessions were indeed meagre  and included 3 old axes and 3 old hoes, 1 sickle, 1 barrel and 3 old common chairs.

Robinson Smith is buried in Pierce-Smith Cemetery, Hulburton. In July 1939, the Lemuel Cook Chapter Sons of the American Revolution unveiled an official marker at his grave in recognition of his services for the Life Guard.

Please note that Patrice Birner of the Orleans County DAR will speak about the DAR and the NY250 Centennial Celebration at the Gaines-Basin Cobblestone Schoolhouse, 3286 Gaines-Basin Road, Albion, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28. This is an Orleans County Historical Association program.

492 bottles of beer seized from Kendall Hotel in 1914

Photo from Orleans County Department of History: This photo of the Kendall Hotel is dated 1935. Opened in 1901, the building escaped several destructive village fires. Later known as the Kendall Inn, it is now a restaurant named The Grove 1848.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 11

KENDALL – The Kendall Agricultural Club, which assembled at the Kendall Hotel in 1913-1914, played a role in the Temperance campaign leading up to Prohibition.

As early as 1912, six of the ten towns of Orleans County were “dry” or “no-license” to use the parlance of the day, meaning that the sale of alcohol was prohibited in these jurisdictions. The energetic lobbying efforts of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) had secured these local victories.

However, not all residents were in favor of these restrictions. Taking advantage of a loophole in the 1896 NYS Liquor License Law, Farmers or Agricultural Clubs were organized in dry towns. One such was the Kendall Agricultural Club.

Incorporated in the summer of 1913, it had the stated goal of “the scientific study of agriculture and horticulture, the effect of insectivorous pests” and other farming questions. Club members were allowed access to the two hotel rooms rented at the Kendall Hotel. Members who paid $1 were given a ticket which allowed them 20 bottles of beer. They could also fill out continuous order vouchers directing the Bartholomew Brewing Company to deliver them one case of beer weekly.

Soon there were four other flourishing Farmer’s Agricultural Clubs in the county, three in the town of Gaines and one in Lyndonville.

However, the Temperance League was a force to be reckoned with. An article in the Buffalo Sunday Morning News of Feb. 8, 1914, mentions that the Orleans County Temperance League held their meeting with church temperance organizations to discuss lobbying plans for upcoming local elections at the Court House in Albion.

The article also mentions that several detectives had been employed by temperance leaders of the Town of Kendall to conduct investigations. Shortly after their departure, on January 16, 1914, Constable Louis J. Cady of the Town of Kendall filed a petition with the Supreme Court Justice, Cuthbert W. Pound, alleging that Warren C. Miller, Ida C. Miller, Ray Miller and Garret Rocque had liquor at the Kendall Hotel for the purpose of unlawful sale and distribution.

The following day, Constable William C. Singleton of the Town of Ridgeway seized 492 bottles of beer and one bottle containing whiskey from the Kendall Hotel.

In response, Norman Lindaler, Oscar Lind, William Scheplar, John H. Scheplar, Atley Stevens,  John J. Norton, Ray R. Miller, Thomas Jeffrey, William Scheik, Garret Recqua, Henry Scheik, Otto Greinke, Henry Scheplar, Charles Backus and Cornelius Fenner, each filed a claim that they were part owners of the seized beer.

They said that they were members of the Kendall Agricultural Club, a duly incorporated club, and that they each had their own beer at the hotel lawfully, that it was for their personal consumption, and not for sale or distribution.

Medina Daily Journal headline, Feb. 3, 1914

At a hearing at the Court House in Albion on February 16, 1914, Supreme Court Justice Cuthbert W. Pound of Lockport presided over the case of the State Commissioner of Excise against the 492 seized bottles of beer. An unusual case, it had no precedent in the district. At issue was whether “Agricultural Clubs” were operating as a pretext for the unlawful sale of alcohol and avoiding the excise tax law.

The four members of the club who testified confirmed the social aspects of their activities, though none could remember any occasion on which they actually discussed any aspect of agriculture.

Judge Pound heard the evidence of Raymond Miller, who conducted the Club, and of four members of the club whose testimony confirmed the social aspects of their activities. He then took the case from the jury and directed that “it appears without dispute that this alcohol was kept within the state for unlawful distribution and that the jury is directed to take proper judgement for seizure of the same and its turning over to the State Excise Dept. to be auctioned off according to the new law by that department.”

He also stated that he did not think that there was any evidence to show that Raymond Miller was guilty of unlawful selling of beer. He directed that the Kendall Agricultural Club and similar organizations were “illegal and had been perfected for the purpose of trafficking in liquors and the evasion of liquor tax law” (Buf. Enq., 2-17-14)

New York State Excise Commissioner Farley hailed the verdict as a severe blow to the evasion of the law by these so called “clubs” and in the enforcement of excise laws in dry towns.