Loungewear, Landauer’s of Albion Christmas catalog, 1967

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 39

ALBION – We associate the colors red and green with Christmas: Santa’s red suit, green Christmas trees, red berries on holly.

At first glance, the color scheme of this Landauer’s Christmas catalog appears jarring. But realizing that the catalog is from 1967 explains the teal, magenta and mustard colors. At the time, Landauer’s was the main department store in Albion.

This catalog lists items of clothing sold and worn just 63 years ago, still remembered (and owned?) by some, no doubt. But in terms of fashions, fabrics, colors and descriptions, this clothing might as well be from the crinoline era.

The clothing items shown above were listed as suitable “For Partying or Lounging” and, it is interesting to note that the colors are more seasonal than those shown on the cover.

The first item on the left, 2B, is a Lounger culotte of 80% Arnel® triacetate, 20% nylon. Three quarter sleeves. Styled by Lazy U. Washable. Colors: orange or lime $23.

Landauer’s Christmas catalog, 1967

Item 2C: Floral patterned quilt duster of Honan acetate crepe. Kodel® polyester fiberfill. Blue or gold. $16

Item 2D:  A long robe version of Item 2C

Item 2E:  Luxuriant “Radiant Fleece” duster of 80% Arnel Triacetate and 20% nylon with the look of velour. Front panel with embroidered grosgrain ribbon, concealed gripper closing. Colors: Tangerine, Kelly green, desert rose. $16

The colors are vibrant, the styles are non-restrictive, and the fabric is easy-care synthetic. Production of natural fabrics had declined during World War II due to the focus on the war effort. Synthetic fibers were developed in the 1950s to meet an increased demand for fabric. Tired of rationing and shortages, consumers were eager to buy new clothes. The new fabrics were popular as they were easy to wash, wrinkle-free, durable and affordable.

Of the fabrics listed in the above descriptions, Arnel® was a trademarked synthetic triacetate fabric developed in 1954 by the Celanese Corporation of America. It ceased production in 1984, due to increased toxicity standards for production and competition from newer polyesters.

Kodel® polyester was developed in 1958 by Eastman Chemical, a subsidiary of the Eastman Kodak Company. It felt like cotton but was more durable and less expensive to produce.

Ladies fashion also included Orlon® acrylic knits, “Fairfield She Shells”, cardigans and sweaters in vibrant colors – canary, lemonette, coquette pink, fresh grass and sprite green.

Men’s clothing, Launder’s of Albion catalog, 1967

With the heading “Handsome New Ideas for His World”, several pages feature coats and jackets for men and boys.

Item 22B: The fabulous Koratron® zip-out three season coat, lined with 100% Acrilon® acrylic tone tipped pile. Colors: black, navy, olive or British tan. $30.00

Koratron® was developed in 1956 by Joseph Koret who was working on creating a permanent crease product for men’s trousers. When coated with resin and baked at 325 degrees, the fabric permanently adopted creases as designed, while the remainder of the fabric remained wrinkle resistant.

The men’s dress shirts were made of Dacron® polyester and were “Sanforized®”, a pre-shrinking process developed by Sanford Cluett in 1930 that reduced shrinking after washing. Sport shirts were made from Ban-Lon® texturized nylon “that simply never needs ironing.”

Consumers in the 1960s embraced the convenience and versatility of clothing made from synthetic materials. The wash-and-wear, no-iron properties revolutionized laundry day. Sixty-three years later, we are more aware of the downside of the synthetic revolution  and it’s detrimental effects on the environment.

Large bone pit among artifacts of Neutral Indians in Shelby

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 38

Diagram of the Shelby site drawn by Frank Cushing in 1879. (From: Illustrated Historical Album of Orleans County, 1879) The site, which is indicated by a historic marker, is located on Salt Works Road, half a mile south of Blair Road, on the left when traveling south.

SHELBY – “In the town of Shelby, Orleans County, New York, about three miles south of the village of Medina are the remains of one of the most interesting ancient earthworks in the state.”

Thus begins a description of the archaeological site at Shelby presented to the Smithsonian Institute in 1874. It was written by Frank H. Cushing, then aged 17, who had just joined the staff of the Smithsonian. He went on to have a distinguished career as an ethnologist of the Zuni Indians in New Mexico.

As a young boy, Cushing was captivated by the then abundant evidence of American Indian life in this area and particularly at the Shelby site. He camped out there on his own for days at a time and wrote the definitive description of the site. The features of the site have been obliterated over time.

Here are excerpts from Cushing’s description which was included in the Historical Album of Orleans County published in 1879:

“It consists of two mural embankments, which are now about two feet in height, parallel, and two feet distant from each other. They describe almost an exact circle, having a diameter of four hundred and thirty feet and an area of three and one third acres.

“Two fences upon original section lines, running one north and south, the other east and west, divide this enclosure into four nearly equal parts or quadrants.

“Traces of a moat, which once encircled this work, are still discernable at intervals. The moat is broad in proportion to its present depth…it was probably made by the removal of the earth for the construction of the walls.

“Ten rods south of this work lies a peat swamp….this was probably a shallow lake at the time when the works were constructed. The supply of fish in this lake was abundant.

West from the work, at a distance of half a mile, on the eastern slope of a sand hill, is a large bone pit, where the bones of many hundreds have been deposited.

Diagram of the fort prepared by Frank R. Berger. In September 1990, at the urging of Mr. Berger, the historic marker which had originally placed “three fields in” in 1932, was relocated to a more visible location on Salt Works Road.

“On making excavations in those portions still uncultivated, many specimens of great interest are found. They usually lie from 6 to 18 inches beneath the surface, often embedded in charcoal and ashes. They consist of hammers, sinkers, stone ornaments, pipes, pottery; also implements and ornaments of bone, such as bone splinters, awls and needles, daggers or dirks, cylindrical ear ornaments, implements for the ornamentation of pottery, perforated metatarsals and perforated teeth.”

Referred to as the Neutral or Neuter Indians because they did not take sides in the wars against the Hurons, the inhabitants of the Shelby site were part of the Iroquois confederacy. Recent scholarship suggests that they may more specifically be identified as Wenro people.

They were hunters and engaged in a fur trade with the Huron Indians. It appears that they fell victim to the enmity of the Iroquois against the Hurons, during a bellicose era in the mid-1600s referred to as the Beaver Wars. The Hurons were the main rivals of the Iroquois in the fur trade. The Iroquois destroyed both the Hurons and the Neutrals.

It is intriguing to consider the lives of the people who lived in this palisade some 300 years ago, before the area was surveyed and sold, and before the political jurisdictions that we are familiar with, were determined.

This collection of Indian points ranges in age from 400 to 5,000 years, and was found near Waterport. Illustration from the book: Orleans County History: Past to Present, Bicentennial Year, 1976.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 37

WATERPORT – As Orleans County prepares to celebrate its 200th year in 2025, we are moved to reflect on time, history and prehistory and our place in the continuum.

Geologists date the formation of the North American continent to 2.5 to 1.3 billion years ago. The glaciers that formed during the most recent Ice Age, some 120,000 years ago, formed the topography of New York State as they retreated north. The melting glaciers carved out the Niagara Escarpment and created Niagara Falls. Ridge Road was once the shoreline of Lake Ontario, formerly Lake Iroquois.

We are aware of these facts of our geological history but somehow the span of time covered in that short synopsis is unfathomable to us. We can more easily relate to more recent archeological history. Ample evidence of earlier human habitation has been documented throughout the county.

No mention of archaeology in Orleans County can fail to reference Stanley Vanderlaan of Albion, who literally stumbled upon what became his life’s passion when he found his first artifacts – flint chips and arrow points – while woodchuck hunting near Otter Creek in Barre in 1956. He was recognized as a Research Fellow of the Rochester Museum and the NYS Archeological Association for his contributions to the field.

In an essay on the Archaeological History of Orleans County which he wrote for inclusion in the book “Orleans County History: Past to Present, Bicentennial Year, 1976”, Vanderlaan wrote that Orleans County was primarily a hunting, fishing and food gathering area for the Indians. Over 10,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians hunted mastodons in this area. They used a spear with a sharp flint point known as a Clovis point. One was discovered in the mucklands, about one mile west of Barre Center and is believed to be 8,000 to 9,000 years old.

Following the extinction of the large animals, humans apparently left the area for some 3,000 years and returned some 5,000 years ago. Known as the Archaic Hunters, they used a distinctive javelin point for hunting, referred to as a Lamoka point. Many have been found along Oak Orchard Creek.

Illustration from the book: Orleans County History: Past to Present, Bicentennial Year, 1976 Artifacts from the Bamber Mound, near Waterport.

The Waterport area in general has yielded many treasures. A site referred to as the Bamber Mound on the Oak Orchard Creek “a mile downstream from the Waterport Dam” yielded stone and flint artifacts from the Hopewell or Adena Indians who lived there: net-sinkers, gorgets (ornaments hung around the neck), celts (stone ax blades), 4-sided projectile points, cache blades, human and animal bones. A site nearby yielded the earliest pottery found in the county, some highly decorated, with an estimated age of  2,000 to 2,500 years.

Two later sites, about 800 to 1200 years old, home to the Owasco Indians, were also located near Waterport. Fire-making flints, triangular points and pottery decorated with a herringbone design were found there. The Owasco Indians gave way to the Early Iroquois Indians who had significant habitations in the Oakfield area.

This whirlwind summary of human habitation in Orleans County begs the question: what will remain of our culture 5,000 years hence and how will it be interpreted?

(The Shelby Neuter Fort,  which dates to 1500 A.D. was the only known large permanent village in the  county. It will be discussed in a forthcoming column.)

‘It was a terrible sight to see the fellows I had been with the last two years blown to pieces’

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 35

Pvt. Harold P. Wirth Co, F., 108th Regiment

LYNDONVILLE – The following letter was published in the Lyndonville Enterprise on November 7, 1918:

Co. F., 108th Infantry,

France, Oct. 6, 1918

Dear Friends,

Have a chance to again do some writing. I am down in a dugout, beside a little fire.

I have gone through a ten-day period that I never want to witness again, for it has been awful. Our division has gone over the top and this battalion was the first to cross the famous Hindenburg line – a line of trenches that the English claimed could never be broken. Cos. E and F were the first ones over the line and suffered heavily for it. We have a number killed, wounded and gassed, and the rest are very lucky to be alive.

Some of the boys who came back found wine, eggs, bread and other eats in Jerry’s big dugouts. Some of their dugouts are three stories deep and all built of concrete.

Captain Thompson is thought more of than ever now, and this Battalion will swear by him, and we hear that General Pershing thinks the “Skipper” is O. K. He is burned all over the face with mustard gas, but never once flinched and even attempted to re-organize the stragglers who got back and go after the Huns again.

It was a terrible sight to see the fellows I had been with the last two years blown to pieces, others wounded and still they wore big grins on their faces and told of how they did it. One sergeant in our company had four bullets in his body and they sent four Jerries out to carry him in, and as they picked him up, he said to them: “I will kill every darned one of you if you touch me” He wanted his own pals to carry him. He was shot twice and kept on going, then got two more and had to lie down.

Medina will get an awful blow when the list comes in, and it will likely be there before you get this.

It will seem good when we get back out of here and live as civilians again.

Love to all.

Harold P. Wirth

P.S. Will be home for Christmas dinner.

Harold P. Wirth did not make it home for Christmas dinner that year, but he was one of the lucky ones who made it through “to live as a civilian again.” He had enlisted as a company cook with Co. F, 108th Inf. New York National Guard on April 9, 1917, served overseas from May 18, 1918, and was discharged May 6, 1919.

The son of John G. and Grace Faulkner Wirth, he was born in Plain View, Nebraska on August 1, 1883. The family had close connections with Lyndonville. Following his discharge, Harold returned to this area and worked for five years at Lyndonville Canning. He then accepted a position with the Thomas Daggitt Canning Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan and later as superintendent of the Red Creek Canning factory in Wayne, New York.

Harold was one of the many WWI veterans afflicted with tuberculosis and was a patient at the Veterans T.B. hospital in Tupper Lake, New York. He died at the Veterans Hospital in Batavia, NY on Sept. 21, 1957, and was buried at Huron Evergreen Cemetery in Wayne County. Harold had been active in the Wolcott Post 881, American Legion. Both the Post and the cemetery are located just off Route 104 in Wayne County.

As Harold indicated in his letter, Colonel Thompson’s list was grim: between Sept. 27 and Nov. 1, 1918, 25 members of the company had been killed, 85 wounded, 18 were still in hospital and 11 had been cited for awards.

On Veterans Day, we remember, recognize and honor those who have served and are serving in the military.

“Pickett’s Child” is a postmortem photo from the Scott B. Dunlap collection in the Medina Historical Society.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 34

MEDINA – The child in this photograph appears to be sleeping peacefully. However, this is a postmortem photo, the child is dead, and the pose was referred to as the “Last Sleep.”

It may seem morbid to us, but at a time when infant mortality rates were high, and attitudes toward mourning were different, this photograph would have been viewed as a way of commemorating the dead and solace to the family.

This is most likely the only photograph ever taken of the deceased child. The photographer was a young neighbor, Scott B. Dunlap, of Dunlap Road in Shelby, who had a new Kodak camera and an interest in photography.

Born in 1898, he was a fourth-generation member of the family for whom the road is named. Armed with his new camera, Scott, who graduated from Medina High School in 1905, took unposed, relaxed photographs of his family and friends. Without intending to, he chronicled daily life in rural America in the early 1900s, in those years just before automobiles replaced the horse and buggy.

In 2008, Scott B. Dunlap, Jr. donated a collection of over 200 of his father’s glass plate negatives to the Medina Historical Society. The collection includes five postmortem views of the child, each taken from a different angle. The long exposure time required at the time made deceased subjects easier to photograph.

Another version of “Pickett’s Baby” from the Scott B. Dunlap collection.

The photos were labeled as “Pickett’s Child” or “Pickett’s Baby,” the first name was not mentioned. A brief search elicited the infant’s name as Harold H. Pickett, (also referenced as Herman Harold) born Nov. 7, 1905, died Sept. 12, 1906. He was the son of Henry R. (Ray) and Lena Gurrslin Pickett.

In April of the following year, 1907, the family lost another son, Wilford R., one month old. An older son, Lavern E., survived. Lena died in 1909, at the age of 27. She and the two infant children were buried in Millville Cemetery. Following Lena’s death, Henry re-married, moved to Buffalo, worked as a motorman with a railroad company and had four more children.

With regard to the child’s clothing, it was customary at the time to dress boys and girls in short white dresses until they started walking and then in short, loose-fitting dresses until they were two or three years old.

As healthcare improved and mortality rates declined, the practice of photographing the dead declined and came to be viewed as macabre. We still use photographs of the deceased for obituaries, funeral cards and services, but those are living images. At the present time, when smartphones have made it possible for anyone to take photographs of any subject, the lines between what is acceptable and what is not are shifting once more.

A selection of the Dunlap photos may be viewed at www.historicmedina.org.

Young men left for boot camp, and then overseas in World War II

Advertisement from the Brockport-Republic newspaper, Oct. 24, 1935.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 33

(Adrienne Daniels, Town of Barre Historian, supplied the information for this week’s column.)

BARRE – We walked into a place that was built like a small barn. Rustic and smelling of new wood, one end had a platform for the small band that played there Saturdays and Sundays from 8-12:30. The other end had a snack bar and a cloakroom and in the center was a shining dance floor, smooth as glass.

We fox-trotted to the haunting strains of Sugar Blues and Blueberry Hill, we waltzed to Deep Purple and Night and Day, boogied to Boogie Wugle Bugle Boy and did the polka to the Beer Barrel Polka. We jitterbugged to Stompin’ at the Savoy and stood around the band and sang Three Little Fishies.

The dancing started with the song Blue Moon and ended with Goodnight, Sweetheart and then, Blue Moon.

The young couple who ran the place were strict – no alcohol, no couples parking in cars on the premises.

Every week, there were new boys who came to the Blue Moon. On the way home, all we talked about was boys! We could hardly wait for the week to go by, we were having such a wonderful time.

And then it happened. Pearl Harbor.

As the months rolled along, one by one, the young men we danced with were called into the service. The dance hall began to look empty and somber.

Now there were letters written posted on the Blue Moon bulletin board, first from boot camps located in different states, then later, letters from overseas – England and Italy and much later, V mail from Germany, France and places we had never heard of, such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa. All saying how much they missed home and asking us to write.

Oftentimes, when I hear the song Blue Moon on the radio or T.V., I see myself as young again, dancing with someone on a crowded floor with other couples. I wonder if others who went to the Blue Moon are thinking of the good times, too, when they hear that song”

This lovely recollection of memories of the Blue Moon Danceland, located “two miles east of Barre Center” was written by Elizabeth Hurysz and published in the Democrat and Chronicle in 1991.

The dancehall closed in the 1940s but the building had another reincarnation. In 1947, Barre residents Norm Anderson and Harold Morton, two young men recently returned from the service, bought the dancehall building, cut it in half and had the halves moved to sites on the East Barre Road where they formed the basis of two fine homes. If those walls could talk!

The George L. Burrows Nurses’ Home was built in Albion in 1926. (Photograph by Louis M. Monacelli)

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 32

ALBION – Located at 239 South Main Street in Albion, this fine building, familiar to many as the Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance (COVA) headquarters, was in fact, built specifically in 1924 as a Nurses’ Home, a place where the nurses and medical staff of the adjacent Arnold Gregory Memorial Hospital “should be able to spend their hours of rest and diversion somewhere apart and separate from the scene and atmosphere of their labors”…..having contended with “Long hours of service, the patient ministry at the bedside in a critical hour, the welcoming of a new-born life.”

Funding for the facility was provided by the family of the late George L. Burrows who had died in 1921. In a letter dated March 19, 1923, his six children offered to finance the building of a Nurses’ Home as a memorial to their father. Their offer was graciously accepted by the Hospital directors.

George L. Burrows

Born in Albion in 1836, George L. Burrows was the son of Louisa (Lord) and the Hon. Lorenzo Burrows, a prominent Albion banker and New York State politician who served as State Comptroller from 1855-1857.

An engineer by profession, George L. worked with the Engineering Corps on enlarging the Erie Canal and later at the Bank of Albion. He moved to Saginaw, Michigan in 1862 and successfully pursued interests in lumbering, banking and engineering there though he maintained his connections with Albion. He died in 1921 and is buried in Mt. Albion Cemetery along with his wife, Julia, and two children who predeceased them.

The Arnold Gregory Memorial Hospital which had opened in 1916 was also funded by local philanthropists.

A retired farmer, Arnold Gregory provided $8,000 to purchase the Ezra T. Coann home and $30,000 to adapt it for use as a hospital and for use as an endowment. Mrs. Emma Reed Nelson financed the construction of the three-story addition in memory of her parents. Miss Julia E. Barker assumed the finishing costs of the addition in memory of her brother. Donations from Albion residents and former residents funded the purchase of furnishings and equipment for the rooms. The operating rooms were funded by George M. Waterman, the X-Ray laboratory by the Albion Chapter of the American Red Cross.

In his address at the Corner Stone Laying ceremony for the George L. Burrows Nurses’ Home on May 28, 1924, Lafayette H. Beach, editor of the Orleans Republican newspaper, included some interesting details on the construction of the now 100-year-old building.

Frederick C. Backus of Buffalo was engaged as the architect. The construction contract was awarded to Earl J. Sullivan of Albion. The three-story building which was “to present a pleasing and dignified appearance” was constructed of tile with a facing of yellow pressed brick. It had a slate roof, wood floors, was wired for electricity, piped for gas, and was heated by steam.

The main entrance opened onto a spacious hall with a winding staircase. A superintendent’s suite of three rooms which included a large living room with a roomy fireplace and mantel, a kitchenette and a sunporch on the south occupied the first floor. There were six bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor, two bedrooms and a bathroom for maids on the third floor.

When completed, six rooms at the hospital formerly occupied by nurses were then available for use by patients, thus increasing the hospital capacity from 22 beds to 28.

Lafayette Beach eloquently characterized this memorial gift as “more beautiful and more eloquent than marble of bronze because it is dedicated to service.” This gift to Albion has not been forgotten by the family – a fourth-generation descendant of George L. Burrows recently contacted the Historian’s Office enquiring about the Nurses’ Home.

Staff and Board members of the Arnold Gregory Memorial Hospital in Albion examine a new bed in 1960. Left to right: Dr. John Ellis; Sidney Eddy, Board member; Helen Yerger, hospital administrator; Edward Archbald, Board president; Robert Babbitt, Board member; Mrs. Douglas Hayes, nurse. (Photograph by Wm. A. Monacelli)

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 31

ALBION – Our photograph this week captures the dedication and local support which sustained Albion’s Arnold Gregory Memorial Hospital.

The centerpiece of the photo is a new model adjustable bed, part of an order of upgraded furnishings for the “new” hospital facility.  Built in 1952 at a cost of $650,000 of community funding, this 51-bed unit replaced the original 27-bed hospital opened in 1916.

The new hospital was obviously needed. During its first decade, 15,435 patients were admitted, 3,026 babies were born and 50,304 people were treated in the emergency departent.

In the photograph, healthcare professionals Dr. John Ellis and Nurse Hayes are on either end of the group. The three gentlemen in the group – Sidney Eddy, Edward Archbald and Robert Babbitt – were hospital Board members. They were also members of the Albion Rotary Club which actively raised funds for the hospital for many years.

Hospital administrator Helen Yerger is the lady appropriately positioned in the center of the group. Hired in 1949, she was actively involved in the planning, construction and furnishing of the new building. She continually sought to update equipment and improve services.

By 1965, plans were underway to add a new wing to the hospital. Having had some health issues, Miss Yerger announced her plan to retire on October 1, 1965, but she died unexpectedly on August 6. 1965. She had been a dedicated employee and tireless champion for the Arnold Gregory Memorial Hospital for 16 years.

Fred Holt captured this image of a boater at the Oak Orchard Harbor on Lake Ontario.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 29

Lake Ontario is a stunning spectacle at any time. We are invariably drawn to try to capture its more dramatic moments, mid-summer sunsets in particular.

Twilight was photographer Fred Holt’s favorite time to study the lake. He took many photographs of this particular scene, from the angle in the above photo and the one below. The photos are serene and have a timeless quality.

Frederick Holt was born in Gaines on May 13, 1900, the son of Benjamin and Frances (Bennett) Holt, who had immigrated from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Benjamin was a quarryman, the family lived on South Clinton Street in Albion.

These two row a boat towards Lake Ontario.

While still a high school student, Fred enlisted with the Reserve Officer Training Corps and was appointed First Lieut, Company L, 12th Regiment, New York State Cadet Corps. He graduated from Albion High School in 1919 and was later employed as Treasurer at the Marine Midland Bank.

In 1942 , he re-entered the armed forces and was appointed Second Lieut. Company L, 65th Regiment of the New York Guard. On his return to civilian life, he was appointed as the Albion office manager of the Birds-Eye Snider Division of General Foods Corporation and in 1958 was appointed manager of Hunt Foods, Inc.

Fred Holt captured Orleans County scenes for more than 60 years.

Photography was his passion. He chronicled scenes and events in Albion for over 60 years – Albion street scenes, farming scenes, parades, majorettes, school plays, a rich chronicle of the times. In 1927, he photographed scenes of the Barge Canal water break at Eagle Harbor and also the seizure on West Avenue in Albion of one of the biggest illicit distilleries in New York State. He won prizes for several of his artistic compositions.

Following his death, his wife, Anne, donated his work to the Orleans County Department of History. There are hundreds of photographs, slides and negatives, as well as the ledgers where he meticulously recorded his work.

Holt’s photographs have a luminous quality that is distinctive and compelling.

We will share other examples in future columns.

This marker in front of City Hall in Medina indicates the location of the stainless-steel container donated by former Mayor John Cobb which contains the time capsule assembled by the Medina Sesquicentennial Committee.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 27

Our recent column about the time capsule placed at the Orleans County Infirmary (now The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center) on August 28, 1960, attracted the attention of the International Time Capsule Society (ITCS) who contacted us regarding the capsule.

Based at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, this free public service has registered and mapped time capsules for over thirty years. Given the passage of time, it is inevitable that some time capsules are lost or forgotten. The goal of the ICTS is to ensure that the unique content contained in these buried capsules can be traced generations from now. A quick search of the site showed that capsules from Barker, Buffalo, Greece and Lockport have been registered.

Naturally, were curious about other Orleans County time capsules. We found several, among them are:

Sportsmen’s Time Capsule, August 1976

President Mike Donahue placed an old-time bottle in the fieldstone fireplace of the newly completed rustic cabin on the Club’s grounds in Medina. Club member, Joe Prescott, filled and sealed the bottle which contained newspaper articles and records concerning the project.

Medina Sesquicentennial Time Capsule, February 1983

This time capsule, which was completed in February 1983, contains a comprehensive array of material documenting Medina’s past, present and future. Material from 1982 sesquicentennial celebrations, a copy of Ceil White’s History of Medina, local calendars, phone books, an Apple Grove menu, an Apple Bank manufactured by Fisher-Price, and the program from Rev. H. Burton Entrekin’s retirement party are among the items included.

Sixth grade students were invited to write about their projections of “Life in Medina in 2032”. Six students’ essays were selected to be included in the time capsule: Meaghan Boice, Aaron Dutcher, Amy Fuller, Richard Kenward, Molly Maak and Jon Scott. Some of their predictions were remarkably prescient:

• Dentists will use invisible braces
• Cars will be operated by verbal commands
• Everything will be computerized
• Solar power will be used for heating and running cars

Other predictions have not yet come to pass:

• The canal will be a parking lot for a huge Main Street mall
• Meals will be capsules, pills or wafers
• The Mayor, Village Board, teachers, doctors and nurses will be robots

This capsule is scheduled to be opened in March 2032, on the occasion of the Bicentennial anniversary of the incorporation of the Village of Medina.

Medina High School, May 1991

On May 6, 1991, Principal Fred Snyder placed a time capsule and cornerstone in the new $10 million Medina High School building. The time capsule contains a photograph of the former High School on Catherine Street and a brick from it, photographs of Supt. Dr. David Gee, and of the 1990-91 Mustang Marching Band, a student calendar, course offerings for 1990-91, graduation requirements, the names of students and staff entering the building and a dictionary of words in common usage in 1991 as well as students messages of peace, hope and prosperity.

Village of Lyndonville Millennial Time Capsule, September 2000

Mayor Mark Scarr spearheaded the creation of a time capsule celebrating both the millennium and the incorporation of the Village of Lyndonville. A twelve-inch PVC pipe sealed on both ends containing local newspapers, photos, community information, local restaurant menus and a letter from Mayor Scarr to the future Mayor was buried in a secret location. It is to be opened in 2053, a file in the Village Office contains the information as to its location.

Celebrating a Century of Conservation, March 2003.

A time capsule containing artifacts from the 20th century as well as messages and art created by local schoolchildren was buried for one hundred years at the Iroquois National Wildlife Heritage Headquarters at Casey Road. Included also is an essay by William Barber, a 3rd grade student at Oak Orchard Elementary School in Medina.

Covid-19, November 2020

Created by Orleans County 4-H members and stored in the Archive Room at the Education Center on the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds, this time capsule documents the experience of the pandemic. It contains hand sanitizer, facial masks, documentation on the various stages of the lockdown and is to be opened 15-20 years from now.

Solar Eclipse, April 2024

The Cobblestone Museum prepared a time capsule of memorabilia pertaining to April’s solar eclipse. It is to be opened on the occasion of the next full solar eclipse in Orleans County, one hundred years from now.

Time capsules are leaps of faith into the future. When compiled, the scheduled opening date seems impossibly distant. But times’ relentless march soon makes short work of that 50-year or 100-year scheduled opening date. We encourage you to register your organization’s time capsules with the International Time Capsule Society.