local history

Historians have several projects in the works

Posted 25 December 2015 at 12:00 am

Photograph courtesy of Holly Canham, taken November 19, 2015 following the meeting of municipal historians. Standing (l-r): Adrienne Daniels, Matthew Ballard, Dawn Metty, Ian Mowatt, and Neil Johnson. Seated (l-r): Melissa Ierlan, Al Capurso. Missing: Todd Bensley.

By Matthew Ballard
Orleans County Historian

Volume 1, Issue 39

Issue 39 marks the end of the first volume of this column. Although February marks the conclusion of my first full year as County Historian, I am amazed at the progress I have witnessed over the last 10 months. Orleans County is fortunate to have the backing of a core group of very active historians and enthusiasts who continue to devote all of their extra time to the promotion of our heritage.

On Nov. 19, we held a meeting of the local municipal historians at the Hoag Library’s Local History Room. The last gathering of this group was nearly 10 years prior and with a great deal of transitioning over the several years prior, our hope was to provide a venue for becoming familiar with one another and establishing an opportunity to develop collaborative projects. Naturally, the meeting was a huge success and showed much promise for the development of heritage tourism and local history projects in the county.

I wanted to share a few of the accomplishments of our local historians over the previous year, some highlights of things to come, and introduce our newest historians:

Al Capurso, Town of Gaines, was recently appointed to the post of town historian. With remarkable haste, Al has led efforts with the Orleans County Historical Association to acquire the Gaines District No. 2 Cobblestone Schoolhouse on Gaines Basin Road. With assistance from OCHA members and volunteers, including retired County Historian Bill Lattin, the group has restored front windows and made extensive repairs to the roof. Interior renovations will begin in the spring.

Ian Mowatt, Town of Albion, was recently appointed to the post of town historian this past year.

Melissa Ierlan, Town of Clarendon, as president of the Clarendon Historical Society and with members of that group, including Erin Anheier, have made outstanding progress on preserving the chapel at Hillside Cemetery. Most recently, the group was awarded over $125,000 in matching grant funding to start restoration work at the site.

Adrienne Daniels, Town of Barre, is in the early stages of planning the bicentennial celebration for Barre set to take place in 2018.

Heather Koch, Town of Kendall, was recently appointed to the post of town historian this past year.

Our historians are working collaboratively on updating the 2001 inventory of historic markers compiled by Neil Johnson, our long-tenured Village of Albion Historian, and Bill Lattin. Through the Orleans County Department of History, we would like to make this database of historic sites available for easy access online. Alongside of these efforts, Melissa Ierlan continues to contribute countless volunteer hours towards the restoration of many of our existing blue and gold historic markers.

Over the last year, the County Department of History has developed a website (click here) to catalog this column and host a number of digitized items from the historian’s office.

In 2016, we hope to publish the first edition of The Pioneer Record, a local history publication aimed at preserving the development of Orleans County history across all eras. Thanks to the Drake Memorial Library at SUNY College at Brockport, the publication will be hosted through their Digital Commons and available across the country. My other large project for the 2016 year is to compile a history of Mt. Albion Cemetery, consisting of biographical sketches and photography.

This article, concluding the 2015 year, would fill an entire paper if all of the preservation and heritage exploits were covered. We are a community that is forever dedicated to the continued dissemination of our cultural heritage and the scope of extensive projects occurring in our area is a testament to that. The residents of Orleans County are filled with great ideas for promoting our region and the collaboration that has developed between our “movers and shakers” shows great promise for the future.

Charlie Howard helped bring magic to Christmas

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 December 2015 at 12:00 am

Photo courtesy of Albert Scalzo

ALBION – Albert Scalzo was 4 years old when he sat on Santa’s lap and shared his wish list for Chrstmas. That was in 1955 when Scalzo visited Santa at Christmas Park in Albion.

Charlie Howard developed the site on Phipps Road. He is pictured portraying Santa. Howard ran the world’s first Santa School in Albion from 1937 until 1966. After his death in 1966, the school was moved to Michigan. The school continues to bear his name.

Scalzo now lives on Porter Road in Medina. He sent in the photo.

“It was Christmas 60 years ago that I had the opportunity to sit on Charlie Howard’s knee,” Scalzo wrote in an email. “It was a great time to be part of our local history.”

Charlie Howard image joins sign noting Santa School founder in Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 December 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Last month a new sign went up on Route 98, noting Albion is the home of “Legendary Santa” Charles W. Howard, who started the world’s’ first Santa School. Howard ran the school in Albion from 1937 until his death in 1966.

The school still bears his name, but has been relocated to Midland, Mich. It is run by Tom and Holly Valent. (Click here for more information.)

The new sign received an addition today: a large cutout image of Howard from 1965. Terri Wood, co-owner of the Lonowood Art Company, created the image of Howard from a black-and-white photo, believed to be one of the last images of Howard wearing the Santa suit.

The image of Howard is a mounted digital print on aluminum with a plastic core.

Terri Wood tightens a bolt for a bracket used to hold the image of Charlie Howard as Santa next to a new sign that proclaims Albion as home to the man who started the first Santa School.

The image of Howard is 6 feet, 2 inches. The sign is across from the Don Davis car dealership.

Howard is a revered figure in the Santa community. He was inducted in the Santa Claus Hall of Fame in 2010, part of the inaugural class. Click here for more information.

The Albion Betterment Committee paid for the new sign that is located on the property of Gil and Donna Wolcott.

Betterment Committee directors include, from left: Joe Gehl, Gary Kent and Gary Derwick.

Knowlesville family produced lineage of physicians

By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 19 December 2015 at 12:00 am

Volume 1, Issue 38
KNOWLESVILLE – The eldest son of Benoni Grover, Lysander was born Jan. 22, 1802 at Deerfield, Massachusetts. Lysander’s father was a farmer in his early life, forced to adopt a new profession after a horrible milling accident cost him his leg. It was after this accident that he married his wife, Thankful Smith, and raised several children including Lysander.

When Lysander was all but five years of age, his father moved the family to Phelps, New York, where he attended schools and worked on area farms. Despite his rugged family genes, young Lysander’s body could no longer take the physical strain of manual labor and he was forced to establish himself in a profession that was more manageable.

Attending an academy at Geneva, Lysander attained a teacher’s certificate and proceeded to teach in the local school districts for several years. Finding the profession of a teacher quite bothersome, he sought out a new vocation. Deciding that he was neither pious enough for ministerial work nor confident enough to practice law, he decided that the occupation of physician would suffice.

Studying with Dr. James Carter of Geneva, Lysander spent the next four years learning the specifics of the medical profession. With six cents in his pocket, the eager Dr. Grover travelled to the village of Alloway in the township of Lyons where he borrowed enough money to start a medical practice.

His first year of practice in Alloway was marked by much health amongst the population of the village as he wrote, “nobody would get sick to accommodate me, or test the efficiency of my drugs, or my ability in prescribing them.” With patience and due diligence (and eventually patients), Dr. Grover established a successful practice in Wayne County.

In 1844 Dr. Grover relocated to a farm in Alexander, New York where he spent less than one year before exchanging the land for a farm located at Knowlesville. He remarks in his short autobiography in Arad Thomas’ Pioneer History of Orleans County that, “I practiced medicine but little, keeping a drug and book store, and superintending my farm.” He also writes that he operated both an ashery and distillery in the area for a portion of his time in Orleans County.

Dr. Grover died before his grandson, Dr. Edward L. Frost, graduated from the University of Buffalo’s Medical School in 1892. The son of Cecilia Grover and William H. Frost, Edward later served as an Instructor of Obstetrics at the University of Buffalo’s Medical School from 1893 to 1897.

Dr. Frost was one of four physicians who testified at the trial of Olive Sternaman, Canada’s Black Widow who was accused of poisoning her two husbands with arsenic in Cayuga, Ontario. Dr. Frost’s son, Carl Grover, attended the University of Michigan where he earned his medical degree in the specialty of Ear, Nose, and Throat.

Seneca Falls celebrates women who fought for right to vote

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 December 2015 at 12:00 am

Statuesque, New York – An occasional series

Photos by Tom Rivers

SENECA FALLS – In the spring of 1851, two women met and they would form one of the most powerful two-person teams in New York history for the next 50 years.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were both leaders in the push for women’s rights, including suffrage.

They met in Seneca Falls in an encounter arranged by Amelia Bloomer, a dynamo in her own right. She also is famous for “Bloomers.” She was the first woman to wear pantaloons under her dresses, and is wearing the style in this depiction.

Seneca Falls commemorates this meeting with statues of the three women by the Cayuga-Seneca Canal. They are shown by East Bayard Street. These statues are life-size, and are slightly elevated from ground level.

The statues – “When Anthony met Stanton” – are a gift from New York State to Seneca Falls in 1998, when George Pataki was governor. The gift was made “On Behalf of the Governor’s Commission Honoring the Achievements of Women,” according to a plaque by the display.

Susan B. Anthony is at left, with Amelia Bloomer in center and Elizabeth Cady Stanton at right. The statues were dedicated on July 18, 1998. A.E. Ted Aub served as a sculptor of the statues.

Anthony and Stanton were the prime movers in the fight for women’s right. They weren’t alive when women finally achieved the right to vote on Aug. 26, 1920 with the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Stanton for 50 years would write hundreds of letters to the editor, and give numerous speeches. She wrote articles on divorce, property rights and temperence. (She also adopted the Bloomer costume.) Anthony was a Rochester school teacher who was unrelenting in her organizational skills, lobbying and execution of the women’s rights agenda.

Seneca Falls has adopted the statue depiction as an icon for the many signs in the community directing people to historic sites and public services.

There is another series of bronze statues in Seneca Falls, home of The Women’s Rights National Historical Park. The U.S. government created the park in downtown Seneca Falls and commissioned 20 statues of the “The First Wave.”

Sculptor Lloyd Lillie created the life-size bronze statues of the five women who organized the First Women’s Rights Convention, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton at left. The display includes a few of the men who came in support of social, political, and religious equality for women. Acclaimed abolitionist Frederick Douglass is depicted in center.

Thomas and Mary Ann M’Clintock were active in the women’s rights movement, and also actively championed abolition, temperance and Native American rights. They attended the first women’s rights convention on July 19-20, 1848. The original Declaration of Sentiments was written at the M’Clintock house in nearby Waterloo.

The statues in the lobby of the Visitor Center at the National Park in Seneca Falls represent the first wave of women’s rights activists in the United States. There were more than 300 women and men who organized and participated in the first Women’s Rights Convention.

The “Declaration of Sentiments” declared that “all men and women are created equal.” The document demands equal rights for women in property and custody laws, educational opportunities, and participation in the church, professions, and politics.

Seneca Falls is about the same size as Albion and Medina. I was there over the weekend for the “It’s A Wonderful Life” festival. Bedford Falls in the famous movie is believed to be based on Seneca Falls.

The community is a vibrant place. It capitalizes on its role in U.S. history and has fun with its possible connection to one of the most popular movies of all time. I picked up a lot of ideas for how Albion, Medina and our other communities could better promote their history.

Albion could certainly do more showcasing its ties to Charles Howard and his role in shaping the look and behavior of Santa Claus through his Santa School. Albion could develop a Santa Claus museum in the downtown. It would add a lot of energy to Main Street and help nearby shops capitalize with Santa-themed merchandise. (Seneca Falls has a museum for It’s A Wonderful Life and uses the movie as a focus for a very popular community festival. I ran the 5k race on Saturday that had 4,000 runners.)

It would be interesting to see how the local government, including the county, helps with the projects in Seneca Falls. I would guess there is a nice public-private partnership with lots of volunteers. But the government probably needed to step up with money and personnel to get these projects off the ground.

The Women’s Rights National Historic Park is in a renovated downtown building in Seneca Falls.

The National Women’s Hall of Fame also is in a downtown building, but that organization is looking to create the “Great Hall of Women” in a massive former knitting mill, a $25 million project with state support. That site could open next December.

State grant shows appreciation for historic Hillside chapel

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 December 2015 at 12:00 am

File photos by Tom Rivers – The chapel at Hillside Cemetery was open for tours on Sept.21, 2014, when the Clarendon Historical Society unveiled a new historical marker for the cemetery.

HOLLEY – The announcement last Thursday that New York State would provide a $126,210 grant for work on the chapel at Hillside Cemetery should show the community that the state values historic sites in Orleans County, including the old cemetery chapels.

“I hope this opens people’s eyes that other buildings are worth saving,” said Erin Anheier, a member of the Clarendon Historical Society. “I hope it inspires people.”

Anheier wrote the grant for the state application. It was a painstaking effort. Most municipalities and organizations will hire a professional grantwriter to put together the application for state funds.

“It’s exciting because it’s such a competitive grant,” she said. “It validates what we’ve said all along that this is a valuable, important building worth preserving.”

Anheier and the Clarendon Historical Society have worked hard the past five years to raise public awareness and support for restoring the site.

The state approved a matching grant for the chapel, and the Historical Society already has about $65,000 towards the local match with $20,000 from the Rochester Community Foundation, $14,500 from the Curtis Foundation, $10,000 from an anonymous donor, and $20,000 in other local contributions.

In-kind work from the Town of Clarendon can also count towards the local share.

“We are very confident we can raise the local match,” Anheier said.

The Historical Society has identified about $250,000 in restoration work for the chapel, a Gothic Revival chapel built of Medina sandstone in 1894. (It might be the only site in Orleans County with a flying buttress.)

Amy Harris plays her flute during a reception on Sept. 21, 2014 inside the chapel at Hillside Cemetery.

The chapel is the focal point of a cemetery owned by the Town of Clarendon. The town and Historical Society want to restore the non-denominational chapel and repurpose it for new public uses. Anticipated use includes concerts, historical and art exhibits, and lectures.

Anheier said the slate roof will be replaced with slate, and some of the stained-glass windows will be repaired. The project includes painting the inside, adding lighting, refinishing the floor and adding a handrail to the outside steps.

Anheier also thinks the chapel would make sense as the eastern end of a Medina Sandstone Trail in Orleans County if municipalities can get on board with that project.

Hillside Cemetery opened in 1866 and was designed in the 19th century “Rural Cemetery Movement.” That is on the eastern side of the cemetery where the gravesides are dug into the side of the hill.

The 20th century “Lawn Style” approach is seen in the western portion. The cemetery has many beautiful gravestones that are works of art, Anheier said.

She also was instrumental in the cemetery being recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.

Anheier said the Historical Society welcomes more donations and support for the chapel and cemetery. Donations can be sent to Clarendon Historical Society, “Chapel Fund” at P.O. Box 124, Clarendon NY 14429.

This picture was taken looking up from the mortuary chambers to the stairs leading to the main chapel room.

Old baseball uniforms emerge after column on St. Mary’s Athletic Club

By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 12 December 2015 at 12:00 am

Volume 1, Issue 37 supplement

(Editor’s Note: This week’s column for Old-Time Orleans is a supplemental issue connected to last week’s piece on the St. Mary’s Athletic Club baseball team.)

On occasion, my weekly column flushes out a piece of related local history. New photographs, documents, records, and even artifacts have surfaced thanks to the willingness of the Orleans Hub and Batavia Daily News to publish the column every week.

I greatly appreciate the feedback, both positive and negative, regarding the content of each piece and hope that the community continues to provide these responses.

Following the publication of my most recent article, I received several photographs from Clarendon Town Historian Melissa Ierlan of several baseball uniforms. The pieces were loaned to her by Larry and Brenda Swanger, who graciously allowed the uniforms to be cleaned and displayed in Clarendon.

Without a doubt, the uniforms are the exact style worn by the players from last week’s photograph so I thought it would be fitting to not only share images of these amazing artifacts, but provide some additional insight into the formation of the St. Mary’s Athletic Club in Albion.

In 1912 a local Polish Roman Catholic Union branch was established in Albion thanks to the diligent work of Frank Turski of Buffalo and Rev. Charles Mioduszewski of St. Mary’s Assumption Parish in Albion. It was on Sunday, Dec. 1, 1912 that a delegation of PRCU members from Buffalo including Turski, Antoni Kazmierczak, Frank Andrezjewski, and Jacob Graczyk arrived in Albion to install the organization’s newest branch in Western New York.

Established at Chicago in 1873 by Rev. Teodor Gieryk and Rev. Wincenty Barczynski, the PRCU was active in developing social programs aimed at supporting widows, orphans, and the needy. Nearly a decade later the organization developed an insurance program, similar to the Knights of Columbus, and led the way in promoting gender equality in fraternal organizations. Many branches, including Albion’s Branch 654, promoted local sporting events and sponsored teams throughout major cities such as Detroit, Chicago, and Buffalo.

We can see that one uniform is marked St. Mary’s P.R.C.U. A.C., representing the St. Mary’s PRCU Athletic Club, the precursor to the officially established St. Mary’s Athletic Club now located on Moore Street in Albion.

Both shirts include a patch on the left sleeve, a gold circular patch with crossed flags, a heart, and shield. The patch, the crest of the PRCU, contains a Polish flag and United States flag crossed with the Sacred Heart and Polish Falcon. The crest shows the assimilation into American society that many Poles sought while retaining their religious and cultural heritage. The St. Mary’s Athletic Club officially established itself in 1924 as a men’s social club, strange considering the height of prohibition at the time.

The organization existed as an extension of the local Polish Catholic Church until the 1940s when the Athletic Club cut ties with the Parish. Expressing distaste for the debauchery and poor behavior of those drinking at the club, some parishioners voiced a concern that many men would consume alcohol at the St. Mary’s Club, stagger uptown, and draw unwanted and unwarranted attention to the church.

The organization continues to support baseball programs locally and until recently, provided death benefits for “regular” members who could claim Polish lineage.

GCC solicits nominations for Heritage Heroes in Orleans County

Posted 9 December 2015 at 12:00 am

File photo by Tom Rivers – Genesee Community College and Orleans Hub honored four “Heritage Heroes” on April 24 during the Civil War Encampment at GCC’s Medina campus center. The following were recognized, from right to left: Doug Miller (accepting for his wife Susan Starkweather Miller), Andrew Meier, Holly Ricci-Canham, and William Menz.

Press Release, GCC

BATAVIA – Genesee Community College is eager to recognize the efforts of dedicated citizens who work hard to preserve the county’s history. The college is seeking nominations for the third annual Orleans County Heritage Heroes Awards. Nominations will be accepted through Feb. 15.

“Residents of Orleans County take great pride in their heritage,” said Jim Simon, associate dean of GCC’s Orleans County Campus Centers in Medina and Albion. “For our third consecutive year, we want to continue to recognize the time and investment of individuals who are tireless advocates for local history.”

Nominees for Heritage Heroes Awards can be any age but posthumous nominations will not be accepted. History professionals and GCC employees are also not eligible for the award, nor are those who serve on the awards selection committees. Nominees must be Orleans County residents.

Four winners were honored last year including Holly Ricci-Canham, Susan Starkweather Miller, Andrew W. Meier and William A. Menz. Because nominations are not retained for future consideration, nominees not selected to receive awards in previous are encouraged to re-submit a nomination again for this coming year.

“Many residents from all over the county work hard on restoring historic houses and protecting other community assets, including museums and churches,” said Tom Rivers, Orleans Hub editor. “The dedicated people working to preserve these treasures deserve praise for adding to the quality of life and character of our community.”

To nominate someone for the Heritage Heroes Awards, write up a brief statement outlining the person’s contributions, projects and community affiliations. Anyone sending in a nomination should provide their name (anonymous nomination packages will not be accepted), address, phone number and email address. The more in-depth the detail provided in the nomination, the stronger the submission.

Submit the nomination to:
ATTENTION: Heritage Heroes Committee
Genesee Community College / Medina Campus Center
11470 Maple Ridge Rd.
Medina, NY 14103-9675

Nominations may also be emailed to Jim Simon at jsimon@genesee.edu. Please write Heritage Heroes Nomination in the subject line.

A screening committee made up of community members, history professionals and GCC students will review the nominations and select finalists. From those finalists, a committee including GCC Associate Dean Jim Simon, Associate Professor Derek Maxfield and Orleans Hub Editor Tom Rivers will choose the Heritage Heroes.

“We’re excited to continue these awards,” said Maxfield. “When we held the Civil War Encampment in Medina for three years, it became obvious how Orleans County values its history and embraces its preservation. These efforts often go unnoticed. This is a way to shine a light on those who make many personal sacrifices in order to preserve history for future generations.”

The Heritage Heroes will be recognized during a ceremony at GCC in Medina in April 2016.

Albion Saints reigned as county baseball champs in 1920s

By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 5 December 2015 at 12:00 am

Vol. 1, Issue 37

ALBION – In the spring of 1934, the St. Mary’s Athletic Club players posed for this team photograph on opening day at the club’s home field on Moore Street in Albion.

The 1933 and 1934 seasons would be some of the worst seen by the team in the two decades prior, bringing about an end to their run as league champions.

Mayor Jacob Landauer threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The organization was established just 10 years prior in February 1924 amidst the height of Prohibition. It was in the spring of the same year that the club’s first baseball team was organized and consisted of Chester “Chisep” Avino, Frank “Peppy” Avino, Ted “Charcoal” Avino, Tony Button, Stanley “Flip” Furmanski, Ed “Wimpy” Furmanski, Casimer “Guz” Friday, John Lewandowski, Max Lubawy, John Mager, Max “Showboat” Mager, Stanley “Panama” Radzinski, Joe “Crow-foot” Rice, Stanley “Sandy” Sadowski, Casimer “Spizek” Stucko, Stanley “Sea Dog” Telga, John Wieczorek, and Stanley “Kuba” Wieczorek. Many of these men remained with the team when this photograph was taken.

It was in 1926 that the organization took home their first championship and following another league victory in 1929, the club rewarded themselves with the new uniforms seen in this image.

Would statues, public art projects help Orleans County celebrate 200th?

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 November 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers
BUFFALO – This sculpture of a bison is displayed in downtown Buffalo. It has been there for 40 years.

It was a gift to Buffalo in 1975 from its sister city, Kanazawa, in Japan as part of the bicentennial celebration for the United States the following year.

“Bison” was created by artist Cecilia Evans Taylor.

Orleans County has a big birthday around the corner. The county will turn 200 in 2024 (or it may be 2025, depending on source). I haven’t heard any rumblings about the county’s bicentennial. I don’t think the officials have given it much thought. It’s still nearly a decade away.

This painted buffalo on Franklin Street was turned into artwork by Gustavo Glorioso as part of the “Herd About Buffalo” project, when 154 buffalo roamed Buffalo streets in 2000. The project was a benefit for the Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. This one was sponsored by Buffalo Optical and called “Eye Love Buffalo.”

I think a public art project would generate excitement on the county’s 200th anniversary. I think painting fiber-glass mules would make sense because the mules were iconic animals during the Erie Canal’s heyday when mule-drawn packet boats were a frequent sight.

We could try to have at least one in each town, but hopefully there could be more. Maybe the mule public art project could happen before the 200th, and proceeds from that effort could be used to fund a bigger signature site for the county’s bicentennial.

A statue of George Washington stands in front of Old County Hall, home to Erie County government on 92 Franklin St. in Buffalo.

The statue was paid for by the Erie County Masonic Foundation as a bicentennial gift on the 200th anniversary of the country’s founding. The base of the statue includes the name of the sculptor, J. Turkalj and notes it was built in 1976.

The statue includes an inscription “1776 * 1976” with the words: “Presented to the people of the County of Erie by the free and accepted Masons of forty-nine lodges in the three Erie districts and various affiliated Masonic organizations as our contribution to the bicentennial anniversary of the United States.”

I saw the statue last Saturday while in Buffalo. There are many statues and public works of art in downtown Buffalo. I think these pieces enliven the landscape, help promote the city and build community pride.

I think Orleans County would benefit with similar projects. The George Washington statue was part of a celebration of the U.S. bicentennial.

Orleans County officially formed when we split off from Genesee County. Orleans should celebrate its bicentennial with a signature project.

I’ve been promoting the idea of a statue and heritage site for the quarrymen who worked in the Medina sandstone quarries in Orleans County for nearly a century. They helped unearth and carve the stone for some of the grandest buildings in the region and state.

Their work continues to stand out more than a century later with many of our churches, chapels and finest homes.

Many descendants of the quarrymen continue to live in the county. The quarry workers did dangerous jobs in perhaps the county’s greatest industry ever. So maybe a signature site in their honor would be ideal for the 200th anniversary of the county. Personally, I’d like to see it happen before the 200th birthday in 2024 (or 2025). The site could be a draw for the county. Why wait?

The statue of Washington notes he was the first president of the United States from 1789-1797, and also served as First Master in the Alexandria Lodge No. 22, Alexandria, Virginia, from 1788-1789.

There are other bicentennial sites and statues around Buffalo.

Poland gave this statue of General Kazimerz Pulaski to the people of the United States in honor of the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Pulaski stands outside the Ellicott Square Building in downtown Buffalo.

The statue declares Pulaski as “Hero of Poland and the United States of America.” Pulaski saved the life of George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Pulaski would serve as a general in the Continental Army. He died of wounds suffered in the Battle of Savannah. He is one of only seven people to be awarded honorary United States citizenship.

Sculptor Kazimierz Danilewicz created the statue of Pulaski, which shows him standing erect with his hands resting on his sword.