By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 25 July 2015 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Taken in 1932, this image shows a procession at St. Mary’s Assumption Parish in the Village of Albion.
Located at the intersection of Brown and Moore Streets, we see a number of men lining up in the street with a number of parishioners exiting the front of the church. Considering the clothing worn by those exiting the church, this is likely an image of a First Holy Eucharist celebration.
At the time, the parish had several societies for men and women. The banner, front and center, depicts the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus and reads, “Queen Confessors, Pray for Us.” On the obverse side is an image of St. Joseph, which reads, “Society of St. Joseph, February 1, 1903, Albion, New York.”
The beautiful handmade banner was constructed of green cloth with gold braiding and accents. The banner carried behind represented the Sacred Heart Society.
The buildings located along the left side of the street were torn down in the 1950s. The space is currently used as a parking lot. The Cobblestone Museum received the 1903 Society of St. Joseph banner as part of a generous donation in December of 2014.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 July 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – This house was built in 1893 at the corner of East State and Platt streets as the manse for the First Presbyterian Church in Albion.
ALBION – I have admired Phil and Harriette Greaser’s house in Albion for many years. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s part of the Courthouse Square District, which includes 34 sites on the National Register, including seven churches.
The Greasers were often out on the front porch together. I would wave, and compliment them on their house. They told me I could get a tour sometime.
I didn’t pursue a tour until Thursday. I wish I had tried harder sooner. Mr. Greaser passed away at age 88 on June 30.
The house has several oval-shaped windows that face the Courthouse and other historic sites in Albion. Mrs. Greaser says this is the half-moon window.
The Greasers bought the house from the Presbyterian Church in 1987. It had been the church manse, the home for the pastor, since the house was built in 1893.
The Greasers were downsizing after restoring a 22-room house in Eagle Harbor that they called “The Four Chimneys.”
The house in Albion was designed by acclaimed Rochester architect Andrew Jackson Warner. It was constructed in the Queen Anne style.
“To have this architecture – an Andrew Jackson Warner house in Albion – was a great privilege to take on,” Mrs. Greaser said.
Harriette Greaser is pictured with the staircase made of golden oak.
The Greasers would transform the house, scraping away paint and bringing back woodwork. They planted trees, hedges and a big garden of flowers and vegetables.
The Landmark Society of Western New York took notice and gave the couple a Historic Home award in 2002. In 2007, their house was featured in a Rochester magazine.
The reception room in the Greaser home puts the woodwork on display. The house includes red birch, golden oak and cucumber wood.
Mr. Greaser grew up in Pennsylvania, the son of a Baptist minister. He moved to Holley when he was 20 after serving in the Navy. His father was leading the Baptist church there at the time.
Phil Greaser would work 37 years for Kodak. He and his wife were married for 51 years and they raised four children.
He loved architecture, music and literature. One of the rooms in the house includes his library. He liked to read by a window while birds fluttered nearby outside.
The library at the Greaser home lets in lots of natural light from the windows.
Phil Greaser enjoyed the many birds that were in the backyard at the Greaser property in Albion. His children gave him the stained-glass artwork for his 80th birthday.
The house in the village, across from the Courthouse and next to the Presbyterian Church, proved convenient. Mrs. Greaser is the organist at the Holy Family Catholic Parish. Her husband was the organist for more than 50 years at the First Baptist Church.
They each have a piano in the house. Mr. Greaser played a Steinway and his wife a Knabe. She continues to teach piano lessons from her home.
After years in the country, the couple enjoyed the easy access to the library, Post Office, grocery store and other amenities in the village.
But the Greasers weren’t used to such a public location, especially when they were out weeding and doing other yard work.
Harriette Greaser is pictured in the backyard of the property at 31 East State St., where she and her husband created a garden with numerous types of flowers, as well as a sandstone walkway. The yard used to be all grass.
Many pedestrians pass by each day on Platt and East State streets. Mrs. Greaser is aware of the location’s prominent spot in a historic district and busy part of the community.
“This is a very public place and the grounds need to showcase the house,” Mrs. Greaser said. “It’s wrong to have a house like this and not invest it.”
She and her husband preferred to spend money on bushes, flowers and the landscape, rather than go out for dinner.
Mr. Greaser loved Daylilies, his wife said. They have Daylilies in several different colors.
About 20 years ago a man stopped by the Greasers and offered them this sandstone bench, thinking it would go nicely with their backyard. The couple gratefully accepted.
Mr. Greaser took on many of the building projects at the house himself. He and his wife did lots of scraping, and Mr. Greaser liked to pick reproduction wallpaper to give the interior a feel from a century ago.
His wife said the community is fortunate to have contractors who can skillfully work on historic houses. They hired Panek Coatings to paint the house on three different occasions. Steve Ernst has helped them with some of the bigger projects, especially with the chimneys.
The front room has windows with refracted glass that send bursts of light in different directions throughout the day.
“The light comes in and just sparkles,” Mrs. Greaser said.
Mrs. Greaser said she and her husband enjoyed the house, tending to details inside and outside.
They enjoyed sitting in the patio, chatting with their friends and family.
She was asked why she and her husband tried so hard to decorate the house and keep it up.
“It’s your home,” she replied. “It’s want you want to live in and be surrounded by.”
The Greasers preserved many of the historical features of the house, including this communication system within the home. People could talk to each other from the top to bottom floors with these phones mounted on the walls.
Builders of the house didn’t cut corners with the woodwood. The Greasers also kept many plants inside the house, including one that hangs from the top staircase.
This plaque notes the house is on the National Register of Historic Places.
By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 18 July 2015 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Formed amidst the vast wilderness that was Upstate New York, Albion was built within dense old-growth forests that covered the region. The untouched and uncultivated land proved to be both dangerous and threatening for early settlers.
Wooded regions were filled with deadly animals that have gone unseen in this area for decades, but the most deadly threat to early settlement was fire.
Dating back to 1829, Albion’s earliest protection against the threat of fire was prevention. Fire wardens sought to eliminate dangerous scenarios that often led to devastating disasters, yet for those occasions where the inevitable fire broke out, the bucket brigade became the last defense against these deadly occurrences.
Between 1831 and 1880, Albion witnessed the development and transformation of the area’s fire fighting force from the establishment of a rudimentary group of young men to the creation of a well-developed and complex system of multiple fire companies.
The earliest fire garage was situated on North Main Street at the site of Gurney’s Old Coach Inn, then adjacent to the Village Hall. On Nov. 14, 1874 the new Village Hall was constructed on the northwest corner of East Bank and Platt Streets. On the second floor, the building contained a large auditorium for meetings and entertainment while the first floor contained village offices and space for the storage of fire apparatus.
It was during this time that Village of Albion President William B. Dye took an active interest in the establishment of a new fire company – Dye Hose Company No. 5. Under the direction of George W. O. Shourds as temporary chairman, Robert Beach was selected as President and W. Lettis as foreman of the organization with approximately ten charter members. George Shourds and Morgan A. McLean were the last two surviving charter members when the organization celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1932.
The company was formed the week ending on May 28, 1881 and the group participated in their first practice at the Orleans County Fairgrounds on July 19, 1881. Adler, Dye & Company furnished the new uniforms, which consisted of blue coats, white shirts, white caps, and white pants lined with red trim. On their second anniversary in May of 1883, the Village of Albion Trustees purchased a new four-wheeled hose cart for the company at a cost of $500.
In this image, you will see Dye Hose Company No. 5 lining up for a parade on July 4, 1889 in front of the present Village of Albion Police Station. The building originally served as a garage for fire apparatus and the original doors and many windows have since been bricked over.
It is presumed that the hose cart in tow is the original cart purchased for the company in 1883. This photograph was taken from the northeast corner of Platt and East Bank Streets looking northwest – notice the boardwalk situated along the dirt streets.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 July 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – A print shop from about a century ago is getting cleaned up with some new parts to be added to the old presses.
David Damico, a volunteer for the Cobblestone Museum, has been reorganizing the shop, which was built in 1875. It used to be in Medina, but was moved to the museum grounds on Route 98 in Gaines in the late 1977.
Damico lives in Le Roy. He also volunteers at the print shop at the Genesee Country Village in Mumford. Damico teaches graphic design and topography at Brockport State College.
The shop at the Cobblestone Museum has several cases of type.
Damico believes the shop dates to about 1910-1920, based on the type for printing and lettering, as well as the electricity for the shop and a phone on the wall.
The printing shop is like walking into a time capsule from a century ago. The site includes two printing presses from the late 1800s.
Damico is getting rollers, aprons and cleaning materials for the site that are appropriate for the time period of the shop.
A poster advertising a baseball game between Albion and Medina is on the wall in the shop. The game was to be played on Sept. 1, 1915 in Albion.
The building was constructed in the Second Empire style. It was built by William Hedley of Medina in the 1870s. Hedley purchased land on East Center Street in Medina, and also purchased land near the canal aqueduct. During that time period, Hedley owned and operated a saw mill, stone planing mill, a flour mill, and a machine shop, according to the Cobblestone Museum.
The print shop building was donated to the Cobblestone Museum in 1977 by Erling Maine.
For more on the historic buildings at the Cobblestone Museum, click here.
Damico wants to train volunteers on how to use the printing presses and equipment in the shop. He has a print shop in his basement with equipment from the 1920s.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 July 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – The Medina Tourism Committee, State Canal Corp. and some passing cyclists celebrated a new interpretive panel on Monday morning explaining the Canal Culvert and other culverts along the Erie Canal system.
The panel is along the towpath on the north side of the Culvert.
Jim Hancock, chairman of the Medina Tourism Committee, said many cyclists, walkers and other canal users pass by the spot without realizing the remarkable culvert below.
The new panel draws attention to spot, the only place on the 363-mile-long canal where a road goes under the canal.
“This will let people know there is a significant architectural structure there,” Hancock said. “It’s one of a kind.”
Hancock helped organize the panel dedication on Monday. He wanted the event to express appreciation to the Canal Corp. for putting up the panel, and for also being a good caretaker of the nearly 200-year-old manmade waterway.
“We just wanted to say , “Thank you,'” Hancock said.
Here are some highlights of the panel, which also includes information on other culverts on the canal:
The panel notes the original culvert in Medina was dismantled in 1854 and rebuilt the following year. It was further upgraded in 1895.
Medina doesn’t have the only significant culvert on the canal system.
By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 11 July 2015 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – Sports enthusiasts from Medina will recognize the name Carl Fischer from his time as a major league pitcher in the 1930s. Albion residents are familiar with his newsstand, which retains his name to this day.
Yet all of Orleans County can appreciate the contributions that Fischer made to this community after his years in the big leagues.
A native of Medina, Charles W. Fischer was born on Nov. 5, 1905 and graduated from Medina High School in 1924. Following graduation he started his professional career with various minor league teams throughout the east coast before he transitioned into the limelight. Selected by the Washington Senators, Fischer debuted on July 19, 1930 in a 5-2 loss against the Cleveland Indians.
In 1932 the “Medina Mauler” was sent to the Detroit Tigers where he would experience his best days as a hurler. It was in that year that Fischer was said to have struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Sam Byrd consecutively in a game against the New York Yankees. Of course his career was far from glorious; Carl threw the pitch that gave Lou Gehrig his 41st home run in 1931 and the pitch that gave Joe DiMaggio his 21st home run in 1937.
In a 1933 game against the New York Yankees, Carl “Lefty” Fischer had the game well in hand until a series of walks paved the way for a Babe Ruth single and a Tony Lazzeri home run that brought both Earl Combs and Lou Gehrig in for runs. His 1933 season with the Detroit Tigers marked the best of his career, ranking 2nd in the league for pitchers with fewest home runs against, 10th in the league for strikeouts, and 9th overall for lowest earned run average. The following year in 1934, Fischer helped lead the Tigers to their first American League pennant.
Fischer capped his career with 42 wins and 50 losses, a 4.63 ERA, and having started 105 of the 191 games he played. He pitched 31 complete games, earned 3 shutouts and 10 saves with a .479 win-loss percentage. During the seasons he spent in the majors as a pitcher, he played with the Washington Senators, the Detroit Tigers, and the Cleveland Indians and earned a total of $32,000 during the length of his career, a whopping $500,000 by today’s standards (and still a fraction of player salaries today).
Upon his return to Orleans County, Carl was instrumental in the development of the Central Orleans Midget League to which he donated the “Carl Fischer Trophy” for the winning team each season.
In 1959 he opened the well-known Fischer’s Newsstand and operated the business until his death on Dec. 10, 1963, just weeks before his intended retirement. In 1964 the Village of Medina dedicated a plaque in his memory at the Medina Veteran’s Park, highlighting his career accomplishments and paying tribute to a true local sports legend.
By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 5 July 2015 at 12:00 am
CLARENDON – The history of Orleans County is sprinkled with the stories of our ancestors who served this great nation over the last 239 years.
As we celebrate Independence Day this weekend, it is only proper to recall the service of those men before us who risked everything they had as young men. They took up arms against what they believe to be an oppressive government focused on unfair taxation and inconsistent representation.
One such hero of the American Revolution was Lemuel Cook. A native of Northbury, Connecticut, Cook enlisted near Watertown, Connecticut at the young age of 16. He was present for the Battle of Brandywine and at Yorktown for General Cornwallis’ Surrender in 1781.
An eventual settler of Clarendon, “Lem” as he was known, would earn the distinction of the oldest pensioner of the Revolution at the time of his death on May 20, 1866 at the age of 107.
As a man in his old age, his talk became fragmented and his thoughts became scattered, but a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes when asked to recall the stories of his meetings with General Washington.
On the first occasion Washington approached Lemuel to ask “Is that your horse soldier?” Coming to attention, Lem responded, “Yes, Sir!” Placing the young lad at ease, Gen. Washington inquired of his name to which Lem responded, “Lemuel Cook, from Connecticut, Sir.”
After a quick compliment on the fine horse that Lem was tending to, Washington said, “Well, you take care of him, you will be glad you did,” and the General continued on.
The final resting place of Mr. Cook was vandalized in early 2006 and we are fortunate that quick work was made of restoring his beautiful gravestone to its rightful condition.
Nearly three years later, Lemuel would cross paths with Washington again. Minding his own business, Cook’s attention was grabbed by a deep, rich voice that called out, “Lem Cook, is that you? I thought that might be you with that Bay.”
Taken aback by the comment, Cook managed to let out a “Yes Sir, it’s very good to see you Sir.” A brief conversation concluded with yet another compliment of Cook’s fine horse; “I admire the lines of your Bay, Lem. I have one like it at Mount Vernon.”
Cook lived out the last days of his life at his home in Clarendon. In one of the last interviews conducted, he was asked to comment on the Civil War that was currently engulfing the nation. With a strong, booming voice he brought his cane down upon the floor with force shouting, “It is terrible, but terrible as it is the rebellion must be put down!”
Lem Cook was a celebrity in his day with people across the nation seeking the signature of their last living patriot. It is said that a publisher from Hartford, Connecticut sent a photographer to capture this only image of Cook in 1861.
Editor’s Note: Cook is buried at a cemetery on Munger Road in Clarendon.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – Lee Richards, pastor of the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion, preaches from the pulpit at the Cobblestone Universalist Church today.
The Pullman congregation twice a year has church at the cobblestone site in Gaines, a building from 1834. That church is oldest cobblestone church in North America and is a National Historic Landmark.
Universalists met at the cobblestone site until the new Pullman church, built with money from Albion native and business tycoon George Pullman, opened in 1895.
The Albion congregation of Unitarian-Universalists has been holding services twice a year at the cobblestone church for at least four decades, with a service the fourth Sunday in June and a patriotic service the first Sunday in July.
In honor of the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, Richards prepared a sermon as if it was June 28, 1865. He spent a month researching that time frame, looking up sermons, essays and newspaper reports.
Richards dressed as a preacher would in that era, with a large loose tie, a vest and some wild hair. Richards said people in that era hadn’t updated their clothes in years because of the war and they went without haircuts for extended periods.
The church presented a program from June 28, 1865, with the minister at that time named Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham. The church is located in a hamlet that was known then as Fairhaven.
The Cobblestone Universalist Church had endured many ministers who stayed briefly from 1834 to 1865. The church would close in 1865 and reopened in 1874 after a new minister, Rev. Nelson Snell, instilled a newfound zeal in the congregation, according to the church program from today.
During his sermon today, Richards spoke as if it was 1865 and the impending closure of the church would be “one more travesty of the terrible war that just concluded.”
The community and country, at that time, needed religion “now more than ever,” Richards said.
Richards noted the war claimed half a million lives, and left countless others wounded – missing limbs, eyes and bearing invisible scars: “from taken up arms against friends and family.”
Richards’ prepared a sermon from June 28, 1865, which was about two months after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated – “taken from us so suddenly and so shamelessly.” The country desperately needed Lincoln’s leadership for reconciliation between the north and the south, Richards said.
In his sermon, he advocated for rights and education for women and “people of the African race.” He noted that Universalist seminaries were preparing women to preach and lead churches at that time.
Jeremy Rath plays the organ in the balcony of the historic church.
Judy Wenrich dressed as a Native American woman for the service to help commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Wenrich said many Native Americans were assimilated into Christian churches in the 19th Century.
Lee Richards, right, chats with his wife Louise Wu and Matt Ballard, director of the Cobblestone Museum, following the service today. The church will hold its annual patriotic service next Sunday at 11 a.m.
Adrienne Kirby holds her daughter Rosemary after today’s service. Kirby’s father, Bill Lattin, was the Cobblestone Museum director and curator for about 40 years.
By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 27 June 2015 at 12:00 am
HOLLEY – This image shows the horse barn owned by Dr. George C. Kesler of Holley. The photographer directed his camera to the southeast while standing on the north side of East Albion Street.
The house in the background belonged to Dr. Kesler and was situated along the bend of White Street. The barn itself was located on the corner of East Albion and White Streets.
George Kesler, a native of Kendall, graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College on March 25, 1892. After his return to Orleans County, he started his practice in Holley on Main Street at a location west of the hotel. He married Agnes O’Neil and the couple made their home at this site in 1893. Kesler outlived his three wives, Agnes, Ana Wilson, and Ada before his own death in 1937.
Advertising as a Veterinary Surgeon and Dentist, his ads regularly featured the line, “All diseases of animals scientifically treated – open day and night.” The gentleman kneeling in front of the fence seems to have coaxed the horses to pop their heads through the windows for this photo. Both the barn and house of Dr. Kesler were razed and no longer exist at this site.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 June 2015 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – The Orleans County Historical Association wants to preserve this one-room schoolhouse on Gaines Basin Road in Gaines, just north of the Erie Canal. The building (pictured in March) was built in 1832 and is one of the oldest cobblestone structures in the county. The Historical Association would like to have a historical marker noting the building’s history as a schoolhouse.
ALBION – Orleans County’s pride in its history is obvious from the many markers that celebrate prominent former residents, architectural marvels and other important sites in the county, County Historian Matt Ballard said.
For many years, the county set aside funds in the historian’s budget to help pay for the blue and gold markers that are sprinkled around the county, Ballard told county legislators on Wednesday.
Ballard wants to have those funds reinstated some more markers can go up in a partnership with the Orleans County Historical Association.
That group wants a marker on Gaines Basin Road for a former one-room cobblestone schoolhouse that was built in 1832. That site “is likely the oldest cobblestone building we have in Orleans County,” said Al Capurso, who is leading the effort to preserve the former schoolhouse, which has largely been abandoned since 1944.
The Historical Association is in process of acquiring the former school house from Jim Panek, who is donating the building, Capurso said. Volunteers have been cleaning out the school house and planning for its future.
The marker would note the Gaines Basin Schoolhouse was built from field cobblestones in 1832, replacing a log cabin where Caroline Phipps taught. She would later start a seminary for women in Albion at a site where the County Clerks’ Building now stands.
Here is a rendering on how the historical marker could look.
The historical marker would cost $1,289. Capurso and Ballard asked legislators to set aside $500 in county funds for the marker. The Historical Association would pay the remaining $789.
Legislature Chairman David Callard said the county wants to first see a public campaign to cover the $500. If the funds can’t be raised, Callard said the Legislature would consider the request.
Callard also said he would like to see the group work on refurbishing some of the existing signs that have flaking paint and are difficult to read.
Capurso said the effort to preserve the schoolhouse has enjoyed support in the community, from Jim Panek, the volunteers on the cleaning crew, and the Town of Gaines, which said it would have highway workers set the marker in concrete.
Capurso said the marker and effort to save the site will honor the cobblestone masons from nearly two centuries ago, and the many students and teachers who worked out of the building.
Putting up the marker and safeguarding the building are small tasks compared to efforts of the early settlers, teachers and students.
“Our efforts pale in contrast to what they’ve done,” Capurso said.
He also praised the contributions of the late Emilio Dilodovico, a farmer who kept the schoolhouse from collapse.
“He kept it going,” Capurso said. “It’s still structurally sound.”
For more information on the project, call Capurso at 590-0763.
Bruce Schmidt, a Gaines town justice and member of the Historical Association, also encouraged the county to develop heritage tourism trails. He cited a smiliar effort in Niagara County. The trails could have locations about the Underground Railroad, Civil War and other historical sites, Schmidt said.
