By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 October 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Two people were out walking today at Mount Albion Cemetery. Many of the leaves have changed colors and come down, but there is still a lot of green on the trees.
The leaves on the trees by the Civil War section have turned yellow, orange and red. It is a moving sight, with the flags on the graves of the Civil War soldiers.
Here is another look at the Civil War section, backed up a little bit to show the flag pole.
Mount Albion is on the National Register of Historic Places. It has many ornamental graves and statues.
This is looking at the same statue, this time with the focus on the leaves in front.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 October 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
CLARENDON – A row of trees with changing leaves runs along Brown Schoolhouse Road, a dirt road in Clarendon, on Tuesday.
Today is forecast for a high of 60 with showers likely, followed by a high of 61 with more rain likely on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
Friday will be sunny with a high of 48, followed by a high of 59 on a mostly cloudy Saturday, and a high of 56 on Sunday with a chance of showers.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 October 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – This photo shows the Erie Canal bridge on Gaines Basin Road this evening. There was also a little fog over the canal.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a freeze warning for tonight from 11 p.m. until 10 a.m. on Sunday. The freeze warning is in effect for most of Western New York with temperatures in the high 20s to lower 30s.
This is the first freeze of the season and could kill tender vegetation if not protected, the Weather Service said.
This photo shows Eagle Harbor Road in Barre this afternoon, in a view from the Miller Road intersection looking south.
Apryl Fox, the maintenance office assistant at Western New York Energy in Medina, took photos of the double rainbow that emerged late this afternoon when the sun came out after the rain.
The photos by Fox show the new 800,000-bushel grain bin by the ethanol plant. The grain bin is 105-foot wide by 142-foot high. The conveyor system at the top of the bin increases the height to 155 feet.
Chris Busch of Medina captured ths image of the double rainbow over the village.
Chris Busch also took this one of the rainbow as seen from South Main Street and Crosby’s.
Jason Smith, the Lyndonville Central School superintendent, grabbed this shot of the double rainbow on Route 31 looking east at the Eagle Harbor Road intersection.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – A small sign on a tree in a ditch in Holley notes that this was part of the original Erie Canal loop that meandered to the Public Square area of Holley.
The state veered the canal from a relatively straight line in 1823 due to the high banks and engineering challenge in dealing with Sandy Creek.
This map in the Holley Post Office shows how the Erie Canal used to loop about 2,000 feet towards the Public Square.
There was an unusually deep ravine formed by the east branch of Sandy Creek, which presented a difficult engineering problem for builders of the original Erie Canal in the early 1820s, according to display on the north side of the canal by the Holley lift bridge. The State Canal Corp. put up that display about “The Holley Loop.”
This historical marker is next to the railroad depot used by the Murray-Holley Historical Society near Save-A-Lot. The original canal went near the depot and Public Square and some stone and remnants are still visible in the community.
Rather than try to build the canal on the ravine, engineers opted to take a sharp turn near the current lift bridge and cross over a relatively narrow section of the creek.
“The sharp curve required boaters to slow down, which made a promising location for canal-oriented businesses,” according to the state display. “The Village of Holley grew at this bend in the canal.”
The village created a canal park about 15 years ago and the path follows close to where the canal loop passed through nearly 200 years ago.
The canal was widened throughout the 363-mile-long system from 1905 to 1918 and much of the original canal was replaced by the wider and deeper canal.
But in Holley, some of the original remained because it wasn’t touched as part of the Barge Canal widening in the early 1900s.
Another map, this one displayed in the office of Dr. Dan Schiavone, shows the Holley Loop. It linked back to the canal just west of Bennetts Corners Road.
The state in 1854-61, decided the original loop needed to be straightened out in Holley to create a shorter, more navigable waterway. A new section of the canal was built over a very high and long embankment.
“Because state law did not allow canal sections to be abandoned in villages or cities, the old loop was still used for several decades to serve local businesses,” according to the state display about the Holley Loop. “Canal traffic no longer stopped in the village, however, and eventually the loop was drained and eliminated. Traces of the original canal can still be seen east of the Public Square.”
This culvert from the old canal can be seen from Route 31, a few houses east of Glenside Automotive.
I wrote about trying to find the original canal in Holley last week while on a nature walk on the Holley trail system off the canal.
I couldn’t find any signs pointing to the old canal, and wasn’t sure if I was seeing any remnants from the original canal.
Three people offered to show it to me on Tuesday. I was joined by Holley dentist Dan Schiavone, Erin Anheier from the Clarendon Historical Society, and Mark Scarborough, who lives on Bennetts Corners Road where the former trolley passed by his home until the trolly closed in the 1930s.
This trail runs from off Route 31, west of Bennetts Corners Road to the canal. The canal once ran along side this path. However, Mark Scarborough said this was a companion to the original canal, which is more to the left with lots of stone and other remnants from the original.
Scarborough says invasive plants, including Wild Rose, have proliferated in the old canal bed.
Holley’s trail system doesn’t have any wayfinding signs that would point to the original canal. The only sign is the small one nailed to a tree.
So, I wonder if the old canal bed is a big deal, or maybe a really big deal? Should it be cleared out and perhaps made into a walking trail that could be explored? Would people come check out the only original canal bed west of Rochester on the canal system?
I would encourage the village and canal to at least have signs pointing to the canal bed, and interpretive panels that talk about the “Holley Loop” and this bit of Holley and canal history. There could be interpretive panels on the trail near the canal and also in the Public Square. That wouldn’t cost too much. (The state information display is on the north side of the canal away from the gazebo and the canal park. I doubt many people look at it.)
The village created this trail system in 2000 and used sandstone to line one side. The stone isn’t from the original canal project, but the path follows close to the Holley Loop.
Holley named the canal trail in honor of Andrew Cuomo, who was the HUD secretary at the time and directed some federal funds to the village for the project.
The historical marker is close to the start of the trail.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 October 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – No school and a day off from work for many people has people outdoors enjoying an unseasonably warm day with lots of sunshine on Columbus Day.
The top photo shows Gene Warner of Ohio getting his hook ready while fishing in the Oak Orchard River. He and five other friends made the trip to Orleans County to try to reel in salmon and trout.
Warner and two of his friends set up where there used to be a small bridge crossing the Oak Orchard River.
This photo, taken from Route 98 past Narby’s, is looking at the two remaining bridges at “The Bridges.”
These folks are out in a boat near the Route 18 bridge over the Oak Orchard.
After a day in the 70s today, the high temperatures will fall to 60 on Tuesday followed by 51 on Wednesday, 55 on Thursday and 52 on Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
Photos by Cheryl Wertman
BARKER – Golden Hill State Park welcomed visitors for its annual “Christmas at the Lighthouse” celebration at the historic site just east of the Orleans County line in Barker.
The lighthouse tower even had its own wreath as visitors climbed to the top for a scenic view on the sunny afternoon.
Santa and his elf Adrian arrive to hand out candy canes to waiting youngsters.
Young Kevin O’Neil lets Santa hold him for a picture along with elf Adrian.
Dad Ben Spencer holds his children, Carly (camera shy) and Parker (dressed for Christmas), for Santa and elf Adrian so that other family members can get pictures.
The living room in the lighthouse is decorated with a Christmas tree.
This campsite has a table set for a Christmas dinner for Santa and his snowmen helpers with a nice view of Lake Ontario.
The new playground at Golden Hill is completed and there were plenty of kids trying it out during the festive day.
Christmas and Halloween get together at this campers’ holiday display.
A view up the lighthouse spiral staircase from the ground floor looking up to the top.
A view from the top of the lighthouse with fall colors and Lake Ontario that somewhat resembled the Atlantic Ocean with all of the wind.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 October 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – I’ve heard about how the canal used to go near the Public Square in Holley and how remnants of the original canal remain. On Tuesday, after seeing the Tugboat Urger in Holley, I went for a walk on Holley’s trail system to see if I could find any signs of the original canal.
I didn’t find any stone walls or old artifacts from the original canal. But I did see a blue heron perched in a tree.
This branch hangs out over the canal in Holley, just west of the Bennetts Corners Road canal bridge. Holley has a trail system that goes from its canal park into the woods by the waterfalls and to the Public Square.
Get too close to the heron, and it will take off in flight.
The canal allows many close encounters with wildlife, from deer, ducks, birds, fish, turtles and more.
Looking down from the path on the south side of the canal there is what I think is a waste weir, where water is drained from the canal.
I think this water feeds Sandy Creek which cuts through the woods. I was looking for old canal remnants, but came up empty.
This is a good size culvert you don’t normally see in a wooded area.
Here is another look at the culvert with the zoom lens.
Follow the trail by Sandy Creek and you discover the top of the Holley Waterfalls.
You have options on the Holley walking trail – left or right?
I headed back to the path by the canal and met my friend, the heron. It had moved down a little closer to the canal bridge.
Once again, you get too close and it takes off flying.
If anyone wants to show me where the canal walls are from the original canal, send me an email and we can work out a time to go see it. (tom@orleanshub.com)
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 October 2015 at 12:00 am
Urger proves popular with fourth-graders
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – The historic Urger, a tugboat from 1901, was in Holley on Tuesday as part of its state-wide educational mission. The tugboat was a working vessel on the canal, hauling machinery, dredges and scows on the canal system for 60 years until the boat was retired from services in the 1980s.
The boat was built in 1901 in Ferrysburg, Michigan, and was a commercial shipping vessel in Michigan before joining the canal fleet in the 1920s.
In 1991, the Urger got new life as a “Teaching Tug.” It visits canal communities from early May until late October, educating children and adults about the canal system, which opened in 1825.
Fourth-graders from School No. 2 in Rochester visit the boat on Tuesday morning. Holley students stopped by in the afternoon before Urger headed to Brockport.
The Rochester students used to tour the Mary Jemison boat until it retired two years ago.
When the lift bridge went up in Holley, the cameras and Smart Phones came out to capture the sights and sounds of the century-old bridge.
A modern boat passes by Urger and the lift bridge, heading east towards Brockport on Tuesday.
Students were welcome to tour the boat and see a small kitchen, a bathroom and the sleeping quarters for the crew.
A crew of four lives on the boat from early May until late October, sharing New York State history with a focus on the how the canal, completed in 1825, turned NY into an economic powerhouse for business, and breathing life into many small towns along the canal.
“They learn how important the canal was to New York State, and how important it could be,” said Mike Byrnes, a deckhand on the Urger.
He lives in Waterford near Albany and has spent 13 seasons on Urger.
“The fourth-graders are a lot of fun,” he said.
The Urger captain sounded the horn on top of the boat. It has a light sound, like a whistle, and a deeper signal. The fourth-graders enjoyed the loud, low noise the most.
There isn’t much in the way of fancy technology at the helm of the boat. The captain uses a wheel and bell that rings in the engine room.
The Urger is 75 feet long and weighs 83.7 tons. The engine weighs 19.5 tons. It is a 1944 Atlas Imperial engine that was surplus from World War II. It replaced a steam engine.
The Urger is shown in this photo looking under the lift bridge in Holley.
Mike Pelletier, the engineer on the boat, is in his second season with Urger. The Newark resident said it has been eye-opening serving on the vessel and seeing the canal communities.
He gave Holley high marks for developing a nice park with amenities by the canal for boaters, and also for lots of signage pointing them to businesses and other services nearby.
“This has been a very educational adventure,” Pelletier said. “There is so much to the canal and not just for boaters. It’s beautiful now for walkers, runners and cyclists (who use the towpath).”
Pelletier said more canal towns should work on signage for boaters, directing them to restaurants, local businesses, libraries and other services. He’d also like to see more displays by the canal about local communities’ histories, giving visitors a historical snapshot about the town or village.
“The towns and villages need to incorporate it more,” he said. “Before I had this job I was as guilty as anyone of taking the canal for granted.
The Urger will be in Brockport the next few days before heading to Spencerport on Oct. 13. Click here to see the schedule and a contact number for local schools to get on the Urger agenda for 2016. The Urger crew urged local schools to arrange tours for next year.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 October 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Tugboat Urger, built in 1901, has spent the past week in Orleans County, first docking in Medina on Sept. 30 before coming to Albion on Friday. The vessel is heading to Holley today and will welcome Holley fourth-graders for a tour and educational program on Tuesday morning before departing for Brockport.
The tugboat was originally used as a fishing boat and commercial shipping vessel for its first two decades. In the early 1920s, the Urger was sold to New York and was used to haul machinery, dredges and scows on the canal system for 60 years until the boat was retired from services in the 1980s.
The tugboat, one of the oldest working vessels in the country, is pictured in Albion this morning with the Ingersoll Street lift bridge in back.
In 1991, the Urger got new life as a “Teaching Tug.” It visits canal communities from early May until late October, educating children and adults about the canal system, which opened in 1825.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 September 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – It was a spectacle of light and color last night in Medina as the sun set. This photo doesn’t do it justice. This was taken near the canal bridge by State Street with the First Baptist Church steeple in the background.
This photo is looking towards the canal bridge, which has been an iconic structure in Medina for a century.
A full moon was also out last night. This photo is looking through the bridge at the moon.
The National Weather Service is forecasting more warm autumn weather in the coming days. Today is forecast for a high of 73 with clouds increasing.
On Monday, the high will be 72, with a 50 percent chance of showers, followed by a high of 71 with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms on Tuesday. Wednesdsay is forecast for a high of 68, followed by a high of 61 on Thursday, according to the Weather Service.
Staff Reports Posted 27 September 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Cheryl Wertman
Orleans Hub photographer Cheryl Wertman captured the total supermoon lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon, tonight.
Tonight is a once in a generation phenomenon, a confluence of three things. The moon will be full and in its closest point in its orbit around the Earth, a so-called supermoon.
There will also be a lunar eclipse when the Earth will line up directly with the sun and moon, directly between the two when the moon will fall in the Earth’s shadow.
The moon will not look completely dark because light scatters off the Earth’s atmosphere, giving the moon a reddish color.
Heather Kuepper also sent in these photos she took in Gaines.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 September 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – A canal boat named Canandaigua was out cruising on the Erie Canal today. I was driving along Presbyterian Road at the widewaters section when I spotted the boat at about 11:30 a.m.
I then hustled to the Presbyterian Road bridge to get the boat approaching.
Here the boat passes by the bridge and heads east towards Eagle Harbor.
A woman on the boat told me it was an “absolutely gorgeous day” to be out on the canal.
Today will be sunny with a high of 74 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. More sunny days are in the forecast.
Thursday will be mostly sunny with a high of 72 degrees, followed by a mostly sunny Friday with a high of 74 degrees. The weekend will also be sunny with a high of 72 on Saturday and 74 on Sunday.
