By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
It was another gorgeous sunset this evening as summer winds down with school only a few days from opening for a new year. The top photo shows the sun setting over Lake Ontario near the Golden Hill State Park in Barker.
The 30 Mile Point Lighthouse, built in 1875, is a focal point of the state park just across the Orleans County line in Niagara County.
This photo shows Atwater Farms, a dairy farm in Barker near the Golden Hill State Park.
The weather looks good for most of Labor Day. The National Weather Service in Buffalo is forecasting a chance of thunderstorms with a high of 82 degrees.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Kyle Townley of Rochester shows his dog “Pembroke” during Saturday’s dog show in Albion. About 600 dogs entered the Tonawanda Valley Kennel Club show at Bullard Park. Another TVKC show will be today at the park from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 4 p.m.
Kyle Townley competes in the novice showmanship competition.
Lorinda Vasuta preps her Pomeranian, “Animation’s Marina,” for the dog show Saturday in Albion at Bullard Park. Her dog is currently in the top 20 of all Pomeranians in the country.
Vasuta is from Medina, Ohio, and has been showing dogs for 40 years.
“It’s very rewarding,” she said. “Producing something that aspires to her level does the heart good,” she said. “This is a sport. There aren’t many sports where old people can compete with the youngsters. Old people actually have an advantage because of our experience.”
Tim Terella of Edinboro, Pa. leads a Siberian Husky named “Gus” during the dog show on Saturday. Gus won best in breed.
Two handlers show these Siberian Huskies during the dog show on Saturday.
Trophies for the top dogs at the Tonawanda Valley Kennel Club dog show are lined up. The club has had its annual dog shows over Labor Day weekend in Albion for the past two decades.
Bullard Park has been taking over by the dogs this weekend with large tents and several show areas set up at the along the site on Route 31.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
A caravan of Model T Fords head down South Main Street in Medina this morning in route from Albion to Orleans Ford in Medina. These two cars are driven by Tom Eagles (1914 Model T Ford four-door convertible), front, of Hamilton, Ontario, and Brad Glover (red 1911 Model T) from Scarborough, Ontario.
About two dozen of the Model T cars are in Orleans County for the weekend, touring local sites. The owners are members of the Model T Ford Club, Ontario Region. Many of the drivers are Canadians.
Glover, the Ontario resident, said he welcomes the get-a-ways with his car.
“It’s for the camaraderie,” he said. “That’s the whole the point of doing it. I don’t see the point of just looking at it.”
Most of the Model T cars are painted black. That’s how they were made from 1914 to 1925. Glover’s car was made in 1911 and was painted red.
“The early cars had colors,” he said. “They also had more brass.”
George Bidleman (left), owner of Orleans Fords in Medina, poses with Doug Lockwood of Albion and Lockwood’s 1926 Ford Model T. Lockwood has owned the car since the 1960s and driven it in many states.
“It’s been a good car,” Lockwood said.
Bidleman served the Model T drivers and riders breakfast at the dealership.
“It’s awesome,” Bidleman said, looking at the lineup of old cars.
The “Easy Ride Tour” heads to Lockport and Olcott today. On Sunday the cars head to Pine Hill Airport in Barre for breakfast, then they go to Brockport and swing back to Schwenk’s Winery in Kent.
Monday they are going to Mount Albion Cemetery before heading out to see the Shoe Tree in Lyndonville, and nearby Amish and Mennonite businesses.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The former Starlite Dry Cleaners has been vacant on Main Street in Medina since a fire damaged the building a decade ago. Environmental concerns have a holdup in the site’s redevelopment.
MEDINA – An environmental audit of two vacant side-by-side sites on Main Street puts the costs of a cleanup at $177,000.
The former Starlite Dry Cleaners at 331 North Main St. has been empty since a fire in the building a decade ago. Its neighbor at 333 North Main also is vacant.
Great Lakes Environmental in Buffalo said remediating the sites, with a partial takedown, would cost $177,000.
Addressing the environmental issues is critical for the two sites to be contributing locations to Medina’s Main Street and community, said Mayor Andrew Meier.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation pledged $50,000 to $60,000 to the cleanup in 2008. The village is trying to make sure that funding is still committed for the cleanup. Medina could also pursue state funding through the Consolidated Funding Application. Meier expects the state would welcome the project because the two buildings are in a historic business district by the Erie Canal.
“It’s a very important project in that neighborhood,” he said. “It’s precluding other projects from happening.”
A previous study showed some dry-cleaning solvents were in the soil at Starlite. The site has been in limbo for years. A previous owner stopped paying taxes on the site. Normally the property would then be owned by Orleans County, but the county hasn’t accepted the property due to the potential environmental liabilities.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Lyndonville site is full of natural splendor
Photos by Tom Rivers – A tree is pictured next to Smith’s Pond near Platten Road in Lyndonville, part of the Robin Hill Nature Preserve.
Robin Hill has about 400 varieties of trees. They create a natural sanctuary.
LYNDONVILLE – If you’re looking for serenity and a sense of awe, Robin Hill Nature Preserve should provide your needs.
The site off Platten Road is a nature paradise with about 400 types of trees. Many tower high in the sky. Others are short and the branches shoot outward, creating a canopy of leaves you have to stoop to miss.
It’s a great place. I was fortunate to stop by this evening with my family to see Doug Pratt. His late grandfather, William Smith, developed the 45-acre site, and also built the accompanying house of Medina sandstone.
The site is popular with photographers and nature lovers. Pratt enjoys sharing the space. He created the Robin Hill Foundation with an educational mission for the property. Click here for more information.
Smith owned a canning factory in Lyndonville and built a nature preserve. In 1948, he and his wife Mary began work on the sandstone home, doing much of the work themselves with some help from family and employees at the canning factory. It took several years to build the house.
Smith and his wife Mary kept swans, and many Lyndonville youths from two generations ago grew up feeding the majestic creatures.
William and Mary Smith created the site after their daughter Lucille died from Scarlet Fever at age 19. They named it Robin Hill. Many of the trees and plants are rare and exotic, and they attract numerous varieties of birds.
Press release, New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association
ALBION – Officers from the Orleans Correctional Facility held their second annual charity golf tournament on Aug. 18 and raised $7,000 for the American Heart Association in honor of an officer who recently passed away from a heart-related condition.
The charity event, which had more than 150 participants at the Batavia Country Club, raised $7,000 in the name of Officer Duane Catanesi, who passed away suddenly in January.
Fellow officers and civilian staff from Orleans organized the tournament and had assistance from officers from Attica and Gowanda Correctional Facilities. The tournament was also supported from local businesses in the area that donated raffle items and sponsored tee signs.
Last year the tournament benefited the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in honor of an officer who could no longer work after he was diagnosed with MS. The 2013 tournament raised $6,500 for the MS Society.
“I would like to thank each and every officer who volunteered their time in organizing and participating in this important charity event,” said Western Region Vice President Mike Dildine. “For the past two years this tournament has supported two important organizations that are very close to our members’ hearts. They not only raised money to support these two organizations, but they did it in honor of two fellow officers and their families. NYSCOPBA members raise money for a wide variety of charities and local community organizations throughout the year and our members should be proud of the impact they have on those organizations.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Orleans County Legislature Chairman David Callard, center, accepts a plaque from of the Orleans County Sportsmen Federation, including Mike Elam, at left, and Mike Donahue, the group’s president.
ALBION – When the log cabin at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds needed repairs beginning about three years ago, the County Legislature directed $5,000 to replacing three of the walls at the site.
Volunteers, including Legislature Chairman David Callard, have worked steadily at removing the old rotted walls and replacing them with new wood.
The refurbished log cabin, including a new front fence, was done in time for last month’s fair, providing a safer and better showcase for local conservation and sportsmen’s clubs.
Leaders of the Orleans County Sportsmen Federation stopped by the Legislature’s meeting on Wednesday to thank the group for their support. The Sportsmen presented a plaque to Legislature Chairman David Callard, who spent a couple days working with volunteers on the project, removing old mortar and tearing out the rotted wood.
The cabin was first completed in 1976 and is used for many hunter safety classes, and conservation programs.
File photo by Tom Rivers – Volunteers work on removing a wall at a log cabin at the 4-H Fairgrounds in this photo from June. A new wooden wall was built in time for the fair.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 August 2014 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – Brunner International is working on a 48,000-square-foot addition to its complex at the corner of Route 31 and Bates Road in Medina.
MEDINA – A company that is investing $15 million on an expansion in Medina and adding 35 employees has been named “Business of the Year” by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.
Brunner International is working to have the expansion ready by Jan. 1 at the corner of Route 31 and Bates Road. The 48,000-square-foot expansion will create 35 new positions and also retain 363 local jobs.
Brunner is based in Canada. The company is expanding the production of machined axle forgings that are sold to large, heavy-duty truck and trailer suppliers. It will utilize automation and add jobs as part of the expansion.
Brunner will be recognized during a Sept. 20 awards banquet at Tillman’s Historic Village Inn in Childs.
Other award winners, announced today by the Chamber, include:
New Business of the Year: BAD-AsH-BBQ
Entrepreneurial Excellence: Precision Packaging Products, Inc.
Phoenix Award: Fair Haven Treasures
Community Service: Anni Skowneski and Kenneth DeRoller
Lifetime Achievement: Bruce Krenning and Marcia Tuohey
Agricultural Business of the Year: Lake Ontario Fruit.
For more information about the awards banquet, call the Chamber at 589-7727.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Visitors now have to use elevator and be ‘buzzed’ in
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Residents who wanted to see the County Legislature typically would ascend the stairs at the County Clerks’ Building at 3 South Main St.
But visitors now have to use an elevator from the bottom floor and be “buzzed” in.
The county took out old tall wooden doors and replaced it with smaller doors with a steel frame. The old doors are being stored. (This picture was taken in late July while the old doors were still in place. A new door is in the back.)
Most of the Legislature’s visitors won’t be using the new door. They are directed to a door just outside the elevator on the top floor. Legislature David Callard said legislative staff were often caught off guard with two entrances leading to their work area.
The upgraded security is part of an effort to make the county buildings safer for employees, Callard said.
“We’re looking at other departments,” he said. “This is concern for all municipalities across the nation.”
The finished product includes a secure entrance leading into the top floor of the County Clerks’ Building.
Photo courtesy of Cobblestone Museum – Homer C. Brown used this bat-wing Football Nose Guard, pat. 1891. Brown played football for Albion and his nose guard was donated to the Cobblestone Museum.
By Matt Ballard
Co-director of Cobblestone Museum
CHILDS – Well before “League of Denial” was released, before the NFL acknowledged the severity of concussions and beyond the widespread use of plastic helmets and facemasks, football players relied on leather helmets and homemade equipment for protection.
American football has changed a great deal over the last century and this “Victor Special” bat-wing style nose guard manufactured under Arthur Cumnock’s patent for the “Morrill Nose Mask” (1891) depicts the frightening history of football protection.
Arthur Cumnock cited in his patent that although blows to the face were not permitted in the game, players were allowed to push off of their opponents with considerable force.
Injuries to the nose and mouth were unavoidable during game, which could render a player unusable for a considerable amount of time.
The rubber nose mask was fitted with a strap that went around the head to keep the top portion of the piece in place. A rubber ledge was fitted on the backside for the player to place in his mouth.
The “bat-wing” style mask added extra coverage for the player’s cheeks and chin to prevent any severe injuries to those portions of the face. Holes were drilled into the front to allow for breathing.
The 1898 Albion Football Team pictured with their mascot “Rover.” Several players are depicted with nose masks hanging around their necks, including Billy Rose (center with football) who is wearing a nose mask similar to Cumnock’s 1891 bat-wing model. Pictured, from left, front row: Murray Hardenbook, “Rover” and Guyler Leslie. Second row: Fred Hillspaugh, Pete Galarneau, Billy Rose, Bert Squire, George Sullivan and Bob Clark. Third row: John Wilson, Frank Mason, Eugene Barnum, Clayton Blood and George Wall.
Spaulding featured this protective equipment in their catalogs for a period of time at the cost of 70 cents.
It would take another 60 years for head and face protection to become a serious concern for officials in the NFL.
This piece was not required for football players at any age and the bulky nature of the device caused it to fall to the wayside.
Today, these nose masks are highly sought-after artifacts that open the window into a bygone era.
Created to prevent serious injuries to athletes, it represents the first step towards player safety in a highly physical sport.
The nose mask pictured above was used by Homer Culver Brown while he was a student athlete on the Albion Football Team.
It will be displayed beginning this weekend at the Cobblestone Museum.
