No new inductees this year for Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2020 at 11:25 am

Photo by Tom Rivers: Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame Committee members Jim Hancock, left, and Don Colquhoun unveil the four new inductees into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame on Oct. 17, 2019. The Hall of Fame has 29 inductees. It was established in 2013 and is located inside Medina City Hall.

MEDINA – October has been a highlight in recent years for the Medina Sandstone Society. The group inducts honorees into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame, which is located in the main meeting room of Medina City Hall.

The Sandstone Society created the Hall of Fame in 2013 and has inducted 29 sites in New York and Pennsylvania. Last year it recognized a mansion in Erie, and churches in Palmyra, Geneva and Rome.

This year there won’t be a Hall of Fame induction due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Jim Hancock, one of the Hall of Fame Committee members, said the group didn’t go visit nominated sites due to Covid concerns.

The Sandstone Society has received 59 nominations since 2013 and welcomes more.

“We weren’t able to do traditional travel to inspect and do research,” Hancock said today.

The Sandstone Society will resume the Hall of Fame induction in 2021, and Hancock said the committee looks forward to getting back on the road to visit the sites. Don Colquhoun and David Miller are also on the committee.

The Sandstone Society is looking to do a special recognition for some of the grand residences in Orleans County made of Medina Sandstone. Those sites wouldn’t be inducted in the Hall of Fame, but Hancock said the committee wants to recognize some of the homes that have been diligently maintained for over a century, some since the 1840s.

“It will be a different type of citation for beautiful and long-lasting homes,” Hancock said. “We haven’t decided how we want to do. It’s a work in progress.”

For more on the Hall of Fame, click here.

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