Stormsong Hollow Minerals celebrates opening day on Main Street in Albion

Photos by Tom Rivers: Chris Atwell and Trish Marciszewski celebrate the opening of their business, Stormsong Hollow Minerals, in downtown Albion today. Marciszewski has been collecting minerals since she was a kid when she won a chance to go to the Herkimer Diamond Mines and found a diamond. She has turned her passion for minerals into a new business.

ALBION – Trish Marciszewski jokingly blames her earth science teacher Steve McKenna for her passion for minerals.

When she was a student at Albion, she won a contest and a chance to go to the Herkimer Mines. She went and was the only one to find a diamond that day.

It kicked off a passion and deep appreciation for minerals, and their many colors and textures.

“I’ve been on fire for it ever since,” Marciszewski said today at her business, Stormsong Hollow Minerals.

Stormsong has many different minerals available, including Chalcopyrite “Peacock Ore” from Zacatecas, Mexico at left, and Amethyst from Veracruz, Mexico at right.

She celebrated opening day today for the business at 49 North Main St. Marciszewski, a former public safety dispatcher for the county for 10 years, outgrew the space at her garage and home. The business has grown since she started a TikTok page last November. She has 2,100 followers on TikTok for stormhollowminerals with live shows every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Marciszewski runs the business with Chris Atwell, who worked as a local EMT for 16 years. The TikTok customers will order some of the minerals in the videos and they are packaged and shipped by Marciszewski and Atwell.

They also have attended many local shows to build up the business. The demand has grown, overwhelming their home. They welcomed the chance to move the business to Main Street in Albion, where there is more space and gives them a chance to give the downtown district a boost.

“There’s a lot of really good businesses down here working hard to make it work,” she said.

Village of Albion Deputy Mayor Joyce Riley, right, presents a certificate of recognition to Chris Atwell and Trish Marciszewski during opening day for Stormsong Hollow Minerals.

Marciszewski said McKenna, her former earth science teacher, shared a love for minerals. He said each crystal or mineral is born in a storm within the earth.

Marciszewski said she has been passionate about minerals for the past 34 years.

“I’m just fascinated by science and that the earth makes these things,” she said.

None of the Crystal Buddies are exactly alike.

Marciszewski has amassed her own collection, and loves to help other people discover minerals. She said the popularity has grown as people embrace minerals for healing properties,  energy, good luck or simply to beautify a mantel.

Stormsong Hollow sells crystals and minerals in raw and polished forms. They are available in necklaces, pendants and bracelets, and as “Crystal Buddies.” Those buddies have faces, with eyes of Obsidian volcanic glass.

Storm Hollow has relationships with suppliers all over the world. The minerals have cards telling where they are from. Marciszewski and Atwell work with suppliers and miners all over the United States, and from China, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, France, Peru, Russia, Bolivia, India, South Africa, Egypt and other countries.

Marciszewski said mineral collecting used to be primarily for science buffs, but it has become far more mainstream. The internet has helped people learn about minerals. Storm Hollow is happy to help connect them to their favorites.

Storm Hollow is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

Furious Robinson, Trish Marciszewski’s son, holds some of the Crystal Buddies for $10 that are very popular with customers.

Press Release, Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events, Inc.

ALBION – Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events, Inc., is putting a call out to all members of the community to participate in a music video on Oct. 12 to help promote Bullard Park.

Anyone and everyone is invited – the more the merrier! People should meet at noon at the base of the sledding hill.

Participants are encouraged to dress in accordance with their interests and/or hobbies – jerseys, costumes, etc. are encouraged. We ask that no political or religious items be brought to the shoot.

A simple dance (the original Santa dance taught to Charles Howard for the Macy’s parade) will be taught that participants will perform, then a fun, freestyle moment will allow all to have some fun.

We ask all participants to fill out a waiver for video usage. Participants under the age of 18 must have the waiver completed by a consenting adult. Waivers are available online and will be available the day of the event.

The Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events, Inc. “G-ACRE” has a mission to create and provide for recreational activities, support volunteerism, and improve the quality of life in the greater Albion community.

Site also includes bench and lamppost made from repurposed steel from lift bridge

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Albion eighth-graders sing “Low Bridge, Everybody Down” as part of today’s dedication ceremony for the Erie Canal Park, a site across from the Albion fire hall on Platt Street. The students are joined by a miniature donkey and mule.

The village Department of Public Works cleared part of the land in the spring and has made other improvements to the park by the Erie Canal, between to the two lift bridges.

Today’s dedication also included the unveiling of a monument to the 15 people killed in the Sept. 28, 1859 bridge collapse. There was a crowd of 250 people, plus five horses, on the bridge that day 165 years ago. The people gathered to see a wirewalker on a tight rope over the canal.

The bridge would tumble into the canal, killing 15 people.

The park includes a lamppost and a bench made from repurposed steel from the Main Street lift bridge when it was originally constructed in 1913. The bridge is getting a major overhaul and is expected to reopen to traffic on Dec. 19 following just over two years of construction.

Bill Schutt, left, is the artist from Batavia who made the lamppost, which will be solar powered. A Go Art! grant paid for Schutt to make the lamppost. Schutt said the lamppost was made in an art deco style from the 1930s and ’40s. He said he enjoys making art from recycled materials.

Albion Mayor Angel Javier Jr. is next to Schutt and Deputy Mayor Joyce Riley is on the bench that was made by employees in the sewer plant, the Joint Pollution Control Facility. Village employees Ric Albright, Kyle Piccirilli and William Malone worked on the bench, which also includes a time capsule to be opened on Sept. 28, 2059.

Albion students who were part of today’s celebration join in the photo.

The village worked with community volunteers to make the Erie Canal Park more enticing to boaters and residents.

Tim Archer, an Albion teacher, served as the emcee for today’s program. Albion students have painted a mural about the canal on the Albion fire hall, put in an interpretive panel about the Erie Canal and its impact on Albion, and also helped secure a historical marker noting Marquis de LaFayette’s tour along the Erie Canal which included a stop in Albion on June 6-7, 1825.

David Oakley (left), owner of Bridgen Memorials, and Dave Strickland, the stone cutter at Bridgen, were instrumental in creating the monument.

They are shown on a side with 15 handprints from local community members to represent the 15 people who died in the bridge collapse.

The side includes a silhouette of Charles Blondin, the famous wire walker who crossed Niagara Falls and who inspired George Williams to try walking on a tightrope in Albion.

The outline of the bridge shows the Squire Whipple bowstring iron truss bridge that crashed into the canal 165 years ago. The bridge was 60 feet long, about half the length of the current lift bridge over the canal.

Those who perished in the bridge collapse include:

• Perry G. Cole, 19, of Barre
• Augusta Martin, 18, of Carlton
• Ann Viele, 36, of Gaines
• Edwin Stillson, 16, of Barre
• Joseph Code, 18, of Albion
• Lydia Harris, 11, of Albion
• Thomas Handy, 66, of Yates
• Sarah Thomas, 10, of Carlton
• William Henry, 22, of Saratoga County
• Ransom S. Murdock, 17, of Carlton
• Adelbert Wilcox, 17, of West Kendall
• Sophia Pratt, 18, of Toledo, Ohio
• Thomas Aulchin, 50, of Paris (Canada)
• Jane Lavery, 16, of Albion
• Charles Rosevelt, 21, of Sandy Creek

The handprints used in the memorial are from people close in age to the victims. Those handprints include Dr. Tom Madejski, 64; Tom Rivers, 50; Aaron Flanagan, 17; Gideon Pask, 16; Nick Andrews, 19; Zack Baron, 16; Mollie Radzinski, 35; Cameron Ecker, 21; Nicholas Baxter, 16; Reuben Rivers, 19; Rosemary Kirby, 9; Phoebe Kirby, 14; Graham Kirby, 10; Cordelia Rivers, 13; and Al Hand, 17.

The Albion Rotary Club led the effort to have the monument erected, and received financial contributions from the Albion Betterment Committee, Albion Merchants Association, the local DAR chapter, Mitchell Family Cremations & Funerals, and an anonymous donor.

Tim Archer, right, interviews middle school students Thailer Seibert, left, and Blake Doty who portrayed hoggees, who were kids who worked with canal boats. Hoggees typically led mule teams that pulled the canal boats.

The miniature donkey and mule that were part of today’s festivities came from Painted Sky Ranch in Brockport.

Sophie Kozody and Hailey Styer portray two of the bridge collapse victims, Jane Lavery and Lydia Harris. In recent years, Albion students worked with Mount Albion Cemetery to have headstones in the cemetery for the two girls. Harris didn’t have a head stone and Lavery’s had broken into pieces.

The site by the canal was never formally named a park until Aug. 14, when the Village Board gave it the name, “Erie Canal Park.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Albion village trustee Greg Bennett, right, was among a group of about 50 people this morning at the dedication of four memorial benches at the new basketball courts at Bullard Park.

The courts opened last October. Today the four coated steel sport benches were dedicated with memorial plaques. The flowers were donated by Homestead Wildflowers in Albion.

One of the benches is in memory of Craig Anderson, who was a three-sport standout athlete at Albion. A 1972 graduate, he led Albion to its first Section 6 basketball title. He passed away from cancer at age 18 in 1973. The high school gym is named in his honor.

Orleans County Court Judge Sanford Church paid the $750 cost to have the bench dedicated for Anderson. Church is good friends with Craig’s younger brother Tom Anderson. Church and Tom Anderson were managers for the Sectional winning team in 1972, back when the two were eighth-graders.

Meghan Doherty speaks about her brother Jonathan. One of the benches is in his honor and was paid for by the Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events. Jonathan was an active promoter of Bullard Park and other causes in the community. He was 38 when he passed away on May 5, 2022.

“His focus was his community, his family and his church,” Meghan said. “He did everything for other people.”

Ron Albertson, a member of the G-ACRE organization and a Lions Club member with Jonathan, said Doherty was well known in the community, by his first name only.

“He is the best team player I’ve ever known,” he said.

 Torin Swartout places the plaque on the bench in memory of his son, Jesse Swartout, who passed away at age 21 in 2002 when he was a senior at Skidmore College. He has family in the local area.

Jesse was a gifted athlete and scholar, and a left-handed pitcher. He loved socializing with his friends by playing sports.

“We hope Jesse’s spirit will help make these courts safe haven for Albin athletes,” his family said.

Alyssa Swanger and her daughter Vivi put the plaque on the bench for Alyssa’s brother, Justin Swanger. He was a basketball star and three-point specialist for Albion. He passed away at age 21 on Nov. 28, 2014.

“I couldn’t think of a better way to make Justin proud and carry on his basketball legacy in this community that would live on for many years to come,” his mother Paula Canne said.

The benches are the latest upgrade to the park. The village would like to add two pickleball courts next to the basketball courts.

Erie Canal Park also will include lamppost, bench made from old steel from lift bridge

Photo by Tom Rivers: Employees at Brigden Memorials today at about 11 a.m. move a 1,200-pound granite monument to the Erie Canal Park. The monument is in remembrance of 15 people killed on Sept. 28, 1859 when the Main Street bridge collapsed. They were among 250 on the bridge watching a tightrope walker attempt to cross the Erie Canal. The Brigden employees include David Strickland, Ken Strickland, Frank Abbott and Dustin Goetze.

ALBION – The public is welcome to attend a dedication at noon on Saturday for the Erie Canal Park. The program will include the unveiling of a monument to the 15 people killed in the Sept. 28, 1859 bridge collapse.

The park also includes a lamppost and a bench made from old steel from the Main Street lift bridge, which is currently undergoing a major rehabilitation. That bridge is expected to reopen to traffic on Dec. 19.

Bill Schutt, an artist from Batavia, created the lamppost, with the village using a grant from GO Art! for the project. The Village Pollution Control Center employees (Rick Albright, Kyle Piccirilli and Michael Malone) made the bench that includes a cylinder that will be a time capsule to be opened on Sept. 28 2059.

The Albion Rotary Club led the effort to have a monument for the 15 people killed in the bridge collapse, which included several children. Brigden Memorials in Albion made the monument at a discount, doing the design, engraving and installation at no charge.

One side of the monument describes the tragic day of Sept. 28, 1859 when a crowd gathered to watch a tightrope walker. At the time Albion was hosting the county fair.

George Williams of Brockport attempted to walk across the canal on a tightrope. He didn’t get too far before the bridge collapsed.

The  monument lists the 15 people who died in the tragedy:

• Perry G. Cole, 19, of Barre
• Augusta Martin, 18, of Carlton
• Mrs. Ann Viele, 36, of Gaines
• Edwin Stillson, 16, of Barre
• Joseph Code, 18, of Albion
• Lydia Harris, 11, of Albion
• Thomas Handy, 66, of Yates
• Sarah Thomas, 10, of Carlton
• William Henry, 22, of Saratoga County
• Ransom S. Murdock, 17, of Carlton
• Adelbert Wilcox, 17, of West Kendall
• Sophia Pratt, 18, of Toledo, Ohio
• Thomas Aulchin, 50, of Paris (Canada)
• Jane Lavery, 16, of Albion
• Charles Rosevelt, 21, of Sandy Creek

The other side of the monument includes a silhouette of Charles Blondin, who started the wirewalking craze by crossing Niagara Falls on June 30, 1859, walking 1,100 feet on a tightrope. Blondin would walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope about 300 times in his career, including blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow and carrying his manager on his back.

The monument has 15 handprints of Albion community members to represent the 15 victims from the bridge collapse. The handprints are people about the same age as those who perished. The monument also shows the bridge in Albion at the time of the collapse, a 60-foot-long Squire Whipple bowstring iron truss bridge.

The program on Saturday includes two re-enactors, Sophie and Mallory Kozody, who are portraying Jane Lavery and Lydia Harris. Sophie is an eighth-grader and her sister is a senior.

Two mules also are expected to be part of the atmosphere on Saturday, and chocolates with a tugboat theme will also be available.

The Cobblestone Museum also will be selling Erie Canal books created by Albion students.

Daniel Walterhouse is buried at County Poor House Cemetery

Provided photos: Albion eighth-graders Mary McCormick, left, and Kendall Peruzzini made a presentation to the Orleans County Legislature on Tuesday.

Press Release, Albion Central School

ALBION – Two eighth-graders from Albion Middle School, Mary McCormick and Kendall Peruzzini, have been approved to pursue a headstone for a Civil War veteran buried at the Orleans County Poor House cemetery.

McCormick and Peruzzini began investigating Daniel Walterhouse, a Civil War veteran, after learning from Tim Archer, ACS Service Learning liaison, that the soldier could be buried at the cemetery.

“The girls did some research this summer to help verify his [the soldier’s] burial there,” Archer said. “Their classmates will continue their work this fall.”

Working alongside Albion Town Clerk Sarah Basinait and County Historian Catherine Cooper, the students’ goal was to identify the soldier and verify Walterhouse was buried in the cemetery.

“We searched through old death record ledgers from 1910 to verify Mr. [Daniel] Walterhouse’s death at the Orleans County Poor House and his burial at the Poor House Cemetery,” Peruzzini said. “It was confirmed that he was buried there.”

After this confirmation, McCormick says they visited Cooper in her offices at the Court House Square.

“She [Cooper] provided us with several old books that recorded residents at the Poor House by year,” McCormick explained. “Mr. Walterhouse was listed in the documents for several years prior to his death… We learned a lot about our county’s past by looking through these documents.”

On Tuesday, the students gave a brief presentation explaining their research process and requesting permission from the Orleans County Legislature to pursue the headstone.

Now approved, they will be applying for a Civil War-style headstone through the Department of Veterans Affairs. These are provided free of charge with proper documentation. If the marker is received, they plan to hold a community ceremony in the spring to honor Mr. Walterhouse.

“Our hope is that, in some way, our recognizing him these many years later will also honor the many forgotten who lived at the Poor House in obscurity,” McCormick said.

Mary McCormick and Kendall Peruzzini are shown with Albion teacher Tim Archer after their presentation at the Orleans County Legislature. In back are county attorney Kathy Bogan, left, and Lisa Stenshorn, clerk of the Legislature.

Screenshot

Photos and information courtesy of Community Action of Orleans & Genesee

ALBION/MEDINA – A dedicated team from National Grid volunteered their time on Sept. 17 to replace three sandboxes at the Head Start locations in Albion and Medina.

The project, which had been on Community Action of Orleans & Genesee’s “to-do” list for quite some time, was made possible through the partnership with National Grid and support from the United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes.

In Albion, the National Grid team worked to remove old sand that had accumulated in the playground’s sandbox. The sand was repurposed to reinforce the playground’s fencing, helping to improve overall safety. The team also cleared out intrusive roots, repaired a broken wall, and completed the revitalization by unloading 12 tons of pea gravel into the sandbox. The use of pea gravel was chosen to ensure easier long-term maintenance and increased safety for the children.

After finishing in Albion, the volunteers moved on to Medina, where they filled two smaller sandboxes with an additional 2 tons of pea gravel, completing the project by mid-day.

“Without the partnership from our friends at United Way of ROCFLX and the coordination and manpower from Paul Gister and his team at National Grid, I don’t know when this project would have been completed,” said Ryan Lasal, director of Community & Family Programming at Community Action of Orleans & Genesee. “We’re lucky to have such wonderful community partners.”

Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, which serves families across the region, is thrilled to have these improvements for the children who attend their Head Start programs. Thanks to the volunteer efforts, the children can now enjoy safer and cleaner playgrounds.

About Community Action of Orleans & Genesee

Community Action of Orleans & Genesee is dedicated to helping individuals and families achieve self-sufficiency and improve their quality of life. Through programs such as Head Start, Emergency Services, and Case Management, the organization works to address the needs of low-income individuals and strengthen the communities they serve. For more information about the services they provide, visit their website at www.caoginc.org.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – There were 50 classic cars at a cruise in today at Bullard Park at an event that is now in its 11^th year as a fundraiser for Hospice of Orleans County.

Some sprinkles in the weather kept some of the cars away, but organizers say the event raised at least $1,500 for Hospice.

Becky Karls, right, is the event organizer. She chats with Terry Cook, a Hospice volunteer, at the Hospice booth.

The car show is sponsored by Mitchell Family Cremations & Funerals, Cooper Funeral Home and Rebekah Karls.

The 1957 Chevy Bel Air at left is owned by Rita and Richard Soule.

Some motorcycles were part of the cruise-in today.

The show shifted from the main parking lot of Bullard to the grassy area on the east end. The car owners said they preferred the grass over the asphalt.

Hartway Motors in Medina sponsored the trophies for the car show.

Provided photos

ALBION – The dome on the Orleans County Courthouse will illumined in gold at night the rest of this month to help spread awareness about childhood cancer.

The County Legislature on Tuesday will present a proclamation about Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children, with 43 children per day or 15,780 children diagnosed with cancer annually.

There is a need for new cancer drugs to be approved by the FDA, and more funding to carry this out, local officials said.

That proclamation will be presented to Ryan and Katelyn Pearl whose son, Maddox Pearl, passed away at ae 5 on Sept. 30, 2023 after battling DIPG, a rare brain tumor.

Friends and family of Maddox Pearl gathered at the courthouse on Wednesday to remember Maddox and show support for childhood cancer awareness.

Katelyn Pearl said Maddox’s family and friends plan to add more activities next year to bring awareness to the community.

“Maddox isn’t the only little one that fought or will fight, so we are doing this to honor the past, the present and the future warriors,” she said.

Maddox Pearl’s friends and family gathered on Wednesday to remember the Albion boy who passed away from a brain tumor on Sept. 30, 2023.

Public meeting set for Sept. 26 to outline program

ALBION – The Village of Albion is holding a meeting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 26 at Village Hall to go over the NY Forward program, where municipalities can receive $4.5 million in state funding to help downtown business districts, and tackle other housing and tourism initiatives.

The village is working with its grantwriter, G & G Municipal Consulting and Grant Writing, to submit an application. G & G will give an overview of the program during the Sept. 26 meeting, and will encourage projects to be submitted for the application.

Businesses, industry groups, cultural organizations, developers, non-profit organizations and property owners can submit a project for consideration.

Potential projects could include new construction (residential, mixed use, hotel, etc.), renovation of existing buildings, facade improvements, renovation of new retail, office, co-working, commercial, industrial, recreational or cultural uses.

The state wants projects that will transform the downtown and support a vibrant and year-round economy.

For more information, send an email to G & G at contact@ggprocess.com.

The Village of Medina has been awarded a $4.5 million NY Forward grant and those projects are expected to take shape in the next two years.

Albion submitted applications last year for the $4.5 million Forward NY program and for up to $10 million in a Restore NY grant.

Albion was denied in both applications in what grant writer Jay Grasso of G & G said are very competitive programs among municipalities looking to help their downtown business districts, and tackle other housing and tourism initiatives.

Grasso said Albion was a strong contender in both programs. Besides NY Forward, Grasso said the village will go after the Restore NY grant again this year.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today that $50 million will be available in Round 9 of the Restore New York program. The funding supports municipalities’ efforts to demolish, rehabilitate, and restore blighted structures and transform them into vibrant residential, commercial, and mixed-use developments.

“We are revitalizing communities across New York State through the Restore New York Communities Initiative – giving towns and cities the chance to build a future that is safer, more affordable, and more livable,” Hochul said in a press release.

An intent to apply form for Restore NY is due from municipalities to the state by Oct. 23.

ALBION – The public is invited to a dedication at 9 a.m. on Sept. 28 when four memorial benches will be unveiled by the basketball courts at Bullard Park.

The coated steel sport benches are the latest addition to the new courts, which opened last October.

Four people or organizations paid $750 for a memorial bench which will have plaques.

Those memorialized include Jonathan Doherty, an active community member who helped with many of the events and fundraisers at the park. Doherty was 38 when he passed away on May 5, 2022. The Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events is paying for the bench.

Another bench is in memory of Jesse Swartout, who passed away at age 21 in 2002 when he was a senior at Skidmore College. He has family in the local area.

A bench will be in honor of Craig H. Anderson who died from leukemia in 1973 following his senior year at Albion.  He was a standout athlete at Albion and the high school gym is named after him.

The other bench will be in memory of Justin Swanger, who passed away in his sleep at age 22 on Nov. 28, 2014. Swanger played on the Albion basketball team and was a three-point specialist.

The Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events, a non-profit that has helped spearhead improvements at Bullard, also is working on a video promoting the activities and recent upgrades. The group is planning a video shoot at noon on Oct. 12 at the park. The community is welcome to be part of the video.