ALBION – When a group of Santas has an exhibition at the Elk’s Club, the Santas are going to try to make the space their own, even if that means putting a red nose on one of the elks mounted on the wall.

Santas used the Elk’s Club on West State Street as a meeting place and also a spot for selling Santa suits, boots, belts and other merchandise. Albion hosted the Charles W. Howard Legendary Santa Claus Conference from Thursday through Saturday.

This Santa wore a red hat with a “Believe”  pin on the back. He was at Fair Haven Treasures on Friday afternoon for the dedication of an International Peace Garden.

A member of Santa’s Drill Team stands in an honor guard on the front porch of Fair Haven Treasures as part of the garden dedication.

Santa’s Drill Team includes Santas from around Tampa, Florida. They recite American history and shared about the War of 1812 during the Peace Garden dedication.

Members of the Claus Clan, a group of Santas that celebrate their Scottish ancestry, stand at attention at the Peace Garden dedication while listening to Gaines Town Justice Bruce Schmidt, who was master of ceremonies for the event.

Vern Crawford, a Santa from Center Point, Texas, snaps a photo during the Peace Garden dedication.

While their reindeer rested at home, Santas made their way to Albion with vehicles decorated for the Christmas season.

This license plate was on a vehicle at the Elk’s Club parking lot.

Tom Myers, a Santa from Washington. D.C., sits on one of the portable chairs he was selling at the Elk’s. Myers said the chairs could easily be folded up and transported.

Tim Harrison of Hopewell Junction in New York gets fitted in a Santa suit by Gwen Kirkendall of Santa and Co. LLC. The business sells Santa suits in a similar design as those sold by Charles W. Howard when he operated his Santa School in Albion from 1937 until 1966.

These Santas walk past the Orleans County Jail on their way to courthouse steps for a bigger group picture on Saturday.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Santas who attended the Charles W. Howard Legendary Santa Claus Conference joined hands and recited the Santa Claus Oath during their ceremonies on Friday in the Albion Middle School Auditorium.

The oath was developed in 2010 by Phil Wenz, a Santa at the iconic Santa’s Village Theme Park in Dundee, Ill. He also was coordinator of the Santa Claus Conference this past week.

Wenz created the oath and dedicated it to two legendary Santas: Charlie Howard of Albion and Jim Yellig of Santa Claus, Ind. Howard started a popular Santa Claus School in Albion in 1937, which he ran until his death in 1966. Many of his principles for interacting with children and standards for dress for Santa continue today. Yellig portrayed Santa for 54 years and over 6,000 days. He died in 1984.

When Wenz created the oath, he had the grandsons of the two legendary Santas be the first to sign it. Howard’s grandson, Charles Bergeman, and Yellig’s grandson, Will Koch, signed it together in October 2008. They signed it in the Candy Castle in Santa Claus, Indiana, where Howard and Yellig had met 70 years prior.

More than 5,000 members of the Santa Claus community have now signed the document.

Some of the Santas and Mrs. Clauses hold hands and recite the Santa Claus Oath on Friday.

The Santa Claus Oath

I will seek knowledge to be well versed in the mysteries of bringing Christmas cheer and good will to all the people that I encounter in my journeys and travels.

I shall be dedicated to hearing the secret dreams of both children and adults.

I understand that the true and only gift I can give, as Santa, is myself.

I acknowledge that some of the requests I will hear will be difficult and sad. I know in these difficulties there lies an opportunity to bring a spirit of warmth, understanding and compassion.

I know the “real reason for the season” and know that I am blessed to be able to be a part of it.

I realize that I belong to a brotherhood and will be supportive, honest and show fellowship to my peers.

I promise to use “my” powers to create happiness, spread love and make fantasies come to life in the true and sincere tradition of the Santa Claus Legend.

I pledge myself to these principles as a descendant of Saint Nicholas the gift giver of Myra.

– Phillip L. Wenz

In addition to reciting the Santa Clause Oath, several of the Santas were “knighted” during the conference. As Knights of Saint Nicholas they are “called to a higher Santa Claus experience,” Wenz said.

The Santas were blessed with manna, a liquid they believe comes from the bones of St. Nicholas in Bari, Italy. The manna was mixed with holy water and put in a bottle. The Rev. Richard Csizmar, pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church, blessed the manna on Thursday during a mass in Albion at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church.

“This is the closest thing you can get to the real St. Nicholas,” Wenz told about 200 Santas on Friday.

After the knighting ceremony on Friday, the empty bottle was given to Holy Family Parish so an artifact from St. Nicholas could stay in Charlie Howard’s hometown.

The knighting program isn’t a Catholic or Protestant effort, but a push “to keep Christ in Christmas,” Wenz said.

Phil Wenz, left, leads the knighting ceremony that includes Everett Johnson, a Santa from Knoxville, Tenn.

The Creed of the Knights of St. Nicholas

“I believe in the miracle of the manger and the message of the child who was born as the Messiah as God’s true gift to all mankind. I acknowledge the Passion and the sacrifice made as a paradigm that it is truly better to give than to receive.

“I understand the devotion of Nicholas of Myra and his conviction to God’s love for all mankind as an example to follow. I am a mere mortal who has no magical powers except the belief of loyalty to the tradition of the Advent Season that has been handed down from generation to generation to me by my family and friends.

“I acknowledge that the true basis for the celebration is the child of the manger and I promise to make all children happy to the best of my abilities in his name. I confirm these beliefs to myself and to the Spirit of Christmas as a Knight of St. Nicholas, a servant of people everywhere.”

Inductees wrote letters, made art, lifted spirits of children

Photos by Tom Rivers – Tim Cavender, a Santa from Georgia, is congratulated after being inducted into the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame on Friday in Albion. Cavender and five others are part of the Class of 2014.

ALBION – One new member of the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame answered thousands of letters from children who wrote Santa.

Another Hall of Famer created illustrations of a jovial Santa that helped shape the public perception of Santa as kind and loving.

Four other new Hall of Famers wear the red suit and bring joy to countless children.

The inductees were celebrated on Friday during the Charles W. Howard Legendary Santa Claus Conference. The conference came to Albion, home of Charles Howard, who founded a Santa Claus School that he ran from 1937 until his death in 1966.

Howard was part of the inaugural Hall of Fame in 2010. The site is located in Santa Claus, Ind. (For more on the Hall of Fame, click here.)

The six inductees in the Santa Claus Hall of Fame, Class of 2014, include, top row from left: Bruce Templeton, Haddon Sundblom and James F. Martin. Bottom row: Ron Robertson, Sam Militello and Tim Cavender.

Four of the Santas in the new class of the Hall of Fame all do extensive humanitarian work.

Tim Cavender is a Santa in Ball Ground, Ga. He first wore the Santa suit at age 14.
He devotes much of his time to local charities, including Toys for Tots. He participates in many parades and work with photographers to the annual tree lighting at the Governor’s Mansion. Cavender carries two integral traits with him – his concern for children and a deeply rooted faith in the “Reason for the Season,” said his wife Pam (Mrs. Claus) in introducing him on Friday.

Cavender said he grew up without a “town Santa” in his Georgia community. His first exposure to seeing Santa was viewing Charlie Howard on the televised Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Cavender has now been the town Santa in Ball Ground for 30 years.

“Santas are not the replacement for the Christ child,” Cavender told the crowd on Friday night. “We are an extension. We need to be a great and wonderful example of Saint Nicholas.”

Cavender said the Santas are held to a higher calling with their character.

“Don’t ever tarnish the red suit,” he said. “Now more than ever children need examples.”

Bruce Templeton

Bruce Templeton is a Santa in Canada at St. John’s, Newfoundland. Each year, with a team of helpers from the business community, Templeton helps lead a massive good will operation that includes collecting more than 20 tons of food.

Templeton also makes arrangements to fly 18 children with terminal illnesses on a real plane to meet Santa in the North Pole on what will likely be the children’s final Christmas holidays. Seventeen of the children are selected by a radio station and one child is selected from the hospital.

Templeton said Santa is often asked to grieve with families, to give comfort and lift the spirits of ailing children.

“I know Saint Nicholas is beside me,” Templeton told the Santas at their conference in Albion. “Have no fear when you are asked to do the uncomfortable because Saint Nicholas is there beside you.”

Templeton has portrayed Santa 1,500 times over 37 years. He is a volunteer Santa. He gives all that revenue and a portion from the sale of his memoirs – “The Man in the Red Suit” and “The Man with the White Beard” – to Rotary International. That money has bought polio vaccines for more than 240,000 children in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

Sam Militello

Sam Militello has portrayed Santa for more than 30 years in St. Clair, Mich., including as the Santa in downtown Detroit’s big Thanksgiving Day Parade. He even raises and tours with his own reindeer.

Militello helps with an annual Good Fellows charity drive, as well as Toys for Tots and other local charities.

He is also the owner of Santa and Co. LLC, which is the producer of the original Santa Claus suit – as designed by Charles W. Howard. The suit has been featured in media, print and on countless Santas around the world.

Ron Robertson

Ron Robertson is a Santa from San Juan Capistrano, Calif. He has appeared as Santa in advertisements for Best Buy, Pet Smart, Rosetta Stone and the Travel Channel as well as guest spots in series such as “Castle,” “The Mentalist” and “The Tonight Show.”

Robertson is a director and president emeritus of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas. In that capacity he has stood not only for excellence in the portrayal of Santa Claus among that body of Kringles, but for excellence throughout the entire Santa Claus community, according to his induction write-up.

Robertson said he has enjoyed portraying Santa.

“It’s a wonderful thing to bring joy to children and adults,” he said.

Two others went into the Hall of Fame, even though they weren’t Santas.

Haddon Sundblom, an artist from Chicago, illustrated many advertisements for Coca-Cola. Sundblom, who died in 1976, created the Santa paintings from the 1930s to the ’60s. His illustrations created a perception of a warm and caring Santa.

Coca-Cola advertisement by Haddon Sundblom

“In classic red and white, his larger than life representation of the warm, gentle Santa was different to the other interpretations of the time,” according to the Hall of Fame. “These vibrant, lifelike paintings were an instant hit with the general public.”

James F. Martin also was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He served as postmaster of Santa Claus, Indiana.

In 1914, Martin began to answer the letters addressed to Santa Claus that were received from children. People flocked to the town, seeking a special postmark.

Martin died in 1935. Today, a non-profit organization called Santa’s Elves, Inc. carries on the wonderful tradition, keeping James F. Martin’s and the town of Santa Claus’ historic legacy alive.

Another Santa and recent Hall of Famer was recognized during Friday’s program.

Sandra Raines, wife of the late J. Paul Raines, accepts a Marine Corps flag from a member of Santa’s Drill Team on Friday during an observance for fallen Santas.

J. Paul Raines was 66 when he died on Jan. 26, 2015 after a fight with cancer. Raines wanted to attend the Albion conference.

He was a Vietnam War veteran and an accountant, but he was best known as a professional Santa Claus for 43 years in Phoenix, Arizona. He founded Santa Claus and Company, and created and taught “Santa’s Workshop 101.” He was elected into the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame in 2013.

Raines was among the fallen Santas remembered during the conference, a tribute that included the reading of a poem, “Santa’s Final Sleigh Ride.”

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – You can’t have a Santa Claus conference and not have a group photo. About 200 Santas and some Mrs. Clauses gathered on the steps in front of the Orleans County Courthouse at noon today.

The group is in town for the Charles W. Howard Legendary Santa Claus Conference. Howard started the first Santa Claus School, which he ran in Albion from 1937 until his death in 1966.

The conference continues today at the Albion Middle School Auditorium with sessions about business plans, improvisational acting and historic Charles Howard footage, including the 1959 Macy’s Parade. That parade footage will be shown in its entirety, about an hour long, beginning at about 5 p.m.

This photo includes Charles Howard’s granddaughter, Susan Howard-Brown (in black sweater), and some of the members of Santa’s Drill Team from Florida.

The following show some of the Santas and other attendees at the conference. They sang some Christmas carols from the Courthouse steps.

Photo courtesy of Genter family – Betty Genter is pictured with her daughter Alexandra in this photo from 2010.

ALBION – Clark Shaffer believes his four years living with Betty and Adolf Genter may have saved his life, putting him on the right course.

Shaffer is one of six foster kids who lived with the Genters. Adolf and Betty also had a son Joseph and a daughter, Alexandra, who they adopted from Russia.

Shaffer stayed with the Genters from fourth through eighth grades. He remembers the first ride home with Mrs. Genter. They stopped at the store to buy him clothes.

“Without her, who knows what would have happened to me,” Shaffer said. “She’s been everything.”

Genter was 79 when she died on April 11 following a long illness. She was a prolific local author, writing about growing up on a muck farm in Clarendon, restoring cobblestone structures, and her experiences adopting Alexandra and providing a home for Eddie Stone, a local orphan who would become a colonel in the U.S. Army. He gave the keynote address at her funeral on Friday.

Shaffer said Genter had a big heart full of love.

“I did a lot of mess-ups when I was younger but she always stuck by me,” Shaffer said.

Genter attended a one-room schoolhouse in the Manning hamlet in Clarendon. She worked for Albion Central School for 34 years, first as an elementary teacher, then as reading coordinator, assistant superintendent and principal of two elementary schools.

“She was very popular with the students,” said Linda Spierdowis, a long-time friend and teacher. “She had a way with the kids, especially the wayward kids.”

She remembers Genter going to student’s homes to find out why they weren’t in school. Sometimes she would have a carload of kids and take them for ice cream.

She used her caring nature and sense of humor to win them over. Spierdowis remembers Genter dressing up as a fox, a wolf and robin to make learning more fun for the elementary students. She felt drawn to children struggling, perhaps due to a difficult home environment.

“She just wanted to give them a better life,” Spierdowis said. “She could sort out the ones who needed the extra attention. She saved a lot of them. Her goal was to get as many kids to succeed as possible.”

When Genter was a small child, doctors said she wouldn’t ever walk because she was missing a hip joint. One leg was much shorter than the other. She would walk, but did so with a limp and it became more difficult in recent years.

“She was very strong-willed,” her daughter Alex said. “Whatever she wanted to achieve, she did. I always admired her determination. She was the strongest woman I knew.”

Alex has cerebral palsy and she wasn’t walking when she was in the orphanage in Russia. Betty believed Alex would walk, and she felt drawn to a child that didn’t have a family.

Alex, now 27, learned to walk and would become a college graduate. She and her husband Kevin Andrews welcomed their first baby, Bowen, about 2 weeks ago.

Genter’s husband said his wife always wanted a big family. The Genters owned a farm house on Brown Road and Mrs. Genter thought it could be an oasis for children, filling them with love.

“She had a love for children,” Mr. Genter said. “She wanted to give them a home.”

The Genters’ son, Joseph, is now 42 and lives in the Tug Hill area of northern New York. He remembers his mother being very positive to the children when he was growing up.

“She always said, ‘You can do it,'” Joseph said.

His mother was committed to local community in many other ways, active at Holy Family Catholic Parish, as a 4-H leader, the Clarendon Historical Society, and human service agencies.

“She touched a lot of lives,” Joseph said. “For her, children always came first.”

Photo by Tom Rivers – This house at 544 East State Street, pictured in January, will be transferred from Wells Fargo to a village-owned LDC which will seek proposals from developers to buy and renovate the house.

ALBION – The reactivated Albion Housing and Economic Development Corporation will soon have two houses in its control, with one to be rehabbed and the other to be demolished to open up 4.4 acres for development for possible patio homes on Caroline Street.

Albion Housing and Economic Development Corporation is a local development corporation with members appointed by the Village Board. Albion Mayor Dean London and Village Trustee Gary Katsanis serve on the LDC with real estate broker Jim Theodorakos, former mayor Ed Salvatore and former Gaines Town Supervisor Richard DeCarlo Sr.

The LDC last week voted to accept a house at 231 Caroline St. from Wells Fargo. The house is missing some windows, but it’s a solid structure that can be rehabilitated, Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti said.

He didn’t want to see a house that could be salvaged taken down, depriving the village of more tax base and revenue.

The LDC will put out a request for proposals (RFP) from developers to acquire and renovate the site.

The LDC also voted to accept a house that is part of a 4.4-acre property at 231 Caroline St. Hugh McCarthy is relinquishing the property to the village, Vendetti said.

The site has a big chunk of undeveloped land behind it, stretching back 858 feet from the road. Vendetti said the house should be demolished and an access road put in to make the land open for smaller patio homes.

There aren’t many spots left in the village for such a housing development, he said. The project could help the village attract more residents and tax base, Vendetti said.

He estimated it would cost about $20,000 to take down the house. The LDC and village should reach out to developers about the potential housing project, with developers putting in the access road.

Trustee Katsanis cast the lone vote on accepting the house from McCarthy. Katsanis said the village doesn’t have the funds in its budget for the house removal.

“The Village Board is scraping the bottom of the barrel here,” Katsanis said.

London said the village can pursue grants, donations and perhaps other funding to advance the project.

Vendetti said the project has potential to be a big boost for the village and residents looking for smaller houses.

“We could serve a need and develop new tax base for the community,” he said.

File photo by Tom Rivers – The Albion Middle School is pictured during a snowstorm on March 29, 2014. The Middle School would have windows from the 1930s and 1950s replaced, as well as other upgrades, in a proposed capital project.

ALBION – The Albion Board of Education on Monday approved a $33.2 million budget that reduces taxes and also a $14.3 million capital project. Both will be presented to the public on May 19 during a vote from noon to 8 p.m. at the elementary school conference room.

The district’s proposed $33,240,940 budget reduces spending by $310,111 or 0.92 percent. The tax levy would drop by 1 percent to $8,355,939.

“It’s certainly a budget that should make everyone’s day on this board,” said Margy Brown, Board of Education president.

The district will see payments to the retirement system drop by $398,000 in 2015-16. The district also expects to save about $145,000 with staff retirements. The district will maintain staffing and all of its programs in the new budget, but retirees will be replaced by less experienced staff with smaller paychecks.

The district also budgeted a $133,000 decrease in tuition through the Orleans-Niagara BOCES and $72,000 less in debt service payments.

Rising salaries for district staff is the biggest increase in the budget at an additional $478,000.

Albion is projecting a state aid increase of $123,889. The numbers put out by the state show a $783,466 increase, but Shawn Liddle, the district’s assistant superintendent of business, said those numbers routinely overstate Albion’s aid by about $400,000. Plus, grant monies for Albion should be subtracted.

The state aid increase, combined with many of the reductions in the budget, is resulting in the tax decrease, district leaders said.

Albion has been holding taxes steady or dropping them for much of the past decade. In 2008-09, the tax levy was $8,727,589. Next budget it will be $8,355,939.

The budget vote on May 19 also includes a proposition for a $14,370,548 project for building reconstruction, energy and safety improvements. State funds will cover 91 percent of the project.

The district has its 9 percent share, $1,286,000, already in a local reserve fund.

The project will address many maintenance issues throughout the district campus.

The project would replace half of the roofs, upgrade parking lots, improve drainage on athletic fields, resurface the track, and add some exterior lighting and utilize more LED lights.

The District Office, currently housed in what was intended to be a temporary metal building in the 1964, would be demolished and those offices would shift to existing space at the middle school.

The capital project would also include stronger doors at school entrances and card access controls.

The fire alarm would be replaced with a new system at the elementary school, which would also see a relocated flag pole to the front of the building, HVAC upgrades, additional exterior lighting, and a new playground on west side.

The elementary school would also receive a shading system on the south side to reduce solar heat gain in the warmer months.

The capital project also will replace some single-pane windows in the middle school with more energy-efficient windows, upgrade the sound booth, improve the boiler and heating system, add exterior lights to northeast side of the school, widen the sidewalk by bus loading zone and replace decaying steel hand railing with aluminum ones.

At the high school, the 1,200 high school lockers that are less than 9 inches wide would be replaced with 800 lockers that are a foot wide. The bigger lockers would allow students to better store their thick backpacks and winter coats.

The high school library would also be repurposed with new technology to meet the needs of the 21st Century.

The capital would also include work on the bus garage, adding an emergency generator, and new doors and lighting.

The budget vote on May 19 also includes propositions to spend $460,000 for buses and $680,411 to be collected for Hoag Library.

There will be a hearing on the budget at 7 p.m. on May 12 in the High School LGI.

Elk’s Club transformed into Santa exhibition hall

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Tom Cortemeglia and his wife Janiece are pictured inside the Albion Elk’s Club on West State Street today.

They are owners of Santas Claus’et, and they sell lots of T-shirts with Santa themes and other merchandise.

Today is the start of the Charles W. Howard Legendary Santa Claus Conference, which runs until Sunday. About 250 Santas will be in town for the event.

Cortemeglia made the trip from Nashville, Tenn. He has attended the Charles W. Howard Santa School four times. It is now in Michigan. Howard, an Albion native, ran the school locally from 1937 until his death in 1966.

Some of the Santas are wearing patches that show Charlie Howard in one of his classic Santa poses.

“The Charles Howard School is the best,” Cortemeglia said. “You develop a camraderie with people.”

Howard developed standards for Santa’s dress and how he should interract with children. Those principles continue to be taught today.

“If it hadn’t been for Charlie Howard, a lot of us wouldn’t be doing a good job as Santa,” Cortemeglia said.

The Elk’s Club on West State Street has been turned into an exhibition hall for Santa Claus merchandise and Santa clothing, including hats, boots, bells and other useful items for the Jolly Ole’ Elf.

About 250 Santas will be in town the next few days. Many of them will be at a meet and greet 7 p.m. today at Fair Haven Treasures, 14386 Ridge Rd. The public is welcome to come and meet the Santas this evening and also meet many of the Santas at the exhibition hall at the Elk’s.

They will be at the Elk’s Club on Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

They will have their ceremonies and program on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Albion Middle School Auditorium.

Dale Nowak prepares a display of clothing inside the Elk’s Club. Nowak and his wife, Sherri Heath, sell custom designed clothes for Santa, Mrs. Claus and elves. The couple is from Mountrose, Mich.

There are many Christmas-themed patches and other merchandise for sale.

Santa can stock up on new boots and belts from this vendor.

This vendor is selling new bells and other Santa merchandise.

Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – Members of Santa’s Drill Team perform a routine at Fair Haven Treasures this evening in Gaines. The Drill Team did beard inspections, ate cookies and sampled milk.

The Drill Team turned serious in honoring the American flag, in singing “God Bless America” and thanking God for the privilege of being Santa.

One of the Santas visiting Albion for the Charles W. Howard Legendary Santa Claus Conference has his camera phone out and takes photos of the Drill Team.

Bob Elkin is president and a charter member of the Palm Tree Santa’s Drill Team from Tampa, Fla.

These Santas are happy to shake hands and chat during a “meet and greet” at Fair Haven Treasures.

George Long (left), a Santa from near Orlando, Fla., is happy to meet with Joe Slifer, a Santa from Raleigh, N.C. They are pictured outside Fair Haven Treasures. Long is wearing his Santa workshop apron.

Long and Slifer are in town for the Charles W. Howard Legendary Santa Claus Conference, which runs until Sunday.

Many of the Santas will be back at Fair Haven on Friday at 2 p.m. for the dedication of an International Peace Garden.

Joe Slifer, right, also is happy to pose with this Santa who made the trip from Norway.

These Santas watch the Drill Team this evening. Many of the visiting Santas will be at the Elk’s Club on West State Street on Friday and Saturday during the morning and afternoon.

The Albion Middle School Auditorium will be used for the convention’s evening programs on Friday and Saturday.

Photos courtesy of Peggy Barringer – These Santas hold Chloe Mosele, Peggy Barringer’s granddaughter, during a Charlie Howard celebration on September 25, 2010.

ALBION – It will feel like a homecoming and a pilgrimage for 250-plus Santas this week when they converge in Albion for a Santa Claus Conference.

Albion is hosting the Charles W. Howard Legendary Santa Claus Conference this week with Santas from across the country – and some from outside the U.S. – in town from Thursday through Sunday. The many activities at the conference are free and open to the public.

“It’s a camaraderie and a chance to exchange ideas,” said Phil Wenz, coordinator of the event. He has worked the past 30 years as a year-round Santa at the Santa’s Village theme park in Dundee, Ill.

Wenz pushed for a “Charlie Howard Day” celebration in Albion on Sept. 25, 2010. He wanted the Santas to celebrate the hometown of Charlie Howard, who is held in high regard in the Santa community.

Howard started a Santa School in 1937, developing standards for dress and interacting with children. Howard ran the school on Phipps Road until his death in 1966.

The school has since been moved to Midland, Mich., but it still bears the name of Charlie Howard.

Wenz and the Santas try to have Santa Claus conferences every two years. Wenz wanted the multi-day event, which will draw more Santas than the special event in 2010, to come to Howard’s hometown.

These Santas gather in 2010 for a photo outside the First United Methodist Church in Albion. Charlie Howard attended the church.

Wenz would like to work with the Albion community to celebrate the Charlie Howard and Santa Claus heritage. That could be more Santa-themed events, signage about Howard and Santa, and perhaps a bronze statue for Howard dressed as Santa.

“We want to make Albion a destination for Santa Clauses,” he said.

Celebrating that Santa heritage could make Albion a tourist draw, especially when coupled with the community’s historic attractions, the Erie Canal and other resources, Wenz said.

This Santa-themed vehicle was in Albion on September 25, 2010. Albion can expect to see about 250 Santas around town in the next few days.

Photos by Thom Jennings – Local residents and officials are pictured at the intersection on Main and State streets on Monday, during a walkability audit in the village.

By Thom Jennings, Orleans Hub correspondent

ALBION – A group of Albion government and community leaders put their best foot forward on Monday as they took part in a walkability audit funded by the Genesee Transportation Council.

The group of about 20 people included elected representatives from Orleans County Legislature, the town and village of Albion and the town of Gaines, as well as village employees and representatives from the Albion Merchants Association, Albion Central School, RTS Orleans, Orleans County Health Department and The Albion Running Club.

“This community has a tremendous amount of natural assets,” noted Justin Booth during a presentation to the group. Booth led the audit and has conducted similar ones throughout the region, and was visiting Albion for the first time.

“It is amazing how intact your historic district is, that is something you should be proud of,” Booth said. “Many communities have wedged in fast food places in between buildings.”

The purpose of the audit was to begin the process of finding ways to make the target communities not just walker friendly, but to examine accessibility for bicyclists as well. Booth noted that an increasing segment of the population is becoming health conscious, and thus they are looking for communities that are easy to travel around in using non-motorized forms of transportation.

The crosswalk on Route 31 by King Street could use signage.

During his presentation to the group, Booth spoke about the economic benefits to a community that is safe and accessible for walkers and bicyclists, and showed some strategies that other communities have used to slow down traffic and create safe passage for pedestrians.

The session was not confined to the Village Hall as the entire group visited various locations in Albion, the first was near the intersection of King Street and West Avenue.

While the group convened at the intersection, Booth noted that there were good sidewalks along that stretch of West Ave and a good-sized shoulder for bicyclists. The one area of concern was the lack of signage alerting motorists that there is a crosswalk.

The second area audited was the intersection of Main and Park streets. Booth noted that the intersection is the gateway to the historic district and would be a prime spot for a small island in the center. The island would force motorists to slow down and create a safer environment for walkers and bicyclists.

The group then walked down Main Street, spending a short time at the corner of Main and State, before they moved to their final location, the corner of Linwood and Main Street.

The group on the walkability audit is pictured at the corner of Main and West Park streets. A consultant suggested a small island at the interesection to slow down traffic and increase pedestrian safety.

It was at the corner of Linwood and Main where the discussion turned to a lack of sidewalks on many of the side streets in the village, including Linwood Avenue.

Village Trustee Stanley Farone noted that the village is in the midst of a tough budget process and has limited resources, but urged citizens to attend meetings and voice their concerns.

“Our meetings are open to the public,” Farone said. “We welcome input from the citizens.”

Booth remarked that some communities have created specially designated sidewalk districts or even shared installation costs with homeowners. This can only be achieved with the full support of the homeowners impacted.

In the meantime, it is important to engage the community in a dialogue about creating a community that is pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

The audit concluded with an exercise where small groups were tasked with creating a walkable community. They approached the task without considering the costs.

Village Trustee Stan Farone looks over a map of village streets with village residents, including Lisa Stratton (left) and Debbie Grimm.

The groups targeted areas that were in need of sidewalks and bike paths, and when they were done some people noted that these were things that have been discussed for the last 10 years, but the resources are simply not available.

“Many communities face the same challenges that you are,” noted Booth, “but the fact that so many of you came out for this audit says something positive about your community.”

The next steps include creating a community vision, and creating long-term and short-term goals.

Albion was one of 10 communities selected by the Genesee Transportation Council for walkability audits. Medina also was picked for the audit, which is scheduled for later this month.

Wendel Engineers will compile a final report with a list of recommendations and possible strategies to all of the communities later this year.

District named elementary school in honor of school leader

Ron Sodoma is pictured last May when he attended the Albion Honors Convocation Dinner.

ALBION – Ron Sodoma, a retired Albion Central School superintendent who fostered character education and service learning programs, while pushing for campus upgrades and solid financial footing for the district, has died.

Mr. Sodoma was fighting cancer and was in hospice care. He was living in Green Castle, Pa., with his wife Karen, a retired Albion teacher. They raised their daughters, Amanda and Becky, in Albion.

Sodoma had a 35-year career at Albion. He started as an elementary school teacher, became principal of the Waterport school, then assistant superintendent and the last 18 ½ years as superintendent.

He retired in December 2002. About two years later there was a ceremony, naming the elementary school in his honor. He said then the district’s success and its commitment to every child is a team effort.

“His heart was here,” said Michael Bonafede, the former Board of Education president who served closely with Sodoma and his successor, Dr. Ada Grabowski. “He believed in the community, the children and a well-rounded education.”

Sodoma may have moved away, but he contributed to community causes, including the capital campaigns for the new Hoag Library and Hospice residence in Albion.

He and his wife were back last May to attend the Honors Convocation for graduating Albion seniors.

While Sodoma was superintendent, the district implemented a character education program, service learning initiatives and also an alternative high school program at the Orleans County Nursing Home – efforts that won the district national awards and remain a part of the school today.

“He was instrumental in developing the culture at the district,” Bonafede said. “He had a pure heart, with good intentions and children were first.”

Sodoma was skilled with planning and the district’s financials. For many years Albion had one of the lowest per pupil costs in the state. The district maintained that low rate while preserving reserve funds and tackling needed campus renovations and improvements.

The district’s sound fiscal shape, the care of its campus and its committed staff attracted Michael Bonnewell to the job about five years ago when Grabowski retired, following Sodoma.

“From my point of view when I was applying this was an attractive place to be,” Bonnewell said. “The finances were incredibly well managed and that goes back a long ways.”

Sodoma’s legacy lives on at the school with the many teachers, administrators and staff he hired that continue to serve the district, Bonnewell said.

Richard Pucher also served as a local superintendent for 18 ½ years. He led the Lyndonville district and retired just before Sodoma. The two were often on the phone each week.

“He was willing to help his fellow superintendents,” Pucher said.

Sodoma could have gone to bigger districts and more lucrative salaries, but he was committed to Albion for the long haul, Pucher said.

“He was always interested in impacting his district, helping educators and bettering young people,” Pucher said.

He saw Sodoma as a skilled planner, looking years into the future and making the needed incremental changes to reach the goal.

Jason Smith, the current Lyndonville superintendent, was a high school social studies teacher when Sodoma encouraged him to pursue administration, first as dean of students and then as a vice principal in Albion. Smith would work as a principal in Elba before being hired as Lyndonville superintendent.

He remembers his first day at Lyndonville. There were flowers from Sodoma, with a card, “Call me if you need anything.”

Many teachers hired by Sodoma would go on to be superintendents, a legacy that includes Jeff Evoy in Medina, Roger Klatt in Barker and Roy-Hart, and Mickey Edwards in Wyoming. In addition, Carol D’Agostino is Kendall’s high school principal and Matt Calderon, a former Albion vice principal, is Pembroke’s district superintendent.

“His superintendent’s tree is quite large,” Smith said. “He encouraged a lot of people.”

Photo by Tom Rivers – Michelle Restivo addresses the Board of Education on Monday, thanking the board for allowing students who refuse state tests to be allowed to read in the classroom. She said other districts have allowed children not taking the tests to go to a separate room. Albion has declined to do that.

ALBION – School officials were thanked during Monday’s Board of Education meeting for not making students “sit and stare” if they refuse to take state exams in grades 3 through 8. Those tests start today.

Albion is allowing students who refuse the tests to remain in the classroom and read quietly at their desks. The reading material won’t be books or magazines brought in by students. It will reading material supplied by the school.

“We thank you for recently allowing our children to read silently during the test period,” said Michelle Restivo, mother of two students in the district.

Many other districts are allowing students who refuse the test to go to a separate room. Restivo said the School Administrators Association of NYS encourages students refusing the tests to not remain in the same room with their classmates who are taking the test.

“It is SAANYS position that such a procedure might be distracting to test takers and some may regard such a requirement to be uncomfortable for the students opting out,” Restivo said.

Albion school leaders have decided to keep the students in the same room.

Restivo spoke on behalf of a group of parents concerned about the state tests. Many of those parents and their children are refusing the tests.

Restivo said the district has already been notified the students won’t be taking them, and those students shouldn’t be presented testing materials. To present them testing materials, and insist they sign their test booklets after parents already stated their intention to refuse the tests, is wrong and could be considered abusive by the Dignity for All Students Act, she said.

“Students who have been protected by their parents’ right to refuse tests have done absolutely nothing wrong,” she said. “Presenting these tests to students and asking them to refuse, after you have received express wishes from parents, is harassment, intimidation, bullying and abuse as defined by DASA.”

The district received some refusal letters from parents after testing labels were printed. District Superintedent Michael Bonnewell said there are about 10 to 12 students who came after the deadline who will need to sign their names. The other students refusing the tests, who notified the district before the deadline, won’t have to sign their names on the test booklets, Bonnewell said.

He said teachers or other school personnel cannot, by state law, write on those exam booklets. The students need to do that.

“Our intent is to honor the desire to refuse the test,” he said. “Our intent isn’t to make parents’ or students’ lives difficult.”

Restivo said that standardized testing is necessary, but state’s approach disempowers parents, school administrators and districts.

“Standardized tests that are teacher created and scored would provide much more insight into our children’s progress as learners,” she said. “Assessments should guide future instruction in order to provide the best education for our children, and we have little faith that these tests do that.”

Bonnewell said he shares many of the concerns raised by Restivo, parents and staff about the testing, but the district has to follow the state education rules.

“It remains the law of the land and we have to work to change that law to make it appropriate,” he said.

Restivo said the parents aren’t asking the district to not follow education laws. By refusing the tests, Restivo said parents and their children are exercising their democratic rights to stand up for their principles, believing it will lead to a greater good.

“It is our opinion that teachers and students are not failing, like the state has led us to believe,” Restivo said. “Rather the state has failed us by over-testing our children, and misusing the results. We refuse the NYS Common Core assessments in grades 3-8. We support Albion Central School District – its administrators, teachers and students. Most importantly, we support our children and we ask that you will, too.”

One student, Freshman Class Vice President Riley Seielstad, also addressed the board and the parents in the crowd and urged students to take the tests. She worries the “opt out” movement could result in less funding for school districts, perhaps hurting music and sports programs.

State aid isn’t supposed to be affected if students refuse the tests.

Seielstad urged students to take the exams, which are 90 minutes a day over six days.

“I think 90 minutes is worth the effort for music and sports,” she said.

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Pillars Estate held its fourth annual Titanic Ball on Saturday night and about 75 people dressed up in formal attire for the event, including Nick and Mary Kersch of Lyndonville, pictured with Captain Smith look-a-like Al Schumacher of Middleport.

Titanic ball attendees were offered a glass a champagne from servers wearing recreated uniforms of the White Star Line, the company that owned the Titanic.

Pete Lockwood portrayed the first mate for White Star Line.

The Greycliffe String Orchestra played songs from Titanic era throughout the evening, including “Nearer my God to Thee.”

The Greycliffe String Orchestra plays in the grand ballroom, which includes a large chandelier.

Julie Parker and Timothy Garrison of Brockport are congratulated after Garrison proposed and Parker accepted, the first engagement at the Pillars.

Three couples who are members of the Lyndonville Lions Club attended the Titanic Ball on Saturday night. The group includes, from left: Jeff and Lynne Johnson, Russ and Pat Martino, and John and Laura Belson.

The event included a five-course meal, dancing and retelling of the Titanic, including details of the ship. Pillars owners Tony McMurtie and Scott Root had fireworks on Saturday night to signify the distress signals from the flares that were released on the giant ship after it struck an iceberg.

The sinking of the Titanic claimed the lives of 1,514 of its passengers, including two men from Holley, William Joseph Douton and Peter MacKain. They were quarrymen visiting family in Britain that winter and they were on the Titanic to return to New York City and then travel to Holley. They escorted Douton’s 19-year-old god-daughter, Lillian Bentham of Holley, on the trip. She was one of 710 survivors.

Tony McMurtie (pictured) started the Titanic Ball on the 100th anniversary of Titanic’s fateful voyage in April 2012. The inaugural gala also launched the opening of the grand ballroom at the Pillars.

ALBION – A tentative village budget would raise taxes by 7.3 percent, but Mayor Dean London said the Village Board and department heads will work hard to bring that increase down.

He would like to avoid a tax increase over 2 percent. To do that, the board will need to chop about $130,000 from the budget.

The board has already cut many costs from the 2015-16 spending plan, and trustees said they will try to find more expenses to trim.

The board will meet Saturday to go over the budget and has scheduled a vote for 7 p.m. on April 22 to pass the budget. It must be adopted by April 30.

The tentative budget includes $6,562,504 in the general, water and sewer funds. The village would need to collect $2,640,662 in taxes as part of the budget, which is up $180,333 from the $2,460,329 in 2014-15.

If the village raises taxes by 2 percent that would be about $49,200 more in taxes, rather than the $180,333 in the tentative budget.

“We still have our work cut out for us,” Trustee Gary Katsanis said during Wednesday’s board meeting.

Albion already has one of the highest village tax rates in the region at $17.48 per $1,000 of assessed property. The tentative budget would raise that by $1.29 to $18.77.

The village has seen the rate climb in recent years as the overall tax base of the community went down. A year ago the village lost $2.7 million in assessed value. The latest numbers show another decline, but only by $60,830. The village’s taxable value for 2015-16 will be $140,690,261.