Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Jeffrey Echevarria, 10, of Albion rides a horse today during a kickoff celebration for the summer reading program at Hoag Library.

The library will have events and activities Monday through Friday to promote the reading challenge, which ends Aug. 11.

Children who read up to 15 hours this summer will be eligible for prizes.

Jules Henchen, 6, of Carlton and Owen Merritt, 7, of Waterport pet a goat outside the library. Serenity Acres brought the animals to the library today. The Albion Lions Club also served hotdogs for free.

Hoag and the other public libraries in Orleans County are part of a statewide summer reading challenge with a theme, “All Together Now.”

There will storytimes at the Hoag in the afternoons led by Elizabeth Tuttle, the children’s librarian. Once a week a community member will also lead a storytime. Joyce Riley, the village’s deputy mayor, will do the first one at 11 a.m. on Thursday. The other storytimes from community members will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays.

There will be many other activities, including yoga, water wars, crafts, movies, a DPW construction equipment program, birdhouse building with Jim Babcock, and visits from the Zoomobile.

Click here to see the calendar of events at the Hoag for the summer reading program.

Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina will have a kickoff celebration on Friday of its summer reading program with a petting zoo from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will also be cotton candy, games and ice cream from Twisted Treats (available at your own expense).

Dona Scharping, left, of Serenity Acres chats with Betty Sue Miller, the Hoag library director, while waiting for the next child to take a ride on the horse.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Civil War cannon at Mount Albion Cemetery returned last week after the carriage was rebuilt.

The cannon was removed in November for an overhaul of the carriage. The carriage also has new wheels.

The cannon is an iconic feature on the west side of the cemetery in the Civil War Section.

Photo courtesy of Tim Tierney

Mount  Albion Cemetery superintendent Jason Zicari and long-time employee Dale Snyder put the cannon on the carriage last Wednesday. Snyder has retired from a career working at the historic cemetery on Route 31.

The cannon is shown this morning at Mount Albion. The previous carriage had rotted after many years in harsh weather. The carriage gave out, and couldn’t handle the weight of the cannon, leaving the cannon tipped upright, said Zicari, the cemetery superintendent.

The new carriage was built out of hemlock. The cemetery workers reassembled all of the parts for the carriage, and cut notches and holes in the carriage.

ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association will be kicking off a new downtown concert series this Thursday with the band Swooners from Rochester performing jazz and high-energy dance music.

The Merchants Association is using a grant from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council for a concert series on Thursday evenings. Some of the concerts will be later after the village concert series this summer.

The Merchants is planning a “Market in the Square” with music, a food truck, a farmer with fresh fruits and veggies, sweets and treats, craft vendors and other activities.

The Merchants will use the “Square” on Main Street in the area between Beaver Alley and Bank Street. The group is trying to utilize the street while Main Street over the bridge is closed to traffic for a major lift bridge rehabilitation.

“We are hoping that in the closed off square will create more business downtown,” said Natasha Wasuck, AMA president.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Supporters of Albion’s summer recreational program at Bullard Park gathered Friday to issue a request to the community for help in feeding the approximately 100 children who attend every day. From left are John Grillo, village of Albion Recreation director; Jeff Holler, member of Albion’s Masonic Renovation Lodge; Ykeeta Wilson and her husband, pastor Al Wilson with the Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries; Nicole Holler; Kyle Webb, member of the Masons; and Annette Finch, Grillo’s sister and volunteer at the program.

ALBION – A group of community members who support Albion’s Summer Recreation Program have joined forces to provide lunches for children attending the program.

John Grillo, Albion’s Recreation director, joined with Pastor Al Wilson from the Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries and his wife Ykeeta, Jeff Holler and Kyle Webb from Albion’s Masonic Renovation Lodge and Grillo’s sister Annette Finch in asking anyone in the community to help provide lunches for the children any day from Monday through Friday until the park’s program ends on Aug. 4.

There are 146 children registered for the program so far, with an average daily attendance of 100 the first week, Grillo said.

“Many of these kids got free breakfast and lunch during school, and that was the only meal they had in a day,” Finch said.

Now some of those children go to a refrigerator outside Arnold’s Auto Parts on West Bank and Liberty Street to get food available for free. The Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries keeps the refrigerator stocked with food. Valerie Atwell and Vickie Elsenheimer have been in charge of keeping a dozen to 20 bag lunches there every day.

Any church or organization who would like to help with a meal can contact Lisa DeCarlo at Arnold’s Auto Parts.

“My goal is to make this program better every year,” Grillo said about summer recreation in the village.

Finch commended the Wilsons and their Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries for the support they have given the Albion community, along with the Albion Masons, Wendy Rivera (who donated $100 for pizza), and Arnold and Sandy DeCarlo, who also donated $100. Thanks also went to the Goodness Program in Buffalo, who donated drinks and snacks.

Finch contacted Foodlink in Rochester, who donated beverages and snacks.

The volunteers are now trying to collect enough donations to have tacos in a bag for lunch on a Tuesday.

Since starting their ministries in Albion a year and a half ago, Pastor Wilson said they have spent $40,000 on “spreading the love” in Albion. This includes special events and free food at Easter, Christmas, a Halloween “Trunk and Treat” event at the Arnold Gregory complex and continuing efforts to feed the homeless.

“Collaboration is the key,” Ykeeta said. “Our goal is to reach a broader population so we can help all those in need.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation toward food can log on to Cash App/Royal Body Shop or stop at Arnold’s Auto Parts.

Grillo also reminds the public of the Kids’ Carnival scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 19 at Bullard Park. The Masons and Royal Body Shop will be providing free hot dogs, French fries and drinks. Children are welcome from all over the area, he said.

ALBION – The Village of Albion Recreation Department’s tennis camp won’t start today due to wet courts outside Albion High School and the forecast calling for more rain.

There won’t be a tennis camp on Tuesday, the Fourth of July, but the camp will start Wednesday and continue through Friday from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

There is no pre-registration needed for the camp. Walk-up registration will be on Wednesday. An adult doesn’t need to be present for registration, but is encouraged, said John Grillo, the village’s recreation director.

Tennis experience is not required for the camp, which is funded by the U.S. Tennis Association.

Basic tennis skills will be taught to beginners along with tennis drills and low-level tennis competitive match situations. Scoring, rules and regulations will be taught along with tennis strategies, Grillo said.

Experienced tennis players will have an opportunity to drill and play matches throughout the week.

Tennis balls will be provided, and participants are encouraged to bring their own racquet. However, if players don’t have their own racquet, one will be provided.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Leah Ou played the pipa, a Chinese folk instrument, during a noon concert on Saturday at the Hoag Library.

She performed as part of a new concert series at Hoag this year, featuring many musicians who haven’t performed in Orleans County before.

The pipa has been played for about 2,000 years. Ou in her performances emphasize pride in Chinese musical culture and authenticity of expression.

Leah Ou was born in Chengdu, China, and started her classical training at age 6. She has been performing and teaching professionally for more than a decade. She now lives in Rochester and

has performed in the World Music Concert at Eastman School of Music, the Hidden Garden Concert at George Eastman Museum, an interactive demonstration of the pipa for SUNY Geneseo Musicology students.

The Hoag concerts eries is organized primarily by Jim Doyle, an adult reference librarian at the library. He also has been running Jim’s Guitar Studio for 23 years in Albion, and is a founding member of the Rochester Guitar Club.

Ou’s was the fourth concert in the series. The remaining schedule includes:

• Trio Ghidorah: Saturday, August 19, at noon
• Sunshine Quan: Saturday, September 23, at noon
• Maya Ana Loncar: Saturday, Oct. 14 at noon
• Rochester Mandolin Orchestra, Saturday, Nov. 4 at noon
• Dr. Lynn McGrath, Saturday, Dec. 9 at noon

The concerts are free to the public with support from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council and Friends of Hoag Library.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Alex Krebs, president of the Albion Rotary Club for about three years, hands off the gavel to new incoming president Doug Farley during a Rotary Club meeting last week at the Thompson-Kast Visitors Center for the Cobblestone Museum.

Farley is director of the Cobblestone Museum. He said he was drawn to Rotary because of its work locally and also for its support for distance projects, including polio eradication and fresh water projects in other countries.

Locally, Farley noted the club supports an Interact Club at Albion High School and has been a Little League sponsor since 1957. Rotary recently donated $1,000 to the Orleans Koinonia Kitchen at Harvest Christian Fellowship, the proceeds from Rotary’s St. Patrick’s Ham Dinner in March.

Don Bishop, a Rotary Club member, presents Krebs with a pin that signifies she is a member of the Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary’s highest honor. Krebs has met the standard on seven different occasions.

Krebs was praised by Albion Rotary members for keeping the club going during the challenges of the Covid pandemic, which included many Zoom meetings in 2020. The club used to meet at Tillman’s Village Inn. With the closing of that restaurant, the club is now meeting on Thursdays twice a month at the visitors center at the Cobblestone Museum.

“Change is tough but you were a good leader seeing us through,” said Bonnie Malakie,a  Rotary Club member.

The club is keeping up with many of its community service projects, including sponsoring the Albion Strawberry Festival, putting on the St. Patrick’s Ham Dinner and donating the proceeds to a worthy cause, running a golf tournament (this year on July 20) and donating most of the proceeds to support a transportation program for senior citizens.

A wine-tasting event was added this year and Rotary and Interact are part of a community cleanup effort, picking up lots of trash along the railroad tracks each spring.

Doug Farley presents Alex Krebs with a plaque in appreciation of her service as Rotary Club president.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – These kids play GaGa Ball at Bullard Park today on a busy day for the Village of Albion’s Summer Recreation Program. About 100 kids were there for games and other activities.

With GaGa Ball, players hit a ball rolling on the ground with their hands, trying to get another player out who’s hit with the ball and don’t catch it.

This is the first week of the summer recreation program at Bullard.

It runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday until Aug. 4. There is no charge, but children must be registered, which can be done at the park. Once the immunization records are turned in, each child will receive a free Park Recreation T-shirt. The village already has given out 75 shirts and will be ordering 50 more.

Amari Jones, one of the park supervisors, eludes one of the kids in a game of chase.

New this year are some snacks and water provided by Foodlink in Rochester. John Grillo, the recreation director, said Recreation Committee member Annette Finch made the connection with Foodlink to have the snacks, including bananas, available for kids. The Albion Masonic Lodge holds the food and brings it over each day.

Grillo said parents and guardians are encouraged to pack a lunch for the kids. The snacks and water are just to supplement those lunches.

On Friday, the Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries will be providing pizza for the kids at the park.

These kids wait under the big bucket of water at the Splash Pad.

The water comes crashing down on the kids, to their delight.

Park supervisor Faith Bennett, left in yellow, and Nikki Creasey lead these kids in playing Simon Says. A new pavilion is under construction at Bullard.

Hailey Crawford, left, and Parker play a game of Connect Four at the pavilion.

Faith Bennett leads these kids in an egg racing game. They tried to keep the egg on a spoon and see who could go the fastest.

Hailey Crawford and Nick Andrews, park supervisors, join this group of kids on the swings.

Next week the recreation program will be offering a tennis camp at the Albion Central School from 10 a.m. to about 11:30 a.m.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The band Triple Play performed on Wednesday evening as part of the Village of Albion Summer Concert Series. The series continues on Wednesday evenings through late August. The first five concerts are in the downtown area or by the canal, and then the last six concerts are at the amphitheater at Bullard Park.

The village is trying to have some of the concerts on Main Street near the closed off area by the bridge. About 80 people attended the concert on Wednesday evening. The crowd attendance was down partly because of an unhealthy air advisory due to wildfire smoke from Canada.

Bill Pileggi, a retired Holley school principal, is the lead singer and guitar player for Triple Play. Jim Booden performs on bass and Tim Hess on drums. The group performs pop, rock, country, blues music spanning four decades from Johnny Cash to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The band plays on Main Street near Beaver Alley. The Masonic Lodge was serving food while people brought their own lawn chairs for the concert.

The concerts are funded through a grant administered by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

The Dave Knaudt Band will perform next in the series on July 12 with no concert next week.

ALBION – The concert will go on this evening in downtown Albion. Triple Play will be performing from 6:30 to about 8:30 p.m. as part of the Village of Albion Summer Concert Series.

The band will play on Main Street in between Beaver Alley and Bank Street. People are welcome to bring lawn chairs to enjoy the music. Some of the summer concerts will be in this area to give a different venue while the Main Street lift bridge is closed to traffic.

The Triple Play band includes lead singer Bill Pileggi who is also known as “Wild Bill.” Jim Booden performs on bass, Tim Hess on drums, and Pileggi also plays the guitar. The group performs pop, rock, country, blues music spanning four decades from Johnny Cash to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The Dave Knaudt Band will perform next in the series on July 12 with no concert next week.

Joe and Debbie Martillotta treat club to pasta and meatballs at former ‘Lions Jungle’

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Dr. Satya “Kash” Sahukar, left, is pictured with Joe and Debbie Martillotta at their home, the Greystone Manor, at 250 North Main St. The Martillottas served pasta and meatballs to the Albion Lions Club at the house on Tuesday evening.

This was the club’s first time at the site for a meeting since the mid-1970s. The building from the 1860s was purchased by the Lions Club in 1945. The Martillottas bought it in 2003.

“It is completely different,” Sahukar said. “It’s like a governor’s mansion. They have done a beautiful job.”

Sahukar is the last of the Lions who was a member when the club owned 250 North Main St. It was then known as “The Lions Jungle.” It was used for weekly Tuesday gatherings, with spaghetti and meatballs served.

The Lions Club also made the site available for many community functions and was used by senior citizens, school events and chicken barbecues. The Lions also were well known for decorating the site as a haunted house for Halloween.

About 30 people enjoyed a meal and conversation inside the Martillotta home on Tuesday evening.

Joe Martillotta grew up next door. His father, Mimi Martillotta, was a longtime Lion “who never missed a meeting,” Joe said.

Joe and Debbie have the 6,248-square-foot house up for sale. They wanted to host the Lions for a dinner before it’s sold.

Sahukar said the club appreciated the gesture by the Martillottas in hosting the meal. He praised them for their extensive renovations in bringing the house back into a single-family residence. When they bought it 20 years ago, the home had been divided into four apartments.

When the Lions Club owned it, they had two upper apartments in the house, and used the first floor for a meeting hall with a large kitchen.

The Lions Club sold the house because it was too costly and too time-consuming for the club to maintain, Sahukar said.

The Martillottas have ornamental lion figurines near the front entrance as a tribute to the site’s connection to the Lions Club. The couple gradually brought it back to a single-family residence.

Dennis Smith is another long-time Lions Club member. He joined not long after the club sold “The Lions Jungle.”

“It is very nice to see it modernized,” Smith said.

The Lions Club now meets the second and fourth Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. at the Masonic Lodge on Platt Street.

The Lions Club on Tuesday also recognized two longtime volunteers: Sue Prince, left, and her sister Phyllis Wright.

Mrs. Wright is the wife of Lions Club member Lloyd Wright. She often helps the club at their events, whether selling tickets or cooking food.

“It’s whatever they need,” she said.

Wright talked her sister into helping the club at the events.

“I enjoy it,” Prince said. “We get to spend time together.”

They were presented certificates of appreciation by Club President Ron Albertson.

The Rev. Wilfred Moss, left, also was recognized for 25 years of service to the club. He is shown with President Ron Albertson.

‘I’m going to miss everything – football games, homecoming, prom, the kids, the talks, the crying on my shoulder, everything’

Photo by Claire Squicciarini: Pictured from left include Della Morales, Stephanie Simpson, Dawn Squicciarini, Mark Vanacore, Karen Spierdowis and Tim Archer. Other teachers and aides who are retiring include Carmenrose Brittan, Duncan Hughes, Nancy Lowery, Sue Ann McGraffick, Joyce Monacelli, and Toni Plummer.

By Claire Squicciarini, correspondent

LYNDONVILLE – The Albion Teachers Association honored 12 retiring teachers during a dinner at White Birch Golf Course.

The retirees include Tim Archer, Carmenrose Brittan, Duncan Hughes, Nancy Lowery, Sue Ann McGraffick, Joyce Monacelli, Della Morales, Dawn Squicciarini, Karen Spierdowis, Toni Plummer, Stephanie Simpson and Mark Vanacore.

“It’s just an end of one season leading into another,” retiring high school English teacher Karen Spierdowis said at the celebration on June 22.

While enjoying a lovely evening, the teachers were able to reminisce on the memories and friendships they made along the way.

“I’m going to miss everything – football games, homecoming, prom, the kids, the talks, the crying on my shoulder, everything,” said retiring high school librarian Della Morales says.

Each of the teacher’s careers were honored with speeches about their impact on students and colleagues. Each retiree received personalized gifts from the association.

“School friends become your second family,” said retiring special ed teacher Dawn Squicciarini.

The night was full of great memories with great friends.

“I am excited but sad,” retiring special ed teacher Stephanie Simpson said.

The Teachers Association thanked the teachers for their many years of services and wished them the best as they start their new chapter of their lives.

New alumni urged to give back to their community, wherever they go in life

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Class of 2023 tosses their caps near the end of commencement this evening in the Albion High School gym. About 2,000 people celebrated with the class.

The graduates tossed their caps after moving their tassels from the right side to the left. In this photo Aquil Gaffney and Miranda Gebo are in front among the graduates who flung their caps high in the gym. There are 110 members in the graduating class, the most among the five school districts in Orleans County.

(Left) Chaynia Powell beams walking from the stage with her diploma. (Right) Makiya Jones, who graduated last year with the Class of 2022, lets out a yell for Chaynia Powell when her name was announced.

The soon-to-graduate seniors enter the gym for the start of commencement.

The ceremony was planned to be outdoors on the lawn between the high and middle schools but was moved inside due to the possibility of rain and the dark skies.

Graduation was traditionally in the gym but this was the first time it was there since 2019. In 2020, when schools closed to in-person learning in mid-March due to the Covid pandemic, there wasn’t graduation ceremony as a group. Instead individual graduates were recorded receiving their diplomas.

In 2021 and 2022, the ceremony was moved outside to the high school football field but that field is currently under construction and will have new turf this fall.

Natalie Bertsch walks up to the stage to accept her diploma.

(Left) Michael White gives the photographers a big smile after getting his diploma. (Right) LaShy Wills gets a hug after graduating and walking across the stage.

Some of the graduates include, from left: Pom Seibert, Logan Graham and S’koi Sanders-Smith.

The Caledonia Pipe Band, a mainstay at the Albion commencement, led the graduates in the processional into the gym.

Mickey Edwards, the district superintendent, urged the grads to be people of “unwavering integrity.” He asked them to seek justice over injustice, and compassion over apathy.

“Doing right is not always popular,” Edwards told the group.

He urged them to show kindness to other and to “walk humbly.”

“We are part of something greater than ourselves,” he said. “Threat others with respect and humility.”

Edwards also offered this advice: “May you leave an indelible mark on the world not only through your achievements but how you treat others.”

Wayne Wadhams, president of the Albion Board of Education, told the students he walked across the same stage in the gym 43 years ago. He wasn’t sure what he would do in the future. He wouldn’t have predicted he would become a technology teacher and coach. Wadhams retired in 2017.

“Never sell yourself short and be open to opportunities,” Wadhams told the group. “Make good decisions and the outcome will take care of itself.”

Nick Andrews, the class president, is all smiles after giving his speech. Andrews is headed to Geneseo State College to major in childhood and special education. He told the group “it’s time to go out and spread our eagle wings.”

Andrews said the group shown perseverance, especially after the last three months-plus of their freshman year was spent doing remote learning. They returned to school on a hybrid schedule for their sophomore year with other Covid restrictions, including playing sports with masks on.

“I’m not going to let Covid define who we are,” Andrews said. “I believe we are stronger, more resilient individuals by overcoming these challenges.”

Andrews said the class will always remain connected, and the grads will always be loved no matter where they go or what they do.

(Left) Audrey Pask delivers the valedictory address and (Right) Natalie Baron gives the salutatory speech.

Pask will major in ceramic engineering at Alfred University. She said the educational process isn’t just about gaining knowledge and learning facts. It’s a journey to develop character. She said she is especially for her involvement in the music program, where students can express emotion through music and see their hard work and dedication pay off.

“What I learned in the band room is find your purpose,” she said.

Baron will major in communications at Geneseo State College. She emphasized her message several times: “We rise by lifting others.”

Baron was involved in the school musicals, often playing comic roles, including Pinocchio in Shrek and Grandma in The Addams Family.

Baron admitted she felt nervous sometimes in the shows, but the other cast members were always supportive and cheered each other on.

She said the class has benefitted from a nurturing Albion school family with teachers, coaches and friends showing lots of encouragement. She urged them to take that example into the rest of their lives.

“You should always be rooting for one another’s successes,” Baron said.

Hailey Crawford laughs while standing next to high school band teacher Mike Thaine before she was introduced to walk up and get her diploma.

Provided photo

ALBION – Albion students in Mrs. Kathy Winans’ class teamed with Navarra’s Greenhouses to get flowers in planters ready for this season.

Pictured form left include Amanda Mrzywka of Navarra’s, Emily from Mrs. Winans’ class, and Bayli Schlierf, a high school teacher.

Usually it’s students in Sandy Climenhaga AP biology class who assist with the flowers. But there isn’t an AP bio class this year in Albion.

The students from Mrs. Winans’ class joined Navarra’s three days a week to get the planters ready and learn other skills in the greenhouse. These planters are on Main Street in Albion. Navarra’s also does the hanging baskets in the downtown for Albion.

Photo courtesy of Tim Archer

ALBION – Albion sixth-grade students were able to meet with a state Department of Transportation worker at the Main Street lift bridge construction site. A worker for one of the subcontractors shows a hydraulic mechanism from the bridge that was constructed in 1914. The bridge closed to traffic on Nov. 14 and has been dismantled and taken off site north of the canal for a major rehabilitation.

The hydraulic piece has been offered to the school as a piece of local history memorabilia, said Tim Archer, teacher of the sixth-grade citizenship class.

Some of the students who visited the site include, from left: Carter Krull, Colson Braley, Blake Doty, Mary McCormick, Kendall Peruzzini and Maddox Krull.

“Students are preparing for more extensive canal history research next year leading up to the spring 2024 bridge reopening,” Archer said.