By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 December 2022 at 6:33 pm
Provided photos
BARRE – Santa Claus was escorted around town today, joined by Barre firefighters in delivering presents to 140 kids in the community.
The annual “Santa Express” visited 35 families this morning. This is the ninth year the fire company has helped Santa make the deliveries.
Santa stops by the Keeler residence to meet youngsters.
People drop off gift-wrapped presents at the firehall and those gifts are then delivered by firefighters and Santa.
The firefighters and Santa split into different groups and were out from about 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. making deliveries.
Barre firefighter John Egloff joins Santa in this stop.
Firefighters say the Santa Express gives them a chance to see families for a good reason, rather than an emergency. It also helps children to meet the firefighters, who act as Santa’s elves while delivering the gifts.
Here are a few other highlights from this morning’s deliveries.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 December 2022 at 10:19 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: About 20 tractors and trucks were decorated in lights for the third annual Barre Lighted Tractor Parade in December 12, 2020. This group of tractors includes one driven by Kurt Dudley in center. Last year’s parade was cancelled due to high winds.
BARRE – The lighted tractor parade will be back on Dec. 10, heading down Route 98 at 5:30 p.m.
Last year’s 4th annual tractor parade was cancelled when there were high winds.
This year organizers at the Barre Betterment Committee applied for a second date, Dec. 11, in the permit with the state Department of Transportation. That’s just in case there is bad weather on Dec. 10. Last year the BBC didn’t have a backup date with the permit.
Tractors should show up near the Van Lieshout farm on East Barre Road by 5:15 p.m. They will then head north on Route 98 to the Barre Town Park. No RSVPs are needed.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 November 2022 at 10:00 pm
Monroe will be paid $8K by Barre, with 7 towns together paying $200K in one-year contract
BARRE – The Barre Town Board this evening unanimously approved a one-year contract with Monroe Ambulance to provide ambulance services in the community.
Barre will pay Monroe $8,000 in 2023 as part of the contract that is being negotiated from seven towns in central and eastern Orleans – Albion, Barre, Carlton, Clarendon, Gaines, Kendall and Murray.
The contract calls for the seven towns to collectively pay Monroe $200,000 for its service. Monroe will station an ambulance in Albion and Holley, said Sean Pogue, Barre town supervisor.
The share for each town is based on percentage of call volume. Towns with more calls will pay more in the contract with Monroe. The contract includes the following compensation from the towns: Albion, $84,400; Barre, $8,000; Carlton, $14,800; Clarendon, $18,800; Gaines, $24,600; Kendall, $18,000; and Murray, $30,600.
The new contract starts on Jan. 1 and Monroe is to receive its municipal payment by Feb. 15.
Monroe will still bill patients and insurance companies for services. The Rochester-based company currently is the main ambulance provider in Kendall, Clarendon and Murray, but Monroe doesn’t typically station an ambulance in Orleans County.
The seven towns have been meeting with Monroe regularly for at least two months, trying to secure an ambulance provider with COVA in Albion on the verge of going out of business.
COVA officials want Mercy Flight EMS to take over the service area. Mercy Flight said it would keep COVA medics and staff, and would work out of the COVA base.
Pogue said that situation with Mercy Flight is happening fast and Town Board isn’t sure of the details of a Mercy Flight takeover and the level of service to the community.
“There are too many changing factors,” Pogue said at this evening’s Town Board meeting. “There is too much unknown with Mercy Flight and COVA right now.”
The Town Board in a 5-0 vote approved a one-year agreement with Monroe Ambulance. The contract, which needs approval by all seven towns, will give the community a chance to see whether Monroe can provide satisfactory service to the seven towns. Mercy Flight could remain an option for mutual aid in 2023, and could be the main provider after that if the towns aren’t happy with Monroe, Pogue said.
“Let’s see how Monroe and Mercy Flight EMS do with their response times,” Pogue said. “Monroe is not going to have a monopoly.”
Town Councilman Dave Waters asked which ambulance provider will be called to a scene if both are operating in the town. Pogue said that will be up to a 911 dispatcher to see which ambulance can respond the fastest.
Barre is the first Town Board to approve the contract. Pogue said the other towns will meet this week and next week to vote on the agreement.
ALBION – Apex Clean Energy and Heritage Wind are pleased to announce that four organizations have been awarded grants as part of the Heritage Wind Community Grant Program.
The 2022 grant program invited local organizations to apply for funds supporting four types of activities: building healthy communities, promoting education, encouraging economic development, and sustaining the environment.
The grant recipients for this cycle are the Town of Barre, the Cobblestone Society & Museum, Orleans Koinonia Kitchen, and the Orleans County Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
“I’m so proud of the work we’ve done over the years to make Heritage Wind a part of the Orleans County community,” said Carmen O’Keefe, senior development manager for Heritage Wind. “As we get closer to this project and its many benefits becoming a reality, it’s great to find even more ways to support organizations doing critical work for this community.”
The grant awards include:
Town of Barre – $4,000
Orleans Koinonia Kitchen – $2,500
Cobblestone Society and Museum – $2,000
Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association – $2,000
“The Town of Barre is grateful for the continued support and generosity of Apex Clean Energy,” said Jason Foote, Town of Barre Park director. “This grant money will be used to help us achieve our goal of updating the existing playground equipment and making the Town of Barre Park more family friendly.”
“The Cobblestone Society & Museum is proud of its 60-year heritage of historic preservation in Orleans County and beyond. However, we are not stopping very long to look back because we have an exciting new plan laid out for the future,” said the museum’s director, Doug Farley. “With the purchase of the historic circa 1830 brick home (formerly known as Fair Haven Treasures) directly across from the Cobblestone Museum, we look forward to expanding our community engagement through the addition of a Cobblestone Welcome Center to our campus of historic buildings. A Media Center within the Welcome Center will provide visitors with video introductions to the museum campus buildings and exhibits, as well as general historic overviews of the immediate area, Orleans County, and the region.”
“We do what we do because there are people in this world who need a little help, and that’s where we come in, but we could never do it without the help and support of the community and donators like Heritage Wind,” said Faith Smith, director of Orleans Koinonia Kitchen.
“We are so grateful for the generous grant from Heritage Wind toward the Orleans County Walk to End Alzheimer’s,” said Lynn Westcott, senior director of development for the Western New York Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Heritage Wind’s support of the Walk will have a positive impact on the people in Orleans County who live with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia and those who care for them, as this event funds the many free support groups, education programs, and other services provided by the Alzheimer’s Association, such as our 24/7 helpline.” The helpline can be reached at (800) 272-3900.
These grant awardees join a list of other Orleans County organizations that have been approved for grants from Apex, including Orleans Community Health, the Albion Betterment Committee, the Town of Barre Historical Society, COVA, ARC of Genesee and Orleans, and many others.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 September 2022 at 1:35 pm
Map from Community Energy Solar: The proposed 200 megawatt solar project in Barre and Shelby would be along Crane, Townline and Burns roads near the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.
BARRE – Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today that the state has approved a 200 megawatt solar project in the towns of Barre and Shelby. Hemlock Ridge Solar covers about 2,000 acres with 80 percent in Barre and about 20 percent in Shelby.
The State Office of Renewable Energy issued siting permits to Community Energy’s Hemlock Ridge Solar, LLC and also a 120-megawatt project – Boralex’s Greens Corners Solar, LLC. The latter project is in the Towns of Hounsfield and Watertown in Jefferson County.
The permits from ORES are to develop, design, construct, operate, maintain and decommission two major solar energy facilities. These projects will bring a combined 320 megawatts of clean energy to New York homes and businesses and bring over $54 million to local economies, Hochul said.
“My administration has significantly accelerated our development of renewable energy since last year, and today we are further cementing our position as a leader in climate action,” Hochul said in a statement. “We will continue to follow through on our commitment to develop green energy throughout the state, and these projects bring us closer to surpassing our ambitious climate goals, creating well-paying green jobs, and creating a clean, healthy New York for future generations.”
Hemlock Ridge Solar will generate enough power for over 36,000 households and will offset 282,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year, Community Energy officials said. The project will go along Crane, Townline and Burns roads, about 5 miles southeast of Medina.
With today’s decision, ORES has now issued seven permits since 2021, with a majority of the decisions coming within six months of applications being deemed complete.
The Hemlock Ridge and Greens Corners solar facilities are expected to generate enough clean energy to power over 62,000 New York homes for at least 20 years and reduce carbon emissions by over 476,000 metric tons annually, Hochul said.
“New York is rapidly accelerating its development of large-scale renewable energy projects as part of our all-encompassing approach to transforming the state’s electricity grid,” said New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President and CEO Doreen M. Harris. “The approval of these two projects – Greens Corner Solar and Hemlock Ridge Solar – is a major milestone in their journey towards commercial operation and demonstrates the productive engagement between project developers, local host governments, and community stakeholders to site these projects responsibly in support of the state’s clean energy targets.”
Photos by Tom Rivers: Richard Bannister, a sculptor, stands by a metal sculpture he placed on his property on Maple Avenue near Eagle Harbor Road. Bannister’s “Ukrainian Tears” was placed outside by the road on Saturday. He is hopeful it will be displayed in Ukrainian cultural centers in either Buffalo or Rochester.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 August 2022 at 5:43 pm
BARRE – Richard Bannister fought in the Vietnam War more than a half century ago with the US Army. He hoped the world would never see such destruction and loss of life again.
Richard Bannister has been creating sculptures for more than 30 years. He said the “teardrop” sculpture just flowed out of him as he grieved the damage and loss of life after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 and has continued an onslaught for nearly six months.
But Bannister watched the TV in horror on Feb. 24 when Russia invaded Ukraine. The Russian attacks haven’t stopped with unrelenting missile strikes that have caused more than $100 billion in damage to the Ukraine, displacing about 8 million Ukrainians.
“When I saw that it tore my heart out,” Bannister said today outside his home on Maple Avenue. “It’s 2022. This isn’t 1922 or 1822. What we’re seeing is evil.”
Bannister is a long-time sculptor, making creations out of steel, wood, marble and bronze. His most famous local work may be the Big Apple in Medina, a 20-foot-high sculpture of an apple by the Erie Canal near the Glenwood Avenue bridge.
Bannister has created a new 8-foot-high metal sculpture he calls “Ukrainian Tears.” He worked on it for two weeks, which he said is fast for a larger-scale piece. He said the metal that he bent and shaped fit together perfectly with less struggle than usual. The sculpture resembles a teardrop. Sometimes he works on a piece for more than a year.
“This just came from my soul,” he said about the artwork.
He painted it in the Ukraine national colors of gold and blue. On Saturday he placed the 500-pound sculpture by the road near his driveway on maple Avenue, just west of the Eagle Harbor Road intersection.
Bannister expects the sculpture will stay in Barre for a couple weeks. He would like it to have a bigger audience, perhaps at the Ukrainian cultural centers in Buffalo or Rochester.
Bannister earns his living running a peach thinning business where he travels to 17 states. But art and sculptures remain a passion.
He wants to create at least one outdoor piece a year to add to his property with the goal of having an art park at the site. Right now people driving by can see a 20-foot0high cactus and a 4-foot-high green apple that he made.
“As people go by and see them it changes their thought patterns,” Bannister said. “I’m just trying to activate their brain.”
Bannister said he hopes people driving will take note of the sculptor and reflect on the war.
Richard Bannister also has sculptures of a 20-foot-high cactus and 4-foot high apple on his wooded property. He would like to add outdoor sculptures to the site each year and create an art park.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 August 2022 at 9:48 am
BARRE – A developer looking to build a 4.5 megawatt solar project at 4360 Oak Orchard Rd. was given an extension by the Town Board with the project’s construction.
AES DE Devco NC asked for two 6-month extensions for the site plan, special use permit and building permit. The board approved the first 6-month extension on Wednesday and will give allow the town code enforcement officer to use discretion whether a second extension is needed.
AES representatives told town officials on Wednesday supply-chain delays have held up construction.
The company initially secured the special use permit and site plan approval in October 2021 from the town, with a building permit issued in March 2022.
The 4.5 megawatt project would be Route 98 near Lime Kiln Road. It would go on land owned by Joshua Baird, and Jacob and Melissa Monacelli.
The solar arrays will be located at 4360 Oak Orchard Rd., where the developer can tap directly into a 13.2-kilovolt distribution line. The project doesn’t include battery storage.
There will be 14,118 solar panels and they will be surrounded with a 7-foot-high perimeter chain link fence. There will be 40,543 linear feet of low-voltage and 1,258 feet of high-voltage underground wiring. The project also includes a decommissioning plan.
The plan calls for planting 191 deciduous and evergreen trees along with 92 shrubs and pollinators.
With the first 6-month extension approved by the Town Board on Wednesday, the special use permit and site approval are good until April 13, 2023, with the building permit valid until Sept. 22, 2023.
In other action on Wednesday, the Town Board:
• Approved paying C&H PC in Medina $1,473 to upgrade the sound system in the town hall with new microphones, cables, speakers and monitor. Town Supervisor Sean Pogue said many people can’t hear what is said in the town meetings, especially if they are following on the YouTube channel.
The town will pay for the expense from its allotment of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
• Accepted Barry Flansburg’s letter of resignation “with regret.” He is retiring as town assessor at 5 p.m. on Sept. 30. He has served in the role for 30 years.
Pogue said two people have expressed interest in the job, and the town also could see if the county would be open to a contractual agreement to provide assessing services for Barre.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 August 2022 at 9:12 am
National Grid will put in electric for $15K
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Barre Town Park on Route 98 will soon have electric running back to the playground area, a pavilion and a new storage building. The Town Board also voted on Wednesday evening to remove the shrubbery in front of the sign and do new plantings in the spring.
BARRE – The Town Board on Wednesday approved paying National Grid $15,331 to put in electrical service for the Town Park on Route 98.
The town will use some of its allotment from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to cover the expense. Barre has been approved for $210,000 in ARPA funding.
The decision to put in the electrical service was tabled last month when three of the board members – Kerri Richardson, George McKenna and Dave Waters – wanted to see a breakdown of the costs for the service and a plan for the park.
The town highway department has already put in conduit and a pull box for the service, using about $14,000 raised from the Barre Betterment Committee to “Power the Park.”
Town Supervisor Sean Pogue said he would have the Betterment Committee and Town Park’s Committee discuss their goals for the park in the short and long term. But, for now, he said he wanted to get the electric line back into the park.
Councilman Waters agreed that is an important first step.
“I think it’s a positive thing for the park,” Waters said during Wednesday’s board meeting. “We’re going to need it sooner or later. Even if we do the minimum, we need power back there.”
Councilwoman Richardson said there should be a plan for how to better utilize the park, and bring more residents to the site. She said the current approach feels “piece meal.” She agreed the electrical service is needed at the site.
The Barre Betterment Committee has been raising funds for electricity, with a $60,000 goal to “Power the Park.” Councilman McKenna said he wants to hear from the committee about how it determined the $60,000 goal.
With the electrical service coming in at about $15,000 from National Grid, plus the in-kind work from the town highway department, the cost seems to be closer to $30,000.
Pogue said he was at a recent BBC meeting and the group is shifting to raising funds to upgrade playground equipment at the park.
The town and the BBC can discuss longer range plans and goals for the town park with the community, Pogue said.
That could include having lighted fields, but Pogue said “that’s down the road” and would need input from nearby residents.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 July 2022 at 9:56 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: In addition to being a town assessor, Barry Flansburg for many years served as the emcee for the grease pole competition at the Orleans County 4-H Fair. This photo is from July 25, 2018.
BARRE – Barry Flansburg will be retiring on Sept. 30 as assessor for four towns – Barre in Orleans County, and Byron, Oakfield and Elba in Genesee County.
Flansburg, 65, is eligible to begin collecting his state pension. Before starting as assessor 30 years ago for Barre and Oakfield, he worked five years as deputy Orleans County clerk.
He started working as assessor for Byron in 2006 and Elba in 2012. He has maintained annual updates to 7,000 parcels in the four towns.
Flansburg, a Barre resident, said he has enjoyed the career, working with so many residents and property owners in the rural community.
“It is working with people and numbers,” he said. “It’s how you communicate with the public. You need to explain why.”
Flansburg said the assessor position can be a tough job, but he found data helps people feel comfortable about the assessed value for properties.
Flansburg’s impending retirement will leave a void for the towns where he is assessor.
Sean Pogue, the Barre town supervisor, said Barre is looking for Flansburg’s successor. Pogue has reached out to the Orleans County Department of Real Property Tax Services to see if the county would be open to taking on assessing for Barre. The towns of Albion and Gaines contract with the county for the service.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 July 2022 at 7:33 am
BARRE – The community has been working to bring electricity to the town park on Route 98, but some of the Town Board members want a breakdown of the costs and how the town will pay for the expense.
The board on Wednesday evening discussed a proposal from National Grid for $15,351 to run electricity to the park. That proposal is good for 90 days.
The town highway department has already put in conduit and a pull box. That total cost of putting in electricity will be close to $40,000, said Town Supervisor Sean Pogue.
When the town was first working on the project before Covid in 2020, Pogue said the overall costs would have been about $18,000. But the costs have really climbed since then.
The Barre Betterment Committee has been raising money for the project, and Apex Clean Energy has donated at least $2,000 towards the effort.
Pogue said the town can tap part of the $210,000 approved for Barre as part of the American Rescue Plan.
Town Councilman George McKenna said it felt like the town was approving the expenditure “willy nilly.” He wanted to see in the town record where the board voted to bring electricity to the park.
Pogue said he would try to find it in the previous minutes. He said the push to bring electricity to the park has been an ongoing public effort for several years.
Town Councilwoman Kerri Richardson said she would like to see a detailed breakdown on the costs for the project and where all the money will be coming from to pay for it. She said she believes the community supports the electricity, but wants to see a cost breakdown before moving forward.
She was joined by McKenna and Councilman David Waters in tabling the National Grid proposal for a month. Pogue and Councilwoman Margaret Swan opposed that, wanting to approve the proposal on Wednesday evening.
Pogue said the board was functioning as a “circus” with the majority tabling routine votes, such as transferring funds and adjusting fees.
Richardson said Pogue often doesn’t provide enough information to board members to make responsible decisions.
McKenna and Waters both started on the board in January and they said there is a learning curve in understanding how the board handles town business.
With the electricity to the town park, Pogue said he would provide a breakdown to the board before the next meeting, showing the costs and revenues for the project.
• The Town Board during the meeting also heard a presentation from TextMyGov where the town would pay $3,200 annually, plus a one-time $1,600 setup fee, to send text messages to residents in a mass notification system. Residents could also text town departments for information or to report potholes, code violations and other issues. The contract is good for up to 25,000 text messages a year. Pogue said the town is just looking into a mass notification service.
• RTO, a company bringing wireless internet to fill gaps in Orleans County, also will be putting dishes and antennas on the railing of the Barre water tank behind the fire hall on Route 98, Pogue said.
RTO finished putting equipment in Lyndonville and now is in Kendall, said County Legislator Bill Eick.
• Highway Superintendent Dale Brooks said the department is looking to spend $2,500 from its budget for a diamond stick that would allow highway employees to have very precise locations for valves, signs, fire hydrants, waterlines, culverts and curb stops. The software program is being encouraged by the Village of Albion Water Department, which provides water for Barre.
Brooks said the system would be an asset for the department, providing an easy-to-access database in the field. For example in the winter the highway workers often use a metal detector to find a valve that is buried in the snow. With the diamond stick, it pinpoints the location within 2 inches, Brooks said.
BARRE – The Heritage Wind Community Grant Program is now accepting applications for its Summer 2022 grant cycle.
The program provided more than $10,000 during its last cycle, which supported local organizations working to build healthy communities, increase environmental sustainability, foster economic development, and promote education, including the following:
Community Action of Orleans and Genesee
Beds from Brian
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orleans County
Lee-Whedon Memorial Library
Albion Betterment Committee
Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance (COVA)
Orleans County United Way
Local organizations working in the Town of Barre, and the broader Orleans County community are encouraged to apply. Grants are typically awarded in $250 to $4,000 increments, with priority given to proposals that demonstrate meaningful impacts to the greatest number of area residents.
The four focus areas for the community grant program are:
Building Healthy Communities – Programs that support public health or enhance the quality of life in the community.
Economic Development – Programs that supports the economic wellbeing of the community.
Environmental Sustainability – Programs that support environmental revitalization, sustainability, or empower residents to be stewards of the environment.
Promoting Education – Programs that support educational institutions, especially the advancement of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This may include curriculum development, vocational training, or literacy support.
If you have any questions about the program, please contact Anna Mathes at anna.mathes@apexcleanenergy.com or (585) 590-2254.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 May 2022 at 10:25 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
BARRE – A caravan of vehicles started down Route 98 in Barre this morning, delivering a huge oversize load to the Erie Canal in Albion.
The large piece of equipment was manufactured by Graham Corp. in Batavia and will be used for the Navy.
The equipment will be put on a barge in the canal. An enormous crane is at the site just east of the Gaines Basin Road bridge.
Orleans County dispatchers warn to expect some delays and power outages while the caravan moves to its destination. It was going on Route 98 to Route 31A, then along Gaines Basin Road in Albion and then the last stretch is Albion-Eagle Harbor Road along the canal.
This company kept raising wires and traffic lights so the big load could pass through.
This group of escorts was out in front of the oversize load.
BARRE – The top photograph is not from an Antarctic expedition! The image from a glass negative shows a dredge excavating a main ditch on the swamp in 1913 for the Western New York Farms Company. Drainage was the first step in the formation of the mucklands.
“Wall Street goes a-Farming” was the title of an article in Popular Science Monthly, Spring 1917 which described the gigantic Oak Orchard Farm:
“an admirable example of what a great farm can be when conducted under the precise and systematic management of ‘Big Business.’”
A mere four years prior, the “great farm” was an overgrown swampy marsh, reclaimed by an ambitious drainage project. The “Wall Street” reference in the article’s title was to the Western New York Farms Company, with an address at 49 Wall Street, New York, NY which had been incorporated on March 9, 1911. The directors were Andrew A. Smith, 40 South Washington Square, NY; H.R. Tobey, 109 West 45th St., NY; and Morris K. Parker, New Cannan, Conn.
By 1913, the Farms Company had acquired large tracts of land in Barre and Clarendon.
The initial impetus for draining the swamp was health, not agriculture. Malaria had long been associated with swampy land. Drainage of the swamp for health reasons was first recommended by the State Supreme Court in 1903. In 1904, Commissioners Avery Danolds of Shelby, John Crowley of Medina and Joseph W. Holmes of Batavia recommended draining almost 25,000 acres of swamp. They estimated the cost of surveys and preliminary work at $5,000. This would be assessed to the six towns involved, the costs to be reimbursed by the property owners.
This proposal languished but was presented again in 1910, as a “public necessity” according to the Medina Daily Journal, August 15, 1910. Meanwhile, the agricultural value of the drained land attracted attention when several experts attested to its fertility and potential. Plans were finalized in 1910 when it was agreed that the project should continue and be paid for by the owners of the land which benefited by it. The work began in 1913.
There had been some local resistance to the project. A letter from a Clarendon Taxpayer published in the Democrat and Chronicle and the Orleans Republican on January 12, 1912, outlined many concerns regarding this “scheme of public exploitation for private gain…under the guise of public health.” The Clarendon Taxpayer asked:
• Who would be responsible for maintaining the ditch?
• What effect the massive drainage would have on the remaining timber?
• What effect would the winds and the absence of moisture have on the climate, the orchards, and the crops of those who lived north and east of the area?
• What effect would the drainage have on wells? If residents had to drill deeper, they ran the risk of encountering sulphur or salt which would render the well unusable?
The project proceeded on a large scale. It comprised some 9,000 acres in the Orleans County towns of Barre and Clarendon, as well as in Elba and Byron in Genesee County. In 1913, workmen operating huge dredging machines dug 21 miles of main canals and 20 miles of laterals located about 2,000 feet apart. To accommodate the runoff, a channel through the Oak Orchard Creek was enlarged and straightened. Sixty Adirondack lumberjacks felled timber. Underbrush was burned. Crews operating plows, harrows, cultivators, and seeders prepared the soil. The first crop of vegetables was harvested in 1915.
All of this activity was overseen by the Western New York Farms Company’s Double O Ranch, a large facility in Elba, which had its own machine and maintenance shops, evaporator, cannery, and accommodation for workers, some four thousand in all.
The Farms Co. began leasing sections of land to growers in 1916 at the rate of $50 per acre for the first year. This included assistance and machinery. Subsequently, the rent was $35 an acre but no assistance was provided. It also offered land for sale, in 5 acre lots, at $300 per acre. The terms were one quarter to be paid in cash and the remainder in four equal annual installments.
The company sold its holdings in 1927, at $573.50 per muck acre, with an annual maintenance fee of $10 per acre. Priority was given to existing tenants and mortgages were available at 6%.
The Western New York Farms Company “Wall Street” approach to agriculture introduced agribusiness methods to Orleans County – mechanization, large scale production, scientific approach, efficient management. Muck landowners formed the Genesee-Orleans Vegetable Growers Co-op Association in 1921. This group assisted with marketing, encouraged development, and espoused advocacy. The “Wall Street” legacy continued.
Barre Center Public School, Albion Midlander, 1934
By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian
Illuminating Orleans, Vol. 2, No. 15
Enos Rice and George Culver, Barre residents. Albion Midlander, 1934
BARRE CENTER – Bank publications are not typically thought of as a source of local history – with the rare exception of the Albion Midlander, a monthly publication of the Orleans County Trust Company from 1933 – 1937. Each four-page issue contained photographs and short articles on a variety of Orleans County related topics, from Point Breeze to Barre, quail raising to racoon farming.
Banking and financial information was not neglected. The July 1933 issue contained an article on banking by mail which was promoted as a safe convenient way for people who lived in the country to handle their financial affairs. An article on check cashing noted that the use of checks had become commonplace as a medium for the everyday transfer of money and explained the procedures for processing out-of-town checks. The March 1934 issue included the annual statement of the Orleans County Trust Company, its total resources were $2,313,010.75.
The April 1934 issue featured Barre Center, which was described as the northern gateway to the fertile Genesee-Orleans mucklands. The most important factor in the early growth of “the Center” was the Oak Orchard Road, which was reserved by the Holland Land Company as a public road, four rods wide and which was initially the main travel route to Oak Orchard Harbor. Following the completion of the Erie Canal, it became the main route for the transportation of goods and produce to Albion.
A tract of land about a mile and a half south of Barre Center had been drained in the previous 25 years and this fertile soil produced lettuce, onions, potatoes, carrots, spinach and turnips which were shipped to Buffalo, Cleveland, Philadelphia and New York.
Barre Center had a population of 250. Business places in the village included:
Phillips & Son General Store,
Homer J. Dawley, General Store,
Orleans County Canning Company
John Benthin & Son Evaporator
S. Elton Miller Garage
Albion Oil Company Garage, Bruce Clapp mgr.
The article noted that many of the people and businesses in and about Barre Center used the banking facilities of the Orleans County Trust Company.
Barre Center Grange No. 1026. Albion Midlander, 1934
Orleans County Canning Company, Barre. Albion Midlander, 1934.
Wendell Phillips, Barre Town Clerk (left) and Homer J. Dawley, Barre. Albion Midlander, 1934
Photograph of John Benthin & Son’s Evaporator, Barre. Albion Midlander, 1934
BARRE – The top photograph is not from an Antarctic expedition! The image from a glass negative shows a dredge excavating a main ditch on the swamp in 1913 for the Western New York Farms Company. Drainage was the first step in the formation of the mucklands.
