By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 December 2023 at 9:47 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
GAINES – Navarra’s Farm Market and Greenhouses is in its fourth year of hosting vendors for the holiday season, and this year has 149 in four greenhouses.
Pictured from left include Janet Navarra-Salvatore, James Salvatore and Navarra’s employee Madison Nardi (as well as Hank, the dog). They welcomed customers on Saturday to Navarra’s at 3272 Eagle Harbor-Waterport Rd.
The first year Navarra’s hosted vendors in 2020 there were 16. That was followed by 67 in 2021, 96 last year and now nearly 150.
The greenhouses are open for five weekends with the creations and products from the vendors. There are two weekends left: Dec. 14-17, and Dec. 21-24 with Navarra’s open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Provided photo: Santa visited Navarra’s on Saturday. He is holding Caleb Paul Allen, son of Scott Allen and Navarra’s co-owner Amanda Mrzywka.
Mrzywka opened up the greenhouses to other vendors at craft sows and festivals in 2020 because so many of the events were cancelled that year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mrzywka sells vegan soaps, which are made without any animal byproducts.
She said crafters were all feeling the financial strain from losing those shows in 2020.
Navarra’s has proven a good location for the vendors. They are in a heated spot, and can keep their items on location for multiple days. Navarra’s has a code system to track what is sold without the vendors having to be there all the time.
There are other attractions to the site as well. Santa visited on Saturday. There are wine tastings every Sunday with Circle B Winery from Elba.
Navarra’s also hosts classes and workshops during the holiday season.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 December 2023 at 10:59 am
Five of the seven towns in a proposed contract with Monroe Ambulance have approved a contract for 2024.
The remaining two towns, Gaines and Carlton, vote next week. The $300,000 contract requires all seven towns to ratify the deal.
The seven towns are divvying up the share for each municipality based on the call volume. That puts Gaines and Carlton among the lowest in expense. Gaines would need to pay $12,030 in 2024 while Carlton is at $22,350. (Gaines was at $24,600 in 2023 and Carlton at $14,800 this year.)
The town boards in the other municipalities have already agreed to their contributions for 2024 (with 2023 in parentheses): Albion at $155,820 ($84,400), Barre at $13,740 ($8,000), Clarendon at $25,350 ($18,800), Kendall at $17,850 ($0) and Murray at $52,860 ($30,600).
The Gaines Town Board meets at 7 p.m. on Monday at the Gaines Town Hall, 14087 Ridge Road West. There will be a public hearing on the ambulance contract and then a vote by the Town Board.
Carlton will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Town Hall, 14351 Waterport-Carlton Rd.
The towns started paying for ambulance coverage for the first time in 2023. In 2023, Monroe sought $200,000 from the seven towns. It was reduced to $181,200 after Kendall bowed out of the contract, claiming it didn’t need to pay because there already was an agreement with the local fire districts in Kendall.
In 2024, Kendall will be paying out of its town budget. The $300,000 contract calls for Monroe to station an ambulance in Albion 24 hours a day, seven days a week and one in Holley for at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Monroe also will draw on ambulances in Monroe County if there is a need in Orleans County.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 November 2023 at 9:31 am
GAINES – Lake Ontario Fruit is pushing for another expansion of the apple packing business on Route 104. The company is working on a 28,070-square-foot addition of controlled atmosphere storage, a $5.5 million project that would mirror a similar expansion in 2013.
The new space is needed because many of the new apple trees that were planted in recent years are coming into maturity, with a full crop expected next fall. Lake Ontario Fruit packs just over 1 million bushels of apples a year for more than 30 local farms.
The new addition would allow the company pack about 220,000 more bushels, said Robert Brown, president of Lake Ontario Fruit and co-owner of Orchard Dale Fruit Co. in Waterport.
Lake Ontario Fruit is pushing to have the new CA facility ready by Sept. 1. The company needs to have the site plan reviewed by the Orleans County Planning Board, with a final approval from the Town of Gaines Planning Board.
“We are growing a commodity that is a perishable crop,” Brown told the Planning Board.
He said the addition is an investment in the local fruit industry, which is seeing a new generation of growers taking the lead in their farms and also at the Lake Ontario Fruit facility.
Gaines planners met last week to review the site plan. Chris Watt, the Planning Board chairman, said LOF needs a final agreement from the state Department of Environmental Conservation on a stormwater management plan for the project. Watt doesn’t want to send the site plan to the county for review until there is an agreement from the DEC about the plan.
But Lake Ontario Fruit officials convinced the board to send a referral to the county, with the approval from the DEC expected soon and to be added to the application that will be sent to the county. The company asked the town to submit the application to the county so LOF could be on the county agenda for its December meeting.
Brown said the construction timeline is already about a month behind schedule.
“Every day counts,” he told the Gaines Planning Board last week.
He said supply-chain issues also are posing some challenges.
The Gaines board agreed to send the application to the County Planning Board for its review. Watt said the town will consider if there are any comments from the county in the town’s final review of the site plan. Watt said he is also hopeful the DEC will OK the stormwater management plan so the town can give its approval.
The Gaines Zoning Board of Appeals also is being asked to approve a 1-foot height variance for the building. It is proposed for 36 feet in height, just above the town threshold of 35 feet. A public hearing on that variance is scheduled for 705 p.m. on Dec. 12.
The Lake Ontario Fruit has 71 employees and will add 10 more jobs as part of the controlled atmosphere storage expansion. The project was backed by the Orleans Economic Development Agency with nearly $600,000 in incentives.
The EDA on Oct. 18 approved sale tax abatements of $240,000 on construction and $156,000 on fixtures and equipment.
The EDA also approved a 10-year PILOT that gradually phases in the taxes on the new addition. Lake Ontario Fruit would get a 100 percent exemption or $34,496 off in property taxes the first year, and then 10 percent will be added each year until it’s at 100 percent in year 11. That PILOT will save the company $189,729 in property taxes over the 10 years. Lake Ontario Fruit also will be paying $155,233 more in taxes during than 10 years than is currently paid on the existing building.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Erin Anheier is presented with the John Proctor Award from Bill Lattin, retired Cobblestone Museum director, for her service on the museum board, including the past three years as president. Anheier helped secure $229,000 in grants towards preserving buildings at the museum, which is a National Historic Landmark. She is currently working on an application to have the hamlet of Childs be included on the National Register of Historic Places.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 5 November 2023 at 8:36 am
CHILDS – The Cobblestone Society met for its 63rd annual meeting Saturday at the Gaines-Carlton Community Church.
The meeting celebrated a year in which the Cobblestone Society and Museum saw a lot of successes, the most significant being receiving enough funds to begin construction next year on what on a visitors center promoting Orleans County attractions.
Cobblestone Museum director Doug Farley welcomed guests and introduced pastor David Beach, who gave the invocation, followed by a traditional founder’s toast by Gerard Morrisey.
Richard Remley, the museum’s executive vice president, goes over highlights from 2023.
After a turkey dinner prepared by the women of the church, the members moved into the sanctuary, where board president Erin Anheier presided over the annual meeting, which included election of officers, treasurer’s report by Dick Remley and presentation of special awards.
Remley called 2023 the “emergence of the museum out of the pandemic.” After a two years of reduced programming, Remley said 2023 has been extremely active.
He named their two major projects – the Vagg House and Thompson-Kast Visitors Center. Construction is expected to being in mid-2024 to build an addition to the south end of a 1830s brick home, which the Cobblestone Society purchased as a visitors center. The addition will provide meeting space for 100 people. The Cobblestone Society met their capital campaign goal of $750,000, enabling them to purchase the Burke property without borrowing any money.
To date, 13 naming opportunities for the future visitors center have been accepted, and six are still available.
Other successes of the year include a membership dinner which raised much-needed operating funds, a Summer Soiree, flea market, and the first Historic Preservation Awards dinner. The Dunn Martin internship program provided the full expense for three summer interns, totaling $9,000. A Challenge Grant resulted in $24,575 in operating funds, exceeding their goal of $10,000.
Other grants received during the year were $13,000 from the Curtis Foundation, $32,867 from the Rochester Area Foundation, $3,000 for operating money from Orleans County, $9,000 from the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation for operating expenses and $5,000 from Go Art!.
Preservation work on the Ward House has begun with a $47,080 Genesee Valley Rural Revitalization grant.
“We are off and running for 2024,” Remley said. “For the first three quarters of 2023, our income and grants received are greater than expenditures by $36,000.”
New officers elected during the meeting were Matt Holland, president; Richard Remley, executive vice president; Christine Sartwell, vice president of development; Brenda Radzinski, secretary; Maarit Vaga, treasurer; Grace Denniston, corresponding secretary; and Gail Johnson, membership secretary.
Trustees elected were Lawrence Albanese, Erin Anheier and Marty Taber, terms ending Dec. 31, 2026; Mark Bower, Diana Flow, John Sansone and Doreen Wilson, terms ending Dec. 31, 2025; and Chris Capurso, Camilla VanderLinden, Bill Lattin and Joyce Riley, terms ending Dec. 31, 2024.
The first of several awards was the John Proctor Award, presented to Erin Anheier. Bill Lattin, retired museum director, said Anheier is “a person who does what she says.” Anheier is credited with bringing in $229,000 for the museum. That award goes to a dedicated member of the museum board of trustees.
She writes proposals to secure grant funding and also recognition on the National Register of Historic Places. She was influential in the restoration of the Hillside Cemetery Chapel in Holley. She got the Gaines Basin cobblestone school house on the National Register and now is working to get the entire hamlet of Childs listed. She also got Childs included in the Landmark Society’s “Five to Revive.”
Ginny Kropf of Medina accepts the Community Partner Award for her work as a news reporter. Doug Farley, the museum director in back, said Kropf is very reliable in writing about the museum’s activities.
Farley presented the Community Partner of the Year award to Ginny Kropf, who he said writes many articles for Orleans Hub and Lockport United Sun and Journal promoting the Cobblestone Museum’s activities.
Kropf has written 45 articles in the past six years highlighting museum programs and initiatives. Farley said Kropf has long been a dependable reporter for the community.
Lora Partyka, left, accepts the Business Partner of the Year from Sue Bonafini, assistant museum director.
The Business Partner of the Year was presented to Lora Partyka of Partyka Farms in Kendall.
“I first met Lora in 2016 when I went to ask her for an item for a gift basket we were putting together,” said Sue Bonafini, museum assistant director. “She said, ‘How would you like an entire gift basket.’ When I was short one or two sponsors for an event after the pandemic, I went to Lora, and she closed the gap.”
Partyka has continued to be a dependable contributor to the museum, donating corn on the cob and sponsoring events.
Mary Zangerle of Medina accepts the award for Volunteer of the Year from Sue Bonafini.
Volunteer of the Year for 2023 was Mary Zangerle of Medina. Zangerle began volunteering for the Cobblestone Museum in 2015 at the suggestion of Shirley Bright-Neeper. She is an avid Master Gardener and several years ago came to Bonafini and asked if she could do something “more administrative.” Zangerle learned how to use the Museum’s software and maintains records, organizes files and trains interns.
“She puts in 50 to 100 volunteer hours every year,” Bonafini said. “She volunteers year-round.”
Ann Mitchell of Spencerport, formerly of Kendall, quotes Sarah Jennie McCleery, a school teacher and resident of Ogden, from a speech given March 6, 1883. Mitchell entertained with her presentation of “Suffragettes UNITE!” at the Cobblestone Society’s annual meeting Saturday at the Gaines-Carlton Community Church.
The afternoon concluded with a program by Ann Mitchell of Spencerport, formerly of Kendall, titled “Suffragettes UNITE.” Mitchell has always been interested in the theater and singing. In 1976, she won the talent portion of the Orleans County Junior Miss Pageant.
After she was married, her husband once told her, “You have to vote. It’s your right.”
She developed Suffragettes UNITE as her final project at Brockport.
“I feel it’s important,” she said. “It reflects our history.”
In her presentation, she is dressed in period costumes as she quotes from suffragettes in our nation’s history. This includes “Equal Rights” by Sarah C. Owen Aug. 2, 1848 at the Unitarian Church in Rochester; “The Right to Vote” by Elizabeth C. Stanton on Feb. 17, 1864 in the New York State Legislature; “Is it a Crime for a U.S. Citizen to Vote?” by Susan B. Anthony in March and April in Monroe County; “Emancipation – War if we Must” by Elizabeth C. Stanton on May 6, 1873 for the National Woman’s Suffrage Association; and “On Being a Woman” by Sarah Jennie McCleary, a school teacher/resident of Ogden, on March 6, 1883 in The School Journal, Spencerport.
About 50 members of the Cobblestone Society enjoyed lunch at the Gaines Carlton Community Church.
Photo by Tom Rivers: There are about 20 coverlets from the 1830s and 1840s on display at the Thompson-Kast Visitors Center for the Cobblestone Museum. The coverlets will be discussed in a tour and program Nov. 11 by Marty Schlabach.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 31 October 2023 at 9:40 am
CHILDS – The Cobblestone Museum will host Marty Schlabach from the Finger Lakes region, who will present an educational program at 1 p.m. Nov. 11 at the Thompson-Kast Visitors Center on the Cobblestone’s Orleans County 19th’s century coverlet collection.
The event will include a guided tour of the coverlet collection. A free will donation will be accepted.
Title of the program is “Orleans County Coverlets and their Weavers: What Have We Learned?”
Marty Schlabach
Doug Farley, director of the Cobblestone Museum, describes coverlets as “woven bedcovers.”
“In the 19th century, most American homes had spinning wheels and looms,” Farley explained. “A wide array of types of cloth was woven by the women of the family for household use, including geometric patterned coverlets. There were also professional weavers who wove specialty textiles and earned some or all of their living practicing their trade. Figured & Fancy coverlets were one of the specialty items and they required specialty equipment, usually only found in the professional weave shop.”
Following an introduction to coverlets, the coverlet weavers of Orleans County will be highlighted in this presentation, Farley said.
Schlabach became interested in coverlets though his wife, Mary Jean Welser. She has been interested in and collected textiles for many years, with a particular interest in quilts. Some time, more than 10 years ago, while pawing through a pile of textiles at a local estate sale, Welser came across two whole late 18th century quilts and one geometric patterned coverlet. This started their interest in, exploration and collection of coverlets.
As a retired librarian, Schlabach particularly enjoys the historical research associated with learning about coverlets and their weavers. He continues his interest in libraries as president of the board of the Interlaken Public Library.
He is a member of the board of the National Museum of the American Coverlet in Bedford, Pa., and two years ago, started a monthly online coverlet study group. In addition to their interest in coverlets, Marty and Mary Jean spend substantial time gardening and working on their 1840s Greek Revival farmhouse.
Reservations for the coverlet program are strongly suggested by calling (585) 589-9013 or e-mailing director@cobblestonemuseum.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 October 2023 at 11:32 am
140 attend first-time event as museum seeks more supporters for mission
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Andrew Meier, an attorney in Medina who has tackled several preservation projects, served as keynote speaker on Friday at a preservation awards celebration for the Cobblestone Society and Museum.
About 140 people attended the event at Maison Albion. Meier entitled his speech, “Preservation 101: A Brief Science Lesson.”
Meier has led the ongoing renovation of the former R. H. Newell Shirt Factory. He started that project in 2005, and continues with the work on the building from 1876. It has hotel rooms, a law office, the Shirt Factory cocktail bar, and for many years was home to 810 Meadworks.
Meier said the labor from the stone and wood artisans, and other craftsmen can’t be duplicated with new buildings, where the focus is often on speed and the lowest cost possible.
Those older buildings in the county were built with old forest trees that were 200 to 300 years old. The sites were often made of the incredibly durable Medina Sandstone, which was hauled to sites on wagons by powerful animals.
“There were no concrete trucks or cranes,” Meier said. “This was all brute force, muscle labor from men and horses,” he said.
Andrew Meier acquired the Robert H. Newell Building at 113 West Center St. in 2005, when he was 25 and starting out as an attorney. The 14,000-square-foot building for 86 years was home to the Robert H. Newell Shirt Factory, which manufactured custom-made shirts, including for many famous customers, including Winston Churchill and Bob Hope. The site was originally a hotel that opened in 1876.
Orleans County continues to benefit from the legacy of people who built for the long haul with downtown buildings, churches, residences, even cemeteries, Meier said.
Meier admitted preservation projects are often very frustrating, with unknown challenges and expenses. But he said the undertakings are well worth it. Reviving a historic site or an already-built structure is good for the earth by preserving existing materials.
“Retrofitting an existing building emits less carbon than building new,” Meier said.
Meier said the four villages in the county – Albion, Holley, Lyndonville and Medina – all have buildings from the 1800s and early 1900s that are marvels. Even the hamlets and countryside in the county feature many sites that have endured for generations.
Those buildings are tremendous feats and the residents today benefit from them, and are linked to the “giants” of the past, who put so much human capital into these buildings, Meier said.
That human energy remains stored and is ready to be unleashed, he said.
“Our built environment is waiting for that little nudge from the dreamers and risk-takers,” Meier said.
Andrew Meier speaks during Friday’s preservation awards program which was held at Maison Albion.
The community is seeing the benefit of projects in the historic buildings, from bustling restaurants in Medina, and several “boutique” hotels and small businesses in the region’s historic downtowns.
Meier said he is pleased to see so many people in his hometown of Medina take a chance on the older buildings, and give them new purpose that has been embraced by the local community, and increasingly many out-of-town visitors.
“Medina has become a different town,” he said. “There is more vibrancy, more restaurants. It would have been impossible without the buildings.”
He is thankful the county largely avoided the urban renewal movement that leveled many historic downtown sites in the 1960s and ’70s. He noted Albion has the wondrous Courthouse Square, downtown business district, and Mount Albion Cemetery with the Cobblestone Museum close by.
Holley has its Public Square which is seeing a resurgence in investment, and so is Main Street in Lyndonville. Kendall’s historic tavern has been a success in the year since it opened with new owners with a vision for the culinary arts, Meier said.
(Left) Brenda Tremblay, an Albion native and morning radio host for WXXI in Rochester, served as emcee of the dinner and celebration on Friday. She told the group, “You are surrounded by so much amazing historical stewardship.”
(Right) Matt Holland, a member of the Cobblestone Museum board of directors, urged the group to donate and support’s the museum’s mission, which includes breaking ground on a new visitors center next year.
The Thompson-Kast Visitors Center will be a new building next to an 1824 brick home that will be part of the visitors center at the intersection of routes 98 and 104.
The center will join the museum’s building inventory that includes the Cobblestone Universalist Church from 1834, Brick House (museum office) from 1836, Ward House from 1836, Peter’s Harness Shop from 1838, District No. 5 Schoolhouse from 1849, Farmers Hall from 1855, Hill’s Print Shop from the 1870s, Voting House (now used book store) from 1909, Vagg’s Blacksmith Shop from 1921-22, and the Vagg House from circa 1830s and then remodeled in the 1920s.
Doug Farley, right, is director of the Cobblestone Museum. He presents an award to Steve and Paula Nesbitt, owner of the Pine Hill School at 4757 Pine Hill Rd., Barre. They were one of six winners of preservation awards from the Cobblestone Society and Museum. The Pine Hill School was built circa 1835 of fieldstones.
The award winners also received citations from the Orleans County Legislature and State Legislature.
(Left) Tim and Catherine Cooper of Medina restored the Wash Hotel, which goes back to 1852, when the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Company completed the railroad through Medina. The building was recently purchased by Rollin Hellner.
(Right) Harriet Greaser and her late husband Phil restored the Presbyterian Manse at 31 East State St., Albion. The site has now been privately owned for more than 30 years. The Greasers brought the site back to grandeur.
Diana Dragan Reed’s home at 349 South Main St., Albion, was built in 1876 and took seven years to build. Reed recently moved back to her childhood home and has made several changes more reflective of its historic character.
Talis Historic Restoration employees, Ian McAnn and Dan Totten, accepted an award on behalf of Roger Hungerford for the restoration of the Bent’s Opera House.
Hungerford restored three floor of a historic Medina Sandstone building at the corner of West Center and Main streets in Medina. The building opened in 1865. It is now home to a boutique hotel with 10 rooms, an upscale restaurant and events center.
Kim and Neal Muscarella were honored for their efforts to turn the former Cooperative Extension building at 20 Main St. in Albion into the Marti’s on Main art gallery.
Cobblestone Museum leaders said they are pleased with the attendance at the first-time event.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 October 2023 at 11:37 am
Children walked with mules pulling boats in canal’s boom days
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Graham Kirby, 10, of Albion served as a hoggee on Saturday in a boat captained by Veronica Morgan of Albion.
Morgan put together a program, “I was a hoggee on the Erie Canal.” She wanted to spotlight the role of hoggees, who were children who walked with mules that pulled boats on the canal.
The Orleans County Historical Association assisted Morgan with the event that included activities at the Gaines Basin cobblestone schoolhouse as well as the boat rides from the canal, going from near the Gaines Basin Road bridge to near the lift bridge in Eagle Harbor.
Graham Kirby looks to the boat captain to see if he is needed for any task. The hoggees would get the captain food and be sent for other chores on the boat when they weren’t outside walking with mules.
Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County historian, was in the canal boat and shared stories and history of the canal in Gaines and Eagle Harbor during the 40-minute boat ride. Lattin is also Graham Kirby’s grandfather.
Lattin said Eagle Harbor is largely a “ghost town” now compared to the 1800s and early 1900s when it had its own grocery store, and other merchants who were coopers and blacksmiths.
Eagle Harbor also had the third golf course in the United States, a 6-hole course north of the canal that operated from 1898 to about 1940.
Lattin shared how Gaines has the northernmost point of the canal, endured a big flood in 1927 when there was a breach on the waterway. The section also has a widewaters east of Eagle Harbor where boats could turn around. The widewaters was especially needed in the early days of the canal when it was only 40 feet wide and difficult for boats to change directions.
Arthur Barnes does a pen and ink drawing of the a log cabin behind the Gaines Basin Schoolhouse on Saturday.
The schoolhouse was open for people to relax and tour on Saturday. The school was built in 1832 and is among the oldest cobblestone structures in the region.
It served as a school until 1942. Bill Lattin said there used to be 144 schools in the county. After decentralization, the number of school districts dropped to five.
Veronica Morgan captains the boat. She steered it about 65 miles from Macedon for the event on Saturday.
She wants to offer the hoggee program again in 2025, on the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal and also Orleans County.
Morgan works as a lift bridge operator in Brockport.
The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council supported the hoggee program on Saturday, covering the cost for the boat rides and other entertainers.
The boat approaches the lift bridge in Eagle Harbor. The boat rides on Saturday were for about 40 minutes, from Gaines Basin to Eagle Harbor and then back.
Graham Kirby sounds a horn, which hoggees did to let the lift bridge operator know a boat was approaching. The horn is in the schoolhouse’s collection of artifacts.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 September 2023 at 10:20 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – Leo LeBerth, left, and Matt Holland work in the blacksmith shop on Saturday during the annual open house at the Cobblestone Museum.
This was the first time both men volunteered in the blacksmith shop at the museum. LeBerth has his own setup in Ridgeway. Holland is a member of the Cobbelstone Museum’s board of directors. He has been a blacksmith demonstrator before at another museum.
The blacksmith shop used to be operated by Joseph Vagg. The original shop burned down in 1921 but was rebuilt in 1922 with the help of many local farmers who were served by Vagg.
Eliya Cooper of Hamlin gave tours of the Vagg House, which is next door to the blacksmith shop. The Vagg house was added to the museum in 2019. It is decorated to be a typical of a middle class 1930s home when electricity became more common.
Joseph Vagg and his with Nellie lived in the house. Nellie was very active in the temperance movement. She died in 1975 and donated the blacksmith shop and its tools to the Cobblestone Society.
Cooper has been volunteering at the museum as a docent for eight seasons.
LeRoy Neeper of Medina demonstrates equipment in the wood shop next to the blacksmith. The wood shop includes a band saw, wood saws, drill press lathe and an International Harvester engine from 1922.
Jan Brauer of Lewiston weaves a basket outside the Ward House. Brauer has been a basket weaver since 2002.
“It’s very meditative,” she said. “And it’s a useful craft that you can put your stuff in.”
Cat Holland of Medina, left, and Sylvia Goodstine of Kent gave turs of the Ward House which was constructed in about 1840 in the Federal style.
Holland said her favorite artifact in the house is a horsehair couch. Goodstine said she most enjoys a Wheeler & Wilson sewing machine from 1863.
Reuben Rivers chats with Georgia Thomas and Maarit Vaga. Rivers gave tours of the Farmer’s Hall, while Thomas did a butter-making demonstration and Vaga showed the harness shop next door.
The Farmer’s Hall was built in 1855 as a Universalist Church. It was then used by German Lutherans as a church beginning in the 1870s. It later became Kendall’s Town Hall. The building was given to the Cobblestone Museum in 1978. It was dismantled in Kendall and brought to the museum where it was rebuilt and now functions as an exhibition hall for 19th and early 20th century farming implements.
The museum’s entire campus was open for tours on Saturday. The event concluded with a concert in the Cobblestone Church by the Fiddlers of the Genesee.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 4 September 2023 at 3:56 pm
Provided photo: Jim Bonafini, left, and Bill Lattin greets visitors watching the blacksmith in Vagg’s Blacksmith Shop at the Cobblestone Museum Complex. A blacksmith will be among the artisans demonstrating their trade at the open house Sept. 9.
CHILDS – The Cobblestone Museum’s campus will be buzzing with activity during their annual Open House Sept. 9.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and feature live demonstrations by volunteers in the blacksmith and print shops. Activities in other museum locations will be scheduled throughout the day.
“Volunteers have kindly accepted our invitation to demonstrate their skills associated with crafts that would have been popular in the 19th century,” said Sue Bonafini, assistant director of the Museum. “Visiting artisans from the Genesee Country Lace Guild will bring a try-it pillow for those who would like to experience the bobbin lace technique, and a seasoned volunteer will invite guests to help make butter from cream at Farmer’s Hall, where our butter churn collection is displayed.”
Other activities scheduled for the day include chair caning, basket weaving, quilting and weaving on a portable loom.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Georgia Thomas shows young children how to make butter at last year’s open house at the Cobblestone Museum.
All campus buildings and exhibit rooms will be open for public viewing free of charge with a complimentary wrist band. Current exhibits feature Victorian Mourning Art and Sundries and a historic coverlet collection made by Orleans County weavers in the 1800s.
A food tent will offer a barbecue chicken meal with salt potatoes, baked beans and dinner roll from 58 Main BBQ in Brockport for al fresco dining or takeout. Chicken will be available from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. or sold out. Presale tickets are $17 for a $2 savings per meal. Fruit pies from Partyka Farms in Kendall will be sold by the slice.
To top off the day, fiddlers from the Fiddlers of the Genesee will play toe-tapping old-time fiddle music in the Cobblestone Church at 3 p.m. Free will donations will be accepted. For additional information or to purchase chicken barbecue tickets, call (585) 589-9013.
The Fiddlers of the Genesee perform during last year’s open house in the Cobblestone Church. They will be back for another concert on Saturday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 August 2023 at 9:03 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – The Cobblestone Museum held its annual flea market on Saturday with 20 vendors and about 200 people stopping by. The top photo shows Adrienne Kirby at right selling used home-school curriculum.
Chris Sartwell in back sold fishing tackle and excess household items. “I don’t have much left all all,” she said about her inventory at the end of the afternoon.
Brian Stewart, left, Craig Ernewein and Bie Bradley were giving away New Testaments. Stewart and Ernewein are in The Gideons International and they estimate they have given away 1,500 to 2,000 New Testaments so far this year at the Holley June Fest, Albion Strawberry Festival, county fairs in Orleans and Niagara counties, and National Night Out in Medina.
Gertie Motulli, left, of Sweet Treats by Gertie and Beth Miller of Wild Flour Deli & Bakery served up tasty snacks and food.
The museum also served more than 200 hot dogs and 100 ears of corn. That corn was donated by Partyka Farms in Kendall.
The flea market used to be an annual event at the museum. It returned last year after about a 20-year absence. There were about 40 vendors signed up but about half decided not to attend to the threat of bad weather on Saturday.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 11 August 2023 at 11:01 am
69 trees, 34 varieties on museum property in Gaines
Provided photos: A Norway maple grows next to the gallery and office of the Cobblestone Museum.
CHILDS – The Cobblestone Museum has been accredited as an Arborertum Level 1 by ArbNet, an interactive, collaborative international community of arboreta.
The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program is the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta based on a set of professional standards.
The legwork and planning for the accreditation are attributed to Willem DeRuysscher, a senior at Albion High School and summer intern at the Cobblestone Museum.
He spent hours mapping and labeling all of the trees on the Cobblestone campus, according to director Doug Farley.
The mission of the Cobblestone Museum Arboreta is to educate visitors and attract new guests, which ultimately benefits all new visitors, Farley said.
There are a handful of notable trees on the Cobblestone’s property, and a total of 69 trees and 34 species.
A flowering crabapple is in full bloom next to the Cobblestone Museum’s Ward House.
A leaning white walnut tree is located behind the National Historic Landmark Cobblestone Church. A very large catalpa tree has the thickest trunk on the campus. There are also two sets of twins, two sycamore trees planted next to each other and two horse chestnut trees – one next to the church and the other next to the Visitors Center.
The smallest tree is the dwarf Alberta spruce. A resilient shrub native to most of the United States, the Cobblestone’s is only five feet seven inches tall. By contrast, the tallest tree is a Norway pine approximately 87 feet tall, making it taller than the bell tower of the church.
Other trees include a Norway maple next to the office/gallery, a trumpet vine next to an outhouse and a flowering crabapple next to the Ward House.
To receive the arboretum accreditation, the Cobblestone Museum has devised a Museum Arboretum Master Plan. The mission is to provide a recreational and educational experience and beauty that will attract more visitors to the museum.
A trumpet vine is one of the many species of trees and shrubs on the Cobblestone Museum campus.
Objectives are to care for new species native and exotic, educate visitors on basic tree maintenance and care, celebrate trees within the arboretum and in the surrounding community, educate visitors on the characteristics and origin of the trees on their campus and engage with the community by allowing donations and holding an Arbor Day event.
As director, Farley will oversee arboretum development. Maintenance will be performed by staff and volunteers.
A catalog of arboretum trees and an electronic map will be kept in a computer by the director and is available on the arboretum website. The electronic map utilizes GPS technology and an excel sheet documents the attributes of each tree, such as species and origin.
File photo by Tom Rivers: Lisa Mannella of L & S Creative Designs is shown with a display of country craft items that she makes with Stephanie Rustay. They were one of 27 vendors at a flea market last year on Aug. 13 at the Cobblestone Museum. The flea market returned after more than 20 years.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 2 August 2023 at 5:07 pm
CHILDS – The Cobblestone Museum’s Flea Market is anticipated to be a bargain hunter’s paradise, according to organizer Sue Bonafini, assistant museum director.
The event is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 12 on museum grounds, featuring a wide variety of merchandise. This includes mixed goods, vintage items, crafts, tools fishing and gardening items, toys and much more.
“Prices fit every budget and some sellers willingly negotiate prices to move their merchandise,” Bonafini said.
Homesteads for Hope will sell their locally grown produce, Wild Flour Deli and Bakery will sell baked goods and a Jordan Essentials skin care consultant is expected. A food tent will feature Zweigle’s grilled hot dogs and Partyka Farms’ sweet corn on the cob to satisfy hungry shoppers.
Nearly 30 booths have been reserved to date, but the museum will continue to accept vendors until Aug. 8.
Local residents might be motivated to gather up that “stuff” that has been sitting in closets, basements or attics and consider this opportunity to sell on a summer’s day, Bonafini said.
Booth space is 10’ x 10’ for $20. Chairs, tables and personal shade canopies are brought in by the sellers.
In addition to the many community vendors, the Cobblestone Society will sponsor the Holiday Shoppe (with Christmas themed items), white elephant sale (mixed goods) and used books.
“Thanks to the generous community members, we have loads of modestly priced merchandise to sell,” Bonafini said.
Contact museum staff at (585) 589-9013 with inquiries or to reserve a booth.”
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 19 June 2023 at 8:54 am
Annual patriotic service set for July 2 at Cobblestone Church
Photos by Tom Rivers: There are about 20 coverlets from the 1830s and 1840s on display at the Thompson-Kast Visitors Center for the Cobblestone Museum.
CHILDS – The Cobblestone Society and Museum have two special events planned in the next several weeks.
First is the fifth annual Summer Solstice Soiree, titled “Gathering of Friends” on Friday (June 23) at the Thompson-Kast Visitors Center.
The event will begin at 5 p.m. and last until dark. The public is invited to join in the celebration for an evening of music, art and conversation.
The coverlets were all donated to the museum by families in Orleans County.
Currently at the Visitors Center is a display of 1830s to 1840s coverlets, along with Victorian paintings by local artists and art by Tom Zangerle of Medina.
Visitors can also stroll through the expanded Victorian Mourning Art exhibit in the Upper Gallery across the road.
Presale tickets to the Soiree are $20 or at the door, $25 and include a complimentary glass of wine and scrumptious nibbles. There will be a wine cash bar.
All donations benefit the Cobblestone Society Museum. Tickets may be ordered on the back page of the newsletter or by contacting the museum.
The second special event is the annual patriotic service at the Cobblestone Church on July 2.
The service harkens back to its early roots, with patriotic songs, poems and readings designed to make attendees proud of America and all that is stands for, said Museum director Doug Farley. The service will begin at 11 a.m.
Maarit Vaga and Bill Lattin have planned an outstanding event, Farley said. At noon, the crowd will move outdoors to enjoy a good old-fashioned picnic with hotdogs right off the grill. Hotdogs and beverages will be provided.
Those attending should bring their own lawn chair. A free will donation will be accepted.
Photos by Ginny Kropf: (Left) An American Legend Heirloom rug is held by Mollie Radzinski and her father Mark Radzinski during bidding at the Cobblestone Society’s benefit auction. (Right) Dick Remley holds up a small table with magazine holder, which sold for $130 during the live auction Wednesday night.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 12 May 2023 at 1:53 pm
(Editor’s Note: The Cobblestone Museum’s Mother’s Day celebration will be Saturday (May 13) and not on Sunday as was initially stated in the article.)
CARLTON – The Cobblestone Museum’s annual membership dinner Wednesday night at Carlton Firemen’s Recreation Hall brought out a record attendance, said Museum director Doug Farley.
“I am very happy with the event,” Farley said. “We made a record $24,000, over and above what we normally do.”
Proceeds from the evening help the museum pay its operating costs, Farley said.
The evening featured dinner catered by Zambistro’s, a silent auction, live auction and raffles.
Randy Bower, retired Orleans County sheriff, has volunteered to be auctioneer all five years of the dinner.
“I was sheriff when they first asked me, and I went online and studied how to be an auctioneer, and then I practiced,” Bower said. “I love the Cobblestone Society and wanted to be able to give back.”
First assistant district attorney Susan Howard attended the dinner for the first time last year.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but I had the time of my life,” Howard said. “So I joined. I grew up around the corner from the Cobblestone Museum, and it makes my neighborhood much more interesting.”
Lynn Williams of Medina came to the dinner for the first time last year.
“It’s a nice evening for a good cause,” she said.
Scott Schmidt of Medina said he supports the Cobblestone Society because it preserves the history of Orleans County.
“I am playing for the Cobblestone’s organ tour in July, and I wanted to meet some of the people who potentially might be in my audience,” Schmidt said. “We have such a unique area here with the historic buildings. It is intriguing to me how these beautiful buildings were built.”
Success of the event was due in part to generous donations from the community.
The dinners were underwritten by Roy Bubb and John Nipher of Holley, K. Peter and Patricia Hurd and Gail Johnson, all of Albion.
The entire cost of the recreation hall rental was underwritten by Scott Schickling, certified public accountant/financial planner of Medina.
Other monetary donations were given by Farley and his wife Lois, David Mitchell of Albion, LeRoy and Shirley Bright-Neeper of Medina and Richard and Kim Remley of Albion.
Grace Denniston donated and prepared appetizers for the evening. A sheet cake made by Peggy Bropst of Kent was underwritten by Brenda Radzinski of Albion. Doreen Wilson of Albion paid for the cost of all the table coverings.
The Cobblestone Museum has a full schedule of special events planned throughout the year, beginning this spring with and art exhibit by Tom Zangerle in the Visitors Center.
Beginning on Saturday as part of a Mothers’ Day celebration, an exhibit of 20 historic coverlets will be on display at the Visitors Center. Also, mothers will be recognized with complimentary tours and free gifts this Saturday.
Bill Lattin’s educational program and exhibit on Victorian Mourning Art will be available May 19 at 6:20 p.m. for up to 12 guests, who must register in advance by calling 589-9013. The exhibit will continue in the Upper Gallery, featuring 20 recently added pieces for 120 artifacts altogether.
On May 20 and 21, the Cobblestone Museum will join with the New York State Landmark Conservancy to host an open house at the Cobblestone Church.
The annual summer solstice soiree is scheduled June 21, celebrating art and nature in outdoor setting beside Proctor Brook. Featured will be plein-air artists Tom Zangerle, Pat Greene and Arthur Barnes, and a cadre of musicians.
The annual patriotic service will take place July 2 in the Cobblestone Church, with patriotic readings, stirring songs and an old-fashioned picnic on the side lawn.
Maarit Vaga will organize a progressive organ concert on a date to be announced in July. Dinner at a local restaurant will follow the tour.
(Left) Members of the Cobblestone Museum cut the cake prior to Wednesday’s annual membership dinner at Carlton Firemen’s Recreation Hall. From left are Marty Taber, Grace Denniston, Mary and Tom Zangerle and director Doug Farley. (Right) Marty Taber, left, and Mark Radzinski hold up a side table with drawer for the crowd to see at the Cobblestone Society’s benefit auction. The table brought $140.
In August, a tour of historic homes will be announced, featuring a self-driving tour to visit examples of regional historic architecture.
August 12 is the date of the Cobblestone Museum Flea Market, the second year for the event, with outdoor booths to attract bargain hunters.
The fall open house is Sept. 9, with artisan craftsmen and re-enactors re-creating life in the 19th century.
Visitors can step back in time in October when the museum sponsors Music of World War I at the Vagg House. Selections will be shared on and Edison cylinder victrola and an upright player piano. Local musician Raymond Santoro will play the piano and lead this music-filled event.
A ghost walk is scheduled Oct. 7, with a rain date of Oct. 8. More than 25 volunteer thespians will be in period costumes.
The festively decorated Cobblestone Church will be the setting for a Christmas Carol Sing in December, featuring Christmas traditions, the Saint Lucia celebration, carol sing and readings.
The popular Christmas Tour of Homes will also take place in December, featuring a self-driving tour and several extensively decorated homes open for visitors.
The ambitious schedule of events is capped off by the anticipation of building a new Orleans County Visitors Center in the Civil War-era home across the street from the Cobblestone Church. Fundraising for the project has exceeded $800,000, Farley said.
He said construction will begin as soon as plans are completed and the cost is determined.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Bill Lattin, retired director of the Cobblestone Museum, has put together an exhibit “Victorian Mourning Art & Sundries” in the upper gallery at the Brick House.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 9 May 2023 at 8:07 am
Display about ‘Victorian Mourning Art’ expands to 120 artifacts
CHILDS – The Cobblestone Museum will open for the season on May 13 with a special event, “Celebrating Mothers.”
The Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, with a focus on mothers. Mothers are encouraged to visit the Museum for a complimentary tour of the campus and receive a free flower, while the supply lasts. The floral gifts are courtesy of Mary Lou Ames, Albion florist and owner of Homestead Wildflowers at 14395 East County House Rd.
In addition, there are still some seats left for “An In-depth Look at Victorian Mourning Art” at 6:30 p.m. May 19 in the Upper Gallery.
The exhibit of Victorian Mourning Art and Sundries was put in place the spring of 2022. No formal talk or program on this topic and exhibit was given, Farley said. During the past year, former director Bill Lattin has collected more than 20 more examples of this type of genre. A new display panel with these items has now been added to the exhibit. This brings the number of artifacts on display to more than 120.
At 6:30 p.m. on May 19, Lattin will highlight some of the more unusual pieces in his collection with a 45-minute presentation, including questions from participants. A portfolio of 12 close-up pictures to be discussed will be distributed. A catalogue of the entire exhibit is also available.
Many of the artifacts displayed are truly one-of-a-kind mourning art pieces, according to Sue Bonafini, assistant director of the Museum. These were often created by family members as keepsakes for a departed loved one. Some even with hair. However, as the title suggests ‘and sundries,’ there is indeed much more.
Mass-produced items, such as prints and knick-knacks were readily available, and a few select items from the undertakers’ profession are also on display.
Space is limited and those attending are asked to RSVP by calling (585) 589-9013.
Also new this year is the exhibit of 19th Century coverlets from Orleans County at the Visitors Center. Both the coverlet exhibit and Victorian Mourning Art exhibit can be viewed during regular Museum hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning Mary 13, or other times by appointment, said museum director Doug Farley.
Randy Bower, retired Orleans County sheriff, has volunteered to be auctioneer all five years of the dinner.
