Holley/Murray

Work gets started on replacing roof of historic chapel at Hillside Cemetery

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 October 2017 at 5:43 pm

Photos courtesy of Melissa Ierlan

CLARENDON – Workers from Leo J. Roth in Rochester have started working on the roof at the historic chapel at Hillside Cemetery, just south of the Village of Holley.

Roth will be removing slate shingles and installing new ones. The roofing company will place new copper in valleys on the roof and also will be replacing a rotted section of the roof near the flying buttress by the main entrance of the building. The project will cost about $80,000.

The Leo J. Roth roofing company set up scaffolding at the chapel last week. Today, the company started working on removing shingles.

A state grant is covering half of the bill, while donations and fundraisers are paying the local match.

The chapel and cemetery are owned by the Town of Clarendon. The state in December 2015 approved a $126,210 grant for work on the chapel.

In addition to the roof, the chapel will have windows repaired and other restoration work. The roof repair is the first of the projects, and the most critical for keeping water from seeping in and damaging the stone masonry, said Erin Anheier, secretary of the Clarendon Historical Society. She also took the lead in writing the grant for the project.

The community stepped up with donations and supported numerous fundraisers to cover the local share for the restoration and repair of the building, which was constructed in 1894. The cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The chapel a year ago was inducted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame.

The Clarendon Historical Society has pushed to apply for the state grant, and raise the local share for the project.

The society would like to see the restored building used for community events, including concerts, lectures, arts and crafts fairs, family reunions, small weddings and funerals.

The building is a landmark on Route 237, leading into the village.

“It sets the tone as you enter Holley and see the other sandstone structures,” Anheier said. “It really sets the ambiance of what the Victorians were trying to achieve with their rural cemeteries.”

The town will be seeking bids from contractors to restore the windows at the chapel. Once the roof and window projects are done, Anheier said the building will be weather tight and the focus will shift to interior improvements.

The chapel was inducted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame in October 2016. The elegant Gothic Revival style chapel was built in 1894 for $3,350 and is a primary feature of the cemetery. Originally constructed for burial services at the cemetery, the 20-by-32-foot chapel was designed by Rochester architect Addison Forbes and features Medina sandstone construction, a slate roof, and decorative glass windows. The chapel and cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

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Holley’s $2 million water project will replace infrastructure on 237, northeast part of village

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 October 2017 at 6:46 pm

HOLLEY – The big state grant announced today for the Village of Holley will help the community replace old water infrastructure on Route 237 and the northeast quadrant of the village, Mayor Brian Sorotchy said.

Holley is planning a $2,090,000 project and the state will pay for $1,254,000 of the upgrade with a grant.

The work will follow the same area of improvements for new sidewalks. The governor in April announced a $1,780,000 state grant for Holley to construct curbs and sidewalks that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“These two projects combined will result in new sidewalks and water main for about a third of the Village, installed over the next few years,” Sorotchy said today in an email. “We are very excited to have our project selected and thank everyone involved in putting the application together as well as all of the support we have received from our local, county, and state representatives!”

When the projects are done, the state Department of Transportation also plans to mill and repave routes 237 and 31 in the village.

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Holley, Medina get state grants for water system upgrades

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 October 2017 at 11:22 am

Photo by Tom Rivers: The top of the Holley water tank on Route 237 is shown in this photo from Sept. 2.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has $22 million in state grants for water system upgrades in the Finger Lakes region, including projects in Medina and Holley.

The Village of Holley is planning a $2,090,000 project. The state will pay for $1,254,000 of the upgrade with a grant.

The Village of Medina will receive a $282,000 state grant for a $1,128,000 water project.

The grants are part of a $255 million statewide that are funded through the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act, as well as the new Intermunicipal Water Infrastructure Grants Program.

“This unprecedented investment continues New York’s commitment to helping municipalities develop necessary infrastructure to protect our water resources,” Cuomo said today. “These investments are crucial to supporting the health and safety of our communities, and help lay the foundation for future growth and prosperity in every corner of this great state.”

Under the landmark $2.5 billion Clean Water Infrastructure Act of 2017, announced by Governor Cuomo in April, these grants are part of $255 million in funding available for municipalities statewide to support critical water quality infrastructure projects. The Act also made $30 million available for the new Intermunicipal Water Infrastructure Grants Program, which provides grant funds for two or more municipalities sharing water quality infrastructure.

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Holley buys 4 body cameras for police officers

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 11 October 2017 at 9:38 am

Village also approves ‘dangerous buildings law’

HOLLEY – The Village Board on Tuesday approved the purchase of four body cameras for the Holley Police Department. The cost of the cameras is being covered by a $5,000 Division of Criminal Justice Services grant.

Village leaders had discussed obtaining body cameras in the past, and Police Chief Roland Nenni, who also serves as Albion Police Chief, said the cameras are being purchased now because he wanted to work out details of the program in Albion, before going ahead with body cameras in Holley.

Holley police officers will, “activate their camera any time they speak with anyone in public,” Chief Nenni said.

He noted that data from the cameras will be kept for a minimum of one year. He said the body camera policy in place in Albion can also be used in Holley. Trustees said they will review that policy.

In other action at the Village Board meeting:

• Holley adopted a dangerous buildings law which will help the village address dilapidated and unsafe buildings.

Mayor Brian Sorochty said during a public hearing in September that the new law is an, “extension of the current process” the village utilizes in getting property owners to bring their buildings up to code. The Village of Albion has passed a similar law, Holley leaders said.

Previously, the village had been able to serve citations to village property owners regarding violations of building codes and unsafe buildings, but the new law provides a process by which the village has recourse to the Supreme Court of the State of New York to obtain a court order to compel property owners to take action when their buildings become unsafe.

The law includes conditions constituting dangerous buildings; duties of Code Enforcement and Fire Prevention, which will enforce the law; the process of surveying a premises to determine if it is unsafe and deem it a nuisance; execution of court orders; and penalties for offenses.

Sorochty emphasized the law does not pertain to the old Holley High School, which the village would like to see renovated for a new use, potentially including village offices.

The new law does pertain to, “dilapidated (buildings) where the owners are resistant to working with the village,” either to bring the properties into compliance with village codes or to demolish buildings which have been deemed a nuisance, the mayor said.

Conditions stated in the law constituting dangerous buildings include structures, “which have become or are so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, unsanitary or which so utterly fail to provide the amenities essential to decent living that they are unfit for human habitation; and those which have parts thereof which are so attached that they may fall and injure members of the public or property.”

Penalties for failure to comply with any order of the Supreme Court to demolish or repair a dangerous building include a maximum fine of $250, jail time of up to 15 days, or both, and, “each and every day such failure to comply continues beyond the date fixed for compliance by an order of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.”

• The Village Board approved the purchase of a hybrid lift truck as part of the Municipal Alternate Fuel Vehicle Program at a cost of $153,275. Village Water & Electric Department Superintendent Matt Campbell said the purchase is necessary to replace the village’s aging lift truck.

The hybrid truck will be purchased on an interest-free loan to be paid for by an increase in monthly electric bills for village municipal electric customers.

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Photo of Holley canal culvert earns honorable mention in annual contest

Posted 5 October 2017 at 8:09 pm

This photo of a sandstone culvert in Holley, taken by Russ Bosch of Holley, earned honorable mention in the annual Erie Canalway Photo Contest.

Press Release, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

WATERFORD – Twelve images that capture the beauty and character of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor have been selected as winners of the 12th Annual Erie Canalway Photo Contest.

Winning images will be featured in the 2018 Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Calendar, which will be available for free in December. Winning photos can be viewed by clicking here.

“These outstanding images offer a snapshot of what makes this 500-mile ribbon of waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes a national treasure,” said Bob Radliff, Erie Canalway Executive Director. “We hope they inspire people to protect and celebrate our unparalleled canal heritage.”

This photo that shows a tugboat at sunset in Fairport won a first place award in the photo contest. It was taken by Kathy Polino of Fairport.

Judges selected twelve winners from nearly 300 entries. First, second and third place photographs were chosen in each of four contest categories: Classic Canal, Along the Trail, On the Water, and Canal Communities. In addition, twelve photographs received an honorable mention.

This year’s winners include a strong showing from the greater Rochester area, including Fairport, Pittsford, Spencerport and Henrietta.

Free 2018 Erie Canalway calendars will be distributed starting December 1st throughout upstate New York. Locations where the calendars will be made available to the public will be posted in November at www.eriecanalway.org. Funding support for the calendar comes from the New York State Canal Corporation.

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Planners support Murray business expansion on Ridge Road

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2017 at 10:53 am

MURRAY – A company the creates and sells educational kits is doing a 9,225-square-foot warehouse expansion on Ridge Road in Murray.

Darren Coon, the company chief executive officer, founded the company in 2006. TeacherGeek currently works out of 6,500-square-foot facility at 16551 Ridge Rd. The company’s hands-on kits require students to use STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

The Orleans County Planning Board on Thursday backed the site plan for the expansion, which also includes a parking lot with 31 spaces.

For more on TeacherGeek, click here.

In other action, the Planning Board:

• Approved the site plan for James Bitsas and Marc Massaro to operate a pizzeria in Medina at 11360 Maple Ridge Rd.

Cusimano’s Pizzeria will be in an existing 3,300-square-foot building that has been vacant for several years. It was formerly a K & K Food Mart and gas station.

• Approved a six-month moratorium for the Town of Carlton on freestanding or ground-mounted solar energy systems. (The moratorium does not include roof-mounted solar systems.)

The town’s zoning ordinance only briefly addresses solar energy systems. The six months will give Carlton time to update its zoning ordinance for siting solar energy systems, county planners said.

• Supported the updates in the Town of Albion’s zoning ordinance for solar energy systems. (Albion is the seventh municipality in the county to update its solar regulations since 2016.

Albion would allow large-scale solar (up to 15 kilowatts) in all zoning districts. However, a minimum lot size of 10 acres in residential areas might eliminate the systems in those areas.

Solar farms, which exceed 15 kilowatts, also require a minimum lot size of 10 acres. The solar farms need a decommissioning plan, mechanical equipment enclosed by fencing, screening with a vegetative buffer, warning signage and one parking space.

Roof-mounted systems do not need site plan approval from the town as long as the energy is used onsite.

• Opposed the special use permit request for a Kendall resident to store boats outdoors in a residential/hamlet district.

David Oschmann wants to have outdoor storage of boats at a boat maintenance and repair business at his residence, 1893 Kendall Rd. Oschmann wouldn’t sell materials, goods or services at the site.

Having boats outside is against the Kendall zoning ordinance which states, “no outdoor storage or display of materials, goods, supplies, or equipment related to the operation of the home business” shall be permitted.

Oschmann can seek a use variance with the Town of Kendall.

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Canal bridge in Murray closed after inspection shows deteriorating steel

Posted 25 September 2017 at 4:55 pm

Photo by Tom Rivers: This photo from March 2015 shows the Telegraph Road canal bridge in Murray.

Press Release, State DOT

MURRAY – The New York State Department of Transportation today announced that the bridge carrying Telegraph Road over the Erie Canal in the town of Murray, Orleans County, will close to traffic tomorrow morning until further notice.

The closure is the result of a recent bridge inspection and engineering analysis that identified deteriorating steel. The bridge had been posted with a maximum weight restriction of 4 tons.

No official detour will be posted, but Groth Road over the Erie Canal is approximately a half mile to the west. State Route 237 is about one mile to the east.

The Telegraph Road bridge is a single lane, steel truss bridge built in 1911. Approximately 600 vehicles use this canal crossing each day. The bridge is one of seven canal bridges in Orleans County scheduled to be rehabilitated beginning next summer.

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Holley native wins $50K grand prize on food truck challenge

Food Network: Nick Hunter, Steven Klatt (center) and Brandon Lapp are teammates in Braised in the South which won the Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race.” Klatt is a Holley graduate.

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 September 2017 at 10:42 pm

CLARENDON – When the winning team was announced on the Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race, the Clarendon Rec Hall crowd jumped out of their seats and hollered in joy.

Steven Klatt, 31, and his teammates on Braised in the South took home the top prize, $50,000. Klatt grew up in Clarendon and graduated from Holley. He is the son of Ryan Klatt and Susan Colby, the Clarendon town clerk.

Susan Colby, standing, jumps out of her seat after her son’s team won the “Great Food Truck Race” on the Food Network. The show aired from 9 to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Colby watched the finals at a viewing party at the Clarendon Rec Hall with about two dozen people. She had tears rolling down her face after Klatt and his team won the grand prize.

“We’re pretty darn proud,” Colby said. “He deserves all the credit.”

Braised in the South is based in Charlotte, South Carolina. It faced Mr. Po’ Boys from Dallas, Texas, in the finals in Savannah, Ga.

The team that sells the most food is the winner. Braised in the South created dishes with shellfish, scallops and clams to win the finals.

The competition features Southern-style food. The Great Food Truck Race started with seven teams, but each week one is eliminated, the team with lowest sales.

Susan Colby, right, watches the show wearing a Braised in the South shirt.

Colby said her son and his teammates are planning to go into the food truck business. They all work as chefs in Charleston.

Klatt and his wife have two children.

“It’s the most humbling experience I’ve ever been a part of,” Klatt said on the show. “It’s all worth it.”

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Holley doesn’t mind the heat for homecoming

Staff Reports Posted 23 September 2017 at 9:32 pm

Photos by Cheryl Wertman

HOLLEY – Holley Central School celebrated homecoming this week, with the festivities capped today with temperatures well into the 80s.

Various food trucks were lined up at the end of the football game serving food and snow cones.

Two bounce houses were set up for kids to use.

Holley’s cheerleaders perform a routine for the crowd.

This hawk did a fly over the field just before Jamel Hildreth intercepted a pass for the Holley Hawks.

Holley Defensive Coordinator Nick D’Amuro hugs Jamel Hildreth after the interception. Holley beat Notre Dame, 47-21.

Jodi Wilborg, Holley’s trainer, applies cold water rags to players to try and keep them cool in the heat.

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Holley student shares highlights from her year as exchange student in Hungary

Photos by Kristina Gabalski: Holley “inbound” exchange student, 15-year old Lara Braun of Switzerland, poses with Nina DiLella, a Holley senior who spent last school year as a Rotary exchange student in Hungary. Lara is also a member of the Holley 2018 Senior Class and is currently staying with the DiLella Family.

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 20 September 2017 at 8:04 pm

Nina DiLella, a senior at Holley, talks about her “memory jacket” from her year in Hungary as a Rotary Youth Exchange student. The students exchange pins as they meet during their travels as well as various souvenirs they collect along the way.

HOLLEY – Nina DiLella, a Holley senior, spoke to members of the Holley School Board of Education Monday evening, giving them details of her experience during last school year as a Rotary Youth Exchange student to Hungary.

DiLella said she learned that, “you can’t stereotype cultures,” and that not all things are black and white – “there is a lot of in between.”

DiLella said she loved her time spent in Europe and attended a language-focused high school while in Hungary. She studied Spanish.

“I had 16 Spanish classes each week all school year,” she said.

She enjoyed sharing her American culture with new friends including carving pumpkins for Halloween and enjoying a Thanksgiving party.

“It was the first time they had snow in 30 years,” she said of the region of Hungary in which she stayed. “I told them I brought the snow with me.”

DiLella said she was about 40 minutes outside Budapest and was able to visit much of Europe as part of her stay including Italy, France and Germany.

Nina DiLella included the Hungarian language with photos of her Rotary Exchange trip to Hungary. She was sponsored by the Holley Rotary Club.

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Holley schools near completion of final phase of capital project

Photos courtesy of Holley Central School: A new bus loop has been added by the elementary school. A new bus loop was created in front of the ES, near the District Office entrance, to separate car traffic from school bus traffic. This helps keep students safe as they get on and off the bus at this entrance.

Posted 20 September 2017 at 6:42 pm

Press Release, Holley Central School

HOLLEY – Holley students are reaping the benefits as final touches are being made to the campus during the last phase of the Capital Project this fall.

The elementary school playground was redone.

A new Pre-K playground added to the elementary school campus. Students will enjoy using brand new equipment on both playgrounds this fall.

New tennis courts were installed at the Middle School/High School while the existing courts were repurposed as tennis, pickleball and basketball courts.

This photo shows the tennis courts being worked on. The transformation adds outdoor physical education stations for students. When school is not in session, all of these areas are available for community use.

Structural changes have been made to both schools, too. Heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) units were replaced in both buildings. The ES also had windows and doors replaced. The new windows allow more light into classrooms. These upgrades allow the district to use their energy more efficiently and save money on utility costs.

By the end of this project, over $30 million of improvements will have been made to the district facilities, at zero impact to local taxpayers.

“The entire project has provided the district with one of the finest facilities in Western New York,” said District Superintendent Robert D’Angelo. “I’m pleased to be able to bring these benefits to our students and community. Our long-term goal for the campus is to maintain it as a state-of-the-art school facility and learning environment. We thank the community for their patience and continued support of this project as we’ve completed each phase.”

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Fire District voters approve up to $950K for new ladder truck in Holley

Photos by Tom Rivers: Holley firefighters practiced a bail-out drill tonight on Thomas Street across from the fire hall. They used the ladder truck to get to the second floor window.

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 September 2017 at 11:03 pm

HOLLEY – Voters in the Holley Joint Fire District approved spending up to $950,000 for a new ladder truck this evening.

The vote was from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the fire hall and the resolution passed, 43-2.

The new truck will have a 100-foot ladder. It will replace a truck that is about 20 years old with a 75-foot ladder. Holley bought the current ladder truck as a used fire truck in 2008.

These blueprints show the new fire truck for the Holley Joint Fire District. The new truck would have a 100-foot-long ladder, compared to the 75 feet on the current one.

The truck has been plagued with electrical and hydraulic problems in recent years, as well as rusted structural components, said John Totter, chairman of the Fire District’s board of commissioners.

“We had to put a big chunk of change into it last year to keep it going, to increase the sale-ability and to make it safe,” Totter said about the current ladder truck.

The Fire District is working with the Rosenbauer Group on the new fire truck. The district needs to wait 20 days to make sure no objections are filed with the election. Totter said he is hopeful the district can sign a contract with Rosenbauer before the end of the year. It will take about a year from then for the truck’s delivery. Totter said December 2018 is a reasonable target date for the truck.

The bays in the firehall don’t leave much room to get in a fire truck. The new truck will have to be customized in height and length to fit in the fire hall.

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Safety trailer seen as big boost for fire prevention efforts at local schools

Photo by Kristina Gabalski: Pete Sidari of the Albion Fire Department shows Holley Board of Education members the exterior of the Orleans County Fire Safety Trailer. It will eventually have educational illustrations covering the exterior.

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 September 2017 at 10:36 am

HOLLEY – Young people across Orleans County will be able to learn the fundamentals of fire safety in a very hands-on way once a new educational trailer and staff are ready.

Peter Sidari of the Albion Fire Department and Dale Banker, director of Orleans County Emergency Management, spoke to members of the Holley School Board of Education Monday night to give them an understanding of the educational opportunities the trailer will provide to elementary students through on-site visits and assemblies at local schools. Sidari is also the fire safety educator for the North Greece Fire District.

The county was able to obtain the trailer through $75,000 in grant funding obtained by State Senator Robert Ortt.

The Fire Safety Trailer (house) was delivered Aug. 24 and its interior is designed to look like a typical home with a kitchen, hallway and bedroom. With special effects, presenters are able to mimic what it would be like to be in a burning building and guide students on the safe way to escape, meet up with other family members outside, and call for help.

“It helps us to teach fire escape planning,” Sidari explained. “It’s a hand-on approach to teaching fire safety. Our hope would be that students take the information home to their families.”

He elaborated on the special effects in the trailer which include smoke alarms, a fog machine (utilizes theater fog), a simulated burning trash can, a hot door (not hot enough to cause injury, Sidari noted) and an exterior phone system which will allow students to call and speak with emergency officials just as if they were reporting a real blaze.

The trailer helps students practice what they would do if they ever found themselves in a burning building. Different styles of windows are also part of the trailer design, allowing students to see how varying styles of windows open.

Sidari said it may take some time to get the program fully up and running. Emergency Management hopes to have the trailer at the Orleans County 4-H Fair in the future as well.

He told Orleans Hub the trailers have been effective teaching tools in other locations and recounted two success stories: a young boy who went through one of the programs was able to save his grandparents during a fire, and a college student was able to safely get out of her housing during a fire by remembering what she had learned from a fire safety trailer program while in grade school.

The fire safety programs will be available at no cost to local school districts, Sidari said.

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Absentee ballots give Bob Miller win in GOP Primary for Murray town supervisor

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 September 2017 at 10:04 am

MURRAY – Robert Miller was behind Joe Sidonio by 7 votes after the polls closed on Tuesday for the Murray town supervisor. But after the absentee ballots were counted this morning, Miller emerged as the victor for the Republican line.

Miller dominated the absentees, getting 19 to 5 over Sidonio. (There was another absentee that didn’t have a vote for town supervisor.)

Miller was the endorsed Republican candidate, but Sidonio, a frequent critic of the Murray Town Board, forced a primary.

Miller, a retired state trooper, will face Sidonio again in the Nov. 7 general election because Sidonio has the backing of the Conservative and Independence parties.

Miller ended up with 274 Republican votes to 267 for Sidonio. John Morriss, the incumbent town supervisor, isn’t seeking re-election.

The absentee ballots have been under lock and key until they were presented this morning just before 9:15 a.m.

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Akeley Fox gets big welcome home

Photos by Kristina Gabalski: Melissa Ierlan, Clarendon town historian, holds a photo of a fox mounted by Carl Akeley taken before its restoration. Heat from being stored in an attic had led to severe deterioration. One eye had fallen out, the tail had "melted," the paws were void of hair and bugs had found their way inside. "It was in bad shape," Ierlan said. "We thought we would have to replace it, but we didn't." The fox is depicted eating a bird it has caught. The paper mache work on the bird included newspaper from the Holley Standard, dated Dec. 4, 1879. Ierlan brought a copy of the original pages to the reception on Saturday.

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 17 September 2017 at 6:13 pm

Cobblestone Museum, Clarendon Historical Society celebrate ‘world-class restoration effort’

CHILDS – Calling it a “world-class restoration effort,” Cobblestone Museum Director Doug Farley opened a reception at the Cobblestone Church on Ridge Road Saturday afternoon to officially welcome home an early example of the work of famed Clarendon taxidermist Carl Akeley. The reception was held in conjunction with members of the Clarendon Historical Society.

The work – a red fox mounted by Akeley in 1879 at the age of 16 – was recently restored by George Dante, a taxidermist and conservator of Wildlife Preservation in New Jersey.

Farley said the restoration resulted from an “amazing grass-roots effort to secure funding” for the project. Private donors, a grant from the Elizabeth Dye Curtis Foundation and a donations from the Orleans County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Clarendon Historical Society made the project possible, Farley said.

Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County Historian and Cobblestone Museum Director, has a family connection to the fox. He spoke during the reception and explained that his great-grandfather, Francis Harling of Albion, procured the fox for Akeley. Lattin explained that the fox, enclosed in a framed diorama, is a precious artifact.

“In the world of taxidermy, it’s like owning a Rafael,” Lattin said. “It’s very, very special.”

Akeley, (1864-1926), is known as the Father of Modern Taxidermy. He devised a method for fitting an animal’s skin over a meticulously prepared and sculpted form of the animal’s body. The process included the animal’s musculature and details such as wrinkles and veins and produced a very realistic result.

Akeley made many trips to Africa to collect specimens and created the African Hall at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Akeley also liked to place the mounted animals in settings that reflected their native habitat.

Lattin said his great-grandfather wanted the fox diorama to display in the family’s home on East County House Road in Albion.

Harling was a middle-class dirt farmer and blacksmith, Lattin explained, but noted it is interesting that, “common ordinary people (of that time) had a sensitivity for aesthetics.” Harling had gone out of his way to procure the fox, Lattin said, so that something beautiful could be made to decorate the family’s home, “that’s remarkable,” he observed.

Now that the fox – which Lattin said was found to be a vixen during the restoration work – can help people today to, “appreciate what our ancestors saw as beautiful.”

Matthew Ballard (Orleans County Historian), Bill Lattin and Melissa Ierlan (Clarendon town historian) pose with Carl Akeley’s fox diorama. Cobblestone Museum officials said those visiting the Cobblestone Church will be able to see the diorama on the lower level where the Museum gift shop is located.

Ballard, the county historian and former Cobblestone Museum director, explained that the effort to have the fox diorama restored was fueled by a celebration held in 2014 by the Clarendon Historical Society for the 150th anniversary of Akeley’s birth.

Jay Kirk, the author of Kingdom Under Glass about Carl Akeley and his work, attended the celebration as did Akeley expert John Janelli.

“We wanted to bring (the fox) to the attention of people who would appreciate Akeley’s work,” Ballard said. “The fox is part of a transitional phase for Akeley.”

Ballard noted the legwork done by Ierlan, the Clarendon historian, to have the fox restored as well as the local fundraising effort.

“It’s surreal to see it come to fruition,” Ballard said of the restoration project. “It’s a piece of national significance.”

Carl Akeley wrote his name and Clarendon in the bottom left corner of the diorama.

Ierlan discussed Akeley’s life and work from his humble beginnings on Hinds Road in Clarendon to the jungles of Africa.

“He was the original Indiana Jones,” Ierlan said. She noted his early work preserving the pet canary of his aunt, his training in taxidermy by David Bruce in Brockport and his apprenticeship at Ward’s Natural Science Establishment in Rochester.

She explained that the taxidermy work done before Akeley often made animals look like stuffed toys – “freakish and scary…. (Akeley) wanted to make them look as real as possible,” Ierlan said.

In addition to his taxidermy work, Akeley was an accomplished sculptor, biologist, conservationist and inventor with over 29 patents. Akeley improved the motion picture camera for filming animal movement, Ierlan said.

“He had a remarkable life….. he was one of America’s greatest men,” she said.

Melissa Ierlan brought copies of photographs of Akeley’s work including diorama’s from the American Museum of Natural History and the entourage that accompanied Akeley on his African trips to collect specimens (far left), as well as the condition of the fox diorama prior to restoration.

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