Photos by Cheryl Wertman: There were around 60 cars at the first cruise night in Medina on Friday. The cruise has moved from the Canal Basin to the village municipal lot next to the Senior Center on West Avenue.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 1 June 2024 at 8:08 am
MEDINA – Friday night cruise-ins in Medina have a new look this year.
After decades of taking place in the canal basin under the organization of David Green of East Shelby, Green retired last year and his role was assumed by Rollin Hellner and Tom Snyder.
Hellner and Snyder have affected some changes in the event, namely, moving it to the parking lot of the Senior Center. Snyder explained the reason was lack of insurance coverage, which is required by the village, if they stayed in the canal basin.
“It would have cost us $400 a night for insurance at the canal basin,” Snyder said. “Here at the Senior Center, we are covered by the Walsh Hotel’s insurance.”
People check out the vehicles which were from many eras. There was also a hearse and an original Indy 500 pace car.
Hellner purchased the Walsh Hotel, which is across the road from the Senior Center, last year.
While the Senior Center location cannot accommodate as many cars, remarks from most cruisers were favorable. One car owner did say it was too crowded and didn’t offer near as much room for cars as the canal basin. Only 56 vehicles were displayed, while on most Friday nights in the canal basin, cars and trucks numbered between 80 and 100.
Timothy Caldwell of Medina, who brought his 2019 Corvette convertible, said it was nice there and he liked being able to get food from the Walsh across the street.
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Larry Albanese of Albion stands next to his 1922 Ford Model T, which he brought to Medina’s cruise-in for the first time Friday night.
Larry Albanese of Albion had never been to a Friday night cruise-in in Medina before, he said. A founding member of the Oak Orchard Lighthouse, Albanese has always volunteered at the lighthouse on Friday nights, he said. He got a friend to stand in for him so he could show his 1922 Ford Model T.
Dan Marek of Albion said he has been coming to the cruise-ins in Medina for years, and thinks the new location will be fun.
Peter Castricone of Medina recently purchased a new vintage automobile – a 1965 Plymouth pace car. He said only 32 were made and his was number one.
(Left) Tom Snyder and Kelly Fisk sell raffle tickets to Dan Marek of Albion, left, during the Medina’s Friday night cruise-in, which this year has moved from the canal basin to the Medina Senior Center, where 56 cars showed up. (Right) Steven Miller of South Buffalo sits next to his 2004 Lincoln hearse and a mannikin of the Grim Reaper. He hopes to come back next week and bring members of their Hearse Club.
Buffalo DJ Hank Nevins had provided music for the cruise-ins for most of their years, until his retirement last year. New entertainer this year is Medina disc jockey JT Thomas.
The summer cruise-ins will end as usual in August with a Super Cruise on Main Street, featuring Terry Buchwald as Elvis.
Peter Castricone of Medina proudly shows off his newly acquired 1965 Plymouth pace car at Medina’s first cruise-in Friday night.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 May 2024 at 10:18 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Medina Mayor Marguerite Sherman cuts the ribbon to celebrate the opening of two new full-size basketball courts at Butts Park. She is joined on the court by many local kids and adults who were eager to shoot some hoops this evening.
Other key supporters of the effort joined for the ribbon-cutting.
The courts opened on Tuesday.
“This is a direct result of what can happen when we pool resources to fill a need in the community,” Sherman said.
The village contributed $110,000 towards the project with that money coming from par tof its federal American Rescue Plan Act money. The Town of Shelby (representing by Councilman Jeff Schiffer at the ribbon-cutting) contributed $10,000 in ARPA funds.
Melissa Valley from the Medina Sports Boosters sought bids and donations for the courts. The Sports Boosters gave $3,332 and Valley reached out to Shelby Crushed Stone. Tom Biamonte, owner of the business, donated 800 tons of stone valued at about $8,000.
The new courts are painted in Medina Mustang colors. The group gathered for a ribbon cutting after 6 p.m. today.
The courts were busy this evening. Melissa Valley, a Medina teacher and coach, has pushed the past four years for the courts. She said there weren’t outdoor courts in any local parks.
She was thrilled to see so many players on the courts today.
“This is what this was all about,” Valley said watching a fast-paced pickup game. “I knew they would play. It’s been busy since they went up. There are lots of smiles.”
Sherman, the Medina mayor, also commended the Village Department of Public Works for prepping the site with the stone from Shelby Crushed Stone.
Sherman said the hoops have adjustable heights. She expects to see some tournaments on the new courts. Mainly, she is happy to see the immediate use.
The courts were painted in the Median colors on Friday and then striped on Saturday. On Tuesday the nets were back and the courts open. (The nets were removed temporarily so the courts could be painted.)
MEDINA – Tim Wendel gave two presentations on Tuesday to sold-out crowds at Author’s Note in Medina. Wendel wrote Rebel Falls, a historical novel about Civil War spies in Niagara Falls.
The book also includes some scenes in Orleans County. He also discussed the book during a presentation on Wednesday at Woodward Memorial Library in Le Roy.
Wendel, a Lockport native, now is a resident of Charlottesville, Va. He said independent book stores like Author’s Note have been critical in helping get the word out about his books.
Rebel Falls is fiction, set in the late summer of 1864 and based on actual, yet long-obscured events and people of the Civil War in the Niagara Falls area, including and Orleans and Niagara counties.
He became interested in the Civil War after reading Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals and Carl Sandberg’s Lincoln. Wendel discovered while most of the fighting was going on in the south, espionage and spying was taking place all along the Canadian border. At the center of it were two spies, John Yates Beall and Bennet Burley, whom President Lincoln had refused to pardon for their crimes.
Their goal was to seize the USS Michigan, the only warship left on the Great Lakes, and create enough dissension that people would blame Lincoln and he would lose the election, which was to take place the day after the spies planned crime. They also planned to bomb Buffalo, Cleveland and Toledo.
Author’s Note tried a new system for Wendel’s appearance, selling tickets for $5 to reserve a seat at the presentation. The $5 was then be deducted from the cost of purchasing a book.
Julie Berry, owner of Author’s Note, welcomes Tim Wendel to the bookstore on Tuesday.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 30 May 2024 at 9:50 am
Provided photos: At left are some of prizes for the Kid’s Scavenger Hunt. (Right) Live music will also return to the summer market, sponsored by Medina Lumber and Hardware. Performing here is local favorite Steve Novak.
MEDINA – A sure sign of summer is opening of the Canal Village Farmers’ Market in its original location at West Center Street and West Avenue.
The market will reopen there on Saturday, celebrating its ninth season in Medina, with many of the old favorite vendors and some new ones, as well.
“Our winter market had a great season in the former NAPA building, but we are definitely looking forward to opening day of the summer season,” said Chris Busch, president of Orleans Renaissance Group, which sponsors the market. “The Saturday morning gathering of vendors, musicians, food trucks and friends is a welcome sign of summer.”
“For the past two years, we’ve been immensely fortunate to have our general market operations funded by a generous donation by Takeform,” Busch said. “Bill Hungerford, president of Takeform, has been unhesitatingly generous and supportive of what we do here every summer. We can’t thank him enough for his considerate assistance in keeping Medina’s community farmer’s market a viable, on-going asset to our village.”
Gail Miller has been manager of the market since it opened.
“All of us are looking forward to a great summer season for the Canal Village Farmers’ Market,” Miller said. “We’ll have a lot packed into the Saturday market – regular and rotating vendors, food trucks, kids’ scavenger hunts, crafters and more. We’re also hoping to do some food demos, too. As always, weekly updates will be posted on our Facebook page.”
Returning anchor vendors include Baker Farms, Bower Family Farms, Human Farms, Heartland Organics, LockRidge Apiary, Gardner’s Gardens and Dot’s Pantry (every other week).
Regular featured products are local beef, pork, chicken, garlic, garlic powder, eggs, mushrooms, cheese, numerous fruit and vegetable options, cut flowers, jams, fudge, barbecue sauce, herb blends, honey and many other seasonal items.
Making a return with wine, mead and spirits will be 810 Meadworks, the popular Black Button Distilling and other wineries, to be announced.
A great lineup of food trucks will be at the market this season, Miller said.
“There’s a nice variety for all tastes this year,” she said. “Food trucks will rotate in and out throughout the season. In addition to the weekly anchor El Gran Burrito, the market will welcome two additional regular food trucks.”
Miller said they are incredibly excited to welcome pitmaster Scott Gypson of Gasport with his TN Smoke House and NOLA Confections, who will be selling New Orleans style snow cones.
“A native of Middleport, Scott Gypson spent a number of years living in Tennessee, where he learned and mastered the art of smoking meat,” Miller said. “He uses nothing but the highest quality meats and we are super psyched to have his BBQ with us. His business was recently featured in a Hub article.”
TN Smoke House will be at the market on opening day and will appear numerous times throughout the season.
Organic mushrooms from Heartland Organics are works of art and nutritious to eat, along with farm-fresh produce from Human Farms and Greenhouse. They are among the vendors at Medina’s Canal Village Farmers’ Market.
NOLA Confections’ snow cones are a sweet made with a mound of fluffy shaved ice flavored with sweet syrups and topped or stuffed with a number of mix-ins or add-ons. They will be at the market every Saturday with the same schedule as El Gran Burrito.
Other food trucks scheduled to visit throughout the season are Dubby’s Wood Fired Pizza from Albion and Greenlief’s on the Go from Middleport.
Artisans and crafters appearing at the market include Katlyn Koch Crochet, Lucky Violet Color Co., Laurels by the Creek and others still in the planning.
“We’ve been contacted by quite a few artisans and crafters, and some spots are still available,” Miller said. “There will be more to announce soon.”
Live music will again be featured at the market this summer, sponsored by Medina Lumber and Hardware.
“We are thrilled for the music sponsorship from Medina Lumber and Hardware,” Miller said. “The summer market just wouldn’t be complete without it. It’s become a tradition. We are so grateful owner Tom Snyder has stepped up with a generous sponsorship to feature and support local musicians at the market. It really creates a festive atmosphere and our patrons thoroughly enjoy it.”
The ever-popular kids’ scavenger hunt will also return to the summer market. According to Miller, this is a “must do” activity for many kids, and they play every week.
Kids play by answering five market-related scavenger hunt questions to win a prize from a huge box of cool kids’ stuff.
“It’s great fun, and we have as much fun watching the kids enjoy themselves as they do playing,” Miller said.
The scavenger hunt has again been sponsored by Maureen Hungerford.
“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mrs. Hungerford for her sponsorship,” Miller said. “The scavenger hunt is such a popular attraction and kids absolutely adore the big prize box, which, thanks to Mrs. Hungerford, is always stocked with cool kid stuff.”
Another popular feature is the Community Tent.
“The tent is for community organizations, such as tourism, veterans’ organizations, health and wellness organizations, Master Gardeners, charitable organizations and the like,” Miller said. “It gives these agencies a helpful outlet to share information about services, etc.”
Some appearances to watch for at the tent include the New York State Division of Veteran Services distributing Fresh Connect Checks to veterans on June 8. The Orleans County Veterans’ Association will be at the tent several weeks later to distribute them to veterans who could not make it on the 8th.
“Any community-oriented organizations who feel they might be appropriate for the market should contact us,” Miller said. “It’s a great opportunity to meet and greet the public.”
Miller said products available each Saturday are listed every week on the market’s Facebook page – Canal Village Farmers Market. Customers are encouraged to follow the page for up-to-date information.
The market will again have multiple options for making sales transactions.
“While most market transactions use cash, most all of our vendors now offer additional forms of payment, such as Square, PayPal and Venmo,” Miller said. “Payment options at the market have never been more convenient.”
The market also accepts Senior Coupons, WIC, SNAP and Fresh Connect Checks, and will soon be able to offer Double Up Food Bucks to SNAP recipients. More information will be available at the market manager’s tent.
“For SNAP/EBT users, each transaction makes the user eligible to receive the same amount spent in Fresh Connect Checks,” Miller said. “For example, a $20 SNAP purchase of market tokens means the user will receive $20 in Fresh Connect Checks, effectively doubling their purchase power.”
The market is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday. Market manager Gail Miller can be reached at canalvillagemarket@gmail.com or via Facebook Messenger.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 May 2024 at 3:25 pm
Auto dealership wants to take down old structure, put up new maintenance building
ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board is recommending the Village of Medina approve a project at Hartway Motors that calls for demolishing a building to the north of the dealership and constructing a new maintenance structure behind the current showroom and service department.
The project was before the Planning Board last Thursday. Knocking down the old building, a former Loblaws grocery store, would allow for more parking at Hartway Motors at 320 North Main St.
The dealership’s owner, Bidleman Properties, wants to put a 2,933-square-foot masonry building addition that wouldn’t be used for offices or a showroom. It would provide more room for the maintenance area.
When the building is taken down, a vinyl fence will be installed to the north to provide some privacy for the residential property next door.
The project is in Medina’s Historic Overlay District but is not included on the National or State Registers of Historic Places. County planners suggested Medina have the project go to the State’s Historic Preservation Office for its review. SHPO may suggest the new building have construction materials that match the existing building.
In another Medina referrals, county planners recommended the village approve the site plan and a special use permit for a Class A Home Business for dog grooming at 445 East Center St.
Megan Davenport will be running a dog grooming business from her residence which is in an R1 district. The business will be by appointment with customers dropping off their animal and returning later. Planners said the business is expected to have up to six customers a day in two-hour increments.
Davenport plans to turn a first-floor office into a grooming salon with a professional pet groom tub, table and equipment.
Photos by Tom Rivers: The marque at the Medina Theatre promotes events with letters that have to be changed by hand. The owner of the theater would like to have an electronic sign but the current code doesn’t allow it.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 May 2024 at 11:36 am
MEDINA – In October the Village Board was asked to look at updating the sign ordinance for the historic downtown and allow electronic signs.
Joe Cardone, owner of the Medina Theatre, told the board he wanted to get away from a hand-lettered marque for the theater at 603 Main St. and have a modern electronic sign with lighting.
Joe Cardone speaks during last week’s Village Board meeting and asks the board to look at modernizing the sign ordinance for the downtown.
The Village Board referred the matter to the Village Planning Board, which in November decided to take no action on the issue.
Not allowing modern, electronic signs is holding some of the businesses back, Cardone told the Village Board last week.
“I truly believe to foster any type of business in this community we need to look at this,” Cardone told the board.
He will retiring as district attorney after this year and he said he will be devoting more time to the Medina Theatre.
Cardone has researched other communities’ sign ordinances that have theaters.
Medina currently prohibits digital and electronic signs. Lockport allows electronic signs for the marquees while North Tonawanda is more restrictive, Cardone told the board in October.
The Village of Gowanda has a comprehensive ordinance and gives the Planning Board and Village Board discretion in reviewing a request for electronic signage. Cardone said Medina’s code is currently “draconian” and allows no leeway.
Cardone tried to get some funding through the $4.5 million Forward NY grant approved for the village but the local committee didn’t recommend funding for the marque, partly because an electronic sign currently isn’t allowed.
Medina Mayor Marguerite Sherman said she would like to get a report from either the Planning Board or the village’s strategic visioning committee on the sign ordinance. Sherman said she didn’t hear why the Planning Board opted against changing the code to allow for electronic signs.
Village Trustee Jess Marciano said she would like the issue to be brought up again by the Planning Board.
Medina’s sign ordinance doesn’t allow “Any electronic message with a fixed or changeable display, which may be changed by electrical, electronic or computerized process or remote control, and may include animation or motion of any kind, words and/or pictures, electronically projected text, images or graphics, and may also include, but is not limited to, light-emitting diodes (LED), video, television and plasma displays, fiberoptics, holographic images, or other technology that results in bright, high-resolution text, images and graphics.”
The village code also states: “No sign shall be illuminated by or contain flashing intermittent, rotating or moving lights except to show time and temperature.”
Photos from New York State Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services: Two Medina firefighters graduated today from NYS Fire Academy. Stephen Baxter, left, and Dylan Schreader both completed the 15-week course.
Staff Reports Posted 24 May 2024 at 10:25 pm
MONTOUR FALLS – Two Medina firefighters are among the graduates of the 89th Recruit Firefighter Training class in Montour Falls.
Medina’s Stephen Baxter, a firefighter/paramedic, and Dylan Schreader, a firefighter/EMT, are among 32 graduates in the class at the Office of Fire Prevention and Control’s Academy of Fire Science in Montour Falls. Graduates come from 11 fire departments across the state.
Schreader received the Academic Excellence Award for his class. Both of the academy graduates will return to Medina with their respective platoons next week to continue their careers.
“Congratulations to the graduates of the 89th Recruit Firefighter training class,” said Jackie Bray, commissioner of NYS New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. “You join the thousands of firefighters across New York State who risk their lives day in and day out to protect New Yorkers from fire danger and other emergencies. Thank you for your commitment to public safety and your service to your local communities.”
The 32 graduates come from 11 fire departments.
The rigorous 15-week residential training for recently hired career and volunteer firefighters from across New York State includes more than 600 hours of classroom and practical training.
Classes focus on areas such as structural, vehicle and flammable liquid firefighting, emergency vehicle operations, hazardous material emergency incident and basic rescue technician operations. Training also includes instruction in operating aerial devices, traffic incident management, health and safety, firefighter rescue, hazardous materials response, and technical rescue.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 24 May 2024 at 9:10 am
Provided photo: Participants in last year’s scavenger hunt study their clues as they check out a store front on Medina’s Main Street. The Medina Area Partnership will sponsor its third annual scavenger hunt from June through August.
MEDINA – The Medina Area Partnership has announced it will sponsor its third annual Scavenger Hunt from June through August.
Wonderopolis.org defines “scavenger hunt” as a game in which the players – either individually or in teams – compete to see who can obtain the most items from a list.
How hard could that be, sponsors ask.
Well, those who have participated in one of Medina’s past scavenger hunts will know that they’re quite challenging, but above all, fun for family, friends, coworkers or individuals.
Scavenger hunts have been around for a long time, according to Tim Elliott, who came up with the idea, and Ann Fisher-Bale, event coordinator for MAP. There’s even a National Scavenger Hunt Day annually on May 24, they said. According to nationalcalendarday.com, American gossip columnist, author, songwriter and professional hostel Elsa Maxwell is credited with the introduction of the scavenger hunt for use as a part game in the 1930s.
Maxwell’s invention started a craze, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Two years ago Elliott, a MAP member, along with some of his colleagues decided it was time Medina to jump on that bandwagon.
“The two previous scavenger hunts have been a resounding success,” Elliott said. “Both years have far exceeded our expectations. Feedback was great. All the participants really had a lot of fun with the experience, and everyone had a great time exploring and enjoying Medina.”
As in years past, clues are designed to encourage participants to explore various parts of the 14103 zip code, with every clue taking the participant closer to the prize.
“The winner will have the opportunity to choose from a family prize pack or an adult night-out prize pack, each valued at $150,” Elliott said. “You answer as many questions as you can and submit your scavenger hunt forms by Aug. 31 to be entered into a drawing for a prize pack.”
An example of the questions a participant can expect to see would be, “Tick tock, tick tock. What class said time passes?” The answer is the Class of 1966.
That question on last year’s hunt referred to the clock located in the heart of downtown Medina. One of the memorial bricks at its base has this quote on it.
“There’s so much unique and incredible history in Medina,” Elliott said. “Questions have been carefully crafted using much of our history, both old and new, throughout 14103. You’ll actually learn quite a lot.”
There are 20 questions in total, each one leading to a clue. When a participant locates the area of the clue, they are asked an additional question to confirm they’re in the right place.
Three of the questions are designed to be harder. For every correct answer, participants receive a ticket for the prize drawing, and the hard questions earn 10 tickets for the drawing.
To get started, go to the Coffee Pot Café at 114 East Center St. or click here to get a clue sheet for $10. The hunt can be completed in a couple of hours or at the participant’s leisure. Either way, MAP guarantees the participant will have a great time.
“As always, Tim and the entire MAP Events Committee have done an outstanding job creating a fun and challenging hunt,” said MAP’s president, Cindy Robinson. “And one of the best things about this activity is being able to experience all that Medina has to offer – our shops, restaurants, taverns, architecture and history. It’s a chance to get up close and personal with Medina.”
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 23 May 2024 at 10:06 pm
Robin Dubai has been key organizer for 30 years
Photos by Ginny Kropf: (Left) Sally Grimm, volunteer coordinator for St. Peter’s food pantry, introduces Robin Dubai, who was recognized for 30 years of service to the pantry. (Right) Jim Hancock, a volunteer at the food pantry at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, welcomes fellow volunteers to an appreciation luncheon on Wednesday noon. Seated at rear are Denny Dubai and Bob Hoffman.
MEDINA – It could be said Robin Dubai has a lot of mouths to feed and it wouldn’t be far from the truth.
Dubai has been chief organizer of St. Peter’s Church food pantry for 30 years. At a luncheon for volunteers on Wednesday, she was recognized for her dedication to the project.
“She is truly the heart and soul of St. Peter’s food pantry,” said Sally Grimm, head of the Food Pantry committee. “She is totally committed to it. She is here behind the scenes all the time, ordering food, keeping inventory, stocking, sorting food and keeping the pantry certified.”
Grimm presented Dubai with a certificate, flowers and a card.
Many of the pantry’s 20 to 25 volunteers were treated to lunch at S. Peter’s, consisting of chicken salad from the Coffee Pot Café, cookies from Case-Nic Cookies and a giant cake.
Guests were welcomed by Jim Hancock, who has been a volunteer at the food pantry all 42 years of its existence. It has been a tough year, he said, with the loss of two volunteers – Pat Kennedy, who recently died and another who is having health problems.
Dubai said four children who come in every week to help pack bags of groceries is a huge help. They are Trisha and David Stacey’s grandchildren and Liz Allis’s two children. Their families are encouraging the children to do community service, Grimm said.
A lot of volunteers make the food pantry a success. This includes Bob Hoffman, who meets and unloads the Foodlink truck every week. This amounts to thousands of pounds of food, Dubai said.
Scott Grimm and John Harris are credited with going to Tops and picking up food there which is purchased to fill out the pantry’s needs.
The pantry is open two days a week and families in Medina can choose two pre-packaged bags each. If other food items are available, they can choose things from the shelf.
When Dubai is there, her husband Denny is right by her side to help however he can, Grimm said.
Two of the volunteers who enjoyed lunch were Janet Husung and Becky Fike. They are neighbors, and Husung started volunteering at the food pantry seven years ago, after she retired. After Fike’s husband died, Husung invited her to come along with her to the food pantry.
“It gave me something to occupy my time,” Fike said.
Dubai said they average about 20 families a week who come in for food.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 May 2024 at 6:09 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Tylon Meland moves mulch from a Village of Medina DPW truck this afternoon as part of the annual Medina Jr/Sr High School “Mustangs Make an IMPACT Day.”
This group of students put the mulch in the garden area in front of the Village Office. They also pulled weeds.
The group also did weeding and edging at the Canal Village Farmers’ Market, and set benches in place at the market.
IMPACT Day is an optional event for students, but 150 volunteered for projects at the school campus and the following community sites:
Boxwood Cemetery
St. Mary’s Cemetery
Medina Dog Park
Boat Launch at Glenwood Lake
Medina Police Department/Fire Station
Orleans Community Health (Medina Memorial Hospital)
Canal Village Farmers’ Market at West Ave and West Center
Lee-Whedon Memorial Library
Medina Historical Society
YMCA
Canal Park
Canal Path
Medina Skate Park/Butts Park
St. Peter’s Church/Food Pantry
Shelby Fire Department
East Shelby Fire Station
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
Iroquois Wildlife Refuge
Logan Trillizio uses lopers to cut down a low branch at Boxwood Cemetery.
The community service projects originated in 2016 from the IMPACT (Influencing Many People As Concerned Teens) students with staff rallying behind the effort.
Medina Jr./Sr. High had a half day of school today and students volunteered to help with many projects.
These students clean headstones at Boxwood. Colleen McNeil is in the purple shirt with Veda Cogovan and RaeLynn Jones (with sunglasses) in back.
McNeil said it felt good to clean the headstones and see the transformation.
“I actually like this,” she said. “It’s very satisfying.”
Maya Anderson, front, and Madeline Mark work on cleaning headstones at Boxwood Cemetery. Both are freshmen. Mark used a popsicle stick to pry dirt out of the engraved letters on the stone.
Todd Bensley, a Medina teacher and member of Friends of Boxwood, said the students made a big difference at the cemetery, cleaning about 50 headstones, picking up numerous sticks and trimming branches.
“They chose to be out helping the community,” he said. “We’re very proud of them.”
Alexandria Drum, a ninth-grader, paints the perimeter yellow at the Lions Club Park sign. Students gave the site a fresh coat of paint and also pulled many of the small weeds.
Jasmine Acevedo Gonzalez, a seventh-grader, also helped with the painting at Lions Club Park by the canal. She welcomed the chance to be outside for a few hours instead of in the classroom all day.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Dave and Gail Miller, left, and Medina historian Todd Bensley look up close at the restored stained-glass window in the chapel at Boxwood Cemetery on Saturday. The Friends of Boxwood Cemetery rededicated the chapel and invited the community to see a cleaned up chapel.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 May 2024 at 4:51 pm
MEDINA – The Friends of Boxwood Cemetery celebrated about $10,000 in improvements to the historic chapel at the Medina cemetery on Saturday.
A restored stained-glass window of an angel highlighted the improvements at the site. The Friends raised $6,500 to have Valerie O’Hara from Pike Stained Glass Studio in Rochester repair the window. O’Hara took apart the bottom half of the window and rebuilt the artwork that is more than a century old.
The Friends also cleaned out the chapel, painted the interior, and put in new doors on the inside leading to the room where bodies were storied in the winter.
The Village of Medina DPW also rebuilt part of the back wall of the chapel. The building saw little public use for many years. But now it is available for small funerals and other events. Some cemeteries open up their chapels for book clubs to discuss a novel, for example.
“We’re trying to bring it back to life,” said Village Historian Todd Bensley, a member of the Friends. “We are open to whatever. The more people we get in here, the more people who will want to support the cemetery.”
About 30 people attended the rededication celebration for the stained-glass window at Boxwood Cemetery on Saturday. The chapel was built in 1903. The cemetery is included on the National Register of Historic Places.
Rob Klino, president of the Friends, said the volunteer group remains enthusiastic and committed about improvement projects at the cemetery, and other events to bring people to the grounds on North Gravel Road.
Cindy Robinson, owner of the English Rose Tea Shoppe, will host a tea in the cemetery event from 2 to 4 p.m. on June 8. Tables will be decorated and participants are encouraged to wear costumes.
There will also be an expanded Boxwood at Night on Oct. 5, with entertainment, lights and tour guides.
Todd Bensley discusses the history of the chapel, which was built in 1903 with $22,000 left to the cemetery from the estate of Silas Mainville Burroughs. The Medina native was influential in the pharmaceutical industry and was co-founder of the pharmaceutical giant, Burroughs Wellcome & Co. This is one of the companies which today make up GlaxoSmithKline.
When Burroughs died in 1895, he left more than $22,000 to Boxwood Cemetery. Burroughs was buried in Monte Carlo, Monaco, where he had died from pneumonia, and commissioners desired to have his body removed and re-interred in Boxwood Cemetery. When it became evident this would not happen, the commissioners began looking for a suitable memorial to this generous patron and native son.
They settled on building a chapel, which could serve not only as a memorial to Burroughs, but a place where funeral services could take place and bodies stored for the winter, waiting for spring burial.
Boxwood opened in 1850.
Valerie O’Hara discusses the work in repairing the window. The bottom half was totally taken apart, cleaned and put back together with new lead. O’Hara said the window was done in a Tiffany style with layers of glass.
The artist who made the window is unknown, despite diligent efforts going through old village records to try to find a resolution or contract, showing who made the window.
O’Hara said some of the glass pieces were made a little too big, and some of the lead was a little too small.
“The Victorians loved to push the envelope,” she said.
Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County historian, discusses the themes in the “He Is Risen” window. The Angel of Lord is pointing Heavenward. The golden colors represent the goodness of God, Lattin said.
Lattin wrote a book, Luminaries in the Firmament, about many of the prominent stained-glass windows in Orleans County.
Rob Klino handed out certificates to key volunteers during the rededication on Saturday. Georgia Thomas was given a certificate of appreciation for preparing many desserts, including her popular lemon bars, for Saturday’s celebration.
He also recognized Valerie O’Hara for her work on getting the window restored. O’Hara is planning to retire soon and the Medina project is one of her last.
Jeff Wagner was recognized for doing a lot of woodwork inside, restoring interior doors, and putting in a curved arch above the window.
Craig Royal painted the interior white, including up high near the ceiling.
Tim Tierney also was eager to help with tasks in getting the chapel ready for public use again.
Klino also had a certificate for the DPW for its work in the chapel, including the work shoring up the back wall.
“We’re making headway,” Klino said about progress at the chapel and cemetery. “We’re going to keep going until it’s done.”
The back room is a crypt where bodies were stored during the winter. The floor was covered in dirt and debris. When it was swept and cleaned, a marble floor was underneath.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 22 May 2024 at 8:05 am
Ed Evans has now given 239 presentations about Hamlin Beach State Park, POW Camp
Photos by Tom Rivers: Ed Evans is shown last August at one of the shelters made of Medina Sandstone at Hamlin Beach State Park. The park was indicted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame in 2023.
Dave Miller describes a kiosk on Medina sandstone which will be placed in the Hall of Fame for visitors to use.
MEDINA – Ed Evans, a retired teacher from Hamlin, has become a passionate speaker about Medina Sandstone and he gave a stirring address last week to the Medina Sandstone Society during its annual meeting at the Comfort Inn.
Evans, 82, has now given 239 presentations about Hamlin Beach State Park, how its many Medina Sandstone buildings were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps which was established there in 1935. The park’s buildings, headwalls, culverts, drinking fountains and fireplaces are made of Medina Sandstone.
Evans intended to retire from given the presentation. But he made an exception last week for the Sandstone Society. The group last October honored him with an inaugural “Heritage Award” for his 32 years of work in uncovering the sandstone legacy at Hamlin Beach.
Evans’ interest piqued about the park after he became the liaison to Hamlin historian Mary Smith in 1985. At that time she was planning a reunion for 40 CCC guys who were still alive. Evans taped the event. He spent every year after that trying to be allowed to get on CCC site, but the park fought him all the way, he said. Finally, a new park manager was interested in the site and the clearing began.
Guest speaker at the Medina Sandstone Society’s annual meeting Wednesday night was Ed Evans of Hamlin, who talked about the Civilian Conservation Corps which existed at Hamlin Beach State Park in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Much Medina Sandstone was used throughout the park. Evans was honored with a “Medina Sandstone Heritage Award” last October by the Medina Sandstone Society for his efforts to chronicle the history of Hamlin Beach.
“Ed remains proud of the work the CCC accomplished – about 80 years after they did the work,” said Dave Miller, a board member and former president of the Sandstone Society. “Starting in 2008, Evans and his wife Sue and friends began clearing away decades of thick underbrush and fallen trees on the eight-acre site which was used as a POW camp after the CCC closed. Over the next 10 years, they carefully mapped the camp buildings and pieced together much of the camp’s history.”
Photo by Dave Miller: Ed Evans marvels at the accomplishments of the CCC crews who built an everlasting state park in Hamlin. He gave a 40-minute presentation to the Medina Sandstone Society. He said he could talk for hours about the CCC workers and the POW camp in Hamlin.
The CCC camp constructed at the park in 1935 was part of a program by President Roosevelt to provide poverty relief from the Great Depression. Evans said the Hamlin CCC camp was the second largest in Western New York, down to the Pennsylvania line. He said there were more than 4,500 CCC camps in the United States and its territories. If there remain four sites in each state as well preserved as Hamlin’s site, Hamlin’s camp would be rated one in 200 of the most unique CCC camp sites in the country, Evans said.
He added Hamlin’s camp was also one of only 377 WWII prisoner of war branch camp sites in the United States. Most of them are now only marks on maps or roadside historical markers. Very few have spawned museums or a reconstructed building, Evans said. If each of the 46 states that had POW branch camp sites still had one site that had not been contaminated by urban sprawl, that would make Hamlin’s site rank one in 46. But only a few of those were also former CCC camps, which would place Hamlin uniquely in the top 10 historical sites of its kind in the country.
Young men who worked at the CCC camp were paid $30 a month. Many were not yet 18 and got to keep $5, while $25 went to their families, Evans said. The young men were fed, clothed and provided with educational and recreational opportunities. The camp was closed when the war was over.
Evans said when the CCC program was discontinued in 1941, most of those more than 4,000 camps were completely dismantled.
“Ours survived,” Evans said.
Early in 1944, the camp was modified to accommodate German prisoners of war. An eight-foot high barbed wire fence was erected, guard towers were put in place and the enclosed area was lighted. CCC cots were replaced with bunk beds so 400 prisoners could be housed.
The first German POWs arrived June 30, 1944 and stayed until the camp closed Jan. 11, 1946.
Unlike most other similar historical sites, Evans said the footprint of this camp and buried artifacts remained intact, untouched by post-war construction projects. Dense vegetation protected the site for 65 years, until volunteers began slowly turning it into a history trail.
In 2014, the history trail at the former CCC POW camp was opened.
Evans shared a slide show of photos of CCC workers he has accumulated and pictures of POWs. Most of them were from Mary Smith’s collection, which she left him when she died.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Ed Evans gives a tour of Hamlin Beach State park last August and notes some of the fine workmanship in one of the shelters. Evans is hoping to train his successor to give tours of the park and detail the history of the CCC.
He also located 90+ year-old Hazel Lake who has visited and walked around the entire Hamlin CCC site on three different occasions, clutching a 1937 photo of her late husband George posing in from of a CCC barracks. On each visit, she experienced a little more of what George must have felt when he lived in that camp. This was important to her because every weekend George walked from Hamlin to Medina and back to visit her, his 17-year-old sweetheart. He wore out a pair of shoes in the process and more than once got assigned extra KP for getting back to camp after Sunday night curfew.
Evans talked about Medina Sandstone that was used to build all areas of the park. A huge pile of sandstone was found while cleaning up the area for the history trail. He said every scrap of sandstone was used for something. Nothing was wasted.
“Letchworth, which also had a CCC camp and sandstone buildings, and Hamlin don’t realize what they have,” Evans said. “The history of Medina Sandstone should be made into a documentary which would run for two or three days.”
The Medina Sandstone Society last year inducted Hamlin Beach Satte park into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame.
Dave Miller, who serves on the Hall of Fame Committee, said Sandstone Society created a new Heritage Award last year to recognize a community act or individual who contributed to our understanding of local history and preserving it. Evans was the first recipient. (Jennifer Wells-Dickerson also was honored with the award. She has documented the efforts of her great-grandfather, Pasquale DiLaura, who was a stone cutter, business owner and promoter of Medina Sandstone. He operated a quarry in Clarendon and the stone from that site was used for Hamlin Beach and the Lake Ontario State Parkway bridges and culverts.)
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Dave Miller describes a kiosk on Medina Sandstone which will be placed in the Hall of Fame for visitors to use.
Sandstone Society vice president Matt Holland conducted the annual business meeting, and introduced two new members to the board. Jesse Cudzilo serves as director of the YMCA in Medina. Michael Lepkyj is a technology teacher in the Medina school district.
Holland asked for reports from the various committees within the Sandstone Society.
Peggy Schreck reported she had received a letter from a company in Buffalo hired by the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund, who is organizing the 2025 World Canals Conference in September 2025. They are planning a day of field sessions and want Medina to be one of their sessions.
Miller announced the Hall of Fame nomination period had begun and names may be submitted online. He said he and Jim Hancock will begin visiting sites in June. Hub editor Tom Rivers will be the next chair of the Hall of Fame Committee, he said.
Miller also showed a new kiosk which will be installed in the Hall of Fame. Visitors only have to touch the screen to read about sandstone buildings in the area or watch a video. Miller hopes they will be able to place others in libraries and other public buildings.
The Sandstone Society is now on Instagram, Miller said.
Sue Holland, Kathy Blackburn and Gabrielle Barone are on the Events Committee and would welcome help from the community with special events, such as mailing newsletters and organizing the Hall of Fame luncheon at Bent’s Opera House. It is hoped volunteers would consider helping with special projects and/or joining the Sandstone Society by logging on to their website.
Holland recalled events they have done in the past, going back to 2008 to remember the late Bob Waters, a founder of the Sandstone Society who thought tours were meant to promote sandstone, not be a fundraiser.
She said they thought of ways to put information on the Medina Sandstone Society out in the public, and decided on walking tours.
“They were very successful, but we exhausted our locations,” Holland said. “So then we went to Boxwood Cemetery, which has a lot of sandstone markers and a sandstone chapel. We were fortunate to have Bill Lattin, former Orleans County historian, lead these informative tours.”
In 2018, the Sandstone Society decided to do a bus tour, and hired a small 30-passenger bus to tour Medina, Clarendon, Holley, Albion, Mount Albion Cemetery and St. Joseph’s Cemetery.
“We got brave the next year and rented a real bus,” Holland said. “We went to Buffalo and toured the Richardson complex which had recently opened. We also saw some of the Hall of Fame buildings in Buffalo. In 2023, we decided to go east, and visited Rochester and Sonnenberg Gardens. This year, we are going back to Buffalo and the Richardson complex.”
Holland said the winner of the John Ryan Scholarship will be announced by Medina High School this Friday. This year the students were asked to make brochures advertising Medina Sandstone or talk about cathedrals made of the local sandstone.
The next meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. July 17 at the Walsh Hotel.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 May 2024 at 3:54 pm
MEDINA – The village expects to nail down the details to move along a project that would add four fast electric charging stations to the Canal Basin.
The village was approved in April 2023 for $245,184 in state funding for two direct-current fast charger pedestals. Each pedestal has two chargers. The project, however, totalled $317,850.
National Grid agreed to pay the costs over the state grant of about $73,000. However, the village hasn’t received those funds yet from National Grid.
The village’s consultant for the project would like Medina to get the chargers in soon. However, village officials are also concerned that medina has to front the money for the state grant and then wait to get reimbursed. Medina would have to do short-term financing at what is expected to be about $10,000 in interest while it waits to get the state money.
The Village Board sees the fast charging stations as a draw for visitors with electric vehicles. The users will have to pay to use the electric chargers, at a fee to be determined.
Mayor Marguerite Sherman said she will reach out to the Village of Sherman in Chautauqua County which recently put in chargers to see how that community handled the short-term financing and also determined its fee for using the chargers.
“We are moving forward with this,” Sherman said about the chargers.
One resident, Jim Sipple, told the board he thinks the electric chargers would be better left to private businesses. Burger King has units in Medina that aren’t fast chargers.
File photo: This photo from last October shows a three-story Medina sandstone structure at 613 Main St. that was badly damaged in a fire on April 7, 2023. The village wants some action at the site, either a plan to stabilize and repair the building, or perhaps have it demolished.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 May 2024 at 3:25 pm
MEDINA – Village officials have been waiting more than a year for some action on a stone building that was badly damaged in a fire on April 7, 2023.
But the building, with collapsed roof and floors, has largely been untouched in the past year, village officials said.
The three-story structure is the first building on Main Street next to the railroad tracks. Medina officials worry about how steady the building will remain. A year ago an engineer felt it was stable.
But village officials eye the site with concern after it went through a winter and a big pile of rubble remains inside the building.
The village has cited owner Jeff Fuller due the building’s ongoing disrepair. Fuller appeared in Ridgeway Town Court on Monday morning and Town Justice Joe Kujawa set a trial for July 29.
Fuller has told the village he wants to make the repairs and has a contractor lined up. But little has happened in 13 months. Fuller did not have insurance on the site.
Code Enforcement Officer Dan Gardner said it’s a difficult situation for all parties, a project requiring a big expense with no funding apparently in place.
Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency, said the building looms next to the railroad tracks and a viable track is critical to five businesses in Orleans County.
“It’s in severe condition,” Barone told the Village Board. “It’s a serious public safety emergency.”
Barone acknowledged there are no easy answers for solving the problem. The village doesn’t want to step in and assume ownership and face a daunting cleanup, demolition or rehabilitation cost.
She would like to see the building stay on Main Street, but she said no one with enough resources has stepped forward in the past year.
“I don’t want to see it go away,” she said about the building. “But I don’t see a viable opportunity. I do see a lot of liability for everybody.”
