MEDINA – Weekend with Thomas is all over but the shouting.

And it was something to shout about for the Medina Railroad Museum.

After a drop in attendance last year, the Medina Railroad Museum decided to scale down to one three-day visit this year, which proved to be very successful, said Museum director Janien Klotzbach.

This was the 15th year the storybook train, owned by Mattel/Fisher Price, has made tracks to Medina. Over the three-day visit May 17, 18 and 19, 7,000 people rode the train.

“It takes a lot of work and expense to put on an event like Thomas, and we had to condense our efforts,” Klotzbach said. “But it was extremely successful.”

Klotzbach also said the success assures them that Thomas will be returning next year, which is a special anniversary for Fisher Price.

With this year’s Day Out with Thomas came other changes, including not letting anyone on the grounds unless they had a ticket to ride the train. In other years, numerous events on the grounds were open to the public at no charge, but that was not cost effective to the Museum or Fisher Price, said a representative from Fisher Price.

The museum grounds had many inflatables, bounce houses and fun activities for children and families.

In addition to the usual storytelling, Imagination Station activities (face painting, temporary Thomas tattoos, Legos, coloring station, train play tables and bean bag toss), there was a caricature artist and very popular balloon artist and miniature train ride next to the Sodor maze. Also, there was entertainment, such as a musician and magician in the tent next to the Senior Center, and an additional bounce house.

It takes many volunteers to pull off an event like Thomas, and Klotzbach said they recruited volunteers from local non-profit groups, such as churches and Scout groups. The organizations will then be paid for the hours their volunteer worked at Thomas.

“Thomas has always been a very exciting experience, not only for the children, but for the museum and its staff,” Klotzbach said. “It’s so rewarding to see the children and their parents and grandparents when they get so excited about Thomas. There are still many adults who come without children, because they love the event.”

Klotzbach said the same is true of Polar Express, which annually sells out at Christmas time. While they are still wrapping up from Thomas’ visit, they are already planning future train events, including the annual fall foliage and wine trains and Santa train. A new event this year will be a Blues Festival Oct. 19, with a blues band, winery and brewery on the grounds and wine tasting on the train.

The Museum has also scheduled another Memorial Train to pay tribute to Klotzbach’s father and Museum founder Martin Phelps, who died two years ago. Funds from the ride on Oct. 12 will be donated to a veterans’ organization in his memory.

Tickets are already on sale for these events and information is available on the Museum’s website or by calling 798-6106.

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Press Release, Orleans Renaissance Group

There is new granite and a refurbished bronze plaque for the cannon.

MEDINA – Since 1935, a B.L. 60 Pounder British field gun has been the centerpiece of not only the World War I memorial in Medina, but also of the village’s annual Memorial Day observances.

This year’s observance will be a historic occasion as the British field gun has undergone 14 months of extensive restoration and arrived back home in Medina just a few weeks ago. The local landmark was removed in March 2018 to Seed Artillery Reproduction & Restoration in Altoona, PA, where it was completely stripped, disassembled, and rebuilt using newly repaired and remanufactured parts.

Local benefactor and businessman, George Bidleman, covered the entire cost of the work to the cannon, donating $40,000 for the job. Additional site improvements were made possible through donations to the Orleans Renaissance Group, Inc. Concrete for the project was donated by Orleans Ready Mix LLC. Beauman’s Garage, Inc. of Lockport donated services to hoist the huge cannon onto its new concrete pad.

The rare and historic artillery piece was manufactured by the Elswick Ordnance Company, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in 1916 and saw extensive service on the Western Front during World War I, firing a total of 4,342 rounds in combat action. It weighs six tons and is a 5 inch/127mm caliber gun. There are few left in the world today.

Three new flagpoles have recently been installed on site – one for an American Flag, signifying the soldiers of Medina who served and gave their lives in France during the Great War; one for a British flag, signifying the gun’s heritage; and one for a French flag, signifying the theater of service for the big gun and our local soldiers.

A new granite slant was installed, featuring a refurbished bronze plaque that was originally with the monument in 1935. New lighting to up-light both the cannon and flags will also be installed before Memorial Day.

The memorial will be re-dedicated as part of special expanded Memorial Day observance at noon in State Street Park, Medina, following the conclusion of the annual parade.

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MEDINA – The Medina community is gearing up for its annual Community Yard Sale on June 1. Sponsored by Medina Lions, this is not “just another yard sale.”

The event June 1 is the 13th annual and a highly anticipated event in the village.

Not only do dozens and dozens of households participate in the sale, but more than 60 vendors have already signed up for space at the Olde Pickle Factory at 711 Park Ave.

Lions Club member Sherry Wheatley came up with the idea for the sale a dozen years ago after attending several in other villages. The event has gradually been expanded to include printed maps of sale locations, a flea market, a Chiavetta’s chicken barbecue at the Pickle Factory and a hotdog wagon roving throughout the village for those shoppers who don’t want to take the time to stop and eat.

Lions members will drive the hotdog wagon down village streets, selling hotdogs and pop. The Lions will also sell hotdogs and hamburgers at the Pickle Factory. Also new this year will be a 50/50 raffle at the Pickle Factory.

From 8 to 11 a.m. June 1, Lions members will be on the four corners of downtown Medina to hand out maps of the location of garage sales. There are always other sales throughout the village which aren’t listed on the maps, Wheatley said.

The yard sales bring hundreds of shoppers to the village, looking for bargains or “that special something.”

The chicken barbecue will be available from 11 a.m. until sold out. Tickets may be reserved by calling Jim Hancock at (585) 798-2118.

All proceeds from the Community Yard Sale help the Lions Club fund charitable projects throughout the community.

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‘It’s very emotional seeing all of these faces’

Joe Cardone, the Orleans County district attorney, takes a picture of the banner about his father, the late Vincent Cardone, who served in World War II and returned to Medina to work as a lawyer.

MEDINA – There were many tears today in the Orleans County YMCA, when family and friends of 38 soldiers from the community gathered to see new banners with large photos of the local servicemen.

Mary Woodruff spearheaded the project after her father-in-law, Burr Woodruff, was featured in a banner last year in the Alfred community.

Mary Woodruff had a narrow window to get the banners ordered this year. They are $200 each. Many families and friends of the local veterans bought a banner. The deadline to order them was Feb. 15.

Woodruff said there is lots of interest in the community for a second round of banners. She expects to start the process again this summer, seeking Medina Village Board approval and accepting applications for banners from the community.

The first group will be up before Memorial Day with 32 banners on Main Street and six on East Center Street. Next year the new group of banners will get the Main Street and East Center locations, with the year 1 banners going on side streets.

The banners will come down just after Veterans Day in November. She expects they will last three seasons. The worn banners will then be given to the families of the featured soldiers.

Ken Schaal, a Shelby town councilman, is among the veterans highlighted on a banner. He served with the Marine Corps in the Vietnam War. His father, Kenneth Schaal Sr., is also on a banner, and so is Ken Schaal’s nephew, Robert Schaal, who is 28 and fought in the Global War on Terror.

Robert Schaal said the banners have brought together the community and the families of local soldiers. His wife and two children sponsored the banner with his photo from a decade ago, when he joined the Marine Corps.

Ken Schaal and his nephew Robert are featured in two of the banners.

Ken Schaal, who returned to Medina after the Vietnam War and worked at Kodak, thinks the banners will have an impact on the community once they are placed on the poles in two of Medina’s most prominent streets.

“This country needs to bring back patriotism,” he said. “We’ve lost sight of what freedom cost us. All these young people hanging up here on the banners gave up a lot.”

Schaal remains active in local veterans’ organization and serves with the Honor Guard. He appreciated Woodruff organizing the effort with the Hometown Heroes.

“As a veteran, I thank Mary,” he said. “Everyone of these has a story. That’s what’s wonderful about it.”

Mary Woodruff, organizer of the Hometown Heroes, is shown with a banner of her brother-in-law, the late John McElwain, a local electrician who was very active in the Medina Lions Club.

The vinyl banners are double-sided and 5 feet tall by 2 ½ feet wide. Woodruff, a retired social studies and math teacher at Roy-Hart, pushed to start the Hometown Heroes effort in Medina after seeing a similar one in Alfred.

She was given permission by the Medina Village Board to pursue the project in January. She had 38 families step forward by a Feb. 15 deadline. The Medina DPW agreed to install the banners. The Village Clerk’s Office handled the money for the project.

The banners have red and blue borders with a portrait of the featured veteran, as well as the vet’s name, time of service, branch of military, and honors. It also states who sponsored the banner.

Rose Allard takes a picture of the banner with her late husband, Robert Allard. She said her husband was very patriotic and always stood at attention and would salute when he saw an American flag.

“It’s wonderful,” she said about the banners. “I’m so glad Medina did this.”

Many of Homer McPherson’s family members joined him at the reception in the Y for the unveiling of the banners. Homer, in white baseball hat, served with the Army from 1948 to 1954.

“I think it’s nice,” he said. “It’s wonderful.”

He also is happy the Y now has a bronze statue of a soldier on top of a Medina Sandstone memorial, honoring the soldiers who trained at the Armory.

“That monument is beautiful out there,” McPherson said.

Vince Iorio, pastor of the Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God church in Medina, takes a photo of the banner of his late father, who served in World War II.

Iorio had tears, seeing the banner.

“It’s very emotional seeing all of these faces,” he said.

Orleans County District Attorney Joe Cardone also took photos with a banner of his father, the late Vincent Cardone, and his uncle, the late Frank Cardone. The two brothers served in the Army during World War II. Two other Cardone brothers – Joe and Bert – were in the Navy during WWII.

“It’s not everyday you can look into our past and see the faces of the people who contributed so much to our community and country,” Cardone said.

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MEDINA – Cobblestone Suites and many local officials celebrated the impending construction of a new hotel in Medina on Thursday, with the new 58-room hotel expected to open in March 2020.

The hotel will be on Maple Ridge Road, on the east side of Pride Pak, in the Medina Business Park. Many Cobblestone Suites officials and investors of the project were in Medina to kick off construction on Thursday. The 5-acre site is too wet for construction to start right now, but work is expected to get going soon.

Paul Hendel, chairman of the Orleans EDA board of directors, leads a toast in welcoming the new hotel to Medina.

The company held a celebration at the Zambistro restaurant on Main Street. The Medina hotel is the first in New York for Cobblestone Suites, which is now in 26 states with a focus on small towns.

Brian Wogernesem President/CEO Cobblestone Suites, praised the Orleans Economic Development Agency for its tenacity in pursuing the project and helping the company find a location for the hotel. The Orleans EDA also commissioned a study in 2014 to see if the Medina market could sustain a branded hotel.

Interim Hospitality Consultants concluded that a small hotel would be profitable in the community.

The EDA used that report, as well as prime land, to help convince Cobblestone Suites to come to Medina.

“This is tremendous economic development, community development for Orleans County,” said Lynne Johnson, County Legislature chairwoman. “I want to thank all of you who have worked so hard to make this dream a reality.”

State Sen. Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, said the $6.75 million in private investment shows confidence in Medina and Orleans County.

“That’s a sign the local economy is turning the corner and that people believe in Medina and Orleans County,” Ortt said during the celebration.

Small towns with their historic architecture and many small businesses are back in vogue, as people want the Norman Rockwell feel, Ortt said.

Gabrielle Barone, VP of business development at the Orleans EDA, shares how the local agency pursued the project the past five years.

Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the Orleans EDA, worked hard to connect with Cobblestone Suites and keep the project on track. She attended many of the company’s conferences and went to the ribbon-cutting for a similar-size hotel in St. Mary’s, Pa. The investors in that project are leading the effort for the Medina hotel.

“It’s going to be good for tourism and the community,” Barone said about the project. “Right now that revenue is leaking out of the county.”

Visitors right now typically have to stay at hotels in Buffalo, Batavia – outside of Orleans. That limits many tourists to day trips. They will likely stay longer, and spend more money at local businesses once the new hotel is open.

Brian Wogernesem, President/CEO Cobblestone Suites (second from left), addresses the crowd for the hotel celebration. He was joined at the podium by State Sen. Rob Ortt and Assemblyman Michael Norris. The state legislators presented a citation, welcoming the company to Medina.

Wogernesem, the leader of Cobblestone Suites, said the hotels in the small towns have a corporate base with local businesses, family events (weddings and funerals), and tourists.

The big hotel chains don’t operate in small towns, he said.

Cobblestone Suites has carved a niche with a “mid-scale product” that isn’t an economy hotel or a “mom and pop” operation, he said.

The company now has 141 hotels open or under construction They range in size from 31 to 73 rooms, with 45 the average size, Wogernesem said.

Barone said the local officials and EDA pushed for a hotel that wouldn’t be a “cookie cutter.” Cobblestone Suites is building a three-story hotel will be 10,557 square feet. It will have meeting space for up to 50 people.

It will complement a conference center being developed on Main Street by the Zambito family, and the event space at the Bent’s Opera House, Barone said.

Courtesy of Cobblestone Suites: The 58-room hotel in Medina will look similar to this Cobblestone Suites hotel in Pennsylvania.

Wogernese has been working in the hotel industry since 1990, and started WHG Companies in 1999. WHG will manage the Medina hotel.

BriMark, which is based in the Neenah, Wisc., is the general contractor for the project, and is using local subcontractors. Art Hill Excavation of Medina, for example, is doing the site work.

The hotel will go on land where there was an abandoned house and overgrown yard. The EDA bought the land at a foreclosure auction in 2015, spending $50,000. The house was razed and the land was cleaned up.

Barone said the agency was fortunate the land became available. She shared she buried a small statue of Joseph, asking for a blessing that the right land would become available for the hotel. The frontage that initially was planned for the hotel went to Pride Pak instead. The hotel will be right next door to that vegetable packing house.

“I can’t say what part is tenacity, folklore or just plain luck,” Barone told the crowd. “We weren’t going to give up. We believed this was in the best interests of the community. We were going to do absolutely everything we had to do.”

A group of local and state officials, as well as investors and developers of the project, gather for a celebratory photo.

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Caliyah Boston, 7, collected three carloads of food for homeless in Buffalo

MEDINA – A Medina second-grader who collected three carloads of food for homeless in Buffalo will be recognized on Thursday as a Western New York “Real Hero.”

The American Red Cross is presenting awards to 16 people. They will be recognized during a breakfast at The Park Country Club in Williamsville.

Caliyah Boston, 7, of Medina and Medina native Evette Phillips are both receiving “Good Neighbor” awards.

Caliyah Boston is pictured with Evette Phillips, leader of We R Buffalo Strong, in October. Caliyah helped to give away the food to homeless people in Buffalo.

Phillips founded “We R Buffalo Strong.” The organization strives to make a difference in the lives of the homeless, elderly and veterans within her community by providing them with food and other crucial resources.

Caliyah selflessly collected and donated three carloads of supplies, including food and clothes, for this organization.

Phillips has been taking food to homeless people in Buffalo for the past five years, often bringing grills and cooking meals with them.

Caliyah’s family heard about the organization through social media and wanted to collect food to be donated to We R Buffalo Strong. Caliyah’s second grade classmates and others at Oak Orchard Elementary School helped with the effort, which resulted in three carloads of food and clothing.

Phillips in 2017 was named the “Humble Humanitarian of the Year” by Compass House of WNY, which runs a shelter for homeless children ages 12 to 17. She typically meets the homeless on the street behind the Buffalo public library.

Phillips said she doesn’t just hand out food. Sometimes there are tail-gate parties, cookouts and TV’s hooked up to watch the Bills games together.

She was impressed by Caliyah’s good heart and motivation to help the homeless. Phillips didn’t realize the two had a Medina connection until Caliyah showed up wearing a Medina Mustang sweatshirt.

The Real Heroes Breakfast on Thursday celebrates the Red Cross mission of alleviating human suffering by recognizing people from throughout the region who have performed heroic acts during times of crisis. The heroes include first responders as well as ordinary citizens who performed life-saving acts.

Proceeds from the Real Heroes Breakfast benefit the Red Cross, which provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

The Western New York Chapter serves communities in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming counties.

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