Crime and Carpetbags will be released with a celebration this evening at Author’s Note in Medina.

MEDINA – Medina native Julie Berry will launch her latest middle grade novel, Crime and Carpetbags, at 7 p.m. tonight at Author’s Note, the newly reopened book store at 519 Main St.

Berry, a New York Times Bestselling author, recently relocated with her family from Los Angeles to buy and renovate the former Book Shoppe.

She will read from, discuss and sign copies of her new novel, which is the second installment in her Wishes and Wellingtons series. Books will be available for purchase in-store and online.

Crime and Carpetbags picks up where Wishes and Wellingtons left off, with spitfire Maeve Merritt, her friends Tommy and Alice, and an irascible djinni named Mermeros getting into magical hijinks in and around late-Victorian London.

Now that Maeve has surrendered Mermeros, she expects her life in London will be dull as dirt. But villains from Maeve’s previous escapades are still searching for the djinni, now in the hands of Mr. Poindexter, Tom’s adoptive father. When Mr. Poindexter and Mermeros go missing, the trio soar off to find Tom’s dad and that rascal, Mermeros, before the djinni’s fabled wishes fall into the wrong hands.

Booklist says of the novel, “Berry unfolds a charming and witty Victorial adventure, marked by a mysterious villain, flying carpet bags and a daring rescue, but it’s the tight friendship among Maeve, Alice and Tom that makes the story soar.” Kirkus Reviews says, “Fans of E. Nesbit and Edward Eager will find much to love. This action-packed sequel posses strong voice and setting.”

The event this evening is free and open to the public.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Sue and Sam Hershberger share duties at the Faith Covenant Fellowship church at 11945 Million Dollar Highway, Medina. They arrived from Oklahoma after the previous pastor left.

MEDINA – A small church on the edge of town has welcomed a new pastor and his wife.

The Rev. Sam Hershberger and his wife Sue arrived from Oklahoma, where he was in between pastoring jobs. Searching online, they discovered Faith Covenant Fellowship at 11945 Million Dollar Highway was looking for a pastor, after the church’s had left.

Moving from Oklahoma to Western New York wasn’t that big of a change for them as they are formerly from Ohio and still have family there. The couple has five children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. They had left Ohio in 2006 to attend Rhema Bible College in Broken Arrow, Okla.

The pastor does the preaching and Sue takes care of the administrative duties, the pastor said.

“The congregation has been very welcoming to us,” he said.

His first sermon at the new church was preached via Zoom from their home in Oklahoma. He would like to being offering his sermons here online in 2022.

Faith Covenant Fellowship was founded by Jerry and Pat Grimes of Medina. Their daughter Amy Miller has stayed as worship leader.

The pastor said his sermons are Bible-based, where the spirit is free to move. He uses Bible principles adapted to real life.

“He preaches faith and healing,” Sue said.

The church also has a children’s ministry run by Chad Wirth, and a nursery all set up, ready for growth, Sue said.

Every other month, they have a potluck dinner.

They welcome the community to join them for Sunday worship or prayer meetings and Bible study at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays.

Currently, the couple is living in the Millville United Methodist Church parsonage, while they search for a home to buy.

Faith Covenant Fellowship just east of Medina has welcomed a new pastor and his wife. They hope to grow the congregation, which meets at 10 a.m. Sundays for worship.

Photo and information courtesy of Medina Marching Band

VICTOR – The Victor Marching Band hosted a competition on Saturday with 14 bands from around Western NY competing. Despite the ominous prediction, the weather held out allowing all of the  bands to compete.

In SS1, Medina earned 1st place with a score of  88.85 followed by East Irondequoit in 2nd with 85.75.

There were 4 bands in the SS3 class and Norwich earned 1st place with a score of 76.40 followed by Marcus Whitman in 2nd at 76.35, Leroy in 3rd at 74.90 and Falconer-Frewsburg in 4th with 72.45.

The LS3 class had 2 competitors with Greece earning 1st place at 80.05 followed by Hilton with 78.55.

Webster led the LS2 class with a score of 84.80 followed by West Seneca in 2nd place at 83.50 and Orchard Park in 3rd place with 79.95.

There were 3 National bands performing and Victor earned 1st place with 88.55, Lancaster in 2nd at 88.30 and Jamestown in 3rd with 83.55.

Medina’s next competition is Saturday in Greece.

The NYS Field Band Championships are on Sunday, Oct. 31, at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.  Travel time from Medina is approximately 2 1/2 hours and parking at the Dome is usually $10 a car. Tickets can only be purchased at the Dome and are $19 for adults, $13 for senior citizens 65 and older, and $13 for and students 18 years and younger. This ticket price is for the whole day.  Everyone must wear a mask while in the Dome except while eating. This is for vaccinated and unvaccinated people. If you are bringing anything into the Dome it must be in a clear bag and not very big.  SS1 class begins at 5:30 p.m. and Medina performs at 5:45 p.m.

Photos courtesy of Don Bemont

MEDINA – Medina Police Department Lt. Todd Draper rescued an Eastern Screech Owl on Friday afternoon.

One of the bird’s talons had become hopelessly entangled in discarded fishing line and was hanging helplessly from a hawthorn shrub hanging out over the water at the boat launch/fishing area just south of Boxwood Cemetery.

Draper pushed his way through thorns and some precarious footing to cut the bird out of its predicament.

Draper said the owl was lethargic for about 45 minutes, but started to move more as it was turned over to Bob Humbert from Wolcottsville Wildlife Rescue, a state and federally licensed rehabilitator.

Humbert told Draper the owl was a fully grown screech owl, maybe a year old.

“He said the owl was likely extremely dehydrated but was confident it will make a full recovery,” Draper said.

Here are additional photos courtesy of Lt. Draper:

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Pastor Vincent Iorio stands beside the sign which will stand in front of his new church on Maple Ridge Road, until the rest of the money can be raised for a digital sign. The building is also home to a Spanish-speaking church.

MEDINA – Sunday will mark the end of a long journey for Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God, when their new building on Maple Ridge Road finally welcomes members for its first service.

“It’s been five years in the making,” said Pastor Vincent Iorio. “Like everybody else, Covid set us back a year. Prices of building materials skyrocketed, but fortunately, the main part of the structure was up.”

Iorio, a Medina native, has been pastor of the church for 16 1/2 years. A graduate of Berean University of the Assembly of God in Missouri, Iorio received a secular degree and pastored at a church in the Adirondacks for 12 years. Assembly of God was his first full-time church. The church was started in Shelby Center as the Baptist Church, and was part-time associate pastor.

This sign in front of the new Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God on Maple Ridge Road will soon be replaced by a new digital one. Five years in the making, the new church will welcome members for its first service on Sunday.

Calvary had been meeting at the old Medina High School on Catherine Street, until local entrepreneur Roger Hungerford purchased the building with the purpose of renovating it into upscale loft apartments.

“That was our impetus to build a new church,” Iorio said.

He said Hungerford had been wonderful to work with and gave them time to find a new home.

They had purchased 36 acres on Maple Ridge Road a few years before, with the ultimate goal to some day build a new church. When the decision was made to go ahead with their plans, the pastor said he formed a Fresh Start Committee, to aid in making decisions about the new building.

Pastor Vincent Iorio stands at the front of the sanctuary in his new church, where the altar will be.

“After all, this wasn’t about me,” said Iorio, who is 67 years old. “It’s about them.”

Committee members are all under 40. They carry on the pastor’s mission of looking to the future. They shared in decisions about the design of rooms, colors, etc.

A Spanish-speaking congregation, whose pastor is Jovannie Canalese, has met at the Assembly of God for many years, and will continue to have their services in the new church at 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Iorio stressed they used all local contractors, with two exceptions. The structure cost just shy of $1 million, and since breaking ground in the summer of 2016, 70 percent of it has been raised.

The new church building has a garage, large room for the food pantry, a nursery, classrooms, offices, state-of-the-art sound and visual booth, coffee bar, large fellowship hall, modern kitchen, children’s church area and a 160-seat sanctuary.

In addition to modern public restrooms, the nursery and food pantry each have their own restroom. Donna Poore is food pantry manager and this week they began the monumental chore of moving goods from the old church. The food pantry will officially open to the public from 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 26. Until then, all food pantry needs are being handled at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church on West Avenue.

Iorio said during Covid they broadcast services over car radios in the parking lot. The services are still broadcast live on Facebook. Bible study, a children’s group and prayer meetings will resume on a regular basis.

On Oct. 26, the public will be invited to join the congregation in worship. A formal open house will be planned in the near future. Sunday mornings begin with coffee bar at 9:30 a.m., followed by worship at 10:30 a.m.

“This is the first church I’ve built and it’s the last,” Iorio said. “I lay awake at night stressing about it.”

Some outside work remains to be done around the front entrance of Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God, which will open with a service for members on Sunday. It will open to the public on Oct. 26.

Provided photo: The staff of the Orleans/Niagara BOCES Medina Literacy Zone looks forward to hosting a job fair on Oct. 20.

Press Release, Orleans/Niagara BOCES

MEDINA – The Orleans/Niagara BOCES Medina Literacy Zone will be holding an Orleans County job fair on Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There will be 28 companies represented at the Literacy Zone located at 211 Eagle Street in Medina. There will also be representatives from childcare services, library services, colleges and many more.

A Literacy Zone is where adult learners can gain knowledge, skills and supports needed for economic self-sufficiency. Coordinators at the Orleans/Niagara BOCES work closely with community partners to create workshops to help individuals move into the workforce like earning a high school diploma, learning English and resume building.

The Literacy Zone has also been working on a coat drive to benefit anyone on the community who needs one. They have been collecting gently used and new coats of all seasons for those in need, along with gloves, scarves, hats and winter boots. The coat drive handout will be on Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Literacy Zone as well.

“We are accepting donations for the drive as well and anyone who needs jackets/coats or winter items are more than welcome to pick one out at the job fair as well or leave their name, number and item needed if what we have does not fit them,” said Julie Johnson, case manager.

For more information if you are in need or wish to donate, contact Johnson at 585-798-1420.

“Illuminating Orleans” – Vol. 1, No 23

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

Frank Curvin at his store. Note the root beer mugs on the counter and the display of pipers on the wall behind.

MEDINA – An advertisement in the Medina Tribune of October 21, 1921 signaled the opening of a new business venture at the modest Trolley Stop on North Main Street in Medina, a busy spot for passengers traveling east and west on the Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railway.

At the age of 48, Francis Gilbert Curvin was making a new start. A previous business venture in Brockport had not been successful. He had a wife and three children to support. The odds were not in his favor, but his creative and often audacious sales ploys ensured that his confectionery business grew and even survived the Depression, an accomplishment at a time when disposable income was in short supply. Remarkably, “Curvin’s” is still remembered locally 100 years later and the name continued to have a Main Street presence until recently.

Frank soon outgrew the “little store” at the Trolley Stop. He purchased the Callaghan & Sutter lunch room where he remained for one year and then moved to the 420 Main Street location. In 1826, he purchased the home at 321 Catherine St.

He promoted his business energetically and employed every possible promotional sales ploy. He advertised weekly, boldly proclaiming his sales offers and proclaiming his growing inventory.

He added newspapers and magazines to his inventory. He sold bottled milk and a limited line of groceries for the convenience of his customers. Noting a surge of interest in jigsaw puzzles, he added puzzles to his inventory, sold them at half price and facilitated puzzle exchanges for 5 cents.

Again ahead of his time, he installed a record player in the store to provide background music and a microphone to announce specials. These were connected to a loudspeaker in the entryway which broadcast the sound. Soon the system was being used to page people on Main Street and urging them to meet – at Curvin’s of course.

Naturally, his store was a magnet for children. A tantalizing array of Penny Candy was strategically placed at the rear of the store. As the children lingered while making their selection, the accompanying adults looked through the merchandise and no doubt made a purchase. Frank also operated a concession stand at the annual Rural School Picnic which was held in Elm Park for several hundred children and their parents.

Medina Tribune, September 1, 1929

He needed to be bold. By the 1930s he had to contend with the effects of the Depression as well as a declining trolley passenger volume. An inspired sales plan in 1932 proved to be a huge success. He hosted a party on Main Street in Medina on Tuesday nights, hiring the popular local Coppa Family Band to play. There were prizes galore and giveaways – towels, stockings, tobacco, ice cream. But the main draw was the grand prize – a ton of coal.

He intuitively tuned in to public need at the time and provided what people craved – music for a release from tough times, free entertainment, some excitement, the anticipation of winning a free gift. His contribution of the gift of a ton of coal each week was simply brilliant in terms of the publicity and name recognition it generated but also because it was a genuine recognition and acknowledgement of people’s needs.

The inclusion of a personal photograph in an advertisement was unusual at this time. The energetic pose echoes the various pillow, mattress and car salesmen we are familiar with today. Medina Daily Journal, Jan. 19, 1933.

Tuesday night was soon referred to as Curvin Night. The music began at 9 p.m. People began to assemble at 7 p.m. Attendance soon grew from hundreds each week to well over a thousand, many traveling for twenty or thirty miles. Naturally, many would need to purchase sodas, cigarettes and ice cream in the course of the evening. The extra traffic was a boon to other establishments as well.

An article in the August 10, 1932 Medina Daily Journal wryly observed:

“And still they come, and still the wonder grows, how Curvin draws the crowds, only Curvin knows.”

His sales precepts, which he outlined to columnist Russell Waldo, were simple:

“Advertise, keep your stock in sight, the customer must buy more than one item, smile and be pleasant, you cannot afford to be grouchy to customers, salespeople be treated with consideration and must be pleasant to the customers.”

One can well imagine that a visit to Curvin’s would have been a memorable, multi-sensory experience – music, promotional announcements, variety, selection, the mingled scents of newsprint, root beer, sweets, coffee, cigars, cigarettes, roasting peanuts.

Frank Curvin suffered a fatal heart attack at his store on November 25, 1946. He was 72. He was survived by his wife, Marjorie, daughter Catherine and sons Winthrop and Jonathan. He was predeceased by his first wife, Mabel in 1944.

The store continued under the management of George Bunnell until 1962 when it was sold to Mr. & Mrs. Kirk Kimball of Ridge Road.

(Photographs and information courtesy of the Medina Historical Society.)

Photo and information courtesy of Medina Marching Band

WEBSTER – The Medina Mustang Marching Band traveled to Webster on Saturday for their fourth competition this season. Again the weather was beautiful when six bands came to compete and show their musical and marching skills.

In SS1 Medina earned 1st place with a score of 85.95 followed by East Irondequoit at 83.35.  Other competitors were Greece in LS3 with a score of 77.9 and Webster in LS2 with 84.95.  Victor earned 1st place in the National class with 85.6 followed by Lancaster in 2nd with 85.4.  Medina will compete next in Victor on Oct. 16 and then in Greece on Oct. 23.

The championship show held by the NYS Field Band Conference will be on Sunday, Oct. 31 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. The show starts at 8 a.m. and runs through to 10 p.m. with 50 high school marching bands and 4,000 students participating. The show is broken up into three segments with SS3 and SS2 classes beginning at 8 a.m. and each band has 15 minutes to get out on the field, set up, perform and exit the field in total. This 1st segment will finish at noon.

The second segment involves LS3 and LS2 beginning at 12:45 p.m. and ending 4:30 p.m. There are 16 bands in this segment.

The third segment involves SS1 and National class and involves 18 bands competing followed by a performance by the Syracuse University band. Medina is scheduled to perform at 5:45 p.m. and this will be their 44th appearance in this competition.

The 2021 NYS Field Band Conference Hall of Fame inductees include Joseph McKain from Medina who led the marching band from 1970 to 1999.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: The American Legion inmembers Glenn Whitmore, commander; and Dave Morien, treasurer, present a check for $2,500 to Linda and Timothy Shaw of Depew, at left. Timothy bought the winning ticket to the Legion’s raffle at Medina’s Ale in Autumn on Sept. 30.

MEDINA – Timothy and Linda Shaw wouldn’t miss attending Ale in Autumn in Medina, and this year, it really paid off for them.

They were walking down Main Street when they passed Jim Wells, a member of the Butts-Clark American Legion, who was sitting at a table in front of Author’s Note book store selling tickets for the Legion’s cash raffle.

Timothy stopped to buy a ticket and was ecstatic to get the call he was the winner of $2,500.

The Legion conducts various raffles throughout the year to make money to support their post.

Legion Commander Glenn Whitmore and treasurer David Morien presented the check to the Shaws on Saturday afternoon, after which the winners bought everyone in the room a drink to show their appreciation.

Whitmore thanked Wells for overseeing the drawing and members of the Legion, Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion for their support in selling tickets. He said Bogan and Tuttle paid for printing of the tickets, and everyone who purchased a ticket got a $5 coupon good at Zambistro’s and Avanti’s.

After expenses and the winner was paid, the remaining money is used by the Post for its maintenance and to support the Warrior House on Salt Works Road.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Eighth-District Past Commander Frank Berger, left, swore in the officers of the Butts-Clark American Legion Post in Medina at their meeting Tuesday night. With Berger are, from left, Dave Kusmierczak, chaplain; Tony Vicnair, first vice president and membership chair; Glenn Whitmore, commander; Dave Morien, treasurer; and Jim Wells, second vice president. Absent is Peter Huth, adjutant.

MEDINA – Butts-Clark American Legion Post opened its October meeting Tuesday night with swearing in of new officers by Past Eighth-District Commander Frank Berger.

Officers for the coming year are Glenn Whitmore, commander; Tony Vicnair, first vice president and membership chairman; Dave Morien, treasurer; Jim Wells, second vice president; and Peter Huth, adjutant. Dave Kusmierczak is chaplain.

The members also discussed an ambitious project for which they have received village approval – the painting of a giant American flag on the south wall of their post at 305 North Main St.

The design will be an unfurled flag covering the entire end of the building.

“This will be a striking site to drivers coming down Main Street,” commander Glenn Whitmore said earlier in the summer, when discussions first began about the project.

Cost for the project is estimated to be between $3,500 and $4,000, and the Legion is asking the public to consider donating toward this patriotic mission. Checks may be made payable to American Legion Post 204, with the notation “American flag,” and mailed to 305 North Main St., Medina.

The Butts-Clark American Legion Post is undertaking an ambitious project to raise money to have a wall-size American flag painted on the south end of their building. Holding a picture of the design are past commander Frank Berger, Legion Commander Glenn Whitmore and second vice president Jim Wells.