A dense fog advisory has been issued this morning until 10 a.m. for Orleans, Niagara and northern Erie counties.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo said visibility could be as low as a quarter mile at times in the fog.
“If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you,” the Weather Service said.
Press Release, Orleans and Genesee County Health Departments
Provided photo: Ron Mannella serves as Weights & Measures director for both Orleans and Genesee counties.
As you try to make the most of your dollar, Weights & Measures is there to make sure you’re getting what you pay for. W&M acts as financial protection for both the buyer and the seller, ensuring fair transactions for all parties involved. We celebrate these relationships during the first week of March, National Weights & Measures Week.
The Genesee and the Orleans County Weights & Measures Departments test devices used in your day-to-day activities, including devices at gas stations, grocery stores, delis, bakeries, produce stands, and laundromats to name a few.
Last year there were 1,111 devices tested (Genesee: 705, Orleans: 406). Of those, 85.42% initially tested correct. When a device is found incorrect and in the store’s favor, the W&M director orders the device repaired. The business cannot use that device until the correction has been retested and inspected by a W&M inspector.
The W&M departments are also responsible for testing the quality of the fuel sold in the counties. This effort is 100% reimbursed by New York State. Last year there were 0 octane/cetane failures between the two counties.
New for 2020
Genesee and Orleans County Departments of Health are on the forefront when it comes to shared services, a joint effort to better serve their communities. Starting in January, the counties agreed to fully combine the two Weights & Measures Departments. This collaboration has created a safer and healthier environment for all residents as well as visitors to the area.
Between the two counties, the agreement has estimated savings of $54,290 in its initial year. “Rarely does a costs saving result in better and more efficient services for the community, but this arrangement does exactly that. We have figured it out,” stated Ronald P. Mannella, Director of Weights & Measures for Genesee-Orleans County Departments of Health (GO Health). “This department will continue to explore ways of stretching our tax payer dollars.”
Paul A. Pettit, Public Health Director stated, “This latest integrated approach to working across county lines and sharing services is another great example of how we can enhance benefits for our residents while reducing county costs.”
Protection at the pump
With support from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Genesee-Orleans and the surrounding counties are cracking down on credit card skimmers and those responsible. W&M inspectors perform random sweeps of fuel stations looking for these fraudulent devices. Arrests have been made and we want it known that New York will not tolerate these criminal acts.
If you have suspicious credit card activity, call your bank immediately.
Tested and approved
When shopping, look for the seal. These seals indicate the device has been tested and passed inspection by a Weights & Measures inspector. If you believe the device is incorrect, simply point your smartphone at the QR Code on the seal and you will be prompted to our department website. Once there you are quickly able to report a complaint. Our office will continue to accept phone calls and emails.
ALBION – A Medina resident is facing multiple drug charges in both Orleans and Genesee counties, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force is reporting today.
Akeem R. Gibson
Akeem R. Gibson of Frank Street in Medina was charged on Saturday after an investigation into the sale and distribution of crack cocaine in the Village of Albion.
The investigation was conducted by the Task Force, with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office arresting Gibson on an Orleans County sealed indictment warrant for drug sale and possession charges.
While being placed into custody by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Gibson allegedly was found to be in possession of approximately 11 grams of crack cocaine, the Task Force said.
He was charged in Orleans County with two counts each of criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, which are Class B felonies.
Gibson was arraigned in Orleans County Court by Judge Sanford Church and was released due to the new state bail reform laws. The Task Force reported that Gibson has three previous felony convictions and faces more felony charges in Genesee County.
Gibson is to return to Orleans County Court on March 19 at 10:30 a.m.
After he was arraigned in Orleans County, Gibson was turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and charged with drug possession charges, including one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, as well as vehicle and traffic violations.
Gibson was arraigned in the City of Batavia Court by Judge Durin Rogers and held without bail until he appears in Genesee County Court on Tuesday for further proceedings.
The Genesee County Local Drug Task Force and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the arrest.
The investigation is ongoing and further charges and arrests are pending, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force said.
ALBION – The Albion Village Board voted last week to raise the water and sewer rates for users inside and outside the village.
Village officials say this is the first increase in six years. For most users, the increase will be 35 cents per 1,000 gallons of water and 30 cents per 1,000 gallons for sewer.
The village needed to raise the rates in response to increased costs for labor, materials and electricity, said Gary Katsanis, the village’s deputy mayor.
The village also is facing capital improvement projects for water and sewer.
“In the sewer plant, the DEC mandated an additional processing step, which will use ultraviolet light as a disinfectant,” Katsanis said. “Installation is expensive and operation involves increased utility costs.”
The water distribution system also is aging and the village will be upgrading some waterlines, including an upcoming project on Clinton and West Academy streets.
“We need to fund that, and we also need to evaluate other portions of the water distribution system to ensure that it is providing the pressure and flow that is needed by the community,” Katsanis said.
The village also will be replacing the main watermain from Lake Ontario to the village, and the major components of the pumping system for the main, which is about 60 years old, Katsanis said..
“The village has state support for a $3.2 million repair and upgrade to that system, but there will be a significant cost to the village for that work,” he said.
Currently the residential and commercial rates are $3.26 per 1,000 gallons for water for inside-village customers and $3.52 for sewer.
Outside-village users are billed $4.19 for water and $4.45 for sewer.
There are also quarterly fees for water – $5 administrative fee and $5 water meter use – and $10 administrative fee for sewer.
The higher rates – add 35 cents to water and 30 cents to sewer per 1,000 gallons – will start on April 1 and be reflected in the water and sewer bills that come out in July.
Katsanis said the board recognizes that paying a water bill can be difficult for some community members.
“With this in mind, the Board reduced the basis under which the minimum amount billed is calculated,” he said. “The current minimum bill is $58.02 and is based on usage of 5,610 gallons per billing cycle. We reduced this minimum to 5,100 gallons, so that the new minimum bill is actually a few cents lower than the existing amount. The new calculation is based more on the principle of water customers paying for the gallons they actually use.”
The board will also phase in the increase for larger water and sewer customers. They will be billed the full new rate for up to 100,000 gallons. After that, the increase will be 17 cents this year and the other 18 cents in 2021.
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Jill Pettigrew, an artist from Batavia, shows off a transformed room this morning at the Orleans County YMCA to Greg Reed, the Y director.
Pettigrew painted the mural that shows animals having a picnic in the forest. The wall used to be white on top with blue on the bottom.
Pettigrew worked on the mural for a few weeks. This past weekend she worked long hours to create a radical new space in the child watch room at the Y. This morning was the big reveal to Y staff and parents.
Here is how the wall looked before Pettigrew’s artwork.
Gavin Gursslin, 3, of Medina tries the new basketball hoop that is mounted by the wall. The room has artwork and many other stations to encourage children to be active.
“To see the transformation is just incredible,” said Allison Gursslin, Gavin’s mother and one of the staff at the child watch room.
That room is open from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It is free to Y members who want supervision for their children while the Y members work out or participate in a class at the Y on Pearl Street.
Ivy Wroblewski, 2, of Medina looks through a magnifying glass. Pettigrew created a nature scene on a cabinet with removable magnetic insects.
Pettigrew was hired last year to paint artwork on the Y’s sidewalks and stairs. Some of the designs resemble obstacle courses, a balance beam, swings and other scenes popular at playgrounds.
The YMCA received a $51,000 grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to transform the sidewalks and steps by the Y with art. There was grant money left over from that project to pay Pettigrew to work on the child watch room.
These children play at the kitchen scene, which includes a slot for the mail. The transformed space includes the furniture for the role playing.
“We’re giving kids more opportunities to play together,” said Greg Reed, the Y director. “Kids learn through play.”
Nora Gursslin, 8 months, explores the watch room this morning at the YMCA.
Press Release, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today unveiled a new guidebook to help agriculture and rural development organizations access federal and state grant money.
Through Senator Gillibrand’s guidebook, agriculture and rural development organizations can access critical information to help them navigate the grant application process, including what the programs are, who is eligible, the terms, and how the funds may be used. By utilizing federal and state grants, organizations throughout New York can provide additional services to communities.
“In these tough economic times, we must make sure rural communities get their fair share of federal and state dollars,” said Senator Gillibrand. “By giving our agricultural and rural communities the resources they need to access federal and state grants, we’ll strengthen our economic growth efforts, create jobs and provide much-needed infrastructure development. These federal dollars will support critical services for our families and strengthen our rural communities.”
This book is a resource to navigate funding from the USDA, Dept. of Commerce, Dept. of Education, Dept. of Health and Human Services, Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Dept. of Transportation, Appalachian Regional Commission, and Northern Border Regional Commission. It also helps navigate funding from New York State. It may be used in conjunction with any other grant guides from Senator Gillibrand’s office as well – such as the broadband guidebook.
A broad range of federal and state grants are available to help agricultural and rural communities deliver services to families and communities, including local economic development projects, housing assistance programs, infrastructure services, education development programs and health care services for rural communities.
The guidebook is the latest in a series to provide community organizations, state and local governments, schools and law enforcement agencies with the resources they need to access federal funding, in order to prevent cuts to services, to save and create jobs, and to create opportunities to improve the lives of all New Yorkers.
A copy of Senator Gillibrand’s guidebook for Agriculture and Rural Development can be downloaded by clicking here.
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Horses at Bokman Farms are out this morning at the corner of Long Bridge Road and Route 31 in Albion.
After a blast of winter last week, this week the temperatures will be warmer with highs in the 40s most of the week, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
The highs in Orleans County are forecast for 49 today, followed by 42 on Tuesday, 41 on Wednesday, 42 on Thursday, 39 on Friday and 32 on Saturday.
Photo and article courtesy of Medina Mustang Band
MEDINA – Both of Medina’s Winterguards traveled to Marcus Whitman High School on Saturday and the varsity earned a first place. (The varsity is shown in the photo.)
This was Medina’s their fourth competition this season. Fourteen guards from around Western NY came to compete along with ARC of Yates who performed in exhibition.
In the Scholastic A class, Medina’s Varsity guard earned 1st place with a score of 78.94 followed by Orchard Park, 78.26.
The Regional A class had six guards performing and the Medina JV guard took 3rd place with a score of 76.100.
Winners in the other classes were Gates Chili Cadet with 64.05; Gates Chili RA with 77.30; in A1 the Gates Chili JV with 71.93; SUNY Geneseo Sapphire in Senior Class with 57.91, and in Independent A, the Gates Chili Independent with 82.68.
The guards will next compete this Saturday in Lancaster followed by Medina’s home show on March 14.
There are six judges involved in each performance. Two critique General Effect from an emotional viewpoint and how well the repertoire is performed.
One judge is “individual analysis” and how well the equipment is handled and the design of the show. The “Individual Analysis – Movement” deals with what they are given and how well they perform it.
The “Ensemble Analysis” credits the total technical package, how the show flows and how well the performers are executing the composition. “Timing & Penalties” ensures that WGI rules are followed with respect to timing from the point of setup to breakdown.
A Manhattan woman who returned from a trip to Iran is the first person in New York State to be diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued this statement on Sunday night:
“This evening we learned of the first positive case of novel coronavirus — or COVID-19 — in New York State. The patient, a woman in her late thirties, contracted the virus while traveling abroad in Iran, and is currently isolated in her home. The patient has respiratory symptoms, but is not in serious condition and has been in a controlled situation since arriving to New York.
“The positive test was confirmed by New York’s Wadsworth Lab in Albany, underscoring the importance of the ability for our state to ensure efficient and rapid turnaround, and is exactly why I advocated for the approval from Vice President Pence that New York was granted just yesterday.
“There is no cause for surprise – this was expected. As I said from the beginning, it was a matter of when, not if there would be a positive case of novel coronavirus in New York.
“Last week I called for the Legislature to pass a $40 million emergency management authorization to confront this evolving situation – I look forward to its swift passage.
“There is no reason for undue anxiety – the general risk remains low in New York. We are diligently managing this situation and will continue to provide information as it becomes available.”
BATAVIA – A retired Albion police sergeant was recognized on Saturday for his 20 years of service as an instructor with the Rural Police Academy at Genesee Community College.
Bill Scribner of Lyndonville was honored during commencement ceremony at GCC for 25 graduates in the nearly year-long program.
Scribner graduated from the program in 1997. Since 2000, he served as one of the class instructors.
“I felt a commitment to give back to that police academy,” Scribner said.
After he graduated, he was asked to give a lecture to the class. That turned into leading several different courses for the students.
Scribner has taught courses on report writing, vehicle and traffic stops, narcotics and dangerous drugs, animal abuse cases, courtroom testimony and procedures, domestic violence, persons with disabilities, and mental health – mental hygiene law (getting people care who are in crisis) and mental health of officers and coping with stress of job.
Scribner attended NCCC for instructor development school as part of his qualification to lead the classes.
Since he retired from the Albion Police Department in 2015, he has worked for the Western New York VA Healthcare System as a police officer the past 5 years, including the past 2 ½ as the deputy chief for a group of 39 officers who worked at the Buffalo VA, Batavia VA and nine community-based outpatient clinics.
Scribner said teaching the courses and being on staff at the academy has helped him to be a better police officer and leader.
“It was a great way to keep up with the changes of the laws and changes in the police academy,” Scribner said.
When he graduated in 1997, graduates needed 499 hours of coursework and firearms training to complete the program. Now it’s about 850 hours, with an expanded course on domestic violence and mental health.
The graduates from Orleans County in the new class from the academy include Morgan Ewert and John Martek from the Holley Police Department, and Matthew Prawel from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.
Press Release, State Police
The New York State Police advise the public to never give your Social Security or any other private information over the phone.
If you receive a phone call and the caller identifies themselves as a member of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) advising you that your Social Security number is being suspended, do not give any information including your Social Security number. This is a scam.
The DEA and other law enforcement agencies have no affiliation with Social Security matters.
We are entering the first two weeks of National Procrastination Week. I was going to touch on that, however I think I will wait until later. Why do today what you can do tomorrow?
Instead let’s talk about today, Sunday March 1st, which is World Compliment Day created by a Netherlander named Hans Poortvliet.
The idea is to appreciate people with words, not gifts. What an awesome concept. Words are so powerful because they are often driven by a thoughtful heart. Everyone loves a good compliment – don’t deny it because you know you do too! Makes you feel all good up in your “feels” when someone pays you a compliment.
Personally I like it when people compliment my baubles or tell me I am a good person. That is a good balance. One is for vanity and one is for validation that you are making a positive difference.
You know what I like better than receiving a compliment? Giving a compliment. I told a waitress that she had great skin. She was older than I but her skin was dewy fresh. Well you would have thought I left her a $100 tip. She smiled from ear to ear. Men, here is little tip. If you aspire to make a lady happy, a good skin compliment never fails, trust me on that one.
Some people deserve validation so I like to pass out a good compliment there too. For example, if I am lucky enough to be entertained by a street performer that is making my day a bit brighter, I pass along a little “green” and tell them they are doing awesome. I think next time I will just say they made my day brighter. I feel that would mean more.
Then there are people who need a compliment. Perhaps the trickiest because you don’t want to come across as pitying. Like if someone is struggling at work, find an opportunity to compliment what they are doing right. I might tell a Designer at The Shop what specifically they have done that made a design special. Perhaps I find the color scheme uplifting. Be specific for those who need a compliment so they know their actions created a positive impact in some way. That will make the compliment more meaningful and motivational.
Whatever it is that compels you to offer a kind word to someone else, know this for sure…you really just helped yourself as well. A compliment is a mirror of an emotion. There is no greater joy than knowing you created happiness in another person. The joy on their face is now joy on yours!
This brings me to another important March Day on the 20th World Happiness Day. Two great holidays in one month that can be celebrated with one kind act – a compliment.
Procrastination is the thief of time, so if you see someone deserving or in need of a compliment offer it today. It is free but pays back immeasurably. Join My Blog live online at https://www.positiveperksposts.com to catch up on weekly photo perks and past posts. Like and Share Your Comments on what compliments brought you joy. Happy Perks to Everyone!
Truly,
Debbie Burgoon London
Your Sassy Small Town Missus from Albion
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Connor McQuillan, formerly of Albion, watches action at today’s Ben Kirby Memorial Indoor Soccer Tournament. Connor’s dad Sean played goalie for one of the teams. Sean organized the tournament for several years.
About 30 teams played today at the high school and elementary school gyms. The tournament continues on Sunday with about 40 teams competing.
Each team has a minimum of five players. Several hundred players will be in Albion for the tournament.
Dennis and Wendy Kirby, right, are Ben’s parents. They are pictured with Cole Schmitt, the main organizer for the tournament, and his girlfriend, Katlynne Tubo, who also is a key organizer.
Ben Kirby was a long-time Albion soccer player whose family has been dedicated to the program at Albion.
Kirby was a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology when he died in a car accident on Nov. 6, 2017, on Route 531 in the Town of Gates. He was 21 at the time, in his senior year majoring in software development.
“We’re so thankful and appreciative that they remember our son,” Mrs. Kirby said.
The family works with the Albion Alumni Foundation to give two $500 scholarships each year in Ben Kirby’s name. The scholarship is to be given to a student nominated by one or more of the teachers in the Albion High School. It is intended for someone who is a “good kid” who may not be a Scout, but best exemplifies the characteristics of the Scout Law that Ben lived by: A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.
Aaron Kirby, Ben’s older brother, was among the players in today’s open division games. Aaron lives in Buffalo.
Most of today’s players were girls at the junior varsity and varsity. An open division also was available to adults – men and women – later in the day.
On Sunday, most of the teams will be boys at the elementary, junior high, JV and varsity levels.
Kendyll Hadick and his Albion teammates warm up before their game in the open division.
Photos courtesy of Lionel Rhim
MEDINA – Lionel Rhim took these photos of a small owl this morning sitting on the tire of a Chevy Silverado 2500HD. The vehicle is for sale at Hartway Motors on North Main Street in Medina.
Several people have commented on the Orleans Hub Facebook page that this looks like a screech owl.
This is an early picture of Dorothy Roberts Cox, whose life story was shared in a presentation Monday by Catherine Cooper at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library.
MEDINA – The Medina Historical Society has planned a season of programs designed to create interest in the organization, but the one Monday night at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library will not soon be forgotten.
Historical Society president Reinhard Rogowski welcomed the crowd which gathered at Lee-Whedon to hear library director Catherine Cooper give a presentation on the life of former Medina resident Dorothy Roberts Cox. While her life had its exciting moments, it is the circumstances under which a notebook from her family literally “fell into our laps,” which are truly intriguing, Cooper said.
“Each of us leaves a paper trail of documents that attest to our existence,” Cooper said. “We have photos, newspaper clippings, wills, birth certificates, marriage licenses and death certificates, some all neatly organized and others in envelopes or boxes at the back of the closet. But what if we had no close relatives? What are the chances some kind person would come in and gather your papers? And what are the chances this person will parcel them up and arrange for them to be sent to your second cousin in Australia? Then what are the chances, 35 years later, the child of that second cousin will feel compelled to save your records, arrange them, decipher them, figure out the relatives, digitize them and then reach out to your home town because he believed they belonged back where you spent your life?”
Cooper explained what happened in March 2017, when she was made aware of an e-mail on the Medina Historical Society’s website from Australia. She made contact with the person, the son of Vera Colley, Dorothy Cox’s second cousin, who lives in Western Australia. He wrote that he had this giant notebook full of pictures, newspaper clippings and other information on the life of Dorothy Roberts Cox. They had been sent to Vera after Dorothy died in 1982. Vera had visited Dorothy in Medina several times.
The fires in Australia were just becoming a worry and Vera’s son Brad decided to ship Cox’s belongings to Medina, where they would be safe and could be viewed by people who knew her.
Dorothy was born in 1896 in Rome, a daughter of Robert and Catherine Jones Roberts. Both her parents were Welsh and her father came to Medina as a quarryman. He worked as an engraver with Thomas Platt and bought the business. His shop was on East Center Street, which later was a monument business and a lawyer’s office. It was just recently purchased and remodeled by Alex and Pat Greene as an artist’s studio and space to do psychic readings.
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Catherine Cooper talks about the extraordinary circumstances in the life of the late Dorothy Cox and how a notebook chronicling her life history came from Australia to Medina, during a presentation Monday at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library.
In a picture from one of the slides from Dorothy’s cousin, there is the engraver’s shop next to the brick building on the corner of Main and East Center Street, on which can be seen the words “Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco,” and “EAT,” referring to the diner which operated there until the mid 1900s’.
The Roberts bought a house at 119 Maple Ave. in 1894, and also bought two lots on Roseland Avenue, where they built a home in 1911.
Dorothy attended Medina High School, where she graduated in 1914. Graduation was held at Bent’s Opera House. At a time when many stopped going to school at grade eight, her mother insisted Dorothy continue and get an education. One year at Brockport State Teacher’s College qualified her as a teacher, and she taught in several different schools.
Her reminisces in the notebook recall World War I, war bonds and dating officers.
In 1918, she was in bed a month with the flu when armistice was declared.
Dorothy went on to complete additional training at Harvard Summer School in 1922 and 1923, earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Columbia in 1937. Her first teaching job was on Long Island.
In 1923, she spent five weeks in Mount Vernon Hospital with a perforated appendix. Two nurses working 12 hour shifts attended to her at a salary of $50 per week. Her total hospital bill was $975. She came home to Medina on a sleeper car.
During the 1920s, Dorothy was involved with Camp Nundawaga at Thirty Mile Point on Lake Ontario. She was depressed when it was sold during the Depression.
Before her hospitalization, Dorothy had been saving her money to take a trip to Wales. When her doctor told her she was susceptible to tuberculosis and should go to a warmer climate, she moved to Florida.
After her mother died in 1938, she finally went on the trip she had saved for. She traveled to Toronto to catch her ship, the SS Montrose, to Liverpool. She wrote there were whales blowing quite a way to the north of the ship, then suddenly a big one appeared on the other side, about as far as Ensign Avenue was from their back window.
“Right after that, we saw a good sized iceberg,” Dorothy wrote. “I always thought they were the color of ice and hard to see, but they are the whitest things I have ever seen.”
Dorothy was in Wales when war was declared and the ship she came home on was also used for soldiers. The ship Athenia was the first English ship torpedoed by the Germans on Sept. 3, 1929, and several passengers from that ship were onboard the ship SS Importer bringing her back to America. There were 211 passengers, 28 of them Americans, on the ship with a capacity of 80. Husbands and wives were separated and the men were stuffed anywhere, Dorothy wrote in a letter home.
Lee-Whedon Memorial Library director Catherine Cooper holds a notebook she received from Australia on the late Dorothy Cox, wife of Medina jeweler Harry Cox.
“There are 18 in the barroom,” she wrote. “They have to put up their own cots after the passengers are shooed out at 10 p.m. and they have to get out early in the morning.”
They described the lifeboat drill as very realistic. There were four lifeboats for 200 passengers. Four survivors of the Athenia group were making comparisons. They said when the whistle was blown on the Athenia, the boat lurched violently and two lifeboats were slowly lowered over the side and swung out.
In the disaster, they said the boats were lowered by passengers, who bungled things. The boat just nicely swung out when the ropes supporting one end broke and dropped 30 feet, tossing all onto one end of the boat. Two members of the crew received broken arms, leaving only one able-bodied man to row. The boat was overloaded and water was up to their knees. Woman bailed with toeless, heelless shoes.
Dorothy’s father, who died in 1942, had been a friend of Lloyd George, one-time prime minister of England. Lloyd George once visited Niagara Falls and Robert Jones traveled up to see him.
Dorothy worked at Curry’s Dress Shop on Main Street at one time. She married Medina jeweler Harry Cox on Sept. 3, 1944 at the First Presbyterian Church, after his first wife had died.
Harry and his first wife had an interesting connection to the Orphan Train. They had adopted two sisters from the train. One girl, Barbara, married Armand Bacon, who owned parts stores in Medina and Lockport.
Dorothy loved to golf at Shelridge Country Club. She took many trips with the Senior Center in Medina.
Another interesting connection to Medina was that with the Tony and Rose Napoli family.
Tony was born in Italy. He served in the Navy during World War II and his ship was in Australia during the war. As there were not enough sleeping quarters for all the men, some of them were billotted out to homes in town. Tony ended up in the home of Vera Colley. Vera and her husband had a son named Brian.
Brad Colley indicated to Catherine that it was Tony who had arranged for Dorothy’s papers to be sent to Vera in Australia.
The story of Dorothy Cox’s notebook brought many comments from the audience.
Jack Wasnock remembers Dorothy was a member of the Medina Historical Society. He said he bought his class ring at Cox’s Jewelry, which was later Limina’s Jewelry Store and now houses Della’s Chocolates.
Cooper commented that the wooden chairs in the library would have been there when Dorothy used to visit.
Lynn Ambrose, who lives on Ensign Avenue, said the Cox’s back yard backed up to her front yard.
“I used to see her all the time,” she said.
Monday’s program was one of several events which the Historical Society hopes will help increase its membership.
“We have been trying for several years to raise our membership, with a goal of 100 members,” Rogowski said. “We are now at 75.”
Upcoming programs include a members’ tea in May, led by Georgia Thomas; an old-time bridal show in June; and a program by sculptor Brian Porter of Pendleton on creation of the Company F monument.
