By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Vol. 4,  No. 8

CARLTON – At this time one hundred years ago, New Yorkers were reeling from the effects of a record-breaking cold spell.

Bitter cold, which lasted from Feb. 6-10, 1934, brought temperatures of -20 degrees to the region, 36 degrees below normal for the date. A temperature of  -50 below was recorded in Arcade.

Remarkably, Lake Ontario, which rarely freezes over entirely because of its depth, froze that year.

In Buffalo, the axles of trolley street cars cracked and rendered them immobile, adding to the misery of freezing passengers. Many people suffered from frostbite and several cold-related deaths were recorded. In Orleans County, fruit trees were severely damaged, and many farmers lost their peach and apple orchards.

What brave soul ventured out on the disintegrating pier that once led to the lighthouse at Point Breeze to take this photograph?

We can all agree that recent winters have been milder.  An Oral History interview conducted in 1997 by Lysbeth Hoffman, Town of Carlton Historian with Ed Archbald, a longtime Waterport resident, illustrates this change.

Mr. Archbald recalled harvesting ice from the Oak Orchard Creek. He built an icehouse on his property in 1919 and for many years placed about 40 tons of ice in it, sufficient to last through the summer.

The process began when the ice had formed to about 6 to 8 inches thick. Since ice is hard to cut through, a horse drawn ice plow would make the first grooves, about 3 inches deep. Workmen would mark off a block of ice and saw the markings with an ice saw. They would then hit the cuts and the block would break right off.

To get the ice to the icehouse, they built a slide and had a horse stationed near the creek and the icehouse. They set up a rope through the window of the icehouse down onto the creek.  They would drop two chunks of ice on it and the horse would haul them up and they could then be dropped into the icehouse. Workers inside the icehouse positioned the ice chunks and placed sawdust around them for insulation.

Mr. Archbald observed that the creek no longer formed ice over three inches in depth. When asked what he thought was the reason for that, he replied:

“I suppose nature figured out we didn’t need it.”

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Alison Gibson, left, of Albion and Emma Brady of Holley battle for the ball during a girls varsity game on Saturday in the Albion High School gym.

It was part of the annual Ben Kirby Memorial Tournament, an event organized by the Albion Soccer Club. Holley won this girls varsity game.

There were 60 teams in Albion for the two-day tournament, from sixth grade up to adults in an open division. Each team can have up to eight players. Games were also held in the elementary school gym.

There were 122 games played in the two days.

Natalie McCue, one of the tournament organizers, thanked the school district for use of the facilities for the tournament and the volunteers who ran the event.

The two-day indoor tournament honors Ben Kirby of Albion. He was a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology when he died in a car accident on Nov. 6, 2017. He was 21 at the time, in his senior year majoring in software development. Kirby played youth soccer for Albion and also on the school teams.

In addition to team championship honors, there will be Ben Kirby sportsmanship awards given out to some of the players.

Some of the proceeds go towards a $500 Ben Kirby scholarship given to a student nominated by one or more of the teachers in the Albion High School. Three of the scholarships are awarded each year.

Those scholarships are intended for someone who is a “good kid” who 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.

Ben’s mother Wendy spent several hours at the tournament and baked 500 of her oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that were available at the concessions stand.

“We are so grateful that everyone remembers Ben,” Mrs. Kirby said.

Photo by Tom Rivers

KENDALL – Ron Lasal, second from right, looks over a tractor that caught on fire today when it was inside Lasal’s garage.

A Good Samaritan helped prevent the fire from spreading in the garage.

Firefighters were dispatched to 1556 Kendall Rd. at 12:22 p.m. for a structure fire in a garage.

Lasal had been out snowblowing with a John Deere tractor. When he was done he put the tractor back in the garage.

When he was inside he smelled smoke and thought something might be burning in the kitchen. But the smoke was coming from the garage.

A driver who was out snowplowing noticed the dark smoke coming from the garage. Nate Loescher pulled into the driveway and met Lasal in the driveway. Lasal asked if Loescher if he had a chain on the truck. Loescher did, and they were able to hook it to the tractor that was on fire and pull it out before the flames spread to the garage, said Jeff Cole, a deputy with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.

Cole said the fire was likely caused by an electrical or mechanical malfunction with the tractor.

Lasal said he is thankful Loescher stopped to help him. There was no damage to Lasal’s car, and only some smoke damage inside.

Kendall firefighters ventilated the house and garage. Lasal and his wife will be able to stay because the damage was minimized.

Editor’s Note: The original article stated the Albion Recreation Committee was pushing for the grant and lodge, but it is the Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events Inc., a not-for-profit organization, that would be seeking the grant. This group includes many Recreation Committee members.

ALBION – The Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events Inc., a not-for-profit organization, wants to seek a $600,000 state grant for a new lodge at Bullard Park.

An application is due to the state in July, said Kim Remley, who has been part of the “Rebuild Bullard” effort for more than a decade.

Rebuild Bullard helped the village secure grant funding for a splash pad, new playground equipment, a new bathroom and pavilion, an amphitheater and other upgrades.

Bullard last year also put in new basketball courts, in another citizen-led effort.

Now park advocates would like to see a lodge in the park that would be available year-round and could be rented out by community members. The lodge would have space for up to 90 people, Remley told the Village Board on Thursday.

Village Board members thanked the group for pushing through several successful improvements at Bullard. But the board would like to see a survey done to see if there is strong interest in a lodge from the community, and how much would people be willing to pay to rent it out.

Deputy Mayor Joyce Riley said there should be a master plan for Bullard, rather than tackling projects in a staggered approach.

The lodge was in the original plan to rebuild Bullard more than a decade ago, Remley responded. The committee would like to see it on the west end of the park, behind the old bathrooms.

Riley said there could be a significant cost to run water and sewer to the lodge. She is more concerned about aging pipes in residential areas of the village.

She would also like to see the Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events Inc. propose improvements to some of the smaller neighborhood parks in the village.

Trustee Tim McMurray also expressed concern that the lodge would be an extra burden on the short-staffed village Department of Public Works, especially with ongoing cleaning and maintenance of a lodge.

Susan Oschmann, a member of the non-profit working on the parks, said a rental charge could go towards hiring a cleaner so the task doesn’t fall on the DPW.

But how much would people be willing to pay to rent out the facility? That is what Riley would like to see be determined. She also said a lodge could take away from other sites in the community that are rented out for events, such as the QWL building.

John Grillo, the village’s recreation director, said lodges are assets for other communities. He noted the Town of Sweden and Town of Chili have lodges that are widely used.

“Don’t we want Albion to grow?” Grillo asked the board. “Don’t we want Albion to be better?

Riley said she doesn’t oppose the project. She just wants the short-term and long-term costs to be clearly identified.

“This could be a great thing for our community if it’s done well,” Grillo said.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Laura Gardner, owner of a lily & a sparrow and a member of the Medina Area Partnership, introduces Chet Fery of Brockport, known as the “Bread Man,” at MAP’s February get-together at the Coffee Pot Café in Medina. Everyone in attendance went home with one of Fery’s home-baked loaves of bread.

MEDINA – If there is one thing Chet Fery values in life, it’s kindness, and the Brockport resident has spent the last 22 years spreading kindness all over the country, one loaf at a time.

This week, he brought his message of kindness, along with several loaves of bread, to the Medina Area Partnership’s February get-together at the Coffee Pot Café.

A retired special ed teacher, Fery founded Bread Time Stories and More to promote random acts of kindness. He is also an amateur baker, storyteller, motivational speaker and kindness coach, who has baked and given away more than 130,000 loaves of bread.

“There’s something about baking bread that stays with us,” Fery said. “I started baking every Sunday for my children.”

Then on Mondays, he would take the extra loaves to work and put them on a table with a sign, “Free bread.”

“That seemed to change things,” Fery said. “People would come to work early, walk quickly to the bread table, pick up a loaf and smile.”

He said that changed his life, when he realized it was more than the bread – it was the act of kindness. He said kindness has the power to change things.

“We are happier, smarter, friendlier, work harder, heal faster and life longer,” he said. “Kindness is a choice that benefits the giver and the receiver.”

Fery also shared his admiration and respect for Medina.

“I bring my wife here every week in the summer for ice cream at Double Dips,” he said. “She won’t go anywhere else. I’ve been to Harvest and I love the book store and the chocolate shop.”

He invited by principal Brad Pritchard to spread the mission of kindness at the Albion middle school after the pandemic, to help the kids get back to normal, Fery said.

“Kids want kindness, too,” he added.

Fery can bake 44 loaves of bread at a time in his oven. He also makes pizzas and will do presentations at a house party, business meeting or any gathering.

Along the way, Fery got the idea to make a “Kindness” sign to accompany his loaves of bread. They have proven almost as popular as the bread. He has made and given away 200 of them.

MAP has a calendar of events planned for the spring and summer, including the annual Easter Bunny and Golden Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt on March 23 and a Murder Mystery on May 4. Complete information on those events will follow soon.

MAP has a new slate of officers for 2024-25. They are Cindy Robinson, president; Marc Shurtz, vice president; Jessica Rockcastle, secretary; Amy Crandall, treasurer; and Bill Bixler, Jesse Cudzilo and Michael Snyder, directors.

Snow is back in Orleans County, and more is headed our way.

A winter weather advisory started last night and continues through 4 p.m. with 3 to 5 inches of snow, and then another winter weather advisory is in effect from 10 tonight until 1 p.m. on Sunday with 2 to 4 more inches expected.

Winds gusting as high as 40 miles per hour will create blowing and drifting snow, the National Weather Service in Buffalo said.

“Lake effect snow will fall in relatively narrow bands,” the Weather Service said. “If traveling, be prepared for rapidly changing road conditions and visibilities.”

ROCHESTER – A Holley man pleaded guilty in Monroe County Court on Wednesday to third-degree burglary as a sexually-motivated felony.

Daniel Seeler, 66, admitted in court that he broke into a daycare center in Brockport three times in an attempt to be a baby girl, WHAM Channel 13 reported.

Seeler is currently completing treatment and will spend a year being supervised by the court. He will be sentenced after his treatment is complete, WHAM reported.

Seeler was indicted in August in Monroe County Court  following an investigation of break-ins at the Inspire! Learning and Child Care Center in Clarkson in January and February 2023.

He  allegedly left money and a note requesting adult-size diapers at the daycare center on Jan. 30, 2023. The center’s director contacted police and a security camera was installed, according to WHAM.

Seeler then allegedly left a similar note and $200 a few days later. The new security system alerted the director on Feb. 11 to the break-in. The director received another security alert and saw surveillance video of a man playing with diapers, WHAM reported.

Seeler has been a real estate developer in Holley area, including making major renovations to the former Tagg’s Tavern, turning that site into the Holley Falls Bar & Grill. He is no longer involved in managing that site which is currently closed.

Photos by Tom Rivers

CARLTON – Nick Hollenbeck dances to “Twist and Shout” with his daughter Emma, age 7, during the Father-Daughter Dance this evening at the Carlton Rec Hall.

“We have fun dancing together,” Hollenbeck said. “”It’s something that is fun to do that is just for us.”

About 125 people attended the dance. Here the dads and daughters enjoy a slow dance together.

The event returned after a four-year absence. It was held at the Albion elementary school for nearly 20 years and always was held near Valentine’s Day.

Organizers from the Harvest Christian Fellowship church wanted to try the Carlton Rec Hall because it has a kitchen to cook pizzas and also offered a chance to decorate the day before the big dance.

Sharon and Matt Sugar have been the lead organizers for the dance since it started in 1998. Matt started the event when his daughters were young. This evening he was able to dance with his granddaughters.

Sharon Sugar said the church wants to make the event open to the community.

When the dance was at the school, more than 250 attended. Sugar said she expects the crowds will be bigger in the future.

“This is a rebuilding year,” she said. “So many of the dads said they are so excited to be back.”

People take a short break from dancing and try some of the pizza and snacks. The Rev. Tim Lindsay, center, is pastor of the Harvest Christian Fellowship. Tom Yockel of the Carlton Fire Department, right, helped serve the refreshments. He also attends Harvest Christian Fellowship.

Bert Mathes of Barre dances with his daughter Shania, age 16. Mathes also attended the dance with his daughter Adele, 12. Bert said he was happy to dress formally with his daughters for a fancy night out.

Photos by Bruce took portraits of the dads and daughters. Here, Jordan O’Connor of Spencerport poses with his daughters, Maeve, age 5, and Shea, age 3.

ALBION – The towns of Albion and Gaines, and the Village of Albion are working towards creating a new fire district that would have its own budget and a board of commissioners to oversee the district.

Right now fire protection for the village and two towns is provided by the Albion Fire Department. The Albion FD’s budget is part of the village budget, with the two towns each paying the village a fire protection contract. In 2024, Gaines will pay $116,390 and the Town of Albion will pay $115,362.

The Albion Village Board believes the costs for the department would be more fairly paid in a fire district where property owners all pay the same fire protection tax rate. That would take the fire department out of the village budget.

Albion Mayor Angel Javier Jr. said the two towns would have a greater say in the fire department budget through the election of fire commissioners who can be more focused on the needs of the fire department, while also answering to taxpayers.

The two Town Boards and the Village Board will meet March 27 at Gaines Town Hall with their attorneys in a closed-door session to go over the details and legalities of the district. A public hearing is expected to be scheduled in the spring to present the details of the district to the community.

If all three boards approve the district, it would then be subject to a permissive referendum before being finalized. Residents could petition to have the issue go to a public vote.

Javier said the town and village officials would like to have the new fire district in place for Jan. 1. Albion and Gaines would follow the example of Lyndonville and Yates which created a district in 2023, and Holley and Fancher-Hulberton-Murray which formed a joint fire district in 2021.

Javier said the new district will provide a fair distribution over the entire tax base of the two towns and village as Albion looks to purchase a new ladder truck and make other equipment upgrades in the near future.

Press Release, Orleans County Legislature

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature today said it intends to pass a resolution at Tuesday’s meeting authorizing the county’s Emergency Management Office to utilize $174,000 in grant funding to purchase portable radios for three village law enforcement agencies.

Lynne Johnson, chairwoman of the Orleans County Legislature, said that action will completes Phase II of a multi-year project to upgrade aging portable radios, which have reached end of life.

“Like all technology, radios are not exempt from constant technological advances that are needed to improve overall system reliability and the security of our public safety communications infrastructure,” Johnson said.  “The Legislature will always make investments in public safety a top priority.”

Justin Niederhofer, director of the Emergency Management Office, said, “In a rural community, such as Orleans County, it is imperative to first responder safety that all responders have secure and reliable communication equipment. After determining that most of the portable radio equipment used throughout the county was reaching the end of its usable life cycle, and several radios were no longer being supported or repairable by the manufacturer, the Emergency Management Office launched a project to upgrade the aging radios.”

According to Niederhofer, Phase I of the project included upgrades to all eleven local fire departments at a cost of $229,528 and was completed in 2022.

Phase II includes replacement of radios for the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office at a cost of $165,164, and the villages of Albion, Holley and Medina at a cost of $174,000. As first responder radios are upgraded, the old radios will be utilized to replace older portable radios that are in use by town highway departments and school districts.

These upgrades will expand communications capabilities with our neighboring counties.  Currently all county law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies have direct communication capability with Genesee County agencies.

When this project is complete, the Sheriff’s Office will be able to directly communicate with all bordering counties law enforcement partners. Additionally, the Village of Medina PD will be able to communicate with Niagara County law enforcement agencies and the Village of Holley PD will be able to communicate with Monroe County law enforcement agencies.  Monroe and Orleans County fire agencies are working on programming updates that will allow for direct communications with each other when responding to fires and other emergencies.

The project is being funded by the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Statewide Interoperable Communications Formula-Based Grant. The grant money is generated from the public safety communications surcharge that is charged by wireless phone service providers to their customers.

The use of grant funding prevents increases in the county, town and village tax levies while improving mission critical communications and operational efficiency for county first responders.

Press Release, Oak Orchard Health

Provided photo: Karen Watt was recognized on Feb. 14 by The National Association of Community Health Centers.

ALBION – Oak Orchard Health is pleased to announce that The National Association of Community Health Centers has selected Karen Watt for its 2024 Elizabeth K. Cooke Advocacy MVP Award.

Karen Watt has served on the Board of Directors for Oak Orchard Health for more than 20 years including many years as chairwoman of the board.

The NACHC Elizabeth K. Cooke Advocacy MVP Award is named in honor of the late Elizabeth K. (Betsey) Cooke whose constant effort and unflagging persistence as an advocate for America’s health centers and patients set an example for all health center advocates to follow. Recipients are selected based on their leadership and tireless dedication to advocating on behalf of more than 31.5 million health center patients nationwide.

“I am so surprised to be chosen for this award from NACHC,” Watt said. “Supporting and advocating for community health centers has been a labor of love. This community counts on the superior health care services by Oak Orchard Health, and I have been honored to serve on their board for many years.”

Watt is a board member of the National Center for Farmworker Health, and HRSA National Advisory Council on Farmworker Health. She is also the co-owner of Watt Farms Country Market which began in 1980.

Oak Orchard has named its Albion healthcare center in her honor. The Karen D. Watt Center offers primary and pediatric care, and behavioral health, with a Wellness Center next door.

“We so appreciate the dedication and expertise that Karen Watt brings to Oak Orchard Health. Karen is an advocate for the Orleans County community,” said Karen Kinter, CEO of Oak Orchard Health. “She has helped our health centers expand their presence in the community so that we can care for more people. When we need help, Karen is always ready to support us.”

Founded in 1973, Oak Orchard has grown from a migrant health project into an integrated health center with multiple locations providing health care services for everyone located in the communities we serve. Currently serving over 30,000 patients at eleven locations in the towns of Albion, Alexander, Batavia, Brockport, Corfu, Hornell, Medina, and Warsaw.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – Fifth grade students at Clifford Wise Intermediate School are taking action to bring clean water to the Sudan after reading a book based on Salva Dut’s life. His story, A Long Walk to Water, was told by New York Times bestselling author Linda Sue Park.

Mr. Sut was born in a rural village in southwestern Sudan in the Dinka tribe. When he was 11 years old, the Sudanese Civil War reached his village and separated Salva from his family.  He and thousands of other boys were known as the Lost Boys of Sudan.

They sought refuge in Ethiopia and Kenya by walking thousands of miles by foot where he faced many hardships and dangers. After living in a refugee camp for ten years, he moved to Rochester, New York and was sponsored and embraced by a family there who wanted to help him have a better life.

Students made posters to raise awareness for their fundraiser.

He eventually returned to Sudan to reunite with his father, who was ill from waterborne parasites. His father’s illness inspired him to bring clean water to the people in his country by establishing a foundation that installs deep-water wells in remote villages in dire need of clean water.

Teachers Deb Weber (Social Studies) and Michelle Gerdes (Science) talked about the story with their students and the how the lack of clean water impacted their lives.

“It was a big surprise to our students that they couldn’t go to a faucet and turn on the water,” Weber said.  “It was eye-opening for them that people would have to walk for miles to get a bucket of water and this is how they had to live.”

“I felt it was a very touching subject,” said Erin, a fifth-grader.  “It’s important to remember not everyone has it as good as you.”

Gerdes said the students talked about the book and Salva’s mission for weeks in class.

“We really went into the scarcity of water and how these people’s lives and health were impacted,” she said. “It obviously really touched the students because we would hear them talking about it on their way to lunch and wanting to know what could they do to help.”

A foundation called Water for South Sudan, which is based in Rochester, raises money that supports the population of the country to access clean water and afford communities additional educational and economic opportunities.

The Medina students decided to bring attention to that cause by posting posters around the school and setting up pails and boxes for their schoolmates and community members to donate to.

“The kids came together as a team and assigned different jobs to one another to promote this charity,” says Gerdes. “Some made posters, some wrote and spoke at announcements each morning about the fundraising efforts. They wanted to make a difference.”

The students’ efforts raised over $300 for the foundation. Both Weber and Gerdes said they are proud of the students and the efforts they made for this worthwhile cause that will change the fate of so many in the Sudan.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – Did you know that 80% of all visual impairment can be prevented or cured? The first step to prevention is awareness. The second is early detection through vision screening.

Recently at Oak Orchard Primary School, the Medina Lions Club partnered with medical professionals and community leaders to screen 62 students to identify those at risk for vision loss.

Oak Orchard Principal Jennifer Stearns said that the students were referred by their teachers and all of the kindergarten students had the opportunity to participate as well.

“Eleven students were found to be in need of further evaluation,” she said. “We are thankful to the Lions Club for not only offering this service, but providing families with financial support with the evaluation and a pair of glasses if needed.”

The Lions Club schedules vision screenings every school year and the service is free to the community. Each screening takes approximately five minutes or less and the results are given immediately. Although not a complete eye screening, it indicates when a full ophthalmological evaluation would be beneficial.

Lions KidSight USA Foundation is a nationwide program to safeguard children’s vision, concentrating on children age six months through six years, but screening through grade 12 where possible is acceptable. According to educational experts 80% of learning is visual. So if a child can’t see well, that will make learning more difficult.

The Lions’ vision programs and vision screenings include programs that have, among other things: “Saved the sight of more than 15 million children by providing eye screenings, glasses and other treatments through Sight for Kids.”

Thank you Medina Lions Club for your kindness and concern for our students’ well-being!

Lions Club members, from left, include Tom Beach, Tom Robinson, Carol Bellack and Don Colquhoun. They are shown with Mrs. Fergen’s kindergarten class.