Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Maddison Button, a seventh grade student at Albion, is dressed in an outfit from Santa Claus Suit & Equipment Company, which was one of the enterprises run by the late Charles Howard. He also ran a Santa Claus School in Albion from 1937 to 1966, and opened Christmas Park at Albion.

Copies of the book sold for $5 and were quickly sold out on Friday.

Maddison and her classmates in Tim Archer’s service learning class put together a 44-page book about Howard’s life. The book and artifacts from the Santa School and Christmas Park were featured in a program on Friday at Hoag Library.

The first 100 copies quickly sold out at $5 and another printing is expected.

Howard’s Santa suits were known nationwide for their high quality and unique features. Elizabeth Babcock of Albion eventually took over the suit business.

“The vivid scarlet red suits were made of the finest wool,” Maddison said. “They were trimmed with French white rabbit fur, and included an eight-point buckle and a hair and beard set of Tibetan yak hair.”

Eight students spoke about Howard’s life during Friday’s presentation, which also included comments from past employees at Christmas Park, Howard’s grandchildren Jane Holland and Charles Bergeman, and a Santa School graduate.

Lorelei Gailie, a seventh-grader, shared how Howard started building toys and doll furniture at age 7 with a coping saw he received from an aunt.

He then created sets and designed costumes for local productions. He wrote, produced and directed plays, and acted and sang in them.

He graduated from Albion High School in 1916. Two years later, after his father’s death, Howard bought a 400-acre farm at the corner of Phipps Road and Gaines Basin Road.

Nicholas Luft told a crowd of about 75 people how Howard was a church-going and civic-minded man. He attended the local United Methodist Church and was a charter member of the Albion Lions Club. He was active in the Orleans County Farm and Home Bureau, Orleans County 4-H and built displays and floats at the State Fair.

Olivia Andrews then shared how Howard portrayed Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1948 through 1965, which put him in the national spotlight.

Ava Woolston highlighted the Santa Claus School which Howard started in 1937 at age 41. People thought Howard was crazy to start such a school, and it got off to a slow start with only three students the first year, including a neighbor and a close friend. Only one paid the $15 tuition, a welder named Frederick Wise.

The school brochure advertised its purpose: “dedicated to the training and equipping of men to play the important role of Santa Claus.” Howard’s goal was to produce a “ruddy cheeked, ample-bellied” Santa that was “clean, jolly and considerate.”

Friday’s presentation included memorabilia from Christmas Park. Howard designed the signage in a distinctive style in red and green letters.

Brooke Doty shared Howard shut down the family farm and established Christmas Park, which opened on Sept. 22, 1956. Tens of thousands visited it annually to enjoy games and rides and visit with Santa. “A hallmark of the park was a mighty stone fireplace, wth a permanent evergreen wreath hanging above it,” she said. “The fireplace still remains – the last vestige of the Park.”

This beanie hat is from Christmas Park in Albion

Adam Burgio highlighted famous quotes from Charles Howard including:

“He errs who thinks Santa enter through the chimney. He enters through the heart.”

“To be Santa Claus is a privilege, not a job.”

“Santa should be lively and quick, not slow and dumpy.”

“Santa is not just toys, not just tinsel. He stands for love.”

“It’s so real to me sometimes that I can feel the reindeer breathing on my cheek.”

Grace Nesbitt shared Howard’s goodbye. He died at age 69 on May 1, 1966 in Newfane. Albion businesses closed down for his funeral between 2:45 and 3:45 p.m. at the request of Mayor William Monacelli.

Congressman William Fitts Ryan addressed the U.S. Congress sin Washington, DC that day, saying, “Mr. Speaker, I know of no one who brought more joy to the hearts of children of America, than our nation’s No. 1 Santa Claus.”

Charles Howard’s grandchildren thanked the community for its continued interest in their grandfather. Charles Bergeman of Lewiston, left, said his grandfather “dedicated his life to bringing joy to others.”

Jane Holland of Williamsville said Howard was a devoted family man who left a large impact on the Albion community and beyond.

“We appreciate all of your interest in keeping his memory alive,” she said.

Holland said she grew up visiting a man who took pride in being a grandpa. He was humble and delighted in designing and building the extravagant sets for Christmas Park while not having indoor plumbing in his own home. He kept a three-seat outhouse instead.

Tim Archer, teacher of the class, said the students admire the man who developed the Santa School which continues in Howard’s name in Midland, Mich.

“He was without a doubt an ambassador of goodwill,” Archer said.

Archer said the community should feel proud of Howard, whose school was world famous and featured in Life magazine and other national publications as “The Harvard of Santa Claus Schools.”

Archer noted signs went up on Route 31 in Albion last year declaring that section of the road the Charles W. Howard Memorial Highway.

And Archer commended the Albion Betterment Committee for working to have a bronze statue of Santa Claus in downtown Albion in honor of Howard.

Tim Archer goes through photos about Howard, including this one in the 1961 Life magazine about the Santa Claus School. That article on the school raised Howard’s profile nationwide.

Jack Miles, a retired Albion highway superintendent, worked at Christmas Park as a teen-ager. He said Howard would often waive the 25-cent admission fee for families with many children. He also tended to let kids go on rides if they didn’t meet the height requirement.

Miles also shared how Howard let him be on the float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which remains a thrill and unforgettable moment for Miles more than a half century later.

Ken McPherson of Medina displays artifacts from the Santa School and Christmas Park, including a Santa suit. McPherson, in back speaking, has graduated from the Santa School several times. He said he is proud to have “a bachelor’s degree in Santa Claus.”

McPherson said Albion remains a special place for those who portray Santa Claus because of Howard and the school.

“Albion has bragging rights,” McPherson said. “It should be kept in the limelight.”

This Christmas postcard from 1925 features church steeple in an alpine setting against the background of a starry sky.

“Illuminating Orleans” – Vol. 1, No. 31

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

A collection of Christmas cards sent to Mr. & Mrs. Smith Sanborn of East Center Street in Medina between 1923 and 1927 is one the quiet treasures housed in the Medina Historical Society Museum. These simple but elegant cards reflect the artistic style of the era and contrast with the larger, louder cards we have become accustomed to.

Sources credit Sir Henry Cole for creating the idea of the Christmas card in England in 1843 and the custom of exchanging greetings soon became part of the Christmas tradition.

Many of the Christmas cards in this small collection are postcards, with the image and verse on the front, the address and space for a brief message on the reverse. Postcards could be mailed with a one-cent stamp – though this example shows a two-cent stamp.

Another interesting feature of this greeting is the Christmas seal stamp. Most of the postcards and envelopes in this collection sport this seal, and several of the envelopes have two or three seals affixed.

The double barred red cross was the logo of the National Tuberculosis Association. The 1925 design with two bright candles signifies how far a little candle can throw light, and by inference how powerful the purchase of a penny Christmas Seal stamp could be.

By 1925, sales of the penny seal stamps had garnered $25,000,000 to help build hospitals and promote prevention thorough education. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, tuberculosis, commonly referred to as TB, was the leading cause of death in the United States.

The imagery is largely secular, snowy scenes, quaint houses, holly, poinsettia, skaters.

The cards in this collection are all single sided, with the image and verse on one side. The reverse is blank, there is no indication of the printer or publisher. Some of the cards are printed on pastel hues that we would not associate with Christmas today. Many have matching envelopes.

Greetings are short and spare – generally just the senders name, with brief good wishes. Only one of the envelopes includes a house number (407 East Center), the others simply list the street and village.

Since the collection spans a few years, we can see that the Smith Sanborns regularly received Christmas greetings from the same cousins in Barker, NY, Titusville, Fl, and Los Angeles, Ca.

Local businesses recognized the benefits of acknowledging their customers at Christmas time. The Boyd Coal Company and Rowley and Reynolds, also a coal company sent warm greetings, as did the Union Bank.

No doubt there are other Christmas cards from previous decades languishing in attics and closets throughout the county, just waiting to be enjoyed again. Their greetings and artwork reflect their moment in time.

The Boyd Coal Co. was located on West Ave., on the site currently occupied by Lee-Whedon Memorial Library. Rowley & Reynolds was located at 611 Main St., Medina.

There are 3,380 National Grid customers without electricity as of 8 a.m. The company expects to receive nearly all back in service by midnight.

The biggest outage is in the Kendall community with 918 Grid customers knocked offline. A crew is assigned with an estimated restoration at 11:59 p.m. today. Kendall central School cancelled school today due to the outage.

The other big outage is 411 customers in the Ridgeway area just west of the village of Medina. A crew is assigned with the estimated restoration at 11:59 p.m.

Orleans County has the most National Grid customers without power this morning. Other counties with more than 1,000 customers without electricity include Erie, 1,167; Franklin, 1,014; Genesee, 2,657; Lewis, 1,365; Monroe, 2,117; Niagara, 2,216; and St. Lawrence, 2,040.

Genesee, Orleans officials say public health resources focused on vaccinations, testing

Joint statement from Rochelle M. Stein, Chair, Genesee County Legislature; Lynne M. Johnson, Chair, Orleans County Legislature; John C. Welch Jr., Orleans County Chief Administrative Officer, L. Matthew Landers, Genesee County Manager and Paul A. Pettit, Genesee and Orleans Counties Public Health Director

Due to the current Covid-19 surge, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday that starting Monday, December 13, through January 15, 2022, that masks will be required in all public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement.

However, Governor Hochul did not clearly state how enforcement of the mask mandate will occur.

“The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health) will continue to focus our efforts on offering free vaccination and testing clinics as well as conducting case investigations,” said Paul Pettit, Genesee and Orleans Public Health Director. “We do not have the capacity to enforce mask mandates and enforcing mandates is not the best use of our limited resources at this point of the pandemic response. As we have throughout the pandemic in line with CDC guidance, we continue to advise residents to properly wear masks indoors when social/physical distancing is not possible.”

“As we did during the last surge, Genesee County will take the approach with our community to Educate to Cooperate in regards to the benefits of masking and social distancing,” stated Rochelle Stein, Genesee County Legislature Chair.

“In Orleans County, we will continue to focus our county resources on vaccinations, contact tracing, testing and working to keep children in school,” said Lynne Johnson, Orleans County Legislature Chair.  “We held two clinics this week, one for testing and one for booster shots. We continue to seek more testing resources from the state, because we believe identifying and isolating those who test positive is the greatest need right now to reduce the spread.”

To reduce the spread in our communities, we need to increase vaccination rates and increase testing in order to identify and isolate those who are positive with Covid-19.  However, rural county health departments continue to have issues securing additional testing resources. GO Health and local officials continue to advocate for additional resources and assistance from the state in order to have free testing in our communities.

Genesee and Orleans County Public and Health officials encourage those who have not been vaccinated or have not received their booster shot, to do so as soon as possible. Booster shots have just been approved for 16 and 17-year-olds, six months after their last shot. Visit gohealthny.org/covid-19-vaccine-information or www.vaccine.gov to make an appointment.

If you are experiencing symptoms, please stay home and seek testing. For information on Covid-19 testing, visit gohealthny.org/covid-19-testing-information or coronavirus.health.ny.gov/find-test-site-near-you.

Covid-19 is not the gift to give this season, please plan to protect your loved ones by getting your vaccine and/or booster.

KENDALL – The Kendall school district will be closed on Monday due to widespread power outages in the community. National Grid doesn’t expect to have the electricity restored until Monday evening or near midnight tomorrow.

Kendall staff also shouldn’t report to school, said Julie Christensen, the district superintendent.

The Kendall Town Hall also is opening as a warming center for residents, said Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata.

National Grid is reporting 1,855 customers in the Kendall community are without power, which is most of the town.

There are currently 4,644 National Grid customers in Orleans County without electricity, out of 19,601.

In Genesee there 3,991 Grid customers without electricity out of 27,109 customers. In Niagara, 4,992 Grid customers are without power out of 83,165 customers.

There are 7,359 National Grid customers without electricity after 9 this morning in Orleans County. The company is estimated the power will be back on at 6 p.m. today.

The county had as many as 8,046 National Grid customers without electricity at 9 p.m. on Saturday.

The Village of Medina is making the Senior Citizen Center on West Avenue available as a warming station or a place to charge phones from 10 a.m. to at least 5 p.m. today, Mayor Mike Sidari said.

The Village of Albion is opening its meeting room on East Bank Street from 10 to 5 p.m. as warming station. It will be open longer if needed.

The Orleans County YMCA on Pearl Street in Medina also is open as warming center.

In Albion the First Baptist Church will not be holding in-person services today due to the utility outages in the area. The church welcomes people to check its Facebook page throughout the day for links to worship resources.

This tree near the front of Mount Albion near the pond on the west side split from the wind storm.

A tree also split and toppled on the east side of the cemetery.

A tree also was knocked over from the wind at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Albion on Route 31.

Provided photos: A huge tree crushed a car in Medina owned by Paul and Patricia Hartigan on Route 63 near the Glenwood Lake boat launch.

Paul and Patricia Hartigan are shown near the large stump after tree fell over from the wind storm.

As of 10:30 this morning, there are still 7,790 National Grid customers without electricity in Orleans County. That’s about 40 percent of the National Grid customer base in the county.

The start of the Niagara-Orleans League swimming and wrestling seasons will highlight this coming week’s high school sports schedule.

The N-O boys and girls swim competition will get underway on Tuesday with Barker at Albion, Medina at Akron and Roy-Hart at Newfane.

The N-O wrestling action also begins on Tuesday with Wilson facing Roy-Hart/Barker at Barker. The other openers will be Wednesday with Albion at Medina and Newfane at Akron.

Basketball action will feature the Holley girls at rival Kendall on Thursday and the Kendall boys at Holley on Friday.

The weekly schedule is as follows:

Monday
Boys Basketball – Lyndonville at Barker, 6 p.m.; Holley at Attica, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Pembroke at Holley, 7 p.m.

Tuesday
Boys Basketball – Burgard at Albion, O’Hara at Medina, Roy-Hart at St. Mary’s, 6:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Maryvale at Roy-Hart, 6:30 p.m.; Notre Dame at Lyndonville, Kendall at Attica, 7 p.m.
Swimming – Medina at Akron, Barker at Albion, Roy-Hart at Newfane, 4:30 p.m.
Wrestling – Wilson vs. Roy-Hart/Barker at Barker, 6 p.m.

Wednesday
Boys Basketball – Notre Dame at Barker, 6:30 p.m.; Holley at Pembroke, Attica at Kendall, 7 p.m.
Wrestling – Eastridge at Lyndonville, Albion at Medina, Newfane at Akron, 6 p.m.

Thursday
Boys Basketball – Medina at West Seneca East, Cleveland Hill at Roy-Hart, 6:30 p.m.; RAC at Lyndonville, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – RAC at Lyndonville, 5:30 p.m.; Holley at Kendall, 7 p.m.
Swimming – Barker at Medina, Albion at Roy-Hart, Akron at Newfane, 4:30 p.m.
Wrestling – Akron at Lyndonville, Holley-Kendall at Medina, 6 p.m.

Friday
Boys Basketball – Kendall at Holley, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Starpoint at Roy-Hart, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday
Girls Basketball – Albion at Elba, 7 p.m.

Peak gust at 69 mph at Emergency Management Office

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – A tree toppled onto North Main Street in Albion at about 5 p.m., between Caroline Street and Linwood Avenue.

More than 7,000 National Grid customers are without electricity at 5:45 p.m., with powerful winds knocking down trees and wires.

The 7,197 customers without power in the county are scattered throughout Orleans with the biggest outages in Murray, and Carlton and Kendall.

The 7,197 represent 36.7 percent of the Grid’s 19,601 customers in Orleans County.

National Grid is reporting 23,150 customers are without power in Niagara County, and 4,172 in Genesee County.

The peak gust so far has been 69 miles per hour at the Emergency Management Office in Albion on Countyhouse Road.

UPDATE: The number of National Grid customers without power in Orleans County was 8,041 at 7 p.m. and 8,042 at 8:02 p.m.

LOCKPORT – Niagara County Sheriff Michael J. Filicetti has issued a travel advisory and is urging all motorists to use extreme caution when driving.

There are numerous signal lights out along with trees and power wires down in roadways across Niagara County.

Drivers are advised to treat a signal light that is out as a four-way stop.

Jolly old elf will be giving away toys and taking wishes at store

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Santa Claus greets Adeline Munn, 6, of Medina at Toys n Kandy on East Bank Street. Santa was planning to drive around the village and give out presents beginning at 4 p.m. today but that was grounded due to the high winds.

Santa will instead be at Toyz n Kandy until about 6 p.m. There are more than 200 gifts to be given away. Those toys have been donated by community members, including the Albion Lions Club.

Chance Brendlinger, 9, of Medina gets ready to greet Santa.

Many trees and wires have been knocked down from gusts

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The high winds ripped off the top siding from a building at the corner of East Bank and Main streets at about 4 this afternoon.

A high wind warning is in effect until 11 p.m. for Orleans County and much of western, central and northern New York. There could be gusts up to 70 miles per hour.

The winds have already taken down many trees and wires in the county.

The big flap of siding is on the sidewalk on East Bank Street.

The howling winds blow the siding away from the building.

Let’s go on an adventure together….to North Carolina!

The beaches in NC are stunning. This is Atlantic Beach in the off season – quiet and peaceful, but still warm enough for a stroll on the beach or a dip in the ocean. The Outer Banks in NC are the ultimate beach experience.

For those who don’t know me well….or at all, personally….here’s a little background info about me. I was born and raised here in Albion, NY, graduated from Albion High School in 1974, and worked at GE in Brockport after high school. In 1985, I got married and moved to North Carolina. I moved back “home” when I retired in 2011 to be close to family…..yes, I’m proof that there ARE people who retire and move north! In my 26 years in NC, I lived and worked in a town called Sanford – about ½ way between Raleigh and Fayetteville in the center of the state. I thought I’d tell you all about some of the cool things I discovered during my 26 year adventure in North Carolina.

North Carolina is a really diverse state…..you have ocean beaches to the east and mountains to the west and lots of rolling hills and interesting cities and towns in between. There is truly something for everyone to enjoy throughout the state. I liked living in the center of the state – it made quick one or two day trips to either the beaches or the mountains so easy.

View from Blowing Rock, NC. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a part of the larger Appalachian Mountains and border the western side of NC. Lots of amazing things to see and do in the mountains of NC.

Beaches: My family liked Carolina and Wrightsville Beaches in Wilmington – to me, they were too crowded and hot for my liking. I much preferred beaches like Atlantic Beach – especially in the off season – a little quieter and less crowded – more relaxing. Kure Beach has a lovely aquarium at historic Fort Fisher. Topsail and Emerald Isle were usually very nice, as well. But, if you really like beaches, I recommend the Outer Banks. On our second year in NC, we took a trip to the Outer Banks. We started out spending a few days at Kitty Hawk (the Wright Brothers monument is a must see), Nags Head, and Kill Devil Hills – the dunes there are awesome and if you’re adventurous, you can parasail or hang glide over them! Nearby Manteo is home of “The Lost Colony” – an outdoor theater production of an 84-year old musical telling of a British colony established in 1587 that mysteriously disappeared without a trace three years later – I wish I had seen it – maybe I’ll return, someday. Then, we drove the length of the Outer Banks. The route takes you on ferries that are quite busy during peak season, so find out about possible need for reservations, etc. before you head out. The drive is stunning! Most of the route is a narrow road with the sound on one side and the ocean on the other, lots of lighthouses, wild horses, quaint beaches, and so much more. At the end, there is Hatteras with the famous black and white striped lighthouse and beautiful Ocracoke. We ended our trip in Wilmington and then drove back to Sanford from that point. I highly recommend taking the time to enjoy the entire Outer Banks from top to bottom.

Biltmore Estates – the home of George Vanderbilt – is a must see in Asheville, NC. It took six years to build – 1889-1895 – and the finished home contains over four acres of floor space, including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.

Mountains: The Blue Ridge Mountains are so beautiful. I used to love to take my birthday (late October) off work and drive out to the NC/VA border to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway and drive it down to I40 to cut back towards Sanford. It made for an amazingly relaxing day full of great places to stop and enjoy the beauty. Asheville has the Biltmore Estate – definitely worth the time to tour it, especially when it is all decorated for Christmas. I love the Boone area, too. I spent a nice long weekend in a cabin with a bunch of girl friends from work in Seven Devils, near Boone. We rode horseback along the edge of the mountain, shopped, hiked, and had the most amazing breakfast at the Daniel Boone Inn in Boone – they serve family style and you don’t leave without taking at least an extra 5-10 pounds with you on your hips! Some other great attractions out that way are Linville Caverns, Tweetsie Railroad, and Blowing Rock – dubbed by Ripley’s Believe It or Not as the “only place in the world where snow falls upside down”. Down a bit further is Cherokee, NC – Mingo Falls and several wonderful museums and heritage sites of the Cherokee Indians.

North Carolina also has an amazing zoo in Asheboro. With 500 developed acres, it is the world’s largest natural habitat zoo. Take the trolley and visit all the animals for an awesome day at the zoo.

Of course, you can’t talk about NC without mentioning sports…..I lived on the edge of the Research Triangle that included the University of NC in Chapel Hill – the Tar Heels,

North Carolina State in Raleigh – the Wolfpack, Duke in Durham – the Blue Devils, and Wake Forest in Winston-Salem – the Demon Deacons. There are the Panthers football and Hornets basketball based in Charlotte and the Hurricanes hockey based in Raleigh. And…of course, Nascar! I’m not really a sports fan, but, I did take in a Durham Bulls minor league baseball game now and then…I do like baseball!

Yep – North Carolina has a lot to offer. I loved living there and call Sanford my “other home town”. But, I’m so very happy to be back in my “real” home town of Albion, NY – there’s no place like home and I love it here.

Happy Adventuring,
Kim Pritt

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Alicia Marciszewski is in the Albion Village office today helping children make ornaments as part of the Albion Merchants Association’s annual Hometown Holiday. Kay Ecker in back is offering coloring books, crayons and stickers.

Many of the businesses are offering indoor activities and free prizes for kids.

Adelina Greenwood checks out the candy canes, stamps and pencils offered by Alice Marciszewski at one of the stations in the Village Office. Adelina is joined by her father, Matthew Farley. Anita Finley, left, was at a station offering stuffed animals and other goodies for people who answered trivia questions. Oak Orchard Canoe sponsored the activities at the Village Hall.

Pretty Sweet Bakery hosted a station for people to make reindeer dust and reindeer food. This group includes Carter Conrad and his mother Courtney Burch, and their friend Mallory Marshall, right.