Dr. Clark Godshall, retired Orleans-Niagara BOCES District Superintendent, was recently elected as President of the National Association of Commodores with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary at the group’s national meeting in Dallas, Texas.
The all-volunteer U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, created by act of Congress in 1939 to assist the U.S. Coast Guard, conducts vital missions of Homeland Security and Maritime Public Safety. Auxiliarists perform myriad duties and provide critical services throughout the United States and its territories.
Godshall, a Barker resident, cites his prior educational leadership positions having well prepared him for the diversity of missions which he will administer in support of the USCG and Auxiliary.
“My past 20 years of volunteer service to the USCG Auxiliary well positions me to act in support of the emerging critical national missions of the USCG including the over $25 billion recently targeted for new equipment and recruitment efforts,” Godshall said. “It is a natural continuation of my community service commitments that I previously rendered at the O-N BOCES.”
The USCG Auxiliary serves as the Coast Guard’s “Executive Agent” for the Coast Guard’s Recreational Boating Safety programs. The Auxiliary’s expertise in safety programs is a key national asset, not only for the safety of boaters but also for the safety of ports and waterways as well as educating the public on the importance of their partnership in maintaining a vigil in the maritime environment for any threats to our Homeland Security.
The National Association of Commodores (NAC) mission is to support, identify and assist the National Board of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and their 19,000 members by advancing the programs of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the active duty.
Photos from Orleans County Sheriff’s Office: Allen Turner has worked his last shift in the 9-1-1 dispatch center for the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.
Press Release, Sheriff Christopher M. Bourke
ALBION – While his official last day is a few weeks away, Sheriff Christopher M. Bourke and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office would like to recognize and congratulate Communications Coordinator Allen Turner on his retirement after 33 years of dedicated service to our agency and community. Allen worked his last shift on August 31.
Allen began his career with the Sheriff’s Office in 1992 and served with professionalism, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to public safety. His leadership and knowledge have been instrumental in the development and modernization of our communications systems, helping to keep our deputies, local law enforcement, fire, EMS, and the public safe.
Allen’s calm presence, wealth of experience, and willingness to mentor others have left a lasting impact. He will be remembered not only for his technical expertise, but also for his steady leadership and dedication to serving Orleans County.
On behalf of Sheriff Bourke, the men and women of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, and the citizens of Orleans County – thank you, Allen, for 33 years of service. We wish you a long, healthy, and happy retirement.
Please join us in congratulating Communications Coordinator Allen Turner on this well-earned milestone!
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 August 2025 at 4:56 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
HULBERTON – A “50” display of balloons is set up at the food court at the St. Rocco’s Italian Festival in Hulberton today.
The annual event, now in its 50th year, is always the Sunday before Labor Day and features lots of Italian food.
A crowd of people enjoys Italian food, a large basket raffle, and other fun at the Italian Festival. There was also a bocce tournament and other activities.
The event is a fundraiser for the St. Mary’s Catholic Parish.
The event today included a special tribute to the immigrant quarrymen. Hulberton was home to several large quarries.
This cutout was made by Stacey Kirby. Allyson Skeehan, 22, and Karl Biedlingmaier, 22, tried the cutouts. The two have recently got engaged.
Father Mark Noonan, the parish priest, said he is pleased to see the festival grow and build on the heritage of the Italian immigrants and Saint Rocco.
Roxie’s Accordion Band from Batavia played a concert during the festival. The band include eight accordion players.
They performed in a “Legacy Tent” that also included a documentary on the quarrymen from Hulberton. Christine Zinni of Batavia prepared that video about the local Italian immigrants and the Hulberton quarries.
Sara Mendonca, left, and Rachel Maxon were busy serving eggplant parmesan and spaghetti. Volunteers had 225 meals ready.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 August 2025 at 11:34 am
Summer tours end this evening at St. Joseph’s Cemetery on East Avenue in Albion
Photos courtesy of Susan Starkweather Miller: Orleans County Historian Catherine Cooper speaks last Sunday at Greenwood Cemetery at a plot for one of the Norwegian families that settled in Kendall about 200 years ago.
KENDALL – About 30 people attended last Sunday’s tour of Greenwood Cenetery in Kendall. The tour put a special emphasis on some of the Norwegian settlers who came to Kendall beginning in 1825.
The Orleans County Historical Association has been leading cemetery tours each Sunday at 6 p.m. during August. The torus conclude today at St. Joseph’s Cemtery on East Avenue in Albion.
Tour guides at Greenwood noted the Kendall cemetery has links to this year’s Orleans County bicentennial celebration.
Catherine Cooper, the county historian, shared notes on some of people highlighted on the tour:
Felix Augur donated the land for this cemetery. Born in Lisbon, Ct. in 1759, he served in the Revolutionary War. He and his family moved to the area now known as Kendall in 1816. He donated land for the cemetery and was buried there in 1818. Kendall Road was known as Augur Road for many years.
Robert Clark, 1801-1873, is buried in the Augur family plot. Another early settler in the area, he was married to Felix’s daughter, Anna.
Ken DeRoller recounted Clark’s recollections of his early years as recorded in the Pioneer History of Orleans County, the backbreaking work, sickness and fever.
(Left) Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County historian, also spoke on the tour at Greenwood Cemetery on Rpoute 18, near the Route 237 intersection. (Right) Ken DeRoller noted the contributions of Robert Clark who died in 1873 and is buried in the Augur family plot.
On July 5, 1825, the Restoration, a retrofitted sloop with a crew of seven, and forty-five passengers, fifteen of them children, set sail from Norway, bound for America. The expedition, later lauded as the “Norwegian Mayflower” started the exodus of Norwegians to America.
Some fourteen weeks later, on October 9, 1825, this intrepid group landed in New York and made their way to the area around Norway Road. Some families later moved to Illinois and Indiana, but a nucleus remained and welcomed later immigrants. Several descendants of the Norwegian settlers were in attendance for the tour of Greenwood Cemetery.
This depiction of a mule-drawn packet boat come from America Illustrated at eriecanal.org.
By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian
“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 30
“The Erie is a swarming hive. Boats coming and going, passing you by all the while. You can hear their horns blowing all day long. As like as not, there’s a fight at every lock. There’s all kinds of people there and they’re all going all the while. There’s freight going west and raw food going east, all on the canal: there’s people going west, New Englanders, Germans and all them furrin folk and there’s people coming east that’ve quit…It’s the bowels of the nation! It’s the whole shebang of life.”
So said the Shakespeare reading peddler Jacob Turnessa in the novel “Rome Haul” by Walter D. Edmonds. Published in 1929, this book has been neglected, one of those books on the library shelf deemed worthy of keeping but not of reading.
Life on the Erie Canal in the 1850s has not been a fashionable topic. But this book is a gem, and should be read this year as we celebrate the bicentennial of the canal. Edmonds captures a world and a way of life that is foreign to us – the gritty, hardscrabble lives of the “canawlers” who made it work.
He vividly describes the sights, smells and sounds of daily life. Historical fiction can do that, bring you to a time in the past and give you a sense of what it was like to have lived then.
Our hero, Dan Harrow, is an upstanding young man who is attracted to life on the canal. He soon becomes involved with a wanted man and with the canal bully. Shortly thereafter, he hires the canal bully’s ex-cook/girlfriend. Naturally, drama ensues: confrontations, daring rescues, and a knock-down fight. There are interludes of domestic coziness aboard the boat he captains, the Sarsey Sal. In the background, the routines of daily life on the canal continue.
“Rome Haul” conveys the business aspects of the canal and how teeming that “swarming hive” was.
“The basin and the canal beside it [Albany] were thronged with boats, Dan could scarcely believe so many boats existed….Men jumped ashore and went after their horses or they brought their horses off the boats. Agents for the steamboat lines ran about with ledgers under their arms signing up captains for the Roman line or the Swiftsure. They quarreled among themselves, crying down the other company, while the boater looked on and signed with a third company”
Mrs. Lucy Cashdollar runs a “Cook’s Agency for Bachellor (sic) Boaters.” The book teems with colorful characters such as Fortune Friendly, the pinochle playing preacher who works on the Sarsey Sal.
The book presents perspectives which are new to us: people’s distrust of the railway for example. Mrs. Sullivan says “I wouldn’t ride in one of them trains. They go too fast”.
Edmonds surely captured “the whole shebang of life” on the Erie Canal. “Rome Haul” surely deserves to be dusted off and read.
Photos courtesy of 4-H program in Orleans County: Projects made by Orleans County 4-H youth in the 4-H Youth Building at The Great New York State Fair. Projects were chosen from those exhibited in the Trolley Building at the Orleans County 4-H Fair in July.
By Kristina Gabalski, Orleans County 4-H program coordinator
SYRACUSE – Orleans County 4-Hers have been busy at The Great New York State Fair.
Over 70 projects made by local youth are on display in the 4-H Youth Building and include baked goods, garments and other sewing projects, photographs, lamps, fine arts items and a model of a longhouse. All projects were chosen for State Fair during the Orleans County 4-H Fair in July.
“State Fair projects had been evaluated by Monday, August 25,” said Kristina Gabalski, CCE Orleans 4-H Program Coordinator. “Our 4-Hers did very well with many blue and red ribbons. As of the end of the first week of fair, two projects had received special recognition – a purple rosette ribbon which recognizes outstanding effort on behalf of the exhibitor.”
A model of an Iroquois Longhouse received a special purple rosette ribbon. Flat Orly is very proud of the Orleans projects on display.
Ten-year-old Urvi Cornell of Holley received a purple rosette for her model of an Iroquois Longhouse. “Evaluators were very impressed by her attention to detail and the overall appearance of the exhibit,” Gabalski said.
Alysa Murray, 16, of Albion holds her Horse Project Record Book, which received a purple rosette ribbon. She said she was excited when her mom told her she had received special recognition for the project. Project records, “help me to backtrack on the year and help me with my goals and staying organized,” Alysa said.
Alysa Murray, 16, of Albion received a rosette for her Horse Project Record Book. “The evaluator was thrilled with this project,” Gabalski said, “she was wowed by Alysa’s written responses on her entry form and by the Cover Sheet we use in Orleans County to help 4-Hers reflect on their project goals and what they have learned from their 4-H project work.”
Orleans County 4-H Senior Horse Hippology Team – (from left) Grace Goodrich, Lauren Zwifka, Jann Davis (coach), Kenley Fenton and Christina Zaidel. (Photo courtesy of Julie Fenton).
2025 marks the first year in decades that Orleans County 4-H has had a Horse Program Hippology Team. The team competed at the regional level earlier this year and at the State Fair on Saturday, Aug. 23. Coached by horse program volunteer Jann Davis, the four-member team placed 5th out of nine senior teams from across the state.
“I am so proud of the girls for stepping out of their comfort zone,” Davis noted. “I am grateful for all they have taught me, and I will continue to work with them and anyone else who is interested. They had to overcome their fear of the unknown,” Davis observed, “no one knew what to expect.”
Coach Jann Davis (middle) sits with Grace Goodrich (left) and Christina Zaidel (right) as they get a quick break during the Horse Judging portion of the competition. Christina said the event was challenging, especially learning horse-related terminology. Grace said she was pacing herself to get through the day-long event.
The team consisted of 15-year-old Kenley Fenton of Medina, 16-year-old Lauren Zwifka of Albion, 16-year-old Grace Goodrich of Medina and 15-year-old Christina Zaidel of Middleport. The team met frequently prior to State Fair to prepare and practice for the event. Horse Program volunteer Nicole Goodrich also assisted the team at State Fair.
According to the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, NYS 4-H Animal Sciences Program website, Hippology tests knowledge of equine science and application of this knowledge in a competitive setting.
Orleans County 4-H Horse Hippology Team members concentrate on the written exam part of the competition.
The day-long event consists of a written exam; horse judging where participants place at least four conformation or performance classes and give oral reasons for the placing of those classes; a series of interactive or reactive 10-question matching stations asking for identification of horse-related objects or pictures; and team problems which involve the team giving a presentation applying their knowledge of real-world situations.
Lauren Zwifka wears the team’s T-shirt during the horse judging part of the event.
The Great New York State Fair continues until Labor Day. You can view projects on display in the 4-H Youth Building in the Western District Booth through the end of the fair.
4-H youth will be competing in beef, horse, goat, dog and rabbit/cavy shows through the end of fair. Orleans will also have participants in the NYS 4-H Fashion/Textile Revue set for Sunday, Aug. 31, in the 4-H Youth Building.
Grace Goodrich (in light green t-shirt) makes her way around the ring during the horse judging portion of the Hippology competition at The Great New York State Fair on Aug. 23.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 August 2025 at 1:10 pm
Albion isn’t alone in waiting for its Main Street lift bridge to open.
Brockport was expecting its bridge to reopen in early August but that has been pushed back to November, Mayor Ben Reed told the community this week.
“Don’t shoot the messenger, but we have some unfortunate news regarding the Main Street Bridge,” he said in a message posted on Brockport village website. “The planned reopening has been pushed back again, and we’re now looking at a new projected opening date in November. Barring no other unforeseen circumstances.”
The mayor said the delay is due bridge clearance issues, positioning sensor replacement (with the sensor due to be delivered in October), and a shortage of iron workers.
“DOT is actively working to see if they can bring in a crew from the New York City area to help speed things along,” Reed said. “We know this is frustrating for everyone! We will provide more updates as we have them.”
Brockport’s bridge has been closed since May 2023. It was bid out for a major rehabilitation with the Albion bridge. The DOT accepted a $28.3 million construction bid for both the Albion and Brockport lift bridges with Crane-Hogan Structural Systems in Spencerport the low bidder.
The Albion bridge was close to reopening a few months ago but a “catastrophic event” on May 7 pushed that back at least another 15 weeks.
Albion’s bridge was initially closed on Nov. 14, 2022 for what was expected to be about 18 months for a major rehabilitation. That project stretched to more than two years when the bridge was reopened just after Christmas on Dec. 27, 2024.
But the bridge wasn’t completely ready. It was left in the down position while the canal was closed for the boating season.
The control system to operate the lift bridge was being tested on May 7 when a failure occurred within the main drive system cabinet located in the control tower. A vendor, with a specialization in control systems and experienced in movable bridge projects, was starting the motor function tests.
“When the system was energized, one of the electric drive controllers arced, producing a fire in the drive cabinet,” Paul Attoma, engineer-in-charge for Region 4 Construction for the DOT, advised Albion Village Board members. “The arcing drive assembly was severely damaged, and the heat from the fire damaged the second controller. Both drive controllers are beyond salvage and other components in the cabinet were damaged.”
Significant lead time is needed to procure and test replacement control drive units, he said then.
Crews have been working on the Albion bridge recently, often at night. No official date has been released on when it will reopen.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 30 August 2025 at 9:27 am
Provided photos: (Left) These silver candlesticks are a sampling of the items silversmith Deborah Loke of Lyndonville will make for the Cobblestone Society’s annual Open House Sept. 6. (Right) Another of her items is this chatelaine, indicative of those worn by ladies in the 1800s.
CHILDS – The Cobblestone Museum has been busy planning its annual Open House, scheduled Sept. 6 at the Cobblestone Campus at Ridge Road and Route 98.
All 10 buildings in the Cobblestone Museum complex will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with free admission for all. Included will be two self-guiding exhibit locations.
Jaclyn Renee Warren and Lauralynne Davis, both flutists and pianists, play the piano as they prepare to entertain at the Cobblestone Society’s annual Open House on Sept. 6.
The Brick House Upper Gallery houses the Victorian Mourning Art and Sundries exhibit, displaying more than 200 related artifacts. The second location will be the Thompson-Kast Visitors Center, which will house 19th century coverlets, paintings and Rogers Groups statues.
Guides will be stationed in buildings to share the museum’s history. Visitors can watch printers and blacksmiths at work inside the trades buildings and meet saddle maker Judith Bromley of Trufit Saddle in East Aurora working in the Harness Shop. Or they may try butter making at Farmers Hall.
Ory, the Orleans County Bicentennial Ox, will visit at 1:30 p.m. and pose for pictures/selfies.
Skilled artisans who will be demonstrating their crafts include a basket weaver, lace makers and tatters from Genesee Country Lace Guild in Rochester. Plein air painter and local artist Tom Zangerle, quilters, a rug braider, a silversmith, spinners Theresa Jewell and friends from the Mill at Stoney Meadows in Holley and a weaver with a loom.
Deborah Loke of Lyndonville plans to create pieces inspired by the era, including chatelaines, historically worn by women of the 1800s, and earlier by seamstresses, nurses and caretakers. She will also craft retro-themed items, such as candlestick-style vases made from silver-plated flatware, vintage-inspired bracelets and other pieces which complement the theme.
“The gold chatelaine was one I re-imagined in 2018 when I began my journey into the world of restoration, repair, reimaging vintage costume jewelry,” Loke said.
File photo by Tom Rivers: Theresa Jewell of Clarendon is shown weaving with a loom during an event at the Cobblestone Museum in 2017.
At 3 p.m., after the buildings close, Duo Scambio of Rochester will entertain until 4 p.m. in the 1834 cobblestone church, sponsored by Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes. They perform a variety of music from the Civil War Era through World War II. The program will include popular music, a little movie music, patriotic songs and pieces written for flute and piano.
Duo Scambio is a Rochester-based chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of new music with a twist. Members Jaclyn Renee Warren and Lauralynne Davis are both flutists and pianists, which allows them to do flute/piano music, flute duets and four-hand piano works.
Free-will offerings will gladly be accepted to benefit the Cobblestone Society, according to director Doug Farley.
The Orleans County Bicentennial Quilt will be on display inside the church for all to see.
A food tent will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., serving hot dog and barbequed chicken plates or items can be purchased a la carte. Corn-on-the-cob will be available to purchase, courtesy of Partyka Farms in Kendall.
Map from DEC: The state Department of Environmental Conservation has put the counties in yellow under a drought watch while the counties in green are considered “normal.”
Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office
Governor Kathy Hochul, with the New York State Department of Conservation, on Friday announced a drought watch has been issued for 20 New York counties.
The action was taken after consulting with the State Drought Management Task Force and federal partner agencies. New York State is encouraging residents in affected counties, particularly those dependent on private groundwater wells, to conserve water whenever possible during the coming weeks.
“Even with some recent rain, it wasn’t enough to reduce the dry conditions we’ve seen most of the summer this year,” Governor Hochul said. “In order to prevent a more severe shortage should conditions worsen, we could see local water restrictions in the Long Island, Adirondack, and Great Lakes regions of the state.”
A watch is the first of four levels of State drought advisories, which are watch, warning, emergency, and disaster. No mandatory restrictions are in place under a drought watch.
The counties under drought watch are Chautauqua, Clinton, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Genesee, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Monroe, Nassau, Niagara, Orleans, Oswego, St. Lawrence, Suffolk, Warren, Wayne and the northern portion of Cayuga County.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton said, “While it’s not mandatory, we’re encouraging everyone who lives in the drought watch areas to do what they can to conserve water during this dry weather. DEC will continue to monitor the conditions and work with our agency partners to address these short-term issues as well as the longer-term impacts of climate change.”
While few public water-supply challenges have been reported due to dry conditions, below-normal precipitation during the last three months, low streamflows, and low groundwater levels prompted the need for action to ensure adequate notice to public water supplies. Local public water suppliers are urged to assess the current situation, promote voluntary conservation, and take appropriate actions to manage risk.
The drought watch is triggered by the State Drought Index, which reflects precipitation levels, reservoir/lake levels, and stream flow and groundwater levels in the nine drought regions of the state.
DEC and U.S. Geological Survey are partners in evaluating hydrologic conditions across New York State. Observed precipitation over the past 90 days has been less than normal across the affected counties. Stream flows and groundwater levels are below normal throughout much of the affected regions. Groundwater levels have declined in certain areas and may not recover in the immediate future due to the existing precipitation deficit.
By voluntarily reducing water usage, and being extra careful with fire and outdoor flames, New Yorkers can help conserve our natural resources during these dry days of summer.
To protect water resources, homeowners are encouraged to voluntarily reduce outdoor water use and follow these tips:
Water lawns only when necessary, choose watering methods that avoid waste, and water in the early morning to reduce evaporation and maximize soil hydration;
Reuse water collected in rain barrels, dehumidifiers, or air conditioners to water plants;
Raise lawn mower cutting heights. Longer grass is healthier with stronger roots and needs less water;
Use a broom, not a hose, to clean driveways and sidewalks;
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 30 August 2025 at 8:31 am
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Ron Human of Human Farms waits on frequent visitor to the market, Peg Pearce of Medina. Pearce tries to come every week for fresh produce.
MEDINA – With a focus on family farms, the Canal Village Farmers’ Market each week welcomes third-generation farmer Ron Human of Human Farms in Newfane to the market on the corner of West Center Street and West Avenue.
The market will continue to spotlight family farms for the next few weeks. Market manager Gail Miller urges everyone to come and check out the homegrown fruits and vegetables grown there, along with specialty items.
The market welcomes community organizations and individuals to rent a space on Saturday morning.
(Left) A feature of the Canal Village Farmers’ Market last weekend was blacksmith Jacob Rowland, who devised this portable forge. A builder by trade, blacksmithing is his hobby. (Right) Jacob Rowland shapes a piece of hot iron into a hook at the Canal Village Farmers’ Market, where he occasionally demonstrates the art of blacksmithing.
Last week’s special vendor was Jacob Rowland of Ridgeway with his sister Hannah Rowland and Seraphim Brown of Middleport. Hannah was selling medicated creams for dogs, while Brown had small homemade pillows.
Jacob learned blacksmithing a year ago and said he has always liked building and making things, especially working with metal.
Entertainment and children’s activities are also weekly features.
“My hope is people coming to the market will see that many farms and farmers have been working their farms for a few generations,” Miller said. “Also, that they will note all of the farms are very local in Orleans and Niagara counties. Hopefully families will find the displays interested and educational – showing how labor intensive farming was and continues to be. And, that there is a rich history of farming in our two counties.”
There is also a kids’ game to identify some historical items on display at the market, brought from Miller’s family farm.
The market is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Gail Miller, manager of the Canal Village Farmers’ Market, holds an antique pitchfork which belonged to her family. The market is focusing on local farmers who support the market.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 29 August 2025 at 6:49 pm
Julie Berry will celebrate her new novel with event at Author’s Note on Sept. 8
Provided photo: New York Times bestselling-author Julie Berry stands by a display in her bookstore Author’s Note, ready for the launch of her latest book, If Looks Could Kill. The launch is scheduled Sept. 8.
MEDINA – Local native Julie Berry, owner of Author’s Note and a New York Times’ best-selling author, will begin a nationwide tour for her new novel If Looks Could Kill with a launch celebration Sept. 8 at Author’s Note.
The launch will feature Jack the Ripper scholar and author Michael Hawley, an expert on Rochester-based Ripper suspect Francis J. Tumblety. Both authors will discuss their research and how it informed their works in three ticketed sessions, beginning at 6 p.m. and then at 7 and 8 p.m.
This local launch celebration commences a 29-stop nationwide tour at 11 states to launch If Looks Could Kill, a mashup of true crime and Greek mythology that pits Jack the Ripper against Medusa.
Berry’s next stop will be Act 4 Books in Perry on Sept. 9, followed by events in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, Nashville, New England, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Ohio, San Francisco and St. Louis.
Although this book does not officially release until Sept. 16, attendees can purchase and leave with signed hardcovers prior to the release date by special arrangement with the publisher.
If Looks Could Kill, a young adult and adult crossover historical fantasy novel published by Simon & Schuster as its “Top Shelf” title for its fall list, and described as dark, gritty and suspenseful, follows 18-year-old Tabitha Woodward. She is a recent recruit to the Bowery chapter of the Salvation Army, and her prim, pious roommate, Pearl Davenport, as they seek to rescue a teenage girl trafficked into a brothel.
Meanwhile, Jack the Ripper having fled London, lurks in New York City, dodging Scotland Yard detectives. His fate and those of Tabitha, Pearl and their friends Mike and Freyda, will be swept up into a manhunt by a sisterhood of modern Medusas who yearn for vengeance against this most notorious of woman killers.
With its rich historical setting, strong female friendships, mythic resonance and a spellbinding romance, If Looks Could Kill takes aim at violence against women and girls in all its forms with stone-cold fury.
The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books calls If Looks Could Kill “a gut punch, a page-turning, well-balanced story in a richly drawn setting and its Medusa “the embodiment of female vengeance. Kirkus Reviews declares it to be “a powerful exploration of human connection during nightmarish times.”
In a starred review, the Horn Book says “Berry’s call to awareness of misogyny in its many guises is strong and clear. And, as is her way (e.g. The Passion of Dolssa), she treats historical detail with a light but sure hand and religious conviction with sympathetic clarity.”
Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of the 2020 NCTE Walden Award and SCBWI Golden Kite Award winner Lovely War, the 2017 Printz Honor and LA Times Book Prize shortlisted The Passion of Dolssa, the Carnegie and Edgar shortlisted All the Truth That’s in Me, the Odyssey Honor, the Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place and the Wishes and Wellingtons trilogy.
Her picture books include The Night Frolic, Happy Right Now and Cranky Right Now. Berry has a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer in communication and a master of fine arts from Vermon College. She also owns Author’s Note, an independent bookstore in Medina.
Michael Hawley actively researches the 1888 unsolved Jack the Ripper murders mystery with particular emphasis upon prim suspect Dr. Francis Tumblety, who is buried in Rochester. Hawley is the author of Dr. Francis Tumblety the Railway Ripper (2023), Jack the Ripper Suspect Dr. Francis Tumblety (2018) and The Ripper Haunts (2016).
He has authored well over 20 research articles in crime journals and appeared as an expert on the History Channel in the Jack the Ripper episode of their History’s Greatest Mysteries series. He also appeared on the History Channel in the Jack the Ripper episode of their History’s Greatest Mysteries and as an expert on a prime video documentary titled The Trial of Jack the Ripper. He is currently a cohost on NBC radio’s House of Mystery with Allen R. Warren.
The Sept. 8 event at Author’s Note is free and open to the public. Tickets, however, are required to ensure adequate seating and can be reserved a www.authorsnote.com/events. For those unable to attend, signed copies of Berry’s book can be ordered at authorsnote.com or by phone at (585) 798-3642 and will be available at the store beginning on Sept. 8. Full details of the national IF Looks Could Kill tour are available by clicking here.
“The Erie is a swarming hive. Boats coming and going, passing you by all the while. You can hear their horns blowing all day long. As like as not, there’s a fight at every lock. There’s all kinds of people there and they’re all going all the while. There’s freight going west and raw food going east, all on the canal: there’s people going west, New Englanders, Germans and all them furrin folk and there’s people coming east that’ve quit…It’s the bowels of the nation! It’s the whole shebang of life.”
This local launch celebration commences a 29-stop nationwide tour at 11 states to launch If Looks Could Kill, a mashup of true crime and Greek mythology that pits Jack the Ripper against Medusa.
