Due to today’s weather, Modern Disposal will not be picking up the trash/recycling today, the company notified Orleans County officials.
Modern Disposal will collect today’s areas on Saturday, Feb. 20.
The Wednesday through Friday collection will remain as scheduled.
Return to topPress Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced 30-day amendments to the Governor’s proposal to establish a comprehensive adult-use cannabis program in New York. Specifically, these amendments will detail how the $100 Million in Social Equity funding will be allocated, enable the use of delivery services, and refine which criminal charges will be enforced as it relates to the improper sale of cannabis to further reduce the impact on communities hit hardest by the war on drugs.
“Our comprehensive approach to legalizing and regulating the adult-use cannabis market provides the opportunity to generate much-needed revenue, but it also enables us to directly support the communities most impacted by the war on drugs by creating equity and jobs at every level, in every community in our great state,” Governor Cuomo said.
Allocation of $100 Million Cannabis Social Equity Fund
Social and economic equity are the bedrock of Governor Cuomo’s proposal to legalize cannabis for adult-use and as part of that, the Governor’s proposal includes a $100 million dollar fund to help revitalize communities that have been most harmed by the war on drugs.
Through this fund, qualified community-based nonprofit organizations and local governments would apply for funding to support a number of different community revitalization efforts, including, but not limited to:
The grants from this program may also be used to further support the social and economic equity program.
Under the amended proposal, the Department of State would allocate the funding, through grants administered by Empire State Development Corporation, in collaboration with the departments of Labor and Health, as well as with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, and the offices of Addiction Services and Supports and Children and Family Services. Final allocations and administration of funding would also be contingent upon approval from the Division of the Budget.
Enabling the Use of Delivery Services
The legalization of cannabis is expected to play an important role in helping rebuild New York’s economy following the damaging effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, legalization is projected to create more than 60,000 new jobs, and spur $3.5 billion in economic activity while generating an estimated $350 million in tax revenue once fully implemented.
Cannabis legalization also has the potential to have a significant economic benefit on distressed areas in New York, providing employment opportunities for all levels of the workforce. As social and economic equity are the bedrock of Governor Cuomo’s proposal, delivery services offer a low-cost entry point into the industry, particularly in communities which have been especially impacted by the war on drugs.
Criminality of Improper Sales
When establishing a new product market as the Governor’s proposal does, there will inevitably be attempts by bad actors to skirt rules and commit fraud for their own financial gain. This makes it critically important to ensure that penalties are carefully calibrated to ensure that all those who wish to participate in this new market, are operating on the same level playing field.
Cannabis, however, adds another complicating factor to this dynamic – years of outdated policies stemming from the War on Drugs have disproportionately impacted communities of color. Already, New York has taken steps to decriminalize cannabis and as this new market is realized, and it’s critical that criminal penalties are thoughtfully assigned, as to ensure that the progress which has already been made, is not inadvertently reversed.
As such, under the Governor’s amended proposal, specific penalties will be reduced as follows:
The Governor’s proposal builds on years of work to understand and decriminalize cannabis for adult use. In 2018, the Department of Health, under Governor Cuomo’s direction, conducted a multi-agency study which concluded that the positive impacts of legalizing adult-use cannabis far outweighed the negatives. It also found that decades of cannabis prohibition have failed to achieve public health and safety goals and have led to unjust arrests and convictions particularly in communities of color.
In 2019, Governor Cuomo signed legislation to decriminalize the penalties for unlawful possession of marijuana. The legislation also put forth a process to expunge records for certain marijuana convictions.
Return to topALBION – School district employees are out delivering four days of meals to students today and the district is encountering many sidewalks and driveways that haven’t been plowed or shoveled.
That is making it different for school employees to wade through deep snow.
The district is encouraging people that will be receiving meals to clear a path to a door for the meals to be delivered.
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Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion Department of Public Works plows East Park Street this morning after several inches of snow fell overnight.
A winter storm warning remains in effect until 1 p.m. today for Orleans and Western New York. Another 1 to 3 inches of snow is expected to fall today. Winds gusting as high as 35 miles per hour will create blowing snow along the southern Lake Ontario shoreline, the National Weather Service in Buffalo said. There could be freezing rain after 11 a.m. today.
The Orleans County DPW clears snow from the parking lot at the corner of East Park and Main streets at Courthouse Square. The county has delayed opening office buildings until 11 a.m. today to have more time to clear the parking lots and have better road conditions for employees.
Chris Finney, a maintenance worker for the Orleans County DPW, clears the steps leading to the back of the Orleans County Courthouse.
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Photos courtesy of Matt Taylor: Matt Taylor, a 1996 Albion graduate, holds the Lombardi trophy after Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl, 31-9, over the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7.
ALBION – Matt Taylor dreamed of being in the NFL when he was a kid and in college. The 1996 Albion grad played for the Albion Purple Eagles and was a 6-foot, 230-pound defensive lineman for Ithaca College.
Taylor, 43, earned a degree in sports management at Ithaca. His path to the NFL wasn’t for his exploits on the field. He excelled in video, in filming practices and games and making those images available to coaches and players.
Taylor is the assistant video director for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has worked about 20 years in professional football. The Buccaneers victory on Feb. 7 – 31-9 over the Kansas City Chiefs – earned Taylor his first Super Bowl ring. It has been a whirlwind week since then, celebrating the victory, including a boat parade on Feb. 10 on the Hillsborough River near downtown Tampa.
“How many people from Albion can say they won the Super Bowl?” Taylor said this afternoon in a phone interview.
The Super Bowl title culminated six intense months of 70-80 hour weeks for Taylor. He learned that work ethic growing up on an apple farm on Zig Zag Road. His father Richard Taylor is now retired as a fruit grower. Taylor grew up with his mother Joanne and his siblings, Tracy, Mark and Chris.
Taylor said the technology has changed so much in his two decades in the business with the switch from beta tapes to digital. That has made it easier to share the video to many people. Before coaches had to take turns watching a tape. The images are easier to store and characterize with 800 fields to enter data – it could be plays on different downs and distances to go to a first down, who made tackles, catches and other key plays.
Matt Taylor is ecstatic with defensive lineman Will Gholston while celebrating the Super Bowl win.
For the Super Bowl game, the Bucs coaches wanted to see plays of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and what he did when he scrambled to the right and to the left.
Taylor and the team of the four full-time staff in video put together video for the coaches and players. The teams all submit game video to the NFL and each team has access.
“It’s completely different from what you see on an NFL game,” Taylor said.
The teams record two main views for the games – the All-22 angle and the end zone view. The All-22 is from up high and shows all 22 players on the field. The end zone angle is down low, and tends to focus on the lineman and the tight ends.
Taylor got his start in video for the Buffalo Destroyers of the Arena Football League in 1999. It was after his junior year in college and he worked as an intern for the Destroyers in the summer, juggling work on the farm after college ended for the semester.
Taylor videotaped practices for the Destroyers. He was with them for four seasons.
Taylor wanted to get into the NFL. He sent his resume to the Bills and was interviewed on Sept. 11, 2001, the day of the terrorist attacks. Taylor offered to volunteer for free to help the Bills.
“I just wanted to get my foot in the door,” he said.
Halfway through the season he was called by Henry Kunttu, the video and film director for the Bills. Taylor was tasked with filming some of the practices. There weren’t any full-time positions open with the Bills.
After the season, Taylor sent resumes all over the NFL. The Miami Dolphins called and gave Taylor a job after a recommendation from the highly regarded Kunttu, who is now retired.
Matt Taylor celebrates on the field after the game with cornerback coach Kevin Ross. Taylor said Ross viewed signing Tom Brady as quarterback as the key to getting the team to the Super Bowl.
Taylor was with Miami for the full season, a team with the explosive Ricky Williams at running back and Jason Taylor on the defensive line.
The following year, he took a position with the Chicago Bears in a seasonal position. Then he worked for NFL Europe in Germany with the Cologne Centurions.
Matt Taylor holds his daughter Josie during the boat parade to celebrate the Super Bowl victory.
In 2005, the Dolphins reached out to him for a full-time job in video. New coach, Nick Saban, wanted the team to upgrade its video. Taylor would stay with the team for 10 years as a video assistant.
He left in 2016 to work for a company in Massachusetts that provides the video software for most of the NFL teams and many other professional and college teams. That job was a chance to be near his wife Lindsay’s family. The couple has three children – Wesley, Clayton and Josie.
In the job with the software company, Taylor was assisting teams throughout the league in using the video. The Tampa Bay Bucs let him know they needed an assistant video director. They offered the position to Taylor and he accepted.
“I have always enjoyed working as part of a team,” Taylor said. “The opportunity presented itself to get back into the NFL.”
He just finished his fourth season with the Bucs. The pace at work picks up again soon with the upcoming scouting combine, free agent market and then OTAs in the spring.
It is a high-pressure business with long hours. But Taylor said he is thrilled to be a part of it.
“You get to go to football practice and games for your job,” he said. “You really can’t beat that.”
Taylor urged people looking to get into the NFL or landing their dream job to not shy away from entry-level positions that often have little or no pay with a grueling schedule.
“It’s like anything, you have got to put your nose down and work at it,” he said about his career in the NFL. “You have to always aim to put your best foot forward.”
Matt Taylor, back left, and the video staff celebrate in the locker room after the Buccaneers upset the Kansas City Chiefs in convincing fashion in the Super Bowl.
Provided photo: Correction officers Kyle Strickland, left, and Jenna Reglan, right, graduated from the Niagara County Corrections Academy. They are shown with Jail Superintendent Scott Wilson, center.
Press Release, Sheriff Chris Bourke
ALBION – Two part-time Correction Officers Kyle Strickland and Jenna Raglan graduated on Jan. 22 from the 22nd Niagara County Corrections Academy Class.
The Basic Corrections Academy provides newly appointed officers with the basic skills and requirements for becoming a corrections officer. The basic corrections academy, is physically and mentally demanding and requires students to attend eight weeks of instructional training that include the following topics:
In addition to the above listed training, students also received 40 hours of crisis intervention training, which provides officers with de-escalation techniques to reduce the need for using force with inmates that are suffering from a variety of mental health disorders.
Basic Corrections Officer Training is the foundation for new officers that are beginning their careers as corrections officers with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office. Newly appointed officers will also receive extensive on-the-job field training that provides a practical and procedural application of the required regulations for the Orleans County Jail.
Return to topPress Release, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
BUFFALO – The Western New York Covid-19 Community Response Fund announced that it has awarded more than $4.5 million to over 300 nonprofit organizations in our region, bringing the total grant amount from the fund to $13.1 million.
This collaborative funding effort was convened in March 2020 in response to the Covid-19 health crisis and is now administered by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, in partnership with The John R. Oishei Foundation, the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation.
A collaborative of many local foundations has been meeting regularly and monitoring the needs in our community since the onset of the pandemic. It became clear in early 2021 that, as the pandemic continued longer than initially expected, many nonprofits who are providing basic needs services such as food, housing, healthcare, childcare, mental health, transportation, and other emergency services, were continuing to face critical funding shortfalls.
Emergency grants were awarded to organizations in all eight counties of Western New York and ranged from $500 to $300,000, based on the need the organizations shared with the WNY Covid-19 Community Response Fund. Grants are supporting efforts directing helping families and individuals with everything from stocking the shelves at small rural food pantries to providing childcare for students in remote and hybrid learning centers to supporting mental health organizations who have a growing waiting list of clients that need to connect virtually.
In Orleans County, some of the agencies and organizations to receive funding include:
“This round of emergency grant funding was the direct result of hearing that nonprofits providing basic needs services needed critical financial support to carry out their missions,” said Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, President/CEO of Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. “In addition to these grants, the Fund is continuing its commitment to addressing long-standing systemic challenges through its Moving Forward Together initiatives that include more than 400 organizations working collaboratively on a number of different innovative solutions.”
Return to topPress Release, Jack Welch, Orleans County chief administrative officer
ALBION – In anticipation of the first major snow storm of this year, Orleans County officials have decided to delay the opening of the County Offices until 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our workers and our residents we are delaying the opening of our County Offices until 11 a.m. on Tuesday,” said Orleans County Chief Administrative Officer Jack Welch.
This delay will allow the Department of Public Works to plow the parking lots and shovel the sidewalks prior to our opening to the public at 11 a.m. This delay in opening should allow the majority of workers a safer commute into work with the anticipated amount and duration of snowfall which is set to begin this evening.
Employees who are not involved in our public safety operations or our Department of Public Works operations should delay their report to work until 11 a.m. on Tuesday. For any residents who have appointments between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., we will do our best to accommodate those appointments prior to the end of the workday on Tuesday.
From Orleans County Clerk Nadine Hanlon: “Due to Orleans County Offices delaying their opening until 11 a.m. tomorrow, Orleans County DMV customers who had appointments scheduled between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 16, will be allowed to come to DMV, by checking in first with security, to have their appointments honored until 4 p.m. that afternoon. We ask for patience as we still will need to follow COVID protocols.”
Return to topPress Release, Genesee County Manager Matt Landers
BATAVIA – With the anticipation of a winter storm hitting the GLOW region tonight and tomorrow, Genesee County announced that the Covid-19 testing scheduled for Feb. 16 will be cancelled.
“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our workers and the public we are cancelling Covid-19 testing tomorrow,” said Genesee County Manager Matt Landers.
Testing will resume on Tuesday, February 23rd, at the Genesee County Emergency Management Office & Fire Training Facility at 7690 State Street Road in the Town of Batavia at a time to be determined.
Return to topPress Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that he has signed Executive Order 202.94 extending the enrollment period for voters to make changes to their party enrollment until Tuesday, February 16, setting forth a uniform statewide policy that ensures voters can take advantage of this option regardless that the deadline this year falls on a Sunday.
This change is necessary to ensure that Boards of Election have adequate time to process these voter-requested changes considering many Boards are short-staffed and operating with reduced density due to the Covid-19 public health emergency. The change will go into effect immediately.
“The right to vote is one of the sacred pillars of our democracy, and as we continue to fight the war on Covid, we can’t put democracy on hold,” Governor Cuomo said. “We are extending the period for voters to change their party enrollment until Tuesday, February 16, to help break down more barriers to the ballot box and help ensure everyone has a chance to exercise this fundamental right.”
In 2019, the Governor signed legislation (S.6532A/A.8228B) expediting party enrollment changes to make it easier for voters to participate in primary elections. Previously, changes to party enrollment did not take effect until after the November general election, requiring voters to wait as long as a year for changes to take effect.
The new law removed the October 11 deadline and gave voters until February 14 to make changes to party enrollment. Due to the public health emergency and the fact that this February 14 is a Sunday followed by a holiday, this common-sense measure ensures the spirit of the law is complied with uniformly statewide.
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This map from the National Weather Service in Buffalo shows a widespread winter storm is expected for Western New York and beyond.
A winter storm warning is in effect for Orleans County, Western New York and much of New York State, including the northern and central parts of the state. In Orleans County, the warning starts at 7 p.m. today and continues until 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Heavy snow is expected with total accumulations of 7 to 14 inches.
“Travel could be very difficult to impossible,” the Weather Service said. “Areas of blowing snow along the south shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The hazardous conditions will impact the Tuesday morning commute.”
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Provided photos
KENDALL – Students in grades 5 through 8 in Kendall celebrated the first WinterFest at the school on Friday.
Students played dodgeball, kickball, hockey, Capture the Flag, and sledding in the snow.
“Thanks to the generosity of Brockport Schools, we were able to borrow skis and snowboards so that our students could try new activities,” said Kevin Watson, Kendall grades 5-8 principal. “Add in donuts from Millers in Medina and plenty of hot chocolate, and Middle School WinterFest became an instant classic – something we hope our middle school continues to offer students each winter.”
Kendall has about 200 students in grades 5 through 8. Nearly 90 percent decided to go outside and brave the elements. The students who stayed inside had the option of reading a book or drawing. Some of the remote-only students attended the event at the school campus.
Watson and Lindsay Hammer, the middle school counselor, have been brainstorming ways to make the middle-school experience uniquely special for the 5th through 8th graders.
“We know now more than ever that students need to unplug and unwind,” Watson said. “Middle-level students love to play outside in the winter, so we decided to ask student representatives from each grade level to help us envision a special Middle School day outside in the middle of winter.”
Students met virtually the past two months each week to plan the types of experiences that they wanted to participate in. It started with a simple question: If you were able to plan a fun day outside in the snow, what would you want to do?
The Kendall parents were extremely supportive of this idea, and school staff not only helped with the planning, but they have also helped to secure winter items for many of our students, Watson said.
“This has been a true team effort, and I am very proud of how this day unfolded,” Watson said. “I love the fact that our middle level students can feel special about having a day that celebrates them! I also love that our students were the driving force behind the day’s activities!”
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Cooper Traxler (right), 6, takes his Valentine’s date Natalee Olsen, 6, through the drive-through at the Albion McDonald’s. They received an escort from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office. Lt. Steve Fox is in back in the patrol vehicle.
The two met last year in kindergarten in Albion in Mrs. Auricchio’s class. They became best friends. They are in Mrs. Uderitz’s first grade class together this year, but they are on opposite days with students having in-person classes two days a week. They only see each other on Wednesdays, but that’s through Google Meet with their other classmates.
This year valentines weren’t passed out in class. Cooper wanted Natalee to be his valentine. The two families met last Thursday at Dustin’s Pizzeria in Holley and Cooper asked Natalee to be his valentine. He wanted to take her through the drive-through at McDonald’s.
The parents – Josh and Jamie Traxler, and Ciara and Tom Olsen – worked out the details for the special date, which included a visit from Otto, the K-9 with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and his handler, Deputy Jeff Cole. Cooper wants to be a K-9 handler when he’s an adult.
Cooper Traxler and Natalee Olsen ride in style in a Power Wheels Dune Extreme. Cooper wanted to drive his date through the drive-through, just like an adult.
An anonymous person dropped off the Power Wheels toy car in Cooper’s dad’s truck after Cooper’s mom shared a few days ago about the Valentine’s Day date planned for today. Jamie Traxler said her son wanted to drive Natalee himself but didn’t have one of the big toy cars.
A message on the toy car left in Mr. Traxler’s truck said it was sent from a “Hopeless Romantic.”
Cooper and Natalee stop at the drive-through window to pick up their cheeseburger Happy Meals.
The two friends ride together along the driveway circle at McDonald’s. (Click here to see a short video of them riding together.)
After they parked the Power Wheels car, Cooper and Natalee went inside McDonald’s to enjoy their Happy Meals. They both dressed up for the occasion.
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By Doug Farley, Cobblestone Museum Director
Author’s note: It was a great pleasure to meet and share Mary Ann (Janus) Spychalski’s life reflections. At 90 years young, she is remarkable force to be reckoned with. I greatly enjoyed our short time together.
Mary Ann (Janus) Spychalski, (right) at age 3 with her cousin John Stucko, has many stories to tell about growing up in the Hamlet of Childs. Her father and mother, Joe and Lucy Janus, bought the filing station on the north side of Ridge Road (next to the Cobblestone Schoolhouse) in 1926. The gas station pumps are also shown in this image looking north from Ridge Road.
Mary Ann, now 90 years old, said, “I was born in the house at the filing station in 1930. I went to school next door at the cobblestone school through the seventh grade, then finished up in Albion.”
Mary Ann shared that living next door to the school opened up some interesting opportunities for her family. She said, “It’s true that it takes a village to raise kids.” Her mother, Lucy, was known to keep watch over the children as they arrived for school. If any of them had happened to get dirty on their walk to school, which seemed to be a frequent occurrence, especially for the boys, Lucy would dust them off and take a washcloth to their face and hands. Lucy said she didn’t want the teacher to have to look at dirty faces all day. Mary Ann described her mother as a hard worker. She was one of 9 children in her family and she went to work at age 14 and never stopped working.
Mary Ann was 8 years old in 1938 when this class picture was taken at the District #5 Schoolhouse in Childs. Her teacher shown at top left was Mae Hollenbeck. Mary Ann (front row, second from right) said, “The girls wore dresses to school every day.”
The students shown are: (Front row) Jack Murray, Janice Murray, Phyllis Brown, Geraldine Hewitt, Lillian Wildschultz, George Ingraham, Russell Williams, Rosalie Canham, Frances Burgio, Mary Ann Janus and Tony Burgio. (Row 2) John & George Donovan (twins), Janice Barnum, Betty Janus, Elizabeth Nickerson, Beverly Murray, Peggy Donovan and Joyce Ellis. (Top row) Mae (Canham) Hollenbeck, Bob Moore, George Murray, Iva Pask, Martha Henshenmacher, Edith Knickerbocker, Marian Williams, Virginia Kelly and Doreen Brown.
Mary Ann has become an ardent button collector and has even made a shadow box using her class picture and a swatch of the dress that she wore for the photograph. She remains a button collector today.
Mary Ann’s brother, Ed, is shown here with a snowman he made in the school’s side yard. Mary Ann has many great memories of life at the District #5 School including how her teacher, Julia McAllister, would make baked potatoes in the school’s wood furnace in the basement. During the WWII years, Mary Ann remembers Miss McAllister making hot cocoa using war surplus cocoa provided by the federal government. Also in the winter, Mr. Barnum would bring his sleigh to the school and take all the kids for a sleigh ride.
Another highlight of Mary Ann’s one room schoolhouse education were visits by Howard Pratt. Mr. Pratt came to the school to teach children about their local history. He went on to write several books about life on the Ridge Road which are still widely enjoyed today.
Mary Ann also enjoyed playing on the swings at the school playground at recess. Her father, Joe Janus, was a school trustee for several years in the 1930s. Mary Ann said that even though she lived right next door and could walk home for lunch, she would rather bring a bag lunch so she could eat with the other students and spend more time on the playground.
Advancing into her teen years, Mary Ann, seen here at age 15, said the kids would hang out at Balcom’s Store at the intersection in Childs. The store sold food and farm supplies to local residents. Kids would walk to Balcom’s to get the school bus to Albion High School. Mary Ann still remembers the name of her bus driver, Kirke Bell. While at Balcom’s the kids would catch up on the latest neighborhood news away from earshot of their parents.
Mary Ann said, “Life at my family’s Service Station was always exciting.” Her mother pioneered roadside cuisine in a day-and-age before fast food. “My mother served up ‘minute steaks’ and hot dogs to hungry motorists. She made her own homemade pickle relish.” The service station had the first freezer in the community so Lucy could freeze meat and ice cream to serve at the lunch counter. Mary Ann’s sister Betty and neighbor, Levi Woodcook, are seen here at the roadside window in the 1940s.
Photograph courtesy Spencerport Depot & Canal Museum
Mary Ann recalls how much she enjoyed the ice cream cones, two dips for 5 cents. The Service Station bought their ice cream from Matheos Brothers in Spencerport. “Velvet Ice Cream” was delivered in three gallon metal containers. Mary Ann fondly remembered an ice cream treat called “OO-La-La’s,” which was a chocolate covered confection on a stick. She said, “If lucky, the stick would say ‘FREE,’ meaning your next treat was on-the-house.”
To better serve local farmers, Mary Ann recalled that her father, Joe, built a jitney of sorts, an old car chassis with four wheels and a welding machine attached to the top. Joe drove that contraption right into the farmers’ fields and used it to weld and repair their farm equipment, on the spot. Joe and his brother, Phil, are seen here in 1932 working at the Service Station’s open grease pit that was used to service tractors and cars. A ladder extended down into the pit so Joe could service the vehicles, standing up, underneath. Remnants of the pit still exist today next to the schoolhouse. Mary Ann said, “Mom and Dad warned us kids to stay away from the pit. We didn’t listen very well, but the worst thing that happened was we got pretty dirty playing down there.”
Mary Ann said her father died in 1945, and his brother Frank Janus and Frank’s wife Vicky took over the operation of the Service Station, as seen here in 1946. She said, “Frank and Vickie had lived in the city in Buffalo, and it was a big shock moving out to the country. It took a while for the pair to get used to country life and also for the ‘locals’ to get adjusted to them.” She reflected, “In the end, it worked out well, and they extended the life of the service station another couple decades.”
McCormack-Deering Wooden Thresher – 1923
Mary Ann recalls the excitement each year surrounding the arrival of Charley Plummer’s threshing machine when it was time for wheat harvesting. All the neighborhood kids would gather around and watch the machine at work. She said, “The kids were told to stay out of the way of the threshing machine. Good advice, but sometimes not well heeded.”
Another highlight for Mary Ann was the Doll Hospital at the Murray Farm in Childs. Mary Miller Murray, shown here, took in “injured” dolls and would repair their broken limbs and smudged faces. The Doll Hospital was a local landmark that had a following that stretched across the country.
Mrs. Murray and her children, George, Joyce and Janice, known as the “Marionette Merrymakers,” created a “Disneyesque” experience for local children complete with marionettes and stage and much more. The Murrays would put on puppet shows, a wonderful diversion in a day and age preceding television.
Mary Ann said, “Mrs. Murray even made me a doll using my own hair for a wig. I had braided hair then, and she used one of the braids to give my doll, ‘Shirley Temple,’ that look-like-me appearance. Coming off the Depression, this was great fun!” Mary Ann and her doll, are shown in the center of this dress-up-day photo. Her cousin, Herman, and sister, Betty, joined in the fun.
In 1949, after her school days, Mary Ann went to work at Landauer’s at age 19. She sold fabric, notions and buttons. (Perhaps this is how she developed her life-long fascination with buttons.) The store, opened in 1865, was located on the west side of Main Street in Albion at the site of the current Browsery. Mary Ann left her employment after a few years to marry and raise her family, but returned for Landauer’s last two years of operation before closing.
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The snow on the Erie Canal towpath was packed down from snowmobilers last week, allowing fairly solid footing for walkers and runners. This photo is just west of the Brown Street bridge in Albion.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a winter storm watch for Orleans County and all of Western New York from Monday morning through Tuesday afternoon.
More than 9 inches of snow is possible with the heaviest snow expected Monday night and Tuesday morning.
“Travel could be very difficult at times with snow-covered roads,” the Weather Service said. “The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute on Monday and the morning commute on Tuesday.”
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