local history

The steps of the Old County Courthouse will be the site of gathering for local lawyers, judges and legal professionals, along with several dignitaries, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Genesee County Bar Association (GCBA) on Thursday.

Thursday's ceremony will last from 4 to 6 p.m. at 7 Main St. in Batavia.

GCBA President Durin Rogers said it is free and open to the public, and that "everyone is encouraged to attend" (a gala event at Terry Hill's will follow, but according to Rogers, and it's already sold out).

Notables scheduled to attend include:

• Hon. Eugene F. Pigott Jr. (keynote speaker), Court of Appeals justice

• Hon. Paula L. Feroleto, Eighth Judicial District administrative judge;

• David M. Schraver, president-elect of the New York State Bar Association;

• Michael Ranzenhofer, New York State senator;

• Stephen Hawley, New York State assemblyman; and

• Mary Pat Hancock, Genesee County Legislature chairperson and New York State Association of Counties president.

GCBA is a voluntary association of professionals in the justice system working together to benefit Genesee County and to improve the practice of law locally.

According to a press release, the association was founded in 1912 and quickly got to work to address "a widespread feeling of discontent with the judicial system and the manner in which justice was being administered."

"We are very proud of where we have been, and even more excited about where the GCBA will go over the next several years," Rogers said.

According to Rogers, GCBA has grown tremendously over the past several years, making new initiatives possible for both members and the community.

Some of the association's offerings include continuing legal education (CLE) seminars for members, philanthropic efforts with local agencies, and the "People's Law Series," which Rogers described as "a forum for local residents to become more knowledgeable on particular areas of law."

"GCBA intends to continue its present offerings and is always looking for new ways to benefit its members and the public," he said. "My time is limited; however, having spoken with the president-elect of the association, Mary Kay Yanik, esquire, I know that she intends to focus on several civic functions that give back to the community during her presidency."

Here are some past GCBA members (photos courtesy of Lisa Scott, of the Batavia law firm Bonarigo & McCutcheon):

Barber B. Conable Jr. would go on to become a New York State senator and congressman, serve as a confidante to three U.S. presidents (Nixon, Reagan and Bush), and be appointed president of the World Bank, a position he held for five years.

Honorable Robert E. Noonan Sr. who served on the Supreme Court in the Eighth Judicial District from 1949 until the early 1960s. Afterwards, he was permanently appointed (after two temporary appointments) by Nelson Rockefeller, then-governor of New York State, to the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division.

Alice Day Gardner was the first woman to practice law in Genesee County. She graduated from the University of Buffalo Law Department in 1901, being the fourth woman in history to do so and the only woman in her class. As a female lawyer in the early part of the 20th Century, she was a pioneer. The article about her above was published in the Batavia Daily News in 1985.

For more information on Thursday's ceremony, call Rogers at 345-1205 or visit www.gcbany.com.

Redfield Parkway, one of the City of Batavia's historic neighborhoods, has changed quite a bit over the years.

Photo provided by Jim Owen

Above is a picture from 1912, when it was first founded by Charles A. Williams (former Genesee County Sheriff and mayor of Batavia) and his then-partner, David Garrett.

Jim Owen, a Redfield resident known as "the mayor" to some of his neighbors, is part of the committee organizing the "100th Anniversary Redfield Parkway Program" on Saturday.

Other members are Linda Conroy, Kathy Owen (Jim's sister, who lives with him), Tricia Clark, Lori Wendt, Julie Mancuso, Jane Johnson, Lisa MacDonough and Alicia Kaus.

There will be a ceremony that is free and open to the public from 1 until 2 p.m. on Saturday. Sunday is the rain date. It will include:

• Music by the Batavia High School "Blue Bells"
• Proclamations by Assemblyman Stephen Hawley, Senator Michael Ranzenhofer, City Councilman Pierluigi Cipollone, City Councilman-at-Large Jim Russell, County Legislator Ed DeJaneiro Jr. and possibly Congresswoman Kathy Hochul (who is a former student of Owen's)

Wayne Fuller of WBTA will be the Master of Ceremonies.

Owen looks forward to celebrating Redfield's heritage with his neighbors and fellow Batavians.

"From an historical point of view it's neat to find out where we came from," he said.

At 1:45 p.m., a time capsule will be dedicated. Made by Redfield resident Rick Wendt, it will include news articles, a DVD of photos from Saturday's event -- to be made by Redfield resident Alicia Kaus -- a current phone book, literature on the street's history and much more.

Owen said the tentative plan is to bury it near the pillars, with a stone made by Derrick Monument Co. of Le Roy marking the spot.

Copies of local historian William F. Brown Jr.'s book "The Story of Redfield Parkway: The Beginning" will be available for purchase for $5 from Owen.

Redfield Parkway: A quick history

Photo from Brown's "The Story of Redfield Parkway: The Beginning"

Redfield Parkway was named in honor of the family of Heman Redfield, a local politician, lawyer, landowner and one-time Le Roy Postmaster. His home, according to Owen, was where Batavia's Valu Plaza is located today.

Redfield was born in Connecticut on Dec. 27, 1788, but he lived in Genesee County for most of his life. A member of St. James Episcopal Church, he served as a warden and vestryman. He also helped build St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Le Roy.

He was elected to the New York State Senate in 1823, serving with Attorney General Martin Van Buren (before he became the eighth president of the United States).

A War of 1812 veteran, he fought at the battle of Queenston Heights at age 24.

On July 22, 1877, Redfield died at age 89. According to literature provided by Owen, his funeral procession was the longest in the history of Batavia at that time. He is buried in the historic Batavia Cemetery on Harvester Avenue.

He had 12 children, and his family owned the land where Redfield Parkway now stands until 1912.

A postcard of Redfield Parkway from the 1940s. Photo provided by Jim Owen.

Redfield Parkway was a private street until 1928, at which point it became part of the City of Batavia. It has existed in its present state since 1966, when the last house was built.

Over the years, it distinguished itself not only by its beautiful flower beds, but also by the row of American flags running down the street's median. Appropriately, the flags would eventually lead the way to the Batavia VA Medical Center (they were stolen, but Batavia Downs is supplying new ones).

The Owens

Photo provided by Jim Owen

Owen and his sister are lifelong Redfield residents. Their parents, Frank and Natalie (pictured), bought the house in 1930 and the adjacent land in 1945. They bought the land from Edna Gruber, who was Batavia's "most famous madam" and well-known for her local charitable work.

Interestingly, 2 Redfield is technically 4 Redfield (anyone who drives by and looks closely will see that although the house has a "2" on it, the house right next door is 6 Redfield).

The vacant space to the right of the house is 2 Redfield. The Owens had lived at 4 Redfield for 15 years by the time they bought this space, so they just gave the same number to the whole property.

Here is a photo of the real 2 Redfield, a garden well tended by Kathy.

Celebration of a heritage

People can learn more about these and other stories on Saturday.

"(Our neighborhood) has a tradition that's been carried on for 100 years, and I hope it continues," Owen said.

To that end, he added that the neighborhood will be making an effort to save the pillars at the parkway entrance in the near future.

"They're 100 years old, and the mortar is coming out," he said.

At this point, the pillars are owned by the city. Owen said the repairs will cost about $16,000, and they are hoping for a grant.

For more information and for any updates, visit the Redfield Parkway 100th Anniversary page on Facebook.

Heman Redfield trivia

• Redfield's daughter, Jane, was said to have been the first woman to cross Niagara Falls in a basket;
• Some people trace his ancestry to the Mayflower;
• His grandfather fought under General George Washington at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War.

The painting above is titled "The Clash of Cultures," in it artist Tom MacPherson shows us some of the dynamics of his family history.

It's part of a new exhibit at Genesee Community College's Rosalie "Roz" Steiner Art Gallery called "Documente: The Italian American Family Album," which includes original egg-tempura portraits, old-fashioned furniture, photographs, music and stories. It will be on display through Aug. 27.

"Clash of Cultures" depicts MacPherson's two grandmothers in 1940s Le Roy. Grandma MacPherson (foreground) was a Methodist (the ribbon around her waist reads "Methodist Church of Le Roy") of Scottish ancestry, whereas Grandma O'Geen (Gugino) was Italian and Roman Catholic.

While Grandma MacPherson stands outside, Grandma O'Geen stands secure in the "bastion" of her Catholic household (behind the front door), with Swiss Guards from the Vatican guarding the entrance, St. Peter (the first Pope) standing by her side, and Pope Pius XII (upper left) keeping watch overhead.

Born in Batavia and raised in Le Roy, MacPherson now teaches studio art at SUNY Geneseo. His family history is kind of a microcosm of Le Roy's overall past.

His Scottish forebears came to Le Roy in 1801, before it even became a town.

"They were the ones who set the tone for what the local culture would be all about," MacPherson said. "And then my Sicilian relatives had to blend into that."

From the MacPhersons' immigration from the Scottish Highlands to the O'Geens' (who changed their name from Gugino to more easily fit in with American culture) immigration from Sicily in 1896, "Documente" is a detailed panorama of the artist's roots.

Included are the adventures of intrepid MacPherson aunts, elderly Italian aunts praying their Rosaries, the persecution of Italian immigrants by the Ku Klux Klan in Le Roy, and the experience of fathers and uncles in overseas wars.

Scenes re-creating household decor circa 1940-60 add three-dimensional reality, an intimate visit into the artist's everyday world at that time. 

Here in "The Pioneer," MacPherson depicts his bold, adventurous great-aunt Kitty standing on the rocks of her ancestral Scotland.

"No, I'm Not Colonel Sanders" depicts great-uncle Rossolino Barone. Like all of MacPherson's portraits, this is based on a family photograph -- in this case, of uncle "Ross" at a family wedding in the 1970s.

In the background is the drug store that he owned in the Rochester suburbs, and overhead are angels borrowed from Fillipino Lippi's "Madonna with Child and Saints."

MacPherson incorporates images from Italian Renaissance art into his portraits in order, in his words, to "infuse my relatives with their heritage."

"I wanted my Italian relatives to be able to relate to their heritage," he said. "And I wanted (the Renaissance elements) to say something about their personalities."

In the case of uncle Ross, the angels are showering roses on him for the kindness he showed other people.

Great-aunt Catherine MacPherson is the subject of "The Conversion of Great-Aunt Catherine." Catherine was an Army nurse during World War I, and she converted to Catholicism in France after seeing the bravery of the priests and nuns who took care of the wounded and dying.

She is set against the background of her ancestral home in the Scottish Highlands, and the overhead image represents her conversion (when she "saw the light").

The subject of "The Walking Dead" is MacPherson's father, Neil Lewis MacPherson. According to the written description next to the portrait, Neil came back home a "changed man" as a result of his experiences in World War II. MacPherson chose to illustrate this by appropriating the figure of death (right) from German artist Hans Baldung Grien's "The Three Ages of Death."

Here are a few other "Documente" displays:

A series of photographs in honor of MacPherson's cousin, Frank O'Geen.

"La Vita Mia"

"What Ya Gonna Do?" (a portrait of an aunt surrounded by religious icons)

"The Adventures of Great-Uncle Pete" (To view a video explaining this one, click here.)

Having explored the history of the two sides of his family in this exhibit, MacPherson is now working on a book on the subject. He hopes to have it published within the next few years.

Roz Steiner gallery is located at 1 College Road in Batavia and is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Admission is free. Gallery Director Shirley Tokash Verrico always welcomes group tours (though children's groups may not be appropriate, as some of the images are more suited to adult audiences).

For more information, email Verrico at stverrico@genesee.edu or call 343-0055, ext. 6490.

Even the fierce, sizzlin' heat couldn't keep this crew inside yesterday, as Holland Land Office Museum kicked off its eight-day "History Heroes Summer Program" at Harvester Cemetery. 

Program coordinator Ann Marie Starowitz (pictured below) took a group of 7- to 11-year-old kids to the cemetery to sketch the gravestones of famous Batavians. Afterward, they went to the Richmond Memorial Library to learn more about these people.

Starowitz said the tour was expanded to become an eight-day program this year. Last year, it only lasted three days.

Between now and July 22, the kids will learn about local history through research and hands-on activities like making their own butter, a mini-archeology dig, candle making and building a miniature log cabin home.

Here are some photos of the kids sketching gravestones (in most cases the photos are of the student and the gravestone he or she is sketching):

Courtney Biegasiewicz, 11, sketches the tombstone of William Morgan.

A very enthusiastic Bridget McCormack, 11, sketches former Batavian Trumbull Cary's headstone.

Liam Raines, 10, was assigned to Joseph Ellicott.

After completing his sketching assignment, 9-year-old Riley Schrader sketches what appears to be a monument to a Civil War soldier.

He was kind enough to show us his sketch before it was finished.

For more information on the Holland Land Office Museum and their programs, call 343-4727 or visit www.hollandlandoffice.com.

SUPPLEMENTAL PHOTO:

The gravestone of Genesee County's first supervisor -- and his wife.

Abigail, age 7, showed us her cat-face Monday at GoArt!'s annual "Picnic in the Park." She had just been to the face-painting booth.

While I was there taking pictures, I ran into some, shall we say, figures of historical interest.

Jacob Richardson came dressed in the get up of a Revolutionary War soldier, complete with weapons and an old-fashioned belt (which soldiers needed to keep all their materials together, since their uniforms had no pockets).

Richardson was there to represent "Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship," a program of Batavia Assembly of God Church.

Also, a horse and carriage ride, just like the old days.

Also, Genesee County native Lynda Breckenridge Gaetano, author of the "Up South" series, was there to promote her books.

Gaetano now resides in Austin, Texas, but was raised on a dairy farm in Bethany. Her books are set in Genesee County and, all total, span a time frame ranging from the early 1800s, when pioneers first came to the "woody wilds" (as worded in a promotional pamphlet produced by the publisher, Blue Stocking Press) of Genesee County, up until the time of the World War II years.

They include a mixture of folk tales, real life stories and local history, all told from the perspective of a wizened sugar maple tree.

Gaetano has published her work in three volumes: "Spring," "Summer" and "Autumn." She hopes to publish the "Winter" volume soon.

The title, according to Gaetano, is based on a phrase her uncle and brother used whenever they would go to the Southern Tier to pick up goods.

"A lot of people don't know that in Genesee County, the Southern Tier is higher (in elevation) than the Northern Tier," Gaetano said.

Water from these high elevations goes south to form the Genesee River, which flows north into Lake Ontario. Hence, whenever you're travelling southward in the Genesee region, you are going "up South."

Gaetano said she was happy to be back in Genesee County promoting her books. While she has lived down South for many years, she still considers Genesee County home.

"You meet good people wherever you go," she said, "but there's something special about this place."

Her "Up-South" books are available for purchase at the Holland Land Office Museum in Batavia. Two of them -- "Spring" and "Summer" -- are available at the Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia, and the "Spring" volume is on the shelves of the Corfu Free Library, Le Roy's Woodward Memorial Library and Oakfield's Haxton Memorial Library.

Here are some other photos of the Fourth of July festivities and attractions:

Mariachi music and dance.

The Batavia Players performed selections from their recent musical, "On Broadway Too!"

Elle Fronckowiak and Beth Ryan were there representing Genesee County Right to Life.

April Meier, dressed in a bridal gown, represented Susan Meier Photography.

Dick Lawrence, a prevention educator who works with senior citizens on medicine safety and related topics, was there to represent Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism & Substance Abuse (GCASA).

We hope everyone had a pleasant Fourth of July and enjoyed the fireworks!

Representatives of Arcadia Publishing have been traveling to communities across the country for at least 10 years for their "Images of America" series, and last winter they approached Larry D. Barnes, Batavia's resident historian.

According to Barnes, the South Carolina-based publishing company, which published another book on Batavia -- simply titled "Batavia" -- about 10 years ago, wanted to "take another look" at the city and its history.

Barnes' book, "Batavia Revisited," will explore different topics and feature different photos -- of which there are about 220 in all -- from the first book. It covers many of the major events that reshaped the city's appearance, including:

• The relocation of the railroad tracks to the outskirts of town;

• The construction of the Oak Street Bridge; and

• The Urban Renewal of the 1960s and early 1970s

As a book that relies heavily on the use of photographs, "Batavia Revisited" is mainly focused on the period from 1860 onward. However, Barnes includes an introduction dealing with Batavia's earlier history, which goes back to the early 1800s.

"I also try to straighten out some misinformation over the years (about Batavia's history)," Barnes said. "For example, I've found over and over again in my research, that the person most people think built the Old City Hall had been dead for two years (before it was built). It was his son who built it."

Barnes is a retired Genesee Community College professor and a volunteer with the Genesee County History Department. He taught psychology, but describes history as a "second career."

"It's a personal interest of mine," he said. "I do a lot of (historical) writing and research."

The book will be on sale starting Jan. 17, and will be available for purchase at Present Tense books on Wasington Avenue (and probably at the Holland Land Office Museum as well).

For more information on the book, please visit its page on Arcadia Publishing.

Tom Talbot loves local history.

And he loves to write.

And he loves fiction.

Over a 30-year period, he worked hard to bring these interests together in a project that would ultimately become the historical fiction novel, "The Craft: Freemasons, Secret Agents, and William Morgan."

Originally from Elba, Talbot has lived in Batavia for more than 40 years. While some people may say that Batavia is a boring place to live, he has always been fascinated by the stories it has to tell.

"We live in an area with a rich history," he said.

His book, which was published in August, is set in 1826 and follows two government agents who are assigned by President John Quincy Adams to investigate the disappearance of William Morgan.

Morgan, as area history buffs know, was a Batavia resident famous for having mysteriously vanished after threatening to write a book exposing the secrets of Freemasonry.

"[The Morgan incident] put Batavia on the map for a while," Talbot said. "In a bad way, but still..."

The book's plot goes beyond William Morgan, placing his disappearance in the context of a larger web of intrigue that involves "rogue British Masons" (as the back cover synopsis puts it) and a presidential assassination plot.

"I didn't want the book to be just about Morgan himself," Talbot said. "That's been done by a lot of people. I wanted to include him, but also have a broader scope."

Agents Matthew Prescott and Zeb Cardwell are the story's protagonists. In Talbot's fast-paced thriller, they travel all over the Eastern Seaboard searching for the truth behind Morgan's disappearance, going from Washington, D.C., to New York City, Albany, Canada, Rochester and, you guessed it, Batavia.

Locals may recognize certain locations mentioned in the Batavia segment, including the Holland Land Office Museum, the Eagle Tavern, and the Mix Mansion (which is over on Mix Place).

Research into what life was like in 18th Century New York State -- including the difficulties of travelling in the pre-railroad days, bedbug infestations at inns, and the dangerous malfunctions of primitive steamboats -- helped Talbot craft some very interesting dramatic situations for his characters.

"A lot of it you have to imagine (as an author), but you do need some basis (in period details)."

"The Craft" is Talbot's first novel and second book. His first book, "Illustrated Black History," was a curriculum guide for social studies teachers (he himself taught history at Batavia Middle School for three years). It is available as a reference text in the Richmond Memorial Library's local history section.

He started working on "The Craft" while attending graduate school at SUNY Brockport and raising a family in Batavia. The busyness of his life required him to set the book aside for long periods of time; but over the years, his wife, Vicki, kept pestering him to finish it.

He credits the completion and publication of the novel to her persistence.

Looking back on this 30-year endeavor, Talbot likes to joke about how he started writing the book on yellow legal pads before graduating to the use of a typewriter, then transferring it onto his Apple computer, eventually putting it on his IBM computer, and, finally, finishing it on his laptop.

Writing is something in which he "dabbled" quite a bit before starting on "The Craft."

"Writing was always one of my major interests," he said. "I played around with poetry and short stories in college. I also did curricular writing for the Batavia City School District and for the Buffalo schools."

Since retiring from his position as an administrator at GCC in 2000, he has worked part-time as a grant writer and data evaluator for the Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (GCASA).

"I like to kid people by saying that I've written a lot of grants, but that's not all I do -- I've also written a book."

His jobs in the Buffalo schools, GCC and GCASA have involved extensive research and data evaluation as well as writing. Between this and a history degree from Georgetown University, his credentials for a research-intensive project like "The Craft" aren't too shabby.

As for whether other Tom Talbot novels are on the horizon, he definitely hopes that "The Craft" is "not a one-shot deal."

"I have some ideas for other books, including a sequel to 'The Craft.' Possibly something in a different genre, too."

Talbot himself is an avid reader and enjoys authors as diverse as John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Daniel Silva, J.R.R. Tolkien and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. He has a blog, Tom's Book Pages, where he writes book reviews.

As for "The Craft," you can purchase it locally at Present Tense or at the Holland Land Office Museum; you can also order it online.

For more information or to order a copy, visit www.thecraftthebook.com. Talbot says he encourages people to comment on the book on the site as well.

"I would appreciate any feedback," he said.

Photo courtesy of Jen Zambito

Members of Beta Alpha Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG), a Genesee County society for women educators, met this summer for a personal/ professional growth activity at the historic Adams Basin Inn (between Brockport and Spencerport).

Innkeepers David and Pat Haines served lunch in the tavern dining room, then graciously allowed the ladies to tour their nearly 200-year-old home which they operate as a bed and breakfast.  David, a former teacher, gave a witty and fascinating history of the structure that was built along the Erie Canal as a bar and general store; in fact, the Adams Basin Inn has the only known original bar-room left in existence along the 363-mile-long waterway.   Meticulously restored and updated, the Adams Basin Inn is a frequent stop for bicyclists along the Canal towpath.

Blended into the charm of the old is the efficiency of the new:  the Inn is using the latest in solar technology with 18 state-of-the-art solar modules and a power inverter.  The system is capable of producing over 4,000 kilowatts of electric per year and will produce clean, solar generated power over its 30-year projected lifecycle.  This renewable energy system will offset approximately 40% of the Inn's electrical needs -- and its environmentally friendly!

In the photo, DKG members enjoy perusing artifacts during Mr. Haines' informative talk.