County legislature hears history of NY 37th regimental flag restoration
BY KELLEN M. QUIGLEY
LITTLE VALLEY — From New York state to Virginia and back to Cattaraugus County, the 37th New York Regimental Presentation Flag has a storied history.
An abridged retelling of that history, the flag’s restoration and return to display at the Cattaraugus County Museum and Research Library in Machias was shared with county legislators Feb. 12. Brian McClellan, museum
curator, the short film “The Journey of the 37th New York Regimental Presentation Flag” details the history of the 37th New York Volunteer Infantry regimental flag. It was produced as part of the education-specific branch of the “Our Veterans, Their Stories” series.
“As an off-shoot of that, we’ve been making educational films to be used, ideally, in schools,” he said, which includes the one made about the NY 37th flag. “We spent probably about three, threeand-a-half years getting (the flag) restored and put back together so we can present it to the public.”
On May 2-4, 1863,
in a clearing on the Chancellorsville battlefield known as Hazel Grove, the 37th New York faced the heaviest fighting in its twoyear history. The 37th, largely made up of Irish immigrants from New York City and known as the “Irish Rifles” — but also of companies from Cattaraugus County — fought heroically as part of Brigadier Gen. David Birney’s III Corps, but finally was forced to withdraw in disorder.
The regiment suffered 235 casualties — roughly onethird of its strength at the start of the battle. Nearly 100 men were captured in the confusion. One of their regimental flags was also captured.
While most of the 37th were men from New York City, two companies came from Cattaraugus County: Company H, known as the “Chamberlain Guards,” recruited in Allegany, and Company I, known as the “Cattaraugus Guards,” from Ellicottville. Some 30 years later, the flag was finally returned to veterans of these companies.
In September of 1893, the Rev. William Stone Hubbell, then a minister of North Presbyterian Church in Buffalo, presented the flag to the Civil War veterans of Cattaraugus County.
Hubbell’s account of how the flag came into his hands is an integral part of the story told in the film.
“I came to the museum in 2007, and every few years I would take it out and look at it, but it was so delicate and so fragile that it was in pieces, so we really didn’t do much about it,” he said. The story of that eventual restoration in 2020 is included in the video.
Legislature Chair Andrew Burr thanked McClellan and the museum staff for sharing the story of an important piece of county history. With the film about the NY 37th flag complete, McClellan said the museum’s
“It was on display here at the building in Little Valley until the 1970s,” McClellan said. “It’s about a six-footsquare flag, but it was folded up into a 24-inch frame so only part of the flag was visible.”
Because the flag was painted silk, it was in a fragile condition and beginning to bunch up in the frame, McClellan said. It was then laid out in the old museum basement for several years while trying to find someone to restore it in the late ’70s, but it never worked out, eventually being folded up and placed in a storage box for 30 years.
Few likely imagined that a day would come when a person could communicate, browse the internet, take photos and videos, play music, and much more all from a device small enough to store in a pants pocket. But that’s just what one gets with a smartphone. These amazing devices have transformed how people engage in everyday life. Although smartphones have their upside, there are disadvantages to the connectivity they provide — including the threat phones pose when used while behind the wheel. Anything that causes a driver to take his or her eyes off of the road, even if only for a few seconds, can prove disastrous. And smartphones have proven particularly distracting for drivers. In fact, according to Franciscan Health, one in four accidents occur because a driver was using a cell phone, hands-free or not. Distracted driving contributed to 3,522 deaths and 362,415 injuries in the United States in 2021, the most recent year for the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration’s published estimates. More than 20 percent of respondents in a 2022 NHTSA survey admitted to using at least one smartphonebased distraction, such as social media, texting or video calls, while driving.
Each time a driver gets away with using a phone without incident while behind the wheel, he or she may feel like it is no big deal. However, there is very real danger in doing so. Here are some facts that highlight how dangerous using a smartphone while driving can be.
• The National Safety Council has found drivers using hands-free and handheld cell phones fail to see up to 50 percent of the information in their driving environment. This is known as “inattention blindness.”
• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says using a cell phone while driving increases crash risk, as researchers have consistently linked texting or manipulating a cell phone to increased risk. When
the IIHS monitored drivers who frequently use cell phones while driving for one year, those drivers had the highest rates of near crashes and crashes.
• Using driving simulators or instrumented vehicles, various analyses have found typing or reading text messages significantly slowed reaction time and increased lane deviations. It also increased the length of time drivers looked away from the roadway. The NSC says drivers using cell phones had reaction times slower than drivers impaired by alcohol at .08 blood alcohol concentration.
• When a person sends a text message or reads a message, it takes his or her eyes off the road for five seconds. Going 55 miles per hour while texting is like driving the length of a football field with one’s eyes closed.
Although smartphones are convenient, they should be stored out of reach while driving to limit the temptation of use.
ELLICOTTVILLE — Many of Cattaraugus County’s 4-H members showcased their public speaking talents in recent days, presenting on topics from “How to Ice Fish” to “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” and everything in between.
The county’s youth spoke Feb. 8 at Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School and Feb. 10 at Cornell Cooperative Extension.
In 4-H, public speaking helps develop life skills by encouraging young people to improve communication, boost confidence and engage an audience. When members choose a topic of interest, their enthusiasm and passion
The Tails and Trails 4-H Club strikes a pose after giving their presentations.
shine through and allow them to connect with their listeners on an emotional, intellectual, and often visual level. With the help of the county’s 13 volunteer evaluators, 92 4-H members ranging from age 5 to 18 presented their topics. The diverse format included illustrated talks, which use posters or PowerPoint; demonstrations, which show how to do or make something; and speeches, which are done without any visual aids.
While public speaking is not a favorite activity to some, when asked about it later, 4-H officials often hear, “I’m glad I was exposed to public speaking in 4-H” or “I am more confident presenting to a group because of my time in 4-H”.
Any youth or volunteers interested in joining the Cattaraugus County 4-H Program, contact the 4-H office by calling (716) 699-2377 or emailing cattaraugus4h@cornell.edu.
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