Life in the Finger Lakes Spring 2002

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SPRING 2002

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FOR SOME, THE CHOICE IS OBVIOUS. W

ith Ferris Hills at West Lake, Mary Foster discovered more than a senior

living community, she found the ideal setting to appreciate the area she’s called home for a half-century. And, to ensure she’ll continue enjoying the rolling, wooded hillside for years to come, Ferris Hills offers a wellness focused lifestyle, complete with full access to on-site enriched living and coordinated access to a continuum of care at the F.F. Thompson Continuing Care Center. Combine this healthy lifestyle with an exceptional array of services and amenities, and you’ll find a senior living experience that perfectly complements the way of life you’ve come to know here in the Finger Lakes. Uncomplicated, unhurried, unassuming and completely focused on enhancing personal freedom and enjoyment, Ferris Hills is well worth your consideration.

Active in Canandaigua for the past 50 years, Mary Foster is something of a pioneer in the Finger Lakes. It’s little wonder she became the first person to choose the area’s newest senior living lifestyle.

Ferris Hills is already almost 90% reserved. Call (585) 393-0410 today to see our community for yourself.

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 149

An Affiliate Of THE COMPLETE OFFERING TERMS ARE IN AN OFFERING PLAN AVAILABLE FROM SPONSOR.

One Ferris Hills • Canandaigua, NY 14424 585-393-0410 • 585-393-0452 fax www.ferrishills.com

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Volume 2, Number 1 • Spring 2002

F E A T U R E S

16

ROBERT GILLESPIE: AUTO RACING ARTIST Watkins Glen vintage racing is captured through Robert’s nationally renowned paintings.

By Roger Soule

22

POSTMARKED THE FINGER LAKES The Finger Lakes’ rich history and scenic beauty are preserved through postcards.

By Laurel C. Wemett

28

SPRING’S A-BLOOMIN’!

An eye-popping flower pictorial.

By Life in the Finger Lakes contributing photographers.

32

THE RETURN OF THE RIVER OTTER This creature is once again swimming in the clear, unpolluted waters of Central New York.

Photographs and story by Bill Banaszewski Sidebars by John Van Neil

D E P A R T M E N T S

2

MY OWN WORDS

3 4 6

LETTERS

It’s Spring!

NEWSBITS SPORT Running the Muddy Sneaker Race

10

NAUTICAL Getting Ready for Spring/Marinas in the Finger Lakes

14

DAY TRIP An Aerial Adventure in Big Flats

38

THE HUMAN SIDE It’s a Small World: Canandaigua Native Arthur Buss

41

FRUIT OF THE VINE Dessert Wines: Just the Right Touch

53 55 56

STORIES OF YESTERYEAR The Penn Yan Peach Basket

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS OFF THE EASEL Richard C. Harrington, Painter/Printmaker

C A L E N D A R Rhododendron.

Photograph by Roger Soule Cover Photograph: A curious river otter stares back at the photographer. Photograph by Bill Banaszewski

43 45 46 48 50

O F

E V E N T S

• KEUKA LAKE • CAYUGA LAKE • SENECA LAKE • MUSEUMS • CAMPGROUNDS & GOLFCOURSES

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M Y

O W N

W O R D S EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR/EDITOR. . . . . . . . . . . Mark Stash Mark@LifeintheFingerLakes.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE . . . . . . . . Kari Anderson

J. Kevin Fahy Tina Manzer PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE . . . Bobbie Jo Trumbull

Vicci Cook CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . Bill Banaszewski

It’s Spring! time, these creatures were common to this region. Although their numbers have greatly diminished, their release will once again ensure that people visiting our waterways will have an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the otter.

This spring, instead of taking a long vacation in a faraway place, why not check out some sites in our own backyard? This issue’s contributing authors will introduce you to Harris Hill Soaring Club in Big Flats, the Keuka Lake wineries, and the Watkins Glen International Racetrack.

Spring is a good time of year for self-evaluation. Maybe there’s a new hobby or sport to get involved in.

Maybe we could look at meeting new people and making new friends. We need to start sometime, and what better time than when the sun is shining and the birds are singing.

S

pringtime. Many images come to mind when I think of this time of year: melting snow, buds on trees and shrubs opening to embrace the new warmth and extra sunshine, and the flower bulbs hidden in the ground waiting for this moment in time to spring into bloom. Above all, to me, spring means a time of rebirth and new awakenings.

Let’s not forget the mud left over from winter snows and freezing rains.

Some athletes even like to run in this mud as you will learn when you read about a cross-country race held in the woods near Naples.

The boating season is almost upon us. If you enjoy this pastime, you might learn some new tips from a seasoned veteran, Susan Peterson Gateley. She divulges information that helps both novice and experienced boaters alike.

The reintroduction of the river otter to the Finger Lakes area represents another kind of rebirth. At one

mark@lifeinthefingerlakes.com

AREAS OF INTEREST IN THIS MAGAZINE ISSUE Newark Honeoye

Rochester

Wayne

Syracuse

Monroe

Onondaga Ontario Livingston

Seneca

Auburn

Cayuga

Yates

Naples

Cortland

Penn Yan

Tompkins Schuyler Steuben

Watkins Glen

2 ~ LIFE

IN THE

Corning

NEW YORK S TAT E

Elmira

Chemung

FINGER LAKES

Big Flats Tioga

The Finger Lakes Region of New York State

Nancy Fischer Susan Peterson Gateley Mark Roberts Chris Sharman Joy Underhill John Van Neil Laurel Wemett EDITORIAL OFFICE . . . . . . . . . . . . 315-789-0458 EDITORIAL FAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315-781-6820

ADVERTISING & CIRCULATION ADVERTISING/CIRCULATION

DIRECTOR

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tim Braden Tim@LifeintheFingerLakes.com ADVERTISING ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Hagerman Jason@LifeintheFingerLakes.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jessica Spence Jessica@LifeintheFingerLakes.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rick Kauder Rick@LifeintheFingerLakes.com OFFICE MANAGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tricia King BUSINESS OFFICE . . . . . . . . . . . . 315-789-0458

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-344-0559 BUSINESS FAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315-789-4263 Life in the Finger Lakes is published by Fahy-Williams Publishing, Inc. and owned by Eleven Lakes Publishing, Inc. Co-owners: Mark S. Stash; Timothy J. Braden. Copyright ©2002 by Eleven Lakes Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Uncredited photographs and illustrations are by Mark Stash.

TO SUBSCRIBE, RENEW OR CHANGE ADDRESS: write to Life in the Finger Lakes, P.O. Box 1080, Geneva, New York 14456, or call 315789-0458. Subscription rates: $12.95 for one year.

Outside U.S., add $10.00 per year. For renewal or change of address, include the address label from your most recent issue of Life in the Finger Lakes.

For gift subscriptions, include your own name and address as well as those of gift recipients.

Life in the Finger Lakes 171 Reed St. • P.O. Box 1080 Geneva, NY 14456 www.LifeintheFingerLakes.com

Serving the 14 counties of the Finger Lakes Region

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L E T T E R S

A scenic view of Watkins Glen

Just wanted to say thank you for creating this publication! You have all done an outstanding job, it is just beautiful, a great looking piece and lots of great info! Keep up the great work and thank you.

“On Keuka Lake” 100 East Lake Road • Penn Yan • 315-536-8166 • morganmarine.net REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 100

Jan, Bloomfield, New York My wife and I are planning on a gift subscription for our daughter, who has been living out of the country for 13 years, but owns a wonderful scenic “spot” on the Bluff overlooking Keuka Lake. She may be a world class business traveler, but her heart is “at home in the Finger Lakes!” I know she will enjoy the article on the variety of grapes, since her land is former vineyards, which still produce very tasty fruit.

David, Macedon, New York I just saw the second edition of Life in the Finger Lakes. It is great! As a returning native of Cayuga Lake (for retirement), I think you have a fine magazine here that depicts life in the Finger Lakes in splendor! Please convey that sentiment to Mark.

Time and weather perfected chalets, cottages and log homes produced exclusively by Northern Design & Building Associates.

New England Colonials & Custom Designed Homes.

From lakeside to mountaintop, we utilize the latest in log and panelized building systems technology.

Our qualified staff is ready to assist you through the planning and building process.

Call us for a free consultation!

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Sally, Ovid, New York REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 101

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N E W S B I T S

No Longer a Secret: Finger Lakes Trip is a Great Escape

Nestled in the quaint little village of Clifton Springs, NY, the Spa Apartments has put together a package of services and amenities most seniors are looking for.

Prices start at $408 a month with all utilities included.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Meal Program Transportation Cable TV Nursing Service Activities Elevators Individual Heat Control Large Gracious Lobbies Front Door Intercom Laundry Room Laundry Service Arts & Crafts

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Emergency Call System Housekeeping Room Service Emergency Maintenance Full Kitchen and Bath Library Trips Entertainment Large Porches Walk Areas Picnic Areas Fire Systems

Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic is connected to our building.

Downtown shopping is only steps away.

Call today for a tour and receive a gift certificate for downtown shopping.

315-462-3080

T

here are more than one million readers of Travel + Leisure magazine, and now they each have a reason to visit the Finger Lakes, including a travel plan dubbed one of the top 10 close-to-home itineraries that will transport you to another world.

The top ten trips were included in “100 Great Escapes,” published in the January 2002 edition of the widely read, international magazine which explores the latest resorts, hotels, fashions, foods and drinks.

Along with a wine tasting tour of the Finger Lakes region, the list includes trips to California’s Pacific Coast Highway, the mountains of British Columbia, a Central American cruise, a visit to South Carolina’s low country, and west Texas cowboy country.

The first stop on the Finger Lakes trip’s itinerary is Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars. Being named the first stop was a surprise and an honor, according to Fred Frank, president of the winery.

“Everybody in the area is just so proud. Even to have a mention anywhere in the top 100 would be really something, but the top 10 is a real achievement. It makes you realize what a beautiful area we live in,” he said.

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 103

• Family Owned & Operated • Overlooking Keuka Lake • Color Cable TV • Handicapped Accessible • Air-Conditioning • In-room Telephones • Modern Motel Units & Kitchenettes • Closest Motel to Keuka College

Colonial Motel Located in the Heart of the Finger Lakes

175 Lower West Lake Rd. Penn Yan, NY 14527

800-724-3008 315-536-3056

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 104

4 ~ LIFE

IN THE

A Riesling to Visit the Finger Lakes

FINGER LAKES

T

he Finger Lakes Region has been designated as the 2002 I Love NY Spring Festival site. The entire festival theme is "A Riesling to Visit the Finger Lakes,” in which Riesling Flags will fly proudly at over 50 participating wineries throughout the Finger Lakes. In addition to the wine events, activities

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Introducing the new XL13i comfort systems from TRANE

N E W S B I T S of all kinds will take place throughout the region during the spring fsestival, including celebrations of maple syrup, lilacs, strawberries, history, balloons, cars and sporting events.

To kick off the Finger Lakes’ threemonth spring celebration, four tastings, occurring simultaneously, will be held on March 21, in each of the following locations: Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester and Corning. The common theme will be, "Celebrate Spring—and Finger Lakes Riesling,” with the new 2001 Riesling being "released" for public tasting on that day.

The festival will run from March 21 to June 21. Contact The Finger Lakes Association at (315) 536-7488 for more information.

With an efficiency rating up to 13.0 SEER, Trane’s new XL13i air conditioners and heat pumps are energy efficient ways to cool your home. The higher the SEER, the more energy you save which can take a little heat out of the hottest months of the year. And the XL13i is built to last. Its contemporary good looks will weather even the harshest conditions for years to come.

Trane Backs The XL13i With The Longest Warranties:

POTTER Heating and Air Conditioning

• 10 year limited warranty on compressor and coil • 10 year limited warranty on all internal functional parts

585 • 393 • 9410 REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 105

Fishing Exhibit Opens at Cayuga Museum

A

nglers All: Fishing in the Finger Lakes is the ambitious new exhibit at the Cayuga Museum in Auburn. This original 3,000-squarefoot exhibit examines every facet of fishing in central New York, from early Native American subsistence fishing through today’s high-tech sports fishing.

The evolution of fishing technology will be a major focus. Tackle, lures, fly-fishing, and fish life cycles will be subject matter covered at this show.

More than 30 original pieces of fishing and aquatic art will be on display.

Anglers All will be open at the Cayuga Museum of History and Art, 203 Genesee Street in Auburn, from April 6 through July 29, 2002.

Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free, donations gratefully accepted.

PATIO HOMES Coming Spring/Summer of 2002 or some people, retirement means 18 holes of golf, bridge club, travel, exercise and socializing with old friends. For others, it’s a time to sit back and enjoy the grandchildren, walk the dog, read a good book, surf the ’net and relax on the deck with a tall glass of iced tea.

Whether you are always on the go, or looking forward to going nowhere at all, at Ashton Place you’ll find it’s easy to live the retirement you’ve been dreaming of.

Ashton Place An Independent and Assistive Living Community Associated with Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic

190 Ashton Court, Clifton Springs, New York 14432 1-866-242-2709 (toll free) • www.ashtonplaceny.com

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY INSURER

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 106

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S P O R T

151 S. Main St., Naples, NY

Celebrating our 10th Anniversary!

Spring into the Arts in May 2002: “Three for the Road: From NYC to Naples” May 17 & 18 @ 8pm & “TWO”: High Energy Juggling Fun for the whole family!

May 24 & 25 @ 7pm

Call: 585-374-9032 for Reservations REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 107

Running the Muddy Sneaker Race The many steep inclines on this course force even the best runners to walk. Mark Roberts

By Mark Roberts

M

ost runners who make the leap from race participant to race organizer feel fortunate to survive their first event without any major disasters. Six months after the 2000 Muddy Sneaker 20k, held in the Hi Tor Wildlife Management Area near Naples, New York, first-time race directors Mort Nace and Tim Ratowski found their event featured in Runner’s World magazine as one of the five best

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 108

6 ~ LIFE

IN THE

FINGER LAKES

trail races in America.

In 1999, Mort and Tim ran the Michigan Trail Marathon together. To pass the time and stay awake during the long drive home, they talked about what they thought would make the best trail race possible. The distance, terrain, location, on-course support, post-race festivities; every aspect was considered. The idea for the Muddy Sneaker 20k was born.

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In December they started to pull the scheme together. After poring over maps looking for suitable terrain, they found the High Tor Wildlife Management Area, a rugged region of steep hills, gullies and gorges carved by glaciers thousands of years ago. Heavily forested and criss-crossed by mountain streams, it’s undeniably beautiful country, but it’s the kind of place where you expect to see backpackers in heavy hiking boots rather than runners in lightweight trail shoes. It was exactly what they were looking for.

The next job was convincing the Department of Environmental Conservation to grant them a permit for the event. The rangers responsible for the High Tor area were wary at first, but Mort and Tim’s advance preparation and clear plan were enough for the DEC to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Other bureaucratic hurdles followed, like getting insurance, cajoling sponsors and promoting the event. All of this was done on a shoestring budget; publicity was by word of mouth, Internet message boards and race calendars in trail running magazines.

Mort says he found the setbacks and hard work of making this race happen similar to running the Pike’s Peak Marathon: “Everyone says you can’t do it,” he says “which just makes you more determined to do it.”

Somehow it all came together.

The first Muddy Sneaker attracted 67 runners and got rave reviews from both the participants and the rangers of the DEC, this despite three runners getting lost and spending several hours running through the woods before being found.

For the second running in 2001, Mort and Tim set a limit of 125 runners, to minimize environmental impact to the trails and the Wildlife Management Area in general (adequate parking was a big concern).

They gave advance notice in

Wide Open

SPACE

Peter Osborne Berkshire Builders Naples, NY

716.374.2830

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posborne@frontiernet.net

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607.749.2550

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REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 109

Hey! Look Who Won The GOLD! AGAIN!

1993

9

199

2001

Print Media & Printing Impressions Annual Gold Ink Awards Competition

877-9WILCOX • www.wilcoxpress.com Printing Gets Things Done • Since 1901 REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 110

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REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 111

Winery of the year!

—2001 NY Wine Cl assic

Since 1962 NEW YORK STATE’S MOST AWARD WINNING WINERY! Our track records speak for themselves...

29 Gold Medals in 2001!

6 Double Golds, 4 Best of Class Awards and 2 Best of Show Awards.

23 Gold Medals in 2000!

4 Double Gold Medals and 3 Best of Class Awards in eleven different national/international competitions!

“Chateau Frank 1995 Blanc de Blancs (Finger Lakes, $25), the single best Champagne-style wine made in New York State” — Howard G. Goldberg, NY Times

Previous vintages have outscored Bollinger Grande Année ($60), Veuve Clicquot LaGrand Dame ($85) and Perrier-Jouët Fleur de Champ. ($80)

Wines from Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars and Chateau Frank are available in fine restaurants and wine shops or visit the tasting room in Hammondsport, NY on beautiful Keuka Lake. e-mail FrankWines@aol.com

800-320-0735 www.DrFrankWines.com REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 112

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FINGER LAKES

December to anyone who had run in the first event, and opened registration to the general public in January. It was sold out by mid-February and attracted runners from eight states.

The participants include runners of all abilities. Scott Bagley, who ran in the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon in 2000, won the race in 2001, and there were several other 2:30-2:40 marathoners in the field. Most participants are of more modest abilities and some even end up walking much of the distance, but the race appeals to all of them. It offers beautiful scenery, one of the most challenging courses anywhere and the camaraderie of people who share the same spirit, love of the outdoors and sense of humor. Molly Huff, despite being one of the runners who got lost in 2000, has become a convert to trail running. “No cars, no artificial noise, no pollution, just beautiful bliss,” she says.

Others are attracted by the contagious sense of fun at the Muddy Sneaker. Stacy Vandenburgh, cofounder of a running group called the Slug Goddesses (motto: “speed kills”), recalls passing one of the water stations and being told, “Go straight and turn left at the chicken!” Sure enough, a few hundred yards ahead was a 6-foottall guy in a chicken costume directing runners down the right path. No one got lost that year!

The sense of humor shows a diabolical streak when it comes to the layout of the course, though. “When Tim showed me the route he’d picked out I just laughed and laughed,” recalls Mort, “Especially the last mile and a half, which is all uphill. There must be a 600-foot elevation gain in the first quarter mile!” They call this hill “The Demoralizer” because of the effect it can have on runners who have already covered more than 10 miles of tough terrain when they reach it. It’s not uncommon to see even the faster ones walking the steepest stretches with hands on knees for support.

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“This race isn’t about running a personal record,” says Mort, “It’s for people looking for something different.” Not that the Muddy Sneaker isn’t competitive, it’s just that the competition is more about conquering the course and beating the clock than beating your fellow runners. The postrace party, with a generous assortment of awards and prizes and an ample supply of food and drink, helps too.

This formula has been successful beyond their wildest expectations.

Their Web page at http://www.geocities.com/goutnow/ has drawn so much traffic that it’s often exceeded the monthly limit Geocities allows.

(They’ll be setting up a new Web site this year.) A runner who skipped the 2001 event to run the Boston Marathon announced afterwards he’d made a big mistake and would henceforward pass on Boston to run the Muddy Sneaker instead. And in an age in which most races are scrounging for any support they can get, a major running shoe company recently contacted them and offered help.

If all of this makes you want to try running the trails on April 20 with the rest of the Muddy Sneaker crew, you’re out of luck; the 2002 Muddy Sneaker sold out in two weeks. Mort and Tim may expand the field to 150 next year, but they’re pretty sure that’s the limit.

Their expansion effort will go into creating other unusual events, rather than making this one too big for its own good (in January 2002 they put on the first “Frozen Assets” 5k showshoe race).

But if you want to run one of America’s five best trail races in 2003, you can start training now and get ready to mail in your entry on January 1, plenty of time to prepare yourself for 12.4 miles of hills, mud and fun. Just remember to turn left at the chicken.

Mark Roberts is a photographer and writer who lives in Fairport, New York.

His web page is at www.robertstech.com

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 113

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 114

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N A U T I C A L

Getting Ready for Spring

By Susan Peterson Gateley

A

bout 78 million Americans went boating last summer. Just on Lake Ontario in 1996, anglers alone made more than 180,000 boating trips, so boating is a popular sport and an important contributor to the area economy. Boaters in the Finger Lakes pursue their passion (calling it a hobby is like calling Bill Gates just another millionaire) with vigor and enthusiasm equal to that of any coastal population. They do so aboard everything from tug yachts to kayaks.

Antique boat shows each summer around the region celebrate the gleaming beauty of varnished mahogany runabouts and graceful old cruisers. Local craftsmen created many of the antiques

they have for over a century. And personal watercraft (aka jetskies) skitter around like brightly colored whirligig beetles on protected waters.

We have some of the most varied and best boating waters in the entire country in our area. Rivers, marshes, creeks for paddling, hundreds of miles of protected canals for cruising, and lakes large and small offer almost every type of craft suitable sailing. You can even go abroad using Lake Ontario to reach Canada, or via the canal to salt water and ocean sailing.

But regardless of the type of boat or the waters it sails upon, when the spring sunlight strengthens, the mud deepens and when cardinals begin to call, boat

This craft is ready for the boating season. Susan Peterson Gateley at these shows like the Penn Yans, Fay Bowens or Skaneateles Boat Works skiffs. Each summer sloops and schooners spread their white wings upon the larger Finger Lakes just as

10 ~ L I F E

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FINGER LAKES

owners shift into high gear. It’s time to get ready for the season! Time to replace that rotten plank, time to sew up that rip in the canvas cover, time to fix that leaky fore hatch, time to find

the dock lines and fenders. It’s almost launch day, the happiest day of the year for the true-believer boater.

In preparing this article, I made a brief unscientific survey of how some local boaters I knew were preparing for another summer on the water. “We drive around and look for new places to explore,” a canoeist told me. “My husband spends a lot of time daydreaming. He sits in front of the computer and thinks about boating all the time,” said a spouse. And, “making lists” was a nearly universal activity reported by the boaters I spoke to.

Almost every boat owner had some sort of maintenance or upgrade project on his or her list.

Maintenance can be anything from waxing the hull to replacing the motor (rebuilding the toilet was fairly high on our list this year). Obviously those sensible mariners who go simple and small have fewer maintenance obligations than does the master of a 40 footer endowed with radar, refrigeration, hot and cold running water, and, in the case of a trimaran I saw last summer, a hot tub on deck. But even the smallest, simplest boat still must be looked after to be certain that its owner fulfills that fundamental requirement of good seamanship — keeping the water out.

Karen Bader of Kayakquests who, along with Jody Mutschler, provides sea kayak rentals and guided trips on the canal and Finger Lakes, offers the following suggestions to boaters, “look all your gear over and double check your boat for leaks.” She advises that boaters make any needed repairs now, not in the middle of the all-too-short season when you’ll miss the best week-

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end of the year. For those who paddle their own canoe, exercise is also wise.

“The best offense is a good defense.

Now is the time to pick up the weights, turn on the treadmill and keep yourself in shape. Swimming is the best allaround exercise,” said Karen.

She also offers a bit of advice that makes sense to the owner of any type of boat — keep upgrading that knowledge base. “READ! Spring is the perfect time to bone up on any techniques you may be wondering about. Rent videos, read books and magazines.”

Karen also suggests talking to other boaters as another good way to get ready for the season. A lot of talking goes on in boat yards on sunny April days when the skippers of larger vessels gather to take off the winter tarp, clean the bottom for new paint, or sit in the cockpit to daydream and make lists.

Mitch Pierson Jr. Ann Storm Mike Feldmeyer Enza Benham Louise Szczepkowski Eileen Minster Stacey Preston

Sometimes it is almost as much fun to talk about boating as it is to actually do it, and it is frequently far cheaper.

A very good place for boat talk is the classroom. Several volunteer boating organizations offer low-cost instruction to help skippers acquire or refine skills. The U.S. Power Squadron has an extensive curriculum of courses that cover navigation, weather, boat handling, and sailing.

Local chapters in the Finger Lakes Region offer spring classes. You can try Chris Tertinek of the Red Jacket Squadron at 716-742-2672 or Thomas Stantz of the Seneca Squadron at 607562-3144 for class information, or call 1-888-FOR-USPS. Several individuals, businesses and yacht clubs in the Finger Lakes area also offer boating instruction (your author among them

www.piersonrealtors.com

with Silver Waters Sailing classes and charters). The Coast Guard Auxiliary also offers basic boat handling and safety courses in Rochester, Canandaigua and Sodus Point One very traditional way that boaters prepare for spring is by acquiring a new boat. Sometimes this really is a sparkling brand new boat right off the showroom floor, or the boat may simply be new to the person acquiring it. Whether the boater-to-be seeks a new or used vessel, increasingly he or she goes online to search for a dreamboat. The Internet has a virtual universe of boats for sale of every type imaginable. And after you zero in on something you’re interested in, chances are pretty good there’s an online source of information on that particular boat from others who own one.

Chat groups, mail lists, and Web sites

800-527-0074

Virginia Butler C. Todd Herbik, Jr. Mollie Coe Betty Clawson Bonney Powers Bernice Caprini Carol Raymond

23 Coach Street, Suite 1B/Canandaigua, NY 14424/ 398-2211

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 115

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Get ready for

SUMMER SALE www.brycemarine.com

1682 Manitou Road Rochester (585) 352-9485 REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 116

12 ~ L I F E

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FINGER LAKES

A few local groups and Web sites of interest to boaters and boaters-to-be: • The Wine Country Classic Boats group posts upcoming boat shows and other information at http://communities.msn.com/WineCountryAntiqueClassicWoodBoaters.

• The Rochester Boating Web site for Bayliner and other powerboat owners with marina and other information is found at www.geocities.com/ronlord/.

• My own Silverwaters Sailing Web site publishes an online e-zine about Lake Ontario’s natural history and boating at www.silverwaters.com.

• Max Lent’s site has canoeing and outdoor events listed at www.rochester-info.com.

• Mid-Lakes Navigation has information on their charter boats and excursions posted at www.midlakesnav.com.

• Visit www.hazlitt1852.com for information on schooner trips on Seneca Lake.

devoted to hundreds of different boat types and models exist. Surfing and sailing through cyber space is a great way to spend a rainy spring day.

Doug Hazlitt of Hazlitt 1852 Wineries on Seneca Lake is getting a new boat this spring. His 60-foot wooden schooner, the Malabar X, will swim for the first time after being launched at Cayuga Wooden Boat Works at Ithaca. New wooden boats of traditional rig like this one are as rare as blue whales in our waters. She’ll be a splendid sight when she raises sail on her first trip this summer. She’ll sail out of Watkins Glen and carry passengers on day trips.

Another local passenger-carrying operation very different from Seneca Day Sails is that of Mid-Lakes Navigation. They operate mainly on the canal system and on Skaneateles and Onondaga Lakes with a variety of large passenger carrying boats. One of these, the Judge Ben Wiles, is a wooden vessel. Mid-Lakes will also rent you a boat to explore the canal on your own.

Their steel-hulled Lock Masters accommodate up to six people on overnight trips and are popular with folks wanting to sample the quiet life of canal travel. Even non-boaters can quickly master the basics of driving down the narrow waters of the canal.

It goes without saying that sensible boaters get ready for the season with an inventory of their safety gear to be sure it’s up to date, legal, and in good

condition. One suggestion I would offer is check into the inflatable life vests that are now Coast Guard approved, with some limitations, and are called Type III PFDs. (Don’t you love the government and their abbreviations? PFD stands for “personal flotation device,” the things we used to call life jackets when I was a kid.) The inflatable is very comfortable to wear and some of them include a safety harness to attach yourself to the boat. I bought one last year for personal use on our sailboat and am totally sold on it. Even on the hottest day it is comfortable to wear, and as the experts like to point out, the life jacket that’s on you is the one that works best.

There are dozens of boating groups in the region. Almost every Finger Lake has a yacht club on it. Many yacht club members are sailors, but some of the larger clubs also have members who cruise with powerboats.

Most have Web sites so you can use the Internet search engines to get information. Marinas and boat dealers are also a source of information for new boaters, while the best places to ask questions are probably the U.S. Power Squadron and the Coast Guard Auxiliary, which I’ve mentioned already. These people are “old salts” who really do know their stuff.

Susan P. Gateley offers sailing charters, lessons and books on Lake Ontario.

Visit www.silverwaters.com

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Finger Lakes Marinas Lake Ontario

9

15

Rochester Erie Canal

17

Wayne

Monroe

10

Ontario Livingston 5

Conesus Lake

Silver Lake

Seneca

16

12

3 13

Canandaigua Lake

Seneca Lake

Honeoye Lake

Hemlock Lake

Syracuse

Erie Canal

Yates

7

Onondaga

Owasco Lake

6

Skaneateles Lake Otisco Lake

4 Cayuga Lake

Cayuga

2

14

Cortland

Keuka Lake

14

8 11

Tompkins

1

Schuyler Steuben Elmira

Corning

Chemung Marinas 1. Ervay’s Marina 40 Fairgrounds Lane, PO Box 242 Watkins Glen 14891 607-535-2671 phone/fax 2. Morgan Marine 100 East Lake Rd., Penn Yan 14527 315-536-8166 www.morganmarine.net - see our ad on page 3 3. Barrett Marine, Inc. 485 W. River Rd., Waterloo 13165 615-789-6605 www.fingerlakes.net/barrett_marine 4. Trade-A-Yacht Inc. Hibiscus Harbor 31-34 Hibiscus Harbor Lane, Union Springs 13160 315-889-5086 www.tradeayacht.com 5. Leisure Time Marina of Conesus 5364 East Lake Rd., Conesus 14435 585-346-2260 www.leisuretimemarine.com 6. Skaneateles Marina 1938 West Lake Rd., Skaneateles 13152 315-685-5095 skanmarina@aol.com

7. Silver Lake Marine 4213 West Lake Rd., Silver Springs 14550 585-237-5185 www.silverlakemarine.com 8. Cayuga Boat Rental 381 Enfield Main Rd., Ithaca 14850 607-277-5072; 607-227-4095 cayugaboatrent@attworldnet.net 9. Arney’s Marina 7250 Route 14 North, Sodus Point 14555 315-483-9111 arneys@hotmail.com 10. Eagle Bay Marina 1502 River Rd., Port Byron 13140 315-776-8468 honeyg@tds.net

Tioga

13. Hidden Harbor Marina 1076 Waterloo-Geneva Rd. (Rt. 5 & 20) Waterloo 13165 315-539-8034 cconti1@rochester.rr.com 14. East Bluff Harbor/Keuka Bay Marine 654 East Bluff Dr., Penn Yan 14527 315-536-8236; 607-569-2777 www.keukaonline.com 15. Bryce Marine 1682 Manitou Rd., Rochester 14626 585-352-9485 www.brycemarine.com - see our ad on page 12

11. Cayuga Wooden Boatworks/ Ithaca Boating Center 435 Old Taughannock Blvd., Ithaca 14850 607-272-1581; 607-272-1601 fax www.cayugawoodenboatworks.com

16. German Brothers Marina Inc. 3907 W. Lake Rd., Canandaigua 14424 585-394-4000 www.germanbrothers.com

12. Cayuga Wooden Boatworks/ Beacon Bay Marine Water St., Cayuga 13034 315-253-7447; 315-255-6923 www.cayugawoodenboatworks.com

17 Shon’s Boat Basin & Campground 14687 Lake St., PO Box 601 Fair Haven 13064 315-947-6635; 800-523-9878 www.fairhavenny.com/shons

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01-15.LIFL.Spring.02 2/25/2002 2:56 PM Page 14

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14 ~ L I F E

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O

n a cloudless summer day last year, I headed out to Harris Hill Soaring Club in Big Flats, New York.

For several months I’d been curious about the thin, white gliders circling the hill at all times of the day. I was fascinated by the length of time these motorless planes could stay in the air, and the amount of control their pilots had as they climbed,

turned, and landed on the small airfield at the top of the hill. Heading east on route 17 from Corning to Big Flats, you encounter a sign reading, “The Soaring Capital of the World.” I didn’t understand the true meaning of these words until learning some background about the area from club members, and then going for my first glider ride.

I discovered the soaring club in a nondescript wooden building, located above Harris Hill Park, that includes a miniature golf course, go-carts and batting cages. The club is on the same road as the National Soaring Museum, though not run by the same organization. In one afternoon you may learn about the history

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of powerless flight at the recently remodeled museum, and then take a demonstration flight with a certified pilot at the club. Also nearby and not to be missed is the National Warplane Museum, featuring vintage aircraft and interactive displays.

For $65 at Harris Hill you may purchase a ride in a high-performance Schleicher ASK-21 sailplane.

Depending on atmospheric conditions, the flight will last approximately 20 to 30 minutes, and will take you 2,500 feet above the Harris Hill airfield.

Though the altitude is enough to make even the most courageous weekend warrior anxious, the speed is not.

Demonstration flights soar at only 45 to 50 miles per hour.

From the observation deck, you wait with others signed up to fly that day. With several planes in the air at any one time, nearly 50 flights at Harris Hill can be scheduled on a single weekend day. When it is your turn, members of the soaring club escort you to the airfield, introduce you to the pilot who will fly the two-seated glider, and help you get into position at the front of the plane.

When the airfield is clear, one of two Piper Pawnee tow planes is connected to the glider with a retractable line. The pilot then checks the harness on his seat and that of his passenger.

He closes the clear Plexiglas canopy overhead and conducts a pre-flight checklist. When all is in order, he gives thumbs up to the tow plane pilot who will make the glider airborne over the edge of Harris Hill.

Our tow plane made a wide circle around the airfield of the soaring club, which is always kept in view during a demonstration ride. At approximately 2,000 feet, the pilot instructed me to pull the lever on the front control panel that disconnects us from the tow

plane. I will never forget the silence that followed. After the tow plane cleared our immediate air space, there was only the sound of the plane sailing through the sky, matched by the panoramic beauty of the Chemung Valley. My pilot, Steve Garner, then climbed another 500 feet using only the updrafts from Harris Hill.

Prior to takeoff he had informed me, “You’ll feel your feet moving slightly as I use the steering system. Just let the second control stick between your knees have enough room to move.

“I’ll let you do a little steering if you’d like in the air,” he continued. I don’t remember him asking again when we were airborne and I wasn’t about to volunteer for the job. Being a sail plane passenger was enough to keep me occupied during that first flight. When we touched down on the airfield 25 minutes later, I was already thinking about when I’d come back to take another flight.

I had been more than a little nervous as I waited for my first flight on the club’s observation deck. As I chatted with club members, they assured me that motorless flight can actually be a very tranquil experience. “It has to be among the most peaceful and even relaxing experiences you can have,” club member Jed Scovill said.

Soaring has a rich history in the Elmira-Corning area. The Schweizer Aircraft Company, also located in Big Flats, was among the largest sailplane manufacturers in the world for many years. The company, adjacent to the Elmira-Corning Regional Airport, now focuses on building helicopters, reconnaissance aircraft, and is an aerospace subcontractor. It still offers flight training for glider pilots through its own commercial program.

The soaring club’s marketing director, John Fessenden, told me that (Continued on page 52)

Image courtesy of Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College

ELMIRA & CHEMUNG COUNTY cordially invite you to explore the lush river valley that so enthralled Mr. Twain for all those many years.

There’s lots of fine dining, arts, shopping, museums, culture, aviation, sports, history and, of course, still plenty of legendary Mark Twain Memories & Mystique.

Contact The Chamber of Commerce (800) MARK TWAIN 400 East Church Street Elmira, NY 14901 Website: www.chemungchamber.org Email: info@chemungchamber.org

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 120

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Robert Gillespie:

Auto Racing Artist

By Roger Soule

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ivotal moments early in a life have a strong influence on the direction that that life later takes. For Robert Gillespie, Penn Yan artist, that pivotal moment was his first visit to Watkins Glen International Racetrack in 1960 when he was 11 years old. Even after 40 years, he is transfixed by the memories of his first encounter with the machines that would eventually become the subject of his best artwork.

“I can still hear and see in my mind a car at speed, going down the back straightaway, with this long exhaust pipe running along close to the cockpit, and resonating in the most magnificent way.

The sunlight sparkling off that exhaust pipe and the slippery shape of the car was just hypnotic for me.”

Robert’s father, hearing that Stirling Moss would be racing at the Glen, took Robert and his brothers to the race, mostly, Robert suspects, to instill in the boys an appreciation of the engineering that went into producing these wonders of speed and endurance. That appreciation transpired, but for Robert, the physical beauty of the racecars combined with the natural setting of the road racing circuit, touched a deeper chord.

In high school, Robert made his first attempts to paint racecars. He took a correspondence course from an art school that included Peter Helk as an adjunct faculty member, a recognized master of auto racing art, and made his first racecar paintings, a Formula 1 car, at 14 and a Porsche 906, at 18.

Upper Left: Seneca Cup 1952, 2001, acrylic, 24 x 30 Left: Left to right, John Fitch (who was in charge of R&D on the original Corvette), Robert Gillespie, and Dr. Dick Thompson (Corvette’s star driver in the 1950s).

Photo by Charlotte Gillespie.

Above: Corvette, 1974, acrylic, 18 x 18.

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After high school, Robert studied engineering at Clarkson College in order to be an auto designer, but found it to be unsatisfying. In his junior year, he attended a drawing class at Potsdam State University to offset the dry curriculum he was immersed in. “Once I did,” he says, “I knew that was it.” He transferred to Potsdam State and majored in art and photography.

In 1972, he started teaching art in the Penn Yan public school system and began to explore various media and styles of art on his own. Photo realism was big in painting then and his air-brushed works of famous auto racing greats garnered his first show at Keuka College in 1974.

Also in ‘74,

Robert enrolled in graduate school. Again he majored in art and photography. During this time he produced paintings, using air-brush and traditional methods, of spacethemed subjects. The style, however, was still photo-realistic. Occasionally he would paint a foreground on masonite and afterwards attach a map of the earth, at the proper scale, to represent the earth’s surface. While he enjoyed these exercises, he still felt he was just dabbling with painting techniques and had not yet found his niche.

Immediately following grad school, his brotherin-law, who owned a printing press, approached

him with the suggestion that Robert do a series of 12 pen-and-ink sketches having a regional theme that they could self-publish as a calendar. He agreed, and for the next 21 years they published calendars, which they sold in local gift shops and museums. For most of those years they concentrated on scenery, vineyards, and items relating to local history.

Since Glenn Curtiss, an early pioneer in aviation, had lived and worked in Hammondsport, New York, Robert did a series of sketches of his aircraft for one year’s calendar. In his teen years he had drawn a World War II era P-51 Mustang fighter for his father, who immediately, and much to Robert’s surprise, counted the rivets on the side of the fuselage and announced that the number he had included was incorrect. “I think it demonstrates how I came to realize the importance of details on the machines I paint. The engineering training helps here too.”

Further on in the calendar series, the subject matter began to evolve along different lines. “I was interested in aging technology and what happens to a car when you leave it out in the environment. I was very interested in ecology and care for the earth and also, because I’m interested in geology, I have an understanding of time and how nature recycles. It will continue to recycle anything we have done or will do in the future. If we destroy the earth, we’re really destroying just ourselves and the earth will keep chugging along. It will have to make some adjustments and shake us off like fleas.”

With this philosophy in mind, he started sketching autos in junkyards that showed the effects of “how nature recycles.” They depict cars with vines, bushes, and small trees gently consuming them and the effects of the environment on them after years in the elements.

A natural outgrowth of the junkyard sketches came in the last few years of the calendar series.

Robert started searching for the “ultimate junkyard” and concluded it would be an abandoned airfield. Using photos of fighter planes and the birds of prey many of them were named after, he launched a new study that illustrates the power of nature to outlast the artifacts of man. While the

Doug Aiken’s Racecar 1997, acrylic, 18 x 24

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first year’s sketches featured more planes than birds, this ratio was reversed by the following year, until eventually the planes disappeared entirely from the images.

One fan of Gillespie’s calendars was Doug Akin, a resident of Michigan. Robert noticed a sketch of a racecar on a check Akin had sent in payment for the “Birds of Prey” series. His curiosity aroused, he called Akin to enquire about the check. Akin told him he was a Formula Ford race driver and had competed at Watkins Glen since the early seventies. They hit if off immediately and Akin commissioned a painting of his automobile. Robert Gillespie’s art had come full circle.

Doug Akin was so pleased with the commissioned work that he felt Robert should start painting auto racing scenes and selling prints to the public. According to Gillespie, “That was all the encouragement I needed.” He had movies and stills

Top: 1948 Junior Grand Prix-Lap 1, 1998, acrylic, 24 x 30

Bottom: Sketch for the 1948 Junior Grand Prix-Lap 1.

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Top: Bill Milliken, left, and Robert Gillespie admire this mural on the exterior of Salt of the Earth Gallery in Watkins Glen. It is a recreation of Robert’s work, “Bill Milliken, Watkins Glen, 1948.”

Bottom: A sketch for an upcoming mural based on the 1954 Watkins Glen Grand Prix. Photograph by Roger Soule

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of many races he had attended to draw from.

However, the approaching 50th anniversary of post-war road racing in America, which started in Watkins Glen, sent him in search of archival material that would celebrate the early days of the sport.

His search led him to Bill Green, the course historian for Watkins Glen. “During our first meeting, Bill brought the old circuit to life with detailed accounts and a wealth of photos. I can’t claim a sudden inspiration but my brain quickly reached ‘circuit’ overload. It was as if a spotlight was shining into the local King Tut’s tomb of racing history.” In addition to the incredible resource Robert had found in Bill Green, he was informed that Watkins Glen would be the home of a racing history research center that would be gathering archival materials from all over the world.

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Drawing on

his father’s influence, his own engineering studies, the vintage materials at the research library, early race paintings by Gordon Crosby and Peter Helk and the work of photographers such as Louis Klemantaski and Rainer Schlegelmilch, Gillespie began a series of paintings to sell as limited edition prints. Most are of the early street course in and around Watkins, but a few are from book covers he was commissioned to create for several books on auto racing history. He tackles the problem of how to include a sense of speed in his work, a rarity in motor sport art, but an essential element to Gillespie’s vision. There is another essential element. “The setting is just as important as the car and driver.

To me it’s a total package. It’s the whole feeling you get watching these cars in such a picturesque setting. It’s just a bombardment of all the senses.”

When he needs a critical eye to keep his perspective on a new piece, he doesn’t have to go further than his wife, Char, who “provides expert advice at key periods in the creative process.

Sometimes I get carried away with enthusiasm and the color in the road or landscape just gets too wild. Her fresh viewpoint and honesty has brought me back to a more realistic color balance on many occasions...a good reason to paint at the kitchen table.”

In addition to the fresh viewpoint he gets from his wife, he draws on his family in a more whimsical manner for his paintings. “In the Watkins Glen series, I have done three paintings that are races that my family and I actually attended. In all those paintings, I have painted family members into the crowd. I appear in two of those paintings, my wife and kids are in one, and my father is in one. We are not obvious, but can be seen if pointed out.”

The time spent creating vintage motor sport art has been an education. “I thought I knew something about the races and the history, but five years into this I have a completely different awareness of what it’s all about.”

The latest phase in Gillespie’s career is a mural project in Watkins Glen. In 2001, using donated materials, he recreated his work, “Bill Milliken, Watkins Glen, 1948,” on the exterior of Salt of the Earth Gallery. For many, it was their first exposure

to Robert Gillespie’s work. For locals, it captures a nostalgic moment just before Milliken crashed, an event that led to renaming the spot, Milliken’s Corner. He survived the crash and was present at the dedication of the mural.

This year, Robert Gillespie will paint his second mural in Watkins Glen. It depicts a story that driver Phil Walters told the artist regarding a specific moment in the 1954 Grand Prix race.

Walters, who had been trying, for three laps, to get Bill Spear’s attention at the top of a particularly dangerous downhill stretch, makes eye contact and from the look in his eye says, “You’d better back off.” It’s this kind of inside information that inspires Gillespie’s race art, which he loves to make, when possible, from the original sources.

“In doing race art, I have been able to do what I felt like doing, which is work on my own translations of events I choose. My artwork has been just myself and wherever my imagination wants to go.

It’s interesting how it started out with cars when I was 11 years old, has gone all over the place and has gravitated right back to the cars in a way that I never would have imagined. It wasn’t planned. It just all fell together with key people being very helpful and encouraging along the way.”

Roger Soule is a freelance photographer and owner of Soule Photography in Watkins Glen, New York.

Queen Catherine Cup, 2001, acrylic, 24 x 30

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By Laurel C. Wemett ostcards are often the best evidence of how streets, public buildings, parks, private homes and businesses appeared in earlier years.

People are intrigued by these older views of the places where they now live, grew up, or used to visit. The scenic beauty and rich history of the Finger Lakes region has been preserved in a vast number of postcards printed since they first became an inexpensive means of communication.

View cards, as they are called, not only show changes in the physical surroundings, but also offer insight into social history. Messages written on the cards reflect the opinions and lifestyles of the times. With the popularity of antiquing in the Finger Lakes, collecting postcards has become a passion for many residents of the region.

Postcard collecting, or deltiolo1 gy, from the Greek words meaning “small picture” and “knowledge,” is reportedly one of the largest collectible hobbies worldwide. Most collectors can recall the card or occasion which prompted them to begin collecting. For Eleanor Bump of Lyons, it all started with a postcard of East Avenue in Newark, New York, which her mother bought for her in 1979 for $1.00. Now framed in her home north of Lyons, the postcard shows a quiet residential street of 1912 including the house where Bump lived, in a second-

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floor apartment in the 1970s.

Bump was prompted to seek out other Newark views and discovered she could find cards at antique shows and by joining a postcard club. “When I’d go to antique shows,” recalls Bump, “people had postcards separated by

2

1. Just Killin’ Time, Ned Gilbert’s Store, Main Street, Honeoye, NY, c. 1908, (Divided Back) COURTESY OF CHARLES KENNERSON 2. Seeing Newark, NY, double card with foldout cards, 1908, (Undivided Card) COURTESY OF ELEANOR BUMP

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categories or by towns, so I started to look at Newark for cards of the Newark Developmental Center where I work, and there were a lot.” For 28 years Bump has been employed by the Finger Lakes DDSO (Developmental Disabilities Service Office) and is now director of one of their group homes in Seneca Falls.

The facility’s original, large, red brick buildings appear on older cards as “The New York State Custodial Asylum for Feeble Minded Women of Childbearing Age,” which it was called when it began serving as a residential and training facility for the developmentally disabled in the late 19th century.

Among Bump’s roughly 350 views of Newark are similar, but not identical, cards of the Corner of Main and East Union Street (fig. 3) as it appeared about 1910. This bustling intersection is immortalized in postcards while the actual buildings disappeared during Newark’s Urban Renewal Program of the 1970s. Newark’s Deputy Village Historian Chris Davis can identify the Sherman Opera House, in the center of the block, once the tallest building in Wayne County. The Erie Canal was located behind these buildings, according to Davis, and the RS & E (Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern) trolley, visible in the foreground, ran through Newark and other canal towns.

Bump is amused that on one card of this intersection there is a man leaning against a utility pole on the street corner, while on the other card, all poles and wires have been air-brushed out and he seems to be leaning on thin air! A third card of this location appears in a souvenir postcard folder, Seeing Newark, NY (fig. 2). Folded inside, accordion fashion, are 24 tiny but easily identifiable Newark postcards, including the busy Union and Main Street hub. Here the man is again, casually leaning against the pole.

Postcards depicting forms of transportation that are no longer common, such as canal boats, trolleys, steamboats, trains, horse-drawn vehicles and early automobiles attract many collectors. Only the tracks of the trolley which ran from Geneva to the Cayuga Lake State Park are visible on a card of Main Street Looking East, Waterloo (fig. 11) which dates about 1920. It is from the postcard collection of George DiPronio of Waterloo. The view is just west of the intersection of Routes 96 and 5 & 20, (Main Street). Buildings on the north side, known as Hunt Block, remain today as part of the Main Street

Right: Newark COURTESY OF ELEANOR BUMP 3. Corner of Main and East Union Street, Newark, NY, 1910, (Divided Back) 4. Jackson & Perkins Co., Newark, NY, 1950, (Chrome) 5. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Newark, NY, 1904, (Private Mailing Card)

3

4

5

5

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Identifying the Age of Postcards The collector of postcards discovers their history is divided into seven different eras based on changes in appearance. Dates may vary depending on the source.

Pioneer Era (1893-1898) The popular sale of cards at the Columbia Exposition in Chicago in 1893 enhanced the future of postcards. These government printed postal cards and privately printed souvenir cards usually had multiple views. The governmental postcards had an imprinted 1-cent stamp while the souvenir card required a 2-cent postage stamp.

Private Mailing Card (1898-1901) Starting in 1898, American Publishers were allowed to print and sell cards bearing the inscription, “Private Mailing Card.”

These private mailing cards were to be posted with 1-cent stamps. Writing (as they had been with earlier pioneer cards) was reserved for the front (picture side) of the cards.

Undivided Back Era (1893-1907) The above three eras can be grouped in the general heading of “undivided back.”

Divided Back Era (1907-1915) Postcards started to have a vertical line down the middle, so the address and the message were both on the back of the card. This prevented the face of the card from being written on. The decade of 1905-1915 is known as the “Golden Age of Postcards” when postcard collecting became wildly popular. The majority of U.S. postcards were printed in Europe, especially in Germany where printing methods were superior.

White Border Era (1915-1930) Due to World War I, imports from Germany ceased and U.S. publishers started printing most American postcards.

They were printed with white borders around the picture to save ink. The quality of the cards was not high due partly to inexperience.

Linen Card Era (1939-present) With improvements in printing, cards were printed on a linen-type paper stock with bright colors from inexpensive inks. Linens are considered to be the only true American postcards. Most important events in history were recorded on these cards.

Photochrome Era (1939-present) Publishers began producing cards that had beautiful colors on a shiny paper surface. Known as “Modern Chromes,” they are becoming increasingly popular with collectors.

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Center. DiPronio, a native of Waterloo, recalls that a local druggist, whose business, Smith’s Drugs is visible on the postcard, was instrumental in finding the funds to print many local postcards.

“I was always interested in history,” explains DiPronio, adding, “so why not local history? I got into collecting postcards because I was interested in what the village looked like prior to my birth, in some cases, or at least when I was younger.” While a postcard of the Seneca River at Locust Street (fig. 13) appeals to collectors of canal boat views the location also has the distinction of being the historic site of the Cayuga Indian village around the year 1500.

Waterloo Body Works Company (fig. 10) became the Mid-State Body Co., Inc. in the 1930s, manufacturing automobile station wagon and truck bodies called “woodies.” DiPronio, who was employed by Mid-State before working for the Department of Transportation, recalls, “Back in the 1940s and 1950s there was a shortage of steel, so they started making automobile bodies out of wood.”

Today, DiPronio is on the board that oversees the Waterloo library and two local museums, including the brick mansion at 35 East Main Street which has become the Memorial Day Museum (fig. 12). A chrome postcard (see postcard eras) in his collection may date to when it first opened in 1966.

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is relatively small, the number of postcards produced may be limited. Chuck Kennerson owns about 40 views of Honeoye where he now lives. He has 12 of Dresden in Yates County (one of the smallest and oldest incorporated villages in the state) where he was born, and another 60 of Penn Yan where he went to school. While he and his wife, Barb, together have 13,000 to 14,000 postcards, a relatively small portion are view cards. “We probably had 3,000 to 4,000 cards before we ever looked at a view card, which is what most people look to collect,” says Kennerson. The former teachers, who moved to Honeoye in 1977, began collecting postcards seriously in 1992. His specialty is holiday cards and “anything else that takes my fancy,” he says. She looks for cat postcards, views of Scotland, and the Wizard of Oz. Most of Kennerson’s Honeoye cards are referred to as “real photos.” They are not reproductions but actual photographic prints. Kennerson explains that once a roll of film was taken up, it was printed on the postcard paper.

“You could have 100 of the same photo printed,” explains Kennerson, adding, “When you get a real photo, it might be the only one, or it might be one of 100.

“In terms of value,” says Kennerson, “the real photo cards are more valuable than the regular cards with an artist’s rendition of a view. People who collect real photos

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like to see them cancelled. Then you know the date it was mailed.” Based on his own cards and the collections of two friends, he estimates there may be 60 to 70 real photo cards of Honeoye.

Just Killin’ Time (fig. 1) is a real photo card of men sitting on the stoop in front of a Honeoye business. With the help of a local historian, all the men pictured outside Ned Gilbert’s store in 1909 have been identified. Today the store and a landmark gazebo which appear on many postcards (fig. 6) no longer exist.

Another of Honeoye’s Main Street businesses immortalized on a postcard is referred to by Kennerson as the Ice Cream Parlor (fig. 9). The building also housed a jewelry store according to this early real photo card. Later, the building was moved to become the village’s first library and today it serves as a dance studio. “This card is unique and appeals to different collectors,” says Kennerson. “People collect postcards of ice cream parlors anywhere in the country.”

Kennerson is an avid soccer fan and coach, as well as a postcard collector. In an aerial postcard view of Honeoye Lake (fig. 8) from the early 1990s, he points out the school and its athletic fields. A much earlier postcard, Bird’s Eye View of Honeoye (fig. 7), postmarked 1908, looks west over an open field where the school ultimately was built.

Like Bump and DiPronio, Kennerson is one of over 100 members of the Western New York Postcard Club and often attends the club’s annual show and sale. The 2002 show is already scheduled for October 20 at 1200 Buffalo Road in Rochester. Monthly meetings are held September through May (except January) and offer programs and the opportunity to buy, sell, or trade cards.

The WNYPC Club is “organized for the dissemination of knowledge and news relative to the collecting of picture postcards and paper memorabilia,” according to literature provided by Josh Canfield of the 27-year-old club.

Sometimes postcards reach new admirers. A unique quilt made by Waterloo resident Kate Litzenberger involved transforming 34 images of Waterloo, many from postcards, onto fabric, and enlarging them to make quilt squares. The finished quilt, now at the Terwilliger Museum on East Williams Street in Waterloo, is known as “The

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Right: Honeoye, COURTESY OF CHARLES KENNERSON 6. View of Main Street with Gazebo, (looking east), Honeoye, NY, 1907, (Divided Back) 7. Bird’s Eye View of Honeoye, NY, (looking west), 1908, (Divided Back) 8. Honeoye Lake & Honeoye Central School Athletic Fields, Honeoye, NY, c. 1991, (Chrome) 9. Ice Cream Parlor, Main Street, Honeoye, NY, c. 1908, (Divided Back) 9

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Waterloo Historical Postcard Sampler Quilt.” Litzenberger says that she enjoys knowing that older people who grew up in the town remember some of the images.

Lisa Compton of the Seneca Falls Historical Society, while not a collector, values postcards as historical documents. “I’m fascinated by what they can tell us - sometimes on the front, sometimes on the back, or sometimes from the dating and stamp,” says Compton. As the Society’s executive director, Compton estimates that there are 500 cards in this public collection available for exhibit or study.

A number depict the famous Steamer Frontenac on Cayuga Lake (fig. 14) that held its maiden voyage in 1870, and for over 30 years provided a popular mode of travel around the lake for both business and pleasure. The ship burned in 1907 with 150 people aboard. Nine passengers were lost.

Its tragic demise is also documented on postcards.

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us about tourists and their mementos and souvenirs,” says Compton. She particularly likes one in the Society’s collection; The Elms-Best in Cabins (fig. 15), shows local tourist camp cabins built in the 1930s. The simple oneroom dwellings located at 2120 Route 5 & 20 between Seneca Falls and Waterloo may again be restored. These views fall into a postcard group referred to by collectors as “Roadside America,” which are still relatively easy to find. Other examples include views of diners, gas stations and drive-in restaurants.

A “large letter” card such as one printed with, “Greetings from Cayuga Lake State Park” (fig. 16) is a form of generic souvenir postcard from the 1940s. This style of card, with oversized capital letters which frame views of scenery, events and people, was printed for tourist locations across the country. Cayuga Lake State Park, three miles south of Seneca Falls, had trolley cars at the turn of the 20th century which carried passengers down to the lake front. It became a state park in 1928.

In Newark, Jackson & Perkins Co. (fig. 4), once the largest rose garden in the world with 36,000 rose bushes, drew many visitors to its South Main Street (Route 88) location during its nearly 30 years of existence. “On a

Left: Waterloo, COURTESY OF GEORGE DIPRONIO

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10. Waterloo Body Corporation, Waterloo, NY, c. 1908, (Divided Back) 11. Main Street Looking East, Waterloo, NY, c. 1920, (White Border) 12. Birthplace of Memorial Day, Waterloo, NY, c. 1966, (Chrome) 13. Seneca River at Locust Street, Waterloo, NY, c. 1939, (White Border)

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couple of the postcards, you can see the crowds,” points out Bump. She remembers participating in annual kiddie parades in the gardens. Bump reads the caption from one of her cards, “There was also a charming kiddies parade during the colorful month-long rose festival, starting about June 17. I can remember all that,” she says with a smile.

Buying view cards is still within reach of the average collector, although Kennerson cautions, “Anyone who starts looking for older cards now will find they’re expensive.” He bought the ice cream shop postcard for $30 from a dealer. “That’s a high price,” says Kennerson.

The value of postcards is affected by their rarity as well as condition. “At least once a week I get a call from someone who has postcards they say are in ‘mint’ condition,” says Bill Cody, editor of Barr’s Post Card News, a twice-monthly publication that has been around for 28 years and is well-respected by collectors. Cody says the cards rarely turn out to be ‘mint.’ In 1983, Barr’s developed a list of postcard “collection grades” which have become the standard for postcard collecting worldwide.

The standards range from M or Mint (“A perfect card just as it comes from the print press. No marks, bends or creases. No writing or postmark. A clean and fresh card. Seldom seen”) to PR or Poor (“Card is intact.

Excess soil, stained, cancel may affect picture with writing on either side. Could be a scarce card and hard to find in any collection with heavy creases”) and SF or Space Filler (“Poor Condition

and least desirable”). The complete list is on Barr’s Web site at www.bpcn.com.

The monthly publication, Postcard Collector, is another helpful resource. It is currently celebrating its 20th year and has asked people to share postcard-collecting stories by sending them to Claire R. Fliess, Editor, Postcard Collector, P.O. Box 1050, Dubuque, IA 52004.

The stories can be read at their Web site at www.collect.com/postcard.

For more information on the Western New York Postcard Club, contact Josh Canfield at (585) 582-1438.

Special thanks to: • Postcard collectors Eleanor Bump, George DiPronio and Charles and Barbara Kennerson.

• Lisa Compton and Bernadette Murphy of the Seneca Falls Historical Society, Seneca Falls.

• Chris Davis of the Arcadia Historical Society, Newark.

• James Hughes of the Terwilliger Museum, Waterloo.

• Josh Canfield of the Western New York Postcard Club.

Laurel Wemett is a correspondent for the Daily Messenger newspaper in Canandaigua. She owns a gift shop named Cat’s in the Kitchen and lives in Canandaigua.

Right: Seneca Falls and Cayuga County ARCHIVE OF THE SENECA FALLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY FROM THE

14. Seneca, NY, Steamer Frontenac Cayuga Lake, prior to 1907, (Undivided Back) 15. The Elms – Best in Cabins, U.S. Routes 5 & 20, between Seneca Falls and Waterloo, NY, c. 1930, (Divided Back; White border photo) 16. Greetings from Cayuga Lake State Park, NY, c. 1940, (Linen)

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SPRING’S A-BLOOMIN’!

W

ITH THE MELTING OF WINTER SNOWS COME THE COLORS OF SPRING.

BULBS,

SUCH AS DAFFODILS AND TULIPS, AND LILY-OFTHE-VALLEY BRIGHTEN OUR LIVES.

WILDFLOWERS

GRACE THE FOREST FLOOR WITH A CARPET OF GREEN, WHITE, YELLOW AND BLUE.

Left: Large flowered trillium at Chimney Bluffs State Park Bill Banaszewski

Above: Wearing a dandelion crown, Amelia enjoys the beauty of these tulips. Carol Stash SPRING 2002 ~

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Clockwise, starting with top: Tulips dress up this old barn. Roger Soule This curious kitten is interested in a spring bloom. Roger Soule Dandelions and daffodills adorn the lawn in front of the Granger Homestead, Canandaigua. Dorothy Kennedy Snow-covered lily-of-the-valley.

Bill Banaszewski A daffodil closeup. Steve Chesler A Finger Lakes farm in bloom.

Dorothy Kennedy

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THE RETURN OF THE — RIVER OTTER —

Photographs and Story by Bill Banaszewski, Professor Environmental Conservation Department Finger Lakes Community College

bsent from the Finger Lakes region for over 100 years, the river otter, a truly energetic and charismatic animal, is once again swimming in the clear, unpolluted waters of Central New York.

Early in November 2000, over 400 people gathered at Finger Lakes Community College’s Muller Conservation Field Station to observe the reintroduction of seven river otter. These seven otter were the last of the 279 that were trapped from the Adirondacks and released into suitable wetlands and rivers in Central and Western New York. The reintroduction, spearheaded by the New York River Otter Project under the leadership of Dennis Money, was unique because of the partnership between a private sector organization interested in enhancing wildlife resources, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Established in 1994, the River Otter Project eagerly accepted the task of raising $300,000 that was needed to capture the otter, provide veterinary care and educate the public about the value of returning otter to our region.

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HISTORY Well over 100 years ago the river otter (Lontra canadensis) was one of the most widespread fur bearers on the continent and, along with the beaver, was pursued by early trappers for its valuable pelt. In the Finger Lakes Region, the otter inhabited nearly all watersheds. However, during the mid-1800s, otter began to decline throughout the state.

Deforestation, polluted water, unregulated and relentless trapping, and, to some degree, undeserved prejudice were responsible for eliminating otter from the Finger Lakes, and making them uncommon in both the Adirondacks and Catskills by the early 1900s. Recognizing their potential demise, New York State completely protected otter from 1936 to 1945. Because of its protected status, otter populations experienced regional increases after 1945, which resulted in the DEC establishing annual trapping seasons in portions of New York. However, in Central and Western New York, they remain protected.

More recently, otter have become relatively common in both the Adirondacks and southern Catskills. DEC wildlife

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biologists concluded that with sufficient stock in the Adirondacks and with improved water quality and forest habitats, it was feasible to reintroduce otter into the Finger Lakes Region.

OTTER RETURN TO THE FINGER LAKES After considerable study and public hearings revealed that the people of this region wanted to see the river otter return, the first of 16 reintroduction projects occurred on October 5, 1995, in the heart of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex. That day, DEC Wildlife Biologist Bruce Penrod and Dennis Money, with volunteers from the Otter Project, released 20 otter.

Six years later at FLCC’s Muller Field Station, the final seven otter of the project were released. The Muller Field Station, adjacent to a unique 1,000-acre wetland at the south end of Honeoye Lake, was donated to FLCC’s Environmental Conservation Department by Florence Muller. The area will serve as an outdoor laboratory and classroom for students majoring in conservation. Observing and studying the released otter at Muller was the first of what surely will be many “hands-on” fish and wildlife management experiences for students and staff in FLCC’s Conservation Department.

OTTERLY FANTASTIC When FLCC Conservation Professor Anne Terninko, an active member of the River Otter Project, suggested to the DEC that river otter might be released in the Honeoye Wetland Complex, the college’s conservation staff was confident that they could raise the necessary funds to support

Top/Above: The river otter are released at the Muller Conservation Field Station in Honeoye.

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the release. They were also confident that the Muller wetlands with its three-mile-long feeder canal flowing into Honeoye Lake would provide ideal habitat for river otter. The DEC agreed. With the help of students and staff, $6,000 was raised to trap the otter, pay for medical treatment, and have the veterinarian at the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester surgically implant radio transmitters in four of the otter so their movements and activities could be studied.

As the newly appointed director of the Muller Field Station, I have many pleasurable responsibilities, including monitoring and photographing the otter. No experience in my 34 years of teaching conservation at FLCC has provided me with a greater sense of fascination and discovery than my studies of the river otter. All that I had read about their energy, charisma, playfulness, and curiosity was repeatedly confirmed by my observations during the past year.

NATURAL HISTORY AND OBSERVATIONS OF THE RIVER OTTER Four female and three male otter were released at Muller. Otter weigh between 15-30 pounds and have streamlined bodies with broad, flattened heads. Their tails are long, thick and gradually taper at the point. Generally dark brown to black on their backs and paler underneath,

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otter have silvery-gray throats and distinctive white whiskers. The most aquatic member of the weasel family, they have webbed feet and small eyes and ears that are valved to keep the water out when underwater. In water, otter propel themselves like torpedoes and move with amazing grace and power.

On numerous occasions after the release, I observed otter diving gracefully under water without making a splash.

On one such occasion after an otter submerged, I followed its air bubbles for nearly two minutes before it surfaced.

Somewhat surprised that I was still around, it looked at me with a curious and penetrating stare, made a brief nasal sound, and then dove silently under water again into the security of a nearby abandoned beaver lodge.

Otter run with a loping gait. When there is snow or ice, they can’t resist sliding down the slope of a beaver lodge behaving like young children enjoying the benefits of a winter storm. I have seen signs of, and twice observed, otter getting a running start, leaping forward with their forelegs folded closely underneath their bodies and sliding

Above: River otter entering an underwater den.

Below: Otters are very much at home in the water.

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What to look for: through the ice and snow. Observing them with binoculars, I couldn’t help but be a little anthropomorphic; it appeared to me they were smiling.

Determining if the otter were finding sufficient prey was one of our priorities after the release. FLCC’s fisheries classes had done some preliminary inventories and, to no one’s surprise, our netting and electro-fishing surveys revealed an abundance of preferred otter food. Our question was quickly answered when two otter were observed eating a yellow perch and a crayfish within hours after they were set free. After one winter of observations and analysis of their scat, it was confirmed that perch, bluegill, bullhead, carp, suckers, shiners, mud minnows, crayfish, bullfrogs and mice were their common food sources.

All of the 279 otter released in the project had titanium chips implanted in their bodies for generic identification purposes. Four of the seven Muller otter were also implanted with transmitters that emit specific signals. Initially concerned that the otter would leave the area, we were pleasantly surprised to find that all seven otter remained in the Honeoye Lake watershed for several months.

We were able to confirm this by sighting three otter traveling together that did not produce a transmitter signal.

Shortly after and a considerable distance away, we picked up the distinctive signals from the other four otter.

Although we were aware from previous research that otter have a sizeable home range and travel long distances during the twilight hours, we were nonetheless intrigued by how far they traveled in a 24-hour period.

One early spring day, our telemetry equipment located a male otter nearly three miles into Honeoye Lake. The very next day, the same otter was confirmed by telemetry deep into the wetland and nearly six miles south of its previous day’s location. The “fre-

River otter leave a variety of “signs” behind that indicate their presence.

Since these animals are rare and elusive in the Finger Lakes, finding these markings is easier than actually spotting an otter. Here is what you can find.

TRACKS. River otter and all members of the weasel family have five toes on the front and rear feet. Dogs and cats normally have only four toes per foot, while rodents have five toes per rear foot and four toes on each front foot.

Typically found near water, search for otter tracks in mud and snow. Front tracks are between 3 and 4 inches across, while hind tracks are a bit larger.

Otter have webbed feet to aid in swimming but the webbing is not always noticeable in their tracks.

SLIDES. Also called slips, these marks are even more obvious than tracks. Otter will slide along the snow on their sleek bellies and create 8-inch-wide swaths that can run for 20 feet or more. Watch for this sign on the surface of frozen lakes and any bank that provides even a slight decline. This behavior is one reason river otter are called “playful.”

SCAT. Any naturalist worth his or her salt won’t shy away at the sight of an animal’s droppings. Otter can produce distinctive droppings that contain large amounts of fish scales and bones, crayfish shells and even rodent hairs.

Another common scat occurs when otters dine primarily on frogs. The result is a formless, slimy mass that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Otter will often defecate in the same area over and over again. These places are called toilets by biologists. Researchers in Letchworth State Park analyzing otter scat found that the animals there ate more slow-moving fish than faster game fish.

ROLL. River otter will often select favorite sites to roll in. The result is an area of matted vegetation that can be over 6 feet wide. These rolls or rolling places often have a musky odor due to scent posts left by the users.

DEN SITES. Otter do not create distinctive den sites, but rather use beaver lodges, muskrat bank holes or natural features such as hollow logs or root masses. These sites should be investigated for the signs mentioned above.

Finding otter sign is often the first step towards finding the critters themselves. Slow down and become aware of the stories that are written on the land and snow for those who know how to read.

— John Van Neil SPRING 2002 ~

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Who’s Who of the Wetlands: SPLASH! A furry brown torpedo just flashed past your canoe and disappeared into the water. Was it the elusive otter? Several other mammals share the same haunts as river otter. Here are some tips to tell these furbearers apart.

MINK. Mink and otter are both members of the weasel family and share many similar characteristics.

They are both long of body and tail.

Both are at home in the water and out. Both are active day or night.

The key difference is size. Mink are smaller than a house cat, averaging about 2 feet long with another 7 inches of tail trailing behind. Even a small adult otter will be twice that size.

Mink hardly ever reach a weight of 4 pounds, while otter tip the scales at 15 to 30 pounds. The tracks of a mink are about the size of a quarter. Finally, mink often have some white coloration to the chin or undersides, while otters almost never do.

BEAVER. As the largest rodent in North America, beaver certainly rival an otter in size. In addition, both animals have luxuriously thick fur. But the similarities end there.

The tail of a beaver is unmistakable: flat and hairless. When startled, beaver will often slap the surface of the water with their broad tail to sound the alarm. The tracks left by the front feet of beaver have only four toes (compared to five on an otter) and the hind feet show a long heel that is not present in otter.

MUSKRAT. Muskrats are much smaller than otter and do not share similarities in body shape either. But muskrats are by far the most common of the animals listed here and can be encountered frequently. Watch for the long skinny hairless tail that helps give the muskrat its name. The tail is visible when the animal dives, but may also be seen as the muskrat swims along the surface. Even if the tail is not visible, the very small head of the muskrat is easily distinguished from the large broad head of the otter.

Even if you don’t spot the Finger Lakes’ newest mammal, a sighting of any one of the animals listed above can provide some lasting memories.

— John Van Neil

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quent flyer award” goes to one of the otter released at Letchworth State Park. In a short period of time, it traveled 40 miles over land to High Tor Swamp at the south end of Canandaigua Lake.

During their first winter, the otter appeared to be using several abandoned beaver lodges as home sites. In one instance, however, my nature photography students and I observed an otter apparently enter an active beaver lodge. Within seconds a beaver emerged, followed by the otter. After a minute of swimming together, they both re-entered the lodge (if their air bubble trail was not misleading) and remained inside until we left.

That first winter the otter were active throughout the canal. They would make 7- or 8-inch-wide air holes in the ice, pop through them, and consume their catch on the surface. One morning while cross-country skiing, I heard a “thumping” sound coming from the canal, now covered by nearly an inch of ice. Two or three “thuds” later, an otter, which evidently had been banging its head to make a hole, broke through the ice. It vigorously shook its head as if to say, “Man, that hurt!”

Late that winter and throughout the summer, several of the otter seemed to prefer the lake rather than the wetlands as their home base. In February, ice fishermen reported otter coming up through ice fishing holes to feed on perch and bait left on the ice.

Lake residents observed otter on docks, and fishermen in a rowboat reported that three otter followed them, apparently looking for a free meal.

Unfortunately for the otter, the guys weren’t very good fishermen.

Regrettably, the largest Muller otter with a transmitter traveled out of the wetland complex toward Naples.

Last spring it was found dead in Naples Creek and the DEC was unable to determine the cause of its death.

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FUTURE The goal of the River Otter Project was to reintroduce otter with the hope that they would find suitable habitats in which to breed and eventually establish a sustainable population.

Otter usually mate in the spring and have an eight- to 10-month gestation period. After fertilization, the implantation of their eggs in the uterine wall can be delayed for a period of time. This enables them, regardless when they mate, to bear their young the following spring when food is plentiful and conditions for development of the pups are more favorable. At birth, pups are fully furred, but blind.

Their eyes won’t open for five weeks and, surprisingly, they are not introduced to water until they are 2 to 3 months old. Even at that age, the female otter has to coax her young into the water.

According to Wildlife Biologist Bruce Penrod, approximately 90 percent of the otter released through the project are still afield. Car accidents have been the top cause of mortality to date. However, sightings of otter pups provide

Above: A telemetry unit is used to track a river otter near Honeoye.

Below: A river otter cleaning its face.

early indication of the success of the project. Reproduction was first confirmed with a photo of pups from the Black Creek release site and, again, when two young otter near the Whitney Point release site were found dead and did not have a titanium identification chip.

Although the outcome of the river otter reintroduction will not be known for years, all indications currently point to another wildlife reintroduction success story. Both Penrod and FLCC’s Terninko agree that, to this point, the project has been quite successful. The fact that so many otter have remained in the habitats where they were released, or have taken up residence in nearby suitable habitats, and the encouraging reports of natural reproduction are but two reasons to believe that otter have a bright future in the Finger Lakes Region.

Bill Banaszewski is the owner of Finger Lakes Images, where he specializes in outdoor photography. He lives on Keuka Lake with his wife Michele.

John Van Neil is a professor in the Enviromental Conservation department at Finger Lakes Community College. He teaches wildlife and ornithology courses.

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T H E

H U M A N

S I D E

It’s a Small World Canandaigua native Arthur Buss recalls growing up in the Finger Lakes town.

By Nancy B. Fischer

Arthur Buss, June 2001.

I spent last Mother’s Day flying to Reno, Nevada, with my husband. Since I had never been any further west than Oklahoma, this trip was eagerly anticipated. I was going to see my first snow-capped mountains, and fly over the Rockies!

As we waited for our connecting flight in Chicago, I sat and watched the people around me. Suddenly from the sea of faces and hurrying bodies, I saw an elderly gentleman standing near the gate to our plane. With a straight posture and uplifted chin, he had a look of Western-style royalty. A self-confidence and feel of importance seemed to exude from him.

I leaned towards my husband and quietly said, “Honey, look at that elderly man over there. Isn’t he the most dapper man you’ve ever seen?”

As we boarded the plane and slowly made our way to our assigned seats, we found the man sitting by the window in the same row of seats assigned

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to us! I quickly took my middle seat next to him and said, “Hello!”

Soon, we were chatting easily. He was returning to his home in California, but when he asked where we were from, I hesitated. Knowing that he would never have heard of Canandaigua, New York, I said, “Well, I’m sure you’ve heard of Buffalo, New York?”

“Oh yes! You’re from Buffalo?”

“Well, no, about 50 miles east of Buffalo is Rochester, and we live about 30 miles south of Rochester.”

The wise man turned his head slightly to look at me. “Now,” he said, “would you happen to know Ontario County?”

I turned to look at him. Crinkling laugh lines shot out from the corners of his deep-set, pool-blue eyes and he looked at me with anticipation.

“Yes!” I gasped, “We live in Ontario County!”

“Well,” he exclaimed, “I was born and raised in Canandaigua, New York!”

Well, my mouth dropped open and my eyes must have bugged from my face with such surprise and amazement! “Canandaigua, New York?

That’s where we live!”

From Chicago to Reno, this is what we learned. Arthur Edward Buss was indeed born in Canandaigua in 1910 to William S. Buss (native of Wayne County) and Mary Wood Buss (native of England). They lived on Granger Street (Mr. Buss could not remember the number of the house) and then later at 99 North Pleasant

Street. Arthur Buss’ father worked in the greenhouse at Sonnenberg under Mr. Weldon Kershaw, the superintendent. Art’s close friends were members of the Boy Scout Troop No. 2 that met at the Methodist church under Scoutmaster Ray Stokoe and Dr. A.W. Armstrong, troop committee chairman.

His good friends were Bunk Gentner, Jack Bacon, George Parks, and Henry Miller. “Bunk” Gentner later served as Ontario County Fire Coordinator under the Civil Defense Program. As we flew 33,000 feet above the earth, this fine gentleman leaned his head back and the memories came flowing.

“My days in scouting are some of my fondest memories in Canandaigua: the trips to the Bristol Hills to plant trees in a reforestation project, and drawing up plans for a cabin on the tree planting site with Mr. Hindman in the Dome of the Courthouse. Did that cabin ever get built, I wonder?”

My husband, a former Boy Scout and Eagle Scout, happily chimed in, “It sure did! There is a wonderful, well-used camp there today.”

“During my high school days,” Mr. Buss recalled, “I had a job with Lisk Manufacturing Company, and I would pick up the mail each morning at the post office and help sort it, all before going to school each day. In the afternoon I would duplicate price lists or sales memos and address the mail and sack it for the teamster to deliver to the post office. It was an interesting employment.

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BED & BREAKFAST SHOWCASE “I was a communicant of the First Congregational Church there on North Main Street. I was baptized as a baby by the Reverend L.L. Taylor, and became a member of the church during the Reverend Forbush’s ministry there.”

For a man 91 years old, his recall faculties were incredible! I was listening in utter amazement.

Backing up in time, Mr. Buss recollected that he had attended the Chapel Street School in grades one through three, and Union School during grades four through eight. It was then on to the Canandaigua Academy for his freshman and sophomore years.

Mr. Buss reminisced, “I remember winters, sliding downhill off ThadChapin Street! What fun that was!

And I vividly remember the first Armistice Day in 1918. All the bells in town were ringing. Our teacher let us out of school. Some of us ran down to Ontario’s No. 3 Fire House, near the corner of Chapel Street and North Main. We rang the triangle until the rope broke and thus ended the triangle-ringing. I got all wrapped up in the rope.

“One of the highlights of my Canandaigua experience was the formation of the school traffic patrol. Chief Thomas Kinsella of the police department, with the consent of Mr. Fisk, superintendent of schools, together with the Scout leaders and Troops 2 and 3 of the Boy Scouts of America, organized what was to be a long-lasting, country-wide program of school crossing safety. The members of the Boy Scouts would be excused early from school and would be stationed at school crossings on Main Street to signal traffic when students were in the crossing. We used the Scout semaphore flags to signal drivers to stop. Officer Beamon and Officer Lou Henderson would oversee the operations by frequent passes on their motorcycles.

“I was proud and honored to become a Senior Patrol Leader in my

GENTLE GIANTS B & B

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Enjoy comfort in the country, three miles west of Geneva, minutes from Hobart College and Seneca Lake. We offer two air-conditioned rooms with private baths in our restored 1856 Italianate Victorian home plus a full country breakfast.

Beach, canoe, paddleboat. Walk through the woods where there is a teahouse over a 60-foot waterfall, tipi, labyrinth, tree house, pond with statuary and gazebo.

315-781-2723 • Toll-free: 866-894-3821 pin 6720 E-mail: bgnashj@usadatanet.net

1170 West Lake Road • Branchport, New York 14418 607-868-3731

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 121

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 122

John’s Guest House Enjoy a peaceful, tranquil setting overlooking state park lands. Relax on the spacious deck or sit by the pond listening to the soothing sounds of the water fountain and mother nature. Two comfortably furnished guest rooms with private bath, AC, Cable TV, microwaves and refrigerators. Nice efficiency unit is also available with the same amenities as our guest rooms. Ideal for families while traveling. Close to Watkins Glen Race Track (3 miles). Short drive to Corning, Ithaca and surrounding attractions. Children free.

Silver Strand at Sheldrake Bed & Breakfast www.silverstrand.net

Rates: Guest rooms $75; Efficiency unit $125

607-535-4367 REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 123

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 124

Rufus Tanner House Enjoy quiet time on one of the porches, read in the seclusion of a garden, stroll through the orchard, sit by the fireplace, view a night sky wallpapered with stars. Rufus Tanner House is 20 minutes from Corning and the Corning Museum of Glass, 25 minutes from Watkins Glen and Finger Lakes Wine Country, 2 hours from Syracuse and Rochester, 3 hours from Niagara Falls, and 4 hours from New York City.

60 Sagetown Rd., Pine City, NY 14871 607-732-0213 • www.rufustanner.com REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 125

Patchwork Peace Bed & Breakfast “Spend quiet time in the country on a farm.

Watch a gorgeous sunrise, a glorious sunset. View the night sky with no lights to block out the stars.

Take a short drive to a museum, winery or park.

Enjoy breakfast with your hosts.”

4279 Waterbury Hill Avoca, NY 14809 • Phone: 607-566-2443 www.patchworkpeace.com REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 126

The Rose Inn “The House with the Circular Staircase”

WESTRIDGE B & B

An elegant 1850s Italianate mansion, situated on 17 acres and located 10 miles north of Ithaca.

22 exquisite rooms including 12 Deluxe suites with Jacuzzis (7 with fireplaces). Full breakfast.

813 Auburn Rd., Ithaca, NY (607) 533-7905 www.roseinn.com

“Victorian Charm with a European Touch.” An 1896 Eastlake Victorian – elegantly quaint and comfortable.

Overlooking nearby village, lake, & country sunsets.

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 127

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 128

3143 West Lake Road • Skaneateles, NY 13152 www.thewestridgebandb.com

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REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 129

“We decided to enter the wine business because we believe that the Finger Lakes region can grow wines that are among the best in the world.”

-Tom & Marti Macinski Owners

Our doors are open: 12-5pm (except Tues. & Wed.) Sat. 11-6pm 9934 Rte. 414, Hector, NY

800-803-7135

standingstonewines.com REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 130

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sophomore year at the Canandaigua Academy,” reported Mr. Buss.

“One of many adults who stood out and always commanded great respect and admiration from the young citizens of Canandaigua was a policeman for whom I still have fond memories,” Mr. Buss reminisced. “Assistant Chief of Police Johnny Mulligan was a bear of a man, over six feet tall. Most of us young men looked up to Johnny Mulligan, and none of us ever wanted to get caught in any kind of scampishness and have him find us out! It happened to me once, just once.

“A couple of my buddies and I got into a little innocent mischief, but when we saw big Officer Johnny Mulligan coming towards us, we knew we were in trouble! I’ll never forget how I trembled as his big paw rested on my skinny, little shoulder, and he said, ‘Arty, you’d better get yourself home before I decide to talk to your old man!’

“Sadly, in 1926 my folks succumbed to the old saying, ‘Blood is thicker than water,’ and at the urging of my mother’s sister, who resided in California, we pulled up stakes and took off for the West. I was a sophomore at the Academy at that time, and it was difficult for me to leave behind my home and my friends, the only community I had ever known.

“Our trip to California turned into a real adventure. We transported ourselves (two adults, four kids and a dog), in an Overland Whippet sedan.

From St. Louis we followed what was then under construction to become U.S. Route 66. From St. Louis to the Texas border it rained almost continuously. We had to be pulled out of the mud several times by friendly farmers, who often refused payment for services. We arrived in San Francisco on a Sunday afternoon.

I started school right away there at the oldest school in San Francisco, the Mission High School. There I completed my junior and senior years. I graduat-

ed in 1929. Then it was off to college, where I received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Armstrong College in Berkeley, California. I served as a civilian employee of the United States Navy from 1937 until 1973 as a Security and Fire Protection Specialist, and finally Fire Chief and District Fire Marshall until I retired on December 31 of 1973.

“I’ve had a full and blessed life,” concluded Mr. Buss. I married my first love, Elizabeth Irwin, in October 1936 and we lived in San Francisco, Escalon, and finally Stockton, California. My Elizabeth died in June of 1973, the year I retired. Sadly, we were childless, so I was truly alone for the first time in 37 years. However, my life as a solitary man did not last too long. I remarried in October of 1974 to a friend of Elizabeth’s and mine, Frances Kincaid Williams.

Another bright spot in my life was when I was privileged and honored in May, 1986, to receive a degree of Doctor of Public Service from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. I am proud of this award. The citation I received accounts for about thirty or more years of my existence during my working career.

As our 747 flew over the Rockies, Mr. Buss told us that he keeps very busy now, traveling when he can. He is staying involved and active in the fraternal orders he has belonged to for over 50 years.

As our plane landed and we said good-bye, I thought about what a small world it was that on a cross-counry flight, strangers can discover their common roots and their shared love for a little town in Upstate New York.

Nancy Fischer, aspiring writer, mother and grandmother, is a resident of Yacht Club Cove in Canandaigua, where she lives with her husband, Neal.

38-56.LIFL.Spring.02 2/25/2002 2:01 PM Page 41

F R U I T

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Dessert Wines: Just the Right Touch

By Joy Underhill

M

ake your special meal an elegant and memorable affair. Try a dessert wine with – or as – dessert.

If you’ve never tried a dessert wine, you might think it’s some too-sweet concoction made from strawberries or plums. But dessert wines are far from that. Think nectar. These rich, dense wines are best enjoyed in small sips – or better yet – paired with fruity or rich desserts.

In the European Tradition Dessert wines have enjoyed a long history in European vineyards. French Sauternes, although produced in small quantities, are highly valued for their intense flavors and the way they complement rich foods. Some Sauternes develop for up to 50 years after bottling.

The German equivalents to the Sauternes are the Eisweins (ice wines), the Trockenbeerenauslese, and a few others others sure to trip up my high school German.

Some varieties of German dessert wines are actually made dry.

“Be Mine With Wine” I had the enviable job of visiting the Keuka wineries during their Valentine’s Day celebration, “Be Mine with Wine.” For two weekends, eight wineries were serving desserts with wine. To my pleasure, I found that Finger Lakes

dessert wines are making a name for themselves.

Driving to Keuka Lake on a snow-starved February day, passing by motorboats wrapped up for the winter and mile after mile of gray landscape, I almost forgot why I love the Finger Lakes.

Walking into Hunt Country Vineyards in Branchport made me remember. Before I even unzipped my coat, I was handed a cup of chili as owner Joyce Hunt began making dozens of suggestions for making wine and dessert work. Her best advice: experiment!

“We served chili today along with our peach soup because it was so cold,” she explained. Joyce recommended a hearty red, such as Hunt Country Classic Red or Hunter’s Red with the chili to stand up to the strong spices.

A fruity Reisling was paired with the peach soup. It was the first of many times I would hear about the success of serving Reisling — especially a semi-dry variety — with fruit.

Hunt Country’s Vidal ice wine recently received rave reviews when it was served to diners at the United Nations with a warm, maple bread pudding.

My next stop was Dr. Konstantin Frank’s, just a few minutes up the hill from Hunt Country. They were serving two

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Chocolate Amaretto Mousse Cup – From McGregor Winery 2 12-ounce packages semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup brewed espresso (or coffee) 1/2 cup amaretto liquor 4 egg yolks 1 cup heavy cream (cold) 1/4 cup sugar 8 egg whites (room temperature) pinch of salt 1 cup lightly toasted almonds Melt chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Stir in espresso and liquor and cool to room temperature. Add yolks one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Whip cream in a separate bowl until thickened; gradually beat in sugar and continue beating until stiff. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff.

Gently fold egg whites into cream. Stir about a third of the cream mixture into the chocolate mixture; scrape the remaining cream mixture over the chocolate base and fold together gently, adding in almonds. Pour into 8 serving cups, a serving bowl, or miniature mousse cups. Top with whipped cream.

Carolyn Hunt’s Peach Soup – From Hunt Country Vineyards 4 16-ounce cans of sliced peaches 1/3 cup Hunt Country Ice Wine 1 cup vanilla yogurt 3 cups Hunt Country Reisling 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 3 tsp. half-and-half Simmer the peaches (with the juice) in the wine and cinnamon for half an hour until the peaches are no longer firm. Puree in a blender until liquid but not uniformly smooth, adding the yogurt and half-and-half. Chill thoroughly. Serve in bowls or white wine glasses with a scoop of whipped cream and a pecan on top.

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wines with cheesecake: Semi-Dry Reisling and Salmon Run Coho Red (a blush wine). “The wines are sweet enough to complement a dessert but acidic enough to leave you with a clean palette,” explained Joe Serphillips.

Indeed. It was pretty easy to keep switching between the wine and the

“What is the definition of a good wine? It should start and end with a smile.”

– William Sokolin, vintner cheesecake. I found the Reisling a wonderful companion to my cheesecake, which was drizzled with strawberry syrup. I nearly started into a second slice before I remembered that other desserts awaited me.

Heron Hill Winery is a grand, cream-colored estate that’s just a short hop from Dr. Frank’s. Two desserts awaited me there: bananas in caramel sauce and old-fashioned shortcake biscuits, both of which were served with semi-sweet and late harvest Reislings.

John Rose of Heron Hill suggests pairing Reislings with apple pie or other fruity desserts.

Don’t leave Heron Hill without visiting “The Tower” for a glorious, 180-degree vista of Keuka Lake.

Next up: Keuka Overlook Wine Cellars on the opposite side of the lake.

The proprietors, Bob and Terry Barrett, have a knack for putting their visitors at ease. Bob’s first question to me was, “So which wine should you serve with Cheez Whiz?” Before I had time to even ponder an answer, Terry countered with, “Did you see Bob’s balls?”

Bowling balls, that is. Bob proudly pointed out his latest creation: a cluster of grapes under a signboard made entirely of purple bowling balls.

After plying me with apple strudel, Bob explained how he produces his unique dessert Chardonnay.

“I dehydrate the grapes before I press them. This process intensifies the sugar and really brings out the apple and pear flavors.” I had to agree. This was another wine that could be served as-is for dessert.

Halfway back down the hill brought me to McGregor Vineyards, notable not only for its consistently fine selection of wines but for one of the best views of Bluff Point on the lake. Tammy Ladd invited me into the cozy tasting room where I sat in front of that amazing view.

Like Hunt Country, McGregor’s opted for a food and dessert combination. Rather than recommending specific wines, Tammy handed me a list and urged me to choose. Having a bit of experience with McGregor wines, I selected the Pinot Noir to try with the Mussels McGregor and the Black Russian for the Chocolate Amaretto Mousse Cup. I was in heaven. The Pinot Noir was strong on fruit and full of body, a Most of the Keuka Lake wines are easily found at local wine stores.

Keuka Overlook has limited distribution but wines can be ordered through regional shops. Barrington wines and juices are available only at the winery.

For more information about upcoming Keuka Wine Trail events, call 1-800-440-4898 or visit www.keukawinetrail.com. perfect complement to the mussels, which were served with linguini, onions, and herbs. The only thing that could beat it was the chocolate dessert downed with Black Russian, a robust blend of two dark Russian grapes.

Wine and chocolate? Oh yes. The full-bodied flavors of a rich red or port pick up perfectly on the bitter taste of dark chocolate. I discovered this quite by accident when a dear friend pressed a box of chocolate truffles and a Cabernet

38-56.LIFL.Spring.02 2/26/2002 3:49 PM Page 43

Visit Keuka Lake Wineries • • • • • • AND ATTRACTIONS • • • • • • Wineries 14A 364

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1. Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars 9749 Middle Rd, Hammondsport 800-320-0735 www.drfrankwines.com – see ad on page 8

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Hill Rd.

2. McGregor Vineyard Winery 5503 Dutch St, Dundee 607-292-3999 www.mcgregorwinery.com

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3. Heron Hill Winery 9249 County Rte 76, Hammondsport 800-441-4241 www.heronhill.com

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6. Keuka Spring Vineyards 273 East Lake Rd (Rte 54), Penn Yan 315-536-3147 www.keukaspringwinery.com 7. Barrington Cellars / Buzzard Crest Vineyards 2690 Gray Rd, Penn Yan 315-531-8923, or 315-536-9686 www.barringtoncellars.com 8. Keuka Overlook Wine Cellars 5777 Old Bath Rd, Dundee 607-292-6877 www.keukaoverlook.com

Accommodations

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4. Hunt Country Vineyards 4021 Italy Hill Rd, Branchport 800-946-3289 www.huntcountryvineyards.com

9. 10,000 Delights B&B 1170 West Lake Rd, Branchport 607-868-3731 – see ad on page 39

5. Chateau Renaissance Wine Cellars 7494 Hatchery Road, Bath 607-569-3609 www.chateaurenaissance.com

10. Colonial Motel 175 Lower West Lake Rd, Penn Yan 800-724-3008, 315-536-3056 – see ad on page 4

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Keuka Lake Calendar of Events April 13 & 14 Wine Murder Mystery Tour Who done it? Don your Sherlock Holmes’ hat and replace his familiar pipe with a wine glass. The game is afoot! Enjoy wines and hors d’oeuvres at each of the eight wineries as you unravel clues to piece together a solution to the crime. Tickets are limited so be sure to get them in advance. Call 800-440-4898 for more information.

20 & 21 White Wine 2001 Barrel Tasting at McGregor Vineyard.

Call 607-292-3999 for more information.

May 4&5 Italian Fest Experience a wonderful assortment of Italian food

specialties. Each winery offers mouthwatering cuisine pertinent to a specific region of Italy along with palette pleasing Finger Lakes Wines.

Call 800-440-4898 for more information.

15 & 16 Gewurzt & Brats at Keuka Overlook Wine Cellars Call 607-292-6877 for more information.

11 & 12 Chardonnay for Mother’s Day at Keuka Overlook Wine Cellars.

Call 607-292-6877 for more information.

15 & 16 Father’s Day Highlands Fling at McGregor Vineyard.

Call 607-292-3999 for more information.

11 & 12 May Wine for Mother’s Day at McGregor Vineyard.

Call 607-292-3999 for more information.

22 & 23 Barbecuing at the Wineries Join us for a terrific summer celebration! Each winery will be offering their best BBQ foods and recipes paired with a selection of great wines that are sure to set the standard for your BBQ season.

Part of the proceeds go to the Keuka Lake Association, an organization dedicated to preserving the clean waters of our beautiful lake. Call 800-440-4898 for more information.

June 8&9 Wine & Chocolate at Keuka Overlook Wine Cellars Call 607-292-6877 for more information.

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Tour the Finger Lakes...

Rent a Luxury Van!

Types of Dessert Wines Late harvest wines are made from grapes that remain as long as possible on the vine, depending upon growing conditions. The best of the late harvest wines are affected by a desirable mold called Botrytis cinerea, or noble rot. This mold concentrates the natural sugars in the grape and dehydrates them, making for a smaller yield but an intense, luscious flavor. Reisling, Gewürtztraminer, and Vignoles grapes are most often used to make late harvest wines.

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Ice wines are usually made from Reisling or Vidal grapes that are left on the vine until they’re frozen solid. Natural freezing concentrates the sugars, aromas, and acids of the grape, resulting in a very sweet, flavorful wine that’s often served as dessert itself. True ice wine is made only in frigid climates, such as the Finger Lakes, southern Canada, Washington State, and parts of Germany.

Ports and sherries are fortified by adding grape brandy to the wine to increase the alcohol content. The difference between port and sherry is when the brandy is added. Ports are fortified during fermentation; sherries are fortified after.

into my hands. A very dear friend.

I didn’t want to leave, especially since Tammy and I were nostalgically recounting our wine and food success stories. But I had one more stop to make: Barrington Cellars and Buzzard Crest Vineyards.

Barrington produced the greatest

“Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the ‘Titanic’ who waved off the dessert cart.”

– Erma Bombeck number of wines so far: ten whites and ten reds. Owner Eileen Farnan was graciously serving Mom’s Fabulous Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake and garlic yogurt cheese when I stepped in the door.

Since the selection was so large, I opted for a Chardonnay and a variety I’d never heard of: Diamond. Close cousin of Niagara, this wine would definitely appeal to those who prefer sweet wines.

I also enjoyed three varieties of ice

wines and something that few other wineries offer: fresh grape juice. “We make a red and a white blend and freeze it, since it’s not pasteurized,” claimed Eileen. I found the juice refreshing and as aromatic as vineyards in October, leaving me touched with spring fever.

I was able to visit only six of the eight participating wineries, the others being Keuka Spring and Chateau Renaissance. But the beauty of these events is that they usually span an entire weekend. Plus I found that touring during the off-season had its advantages. Not only were the crowds much smaller than during harvest, but the vintners had more time to chat and make my experience a personal treasure.

Stay tuned for next issue’s column, when I travel back to the top of the menu and explore the main course: how to pair wine and food.

Joy Underhill is a wine afficionado who makes her home in Farmington, New York.

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Visit Cayuga Lake Wineries

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• • • • • • AND ATTRACTIONS • • • • • •

Seneca Falls

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1. King Ferry Winery/ Treleaven 658 Lake Rd, King Ferry 315-364-5100, 800-439-5271 www.treleavenwines.com

7. WindCatcher Sailing Charters 119 Simsbury Dr, Ithaca 607-257-1600 www.windcatchersailing.com – see our ad on page 52

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2. Lively Run Goat Dairy 8978 County Rd 142, Interlaken 607-532-4647 www.livelyrun.com

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3. Six Mile Creek Vineyard 1551 Slaterville Rd, Ithaca 607-272-WINE (9463) www.sixmilecreek.com

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4. Long Point Winery 1485 Lake Rd, Aurora 315-364-6990 www.longpointwinery.com

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5. Bellwether Hard Cider 1609 Trumansburg Rd, Ithaca 607-272-4337 www.cidery.com

Accommodations 8. La Tourelle Country Inn 1150 Danby Rd (96B), Ithaca 607-273-2734 www.latourelleinn.com 9. Rose Inn 813 Auburn Rd. (Rte. 34), Ithaca 607-533-7905 www.roseinn.com – see our ads on pages 39, 54 10. Silver Strand Bed & Breakfast 7398 Wyers Point Rd, Ovid 607-532-4972 www.silverstrand.net – see our ad on page 39

6. Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery 6800 Rte 89 at Elm Beach, Ovid 800-598-9463, 607-869-5158 www.cayugaridge.com

Cayuga Lake Calendar of Events March 16-17...Cabin Fever Days Swedish Hill. Come out of hibernation and join us for some great end of winter specials!

315-549-8326 16-17...St. Patrick’s Day Weekend, Knapp Winery Celebrate with the tasting room staff and enjoy wine, food pairings and festivities.

800-869-9271 17...St. Patrick’s Day Brunch, Sheldrake Point Our popular Sunday Brunch with an Irish twist!

Enjoy live Celtic music and an Irish menu that isn’t all potatoes and corned beef! 607-532-9401 23...“The Art of Wine & Food,” Sheldrake Point Celebrate the Vernal Equinox by tasting pairs of wine and tapas prepared by our winegrower and our chef. Commentary by our own international wine judge, Bob Madill. 607-532-9401 31...Easter Sunday Brunch, Sheldrake Point Your taste buds will be thrilled! 607-532-9401

April

13...Pottery Demonstration, Knapp Winery Meet local potter John Simolo and watch him create beautiful pieces. Many great items will be for sale. 800-869-9271

Take home 13 potted herbs for planting in your garden or window box. Souvenir wine glass, wine and food tastings, recipes, herb carrier, and more included with ticket. 800-684-5217

13-14...New Vintage Days, Swedish Hill & Goose Watch Wineries. A wonderful weekend to sample all of our new releases. 888-549-WINE

12...Mother’s Day Brunch, Sheldrake Point Celebrate springtime and motherhood and count the daffodils surrounding our lakefront café.

Reservations appreciated. 607-532-9401

20...Medieval Women’s Music Morgan Opera House, Aurora. 315-364-5437 20...Spring Winemaker’s Dinner, Sheldrake Point. An evening of five great wines paired with five elegant courses. Bring friends for a memorable and informative evening hosted by our international wine judge Bob Madill. 607-532-9401 27-28...10th Annual Wine & Herb Festival Cayuga Wine Trail, (1st of 2 wknds) Taste new wines and get your garden started!

Take home 13 potted herbs for planting in your garden or window box. Souvenir wine glass, wine and food tastings, recipes, herb carrier, and more included with ticket. 800-684-5217

1 thru 2002...“The 1940’s: Peace and War” Old Brutus Historical Society Museum, Weedsport. 315-834-6285

May

thru July 14...Anglers All: Fishing in the Finger Lakes. Cayuga Museum, Auburn. 315-253-8051

4-5...10th Annual Wine & Herb Festival Cayuga Wine Trail. (2nd of 2 wknds) Taste new wines and get your garden started!

1-31...Celebrate Riesling Month Six Mile Creek Vineyard

18-19...16th Anniversary Celebration, Swedish Hill Winery. Join us as we celebrate our 16th year! Porch sale, which includes special discounts on a variety of selected wines and wine related products. Huge Savings! 315-549-8326 25...I Love Chocolate Day King Ferry Winery. 315-364-5100 29-June 15...Smokey Joe’s Café Merry-Go-Round Playhouse. 800-457-8897

June 15...Strawberries and Wine Festival, Goose Watch Winery. Have a Berry Good time enjoying fresh strawberries, strawberry desserts and strawberry wine. 315-549-2599, 888-549-WINE 16...Father’s Day Brunch, Sheldrake Point Treat the man in your life to an elegant menu served lakeside on our deck. With the gardens in full bloom, it’s a beautiful way to spend a Sunday!

Reservations appreciated. 607-532-9401

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38-56.LIFL.Spring.02 3/4/2002 1:53 PM Page 46

Seneca Lake Calendar of Events March Sunday Brunch, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Every Sunday at the Ginny Lee 607-582-6574 15-17....St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at Glenora Wine Cellars Join us for the wearing of the green! Irish music & menu. Reservations can be made by calling 800.243.5513 16 ....“Eat Drink & Be Buried” An audience participation murder mystery by Eileen Moushey. Dinner Theatre will include: Hors d’oeuvres, Dinner Buffet, a Sumptuous Dessert & and evening of hilarious entertainment ($39.00 inclusive). Place: The Ginny Lee @ Wagner Vineyards. Contact: Thom, Rhea or Chef William, 607-582-6574 23....NINE WINES BLIND! At Red Newt Cellars Enjoy a fun and dynamic wine and food pairing dinner. Five courses of Debra Whiting’s innovative Finger Lakes cuisine, nine great New York State wines to be served with dinner blind.

Guest winemakers join in the conversation before the wines are unveiled at the end of each course. $65 per person including tax and gratuity Reservations required. 607-546-4100 23....Great Chefs - Great Food - Great Wine at Glenora Wine Cellars Local fare paired with local wines. This 5course meal will be prepared by some of the area’s finest chef’s and teamed up with some of the region’s finest wines. Reservations can be made by calling 800.243.5513 March 25 - April 12, 2002....Hand Tinting Photo Display at Glenora Wine Cellars A photo display by local photographer Chuck Mitchell and his wife Melissa. The time-tested technique of making hand tinted black and white photos which dates back to the earliest days of photography. 800-243-5513

GIFT Subscriptions

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1st Gift ..........$12.95 3 Yrs/12 Issues ..$32.85 2nd Gift ..........$10.95 2 Yrs/8 Issues ....$23.90 Each Add’l ....$8.95 1 Yr/4 issues ......$12.95

Four GREAT issues a year!

March 26....Wine Chat at Glenora Wine Cellars We’ll taste cool climate whites from near the Alps to warm reds from the sunny Mediterranean.

Classes are led by Glenora Winemaker, Steve diFrancesco and guest speakers. Call 800-2435513 for reservations.

31....Easter Champagne Brunch at Veraisons Restaurant. 800-243-5513

April

Email: tking@fwpi.com Website: www.lifeinthefingerlakes.com

7....Spring Barrel Tasting! At Red Newt Cellars.

Visit the winemaker in the cellar, where you can have a preview of the fantastic wines of the 2001 vintage. Barrel Tastings along with elegant hors d’ouevres will be offered from 2 pm - 4 pm.

Limited capacity, tasting fee, reservations suggested. 607-546-4100

CALL TODAY!

9....Wine Chat at Glenora Wine Cellars Champagnes and Sparkling Wines - Real Champagne comes from France, but there are many good “imitations” from other areas of the world. We’ll compare the real thing with sparkling wines from the Finger Lakes, Spain, the North

Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter

Call: 315-789-0458 • Fax: 315-789-4263

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Coast of California and the Pacific Northwest. Call 800-243-5513 for reservations.

20....Spring has Sprung Dinner at Red Newt Wine Cellars.

Early spring in the Finger Lakes is an exciting time in the kitchen. The “Spring has Sprung Dinner” is a celebration of the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Chef Debra Whiting celebrates fabulous spring fare with great Finger Lakes wine paired with each course. Reservations required. 607-546-4100 23....Wine Chat at Glenora Wine Cellars Dessert and Fortified Wines - We’ll learn about and taste Late Harvest and Ice Wines, as well as Sherries and Ports and other fortified wines from around the globe. Call 800-243-5513 for reservations.

27 – 28....Spring Wine & Cheese Weekend Heluva Good Cheese Company joins the Seneca Lake Wine Trail wineries in presenting interesting and tasty combinations of wine and special recipes using Heluva Good products.

Take home a free recipe book so you can repeat the delicious dishes you try along the Trail.

Tickets are $18 per person plus handling and tax.

Call the office at 877-536-2717 and order tickets with Visa or Mastercard.

May 12....Mother’s Day Brunch at Veraisons Restaurant Glenora Wine Cellars. 800-243-5513 18....Spring Winemakers Dinner Lamoreaux Landing. 607-582-6011

June 7....Steve Southworth & The Rockabilly Rays Place: Micro Brewery Deck @ Wagner Vineyards Contact: Wagner Vineyards, 607-582-6450 Friday Night Old time Rock & Roll on the Micro Brewery Deck.

8 - 9....Pasta & Wine Over 20 wineries vie for the consumer award for “Best Pasta & Wine Combination” at this event. Visit over 20 wineries and taste specially chosen wines paired with diverse pasta dishes during the weekend. Order tickets at 877-5362717. Tickets are good for both days and include a gift. Food, wine, and a glorious Finger Lakes weekend. What’s not to LOVE? 14....Alice Detrick & Friends Place: Micro Brewery Deck @ Wagner Vineyards Contact: Wagner Vineyards, 607-582-6450, Country Music Friday Night on the Micro Brewry Deck.

21....Under Construction Place: Micro Brewery Deck @ Wagner Vineyards Contact: Wagner Vineyards, 607-582-6450 Mix Country - Rock Friday Night on the Micro Brewery Deck.

For more great winery events, visit each of web sites listed opposite this page.

38-56.LIFL.Spring.02 3/4/2002 1:48 PM Page 47

Visit Seneca Lake Wineries • • • • • • AND ATTRACTIONS • • • • • • Wineries To Syracuse

29

1. Standing Stone Vineyards 9934 Rte 414, Hector 800-803-7135 www.standingstonewines.com – see ad on page 40

28 25

Rd. 4 County

21. Pasta Only’s Cobblestone Restaurant Hamilton St (Rtes 5&20) at S. Preemption, Geneva 315-789-8498

27

2. Anthony Road Wine Company 1225 Anthony Road, Penn Yan 315-536-2182

21 22 24 23 13

3 2

4. Fulkerson Winery 5576 Rte 14, Dundee 607-243-7883 – see ad on page 54

Lake Seneca

3. Fox Run Vineyards & Café 670 Rte 14, Penn Yan 800-636-9786 www.foxrunvineyards.com

22. Kyo 486 Exchange St, Geneva 315-719-0333 23. Belhurst Castle Rte 14 South, Geneva 315-781-0201 www.belhurstcastle.com

11

9 10

19 15

5. Atwater Estate Vineyards 5055 State Rte 414, Hector 607-546-8463 www.atwatervineyards.com

17

12. Wagner Vineyards & Brewing Co 9322 State Rte 414, Lodi 607-582-6450 www.wagnervineyards.com

Accommodations

6

26. John’s Guest House 3552 Walnut Rd, Watkins Glen 607-535-4367 – see ad on page 39

5 7

8. Glenora Wine Cellars, Inc. 5435 State Rte 14, Dundee 607-243-5511, 800-243-5513 www.glenora.com

11. Prejean Winery 2634 St Rte 14, Penn Yan 315-536-7524 www.prejeanwinery.com – see ad on page 54

24. The Pier House Restaurant 41 Lakefront Drive, Geneva 315-789-0400 www.restaurant.com/pierhouse/

25. Holiday Inn Waterloo/ Seneca Falls 2468 NYS Rte 414, Waterloo 315-539-5011 www.holiday-inn.com/waterloony

8 4 18

7. Lakewood Vineyards, Inc 4024 State Rte 14, Watkins Glen 607-535-9252 www.lakewoodvineyards.com

10. Earle Estates Winery 2770 Rte 14, Penn Yan 315-536-1210 – see ad on page 52

1

14 20 12

6. Red Newt Cellars, Inc 3675 Tichenor Rd, Hector 607-546-4100 www.rednewt.com

9. Torrey Ridge Winery 2770 Rte 14, Penn Yan 315-536-1210 – see ad on page 52

20. The Ginny Lee @ Wagner Vineyards 9322 State Rte 414, Lodi 607-582-6574 www.wagnervineyards.com

16 30

26

13. Nagy’s New Land Vineyards & Winery 623 Lerch Rd, Geneva 315-585-4432 www.nagyswines.com

16. Montage Restaurant at Glen Motor Inn 3380 Rte 14, Watkins Glen 607-535-2706 www.glenmotorinn.com

14. Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars 9224 Rte 414, Lodi 607-582-6011 www.lamoreauxwine.com – see ad on page 14

17. Orchard Ovens 5438 Rte 14, Dundee 607-243-9003 www.orchardovens.com

Dining 15. The Smokehouse Café 9934 Rte 414, Hector 607-535-4883 – see ad on page 52

18. The Inn @ Glenora Wine Cellars 5435 State Rte 14, Dundee 607-243-9500, 800-243-5513 www.glenora.com 19. Showboat Motel & Restaurant Plum Point Road, Himrod 607-243-7434..........Right on the water!

27. Gentle Giants B&B 1826 County Rte 4, Stanley 315-781-2723 – see ad on page 39

Attractions 28. Americar Rental Systems 5400 S. Bay Rd, N. Syracuse 315-455-1001, 800-633-1331 www.americar.com – see ad on page 44 29. Waterloo Premium Outlets Rte 318, between I90 Exits 41&42 315-539-1100 www.premiumoutlets.com/waterloo 30. Farm Sanctuary PO Box 150, Watkins Glen 607-583-2225 www.farmsanctuary.org

SPRING 2002 ~

47

38-56.LIFL.Spring.02 2/26/2002 4:46 PM Page 48

REAL ESTATE Lake Country Real Estate 326 W. Genesee Street • Auburn, New York 13021

Specializing in Lakefront Properties Residential • Commercial Investment Properties • Vacation Homes Cayuga County and Greater Syracuse MLS

315.258.9147 • Fax: 315.258.3194 E-mail: lakcountry@aol.com www.Lakehomes-USA.com www.Realtor.com/cayuga/lakecountry REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 132

Museum Calendar of Events March thru March 24 ....Home-Town Treasures: items from the collection (from quilts to bells) with special meaning for our local communities at the Curtiss Museum. Call 607-569-2160 for more information.

17....Johnston School of Irish Dance at the Schweinfurth Art Center. Call 315-255-1553 for more information. Celebrate the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day with the traditional dances and costumes of Ireland. Free and open to the public.

20....Geology and the Roots of NY’s Cobblestone Architecture at the Geneva Historical Society Museum at the Prouty-Chew House. Call 315-789-5151 for more information.

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 133

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 134

Coldwell Banker Parrott-Venuti Real Estate 315-789-6768 • email cbparrottvenuti@lynnet.com REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 135

48 ~ L I F E

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“Et Cetera” Opening, an exhibit of accessories from 1816-1930. At the Granger Homestead Open House, in Canandaigua. Please call 585-394-1472.

8...Women’s Council Spring Luncheon Speaker Bill Remley, “Carriages at the turn of the twentieth century.” Granger Homestead, 585-394-1472

23 - April 21....Both Ends of the Rainbow at the Schweinfurth Art Center Call 315-255-1553 for more information.

An annual exhibition of over 1,000 works by area children, teens and senior citizens created in a variety of dynamic styles.

11...Spring Lawn Sale/ Grand Opening of “Gideon’s Way” Granger Homestead, 585-394-1472

24....Academy Awards Gala at George Eastman House. Call 585-271-3361 for more information.

April 5- May 12 ....Fourth Annual Finger Lakes Boating Exhibit Old and rare boats constructed and used on the Finger Lakes at the Curtiss Museum. Call 607-569-2160 for more information.

April 5- June 2 ....Magic Brush and Magic Pencil Comic-book Art by Dick Ayers: following a 60 year art career that began in Hammondsport High School at the Curtiss Museum. Call 607569-2160 for more information.

9....The Mystery of the First Women’s Rights Convention at the Geneva Historical Society Museum at the Prouty-Chew House. Call 315789-5151 for more information 10 & 11....Making American Music. Bold and Strong: The Big Band Era at Strong Museum in Rochester. Call 585-263-2700 for more information.

Country living at its best! Yet minutes from Geneva and thruway. Comfortable, spacious home with upto-date features and wonderful views of 5.5 acres of white fencing enclosing your horses. Modern barn with all the extras. All for $207,500.

4 thru August 25....Indian Art/Facts and Edward Curtis: The Master Prints at George Eastman House. Call 585-271-3361 for more information.

22,23,24....Rochester Folk Art Guild Spring Festival of Crafts, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, 1100 South Goodman St. Call 585-554-3539 for more information.

Thru April 21....Robert ParkeHarrison: The Architect’s Brother at George Eastman House.

Call 585-271-3361 for more information.

For Inquires, Call Monique Richardson, Yaman Real Estate 1-800-715-0309

May

21...Old & Rare Books at E. Bloomfield Historical Society Call 585-657-7244 for more information.

April

This gracious 5,000 square ft. high historic brick manor offers countless charms, including 10 acres of lovingly landscaped grounds and original appointments. Outdoors, the home features elegant brick patios and walkways as well as a horse barn, 6 bay garage with storage, tennis court with cushion surface.

20 minutes to Skaneateles, 20 minutes to Syracuse.

thru May 5....Kidstuff: Great Toys from our Childhood. At Strong Museum. 585-263-2700

7....From Mud to Macadam: The Development of the Road System of Ontario County at the Geneva Historical Society Museum at the ProutyChew House. Call 315-789-5151 for more information.

Private Cayuga Lakefront: Peaceful at road's end on 104' level lakefront. Year-round 2 BR w/addit. sleeping area, eat-in kitch. w/apps. Overlooks cove w/beautiful east side sunsets.

Public utilities. Call Midge Fricano, 315-258-9147 Ext. 201 or res. 315-889-7148

26....Stargazing Night at the H. Lee White Museum. Call 315-342-0480 for more information.

14 ....Beauty and the Beast Storytellers at the Schweinfurth Art Center. Call 315-255-1553 for more information. The husband-and-wife team of Mitch Weiss and Martha Hamilton have been winning audiences and critical acclaim throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe since 1980 with their tandem storytelling.

18....Rare Coins at E. Bloomfield Historical Society. Call 585-657-7244 for more information.

12....Mother’s Day Brunch at the Guild in Middlesex. Live music. Reservations call 585-554-3945 17....Garden Club Sale at E. Bloomfield Historical Society Call 585-657-7244 for more information.

18 thru Jan 12, 2003....Geo-Zoom! And Riding Train at Strong Museum in Rochester. Call 585263-2700 for more information.

18....Historic Maritime District Open House at the H. Lee White Museum. Call 315-342-0480 for more information.

24 to Oct 14....East Hill Gallery at the Rochester Folk Art Guild Fine handcrafts from the heart of the Finger Lakes. Call 585-554-3539 for more information.

25, 26 & 27....Historic displays in commemoration of the first Memorial Day at the Terwilliger and Memorial Day Museum. 12pm – 5pm daily.

Call 315-539-0533 for more information.

28...Granger Homestead and Carriage Museum Opens for the Season Call for hours, 585-394-1472.

June 1 & 2....Sound of Music Sing-along at George Eastman House. Call 585-271-4090 for more information.

14- August 25 ....An American Nurse at War The World War I Career of Marion McCune Rice.

Joined by Faces of the Great War, focusing on local people who endured the conflict at the Curtiss Museum. Call 607-569-2160 for more information.

38-56.LIFL.Spring.02 2/26/2002 3:50 PM Page 49

FINGER LAKES MUSEUMS 7

12

Rochester

Wayne

Syracuse

Monroe

14

Onondaga Ontario 6

Livingston Conesus Lake

16 13

5 Seneca 9

Canandaigua Lake

2 1

Seneca Lake

Honeoye Lake

Hemlock Lake

10

Owasco Lake

15

Skaneateles Lake Otisco Lake

Cayuga Lake

Cayuga

Yates

Cortland Keuka Lake

4

Tompkins Schuyler

Steuben Corning

3

8

Elmira 11

Chemung Museums 1. Rose Hill Mansion Rte 96A, Geneva 315-789-3848 www.genevahistoricalsociety.com 2. Geneva Historical Society 543 South Main St, Geneva 315-789-5151 www.genevahistoricalsociety.com 3. National Warplane Museum Corning Elmira Regional Airport 607-739-8200 www.warplane.org 4. Curtiss Museum of Early Aviation 8419 State Rte 54, Hammondsport 607-569-2160 www.linkny.com/curtissmuseum/ 5. National Women’s Hall of Fame 76 Fall Street, Seneca Falls 315-568-8060 www.greatwomen.org

6. Granger Homestead and Carriage Museum 295 N. Main St, Canandaigua 585-394-1472 www.grangerhomestead.org 7. H. Lee White Marine Museum 1 West First Street Pier, Oswego 315-342-0480 www.hleewhitemarinemuseum.com 8. Corning Museum of Glass Corning, NY 607-937-5371, 800-732-6845 www.cmog.org 9. The Terwilliger & Memorial Day Museums 31 E. William St, Waterloo 315-539-0533 10. Rochester Folk Art Guild 1445 Upper Hill Road, Middlesex 585-554-3539 www.rfag.org - see our ad on page 53

Tioga 11. Chemung Valley History Museum 415 E. Water St, Elmira 607-734-4167 www.chemungvalleymuseum.org 12. George Eastman House 900 East Ave, Rochester 585-271-3361 www.eastman.org 13. AWA Electronic Communication 2 South Ave, Bloomfield 585-657-6260 www.antiquewireless.org 14. The MOST 500 S. Franklin St, Syracuse 315-425-9068 www.most.org 15. Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center 205 Genesee St, Auburn 315-255-1553 www.cayuganet.org/smac 16. East Bloomfield Historical Society 8 South Ave, E. Bloomfield 585-657-7244 SPRING 2002 ~

49

38-56.LIFL.Spring.02 2/28/2002 3:36 PM Page 50

Finger Lakes Calendar of Events March

Photo Contest!

First Annual Life in the Finger Lakes Photography Contest Categories: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes for:

• Best Color • Best Black-and-White Grand prize to best overall photograph.

Photographs may also be selected for honorable mention.

You can submit color slides and blackand-white prints. Please do not send color negatives. Entries are limited to five for each category. Photographs may not have been published elsewhere and must belong to the entrant.

Include the photographer’s name, address and identification of the image on each slide or photo print. Also include a list of each image and where it was taken. All photographs must be taken in the Finger Lakes Region (refer to the 14 county map on page 2 of this issue).

Send entries with a sturdy SASE for return. Also include a stamped, selfaddressed postcard for acknowledging receipt of your material.

Send submissions postmarked no later than September 1, 2002 to: Life in the Finger Lakes Photo Contest P.O. Box 1080 • Geneva, NY 14456 The awarded images will appear in the Winter 2002 issue.

For more information, visit our Web site at: www.LifeintheFingerLakes.com

50 ~ L I F E

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FINGER LAKES

22...“Fandemonium” Weekend Oncenter and citywide, Syracuse 315-470-1910, 800-234-4797 in conjunction w/NCAA Tournament 22-24...Damascus Shrine Circus Blue Cross Arena, Rochester 585-232-1900 23...Memory Makers Dinner/Dance to benefit Alzheimer’s Assoc of CNY 315-472-4201 23-24...Sweetness of Spring Highland Forest, Syracuse 315-683-5550 24...Carpenter’s Brook Fish Hatchery Open House 315-689-9367 27...Master Series Concert TCCA, Owego 607-687-0785 30...Saffire – the Uppity Blues Women the Montage Grille, Rochester 585-271-1374

27...Chemung County Humane Society & SPCA Art Auction 607-732-1827

May 10-19...Lilac Festival Highland Park, Rochester 585-256-4960 11-12...Raptor Program Waterman Center, Apalachin 607-625-2221 16-19...Turkey Trot All-Star Celebrity Hunt Candor 607-659-7849 18...Arnot Art Museum Riverfest 607-734-3697 25-26...Annual Plant Sale Waterman Center, Apalachin 607-625-2221 31 – June 2...Taste of Syracuse 315-484-1123

June

April

1...A Rare Day in June Various businesses, Candor 607-659-4400

5...Tigris Shrine Circus NYS Fairgrounds 315-451-7599, 315-487-7711

1-2...Fairport Canal Days 585-234-4323

6-20...Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre the Lodge at Woodcliff, Victor 585-248-4807

1-2...Wildlife Art Wknd Beaver Lake Nature Center 315-638-2519

6...Catatonk Creek Canoe Regatta Candor to Owego • 607-659-4211

3-9...International Jazz Festival Rochester 718-788-8032

13...Doo Wop Spectacular Landmark Theatre, Syracuse 315-475-7980 14...CNY Jazz Cabaret Series Justins Grill, Syracuse 315-437-1461 14...Syracuse Stamp, Coin & Collectibles Show 315-452-0593 20...Hamley’s Maple Open House Hamley’s Maple Farm, Barton 607-565-3731 21...“Always On Sunday” Concert TCCA, Owego • 607-687-0785 26 – May 5...LOSPC Spring Derby Lake Ontario 800-733-5246

7-9...23rd Annual Coors Light Balloon Fest Jamesville Beach Park 315-451-7275 8...Community General Foundation Salutes the Troops Inner Harbor, Syracuse 315-470-7054 8-9...Spring Festival Newark Valley Historical Society 607-642-9516 9...Klezfest, CNY Clinton Square, Syracuse 315-682-8489, 315-446-7810 14-16...Maplewood Rose Festival Rochester 585-428-6697

38-56.LIFL.Spring.02 2/26/2002 3:48 PM Page 51

Finger Lakes Campgrounds & Golf Courses 4 14

Rochester

Monroe

Onondaga 3 Ontario

Honeoye Lake

Canandaigua Lake

7

10

Seneca Lake

9

Skaneateles Lake

Owasco Lake

Seneca

15

Livingston Hemlock Lake

Syracuse

17 11

Conesus Lake

Wayne

Otisco Lake

Cayuga Lake

Cayuga

Yates 16

13

6

Cortland

Keuka Lake

2

Tompkins

5

Schuyler Steuben

1

Corning 8

Campgrounds 1. Buckridge Park 215 Tuttle Hill Rd., Candor 13743 888-231-3268 www.Buckridge-Park.com - see our ad on page 54 2. Sun Valley Campsites 10740 Poags Hole Rd., Arkport 14807 607-545-8388 www.sunvalleycampsites.com 3. Canandaigua Rochester KOA 5374 Farmington Townline Rd. Farmington 14425 585-398-3582; 1-800-KOA-0533 www.koa.com 4. Port Bay RV Park & Campground 8346 East Port Bay Rd., Wolcott 14590 315-594-1509 www.portbaycampground.com

5. Clute Memorial Park & Campground 521 East Fourth St. Watkins Glen 14891 607-535-4438 www.lightlink.com/vowgny 6. Back Achers Campsites 3112 Rt. 14, Himrod 14842 607-243-5994 or 243-7926 www.linkny.com/~bkachers/ index.html 7. Flint Creek Campground 1455 Phelps Rd., Middlesex 14507 585-554-3567 8. Sunflower Acres Family Campground 8355 Tinkertown Rd., Addison 14801 607-523-7756 sunfloweracres@aol.com

12

Elmira

Chemung

Tioga

Golf Courses 9. Bristol Harbour 5410 Seneca Point Rd. Canandaigua 14424 585-396-2200 www.bristolharbour.com - see our ad on back cover 10. Dutch Hollow Country Club 1839 Benson Rd., Owasco 13021 315-784-5052 www.dutchhollow.com 11. Parkview Fairways Gold Course 7100 Boughton Rd., Victor 14564 585-657-7539 www.parkviewgc.com 12. Mark TwainGolf Course 2275 Corning Rd., Elmira 14903 607-737-5770 www.ci.elmira.ny.us

13. Cedar View Golf Course Inc. 125 Cedar View Rd., Lansing 14882 315-364-7598/6980 14. Port Bay Golf Club, Inc. 7430 East Port Bay Rd., Wolcott 14590 315-594-8295 15. Centerpointe Country Club 2231 Brickyard Rd., Canandaigua 14424 585-924-5346; 585-394-0346 16. Lakeside Country Club 200 East Lake Rd., Penn Yan 14527 315-536-7252 17. Ravenwood Golf Club 929 Lynaugh Road, Victor 14564 585-924-5100 www.ravenwoodgolf.com

SPRING 2002 ~

51

38-56.LIFL.Spring.02 2/26/2002 4:04 PM Page 52

DINING Grand Opening this Spring! the

SMOKEHOUSE CAFE at

Standing Stone Vineyards 9934 Route 414 Valois, NY

800-803-7135 Rotisserie • Salads • Pâtè & Cheese Great Wines by the glass, carafe, & bottle Enjoy lunch picnic-style on our canopied deck overlooking Seneca Lake

Open for lunch starting Memorial Day weekend.

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 136

One of Seneca Lake’s newest and most modern wineries, Torrey Ridge is a destination you won’t want to miss.

Taste a variety of premium wines while enjoying one of the lake’s most panoramic views. 2770 State Route 14, Penn Yan NY 14527 Gift shop, tours of 315-536-1210 • Fax: 315-536-1239 winery and honey www.meadery.com processing plant by Open: June-Nov., appointment.

Mon.-Sat. 10-5pm, Sun. 11:30-5pm Dec.-May, Sun.-Fri. 12-5pm, Sat. 10-5pm REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 137

Wind Catcher Sailing Charters Cayuga Lake, Ithaca, NY Capts. Nancy & Ed Siemon

One-half & Full Day Sails Sunset & Starlight Cruises Phone/fax: 607-257-1600 Web: www.windcatchersailing.com E-mail: windcatchersail@aol.com REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 138

3586 Route 14, Himrod, NY 14842

(607)-243-9011 Fax (315) 536-1239 E-mail: meadery@hotmail.com Website: www.meadery.com Open: June-Nov., Mon.-Sat. 10-5pm, Sun. 11:30-5pm Dec.-May, Sat. 10-5pm, Sun. 12-5pm Come & enjoy our award-winning Meads, Fruit wines, and Grape wines, with something for every palate - from dry to sweet. Browse through our unique gift shop with a full line of honey products, and observe a live, working beehive in action.

REQUEST MORE INFOMATION 139

52 ~ L I F E

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(“Day Trip” continued from page 15) soaring in the area actually started within the city of Elmira. As far back as the late 1920s, sailplanes were launched from the hill behind the Southside Prison. “In those days they didn’t use tow planes, but literally a bungee system that launched the glider from the hill,” he related.

It wasn’t long after that soaring enthusiasts discovered the potential of Harris Hill to become a key sailplane area for the Northeast. The first National Soaring Competition was held at Harris Hill in 1930, and regional competitions have been held there regularly ever since. Harris Hill is ideal for soaring due to prevailing winds, which hit the hill head-on and cause large updrafts. This is known in the sport as “ridge sailing,” and for Harris Hill this means a sailplane may log long flights at high altitudes.

In 2001, Harris Hill Soaring Club had approximately 180 members. The club has active flyers in their 70s, while many are middle-aged professionals. Rounding out the roster is a small number of teenage pilots. Some members, such as Steve Garner, are licensed to fly powered aircraft as well as sailplanes. Depending on the club’s duty roster, these members serve as both glider and tow plane pilots.

A Harris Hill Soaring Club member pays only $15 a month in club dues after a one-time initiation fee of $200. Depending on the number of hours required and flights logged, it is reasonable to obtain a glider pilot’s license for less than $1,000. Pilots not only have to demonstrate skilled takeoffs, maneuvering, and spot landings; they must also answer a series of questions in a written exam to be given a license by the FAA. Harris Hill Soaring Corporation operates the club. This nonprofit organization is a member of the Soaring Society of America and its members participate in many regional

and national soaring contests. The club currently owns 10 gliders and two tow planes. It is able to afford this expensive equipment through its large number of club members whose dues contribute to fuel, plane upkeep and even food for club get-togethers.

Last year, the club had 20 junior members. Junior fliers are between the ages of 15 and 20 and must be 16 years of age to fly solo. After their 18th birthday, they may get their license to fly demonstration and training flights for other would-be pilots.

“We have the best program in the world for teaching young people to fly,” Fessenden related. “It’s relatively inexpensive and allows our junior members not only to learn powerless flight, but also to see how a soaring club operates,” he added.

Fessenden grew up in the Elmira area and is a longtime club member.

When he was 12, his parents paid for his first demonstration ride. At 15, he made his first solo flight from Harris Hill. Now, over 25 years later, he is still captivated by the sport and eager to share the experience with others.

The season at Harris Hill Soaring Club runs from April through October.

Flights are available on weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The club is open seven days a week from the end of June to the end of August. Because the club does not accept flight reservations, it’s a good idea to arrive early and sign in. For more information, the club may be reached at 607-734-0641.

Two years ago the club launched its Web site at: www.harrishill soaring.org.

A visit to the site will provide news about the club, flight information, and pricing. You will also find a number of links to other attractions in the Elmira-Corning area.

Chris Sharman is a freelance writer living in Elmira, New York. He is published in numerous regional publications. He may be reached at ccsharman@hotmail.com.

38-56.LIFL.Spring.02 2/25/2002 2:04 PM Page 53

S T O R I E S

O F

Y E S T E R Y E A R

The Penn Yan Peach Basket

By A. Glenn Rogers This story was originally published in 1953

Roger Soule 111 S. Monroe St. Watkins Glen, NY 14891 607-535-9109 www.SoulePhotography.com rosoule@hotmail.com

I

t was just a simple, ordinary peach basket, and yet it was destined to play an important part in the sports history of this nation.

The story of the peach basket began some time in 1891 in a fruit market in New Haven, Connecticut. On this particular day over a half-century ago, a certain man entered a large fruit market in New Haven. Beneath his arms he carried a peach basket, for this man — Edson Potter of Penn Yan, New York — made peach baskets, and he carried a sample to show to prospective buyers.

Potter was the proprietor of the Yates Lumber Company in Penn Yan, and peach baskets were among its many products. So, on this particular day, Potter stood patiently among the shoppers hurrying to and fro, awaiting an opportunity to interview the various merchants for orders.

One of the shoppers, a man, pushed brusquely past our basket salesman. Or rather, the shopper started to push by, Photograph courtesy of the Yates County Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc. and the Oliver House Museum

until his eyes fell on the peach basket.

He stopped, and in his eyes came that expression which betokens the possible solution to a knotty problem.

The shopper introduced himself to Potter as James Naismith, and then Naismith told his chance acquaintance an interesting story. He related how he was perfecting a new sport, a game which could be played indoors. It would be to the winter season what baseball was to summer and football to fall.

Yes, as you have already guessed, this was the Jimmy Naismith, the man who deliberately set out to invent the game of basketball.

There was need for such a game to keep sports interest alive during the long winter months — a game exciting enough to hold fan interest and which could be played indoors. Other sports, such as football and baseball, were the gradual outgrowths of various games, but the unique thing about basketball was the fact that it was conceived as a new game from the very beginning.

Naismith confessed that he had met with some trouble in devising the type of goals to be used in this new

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 145

EAST HILL GALLERY at the

Rochester Folk Art Guild

Pottery - Furniture & Turnings Clothing - Weaving Wooden Toys - Books and Cards - Wreaths

Reserve now for our Mother’s Day Brunch and Gallery preview, May 12

May 24 to October 14 Fri, Sun, Mon 1-5 pm Sat 11-5 pm (or by appointment)

(585)554-3539 1445 Upper Hill Road, Middlesex, NY

www.rfag.org Middlesex is on Rt 364 between Canandaigua and Penn Yan, Look for our signs REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 146

SPRING 2002 ~

53

38-56.LIFL.Spring.02 2/25/2002 2:04 PM Page 54

The Rose Inn’s 5th Annual Wine Maker Dinner Series tarting with a reception at 6:30 p.m. in the Conservatory, The Rose Inn welcomes you as Chef d’Cuisine Leon Williams and the Wine Makers guide you through four memorable six-course dinners paired with the outstanding wines of the Finger Lakes in the old-world setting of our 1850 lamp-lit Carriage House.

March 9 Heron Hill Vineyards March 16 Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard March 23 Dr. Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars March 30 Sheldrake Point Winery

$75 per person includes wines served with dinner (exclusive of tax and gratuity)

Overnight Accommodations Package Receive your second night at half price For reservations, please call: 607-533-7905 Email: info@roseinn.com • www.roseinn.com REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 140

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Truly loving care for the elderly

Clinton Crest Manor ✱

✱ companionship ✱ privacy all meals and snacks ✱ 24-hr support ✱ exciting activities, guests and fun ✱ light housekeeping ✱ area trips

“In the Heart of the Finger Lakes Region” Come visit us! 411 Clinton St., Penn Yan, NY 14527

315-536-8800 Fax 531-9088 e-mail: ccmanor@linkny.com REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 142

Visit and Shed Your Stress Relax with family oriented, clothing optional recreation; lake swimming, fishing, pool, hot tub, spa and more.

888-231-3268 215 Tuttle Hill Rd., Candor, NY 13743 www.Buckridge-Park.com Affiliated with AANR REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 143

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2634 Route 14, Penn Yan NY 14527

game. In fact, the first goals used for experimental purposes were barrels, one being set up at each end of the court. But, for obvious reasons, they proved impractical.

“That peach basket you have,” Naismith told Potter, “has given me an idea. It may be the answer to what I have been looking for.”

So, Naismith asked Potter to send him a few peach baskets when the latter concluded his trip and returned to Penn Yan. Potter gladly promised, and when the end of his journey finally brought him back home, he immediately sent Jimmy Naismith a dozen of the Penn Yan peach baskets.

These peach baskets did solve the problem for Naismith. He fastened a basket at each end of the court and they proved to be the type of goals he had been searching for. Thus, a problem had been solved only by this chance meeting with a peach basket salesman.

The original basketball goals retained the basket bottoms for a time and so it was necessary, after each score, for an official to poke the ball back out for resumption of play. However, in the years which followed, the bottoms disappeared from the baskets and they evolved into the rims of steel, with netted sides — the baskets we know today.

Thus, a chance meeting between two men in New Haven, Connecticut, affected the game of basketball. We have often speculated as to what solution Jimmy Naismith might have reached as to a basketball goal if he had not been in the fruit market that day.

Or, for that matter, If Edson Potter had not gone there to sell peach baskets.

So, the next time you are enjoying yourself at a fast-paced basketball game — be it professional, scholastic or amateur — when you glance at the goals, remember — they were born from a Penn Yan peach basket.

315-536-7524 • www.prejeanwinery.com Open: Year ’round May-Oct. Daily 10-5:30, Sun. 11-5:30 Nov.-Apr. Daily 10-5, Sun. 11-5 Taste premium estate grown wines in our spacious tasting room overlooking beautiful Seneca Lake. Picnic on our deck or grounds.

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Thank you to the Ontario County Historical Society, which has allowed us to publish these narratives.

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I N D E X

O F

Page# Advertiser ......................Reader Information#

39 44 40 5 Cvr4 6 12 54 51 45 15

10,000 Delights ................................122 Americar Rental System ..................131 Arnot Mall ........................................129 Ashton Place ....................................106 Bristol Harbour ................................151 Bristol Valley Theater........................107 Bryce Marine ....................................116 Buckridge Park ................................143 Campground Map Cayuga Winery Map Chemung County Chamber of Commerce ................120 9 Clifton Springs Hospital ..................113 54 Clinton Crest Manor ........................142 4 Colonial Motel ..................................104 8 Dr. Frank’s Vinifera ..........................112 52 Earle Estates Meadery ......................139 Cvr2 Ferris Hills ........................................149 6 Finger Lakes Community College ....108 54 Fulkerson Winery ............................141 8 Geneva Printing ................................111 39 Gentle Giants B&B............................121 51 Golf Course Map 9 I-Wood-Care ....................................114 39 John’s Guest House ........................123 14 Ketmar..............................................117 43 Keuka Winery Map 48 Lake Country Real Estate ................132 48 Lake Country Real Estate ................133 14 Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars ....118 Cvr3 Lyons National Bank ........................150 13 Marina Map 55 Merry-Go-Round Playhouse ............152 14 Mid-Lakes Navigation ......................119 11 Mitchell Pierson ..............................115 3 Morgan Marine ................................100 49 Museum Map

A D V E R T I S E R S 3 55 48 39 5 54 53 54 39 39 47 39 53 4 40 52 7 52 39

Northern Design ..............................101 Northfield Designer Goldsmith ........148 Parrott-Venuti Real Estate ................135 Patchwork Peace B&B......................126 Potter / Ward Promotions ................105 Prejean Winery ................................144 Rochester Folk Art Guild ..................146 The Rose Inn ....................................140 The Rose Inn ....................................127 Rufus Tanner House B&B ................125 Seneca Winery Map ..............................

Silver Strand B&B ............................124 Soule Photography ..........................145 Spa Apartments................................103 Standing Stone Vineyards ................130 The Smokehouse Café......................136 Timberpeg ........................................109 Torrey Ridge Winery ........................137 Westridge B&B ................................128

7 52 48 55

Wilcox Press ....................................110 Windcatcher Sailing Charters ..........138 Yaman Realty ..................................134 Zweigles ..........................................147

Summer 2002

SMOKEY JOE’S CAFE Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller

May 29 - June 15

CHICAGO

Kander, Ebb, & Fosse

June 19 - July 6

THE SOUND OF MUSIC Rodgers & Hammerstein

July 16 - Aug 1

TITANIC

Peter Stone & Maury Yeston

August 7 - August 31

315 255-1305 Until April 26, 2002 Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM May 6 through August 31 Monday through Saturday 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

315 255-1785 • 800 457-8897 REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 152

The advertising deadline for our Summer 2002 issue is April 26.

Reserve your ad today to take advantage of your free logo link on our website.

RETAIL Get your White Hots!

Phone: (716) 526-7024 Fax: (716) 526-7043 Email: Tim@lifeinthefingerlakes.com Jason@lifeinthefingerlakes.com Jessica@lifeinthefingerlakes.com Rick@lifeinthefingerlakes.com

www.lifeinthefingerlakes.com

Famous for Quality Sausage and Meat Products Since 1880 We now ship nationwide!

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SPRING 2002 ~

55

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T H E

E A S E L

Richard C. Harrington, Painter/Printmaker

May Sky, oil, 14 x 18

“N

ot until my early 30s did my lifelong interest in the outdoors merge with my painting and enable me to define what my work is about. Since I was young, I have been more comfortable outside than inside. While canoeing and kayaking have taken me to rivers and lakes across North America, the majority of my work concerns the land I live in, the land around my home in South Lima, New York, the Finger Lakes area, and the Adirondacks. This is where my family and I walk the dogs, hike, and snowshoe, where I canoe in the evening.

“It is in the familiar landscape that I find what I am looking for — the shapes, contours, rhythms and colors that feel like my place in the world, the images that settle deep in my mind, that provide a sense of place, and of fitting in. In

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a world that increasingly separates us from the natural world, I hope my work may serve as a reminder of our connection to it.”

When Rick paints in oil, he likes to work in layers; light over dark, cool colors over warm, to create the feeling he’s trying to achieve. His finished painting is done in his studio, based on inumerable sketches from scenes that he sees on his daily travels. In order to capture the essence of the images, he makes color notes directly on his loose line drawings.

If you are interested in purchasing any of Rick’s artwork, or in learning more about him and his work, visit his Web site at www.rchar rington.com. Rick lives in South Lima and can be reached at 585-346-0772 or by e-mail at rch_illus@rpa.net.

4Covers.LIFL.Spring.02 2/25/2002 1:05 PM Page 3

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4Covers.LIFL.Spring.02 2/25/2002 1:05 PM Page 4

EXPERIENCE SPRING IN THE FINGER LAKES WITH US Whatever the season there is always a reason to visit us at Bristol Harbour Resort. Spring is particularly inviting because it brings with it the promise of rebirth. The trees are in bloom, the grass begins to green and the air holds a fresh new perfume. Summer homes are opened, boats are unwrapped, fishing is great and golfers are back in the swing! Share the excitment with us for a day–or stay the week, and you’ll see why every season is special when you experience it at Bristol Harbour Resort!

• 18 Hole Robert Trent/Rees Jones Championship Golf Course • 30 Room Deluxe Hotel With Fireplaces, Balconies and Cable TV • 15,000 sq. ft. Clubhouse/Restaurant Overlooking Canandaigua Lake • Fine Dining Daily • Upscale Beach & Marina • Weekly Vacation Accommodations Available • Real Estate For Sale & Rent • Specializing in Weddings, Parties, Business Retreats, Golf Outings & Charity Events

Call us at 585-396-2200

Think Spring BRISTOL H ARBOUR RESORT Canandaigua Lake, New York

www.bristolharbour.com • Public Welcome • 15 Minutes from Downtown Canandaigua • 5410 Seneca Point Lake Rd. REQUEST MORE INFORMATION 151