Cover photo by Wade Spencer. This page (top) Kristine Shaw with "The Terrorist" by Wade Spencer; (middle) Tuesday night trivia by Gayle Morrow; (bottom) Burdett's original fire department courtesy Burdett Exchange.
A ccounting
Amy Packard
c ov E r d E sign
Wade Spencer
c ontributing W rit E rs
Dave DeGolyer, Susan Shadle Erb, Terence Lane, Don E. Smith, Jr., Karey Solomon, Carolyn Straniere c ontributing P hotogr AP h E rs
Bernadette Chiaramonte, Laura Cross, Susan Shadle Erb, Terence Lane
d istribution t EAM
Dawn Litzelman, Grapevine Distribution, Linda Roller t h E b EA gl E Nano Cosmo (1996-2014) • Yogi (2004-2018)
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Reindeer Games
Kristine and her daughter Savannah feed Vixen (left) and Blitzen sugar beet shreds at their farm just outside Wellsboro.
Shaw Great and All CreAtures
Kristine Shaw Makes a Pawsitive Impact in Wellsboro
By Susan Shadle Erb
Wellsboro area pet parents know Dr. Kristine Shaw as a busy veterinarian with a downtown office and boarding kennels on Water Street, and as the owner of the Grand Canyon Veterinary Surgery Center on Route 6, just east of Wellsboro. For years the property was home to the SPCA, then Animal Care Sanctuary, before the Shaws bought it in 2022. The fifty-six acres include the surgery center, a beautiful guest house, and a free dog park where canines can romp, run, and make new friends.
What many people don’t know is the route Kristine took to get to where she is now. It started in Horseheads and meandered to Mansfield to Wellsboro to Boston, back to Wellsboro, then to State College to Mexico to Wellsboro to Australia—like a focused boomerang—again back to Wellsboro, where her endeavors improve the quality of life for four- and two-footed critters alike.
Wade Spencer
All in the Family and in the Community
Kristine, fifty-one, also has an active household—husband Simon, daughter Savannah, thirteen, and son Devin, eleven. They also have two girls, ages thirteen and eleven, who are long-term guests at their busy farm home near Wellsboro. That farm is a lively place with reindeer, donkeys, chickens, ducks, a Eurasier dog (a spitz type, originating in Germany), two miniature Australian shepherds, and two cats.
Like most parents of preteens and teens, Kristine and Simon are busy with their kids’ many activities, including marching band, cheerleading, and other school events. Kristine says Simon, an IT professional, now handles projects with the veterinary practice and their other properties, and many matters of the household. Since 2018, the practice has been the sole sponsor of the Laurel Festival’s Pet Parade, and also sometimes hosts a Halloween event outside the downtown office.
This past December, the Route 6 property was the site of a holiday event known as Mistletoe Farm, Kristine’s brainchild and cre-
ation envisioned and planned in her “spare time.” In a way, the idea began several years ago while she was battling breast cancer. Kristine recalls the December day when she had shaved her head because of the cancer treatments. She donned a blonde wig and then she and her daughter went downtown to see a live reindeer display in Wellsboro.
“That day, I knew I’d someday like to have reindeer,” she says. That dream came true over the past couple of years. She then created the story, now a published book, Santa & the Perilous Christmas Eve, with her son.
Kristine, who loves Christmas and the fact that Wellsboro is such a Christmas town, says that ultimately led to the idea of the Mistletoe Farm event. She even created a dozen characters, part of a program she narrated on wagon rides around the property. The visitors also got to see live reindeer, visit and have photos taken with Santa, and enjoy cocoa and cookies.
“I hope to make it an annual event, and I hope to expand it,” she says.
“We had so much fun!” says Sue Ellen Walton, from Athens, who attended with her family. “I’ll never forget my grandson giggling when he saw the reindeer. Santa did a great job, and the story and the layout of the
Family Time
Kristine enjoys the rare times the whole family can relax together at home.
event was beautiful. They had a great staff, too. Well done!”
The Shaws owned other properties locally, but now are focusing on the veterinary practice and kennel property downtown, the surgery center property, and their recently purchased farm near Wellsboro.
Start of a Dream
The path Kristine and Simon followed to get to where they are today had some twists and turns. For Simon, who is a Wellsboro native, it was coming back home. Kristine was born, raised, and graduated from high school in Horseheads, the youngest of three children of Aileen and the late Kerwin Playfoot. Her mom still lives in Horseheads. Kristine has a sister, Kathryn Wagner of Rochester, an engineer. Their older brother, the late Kerwin Playfoot Jr., had Down’s Syndrome and passed away when he was forty-four, while Kristine was in veterinary school in Australia.
“I wanted to be a vet from the earliest memories I have,” Kristine says. “I didn’t do well in elementary school. We didn’t talk about ADHD and those things back then, but I feel like that was me.”
Shaw continued from page 7
Wade Spencer
By Noah Haidle
When she was about five years old, Kristine went along to a vet appointment for Frisky, one of the family’s cats. The vet showed her ear mites through a microscope.
“I remember thinking that’s what I want to do,” Kristine says. “But it took me a long time to get there—a long time before I felt worthy of pursuing it.”
Like a Boomerang
Kristine worked at the fish lab while attending Mansfield University (top), then ended up in Australia working with Illawarra cattle before coming back; (Bottom) Kristine's clinic coat ceremony in Australia when Savannah was three weeks old.
Courtesy Kristine Shaw
After graduating from high school, Kristine didn’t go to college right away. In her early twenties, she worked at the Martha Lloyd Community Residential Facility in Troy, caring for ladies with developmental disabilities. That was excellent experience in learning how to work with people. She started at Mansfield University “on a very limited part-time basis.” She took one class, college algebra, and got an A. That gave her the confidence to take more classes. Over six years, Kristine earned a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from the university. That was in 2000, eight years after graduating from high school.
“I worked at the U.S. Geological Survey Northern Appalachian Research Laboratory in Asaph, and it changed my life,” says Kristine. She refers to the now-closed facility, as do most local residents as the fish lab or the fish hatchery. “It was the first job I had that was a career job that paid a little more than minimum wage.”
Then she worked for a pharmaceutical company in Boston doing research and “didn’t like it.” The city was not where she wanted to be. Kristine describes driving all night, returning to Wellsboro with her freshwater aquarium fish—a gouarami, guppies, two angel fish, and molly fish—in a milk jug in the middle seat of her car. (She’d brought Shiloh, her miniature Australian shepherd, back to her parents’ home a couple of weeks earlier.) “I felt like I hadn’t seen the stars in a year,” she says.
Once back in Wellsboro, she returned to work at the fish lab and moved into a house on Woodland Avenue. Little did she know that Simon Shaw, the man she would eventually marry, lived across the street. In the meantime, she went to Penn State to start on a master’s degree in population genetics research. She worked with endangered species and went to Mexico to study whale sharks. Kristine was in her early thirties when she received her master’s degree, with a thesis on mussels, which are important filters in the Delaware River Basin. She recalls great experiences, such as going behind the scenes at the Museum of Natural History to extract DNA samples for research.
After completing her master’s, Kristine returned to Wellsboro and the fish lab. She and Simon were married in 2005. He was director of information technology services at the courthouse in Wellsboro, but wanted to go back to school. So, they moved to State College so he could earn a degree in IT security from Penn State.
Adventures Down Under
Simon graduated in December 2008, and by February 2009 the couple had moved to Australia so Kristine could begin her studies at Murdoch University in Perth. She finally had the opportunity to pursue her dream of becoming a veterinarian.
Why Murdoch University and another continent? Kristine explains that they took a 2004 trip to Australia where Simon has family. Simon’s mother’s family was from England but had moved Shaw continued from
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Shaw continued from page 11 Eaton ICU; the Williams Feline Room; and the Bull Kennels. The dog park is also named in honor of the Eatons.
The general contractor, Steve Amarosa Carpentry and his crew, did the gutting and remodeling of the Water Street facility and also are working on the surgery center property. Steve Cruttenden and his wife and daughter worked on the guest house. He also built a walking bridge over the stream between the surgery center and the guest house as a gift.
A Breast Cancer Diagnosis
The veterinary practice, which started with seven employees, was open for about a year when the next challenge came. Kristine was diagnosed with breast cancer. The diagnosis was a complete surprise. Kristine had noticed a lump in her breast but put off going for a mammogram. When she finally went for the test, she was told, “This is what cancer looks like.” A biopsy was done immediately.
“I convinced myself that it would just be a couple weeks out of my life,” Kristine says. But one of the medical staff patted her on the shoulder and said, “Oh sweetie, it’s gonna be longer than that.”
In reality, the process took about a year.
“I worked all through it—mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, and breast reconstruction surgery,” she said. Looking back on it now, she urges others who are going through cancer treatment to do what they need to do—what is best for themselves. “If you can rest, do that, and take care of yourself.”
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Courtesy Kristine Shaw
New Beginnings
Kristine's hair just starting to grow back in 2020 (left) after the chemotherapy and radiation treatments for breast cancer; a typical day in the Water Street office now.
help care for the children, especially since her treatment involved many trips to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. To add to the challenge, the covid pandemic shutdown hap pened while she was having chemotherapy. While she was getting radiation treatments, she would work most of the day and then drive an hour for treatments. That was twenty-five doses, one every weekday.
“It was a journey that I never planned on going on,” she says. “When you have a small business, you have employees who are rely ing on you, plus your patients. I had a lot of support from our family and my staff, clients, and the community.” Dr. Gregory Cook, an other veterinarian, helped immensely during that time.
“I’m healthy now,” she said, “But I’m on the now plan. I don’t take a day for granted.”
A Successful Practice
The veterinary practice now has about twenty employees, including some who are in veterinary school but work at the office when on breaks. Another full-time vet, Dr. Natalie Mee, originally from Wellsboro, recently joined the practice after graduating from Cornell University. Also working part-time with the practice is Dr. Keitha Olthof.
“I work with some of the best people,” Kristine says. “We serve the community. We’re happy to be here as a provider to help the animals.”
Wade Spencer
Lift Off
John Newton Williams (left) with the first helicopter; (top right) Glenn Curtiss (third from left) with Alexander Graham Bell (fourth) and other members of the Aerial Experiment Association; the Boeing CV2 (Drone #1) on display at the Curtiss Museum.
Straight Up from Hammondsport to Mars Getting Vertical at the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum
By Dave DeGolyer
Ever give in to your imagination, maybe as a child, and climb onto a picnic table in the backyard, or the bed of a pickup, or some other sturdy object rising from the ground, then leap, hurling your body upward, hands cupped slightly, arms pushing down at your sides, flapping as furiously as you can, only to fail at defying gravity (again and again)?
Today, at any given moment, simply glance skyward and you’re likely to find evidence of human ingenuity and the calling to fly. A calling that has been around for centuries, from ill-fated mythical Icarus who soared too close to the sun, to myriad intrepid inventors down through the ages. The machines and mechanical enhancements crafted over the centuries ranged from simple to absurd, yet little by little flight became more than the imagined fancy of youth, more than an abstract dream of eccentric inventors. And the world was forever changed. In 1907, Glenn Curtiss, a young cyclist
from the small town of Hammondsport, built an engine as an experiment to power airplanes, which he mounted onto an altered bicycle frame and barreled across a firm sandy Florida beach becoming the “fastest man on earth.” Suddenly he found himself surrounded by tinkerers and aeronautical enthusiasts like Alexander Graham Bell with whom he founded the Aerial Experiment Association, a Canadian-American collaboration dedicated to the construction of a practical flying machine.
While some aeronauts thought dirigibles (think steampunk airships) would be the next big thing in travel, the AEA worked on a series of early biplanes. John Newton Williams, however, believed what would later be known as a helicopter (there was no name for them because they did not exist) was the answer to powered flight, and he built smaller models which he was able to make hover before creating a full-scale model which he brought to Hammondsport in
January 1908. It seems Curtiss had offered the use of his V-8 engine, the very same engine the AEA was using in their airplane experiments. That May, less than two months before Curtiss would fly the June Bug over a kilometer and win America’s first aeronautical prize, Williams would use the same engine to power his helicopter and make history for the first vertical flight in the country.
“They have a Curtiss V-8 aeronautical engine as their power plant,” states Finger Lakes historian Kirk House. “The aircraft was successful,” he adds, “in that it lifted itself and the assistant into the air. They had to do so with a short tether, because while they could get airborne, they had not yet solved the problems of stability and steering. These are very tricky with helicopters, as the rotation creates severe problems with torque.”
In 2017, Boeing began development of an all-electric CV2 Cargo Air Vehicle (drone) designed to carry 500 pounds of
(3)
Courtesy Glenn H. Curtiss Museum
cargo. The CV2, which uses the same principles for vertical lift as those employed by Williams in 1908, became, according to Boeing, the first remotely piloted large electrical vertical takeoff and landing aircraft “to be flown in support of commercial operation in the United States.” A total of twelve CV2s were made. The National Air and Space Museum has Drone #10 (modeled after the Star Wars X-wing) on display, while the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport has Drone #1, making the two museums the only places you can see a CV2 in person. Open year round, the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum at 8419 NY-54 celebrates the accomplishments of aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss and the legacy of early experimentation which continues to impact the world today.
The Boeing CV2 (Drone #1), which is already on display, is the inspiration for a new exhibit being created at the Curtiss Museum dedicated to the evolution of Vertical Flight. “The intention,” says Carol Anne Adams, executive director for the museum, “is to provide awareness of the significance that the local area played in early experimental aircraft.”
A special event to officially reveal the new exhibit is slated for June 28, and will include a plaque dedication ceremony, dinner, and lecture connected to the exhibition.
Not only will the new exhibit focus on the evolution of vertical flight and its impact on history from the past to today, but it will also explore what made vertical aviation different from regular aviation experiments in 1908. “We will use STEM learning to explain the challenges that Williams had to face,” adds Carol Anne, “what Boeing had to face today, and the complexities of vertical lift that NASA navigated on Mars.”
According to NASA’s website, “On April 19, 2021, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made history when it completed the first powered, controlled flight on the Red Planet….Designed to be a technology demonstration that would make no more than five test flights in thirty days, the helicopter eventually completed seventy-two flights in just under three years, soaring higher and faster than previously imagined.”
The new exhibition, says Carol Anne, will bring “the past to the present and demonstrates how Curtiss’ legacy is still relevant. In 1908, going to Mars was not a concept, and I love to think about what Curtiss might say today if he knew that an experimental aircraft that he helped with would evolve into what we know today as drones, and then eventually successfully fly on Mars a little over 100 years later. He and Williams were experimenters with the world in front of them, but in no way could they have imagined what their experiments would lead to. I hope this exhibition inspires future generations to have fun, experiment, and keep exploring. Because who knows where it may lead!”
The museum is open over the winter from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, with planes, vintage motorcycles, and automobiles to tell the story of Hammondsport’s role in early aviation. In May, hours expand to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Get more information at glennhcurtissmuseum.org or call (607) 569-2160.
A reluctant reader in his youth, Dave DeGolyer became a writer, of all things, with a day job that allows him to share stories about the Finger Lakes region.
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Little Red Bookhouse
Librarian Mary Ellen Embick retires—only to open her own library.
Mary Ellen’s Magnificent Miniature Library
Former Librarian Shares Her Love of Books
By Don E. Smith Jr.
In the heart of Jersey Shore and deep in the Nippenose Valley, down Route 44, hanging off a telephone pole is a red wooden box in the shape of a schoolhouse. Drivers are invited to pull over to the side of the road and peek at what is inside, take an item, leave an item if they have one, and drive off with their world a little better.
This red box is about the height and width of a flatscreen television and deeper than a shoebox. It’s a library, and it belongs to Mary Ellen Embick. She will share its contents with anybody.
Books have been Mary Ellen’s life and, pardon the cliche, you can take the librarian out of the library, but you can’t take the library out of the librarian. Her miniature library—little free libraries as they’re often called—is just one of many that have been popping up in the Twin Tiers, all over the country, and all over the world.
“My life is defined by books, and I owe it all to my mother,” says Mary Ellen, who retired as a librarian for the James V. Brown
Library in Williamsport.
Her favorite books were the Old Mother West Wind series by Thornton Burgess, stories which featured the adventures of talking and anthropomorphized animals. This series is available on Project Gutenberg and other online sources.
“In one, a barn caught on fire and these little mice were in matchboxes pulling their babies across the snow,” Mary Ellen recalls. “And I would cry and say to my mother, ‘Read that part again!’”
As a mother, she shared her love of books with her own children.
“I would hold the kids, and hold the books, and put their fingers on those little pages.” She says she started this when they were just months old. “I would read to them before they were put to bed. We would look at the pictures.” She remembers that it wasn’t too long before her kids were able to recite the stories themselves.
“They became voracious readers,” she says.
Her interest in miniature libraries was sparked when “we were on vacation or driving around.”
“I would point out little libraries to my husband. Sometimes we stop, sometimes we were not able to stop, but that has always been an interest of mine, and I just think it’s so neat for a neighborhood to have a little library.”
So, her husband took action.
“Unbeknownst to me, my husband spent the fall of 2023 making my little library, and that was my Christmas gift,” Mary Ellen says. “And I always have books here that I’m going to read, I have read, or I’m keeping. I also go to several library book sales, so there’s always a ton of books.
“It didn’t take any time at all to put things in,” she continues. “Then, of course, some people drop things off, some people pick things up.”
When she’s done with the books she’s read, she places them in the red box, and the book then waits for a new home. She puts
Laura Cross
out cookbooks, quilting books, romances, westerns (she says her husband reads those), and plenty of children’s books. Mary Ellen keeps the books in her library family friendly.
“Our picture window faces Route 44, and I sometimes see people stop,” she says. “Last summer, there was a gentleman who stopped with his daughter. They actually spent quite a while looking at the different books. I would say she was between six and eight years old. They had pulled out a number of books. She was looking at them, and that just made my heart happy.”
Her children’s books are “mostly paperback, some of the little cardboard page books, things that I probably would have read to my kids.”
Mary Ellen has seen members of the Amish community stop by her library and inspect the books. She suspects they would probably be interested in the quilting books, maybe the cookbooks, but “probably not the historical romances.”
But who knows, right?
Her love of books has inspired a member of her extended family to put up a little library in his yard.
“He and his wife live in Virginia, on a country road. He made a little library, and I supply him with a lot of books,” Mary Ellen says. “He really gets a lot of use on his little country road, thanks to there being a lot of walkers.
“Every morning, this older gentleman would come, and he would put his newspaper in the little library, and he would continue on his walk, and then somebody else would come and take the newspaper out of the little library.”
“My mom’s love of reading has affected our family, and it has encouraged all of us to pursue our education further,” says Laura Cross, Mary Ellen’s daughter. “We are avid readers. I have continued this onto my children. Both my mom and I read to them a lot when they were younger. They now enjoy reading for themselves.”
Mary Ellen says that books, reading, and literature are part of a greater storytelling tradition that began thousands of years ago with the earliest people, and continues to today.
“When cavemen carved letters and drawings on stones and inside caves and things like that, to me that’s the beginning of literature, books, and reading,” Mary Ellen says.
And what about the change in the way people read?
“I think holding a book in your hand has somewhat gone by the wayside, with modern technology, Kindles, laptops, and just teenagers playing on their phones and communicating with friends that way,” Mary Ellen says. “I don’t want to be a naysayer, but I do think there’s a difference [between an e-book reader and a real one].” She says the love of holding a book “will never go away for me.”
“Books introduce readers to things that are maybe not in their home life,” she continues, “and allow them to head in a [different] direction where a book can teach them” about those things, and then “open windows and open doors for them.”
Thanks to Mary Ellen, the world—or at least a portion of it— is now available in a red box on a telephone pole, along Route 44 in the heart of Nippenose Valley.
Don Everett Smith Jr. is an author and journalist who writes history, true crime, horror, and pulp. He lives with his wife, Laura, and cats in Lycoming County.
welcome to Jersey Shore
Antrim Runs on Duncan
Since 1952, and—thanks to John and Abby Campbell—they still do.
Tuesday Night at the Duncan Antrim’s Old New Hot Spot
By Gayle Morrow
It’s Tuesday, it’s trivia night at Antrim’s Duncan Tavern, the place is packed, and Erika Hauptman is really busy trying to get everybody their food and first round of drinks before Toni VanNess takes microphone in hand and starts stumping the trivia teams with questions. (Really, who knows what country has the oldest flag?)
“I do enjoy working here,” says Erika, who can’t talk long as she’s on her way back into the kitchen. “You get to know a lot of people in town. John and Abby are doing a great job. We’re very lucky.”
John and Abby Campbell are the new owners—in June it will be two years.
“We just live a couple of miles down the road,” says Abby, who can’t talk long, either, as she’s also needed in the kitchen. (“I like to mostly stay in the kitchen,” she confesses.) She says she and John have owned other businesses. They have been in Tioga County about fifteen years, which makes them relative newbies, but she says people have been
friendly and very accepting. Helpful, too. Sherry Davis Johnson, who had owned the place for twenty-five years, still comes in and works two or three days a week.
The Duncan, at 292 Antrim Main Street, was a payroll office way back when Antrim was an active coal mining town. The township of the same name was, according to the 1897 edition of the History of Tioga County, named for Duncan S. Magee, a bigwig with the Fall Brook Coal Company, and was created in 1873 from bits of Delmar, Charleston, and Morris townships. The township boasted 2,449 residents by 1890. Its lands were nearly all owned by the Fall Brook Coal Company, and most of its residents—coal miners and their families—lived in Antrim, which was named for County Antrim, Ireland. There were ten dwellings in Antrim on January 1, 1871. In October of the following year, the railroad line from Lawrenceville was completed. A hotel and a post office followed,
and then came schools and a general store and churches. In fact, one of those churches, built in 1882 with stone from the local quarry, is still standing and is for sale (listed as contingent), complete with pews and stained glass windows.
Antrim is “a good place to raise kids,” says Steve Krystoff, who’s not playing trivia this Tuesday but is enjoying a libation at the refurbished bar. “I do miss that old bar, but the new one is nice. Back when I was a kid, they used to play bingo upstairs, and they had dances for us kids.” The first owner he can remember was a man named George Hill. He characterizes another owner, Rut Wilcox, as a “hell of a nice guy.” Steve’s own grandfather worked in the mines, and a great-uncle was killed in the mines.
The history of the building, the town, the place, is part of what makes Abby happy here. The payroll office stayed open till 1949, and the Duncan Tavern first opened its doors in 1952.
Gayle Morrow
Courtesy Abby Campbell
“I love being surrounded by the old, local history,” she says, and the tavern is full of it. The big chandelier over the bar consists of an assortment of oil lamps, some of which came from one of the churches. There is a lectern from the Catholic church. Old black and white pictures are grouped on the walls according to subject material.
“Over there is the general store section,” Abby indicates. “They’re pictures of the way the town was. We’re just trying to preserve it. A lot of stuff hanging here we just left.” Like the helmets— she’s talking about the helmets the miners wore.
“Those helmets have been there forever,” she continues. “There’s a helmet and a lamp from someone who came here to collect their pay.”
And, oh yeah, being a payroll office meant there had to be a safe place on the premises for the money and records—two safe places, actually. The first floor safe is now the walk-in cooler. The 600-pound door was built in 1869 with seven layers of quarter-inch steel. The safe itself is three to four layers of three-inch clay bricks. Abby says it took twelve hours to drill into it to install their tap system. The safe had a timing device on it that, if activated, prevented it from being opened, even with a combination, until the timer went off. That device has since been disconnected.
On March 17, 1934, someone failed in an attempt to blow the safe open with nitroglycerin. The $400 that was in it remained there.
The second safe was probably used for storing payroll records. It’s upstairs, along with the two coffins.
Coffins? Yes. Long-time patrons will remember that the coffins used to be downstairs. Now, “we bring them down for Halloween,” Abby says.
Which leads to the next logical question. Is the place haunted?
“I have never been bothered,” Abby says. “But other employees have. Some have smelled a woman’s perfume. Others heard someone whistling.”
Rich Weidenhammer, who’s been coming to this neck of the woods with his family since he was a little kid, has been cooking at the Duncan for over three years. He’s on a first-name basis with Abigail, and says he sees her “almost every time I’m here.”
“From what I understand, she was a mail-order bride,” Rich says. Her intended decided against marrying her, and Abigail ended up as a call girl. (There was evidently space upstairs for that sort of activity—“It was like a brothel,” Rich says a little hesitantly.) He says she wears a long, flowing dress, but he doesn’t see her face or even her head. She usually stands at the entrance to the kitchen when he arrives in the morning, and he greets her with a “Good morning, Abigail.” There are “odd things” that happen once in a while, but “I’m not real worried.”
Whether the resident spirits venture into the outdoors may not be known, but the flesh and blood patrons will be enjoying the Duncan’s new deck as soon as things warm up a bit. In the meantime, the menu, from sandwiches to salads to daily specials, is available inside, seven days a week, starting at 11 a.m. every day but Sunday, when it’s noon. If you’re interested in trivia night, it’s best to call for a reservation—(570) 353-6870,—but, be aware: The questions are sometimes hard!
TRIPLE D FARMS
21st Annual Maple Weekend
Flipping the Burd
Folks are bringing renewed energy to Burdett, like at the Burdett Exchange that sells farm products and runs a chowder cook-off from the old fire house.
Burdett Was So Much Older Then It’s
Younger Than That Now
By Karey Solomon
Burdett is a small-but-growing village whose residents have long-established roots, deep friendships, and abiding commitment to their community and its quirky charm. The main road passing through has at least five names, but then, the village began as a collection of colorfully named settlements. These became Burdett with the establishment of a post office in 1819.
In the 1870s, Burdett boasted two hotels, two schoolhouses, three newspapers, plus a variety of mills and factories running on the water power of Cranberry Creek. Main Street had become a prosperous retail hub, made busier by the construction of the Lehigh Valley Railroad in the late nineteenth century.
“In the 1921 Burdett High School yearbook, students said they thought Burdett was mostly old people who retired off the farms and moved into town,” says Burdett historian Martha Evans. “Now it’s opening up [again] to young businesses and young people who are moving in and developing things.”
It is where businesses are passion projects, like the seasonal berries, honey, and baked goods at Mangus Farm, 3710 Main Street. Cathy and Robert Mangus began by expanding their home raspberry plantings
to help their son Mathew, now a teacher, with college expenses. The business grew from a roadside stand to a renovated barn with picnic tables outside, and forks offered to customers who can’t wait to sample the pies Cathy bakes from family recipes. Her crop-swap with farmers who grow tree fruits expanded the pie menu to span the seasons.
The Hungry Burd, 3815 Main Street, is part of that farm to table trend. Owned by Brianna and Joe Colunio, this eatery began when Brianna, now the chef, and who’d worked here in its previous incarnation as a barbecue restaurant called Smokin’ Bones, couldn’t bear to see her village without a place for people to eat and gather.
“I never in a million years expected to open a restaurant,” says Brianna, who also owns a cleaning service called Breezy Clean. “If you ask my husband, he’d say my hobbies are working.” Hungry Burd is open year-round, with expanded hours beginning in April. The menu (see it at Hungry Burd’s FB page) features hearty comfort food, including vegan versions of several popular menu items.
Owned by Sarah and Colin Davis, the 1800 House at 3821 Main Street (1800houseburdett.com) launched as an event space last year, with an upstairs apartment available for short-term rent-
als. “When we bought the space, people thought we were crazy,” Sarah says. “[But] this is a beautiful historic building with a lot of potential.” The intimate space holds about seventy-five. “We’ve hosted wedding receptions and welcome dinners. We’re also interested in hosting wine tastings [Colin’s family is part-owner of nearby Damiani Wine Cellars], rehearsal dinners, and conferences. People are really loving it, so we’ve stayed busy.”
A little further down, at 3825 Main Street, the Overlook Coffee Company (overlookcoffeeco.com) found a home in the Overlook Building, owned and renovated by Brittany and Adam Thorpe. Brittany’s coffee-loving brother Brandon Evans began experimenting with roasting coffee during the pandemic, applying the scientific methods he learned as an aerospace engineer to perfecting the precise temperature and roasting time to express the desired flavor profiles. He and his wife, Christina, have discovered coffee is subject to terroir like fine wines. Brandon roasts coffee at their Main Street home using high-tech equipment; whole beans are also sold online. Before Overlook opened, “I was nervous—is it going to be successful opening a niche coffee shop in a small town?” Christina wondered.
See Burdett on page 24
Now she knows most of the regulars by name. “There’s a definite feeling of community here,” she says.
Dr. Kevin Field, who grew up in Burdett and attended the (now-closed) Burdett School, opened an office next door to the coffee shop eighteen months ago after watching Adam’s renovations. Adam also carved out an outdoor space where Kevin, a psychologist, can work with young clients in the warm months. “People respond well to the relaxed atmosphere,” Kevin says. He shares space with Molly Schamel, another mental health practitioner.
On the other side of the street, Johnathan Wasson and his wife, Lindsey, run the Burdett Exchange Meat and Mercantile (theburdettexchange.com). Johnathan, a third-generation Burdett farmer, sells his farm-raised meat there, as well as a variety of other locally-grown products, providing a central sales outlet for many other farmers and a few crafters. When the Burdett Fire Company built larger quarters and a village office at the east end of town, much thought went into the choice of who would be allowed to buy the company’s former home. They chose Johnathan because he and his business were a welcome asset. Other business owners credit Johnathan for contributing to Main Street’s renaissance. In a recent chowder cook-off slated to become an annual event, the Burdett Exchange and several businesses combined talents to present their entry. They’ve also collaborated on a mini chamber of commerce for Southeast Seneca. Cooperation has become the guiding ethic of Main Street.
Perhaps the oldest business is the H&E Bar, owned by Cody Gregory, who purchased it from his long-time friend Adam about eighteen months ago. “It’s been around for decades, and the bar was something we felt should stay alive,” Cody says. On a recent Saturday afternoon, it was where Cody’s mom, Linda, and a large group of friends planned a benefit event for a customer with large medical expenses.
Strictly speaking, Mindful Inspirations (mindfulinspirationsny.com) is on Lake Street, the other name for NYS-79, in the length between the village limits and that turn in the road where it becomes Main Street. Lisa Rahilly opened her business in 2014 as a bakery, then felt pulled to change directions, offering metaphysical instruction and practice including Reiki, tarot, psychic readings, and meditation. Her storefront is a gift shop offering crystals and other neat items, and attracts customers from around the region. A sign available for sale also serves as a description: “I’m a sage-burning, crystal collecting, tarot reading, moon admiring kind of girl.”
Only a few miles from the south end of Seneca Lake, Burdett is one of the gateways to winery explorations. It’s almost equidistant to Ithaca and Elmira, and nearly as close to Corning. “It’s just the right location,” Lisa says.
Sarah Davis sums up the spirit of the locale. “There’s a flood of new energy, a bunch of young couples who’ve invested in the downtown area. It’s going to keep growing.”
Karey Solomon is the author of a poetry chapbook, Voices Like the Sound of Water, a book on frugal living (now out of print), and more than thirty-six needlework books. Her work has also appeared in several fiction and nonfiction anthologies.
Wild Asaph Outfitters
Stage & Screen
Deb Capece (right) has brought a new twist on old movies to the Victoria Theatre, where people can come dressed in costumes and hear speakers, like they did for Gone with the Wind
More than Movies, but Movies, for Sure
Blossburg’s Victoria Theatre Celebrates Old and New
By Carolyn Straniere
Giant, modern, multiplex movie theaters have their place, but it’s refreshing to see a movie house that has retained its charm and utility with just one screen. The Victoria Theatre at 222 Main Street in Blossburg is a place like that. And, thanks to new owners Deb Capece and her husband, Dominic, who purchased the property in April 2023, it’s also more than just movies.
“When the building was for sale, there were rumors that it would no longer be used as a theater,” Deb says. “I didn’t want that to happen. It’s such a piece of history for the area. Plus I had a vision for that space.”
Opening its doors in 1920, the Victoria Theatre showed silent movies of that era, complete with piano to accompany the action on the screen. In the ’30s, Martin and Rose Meyer owned the building, renovating the theater in 1965 (that’s the décor you
see today), and finally closing the doors in 1976 after Martin passed away. The theater sat empty and unused for years until 2009, when Peter and Patricia Gorda purchased the building. They renovated the upstairs into apartments and started updating the downstairs theater space, with help in the form of their daughter, Tonya, and her husband, Tom McNamara. Among some of the treasures found were the original curtain and piano!
Seven years later, in 2016, the McNamaras would become the next owners of the Victoria. Among the improvements they made were to the lighting and the sound. They added a lit marquee to the building, making it look more like a theater than a storefront. They also took the plunge and updated from 35 mm film to the digital age. Gone were the days of getting a box of film on reels and splicing them together so
a movie could be shown, only to take the movie apart before being put back on the reels and sent back. (Now movies are sent on a hard drive and downloaded into the projector, not nearly as much fun for movie enthusiasts but much easier for those working the projectors.)
The Victoria Theatre was once again a place for community to connect and enjoy an evening out for a few years, until the shutdown in 2020. While that year was hard for many businesses, it was especially hard on the arts, and the McNamaras decided to sell the property. Enter Deb Capece and her vision.
Growing up in a musical family in southeastern Pennsylvania, Deb settled in this area in 2013. “I earned my musical performance degree from Kutztown University, and have written and co-written four Broadway-style shows,” she says, then adds,
Courtesy Victoria Theatre
“I offer voice and music lessons as well.”
Performing is a little different from owning a movie theater, however, as Deb soon found out when she tried bringing in new movies to show. “We have one screen and the powers-that-be want you to show their movie for two to three weekends. So, they won’t lease to us because we’re either too small of a movie theater or it’s too expensive for us,” she explains.
Good thing Deb’s vision is bigger than the big screen.
“I want to bring vintage movies to the screen again. There are single screen movie houses that are called ‘art houses.’ They show old movies, bringing to life classics for a new generation, as well as those who want to enjoy them once again on the silver screen,” Deb explains. They showed Gone with the Wind last year, complete with people dressed in period clothing. “We honored Hattie McDaniel and her Oscar win at that showing,” Deb says. This past Valentine’s Day weekend, the community was treated to Casablanca, again with an actor dressed in clothing of that era, giving a bit of history on the film.
“But I don’t want to limit the space to just older movies. I want a live theater experience,” Deb continues. To that end, once a month there’s a live band, ranging in musical taste and genre. “Because I wanted to develop the theater into a live performance space, we had to add a new sound and lighting system that would enhance that. The systems that were in place prior were great for watching a movie but not for live theater.
“We held two art shows in 2024, as well as a Christmas pageant. We’ve hosted a few documentaries, open mic nights, and during the summer we show family-friendly movies for free. We want this to be affordable for the community.” She adds, “In the fall, we showcase local bands in a ‘School of Rock’ type show. The bands audition, and we choose three or four to perform. It’s always great fun.”
A local theater group known as the Bloss Players performed Deb’s original musical Song of Ruth last year. This year the group is looking at a comedy of sorts called Southern Fried Funeral. “You can probably tell that this will be about sibling rivalry at the funeral of the family patriarch, with a good dose of humor,” Deb says with a laugh.
“Theater has always been in my life, and I just want to share it with others,” says Deb.
The theater can also be reserved for gatherings and events. “We held a bridal shower here recently, and in March there will be a Sip & Paint [March 15, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.], which is open to the public, though size is limited.”
With a move to be more than just a movie theater, the official name of this 105-year-old business is now the Tioga County Center for the Performing Arts at Victoria Theatre. They can be reached at (570) 638-6111, or for more information go to victoriatheatreblossburg.com. Follow them on Facebook at Victoria Theatre Blossburg.
Born in the Bronx, Carolyn Straniere grew up in northern New Jersey and has called Wellsboro home for over twenty-four years, where she enjoys spending time with her grandkids and traveling. Carolyn lives with her four-legged wild child, Jersey, and daydreams of living on the beach in her old age.
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Gorge on Local Booze
Brian McKenzie opens a Finger Lakes Distilling offshoot near Ithaca.
Since 2007, Finger Lakes Distilling has been raising spirits at their flagship location in Burdett, perched above the pristine expanse of Seneca Lake. The distillery has been a beacon for tourists seeking a stronger alternative to the famously wine-driven businesses along the lake’s eastern rim. Customers can enjoy flights of spirits, cocktails, and even take a crack at making their own customized bottle of gin. The well-known line of McKenzie whiskey and gin—namesake of owner and president Brian McKenzie—features widely among the state’s restaurants, bars, and bottle shops. Additionally, the distillery provides bulk spirits to other wineries and cideries for custom projects such as port, sherry, and apple pommeau, serving to fortify relationships with area producers while contributing to the collective success of all. But now
the distillery has expanded to 1143 Elmira Road (Route 13), Newfield, where a sister location is poised to serve a year-round hometown crowd.
The original idea behind the Newfield operation was barrel storage. “We were just filled to the gills with whiskey barrels and bottling supplies, so we considered building something here [in Burdett], but then the property became available in Newfield,” explains Brian. “It was intriguing because it had a pole barn that was exactly the same size as ours, and there was an old garage that looked like it had some potential. The building’s going to serve as a rickhouse [barrel site] and bottling area, but all the fermentations and distilling will still take place here at our original facility.”
The new venture will bring new customer opportunities while at the same time
continuing to grow the brand.
“This expansion nearly doubles our operational footprint,” says Brian. “The Newfield spot will allow us to better serve both our existing customers and the many travelers along Route 13, providing a convenient and welcoming space to enjoy our spirits.”
The distillery plans to use its New York farm license to expand their product offerings to include local beer, cider, wine, and a limited selection of snacks. One of the major differences the brand is facing between the Burdett location and this one is location—it will now be positioned off of the tourist trail and firmly in local territory.
“Here on Seneca we have people from everywhere,” says Brian. “Everyone comes to us in their group. We’re used to it being
Terence
way more tourist driven. For Newfield to be successful, we’ll have to draw locals and people from Ithaca. There’s plenty of liquor stores in Ithaca, but we’re kind of on the outskirts and I think we’ll be able to capitalize on that. There’s just so much traffic there. About four to five times what we have on Seneca.”
With nearby Cornell University and Ithaca College, the hope is to pull from the robust student population and their visiting families seeking fun local activities. Not only that, but just a three-minute drive down the road is Robert H. Treman State Park, a natural wonder bringing hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to its trails, gorges, and myriad waterfalls. It’s only too logical that the Newfield branch of Finger Lakes Distilling will serve as a beacon for weary hikers looking to kick back and relax. This potentially enormous stream of business is bound to convert new visitors into dedicated fans of the distillery’s award-winning spirits.
Locals travelling to and from work will now have a great option for purchasing beverages to take home to the dinner table, or even pick up a cocktail to go. To have a grocery-like array of wines, beers, spirits, and ciders available is special for the area. And the cross-promotion it provides for other local businesses stays true to the Finger Lakes ethos of raising all ships. Flights and simple food options will be provided and customers can enjoy a number of different craft cocktails at the bar. An eye to creative mixology is definitely on the menu.
“It’s going to be more cocktail oriented,” Brian explains. “We want to elevate the cocktail scene with a really nice ice program [craft ice—clear, and the right size, shape, and content for the drink and the glass] in place. We’re still going to do our flights, but we’re also still trying to get a sense of what’s going to work.”
The advantage of a joint facility in a completely new area allows for evolution and the freedom to explore new ideas. Plans for the space include activities and educational events about spirits and distillation, guided barrel house tours, and space rentals for small, intimate events.
The true test will arrive as the region warms up, exams end, and the seasonal influx of visitors return. In the meantime, the fledgling location is now operational and currying favor with Newfield’s stalwart year-rounders. Customers can enjoy the tasting room and bar from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday to Sunday. The limited seasonal hours are slated to expand with the advent of warmer weather. Find out more at fingerlakesdistillery.com or call the Burdett facility at (607) 546-5510.
As plans remain liquid, there’s a strong sense of adventure and progress about the adjacent operation. “We want to have experiences that are unique to the spot,” says Brian. “Maybe single barrel selections, where customers get to taste a few barrels, and we pull a bottle for them to order. But so far we’re off to a great start.” He laughs and adds, “Considering that we opened in the middle of the winter.”
Terence Lane is a Certified Sommelier. His short fiction and wine writing has appeared in a number of magazines including Wine Enthusiast. A native of Cooperstown, New York, he now lives in the Finger Lakes and is the beverage manager at J.R. Dill Wine Bar in Watkins Glen.
They mostly see small animals—cats, dogs, bunnies, guinea pigs, pocket pets—as well as the occasional chickens, ducks, and smaller farm animals.
“I would love to have a large animal vet join me some day,” she says.
As for the job itself, Kristine says, “You really work with the people. I see my position as a vet. Sometimes I can provide a voice for the animals. Many people go into this field and don’t realize they have to like people too. You really have to like people a lot.”
Talking about different kinds of pet parents, she says, “There are people whose life revolves around their pet. They see their dog in a way that maybe some others don’t. You can see how they see their pets. You also see people whose pet is an add-on in their busy lives. There’s a lot of things to sense when you’re talking to people.”
She notes how the situation can vary drastically from room to room as they see different patients, and people, in the course of a day.
“You might go into one room with a new kitten or puppy with excited children,” she says. “And, then head into a really sad room when a pet isn’t doing well. There’s a lot of ups and downs in a day.” That’s why it’s so important to have a good team working together.
“The people I work with—we try to have each other’s backs,” she adds.
Kittens, Compassion, and the Next Thing
“We also have a kitten adoption program,” Kristine says. “Somehow or another we end up taking in a cat who is about to deliver or some other situation. We always seem to have kittens. We vaccinate the kittens and get them out there so people see them. We always find a home for them. It’s something we all love. We all take joy in watching the kittens grow and go to nice homes.”
Dr. Shaw had only known our family for a short time when we got to experience both her compassion with our dying dog and the kitten adoption work they do.
Months after moving to Wellsboro, our fifteen-year-old golden retriever was seriously ill and had come to the end of life. In a panic, my husband and I took Amber Rose to the veterinary office and the staff began evaluating her. Dr. Shaw got down on the floor beside Amber Rose as she examined her and talked gently to both the dog and us. It was caring and calming as she helped us make the dreaded decision.
In the waiting room earlier that day we had seen kittens, a gray tiger and a black one, romping in a play area. Besides Amber’s passing that day, our cat had died just before we moved to Wellsboro. That left our younger golden as an only pet. Before day’s end, we returned to Grand Canyon Veterinary and adopted two crazy kittens.
So, what’s next for Dr. Shaw?
“I have a New Year’s resolution for 2025,” she says. “Relax. Do less. Watch the kids. Enjoy what we have. Don’t make plans. Just relax.”
Sue Erb’s career includes twenty years in newspaper journalism and twenty-four years at Highlights for Children magazine. She’s now a freelance writer, editor, and photographer.
Susan Shadle Erb
Mountain Home SERVICE DIRECTORY
BACK OF THE MOUNTAIN
The Early Bird Gets the Snow
By Bernadette Chiaramonte
My backyard on Heise Run Road in Wellsboro is always alive with birds, but none is a more welcome sign of the start of spring than the robin. Many stay here year-round, but in winter they move in flocks and aren’t as noticeable. We start to see them again when they turn territorial and solitary in spring, getting ready to court and raise chicks. An unexpected snow storm occurred just as this one was ready to start yanking worms. I photograph a lot of birds in my backyard, and I’ve never seen this expression on any before. I’d be mad, too.
