Sign Up, We offer fun painting classes for all ages & experience levels. Join us for a night out, private adult and children parties, Show Up, fundraisers, team building and more. also bring the painting pARTy to you with our On Wheels program! Sip Up We canStudio classes: Tuesday-Saturday 6:30-8:30pm; Sunday 2-4pm. Private events any time. and Wine & Design Rochester/Chili
PAINT!
4165 Buffalo Road, Rochester, NY 14624
585-594-8007
chiliny@wineanddesign.com • www.wineanddesign.com/chili
January 22, 2017
Issue No. 4
www.westsidenewsny.com
SOUTH EDITION
Distributed
to
Churchville-Riga, North Chili, Spencerport-Ogden
Author Michael Keene visits Holley by Kristina Gabalski “I thought it was a remarkable story that needed to be told,” author Michael Keene said of his latest book - Vietnam Reflections: The Untold Story of the Holley Boys, while visiting the village Saturday, January 14 for a book signing. The event was held at the American Legion on Wright Street and drew area residents, including friends and family of the eight Vietnam War veterans featured in the book. Gary E. Bullock, Howard L. Bowen, David D. Case, John P. Davis, George W. Fischer Jr., Paul S. Mandraccia, Ronald P. Sisson and Gary L. Stymus - all Holley area natives who went to Holley High School - were killed in action in Vietnam - a staggering number for a village the size of Holley. It is believed that the loss is one of the highest casualty rates per capita during the war. Keene, who lives in Pittsford and is a Vietnam Veteran, became aware of the high number of young men from Holley lost in the war while visiting the Rochester Vietnam Veterans Memorial. “It was shockingly clear the inordinate number of men who died from Holley High School,” Keene told those attending the book signing. “The history of the Holley Boys is the history of Holley itself,” Keene explained. The eight played Little League, were Boy Scouts, went to sock hops, and performed in the Holley High School Marching Band. Collectively, the “Holley Boys” were awarded 40 medals for combat valor, including seven Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star, Silver Star and the Vietnamese Cross for Gallantry.
Community Find Out More
On Page 12
Local ...Your Link to d Businesses an ers Service Provid
Inc. Westside News A Publication of ester’s 0+ Homes in Roch le, Delivered to 33,00 Bergen, Brockport, Churchvil all, of y, Kend Western Suburbs lin, Hilton, Holle Ham son, Clark e the Clarendon, Spencerport insid and Chili h Sout on Herald North & & Hamlin-Clarks News rban Subu
Find Out More
On Page 6
Y EDITION 2017 JANUAYeaR Menu! r with a Super New We’re Ringing in the
New
SeRving BReakFaSt & LunCH
DAYS Hours: OPEN 7 m 6:30am-2:30p
february
January
Buy 1 Lunch Get 1 Lunch for
1/2 OFF
Item of Equal of Lesse
r Value.
other offers or Not valid with any 1/31/17. discounts. Offer expires
Buy 1 Lunch Get 1 Lunch for
1/2 OFF
r Value. Item of Equal of Lesse or
other offers Not valid with any 2/28/17. discounts. Offer expires
Michael Keene’s book, Vietnam Reflections: The Untold Story of the Holley Boys is available at Lift Bridge Bookshop in Brockport and at www.Ad-HocProductions.com. Provided photo. Vietnam Reflections: The Untold Story of the Holley Boys is also available as an audio book. Keene said the recording includes ten professional voice actors and an original musical score. “I am proud of the book,” he said, “I am really proud of the audio.”
Revisit the Blizzard of ‘77
S
W WESTSIDE NE
Link
Keene said he interviewed 35 family members while writing the book, which is published by AdHoc-Productions. He said he found himself drawn to the Holley community and, “immersed myself in the history of the community and the lives of the boys.” Village of Holley/Town of Murray historian Marsha DeFilipps assisted Keene in his research and helped him to connect with family members of the boys. She said the families were finally ready to talk about the boys and their loss. “Keene brought out the best of them,” she said. “The book is fantastic.” Jane Robinson, who lives in Clarendon, is the sister of Howard L. Bowen, one of the eight. She called the book, “beautiful.” She attended the signing with Jerry Dowd, her brother’s best friend. Jerry remembered the fun the two had together and how much Bowen, “loved people … we are so thankful somebody would write a great book,” he told Keene. Joyce Potote attended the book signing. She lives in Holley and attended school with most of the Holley Boys. She remembered attending the senior prom with Ronnie Sisson. Potote said she still has to read the book. “I will probably cry,” when she does, she said. The book is available locally at the Lift Bridge Book Shop in Brockport and at www.Ad-Hoc-Productions.com. This is the seventh book by Keene, who has written six books about New York history and produced the award-winning historical documentary “Visions: True Stories of Spiritualism, Secret Societies & Murder.”
Breakfast Served all Day Sunday 6:30-2:30
What we offer just for you... homemade fresh from our kitchen, fresh from our farm! We’re great for family and ther! friends getting toge
mlin 0 Lake Road, Ha 636-4276 • 170 Call for details corner of Rt. 18 & Rt. 19
Find us on Facebook
The date was January 28, 1977. It will be 40 years this coming Saturday. The weather forecast was not good. Western New York was about to make national headlines, which, in the winter, is not out of the ordinary. The storm did not have a name as they do today. It is rather funny that meteorologists feel the need to give winter storms a name today. Some years, in western New York, they would be into the Greekletter-named storms quickly if they tallied them all. What started on January 28, 1977 was simply called the Blizzard of ’77. No other moniker was needed. It summed it up quite nicely. Locally, snow started falling around noon and just kept falling. Even major roads were closed in our area, some for days. Snow had drifted in some places 15 feet and higher. People were stranded in town halls, schools, at SUNY Brockport and elsewhere.
It was a great time to own a snowmobile. Folks with snowmobiles helped in many ways. They would bring groceries to those who could not get out, delivered nurses to Lakeside Hospital and even served as a fire brigade. Westside News is revisiting that time with the stories that appeared in our Suburban News in the aftermath of the storm. Check out our Community Link this week, which is included with your copy of the Suburban News or Hamlin-Clarkson Herald. We would love to hear about the experiences of our readers during the Blizzard of ’77. We invite you to share those experiences by sending along a letter to the editor via US mail or email or you can go to our “Your Voice” section of our website at www. westsidenewsny.com/section/your-voice/.