Wayne County Life

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SUBMITTED by Jean Starkenburg, East Palmyra Christian School (6-Mar-2011)

Enrollment Open House will be held at East Palmyra Christian School the evening of March 24, from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Teachers and board members will be on hand for questions and to give tours of the school. Busing forms and applications for enrollment will be made available.

Families wishing to learn more about the strengths of a small, private Christian school and the Biblical world-view that permeates all instruction, are welcomed to attend. Home schooled families may also inquire about part-time programs available.

East Palmyra Christian School offers an affirming academic environment, a welcoming parent community, and opportunities in athletics and the arts. Preschool classes meet two half-days each week and Kindergarten offers both full days and half-days. High school has been added to the school within the last three years.

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SUBMITTED by Jean Starkenburg, East Palmyra Christian School (6-Mar-2011)

Ken Medema

On Thursday evening, March 17, 2011, at 7:15, East Palmyra Christian School will host Christian singer, songwriter, and composer Ken Medema. This community-oriented event will be held in the East Palmyra Christian gymnatorium and will feature Ken’s interactive style as he gets his audience to participate, reflect on faith in God, reminisce about days gone by, and share stories from which Ken will compose songs spontaneously with cues from the audience.

Ken Medema's concerts appeal to the youngest and the oldest listeners and participants. His concerts are interactive and lively, original, insightful, with skilled keyboard and big-sound technology, along with a vocal style from the operatic to hard rock to tender ballad to whimsical folk to sentimental to comic. For more information, visit www.kenmedema.com.

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SUBMITTED by Jean Starkenburg, East Palmyra Christian Reformed Church (29-Nov-2010)

Take a break from the hustle and bustle and enjoy a CANDLE-LIGHT COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS DINNER at East Palmyra Christian Reformed Church on Saturday, December 18.

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Jagger Road is a small two-lane no-shoulder town road near my house that crosses the end of the swamp flats along Red Creek.  About halfway to the north end, the canopy of trees almost closes protectively creating the illusion of a curving tunnel with a narrow opening directly overhead.  On the west side a wooded area blocks out any possible view of the sunset while the steep bank on the east side, smothered with sumac, wild berry and currant bushes, and wildflowers, provides cover for adventurous deer that regularly play "chicken" with unsuspecting drivers about dusk. 

I was returning from a newspaper assignment recently when rounding a curve I spied a wild turkey hen as she popped out of the sumac and contemplated crossing the road.  She sauntered bravely onto the pavement.  I hit the brakes hard, slowing almost to a stop before she realized my truck was much bigger than she was and that she would probably wind up on the losing end if we tangled.  She suddenly launched her gangling body across the road in front of me and disappeared into a dense clump of trees laden with dozens of silken tents of Malacosoma americanum, more commonly called Eastern Tent Caterpillars.  As children, we called them Army Worms. 

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It's a rainy late July morning and she's back.  That crazy female cardinal is back again, rapping at my window for the third day in a row.  I first noticed her on July 20 while working at my computer.  Her short whistles gave her location away early in the encounter, but I was unprepared for her actions.  She flew at the windowpane several times as if protecting her nest from an imaginary danger, but there is no nest in the lilac growing beside the house near the window.  She returns several times, tweeting and landing on the wooden muntin bars on the window with a precarious foothold.  She stays a few seconds then flies away. 

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Within two miles' distance from my house westward along South Creek Rd. near East Palmyra are three remnants reminiscent of the history of the tiny hamlet and the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad.  There is the South Creek Rd. railroad bridge half of which was installed about 100 years ago.  The other half was replaced just one day before the infamous September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on our country.  Nearby are two large blocks of concrete that probably once supported an overhead signal or a water spout that provided water for steam engines and "cattle cooling."  (ref East Palmyra Remembered:  The Story of a Hamlet) 

The third and least visible to passersby, is a stone and concrete underpass built in 1939.  It is a rarity not only in the Town of Palmyra, but also in Wayne County and although unknown for sure, it is entirely possible it is the only such structure left in the entire state.

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SUBMITTED by Vicky Daly, Village of Palmyra (28-May-2010)

The increase in boat and bicycle traffic in the 31 Corridor has made clear the need for a taxi / shuttle service to be available to our visitors. If anyone knows of an existing service, please let me know at the Palmyra Village Office, (315) 597-4849 or at vpalmyra@yahoo.com If there is none, perhaps creating one is an opportunity waiting to be taken advantage of.

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As May, 2010 slips into history, with June on the horizon it's time to observe and reflect on life here in my corner of Wayne County, NY. It's 6:30 am; barn chores are finished until evening, and a second cup of coffee awaits on the sun drenched east deck outside the kitchen door. Breakfast of potato patties made from leftover mashed potatoes, diced onions and 2 eggs is slowly browning in real butter. The heck with watching my cholesterol just this once!

Our unusual weather pattern that began last winter continues. The early warm spring has encouraged everything on the farm and in the gardens to be about two weeks early. My latest backyard project lay within sight reminding me of the work already done and that yet to do. A neighbor donated a single red raspberry bush to my backyard berry patch and during the winter it developed eight offspring. Eager to transplant them, I lengthed the two-row patch to accommodate the new bushes. Having already built a raised bed for the purple berries from old railroad ties, it's easy enough to add on to one end. After removing the sod, and spading the new space, I incorporated a pickup load of compost purchased from a nearby farmer since raw manure from our own farm would not be suitable. Finishing the job is next on my agenda.

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SUBMITTED by Marcia Marsille, Village Bookmarket (10-May-2010)

On Saturday, 29 May 2010 at 10 AM, author Robert Swiatek will be at Village Bookmarket, 207 East Main Street, Palmyra, NY, to sign his books, so come on down to meet him! Some of his book titles are: The Joy of Life Cookbook; The “Read My Lips” Cookbook; Mirror, Mirror, On My Car; here's your free gift - send $10 for shipping; Take Back the Earth; This War Won't Cost Much; and Press 1 for Pig Latin.

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Albany- Just three weeks after the disastrous Farm Labor Bill was defeated by the New York State Senate's Committee on Agriculture, virtually the same bill has been reintroduced by New York City legislators, in an attempt to force onerous work regulations onto Upstate New York farmers.

Senator Nozzolio, who adamantly opposed this measure when it was introduced just weeks ago, has indicated that he will continue his opposition to this bill which has been reintroduced without a single meaningful change.

Senator Nozzolio said, “This ill-conceived legislation is a clear example of the New York City and downstate legislators trying to force legislation down the throats of our Upstate farmers without any understanding of the implications or ramifications of the law.”

Representatives of the farming community, including the New York State Farm Bureau, fruit and vegetable growers, and agricultural workers throughout the Finger Lakes region have advised the Senator that this proposal would be the death knell of agriculture in Upstate New York.

The original legislation (S.2247), which was defeated in the New York State Senate Committee on Agriculture, would prevent seasonal employees from working the hours needed to harvest crops and severely limit their financial earnings. It would, at the same time, raise the cost for the grower and result in higher prices for locally grown crops across the Finger Lakes region. The new legislation makes only cosmetic changes to the previous bill that was voted down by the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

“The Farm Labor Bill will create the most repressive labor mandates in the entire country and add significant financial costs to New York State’s more than 35,000 farms. There is no question that many farms will simply go under and the economic fallout from this legislation will be devastating to Upstate New York." said Senator Nozzolio.

“I will continue to oppose this disastrous bill and do everything I can to support agriculture and the farm community," concluded Senator Nozzolio.

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...Many of the B&B guests who have stayed at Twin Steeples Farm have ties to the Latter Day Saints church.  They attend the Hill Cumorah Pageant, weddings, sealing of membership or tour their church-related historic sites.  Many have learned that Wayne County also has many other historic learning experiences to offer, typically regarding the Erie Canal and even south to the Finger Lakes, as well as unique or specialized shopping opportunities.  One Canadian visitor who returns regularly is an Americana collector and has developed a regular antiques and consignment shop route throughout the area.  He and his wife usually contribute generously to our area economy at local eateries, department, discount and grocery stores, antique and gift shops and area volunteer organizations. They even experienced the epic pre-Christmas traffic jam at Eastview Mall in 2008!  

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...I assumed my 1801 inn-turned-farmhouse had been remodeled at some time, but had no details on which to base that opinion.  One evening while standing in front of a newly reopened original second floor fireplace, I muttered into the historic fire-ravaged abyss, "I wish you would tell me something about your past."  And unbelievably, the very next day while doing demo work on the first floor, we discovered a piece of window trim bearing the following inscription-misspelling and all.  

      "Nathan W. Taylor put up this finish July 27, 1863 and I was drafted the 23rd of July, 1863 to go and fight and I don't care a damb.  We're all drafted conscripts and we'll go marching along a glory hallelugah.  On this job I stuck a rusty nail in my foot (or boot) whitch made me go Hoot te toot."  

     Later I learned that Taylor had indeed been called for the Civil War, but did not serve because he was found to be "overage."  Further research also revealed that his mother had a part in establishing the Episcopal Church in Newark about the same time Mrs. Beal (who lived in this house) was involved in the East Palmyra Methodist Episcopal Church following the "Burned Over" period.  I have yet to solve the mystery about my statement directed at the fireplace the previous evening and the subsequent timely discovery of the signature board.  Was it a coincidence or some form of "divine" intervention?  All I know for sure was Taylor's work here changed the house from a single residence to a two-family home and the families of Caleb Beal's two sons remained on the property in the same house until the 1930's.

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Part I----In 1964, I married into a dairy farming family in East Palmyra, NY and moved into our then-new ranch-type house next to my in-laws' 1801 house.  From the beginning there was a certain air of mystery about their old house, at least in my eyes, and I felt that somehow it was being neglected in both a literal and a figurative sense.  To be sure, when repairs were needed, they were made, but a sense of sadness lingered that mere expressionless repairs couldn't ease.  Somehow I felt the old house had a story to tell, but was being overlooked, or worse yet, ignored.

Following the Great Depression, the New York State Education Department set up a program in 1937, whereby historical sites throughout the state were recognized by the installation of blue roadside markers that stated the importance of those sites and made them easy to spot.  The Town of Palmyra has several of these markers with at least one sad omission near East Palmyra, which is the house where I now live. 

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