On-Line Edition
January 2000 - Issue No. 2

Serving the Town of Burns, Town of Grove, and Village of Canaseraga

Community Calendar         CCWP Committees         Vivian's Recipies          Sports Report         Classifieds

The Canaseraga Creek Crier
Our Purpose

     It is the purpose of the Canaseraga Creek Crier is to provide our readers with informative, interesting, and current events from the Town of Burns, Town of Grove and the Village of Canaseraga, as we strive to develop pride and encourage growth in our communities.

From the Editorial Staff

     The staff of the Canaseraga Creek Crier extends heartfelt thanks to the following merchants and individuals who made it possible for us to mail our first issue: Walter Brown, Imagine Peace Bicycle Shop, Catherine Kenyon, Kevin Mahany, Mastin's Food Market, Northeast Office Supply, Charles F. Oliver & Son, Dick & Connie Radde, Sierra Inn, Southern Tier Concrete Products and Wilson's Beef Farm.

Classified Advertising

     The Canaseraga Creek Crier is accepting classified advertisements for our upcoming edition. The cost for 20 words is $5.00. The paper is mailed to the Town of Grove, Town of Burns, Village of Canaseraga, and the west side of Arkport. Send your ad, clearly printed, with payment to: Canaseraga Creek Crier, PO Box 41, Canaseraga, NY 14822. Include your name and phone number in case we need to contact you.

Receive THE CRIER by E-Mail

For a FREE subscription to the electronic edition of the Canaseraga Creek Crier, simply send us an email, via this link, with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.  The newsletter will be sent to you automatically when updated.

Free Subscription

Our Mailing Address:
Canaseraga Creek Crier
PO Box 41, Canaseraga, NY  14822

         An article in the first issue of the Canaseraga Creek Crier described the Canaseraga Creek Watershed Project and its purpose. The name, incidentally, is a geographical description and does not pertain specifically to Canaseraga Creek. Briefly, the project involves the Towns of Burns and Grove and the Village of Canaseraga in an effort to plan improved community levels of living (roads, sewer, etc.), encourage economic development and develop tourism.
     On December 1, 1999, a $4,000 grant was awarded the area for the purpose of hiring a consultant. The consultant will help create an economic development and ecotourism vision of the Canaseraga Creek Watershed in the Towns of Burns and Grove, which includes the Village of Canaseraga. This project is funded in part by the Rural New York Planning and Preservation Grant Program administered by the New York Planning Federation with the support of The J. M. Kaplan Fund and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
     Interested citizens from all three municipalities, attending CCWP meetings since September, have laid the foundation for the development of the "vision," or master plan, which the grant will fund. Ideas that have been discussed include development of hiking and snowmobile trails, both through state land and unused railroad beds; development of historic sites within the area; and the preservation of historic buildings. Other ideas resulting from the meetings include the formation of a garden club, initiating an annual fall festival, and the Canaseraga Creek Crier (which has become a reality).
     The CCWP continues to meet each month. The next meeting is January 17, 2000, 7 pm, at the Canaseraga Fire Hall. Interested parties are encouraged to attend to listen to on-going discussions and contribute their ideas. Allegany County Legislator Bill Dibble, who was responsible for writing the grant in September, chairs the meetings. His continued interest has been instrumental in both obtaining the grant and in the leadership discussions held at CCWP meetings.
     The Canaseraga Creek Crier will continue to provide information on future developments of the Canaseraga Creek Watershed Project.

Most fires are caused by carelessness. Matches or lighters left lying about tempt children to experiment with fire. Overloading electrical outlets is another major cause of fire. Improper or loose wiring, careless smoking or careless emptying of ashtrays is another cause of preventable fires. Most businesses and homeowners carry fire insurance. Insurance does not prevent or offer protection against fire. The best means of protection is PREVENTION.

Do You Know?

Under the Adopt-A-Highway Program, who has adopted the longest stretch of highway in New York State and where is it located? --Answer next month

Community Calendar

The Canaseraga Creek Crier will include a monthly listing of events to which the public is invited. If you have an event you would like included, please contact Connie Radde at 545-6750 afternoons. Deadline is the 15^th of the month prior to the month the event will be held (i.e., by January 15 for February events).

Roast Beef Dinner – February 12 at the American Legion. Tickets available at the door.

Potato Pancakes
2 Eggs, well beaten
1/4 Cup Milk
2 Tbsps grated Onion
1 Tsp Salt
Dash of Pepper
2 Tbsps Flour
2 Cups finely shredded raw potato

Stir together in the order given. Drop by tablespoon onto well-greased griddle or skillet. Bake 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Serve with applesauce. A great accompaniment for roast or ribs!

Then and Now
Senior Citizens News 1977

     The Senior Citizens Annual Christmas dinner was held Sunday, December 18, 1977 at 12:30 pm (sharp) at the American Legion. Even though it was a cloudy, rainy day it didn’t dampen anyone’s spirit--everyone wore smiles. The annual event is sponsored by the members of the Legion, Legion Auxiliary, Fire Company, Lions and Lioness. A traditional Christmas dinner of turkey and all that goes with it was served. The food was prepared to perfection and beautifully served. Approximately 85 people attended the dinner with 5 dinners taken out to those unable to attend by the members of the Loins Club. They also picked up those senior citizens that did not have transportation and later returned them to their homes. The (gift) from the Lioness of a living plant, to each senior citizen, delighted both women and men. Mr. Gaby was at the organ, playing music as only he can. Later Mrs. Curtis Butler played Christmas carols and after the dinner, they combined their talents at both the organ and piano and several senior citizens enjoyed dancing. The senior citizens of Canaseraga and the surrounding areas wish to thank everyone who helped make it a big success and will be looking forward to the (next) one in 1978. Thank you for those who helped prepare the meal and anyone who in any way made it such great day for the senior citizens. --Irene Harvey (This clipping was found by Elizabeth Gates who currently organizes the dinner)

Senior Citizens News 1999

     The Senior Citizens’ Annual Christmas dinner was held on Dec. 12, 1999. The traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings was served at 1:00 PM at the American Legion. Approx. 127 dinners were served in the dinning room. The Lions Club delivered 47 take-outs to those unable to attend. The Girl Scouts sang Christmas carols and Mr. Gaby played the organ. The dinner is still sponsored by the Legion, Legion Aux., Fire Co., Lions, and Lioness. Door prizes were donated by all the organizations involved. A good time was had by all. On a personal note, I enjoy greeting the Senior Citizens that attend the dinner, it gets me in the Christmas mood. Just a little history--it was started in the late 1960’s or early 1970’s. The first dinners were cooked in private homes and then brought to the American Legion to be served. Can anyone guess the Santas that have been at the Legion in the past? If anyone has anymore information about this event, send them to the Canaseraga Creek Crier. - Cathi Kenyon

Informed New Yorkers Read The Crier

The Sports Report
Rawleigh tops 1000 career points!

From a Horse’s Behind to the Moon

     The US Standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and the US railroads were built by English expatriates.
     Why did the English people build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did "they" use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. Okay!
     Why did the wagons use that odd spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing the wagons would break on some of the old, long distance roads, because that's the spacing of the old wheel ruts. So who built these old rutted roads?
     The first long distance roads in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been used ever since. And the ruts? The initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagons, were first made by Roman war chariots. Since the chariots were made for or by Imperial Rome they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.
     Thus, we have the answer to the original question: The United States Standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches derives from the original specification for an Imperial Roman army war chariot. Specs and Bureaucracies live forever. So, the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse's behind came up with it, you may be exactly right. Because the Imperial Roman chariots were made to be just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses. When we see a Space Shuttle sitting on the launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are the solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at a factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs might have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line to the factory runs through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than a railroad track, and the railroad track is about as wide as two horse's behinds. So a major design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined by the width of a horse's behind.

Way Back When
From the Canaseraga Times
October 12, 1935

      Times have changed in Canaseraga-yes indeed-since William C. Windsor, veteran banker, insurance man and attorney came to town several years go. The village has changed but not as much as the Erie railroad which brought him to Canaseraga as a youth, when he accompanied his father who was coming here to make his home. Canaseraga's grand old man was discussing the matter the other day and his eyes sparkled as he reminisced. At the time, Canaseraga was one of the most important towns on the Buffalo division of the Erie. Important in more ways than one-for not only was there plenty of business for the railroad here even in those early days-but this was a fueling station as well.
     When the passenger train pulled in bearing Mr. Windsor and his father, they were surprised to see the conductor, as well as the brakemen, leap off and joining the engineer and fireman, began pulling cordwood from an adjacent pile in a house by the side of the tracks and stowing it away on the tender. For those were the days of the wood-burning locomotive of the pre-Civil War type, and by the time the train got to this place, it was time to get out and load up. The locomotive had the inverted bell shaped smoke stack from which the smoke billowed forth as the firemen heaved the dry wood in the firebox to build up steam for the upgrade northwest. It was quite a sight for young Windsor, as it also was for many a village youngster at the time. In those days, woodbuyers took the wood which was cut and hauled in by the farmers, and did a nice business supplying It to the railroad.
     There are a few such locomotives left in use, even in these days. The editor, to whom Mr. Windsor was discussing days of long ago, rode on three such trains where the locomotives burned wood. One was in Honduras, one in Costa Rica and one in Columbia, South America. The former one gave him particular cause to remember as a live ember puffed out of the smokestack, flew back and struck him. –Writer Unknown

Swain in the Town of Grove

CCWP Steering Committee Attends County Meeting

      On December 15, 1999, Mayor C. Allen Phillips, along with Cathi Kenyon, Gary Gilbert, Kevin Mahany, and Patty Nobles represented the Canaseraga Creek Watershed Project Steering Committee at the Allegany County Planning Board meeting. Plans for a community revitalization project were discussed with the board, and ideas for the future were presented.

CLASSIFIED

The Genesee Ensemble Theatre presents the musical School House Rock Live! at the Dansville HS Auditorium January 28, 29 & 30. For tickets ($7 reserved, $6 general admission), call (716) 335-7913. Don’t miss it!

The Crier Wants You!

The Canaseraga Creek Crier staff is looking for a few good men (and women) with intersting stories of local interest to tell.  Contact us for details, or simply email (or mail) in your article.

TheCrier@mailcity.com

The Canaseraga Creek Crier Editorial Staff
Cathi Kenyon, Jody Kenyon, Kevin Mahany, Allan Nobles, Patty Nobles, Connie Radde, Harry Reed, Sherri Reed and Marilyn Weidman

Send your comments, suggestions, and items of community interest to:
TheCrier@mailcity.com