Covid-19 has traumatically affected our lives for the past couple of years. But another virus has been rampaging in our backyard for decades. The average person has never heard of it. Its target is not human beings, but grapevines. And, it has had a serious impact on our wine industry.
PENN YAN — The Yates Concert Series continues July 6 with the Southern Tier All Star Jazz Band, a 17-piece jazz orchestra that specializes in the big-band hits from the 1930s through the present.
On Monday, July 4, a special “Fourth of July” radio concert will be broadcast from the radio and telecommunications facility at Cayuga County Community College, WDWN 89.1, and 97.7 in Fulton.
Ontario was one of the two locations of the iron industry in Wayne County.
I’ve been photographing a number of the concerts at Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center — better known as CMAC — for the Finger Lakes Times this summer season. It really doesn’t matter to me whether it’s a solo performer or a group, and in general, there is not much I to…
Photographs are one of the most requested research materials we receive in the archives, usually a street or a person’s house. We’re not able to provide a photo for every request, but we may be able to provide other views such as maps or drawings.
PENN YAN — The second Yates Concert Series outing is set for 6:30 p.m. June 29 on the lawn of the Old Yates County Courthouse at the intersection of Court and Main Streets.
narrow-gauge rails (the weight was from a 3-foot section) laid on gravel that came from the Glen Edith quarry near Rochester. Thirty-five sidings were located approximately every mile for the expected traffic of one trolley every five minutes that was never realized. Business was such that a…
LYONS — The Peppermint Museum in Lyons at 95 Water St., will begin offering tours in June by appointment only and by calling (315) 946-4596. The 2021 Landmark Society Award Winner museum will open with regular hours in July and August from 10-noon and 1-3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
GENEVA — The Dove Block Project, an arts center in historic downtown Geneva, is announcing a call for programming proposals for the 2022-23 season. The deadline for submissions is July 15.
The Geneva Music Festival concluded its final concerts for the 2022 season the weekend before last. Running from May 20 to June 12, it brought a group of world-class musicians to perform for audiences in the city for eight concerts.
Traveling around Yates County in past centuries was challenging, but by the very end of the 19th century, anyone who wished to travel around the village of Penn Yan, or take a trip out to Branchport, could hop onto a trolley.
Gordon Granger was born in 1821 in the small hamlet of Joy, south of the village of Sodus in Wayne County. Little is known about his early years other than he taught in 1840 during the first year of the Pre-Emption schoolhouse in Sodus. In 1841, Granger attended West Point; he graduated in 1…
GENEVA — Treat Dad to a free tour of Rose Hill Mansion this Father’s Day weekend. From Friday, to Sunday you can get one admission free with the purchase of one adult admission. Explore Robert Swan’s life as a farmer, husband and father at Rose Hill Mansion in the 19th century.
NEWARK — The Wayne County New York Genealogical Society (WCNYGS) is gearing up to help Wayneconians — past and present — celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Wayne County through its genealogy project “Pioneering Families of Wayne County 1783-1899.” It begins in January 2023 an…
CANANDAIGUA — Through 9 p.m. Friday, June 17, the Child Advocacy Center of the Finger Lakes (CACFL) is hosting a Virtual Silent Auction.
Pauline Marie Gambill’s “The Fox Feats and SHARK Tales of Pollution Fighter James F. Phillips & Animal Rights Warrior Steven O. Hindi” is a powerful and inspirational book about two brave men: James F. Phillips (1930-2001), aka “The Fox,” and Steven Hindi, founder of the animal rights or…
In a continued attempt to highlight more local makers as well as musicians, I turn my sights to a tote-bag maker this week.
Xerox’s first true full-color copier, from concept to implementation and build, was introduced in 1973. The only other competitor was 3M’s, which was introduced in 1969.
Overlooking Great Sodus Bay, a rolling forested drumlin reminds us of this region’s Haudenosaunee roots. Cayuga and Seneca people traversed these lands to hunt, fish and gather. The creeks and woodlands of this scenic shore provided a seasonal home base for the Haudenosaunee’s provisioning a…
As I prepared my notes for this sermon I had an unusual experience. I had my rough draft finished and wanted to change it. In my quiet/prayer time I kept feeling very sad about what is going on in our world today. I don’t anger easily. I felt it creep in as I thought about Buffalo and Texas …
During the War of 1812, the British made a number of raids on towns on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, looking for supplies. Two of those raids were in Wayne County — in Pultneyville and Sodus Point.
SODUS — The Sodus Farmers’ Market opens its 14th season June 15. It will be open 2:30-6 p.m. each Wednesday through Oct. 12 in the parking lot of the United Third Methodist Church on Belden Avenue.
SENECA FALLS — When Paige Montgomery launched her ice cream truck business in 2018 as a newly minted high school graduate, she had no clear sense how her fledgling Sprinkle Starship would fare.
He was traveling through the Finger Lakes in a horse-drawn open carriage down dirt roads, in temperatures in the upper 80s. He was outfitted in a dress jacket over a long-sleeved shirt, as was the proper fashion of the time. Who was this person? When did this happen?
When you hear people mention cabernet, it’s natural to think that they are referring to cabernet sauvignon, one of the most majestic and popular grapes in the world. But as the urban saying goes — who’s your daddy? One of cabernet sauvignon’s parents is none other than cabernet franc, the mo…
CANANDAIGUA — Let’s play “Canandaigua Jeopardy.” Those steeped in local history, and those who spend time in the courthouse, may know this one.
GENEVA — With a recent donation of $5,000 to the Geneva Music Festival, Lyons National Bank became a Concert Sponsor for the Festival’s 2022 season, making it the bank’s fifth year as a sponsor.
Mural Mania is a series of murals that stretch mostly along the Erie Canal, from Lockport in the west to Canastota in the east. This is a distance of approximately 165 miles, making Mural Mania the longest mural trail in the world.
CANANDAIGUA — The digital world has spread to the Canandaigua Lake Wine Trail.
In “Once A Boy: A Vietnam Memoir,” Paul Gardner explains that “the whole premise of this was to show you what our country asked a 20-year-old boy from Henrietta, N.Y., to do and how we dealt with the rejection and shame that was waiting for us when we came home.”
Memorial Day is not only the unofficial start of summer in the Finger Lakes, it is also the weekend of the 58th Annual Lake Trout Derby on Seneca Lake. Geneva calls itself the “Lake Trout Capital of the World” and each year the derby is held on Memorial Day weekend.
Crossover string quartet ATLYS gave an exceptionally dynamic concert for the start of the Geneva Music Festival, kicking off the “Season of New Beginnings” with verve.
WATERLOO — Nashville recording artist Patrick Cole will debut his new single, “Freedom,” as part of the Celebrate Commemorate weekend in the Birthplace of Memorial Day.
The Collins family did their patriotic duty and sent four brothers to fight in the U.S. Army during World War II. Wallace (aka Tommy), Clayton, Everett and Roy Collins all went in harm’s way and suffered injuries, but ultimately made it back home alive.
In 1788, three men arrived in present-day Yates County to scout out a place for members of an unusual religious sect, the Society of Universal Friends, who wanted to build a community of their own. The three encountered a pair of French-Canadian men living quietly in a cabin along the banks …
Wayne County residents owe a heartfelt debt of gratitude to all those men and women who have defended our nation in times of war and peace.
Though this column tends to highlight musicians and venues in the Finger Lakes area, I like to mix it up now and then.
Canandaigua resident Kenneth W. Kelly died March 9, 2014, after a five-year battle with metastatic prostate cancer. Kelly was the chief operating officer and general manager of Finger Lakes Ambulance from 1993 to 2013. He helped develop a full-time Advanced Life Support program for Finger La…
An early newspaper article that I found not long ago in our museum archives piqued my interest in writing this piece for publication. It gave me a completely different hi(story) of how Lyons was named.
GENEVA — Four of Geneva’s favorite craft breweries, join together with eleven other Ontario County breweries and offer free draft beer for a great cause!
The Lord does work in mysterious ways. Many times He uses unusual circumstances to get His points across.
Wayne County was located in what was once known as the “Burned-Over District.” The phrase is a nickname for Western and Central New York, and it comes from a quote by Charles Finney, the father of American revivalism, who explained in the 1870s that the region had seen so many revivals in th…
WATKINS GLEN — Watkins Glen Area Chamber members and community members are invited to Farm Sanctuary, the country’s first farm animal sanctuary and advocacy organization, on May 18, from 5-7 p.m. for a special program entitled Compassionate Connections.
Cob-ble-stone: A small, round stone of a kind formerly used to cover road surfaces.
Many senior citizens reading this article will fondly remember the Romulus Hotel but won’t recall the other hotel that operated in the hamlet of Romulus for many years: the Hinkley House.
Like many of us, you may feel like you have too much going on and are not sure which problem to tackle first. Do you have a safe place to live and regular meals? Are you looking for a new job? This often leads to putting your own health last and missing medical appointments. Then when you ar…
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.