disABILITY HISTORY MUSEUM Concert 12/5

October FL Boating Museum press release

 MERCURY AIRCRAFT DONATES HAMMONDSPORT BUILDINGS FOR FINGER LAKES BOATING MUSEUM 

HAMMONDSPORT, NY (Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013) – The Finger Lakes Boating Museum is pleased to announce that the Museum will be locating in Hammondsport thanks to the generosity of Mercury Aircraft, Inc.

“We are excited to be working on the permanent home for the Museum,” said Ed Wightman, President of the Board of Trustees. “We enthusiastically look forward to being an effective and worthy part of the community.”

Mercury Aircraft, which operates in Hammondsport, owns the former Taylor Wine Co. buildings located just south of the Village of Hammondsport on Pleasant Valley Road. The president of Mercury, Joseph “Bud” Meade III, is making a 14-acre parcel available to the Boating Museum.

Wightman and Meade met Thursday, Oct. 24, at the site to formalize the exciting development for the Museum. Wightman conveyed to Meade a letter from the Museum Board of Trustees confirming the board’s acceptance of Mercury’s offer. “The Trustees extend to you (Meade) their sincerest appreciation for your generosity in making this property and its buildings available to the Museum,” the letter stated.

Mercury’s donation of property includes the 30,000-square-foot storage building where the Museum’s collection of boats and related artifacts is now housed. The main building of the complex served as the Taylor headquarters and is a four-story building of 32,000 square feet.

Mercury has subdivided this property from its larger holdings in preparation to convey to the Boating Museum, which is in the process of applying to the Town of Urbana Planning Board for a use change from wine making to museum.

The Boating Museum also plans to make application to the Town of Urbana for lakefront presence and use in the Town-owned Champlin Beach at the head of Keuka Lake.  Wightman said preliminary and positive conversations have been held with members of the Town Council.

Wightman explained that the Boating Museum began looking for potential sites after withdrawing from a partnership with the City of Geneva when the Museum Board came to the realization that the City did not intend to continue with the museum project. The Board’s Site Selection Committee recommended the Hammondsport location and the Trustees approved going ahead with the project at their Oct. 8 meeting.

The Boating Museum has assembled a collection of more than 100 wooden boats built in the Finger Lakes over the past 100 years, as well as numerous related artifacts and extensive reference material. Education, restoration and preservation are the key elements of the museum’s mission.

The boating museum is a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation and was chartered by the New York State Department of Education in 1997 to “research, document, preserve and share the boating history of the Finger Lakes region.”

For more information, contact the Museum at 607-794-4567 or  HYPERLINK "http://www.flbm.org" www.flbm.org.

GREECE HISTORICAL SOCIETY - NOVEMBER / DECEMBER PROGRAMS

Local Authors at the Greece Museum - Nov 10, 2013 The Greece Historical Society will host a local author day at the Greece Museum, Sunday, November 10^th from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.  Patrons can visit the museum and talk with 12 local authors, and purchase autographed copies directly from the authors.  This is an opportunity to let the public meet local writers in this area whose books primarily highlight local history. It is also an opportunity to purchase holiday gifts. The following is a list of authors and their books:

Rulon E. Simmons - I Love Rochester New York

Rose O’Keefe - Historic Genesee Country: A Guide to Its Lands and Legacies and Frederick & Anna Douglass in Rochester NY

Linda Bartash-Dawley - Horses in Motion: The History of Carousels in Monroe County, NY and Beyond and Carouseling New York: A Historical Glimpse of New York State's Carousels 

Richard O. Reisem - Myron Holley: Canal Builder/Abolitionist/Unsung Hero, Gravestones in Mount Hope Cemetery, and Frederick Douglass and the Underground Railroad

Marilyn Lowden Koss Wright – Patchwork Pieces of my Life  Vol. I and Vol. II

Michael T. Keene - Mad-House-The Hidden History of Insane Asylums in 19th Century New York,  Murder, Mayhem and Madness-150 Years of Crime and Punishment in Western New York, Folklore and Legends of Rochester and The Mystery of Hoodoo Corner  and Anthology-Three Complete Audio Books with DVD.

Christopher Carosa - 50 Hidden Gems of Greater Western, New York 

Donovan Shilling - A Rochester Ramble, A Towpath Tale and Rochester’s Movie Mania

Marie Poinan Discover Charlotte, History of Northgate Plaza, Fire and Flames-History of Firefighting in Charlotte, History of the Elmtree/Yates Thayer Farm, A Blast from Charlotte's Past, Life in the Past Lane- Pictorial History of the Charlotte Community Association and Four Bridges - Story of the Bridges in Charlotte

Susan Gateley - Maritime Tales of Lake Ontario Shipwrecks, Legends and Lore of Lake Ontario, Twinkle Toes and the Riddle of the Lake, Passages On Inland Waters, The Edge Walker’s Guide to Lake Ontario Beach Combing, Ariadne’s Death Heroism and Tragedy On Lake Ontario Living on the Edge with Sara B

Sally Valentine - There Are No Buffalo in Buffalo, The Ghost of the Charlotte Lighthouse, Theft at George Eastman House: What Stinks? An Adventure in Highland Park, and Lost atSeabreeze - It's not fair!

Dennis P. Bielewicz - Heroes in the Attic - the Untold Story of Two Civil War Soldiers

War of 1812 – Fury, Frenzy and Honor By Raya Lee

Tuesday, November 12^th, 7:00 p.m. Greece Community & Senior Center Raya’s presentation weaves a colorful tapestry of the war that profoundly altered histories on several continents. The overall conflict will be examined through music, art, architecture and literature; illuminating a complex event with musical snippets and stunning images.   Ms. Raya Lee is a reference librarian and instructor with Medaille College in Buffalo. Lecturing extensively on historic and cultural events, she has also authored two books, Pan-American Exposition: a birds-eye view of sights & sounds and co-authored, with Ed Yadzinski, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra: First 75 Years. This Speakers in the Humanities event, which is free and open to the public, is made possible through the support of the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

Silent Auction of Wreaths November 3—December 8, 2013 Crafters hand-made holiday wreaths will be available for bids.  Stop in at the museum any Sunday afternoon 1:30 – 4:00 p.m. between Nov 3^th and Dec 8^th.  We are also available on Monday mornings if you can’t make it on a Sunday. Winners will be announced Dec. 8th.

Upcoming Programs & Events

ROC-THE-DAY for G.H.S. December 11, 2013 “ROC the Day”, a day for giving, is coming up soon! On December 11th, the United Way of Greater Rochester will hold a 24 hour donation drive for not-for-profit organizations in the Rochester community. On this epic one-day giving event, thousands of community members will be able to make an end-of-year gift to help advance their philanthropic passions. We are asking you to support the Greece Historical Society on December 11th by going to www.roctheday.org  and making your donation.

*Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - 7:00 p.m., Greece Town Hall. 

Hidden Gems of Western New York  Christopher Carosa will tell spell-binding stories of Greater Western New York’s hidden gems.  He will reveal some of the most delicious underexposed treasures of the region.  His book “50 Hidden Gems of Greater Western New York” will be for sale.

*Tuesday, February 11, 2014 - 7:00  p.m., Greece Town Hall

Cycling the Erie Canal  Democrat & Chronicle Annette Lein and Justin Murphy will share with us the story of their bicycle trip along the Erie Canal as reported in the Democrat and Chronicle in July, 2013.