batavia

Andrea Clattenburg, whose legal career has taken her from a prosecutor's position in the County Attorney's Office to a defense attorney position in the Public Defender's Office, is now a part-time City Court judge.

Clattenburg took the oath of office Wednesday in Batavia City Court in a courtroom packed with family, friends, fellow attorneys, elected officials, and assorted dignitaries.

City Council appointed Clattenburg to the position in August following the resignation of Thomas Burns.  City Court judges, state-mandated positions, are elected to six-year terms. Clattenburg will be on an election ballot in November 2026, prior to the expiration of the term Burns vacated. That term expires on Dec. 31, 2026.

Full-time City Court Judge Durin Rogers administered the oath.

"City courts were once described to me as the emergency room or the emergency department," Rogers said. "Many times you don't know what you're gonna have. In City Court, you'd have a traditional vehicle and traffic matter. And for all my former colleagues and for the attorneys, and obviously the judges, you know, that you could have a very serious criminal matter brought into court during vehicle and traffic or during housing, and you have to be able to switch hats. And so you need a keen sense of triage. You need a keen sense of knowledge. And, most importantly, I think judicial temperament, and I'm very excited that we have somebody of Judge Clattenburg's caliber to join us on this team."

Clattenburg thanked her colleagues and family for their support over the years, particularly her father James Clattenburg and her husband Michael Szymczak.

"I grew up in Batavia," Clattenburg said. "I've lived here my entire life. I've worked in Genesee County, in Batavia, my entire life, and I am so thrilled to be able to serve the city of Batavia in this capacity."

During introductions by Rogers, the two newest members of the court staff were also introduced.  Kelly Randle is the new chief clerk and Amy VanSplunder is the new deputy clerk.

The trick-or-treaters were out all over Genesee County.  We stopped at the haunted house on Bank Street, Lincoln Avenue, Ellicott Avenue, and Redfield Parkway in the City.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Isabella Walsh: Section V Class A Player of the Year
Isabella Walsh, #11 on the Batavia Blue Devils Girls Soccer team, loves playing defense. She always has.

"I've played defense since I was little," Walsh said. "I like the one-on-one battles and making big saves. I enjoy it."

She's also the team's primary direct-kick specialist (taking kicks following a penalty from outside the penalty box).

These two contributions to Batavia's 14-win season are a big part of why she was named Section V Class A Player of the Year for Girls Soccer.

"I'm really honored to be singled out for this award," Walsh said. "There are so many great players on my team and the teams we compete against. To be a defensive player and to win this type of award is really a great recognition, but this is truly a team award because it's my teammates around me every day in practice and games that make me better and make me want to play harder for them and our team's success."

Batavia's head coach, Roger Hume, said Walsh, now a senior, is a four-year starter at center back, and he doesn't believe she's missed a start in her career.

"She's like the center of our entire defense at this point," Hume said. "She is gonna be a big loss for us."

On the field, Walsh directs the defense when the opposing team has a direct kick or corner kick, and that had a lot to do with Batavia's success in 2023.

"We were at the lowest goal-against total we've had in the last 15 years that I've been here," Hume said. "We had 12 goals against."

Roger Hume: Section V Class A Girls Soccer Coach of the Year
Fifteen years ago, Roger Hume took over a soccer team that needed new direction.  That first year as coach was rough -- no league wins and only a 4-12-1 record on the year.  The team scored only 12 goals and gave up 50.

In 2023, he coached the team to a 14-2-1 record, with a team that gave up only 12 goals and scored 73 (The team's previous record for fewest goals against was 17 in 2020 (when the team scored only 15 goals, and the highest goal total was 45 in 2022).

After such a successful season, Hume has been named the Section V Class A Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.

The award isn't just a credit to him, Hume said. It's the entire group of people involved in Batavia Girls Soccer.

"Well, for me, I think it's a combination of all the parents and players that have put the time in, and all of the volunteer coaches and assistant coaches I've had through the years," Hume said. "There's a multitude of parents that had their daughters come up through who helped me from modified all the way up to Varsity. It kind of justifies that we did all that hard work, you know, and it took a while. I mean, 15 years before we had the team -- this has been one of the best teams that we've had, you know, record-wise and group-wise and just the way they are a team together."

Hume now has 111 career wins as a varsity coach.

His soccer career started with his oldest daughter getting involved with soccer when she was four. She's now 32. He became a coach in Batavia Youth Soccer, became a board member, and after a few years, then Athletic Director Mike Bromley asked him if he would coach girls modified soccer for Batavia.  After a few years, he moved up to junior varsity and then, 15 years ago, varsity. 

The team's biggest improvements have come since the opening of the new Van Detta Stadium with the artificial turf on Woodward Field.

Playing on grass meant playing a slower game, but it also meant, despite all the hard work of the grounds crew, playing on a field that could be a bit uneven.

"When it gets into October, it's tough because it's raining out all the time or it's snowing out all the time," Hume said. "Being able to get on the turf as much as possible has helped to speed up our game a lot. We've really been able to ratchet up."

The proof is the past three years of play against a top Class A team, Pal-Mac.  Two years ago, Batavia lost 6-1.  Last year, 4-0.  This year, in the Class A semifinal, 2-0.  That's a measure of progress, even if the Blue Devils haven't yet cleared the hump of beating Pal-Mac.

And the progress doesn't seem to have peaked, Hume indicated.

"We have a great JV group that came up, and I had girls that were freshmen and sophomores that could have been on varsity and would have been on varsity previous years, like five, six years ago, but we didn't have the room for them," Hume said.  "They would be playing and I don't want them to sit on the bench if there's no value to it at that point."

Hume acknowledged that as much as it might recognize the success of the program in 2023, it also recognizes the progress of the program.

"I think it is a recognition of what we can do and that we are competitive," Hume said. "We can compete now several teams in our group. Aquinas is in our group, and Pal-Mac is our Class A. Like I said, we did Class A for nine years, and we won four games all the time, or five games all the time, so, you know, I think we're proving we can compete."

Students at Jackson Primary and John Kennedy Intermediate schools went for a trick-or-treat in costume on Tuesday morning, getting treats from police officers, firefighters, bus drivers, and city public works personnel.

The kids at Robert Morris visited a petting zoo, picked out a pumpkin from a pumpkin patch, and enjoyed a snack of doughnut holes and apple cider.

Photos by Howard Owens.

It’s not too late to register for a free kids’ hockey trial program this weekend, organizers say.

The Try Hockey For Free program, sponsored by Genesee Amateur Hockey Association, is for boys and girls aged four to nine, and runs from 10:40 a.m. to noon Saturday at the David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Evans Street, Batavia.

Organizers encourage participants to bring equipment if you have it. If you don’t have any equipment, do bring loose-fitting sweat or snow pants, a pair of hockey, mittens or winter gloves, a helmet (hockey or bike) and a smile.

Rental skates will be provided for free, courtesy of the ice arena. Hockey sticks will be given out for use, and must be returned upon the end of the session. A USA hockey jersey will be given to each participant.

The on-ice experience will include plenty of coaches on hand to give your child a great youth hockey experience, organizers say. “They will get an opportunity to learn the basic skills of youth hockey,” organizer Bob Gray said.

Registration is now open. Go to: tryhockeyforfree.com (zip code 14020).

For more information, contact svgray@rochester.rr.com

The indoor winter soccer program started on Monday at the YMCA in Batavia, coached by Batavia girls Varsity coach Roger Hume.

He calls the program "club soccer."

It is open to soccer players from third grade through 12th, and it's never too late for a parent to get a child started in the program.  Hume said as long as a class has room, the class is open at any time of the winter, November through March, and there is an open registration time again in January.

JV and Varsity players practice and train on Mondays, junior high on Wednesdays, and elementary school kids on Thursdays.  On Saturdays, all grade levels participate at different times of the day.

Since many of the JV and Varsity players often play other winter sports, the Monday classes tend to thin out once those seasons start, Hume said.

The session starts with some warm-ups followed by skill work, ball handling.

"We want to do a lot of group stuff, too," Hume said. "Then they'll do some scrimmaging at the end. We try to work on teamwork, try to work on passing, receiving. Indoors is good for more skill work and then some passing, the physicality of the game. But you know, you can't mimic what you're doing outside. I mean, I wish we had turf. Yeah, I always say I wish we had turf, but we don't have turf. So we take advantage of what we have."

In February and March, club players typically participate in tournaments. Batavia, Attica, Keshequa, and Byron-Bergen are among the locations of indoor tournaments.

Photos by Howard Owens

Recently, there have been complaints on social media about residential street lights being out.  This morning, The Batavian came across a National Grid crew replacing a light at Maple Street and Ganson Avenue in the City of Batavia.

A crew member said they are replacing all burned-out lights in the city in time for trick-or-treat.  At least all they know about -- in this case, today, that's 11. 

They only know about a light that needs replacing, he said, if a resident calls in a burned-out light. There are no crews driving around at night looking for burned-out lights, and there is no computer system to inform National Grid of burned-out lights. 

He said last week, he was working on a reported 32 lights out in the city. At one stop, a resident asked him if he was going to replace the light "around the corner."  He told the resident it wasn't on the list.  "Did you call it in?"  The resident thought National Grid should already know about it.  Again, National Grid only knows if a resident calls it in.  

The number to call is the company number on your National Grid bill.  

He also said he recently replaced a light on Jackson Street that he knew he had replaced a couple of weeks before.  They found a BB-shot hole in the light. 

National Grid is responsible for any street lights on a utility pole.  If it's not on a utility pole, and it's within the City of Batavia, it is probably the responsibility of the city.

For Batavia native and longtime Elba resident Sal Oddo, his induction into the Rochester Softball Association Hall of Fame extends far beyond an individual award.

“First off, you don’t think you’re ever going to make it with so many good ballplayers out there. But now that I have been honored, if I could split my plaque a couple hundred different ways – with all the players I played with and those I played against – I would do it because they’re all hall of famers to me,” said Oddo, during an interview with The Batavian on Monday afternoon.

Oddo, in his 58^th year of slow-pitch softball (he started as a teenager on Kibbe Park and Woodward Field diamonds in the city), was enshrined into the RSA Hall of Fame as a Senior Manager on Friday night at a ceremony at the Italian American Community Center in Rochester.

Thirteen of his family members and friends were on hand to witness the induction, including his wife, Debbie; children, Tara and Jonathan, and their spouses, Adam Higgins and Ivy Durr Oddo; parents, Joe and Fran; sister and brother-in-law, Marianne and Rich Anderson, and cousin, Dan DiMartino.

His other son, Jason, lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, Bobbi, and was unable to attend. Sal and Debbie have nine grandkids – three from each of their children.

Oddo made his mark as an elite pitcher while playing primarily in Batavia and Oakfield, leading teams to numerous league and tournament titles, while garnering most valuable player trophies along the way.

In 2003, he set his sights on the senior softball circuit in Rochester – looking to see how he stacked up against some of the elite players in the Lilac City area.

“I started with the John Warren Foundation team and really wanted to be on a travel team,” he said. “At the time, there was no room, so I was put on a B (level) team in the Rochester Senior Softball Traveling League. We went undefeated and I won the MVP of the league. That was a pretty big highlight for me. And after that, I started pitching a lot for the John Warren Foundation top team.”

Oddo, who said he has pitched several one-hitters (not an easy feat in slow-pitch softball), led his Warren Foundation squad to the International Senior Softball Association World Championship in 2005 in Manassas, Va., and three years later, went unbeaten as a pitcher as the team captured the World Championships in Las Vegas.

In 2015, Oddo was player-manager on the RocCity 55 team that won the Tournament of Champions in Winter Haven, Fla., and in 2017, he managed the Building Innovation Group club to national and TOC crowns.

All told, between 2014-2017, Oddo’s teams won six national titles along with the two Senior Softball USA Tournament of Champion national championships in Winter Haven.

He said he considers it a privilege to compete with the “younger seniors.”

“Even as I got older, I always played in the 50 or 55 age division leagues,” said Oddo, noting that Rochester is a hotbed of softball activity for players right into their 70’s and 80’s. “When I think of all the players I’ve seen across the nation, I consider Rochester softball by far the strongest group because we have so many outstanding players and teams.”

Oddo said he is “blessed” to have been able to play so long – overcoming serious illness in 2002 and a back injury in 2014 – and to be able to travel throughout the U.S. to compete in tournaments.

“When I was younger, I didn’t have a chance to travel because I was the main provider for the family,” he said, mentioning a 45-year career with the U.S. Postal Service (these days, you can find him at the Stafford Post Office) and 15 years as a paddock judge at Batavia Downs. “When I lost my racetrack job, I said I wanted to see if I could play with the big boys and, it has turned out very well.”

He said he gives thanks to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the support of his wife and family for all that he’s accomplished in softball.

“I’ve played in so many places and I’ve made so many friends, and they’re like family,” he said. “I’ve been blessed for some reason where my teams have won a lot. Even as a manager, it seemed that I had a knack to pick the right guys – not always the best players but the players who best fit the team and were nice people. Strong individuals that could play softball.”

Oddo continues to shine on the local scene, as well, pitching and coaching a new generation of softball players to titles this past season in the Batavia-Oakfield summer league and the Cobbs Hill (Rochester) A Division fall league.

Press Release:

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Annual will be hosting its Annual Membership Meeting on Nov. 16 at Terry Hills Golf Course & Banquet Facility, 5122 Clinton Street, Batavia. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m., Buffet Lunch begins promptly at Noon and costs $25 per person.

The Agenda for the Meeting will be a review of 2023, a look ahead into 2024 & Election of 2024 Chamber Board Members. To register directly online visit the Chamber’s Website www.geneseeny.com or call Kelly B. at 585-343-7440, ext. 1026. The deadline for registration is Nov. 10.

Press Release:

The highly anticipated Employment Fair for People with Disabilities will take place from 1 - 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at the Genesee County Office For The Aging, 2 Bank Street in Batavia.  

The event presents an opportunity for job seekers to connect with leading companies, organizations, and not-for-profits to explore a wide range of career options. Don’t miss out on this fantastic chance to kick-start your professional journey!  

Take the first steps towards a fulfilling career!  It's best if you prepare your resume ahead of time, dress professionally, and bring your true self to impress potential employers.

This event is proudly supported by members of the Genesee Region Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities including the Genesee County Office for The Aging, Ace Employment, Genesee County Career Center, Genesee County Mental Health, and Independent Living of the Genesee Region.

Inclusivity and accessibility are our top priorities. Coverage for childcare costs and transportation may be available. We are here to assist with any accommodations you may need.

Please Pre-Register with Ashley Dunham from Independent Living of the Genesee Region in advance at 585-815-8501, ext. 414 or adunham@wnyil.org. 

Schedule:

• 1 - 2:15 p.m. - Learning Time: Instructions in civil service testing, practice interviews, job searching, and instruction in reasonable accommodations.
• 2:15 - 2:30 p.m. - Break Time
• 2:30 - 4 p.m. - Meet the Employers: This is your opportunity to meet with employers who are hiring!

There’s an awful lot of new happening at the Holland Land Office Museum, a site meant to capture moments of historical weightiness.

A full-time curator; exhibits about the last complete solar eclipse in Genesee County, a vintage wedding dress collection and the 100-year anniversary of Batavia Concert Band; a monthly walk-up tour of the West Main Street site’s second-floor collections; a revised membership; and planning for a three-phase capital project are just some of the new items glossing up the old status quo, Museum Director Ryan Duffy says.

He brought new hire Tyler Angora to Monday’s Human Services meeting to introduce him as part of the novel happenings at Holland Land Office.

“Some time ago, there was a curator position. But that was before the museum. That was a completely different museum basically at that time, but Tyler is the first in a very long time … because we really wanted to take advantage of our wonderful collection. And we needed somebody with expertise in that particular field and who had some creative ideas in order to bring it out to the public,” Duffy said. “More so than anything I could do or volunteers, so we felt it was a major need. And it's already paid off dividends in terms of bringing our nearly 20,000-piece collection more to light.”

Angora, who lives in Brockport, is pursuing his master’s in history at Brockport State College. He began his role as curator in June, though he wears many hats, he said, as curator, collections manager, tour giver, and for jobs that entail “a bunch of different things.” 

“But I'm solely in charge of the collection, I manage it, I take care of it, I present it to the public, I have to interpret it in a way for everyone to see it and enjoy it as much as we do. Since I've been there in June, I've really taken hold of that collections management. I have reorganized and redesigned the collection storage upstairs with Ryan to make it more accessible, to not only us to display but also accessible to the public,” Angora said. “That coincides with doing grander exhibits, like next year, we're reimagining the entire original structure of the building to really display the land office artifacts that we hold in our museum, but also the artifacts for our temporary exhibits like ’98 Years Since the Sun Went Out,’ which is the eclipse exhibit. So it'll be really exciting to break down pieces that haven't been on display for decades.

“I really focused on the fashion collection that we hold at the museum, which has been kept upstairs in a room by itself for a very long time. So we're really excited to start bringing that down and showing that off to the public because it's a really fantastic collection that spans over 300 years of clothing and physical history,” he said. “That is amazing. And we're hoping to do kind of behind-the-scenes stories next year to bring people upstairs into the collection. So it's been a big part of trying to make it accessible to the public. Because that's our goal.”

Going upstairs, that’s interesting. When will that begin?
“So next year, about February is when the public will finally officially be able to go up into the collection on special tours with Ryan and I. On the first Friday of every month, they'll get a special tour upstairs and a special presentation from one of us,” Angora said. “And it's going to be really exciting to finally show off pieces that probably won't ever really be on display due to their fragility or their important significance to us. So that would be fun to show off to the public, especially next year when we reopen the museum in February and kind of redesign a lot of the spaces.”

What’s behind your passion in pursuing a master’s in history?
He began at Brockport College as a business major in 2020 and didn’t really know what he wanted to do. He then met some key people in the History Department who got him involved with the Morgan House — “which I consider my home; it’s a museum that really holds a good place in my heart,” he said.

“And that's where it started, my love for museums, preservation objects, artifacts, all of that. And it transcended into me pursuing this kind of career path in museums. And I continued that into the GCM at the Genesee Country Village Museum with Brandon Brooks, the curator, where I worked with him with the Susan Green costume collection and really helped do stuff there. And I really got involved with preservation doing my own research,” Angora said. “So having this job and having Ryan as a co-worker is a lot of fun because he lets me just do whatever I want and kind of helps assist the collection in surviving for another over 100 years. So it'll be a lot of fun.”

Some recent history
More than 5,000 people visited the museum since July 2022, and 65 percent of them were from outside of Genesee County. Visitors have come from more than 30 states and several foreign countries, including Canada, Indonesia, China and the Netherlands, Duffy said in his annual report to the county.

The museum hosted its 21st annual Wonderland of Trees in 2022 and 400 visitors during the season, plus a Genesee Symphony Orchestra opening night concert and three more for 50-plus attendees. The site served to educate and entertain with a guest speaker series on topics that varied from The Life of Joseph Ellicott and The Prison Guard’s Daughter to WNY in the Gilded Age to How Buffalo Got Its Name.

Volunteers, docents and interns completed more than 1,700 hours of community service, with a steadfast core of 25 volunteers. 

The Museum’s board signed a lease with Genesee County to show occupancy and allow the pursuit of further grants. Duffy and Angora have each been writing grants, Duffy said.

“And between Tyler and I we can also apply for more grants on our own, as we each got two since this year, as well as the support from our grant writer Sara Pasti, who is looking at larger grants for the capital project,” he said. “And we're looking at smaller program and collections-based grants. But those, we can get a couple of those every year. They add up and allow us to do greater things.”

A first-phase capital project has begun with the development of plans for a new proposed West Wing addition adjacent to the parking lot. Included with that was the creation of fundraising and grant opportunities — to be written by Duffy, Angora and a county-hired grant writer —  to assist in covering the large cost. That is to be a three- to five-year project, Duffy said. 

The county had contracted with grant writer Sara Pasti to gain access to grants relating to the capital project of the West Wing entrance, as well as for other improvements to the museum outside the capabilities of museum staff. 

Legislative Chair Shelley Stein asked Duffy if the “grant-writing support provided by the county” has been used to write the intended grant yet, and “we’re working on several grants, actually, towards this,” he said. 

Overall, what can the public look forward to in the coming months?
This go-round of a speaker series is to feature Civil War Letters of Rollin Truesdell, Grant’s Last Battle and Journeys to Authors’ Graves in Upstate New York, to name a few, plus history trivia and a membership that isn’t reliant on calendar year renewal. And that’s not even reviewing the collections, which Duffy and Angora are confident the public will enjoy.

“It won’t be the same old way, and it won’t be the same old museum. So if you haven’t been there in some time, you won’t recognize the place,” Duffy said.

“Even in the four months I've been there, it’s changed drastically,” Angora agreed. “We've redesigned exhibits that have been up for several years. Redone, permanent exhibits. We've added new items for the public to see. So just expect more indoor exhibits, new programs and more fundraising. We're really going to be everywhere next year, so we will be kind of a force to be reckoned with.”

Press Release:

On Wednesday, Nov. 8, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., the Anna Ingalsbe Lovell NSDAR chapter and the Holland Land Office Museum (HLOM) are collaborating on a special event to honor our Genesee County veterans and Vietnam War-era veterans.

All veterans plus 1 guest will have their entrance fees waived and will receive a small goodie bag; Vietnam War-era veterans, who have not yet been acknowledged by the Vietnam 50 Commemorative Committee, will also receive the DAR Certificate and an eagle pin.

Any military personnel, with an honorable discharge, who served during the Vietnam War era is eligible for the Award Certificate and eagle pin. Please pre-register your name and service for your Certificate. If you are unable to attend, please let us know by November 30 so we can arrange another time & date. Robin Laney Ettinger, a member of the NSDAR chapter, has created a limited-time email address for inquires – r.j.laney1@gmail.com.

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department is proud to announce the winners of our 10th Annual Fire Prevention Coloring Contest. With over 400 entries from Batavia Schools, this contest was very difficult to judge.

Congratulations to the following winners:

Grade K-1

First Place - Thomas VanRemmen -Jackson Primary, Mrs. Restivo Kindergarten

Second Place - Everleigh D.- St. Josephs, Mrs. Case, Kindergarten

Third Place - Bryson Lee -Jackson Primary, Mrs. Reeves- 1st grade

Grades 2-3

First Place - De’Aungelo Rolle- John Kennedy, Mrs. Antinore 3rd Grade

Second Place - Josephina Varland- St. Paul Lutheran- Ms. Austin 3rd Grade

Third Place - Claire Lutey- St. Josephs School- 2nd Grade

Grades 4-5

First Place - Caleb Janis- St Paul Lutheran School- Mrs. Dunn 5th Grade

Second Place - Raven Casey Batavia Middle School St. Mrs. Falleti, 5th Grade 

Third Place - Lyla McClellan- St. Paul Lutheran School, Mrs. Dunn, 5th Grade

An awards luncheon will be held Saturday, Oct. 28 from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the City of Batavia Fire Station located at 18 Evans St. for all 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. The 1st place winner of each group will receive a ride to school on a City of Batavia Fire Engine. Congratulations to all the winners.

Press Release:

GO ART!’s Preschool Music and Movement class is back and open for registration. The cost for the four-week session is $40 (Non- Members) or $36 (Members). For more information and to register go to goart.org/programming/exlporeart/exlporeart-children/.

Do-Re-Mi will focus on seasonal song, play, motor and locomotor movement, instrumental exploration, vocal and rhythmic call and response, listening activities, storytime, and fun for children ages 2 through 5, alongside their parent or favorite person! 

The curriculum is designed to engage young learners through play and exploration while providing a safe and nurturing space for them to discover and grow important skills, such as language, cognition, and physical development, as well as support and encourage social and emotional learning. We are so excited to provide this opportunity and instill a love of music and the arts in our youngest community members!

In this session, we will have two different classes. One class will meet Monday evenings (November 6, 13, 20, 27) at GO ART! in Batavia from 6 - 6:45 p.m. and the other will meet Tuesday evenings (November 7, 14, 21, and 28) at the Hoag Library in Albion from 6 - 6:45 p.m. Pre-registration is required and space is limited.

Press Release:

The Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Genesee and Leadership Genesee (LG) offices will close for the day at 12 p.m. on Nov. 9. The offices will reopen at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 13.

Press Release:

On Sunday, Oct. 29 St. Joseph's held a teaching Mass. Father Matt Zirnheld and Deacon Todd Bowman explained mass preparation and various parts of the mass in the sacristy prior to mass.

Mass was held at 11:30 a.m. at St. Joseph's.

Students also dressed up as Catholic Saints in preparation for celebrating All Saints Day on Nov. 1.

Submitted photos.

Perhaps a public conversation during a recent City Council meeting has resulted in several "helpful reminders" for the upcoming winter weather, or they were coming anyway, but citizens are asked to heed these seasonal rules to make the best of it for yourselves and others for the next several months.

This is the time
Driving conditions can change quickly, so be prepared for those changes. This is the time to check over your vehicle for proper operation of all safety features. This is the time to put on those snow tires if you use them. This is the time to check over your entire vehicle for winter driving.

There is “No Parking" on city streets between 2 and 6 a.m. If at all possible, try not to park on the street when snowing so that snow can be cleared to the curb line/edge of pavement.

Stay back from snowplows at least 100 feet. If you can't see the mirrors on the snowplow, then the snowplow operator cannot see you. Snowplow operators are out there to help make the roads safe.

The property owner's responsibility. Please keep your sidewalks clear of snow and ice. It is the property owner's responsibility to keep the sidewalks adjacent to your property clear. There are significant numbers of pedestrians in the city.

It was this issue that came up during a recent City Council meeting, as it often does at least once a year. A citizen complained about not being able to walk on the sidewalks when not shoveled, and she had to walk in the street along with school children. Council members encouraged folks to help out their neighbors when possible and understand there may be times when circumstances result in unshoveled pathways.

Do not shovel, plow, or snow blow into the road. If you have your driveway plowed, do not push it into or across the road or block sidewalks. These all create hazards for you and the community.

Be patient and plan ahead. None of us can control the weather. Leave more time for travel if the weather is forecasting snow. In severe weather, try to limit any unnecessary travel.

Bureau of Maintenance's first response: 

When it does snow the City Department of Public Works, Bureau of Maintenance, responds to the weather. Upon the initial onset of snow, the Bureau of Maintenance will respond with what we call a salt run.

Three plows outfitted with material spreaders are dispatched to apply anti-icing materials (rock salt) to roadways and parking lots. This will help prevent or break up snow from binding to the pavement. If snow persists and depending on the type of snow, this operation will change from a salt run to a plowing operation.

Bureau's typical plowing operation:
In a plowing operation, there are nine distinct routes designed for the most efficient use of our equipment. Be it wide streets, narrow streets, dead-ends or parking lots, we have different equipment to handle each unique area.

It takes about four hours to get through the city once in a moderate snow event. We normally try to get through the City twice during a plow operation.

Each snow event is different. Snow events vary from low moisture to high moisture, from flurries to high intensity, from relatively warm to bitter cold, with traffic or without traffic, day/night, weekends and holidays. Each impacts how we fight the snow, with our ultimate goal to keep the City open for business and safe for travel.

City officials thank you for your cooperation and ask you to be safe this winter season.

I was looking at our collection of Pat Burr’s drawings of old Batavia in the 60s and was amazed at all the stores that dotted Main Street. You really could walk down the street and, beginning at one end, mail a letter, buy a car, smoke a cigar, look for a gold watch, buy plumbing supplies, pick up your dry cleaning, buy paint, order a drink, have your picture taken, see a movie, eat a doughnut, have your shoes repaired or buy a new pair of shoes. 

If it was afternoon, you could have a drink, buy a sewing machine, smell the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread, pick up a prescription, buy a wedding gown, buy new shoes to go with the dress, order a man’s suit for the wedding, buy children’s clothing (you might need another drink after the cost of the wedding gown), have your eyes checked, purchase new furniture, drink a cherry Coke, register for new china, and have a late lunch. 

Continuing west on Main Street, you could make a bank withdrawal for the wedding, buy more jewelry, possibly a wedding band, pick up some fresh produce, purchase a new hat and a real mink coat, pick up another prescription, and buy more jewelry.

Now, see if you can match the names of these establishments and their merchandise with their locations on Main Street going east from Jefferson to Bank Street. 

In the 60s, on the north side of the street, there was Mancuso’s Dealership, Chris’ Gifts, The Smoke Shop, William Maney’s Store, Marchese’s Produce, and six jewelry stores, Krtanik, Martin Berman’s, Valle’s, Francis and Mead, Rudolph’s and Brenner’s. Clothing stores were plentiful: Alexander’s, Town Shop, Helen’s Darlings, A.M. and M. Clothiers, and Smart Shop. Bon Ton and Bell Hat Shops, Humboldt’s Furriers, and Charles Men Shop were also located on that side of the street, along with the beautiful Dipson Theater. 

There were two paint stores, Mosman’s and Sherwin Williams. There were many restaurants and drinking establishments: Mooney’s, Hamilton Hotel, Young’s Restaurant, Mike’s Hotel, Main Grill, Vic’s Grill, The Dagwood Restaurant, and Jackie’s Donuts. A favorite bakery was Grundler’s. A soda shop and candy store was called Kustas’. The furniture store was Bern Furniture, and the dry cleaner store was Jet Cleaners. Lawing Picture Studio, Singer Sewing, Genesee Hardware, Western Auto, and the drug stores of Whelan and Dean Drugs were located on different corners. There were four shoe stores: Ritchlin, Cultrara’s, Endicott and Johnson, and C.E. Knox. The shoe repair was called Boston Shoe Repair. 

How many of you could match the store with its location?

If you were traveling down the opposite side of the street, you would begin with the Court House and pass the County Building, where a beautiful Christmas tree would be on the lawn. Eventually, you would hope to have a deed to your new home filed at the clerk’s office. You couldn’t miss the Hotel Richmond on the corner that was now just an empty shell. Located within the building of the hotel was Rapid Dry Cleaners. Next was the three-story JC Penney Department Store. 

If you needed a uniform, The Uniform Shop was at your disposal. Kinney’s Family Shoe Store was located next to the Camera Shop. Caito’s Liquor Store was followed by Beardsley’s Men’s Store, Sleght’s Book Store, Bank of Batavia, Sugar Bowl, SS Kresge’s, Scott and Bean, Dean’s Drug, M & T Bank, Thomas and Dwyer, C.L. Carr’s Department Store, Marchese Produce, Good Friend Shop, Rudolph’s Jewelers, JJ. Newberry’s and WT Grant. 

Imagining all these stores decorated for the holidays makes you nostalgic for the simpler times and slower pace when the highlight of your week was going to the city on a Friday night to meet friends and shop! 

Thank you, Urban Renewal, for taking our Main Street. But you couldn’t remove our memories. Thank you, Pat Burr, the artist, for preserving Main Street with your beautiful artwork, that we are lucky to have your entire collection. 

Main Street lives on in our hearts. 

Photos by Pat Burr paintings of old Batavia taken in 2010 by Howard Owens at the Genesee County Nursing Home.