batavia

Pat Burk shared this photo tonight of his residence in Batavia where a string of lights now shine with a positive message for the community.

Video: Sunday message from Pastor Roula Alkhouri, Batavia First Presbyterian Church.

This article is from the book "Back in the Day, Snapshots of Local History, The Way I See It," by Anne Marie Starowitz, 2017. Reprinted with permission from the author. 

Growing up in the ‘60s in Batavia would be considered very uneventful to today’s young people. The parks program was very popular and the highlight was the parks parade. Main Street was closed down for an afternoon to let all of the different parks parade their floats down Main Street. Young people played outside, made up their own games, and walked or rode their bikes.

In the winter the tennis courts were converted to an ice rink. In the summer the tennis courts would be used for evening dances. There was nothing like dancing under the stars on the tarmac of a tennis count.

The highlight of the summer of 1962 was the opening of the “New Pool.” How the pool became a reality was not important to the young people of Batavia. All they knew was the new pool meant happy days ahead. Young people would wait anxiously in line for the doors to open holding onto their 25 cents and waiting to get a key for a locker. No one ever noticed a plaque on the wall with the name Greta Patterson.

Greta graduated in June 1955 from Batavia High School. Five days after her graduation she made swimming history. She swam fifteen miles from Angola, NY, to Crystal Beach, Ontario, in thirteen hours. As she exited the cold water of Lake Erie she was treated as a heroine. The day after her historical swim she was welcomed on the steps of Batavia City Hall by Mayor Herman Gabriel and was serenaded by St. Joseph’s Drum Corps. The radio station WBTA broadcast the event. In the same year her picture was in the November issue of Seventeen Magazine.

Her swimming achievement inspired the building of a city pool that would be completed seven years later. Members of the Kiwanis Club decided to launch a fund to build a swimming pool somewhere in the city. Several local social clubs joined the effort under the chairmanship of Robert DeLong. He was to head a fund-raising committee.

The first event was a public entertainment program that would be called a Swimarama. The event took place at the Batavia Downs and a Buffalo talent scout provided an all-star cast of entertainers. On August 8, 1955, 9,000 people sat in the stands at the Downs to watch the opening ceremonies. Leading the parade around the track was Greta Petterson riding in a sulky drawn by a racehorse. The entertainers followed in convertibles. The music of St. Joseph’s Drum Corps and the Brockport-Batavia Cavalier Drum Corps filled the air. There were singers, dancers, and impersonators. The event raised $6,000 for the new pool fund. The contributions were slowly coming in. In 1958 William Henry became the new chairman of the pool committee and he established a door-to-door drive hoping that every family would donate one dollar to the new pool fund. Finally, they were very close to their goal of $80,000.

In 1959 the building contract was awarded to Ed Leising to excavate a choice piece of land in MacArthur Park. The pool would measure 60 feet by 100 ft. and would accommodate 100 swimmers.

The pool opened July 9, 1962. People from the summer recreation program were trained to be lifeguards. The pool was never given an official name but the Kiwanis Club did place a plaque on the wall at the main entrance acknowledging Greta Patterson’s part in the creation of the pool. The pool will be forever called the “New Pool” for those young people that made the pool the highlight of that summer and many summers to come.

In 1991 the pool needed major repairs. Due to the high cost for repairs, the pool was closed and was filled with dirt and made into basketball courts. In 1997 the bathhouse was remodeled and made into the Batavia Youth Center. It was decided to ask Greta if she would accept the honor of having the new Youth Bureau dedicated to her. Greta Patterson Hansen was honored.

Greta’s history has come full circle from being Batavia’s famous swimmer, inspiring the community to create a community pool, to coming home and having the Batavia Youth Center dedicated in her name. Today the Batavia Youth Bureau is housed at 114 Liberty Street in St. Anthony’s former school.

Picture below and at top courtesy of Anne Marie Starowitz. Photo of the painting of Greta Patterson as a little girl, courtesy of the Holland Land Office Museum. The book "Back in the Day, Snapshots of Local History, The Way I See It," is available at the museum.

In December, Andy and Laura Pedro purchased Blondies Sip-N-Dip on East Main Street Road in Batavia. Today, they officially opened for the spring, summer, and fall seasons.

Because of social distancing restrictions, right now, they can't serve walk-in customers but they have opened a walk-up window and they can use that window to service drive-thru customers.

"Not ideal," said Andy, "but we'll make it work."

New York has delayed its plastic bag ban because of the coronavirus crisis until May 15 and Tops in Batavia is allowing customers the option of plastic bags, a spokeswoman for the grocery store chain said.

"Tops is temporarily not enforcing (the plastic bag ban) in order to help with sanitation concerns surrounding reusable bags and COVID-19," Kathleen A. Sautter said. "If a customer brings in a reusable bag and does not bag their own groceries themselves, the cashier will then bag their groceries in either a plastic or paper bag free of charge. This procedure will be rolled out at all of our stores until further notice."

UPDATE: This morning (March 27), Tops spokeswoman Kathleen A. Sautter corrected the information she provided Friday to say that paper bags will cost customers 5 cents each, but plastic will be free.

A two-vehicle collision with minor injuries is reported in front of Miss Batavia Diner at 566 E. Main St. in the city. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.

We're talking with Genesee County Historian Michael Eula about the 1918 global flu pandemic, better known as the "Spanish Flu" and its impact on Batavia.

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Press release:

Beginning as early as today (March 26), Tops will be rolling our additional safety measures at all of its 162 stores in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont. There are two Tops stores in Genesee County, in Batavia and Le Roy.

Those safety measures include installing plexiglas shields on as many of their front-end registers as possible. Where plexiglas cannot be affixed because of equipment limitations, associates will be provided with protective face shields which will also be used by Tops associates working in our pharmacy department and at our customer service desk.

This installation process will take place over the course of the next few weeks.

These safety measures are in addition to Tops existing PPE (personal protection equipment) procedures, which include providing gloves for their associates, hand sanitizer and wipes for their associates and customers respectively; and the newly instituted Comfort Zone areas at the registers providing more social distancing between customers as well as the customer and Tops associate.

Additionally there is an associate assigned at each store specifically in charge of sanitization of the front-end registers, check stands, conveyor belts, customer service desks, point-of-sale devices and other frequently touched surfaces most accessed by customers on a continual basis during operating hours.

When patients complete treatments at the Lipson Cancer Institute, there is a bell the patient rings inside the institute. But with social distancing restrictions, there are few people around to hear it. This morning, when Jody Breslin, who is also radiologic technology at UMMC, completed her treatments, staff lined Summit Street to ring handbells to celebrate the end of her treatment.

Amanda S. McDonald, 26, of Ellsworth Avenue, Batavia, is charged with making unreasonable noise. She was arrested at 9:13 p.m. on March 13 after she allegedly played unreasonably loud music at her residence, an upstairs apartment in the 100 block of Ellsworth Avenue, which "could be heard several houses away." McDonald was processed, issued an appearance ticket for Batavia City Court, and she is due there on March 31. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Wesley Rissinger, assisted by Officer Adam Tucker.

Derrick Roy Kio, 29, of North Road, Le Roy, is charged with second-degree criminal contempt. The defendant was arrested at 12:45 p.m. on March 19 on North Road in Le Roy after he asked law enforcement for help in removing a person from his residence who was not welcome there. Upon arrival, it was discovered that an order of protection was in place directing Kio to stay away from the other person and that they had been living together for quite some time, in violation of the order of protection. He was issued an appearance ticket for Town of Le Roy and is due there May 11. The case was handled Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Christopher Erion.

Josie R. Panepinto, 18, of Ellicott Avenue, Batavia, is charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief. Panepinto was arrested after allegedly damaging another person's property during a domestic incident at 8:45 p.m. on Maple Street in Batavia. The defendant was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on May 19. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Christopher Lindsay, assisted by Officer Miah Stevens.

Douglas J. Taylor, 31, of Church Street, Medina, is charged with petit larceny and possession of a hypodermic instrument. At 11:11 a.m. on March 20, Douglas was arrested on the charges at the Dollar General Store on East Main Street in Batavia. He was issued an appearance ticket to be in Batavia City Court on May 19. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Stephen Quider, assisted by Officer Peter Post.

Taylor L. Finnin, 27, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of drug paraphernalia in the second degree. Finnin was arrested at 3:49 p.m. March 12 on Swan Street in Batavia. The defendant was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on March 24. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Connor Borchert, assisted by Officer Wesley Rissinger.

(name redacted -- charge dismissed) and John R. Gorton (no age or residence provided) are charged with unlawful possession of marijuana in the second degree. They were arrested at 1:12 a.m. on March 14 in the Eastown Plaza parking lot on East Main Street in Batavia after a complaint of two males smoking marijuana in a vehicle. Both men were issued appearance tickets then released from custody. They are due in Batavia City Court on March 31. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Alec Roberts, assisted by Officer Jordan McGinnis.

A motor-vehicle accident with unknown injuries is reported in the city at North and Summit streets. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.

As a precautionary measure, UMMC has erected tents outside its Emergency Department to help triage patients if it becomes necessary to deal with an overflow of people during the COVID-19 outbreak.

In a previous interview, CEO Dan Ireland emphasized this is an act of preparedness and not a signal that they're already needed.

Press release:

While the current situation hasn’t been easy on anyone, if you find yourself or someone you know looking for a job, Tops Friendly Markets is hiring for temporary and permanent positions and they welcome your application.

Stop by any one of Tops' 162 stores, their warehouse in Lancaster, NY, or visit here online to learn more.