Thursday

A year ago today, the ground was bare and the trucks carrying the first pieces and parts of the Victorian Street Lamps arrived!

Now, it's 32 degrees with a pretty snowfall putting a fresh cover on the foot-deep accumulation that's already on the ground.


The Christmas Trees are all gone!

There's a dandy supply of cordwood, out on Bogan Road ......


... and it looks as if Santa may live there!

In the Village, it's Garbage Day!

E. Main St.

The Garden Club's Lighting Contest Judges will be here later today!

They'll have a hard time choosing winners because there are so many elaborate displays.

Buell Avenue

Madison Street

At the same time, a great many residences bear simple, traditional decorations.

Park Place

Why not take a ride around town, this evening, and see for yourselves just how pretty the village looks!

• Thursday: Cloudy with flurries or light freezing drizzle. Little to no accumulation. High around freezing.
• Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy. Low in the mid 20s.
• Friday: Decreasing clouds. Becoming partly sunny late. High: 33, Low: 20

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In the morning mail: two letters about the Post Card that was on yesterday's post showing Madison Lake and the Skating Rink!

Sylvia Person wrote: " I believe it is Madison Lake, between Solsville and Madison a very popular entertainment spot during the twenties,especially Sundays, for picnics and family gatherings.
I grew up on the Solsville-Augusta Rd, one of the daughters of Herman Karlman. In the middle of winter, when the ice was frozen thick, he'd always go to the Lake, with the team of horses and Bob-sleigh, and bring home a load of ice, cut neatly in huge chunks, and store it in the ice house, packed in sawdust. Each summer evening, after milking, he'd pull out a chunk of ice with huge ice tongs, rinse off the sawdust, and put it in the milk vat to cool the cans of milk to be delivered to the station the following morning. My sister Penny & I would always get chips to suck on--imagine ice in the middle of summer--very rare back in those years.
The picture on the left in the photo, is most likely the skating rink where we spent hours rolling staking in our teens, with Muriel McBain at the organ. Also, the Woodhall Boys provided music for square dancing on Saturday nights. These buildings slowly disappeared through the years -- but will always be remembered as a very popular spot."

Brian S. Stone, who used to be a mail carrier here and is now the Postmaster in Smyrna also recognized the scene: " They used to have a skating rink there many years ago. My grandma used to skate there." He also remarked that although he'd seen several post card views of Madison Lake he'd never seen this particular one, before.

Thanks - all of you - for the in-put!

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Have a Great Day!

Wednesday

It's Recyclables Day!

It's 26 degrees. No precipitation.

• Wednesday: Mostly cloudy with light snow developing in the afternoon. High near freezing.

• Wednesday Night: Light snow and flurries. Total accumulation of a trace to a couple inches possible. Low in the mid 20s.
• Thursday: Mostly cloudy with scattered snow showers. High: 30, Low: 21

TODAY

WCS Holiday Concert
7:30.p.m.

TOMORROW

Family Movie Night

Waterville Public Library

"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer"

6:00 p.m.

In the Village, the DPW crews were a work all yesterday plowing and scooping snow from around fire hydrants and lowering snowbanks.

Out in the country, it's just Wintertime Peaceful.

The "Polar Bear Club?" This group of mallard ducks made a unified march to the water, circled around once, hastily, and ran back to the "beach!"

Inside at "Michael's," where it was nice and cozy, The Waterville Times' Annual Christmas Tea was taking place. In the background, former Times owner Martin F. Cleary talks with Post Master Maureen Wratten and current owner Patricia Louise and friend Cathy Murphy while Harding Nursing Home's Katie Landers waits for Correspondent Walter Lee to say "Goodbye" to Dot McConnell.

Kristi and Kim relaxed ..........

Marshall Historian Dot McConnell and Stockwell Correspondent Dottie Ruane chatted with Oneida County Legislator E. Carter Stephenson and his wife, Joan.

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In Yesterday's Mail.

This will stir some memories! A reader sent this scan of a postcard to me, saying,

"It was made out and addressed but never mailed, no date but the sender (my Grandpa) did say he had to cut ice there tomorrow, and he referred to it as a skating rink."

And I told him that I thought other blog-readers would have some things to tell about the roller-skating rink that must have been in one of these buildings.

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It's getting a little frantic, isn't it?

But it's FUN!!

Tuesday

21.6 degrees, and there's no precipitation right now.



The world seems to be back on schedule,
and I've found no announcements of
cancellations or closings.

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THE WCS HOLIDAY CONCERT

has been re-re-scheduled for

7:30 P.M. WEDNESDAY

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• Tuesday: Partly cloudy with a few flurries. High: 30
• Tuesday night: Partly cloudy. 23
• Wednesday: Chance of snow showers. High: 32, Low: 23
• Thursday: Mostly cloudy. Chance of a snow shower. High: 30, Low: 18

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Yesterday morning.

But Sangerfield had our streets plowed ........

......... and the sidewalks (all fifteen or so miles of them) were cleared early in the morning.

Out in the country, the wind had whipped up the first drifts .......

......... and snomobilers lost no time taking to the trails.

In the Park, there were only three Christmas Trees left!

There's no end to bright decorations!

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Remember: Lighting displays will be judged after dark on Thursday!

Starting tomorrow,
Nancy Ayala will be playing the Masonic Temple Bells at about 5:30 every afternoon until Christmas and again on Christmas morning.

(A good place to hear the bells without interference from passing traffic is in the Firemen's Field parking lot - OR - up in the tower, with Nancy!
Phone her ahead of time if you want to go.)

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This story of the bells has been printed several times, but - if you're new to Waterville or the blog - here it is, again:

I met Gerald Coggeshall in 1971, at the time of the Village's Centennial Celebration. He was a little gnome of a man, descendant of illustrious ancestors, who had lived in Waterville all his life. I don't know how many years he had been playing the bells, but it was probably something in the neighborhood of fifty, and he did so without music and with never so much as a frown on his face.

The way he told the story of the bells was fun, memorable and only slightly inventive! Stephen Gates (an historian who was also a chime afficianado and could play using a regular hymnal) complained bitterly that it was inaccurate and no way to record history, -------however ---- here it is!

Once upon a time a rich man named Ruben Tower decided to build himself a house across the street and, therefore, away from his parents’ home! And wanting to make sure that everyone knew that this new building was HIS house, he decided to put a tower on the front of it.

He knew, right away, that there should be a large clock in that tower, one that had a bell that would sound the hours, and so he wrote to the Seth Thomas Clock Company and asked them to make him a suitable clock.

“Of course, Mr. Tower. We’ll be glad to design an appropriate clock for your home, with visible faces that may be seen by all around the village. May we take the liberty of suggesting that a Mr. Meneely, of Troy, New York, be engaged to cast just the right bell so that it may be heard across the land when it strikes out each hour?”

Tower thought this was a dandy suggestion, and wrote straight ‘way to Mr. Meneely asking for a perfect bell.

Mr. Meneely not only knew his metels, he knew his money as well, and said to Mr. Tower,

“Why, sir - with such a magnificent clockworks one really should have four bells so that a tuneful chime such as that heard at Westminster Cathedral in London may likewise signify each quarter-hour in Waterville.”

Mr. Tower thought it anther marvelous idea and so, bit by bit, the tower rose; the clock faces appeared* and - finally - four enormous bells were lifted to the topmost canopy of the tower. His dream was complete!

Only to one such as Mr. Meneely would it occur that there was still a potential profit to be seen:

“It has occurred to me, Mr. Tower, that you now have four bells and that number is, of course, just one half of a full scale of notes! It would be so easy for us to cast the remaining bells - don’t you see? - and then entire tunes could be played and enjoyed throughout the community.”

Another chord was struck -- Mr. Tower agreed with the proposal (which actually included 5 more bells) and so we have it that in mid-July, 1889, the day after Mr. Meneely left, Miss Flora Garvey came by train from Utica and played the “chime” for the very first time.

*The Seth Thomas clockworks were actually installed a few weeks after the chimes were complete.

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Have a Great Day!

Monday morning

14.4 degrees.

It's not snowing right now, but it certainly snowed during the night. And it blew, too!


SCHOOL's CLOSED

The WCS Winter Concert is no longer listed on the school website.

WKTV is indicating that
Rt. 12 between New Hartford and Waterville is still
CLOSED
and the amount of traffic on Rt. 315 bears that out.

The O-D has a n up-to-date listing of School Closings.

• Today: Snow showers becoming more widely scattered and lighter. Continued windy with areas of blowing snow in open areas. Accumulations of a coating to an inch in a few spots. High: 22

• Tonight: A few snow showers. Perhaps an additional coating to an inch or two, with isolated locally higher amounts, especially south and west of Utica. Low 13.
• Tuesday: Partly cloudy with a few flurries. High: 27, Low: 18.

It's still too dark for me to take any pictures or really see the "snow stake."

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This nice photo was in my morning mail:

"Jim and Debbie Beha of Marcy, along with Boy Scout Troop 79, recently held an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Marcy's newest Eagle Scout, Ryan Beha, son of Jim and Debbie, and Grandson of Joseph and Leonie Beha of Waterville, They are pictured, along with several Cousins, Aunts and Uncles who attended. "

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Check back later!

Early Sunday

It's 15.6 degrees.

We had three or four inches of snow, during the night. It began sleeting at around 4:30 and I can still hear it clicking on the windows.

A notice on the WKTV website:

As of 5:00 A.M.

Route 12 is CLOSED

South of Summit Rd. in Paris.


Current conditions


And then the WIND will start!

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Also Of Interest:

THE ANNUAL

CHRISTMAS LIGHTING JUDGING

will take place on Thursday
(presumably after dark.)

I need to take a nightime photo of the Verdon residence on Putnam Street. Their lighting is all computer controlled!

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Our loss is Disney's gain!

If I'd known earlier, I'd have told all of you that there was going to be a Special Gathering at ECCO Video, yesterday afternoon, to say "Goodbye!" to Gene Owen (r.) and "Welcome!" to the store's new owner, Jack Giedraitis (l.) After 23 years at ECCO, Gene is leaving to do something that he's "always wanted to do!" - go to work in "The Magic Kingdom" at Disneyworld!

(That's "work"?)

But he promises to keep in touch with us: he's got the blog saved as a favorite on his laptop and will be commenting on our weather - and his - I'm sure!

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When I was last at the Park, around 2:30 yesterday afternoon, there were only about two-dozen Christmas Trees left.

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There were several Watervillians in the SRO audience at the Kirkland Art Center, later yesterday afternoon, for a performance of the medieval nativity play, "The Second Shepherd's Play," presented by Tapestry, the All-centuries Singers, of Clinton and the Grasse River Players of Canton. And what fun it was, complete with delicious warm wassail, servings of "boar's head," an assortment of Figgy Pudding cake and - as always - fine choral music !!!

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Have a good, safe day!

Friday

It's 32.7 degrees.

I don't think that we had more than an inch or two of snow, overnight, but Kevin's already out with the sidewalk plow.


An article in this morning's Observer-Dispatch tells readers not to plan on going anywhere at all on Sunday! The writer must have gotten his/her information from WKTV.

• Friday: A few snow showers, especially north of Utica. Otherwise, breezy with clouds and some sun. High in the mid 30s.
• Friday night: Chance of a few snow showers early, otherwise partly cloudy and chilly. Low in the upper single digits to low teens.
• Saturday: Sun and clouds to start. Increasing clouds in the afternoon. High: 22, Low: 10
• Saturday Night: Snow arriving after 8 PM or so. Snow will become heavy at times after midnight. Significant accumulation possible toward morning.
• Sunday: Heavy snow likely with significant accumulation likely. Windy with near blizzard conditions at times. High: 16, Low: 12

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During yesterday's storm.
A "courageous courier" - in shirtsleeves, no less!

I was reminded of the old "neither rain nor sleet nor dark of night," which I thought was the motto of the United State Postal Service. But when I "Googled" that phrase, this morning, this is what I found:
"Many of us have heard the postal carriers' motto in one form or another. One popular version is 'Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds'.
The original saying was actually 'Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds' and was said about 2500 years ago by the Greek historian, Herodotus. He said this adage during the war between the Greeks and Persians about 500 B.C. in reference to the Persian mounted postal couriers whom he observed and held in high esteem.

Today many people believe this saying to be the U.S. Postal Service (U.S.P.S.) motto, but, in fact, is not their official slogan. According to the U.S.P.S. they have no slogan at all. The reason it has become identified with the U.S.P.S. is because back in 1896-97 when the New York City General Post Office was being designed, Mitchell Kendal, an employee for the architectural firm, McKim, Mead and White, came up with the idea of engraving Herodotus' saying all around the outside of the building.

The inscription was supplied by William Mitchell Kendall of the firm of McKim, Mead & White, the architects who designed the Farley Building and the original Pennsylvania Station in the same Beaux Arts style. Kendall said the sentence appears in the works of Herodotus and describes the expedition of the Greeks against the Persians under Cyrus, about 500 B.C. The Persians operated a system of mounted postal couriers, and the sentence describes the fidelity with which their work was done."

From that time on the saying has been associated with U.S. postal carriers.

(Source: Bob Cannon, Public Affairs and Communications Officer for the U.S. Postal Service in Boston, MA.)

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More pix as things happen!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

thursday Add-on

Now we're back in working order!

I had E-mail this morning from Jody Hildreth, who wrote: "I found some Pine Grosbeaks over in Sauquoit today."



"I put together a photopage at: PINE GROSBEAKS. Look for them around fruiting trees - especially crabapple trees. You can tell if they have been visiting by lookin under the tress. The Pine Grosbeak rips the flesh of the fruit apart only to eat the seeds inside. The fleshy fruit gets discarded on the ground. So, a tree with lots of small pieces of fruit undoubtedly has Pine Grosbeaks."

A blog-reader sent this to me saying that he prefers the New York State style of Tree Decoration more than that of Florida!

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Here are some pictures that I took, yesterday.
It was a "tree" day, for sure!

And the effect was grand! Apparently the wind had been blowing from the NW and the trunks of trees at Hanover Green all wore white stripes.


These trees, on the S. side of Route 20 W of Pleasant Valley Road, mark the Buckley Burying Ground. There are several stones there, but the only now readable is that of Ezra Buckley who died in October of 1843 at the age of 71 years.


The ancient Elm on Madison Street.

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But today it all looks different; it's snowing hard!


Click here for WIBX CANCELLATIONS

Even more at the Observer-Dispatch

where I found listed the

Sr. Winter Concert

- postponed until Monday at 7:30 P.M.

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At the corner of Barton and Putnam.


Barb was out on her regular walk, loving the snow.

Now here's a problem - or two: asked by more than a few villagers to "do something" about this, I parked at the top of Buell Avenue and, while waiting for the light to turn green, I turned on my camera. I had intended to take a picture of the bright lights in Dollar General's window - the lights that are driving drivers crazy after dark, blinding them so that they can't see the traffic signal - but saw another problem, as well: cars parked willy-nilly in front of the store and using the (traditional) entrance to leave the parking lot. This pedestrian had a merry time of it, zig-zagging back and forth between cars just to reach the sidewalk safely! Getting across Main Street presented another challenge - again, because of cars exiting the Green Acres parking lot the "wrong" way.

We seem to have signs for everything else: could another pair saying "NO EXIT" and "ENTRANCE ONLY" be that hard to acquire?

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The Red-bellied Woodpeckers are here!