Allegany Area Historical Association

Transcription

1 Allegany Area Historical Association October 2015 w w w. allegany.o r g Issue XXXIV Vol. 3 PRESIDENT S REPORT One of our Founding Mothers, Marge Green, died in July at the age of 95. She was right there when our organization got started in 1981 as an outgrowth of Allegany s Sesquicentennial celebration. She helped on everything we did, from cookie sales to genealogy research. Almost every issue of our early newsletters contained one of her well-researched articles. She went to many meeting at the Olean Post Office to make sure we were meeting all the postal requirements in regard to our newsletter mailing. Her late husband, Charles, built our kitchen cabinets and I m pretty sure she helped with that also. She had a long, full and interesting life, and her spirit will live on in our group. Thanks, Marge, for all you did to help us grow. AAHA also lost a good friend with the passing of Jim Kinley in July at age 88. Jim started in the oil business with his father at an early age, and after service in the Navy in WW II returned home to eventually serve as President of Kinley Oil and Gas. When we did a big display on the local oil business, he was a font of information and loaned us many artifacts for our exhibit. While he also went on to start Kinley Corp., a construction company, he remained at heart an oil man. He was very generous to AAHA and quietly helped us with reprints of our history book. We will never have a better friend thanks, Jim, for everything you did for us. The Cattaraugus County Tourism department has a program called Guide by Cell Tours, where people can call a number and get a guided tour of any particular historical society or museum. It works from any phone. When you call , you will be asked to put in the number you want, followed by the # sign. Our numbers are Right now we only have something at 81, 82,83, 84 and 85 but are working on putting information about Allegany on our other numbers, so by the time you get this newsletter we will have more numbers available to listen to. Each segment is 1 ½ to 2 minutes long. I will list the numbers for other groups elsewhere in the newsletter. It s not too early to mention our annual Christmas Cookie Sale on Saturday, December 5th and our Community Christmas Service on Sunday, December 6th. The cookie sale is now our only fundraiser, since we aren t having Heritage Days anymore, so get ready for a phone call to help us with the baking. And please join us at our Christmas Service. It is such a nice way to open the Christmas season and be with friends. I have put in a reminder about your yearly dues elsewhere in the newsletter but just another reminder don t forget to pay! FRANCIE POTTER, PRESIDENT

2 Page 1856 MAP Everyone who visits really enjoys seeing our restored 1856 map. Getting it to the Center was quite an adventure! My son, David Potter, and Mikel Wintermantel volunteered to help me move it from The Inkwell on Main Street, where Melissa Meyers had framed it, to our place on Second Street. The day we picked turned out to be quite breezy. Our original plan was to walk it down the street to the Center it s not heavy, just awkward. But we quickly realized that the wind would make that impossible. On to Plan B. This involved Mikel lying flat in the bed of David s pickup holding on the map for dear life as David slowly drove to Second Street. It was a sight to behold but all went well. Thanks to David and Mikel for all their help! Mikel hanging on tightly to the map in very close quarters! Walking the map into the Center Ready for the map to be hung David on the left, Mikel on the right.

3 Page INQUIRIES WE HAVE RECEIVED----- In June we received an inquiry from a gentleman in Edmonton, Alberta seeking information about the discovery of a pagoda on the West Five Mile in Allegany, New York. He said, I m writing to seek your help to determine whether the alleged discovery is true. A friend of mine has been looking for the pagoda for many years so I m helping him to find out more about it. He sent a link to the Burmese classic news organization, dated March 28, 2015, which said among other things that an old ancient pagoda built in a jungle in the U.S. had been found again and that it had been built on land donated by Mr. Gus Ruggieri. We started searching for information. Gus Ruggieri was also known as Gus Rogers. We had nothing in our files but knew that Gus Rogers had owned land on the West Five Mile Road. We contacted Donna Costanza, who coordinates local history at the Olean Public Library, and she had a great article from the June 5, 1958 Times Herald that told of the building of the pagoda, along with a picture. Gus Rogers was a world traveler who met the monks in Burma. When they came to his farm to build the pagoda, they were said to be the first Burmese monks to visit the United States. One of the monks, U Thila Wunta, was a contemplative monk who spent his time entirely in prayer and religious meditation. He also had a reputation as a great healer. He died March 18, 2011 and is highly venerated in the Buddhist religion. The gentleman looking to purchase the pagoda is a disciple of Ven. U Thila Wunta. We also found Gus Rogers obituary in the February 19, 1976 issue of the Allegany Citizen. Mr. Rogers died at the age of 77. He served as President of Dotterwyck Sales in Olean. The obituary also said the U Thant, acting secretary of the United Nations, visited the family to see the shrine. U Thant went on to be the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Mr. Rogers was also a WW II veteran. So a simple request turned out to be quite interesting, and broadened our knowledge of local history! IT S TIME TO PAY YOUR YEARLY DUES October is the time to pay your dues! We do not send out reminders to members since each member gets the newsletter, so we take this method of telling you to renew your membership. It also saves us postage. A single membership is $10, a family membership is $15 and a patron membership is $20 or more. Make your check to AAHA and mail it to: PO Box 162, Allegany, N.Y If you have paid your dues recently, you are paid for the year. If you don t renew after a reasonable amount of time we will take you off the mailing list, and where else are you going to find out the happenings of the past and present in your old home town. Don t forget renew your membership today!

4 Page A TREASURE IN OUR AREA Letchworth State Park is very close by and a lot of fun to explore. When my kids were younger we would have a cookout breakfast in the park and spend the rest of the day wandering the park and enjoying its scenery. In March of 1988 we had a program about Letchworth here are some of the things we learned. Letchworth State Park, which was only inhabited by Native Americans at the time of the Revolutionary War, was originally known as Genesee Country. The area so designated took in all or parts of 15 Western New York counties. The work Genesee is Native American and means Pleasant Valley. William Letchworth first viewed the Upper and Middle Falls area in 1859, deciding then and there to purchase the land for his retirement. The present Glen Iris Inn by the Middle Falls had been built by a former owner of the land and was remodeled by Mr. Letchworth into a comfortable home. It was later enlarged into the present inn. Several years before his death in 1910, he deeded 1,000 acres in Wyoming and Livingston counties to the state for a park. Today Letchworth State Park extends on both sides of the Genesee River from Portageville to Mt. Morris, a distance of 17 miles. It covers 13,000 acres and is deservedly known as The Grand Canyon of the East. GUIDE BY CELL NUMBERS FOR AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETIES Remember call to listen to any of these Tours. African-American Center for Cultural Development 1-14 Bartlett House 21 13, 40 Olean Point Museum Miners Cabin in Franklinville Howe Prescott House in Franklinville Ellicottville Historical Society

5 Page Memorials For: Margaret Green From: Francie Potter Margaret Parker Alice Altenburg Edmund and Theresa Memmott Arlene Knittel The Walshes Father Tom, Barbara, John and Sally Marie Reinhoundt Hal and Hilda Jacobi Sam and Daniela Chiovitti Mildred Simpson Friends at Unidesk Corp. Helen L. Green and Family Norma, Stephen and Jennifer Coleman For: Kay Hirsch Screen From: Leo and Patty Nenno For: Charles and Ruth Wing From: William Wing and family Children and grandchildren To Honor the Altenburg family From: Tamera Zaffuto WE GET MAIL William Wing of Dewitt, Michigan sent us a memorial in memory of his parents, Charles and Ruth Wing. The family has a summer home in McClure Hollow when they vacation and renew old friendships with Allegany friends. Of course, the Wing name is very familiar in this area. Asa Wing was a Civil War veteran who settled with his family in what is now Wing Hollow. The family has grown and spread from there. Bill listed all the members of the Wing family who gave the memorial, so here goes: Bill Wing, sons Will and Fred, granddaughter Adriana; James and Carolyn Wing Wesley, sons Christopher and Jonathan; Tom and Pam Wing, daughter Melissa, sons Brian and Jeremy; David and Sue Wing, daughter Kristen, son David; Steve Wing, son Josh; Ken Wing, sons Shaun, Trent, Nick and Nathan; Tim and Kathy Wing Starr, son Zachary, daughters Jennifer and Stephanie; Steve Riley, sons James and Brandon, daughter Whitney. The family held a memorial service July 11, 2015 for their parents. Thanks, Wings, for thinking of us, and helping us preserve the history of the Allegany area where your family came from.

6 Allegany Area Historical Association P.O. BOX 162 Allegany, NY Return Service REquested NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 32 OLEAN, NY Inside SPECIAL Issue: Presidents Report Map Moving 101 Monks visit Allegany NEXT MEETING Our next meeting will be on Sunday, October 18 at 2 p.m. at the Heritage Center, 25 North Second Street, Allegany. Earl McElfresh will speak on Cattaraugus County some interesting facts and figures, intriguing historical data, and much more. A graduate of St. Lawrence University, Mr. McElfresh is a county legislator and President of McElfresh Map Company, which has specialized in Civil War maps for 23 years. The company has also produced maps about the Underground Railroad, the Louisiana Purchase and D-Day. Our 1856 map of Cattaraugus County is also on display. Come join us for an interesting afternoon, and learn more about where you live. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 2 P.M. HERITAGE CENTER w w w. a l l e g a n y. o r g