Teaser Tuesday (January 12)

Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading .





p. 238 - Hood did not believe that armies of devils had worked for centuries on earth to win the hearts and minds of frail and temporary humanity. Stories are lies that lead us to the truth.

Week Two - 50 to Go

Completed Iron River by T. Jefferson Parker. Iron River is a metaphor for the chain of gun shops and dealers that runs along the U.S.-Mexican border. In this police procedural, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy Charlie Hood's stream of consciousness narrative depicts the trading of illegal handguns and automatic weapons. At times the horrors of this activity can be upsetting.

Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks in 2010

Auburn-Fleming Trail Revisited

TrailHead - Dunning Avenue

Revisited - Saturday, January 9, 2010The Auburn-Fleming TrailMap

This afternoon I decided to take my snowshoes on their initial trek for 2010. Refreshed my memory by looking over my previous entry. Got the snowshoe bag down from the loft in the garage and drove out.

Pulled into the trail head parking lot on the east side of Dunning Avenue behind a gray soccer Mom van with a Buffalo Bills bumper stick. Put on the equipment with little effort and I was off.

Approached and crossed the first bridge.



Came upon an elderly gentleman who said that he uses the trail often.



A short ways down the trail deviated to check out some snowmobile tracks. Evidently snowmobilers are racing through farm fields to the west of the trail and then are using an illegal entry to the trail.





Approached and crossed the second bridge.



Came upon a bridge with no railings or warning signs. Could be a hazard to snowmobilers who use this illegal portion of the trail.



Trail facing South.



Posted sign note made from aluminum.



Trail facing North.



Fire hydrant at south trail entrance.



Trail sign at south entrance.



On the return trip there were four horses in a field to the east of the trail. The landowner was snowblowing his driveway accompanied by his German shepherd. Passed two women who were also snowshoeing the trail. Checked out the well marked official snowmobile trail and was passed by 11 snowmobilers who were considerate.











All in all the trek was a successful first effort. Only tripped up once.

Elvis - 75

Elvis age 75, if he were alive.

What would Elvis be singing today? A mellow country ballad, an inspirational gospel psalm, or a Vegas show tune?

Elvis may have left the building, but he is still the King.

Teaser Tuesday (January 5)

Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading .





Look at it from every angle. See what you see and then ask yourself if there’s something you can't see.

- Pursuit of Honor, page 83, by Vince Flynn

Week One - 51 to Go

Got off to a fast start. Read Foul Matter by Martha Grimes. Always enjoyed Grimes’ Richard Jury mysteries. Jury is a complicated sleuth and Grimes surrounds him with good characters.

Foul Matter was a disappointment. Perhaps people involved in the publishing industry may find this book amusing. It made little sense to me with the exception of the hit-men.

Read 52 Books in 52 Week in 2010

110 South Street

Arthur A.Boyd and his wife, Flore, occupied 110 South Street after Boyd, a retired naval officer, moved to Auburn to take over the Hayden saddlery hardware and home manufacturing business that had been established by his father-in-law, Peter Hayden. The company at that time employed convict labor, but later was to occupy a building with D.E. Clapp Maufacturing.

For several years, the Boyds held a cotillion at the mansion with the pit band of the Auditorium Theater providing the music.

Mr. Boyd in 1917. Then Mrs. Boyd lived at 66 South Street in the winter adn opend the mansion for the remainder of the year. Upon her death in 1928, her daughter Gladys sold the property.

The mansion was razed to make room for the Case Mansion and grounds. The stones of the mansion were recycled and used in the construction of the church school building of Second Presbyterian Church (today Westminster Church) on William Street.
School on the left

Today, First Presbyterian Church occupies the site of the former Boyd mansion, which later was the south lawn of the Theodore Case Mansion.


The First Presbyterian Church steeple had collapsed and the congregation decided to leave the corner of North and Franklin streets which had been home to them since the first wooden house of worship had been built there in 1816.

The South Street Church designed by John Y. Critchley was built at a cost of more than $550,000 on land purchased from the Carmelite Fathers.

In 1975, the Presbyterian congregation purchased the adjacent 40-room Case mansion from the Carmelites.

~ Information provided by Sheila Tucker, Cayuga County Historian

Teaser Tuesday (December 22)

Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading .


Bosch had never been a believer in coincidence. He wasn’t going to start now.

- Nine Dragons, page 162, by Michael Connelly

73 South Street

73 South Street

On this property was the home of Gen. John H. Chedell. Chedell was born in Otsego County. Upon the death of this father, Chedell apprenticed in the jewelry business. At the age of 21, Chedell moved to Auburn. Here Chedell opened a jewelry store at 103-105 Genesee Street. Chedell invested wisely in the Oswego Starch Co., and with this fortune, invested in the first Auburn and Syracuse Railway, as well as the Southern Central. Chedell served as president of the Southern Central and he served on the board of directors of the Leigh Valley and the New York Central railroads. Chedell was named brigadier general in 1857 of the 23rd Brigade and served in that capacity for 20 years.

Gen. Chedell donated land for the for St. John's Church as well as the bell tower and spire for St. Peter's Epiccopal Church in 1873. Chedell was a founding member of teh Orphan Asylum.

Upon the death of Gen. Chedell in 1875, the property on South Street remained in the family. In 1950 the South Street home was sold to Drs. Mary and Alan Koirkwood. The Kirkwoods razed the building and constructed the present-day building shown above. Today, 73 South Street houses the dentistry offices of Drs. William and James Elkovitch.

~ Information provided by Sheila Tucker, Cayuga County Historian

Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks in 2010

What's not to love about a challenge? Here is one, Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks in 2010, that runs from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010. The rules are simple. Sign up is easy.

Week OneWeek TwoWeek ThreeWeek FourWeek FiveWeek SixWeek SevenWeek EightWeek NineWeek TenWeek ElevenWeek TwelveWeek ThirteenWeek FourteenWeek FifteenWeek SixteenWeek SeventeenWeek EighteenWeek NineteenWeek TwentyWeek Twenty OneWeek Twenty TwoWeek Twenty ThreeWeek Twenty FourWeek Twenty FiveWeek Twenty SixWeek Twenty SevenWeek Twenty EightWeek Twenty NineWeek ThirtyWeek Thirty OneWeek Thirty TwoWeek Thirty ThreeWeek Thirty FourWeek Thirty FiveWeek Thirty SixWeek Thirty SevenWeek Thirty EightWeek Thirty NineWeek FortyWeek Forty-OneWeek Forty-TwoWeek Forty-ThreeWeek Forty-FourWeek Forty-FiveWeek Forty-SixWeek Forty-SevenWeek Forty-EightWeek Forty-NineWeek FiftyWeek Fifty-OneWeek Fifty-Two
"Happy New Year"~hapzydeco

77 South Street

This house was built for Harold E. Hills and his wife, Caroline, in 1897. Harold Hills was a prominent Auburn attorney and the grandson of Eleazor Hills, who operated Auburn's first general store.



Harold Hills died at age 39 and the house was taken over by his brother, William, and his wife, Alice. William too was an attorney. The Hills home was the scene of formal dinner parties and multi-generational Christmas-night parties given by Mrs. Alice B. Hills for 48 years. With her gracious living style, formal dinner parties and gowns, Alice was the last of the South Street Victorians. Alice died in 1966 at the age of 98.



The Hills family occupied the home until the death of Alice's daughter, Mary Day Butler, in 1971. The home was left unoccupied by the heirs for a number of years. It is presently being restored.

~ Information provided by Sheila Tucker, Cayuga County Historian

A Christmas Memory

Joan and I with 200 other first-nighters attended the presentation of Truman Capote’s short story, “A Christmas Memory”.

Read Tony Curulla's review, Veteran Patricia Neal Still Delivers in Capote Story, as it appeared in the Syracuse Newspapers.

Back Story

"I got on the bus to go home."

The famous U.P.I. photo
actually on Dec. 21, 1956

Today, in 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., city bus.Parks was arrested, sparking a yearlong boycott of the buses by blacks.

Sit Still - Just Sit Still

Eight steps to better holiday cards, books, and calendars in iPhoto

Eight steps to better holiday cards, books, and calendars in iPhoto

Posted using ShareThis

Holiday newsletters with iWeb '09

Holiday newsletters with iWeb '09

Posted using ShareThis

The Victorian House of Westminster Manor

This mansion at South Street was built for Gordon W. Allen and his second wife, Ada, whom Allen married in November 1890. Allen had moved to Union Springs as a youth. In 1861, Allen came to Auburn to read law at his uncle's firm. In 1863 Allen enlisted in the 160th New York Regiment. Allen returned to Auburn in 1865 and wed Caroline Osborne. For 10 years Allen served as treasurer of the D.M. Osborne Company. In 1894, Allen joined with William J. Henry to form the Henry and Allen Company. This firm manufactured reaper blades, chains, and implements at its plant at 231 Wadsworth Street. In August of 1893, the wedding reception of Allen's stepdaughter, Anna Dennis Myers and William H. Seward, Jr. was held in this home.

Many elderly Auburnians associate this mansion with Charles A. McCarthy, who lived here from 1911 until his death in 1937. In 1889, McCarthy joined with John Dunn to create The Dunn and McCarthy Shoe Company. Located on Washington Street the company became a leader in the shoe industry as well as a major employer in Auburn. McCarthy's philanthropic endeavors were numerous. McCarthy gave to the Auburn Theological Seminary building fund and to the construction of the original Auburn City Hospital.

Today this mansion serves as a senior apartment facility for Westminster Manor. Westminster Manor purchased the property in 2002.

Information compiled by Sheila Tucker, Cayuga County Historian

Montezuma Photography Workshop

New Pond

Naturalist Dave Spier conducted a meeting for nature and wildlife photography e-club members at the Montezuma Audubon Center (MAC) this afternoon from 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM. There were 18 attendees present.

Using the MAC facilities Dave shared several slides showing photos of fall vegetation, snow scenes and wildlife.

Dave employed recently taken photos of frost to show examples of backlighting, random pattern selection and reflection.

Emphasizing the credo, Keep It Simple, Dave pointed out how to focus on the main point of the photo and how to eliminate distractions that do not contribute to the main point.

A question was asked regarding shooting RAW. Dave's explanation seemed to favor taking your photos in the RAW, especially now that photo cards are reasonably priced.

At the conclusion of the program, Art Benning introduced Lois, his wife, and himself to the audience. Mr. Benning said that the Benning Marsh, the 5 acre marsh created in 1991 on the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge for the purpose of providing additional shorebird habitat, was named after his father, a renown birder.

Looking out through the MAC's windows the gray skies discouraged those in attendance from taking photos today.

Montezuma Audubon Center - Bird Watching

Montezuma Audubon Center - 7 AM

Naturalist Dave Spier conducted an early morning bird monitoring hike around the Montezuma Audubon Center (MAC) today.

At 7:00 AM, our group of four assembled in the MAC parking lot. Dave led our group (Linda from Palmyra, Chuck from Lyons and myself) out onto the frosty grounds.

Upon leaving the parking lot we saw a flock of Canada geese flying east. This was the first of several Canada geese that we would observe this morning.

Trail Map

Walked toward Sandpiper Shallows our presence put up a Great Blue Heron. Using Chuck's telescope stand we viewed 13 Trumpeter Swans floating at the south end of the pond.

Sandpiper Shallows & Marganser Marsh

Went towards the rim of Marganser March.

Marganser Marsh

We continued toward the observation deck. Upon entering the wood Chuck brought to our attention a Red-bellied Woodpecker. Then Dave noted a Tufted Titmouse.

From the observation deck we scanned the area. Some of the Trumpeter Swans took to flight.

View From Deck

Dave on the right, Linda & Chuck

We headed back to the MAC center by way of Warbler Walk. There to the right of the path was a huge tree. Dave identified this massive tree as a wolf tree.

Warbler Walk

Cresting a mound Chuck pointed out an area in which he would like to place a bench.



Views From Chuck's Suggested Location for a Bench

Some of the Audubon Center flora seen on this frosted morning.







Back inside the MAC center referring to The Sibley Field Guide Dave took a few minutes to point out the birds that we saw today.

The sightings the Trumpeter Swans and the Red-bellied Woodpecker were a first for me making the early morning waking worthwhile.