Tag Archives: Angelica

Let’s Have a Wander!

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In times like these, as public and personal health – not to mention the lives of our loved ones – call on us to maintain a certain isolation, we can get to feeling cooped up and coo-coo. What can we DO with the long summer days?

In our case, we’ll sometimes go wandering. Even if you’re not up to hiking, our towns and villages offer hours and miles of pleasant ambling. While you’re wandering you can: keep a village bird list; spot (and read) every monument and historic marker; look BEHIND the houses to see which garages and other structures started out as stables, barns, or carriage houses; admire the streetside gardens, planters, and window boxes. Make up your own quarry to spot as you wander!

But WHERE shall you wander? Last weekend we enjoyed ourselves in ANGELICA (Allegany County). It’s a small but pleasing village with fine homes, not to mention the Allegany County Fairgrounds. One of the most memorable features is a large traffic circle with a park (and Saturday farmers market) inside, and five churches plus the town hall arranged along the outside. Spot the library, the veterans’ monument, and the lamppost banners that also honor veterans.

NAPLES and CANANDAIGUA (both in Ontario County) are very different communities, but they each enjoy a mile-long Main Street. Main Street in Naples is treelined, except where it’s bordered by vineyards. The Catholic church is an exciting modern design that suits the grape country, while the school would feel right at home in an Archie comic. Tree-covered ridges overlook Naples on either side.

The Canandaigua Main Street runs gently downhill into a marina at the north end of Canandaigua Lake. It’s a busy place, lined with shops and restaurants, offices and businesses, with the county courthouse at the top of the hill. (A monument honors Susan B. Anthony, who was convicted at that courthouse for the crime of voting. “I will never pay one cent of your unjust fine,” she told the judge, and she never did.)

If you’re wandering Main Street in PENN YAN (Yates County), notice when the bridge carries you over Keuka Outlet, draining that lake and filling Seneca. As you go by Birkett Mills, think about the days when the running outlet powered huge grindstones here. Notice Millie’s Pantry, whose founder was honored by President Obama for her years of work feeding the hungry. And spot the library, the oldest part of which was a gift from turn-of-the-century billionaire Andrew Carnegie.

At the other end of the lake, in HAMMONDSPORT (Steuben County), have a seat at the park in the village square and use your mind’s eye to see it in the days when Glenn Curtiss and Alexander Graham Bell would have strolled right past you, agitating ways to get into the air. Stroll down Sheathar or William Street to the lakefront with its “railroad gothic” depot, and imagine that you’re waiting for the steamboat to take you to your cottage.

Over in Schuyler County, start at the gazebo on the end of the pier in WATKINS GLEN. Spot the waterfowl in Seneca Lake, step across the (active!) railroad track, and amble down Franklin Street. Like Naples, Penn Yan, and Hammondsport, Watkins is in grape country. But it’s also auto racing country. Keep your eyes down to spot blocks in the sidewalk honoring great drivers. Lift your eyes up to spot the murals on the sides of buildings, capturing great moments in Watkins Glen racing. Soon you’ll be walking the route of those original Grand Prix road races, over 70 years ago. You’ll also be at the mouth of the Glen, that dramatic cleft that’s attracted hikers, artists and photographers for centuries. There are plenty of other places to wander. But these will get you started!

About Angelica

On Saturday morning I told my wife I thought I’d run over to Angelica. Let me do the dishes, she said, and I’ll come too. And 45 minutes later, we were on our way.

*Another 45 minutes and we were easing our way around the circular village park, and pulled up on Main Street, in the shade of a long row of maple trees. Angelica is a beautiful place.

*On that particular Saturday the Lakeshore Model A Club had also taken a drive to Angelica, so we got to inspect half-a-dozen of these fine old Fords. A couple of decades back I impersonated Henry Ford for the Lakeshores, and I hosted many vintage car tours when I was at Curtiss Museum, so I’ve always got a fond spot for such outings. Yes, vintage car folks do this for their own pleasure, but I’ve found them to be unfailingly welcoming about sharing their pleasures with the public.

*After admiring the Model A collection, I used the library rest room and we strolled down to Delectable Collectibles, an antique store in an old garage. I enjoy this store very much, for its setting but also because it usually has lots of “pop culture” stuff, including comic books, which was the point of Saturday’s trip. We made our way through aisles and around corners, and studied a chest that has potential for our front hall, but all I actually got that day was a Little Audrey comic book ($3), which I wanted for my Harvey Comic collection.

*We walked back down Main under blue sky and bright sunshine, stepping into a couple more antique shops before coming to the Circle.

*This traffic circle raises the small village from the pleasant to the memorable. Five churches stand on the outer rim of the Circle, along with town hall, several residences, and the 19th-century post office.

*Inside the circle is a large grassy park with a tree-lined walk, where we bought a basket of ultra-fresh strawberries at the Saturday farmer’s market before turning back to the shopping district, where I had a fine Greek salad (Joyce got quesadillas) at The Canteen, from which we watched a motorcycle tour trundle through before we returned to our car for the 45-minute drive (all on I-86) back to Bath, enjoying the vultures, deer, and horses all the way. And the daisies. Dame’s rocket. Blue sky. White puffy clouds. Glorious green. All this, and Angelica too.

ABOUT ANGELICA

*Angelica, in Allegany County, is at Exit 31 on Interstate Route 86 – RIGHT at the exit, so you don’t have a drive once you get there. Many folks know Angelica in the winter. At Christmastime folks make the trip just to visit the post office, and get angel postmarks on their Christmas cards. In late winter and early spring folks pass through on their way to Cartwrights’ Maple Tree Inn, or stop on their way back.

*Angelica is also home to Allegany County Fair. It has a public library, part of the Southern Tier Library System. Houghton College, Alfred State, and Alfred University are all within short drives.

*Angelica is a village within the town of the same name, commemorating Angelica Schuyler Church, daughter of a Revolutionary War general and sister-in-law of Alexander Hamilton. The Churches owned substantial land in the area, and built the huge Belvidere mansion.

*That 1804 mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places, as is the 1819 town hall (old county courthouse), the Angelica Park Circle Historic District, and the 1809 Moses Van Campen House.

*Angelica sometimes claims to be the birthplace of the Republican party, though that takes a little convolution to assert. A more reliable claim is that it was a Civil War bugler from Angelica who first played “Taps.”

*If you like antiques, if you like pleasant small villages, you should make the trip to Angelica. We do!

A Great Time in Allegany

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My wife and I recently took an overnight in Allegany County. Three different county residents asked, “why would you do that?”
There is a certain level of sadness in a sparsely-settled county that some ratings name the poorest in the state outside New York City. But sometimes you miss something when you’re too close to it. We had a great visit.
After a fine sunny country drive, on which we passed through Almond and Andover, we started out at Hamilton’s in Wellsville, because we both needed a new pair of New Balance sneakers. Hamilton’s has been in business for about 75 years, and they fit you carefully. If need be, they rebuild the shoe on the spot. Since Joyce has heel spurs… and broke both ankles over an 18-month period… we wanted to make sure her new shoes fit right.
Then we puttered up Main Street to the David Howe Memorial Library. We noticed years ago that when we ordered books on inter-library loan, a high percentage of them came from Wellsville, so we enjoy our rare visits there to scope out the collection in person, and stock up on reading material. I’ve said before that the building looks as though it was airlifted in from Williamsburg, and the interior is especially lovely. There’s even a huge globe, worthy of Nero Wolfe’s office.
After ferrying our stacks of books back to the car we cruised up Route 19, passing through Scio, Belmont, Belvidere and Belfast on our way to Oramel. We didn’t see very much farm country along the way, but the forest offers other opportunities – Allegany, like Steuben, is a big county for hunting and fishing.
We spent the night at the Oramel Inn Motel, which started out in the fifties as a root-beer stand. The structure is period but meticulously maintained and cared for; the rooms are lovely, comfortable, and modern. A little earlier in the season we’d have been able to take better advantage of the friendly garden, not to mention the ice cream.
That night we ate a great meal at the Stillwater Inn – my fish and chips were outstanding, and so was Joyce’s sandwich on a hard roll. The place is clearly popular, packed with a nice friendly family clamor on Friday night. Breakfast was included with our room. Many places make the same offer, which often consists of a box of donut holes and a jug of Sunny D. Breakfast at Oramel Inn takes place in the restaurant/ice cream stand, private in the morning except for guests. You order off the menu, then it’s prepared to order and served at your table. We had French toast.
A short drive took us to Angelica where we strolled the sidewalks of Main Street to the crunching accompaniment of fallen leaves. Along the way we took in some antique shops, notably Delectable Collectables in the old garage, where I bought two old Catholic-school comic books and one on the history of rubber (honest), all of which need to be entered into the Grand Comics Database.
For lunch I had an egg and olive sandwich at the sunny Black-Eyed Susan Cafe, with its old safe still built into the dining room, while Joyce had a three-cheddar grilled cheese with tomato – all great. After that we finally headed home. Despite the surprise expressed by some of our friends, we had a great time.

Here’s some more cool stuff about Allegany County.

*Allegany is home to Houghton College, Alfred University, and Alfred State (SUNY College of Technology). That’s more institutions of higher learning than any of Steuben, Chemung, Schuyler, Yates, or Ontario Counties.
*Angelica’s Park Circle is home to five church buildings and the municipal hall.
*Allegany has 17 libraries… as many as Steuben, which has greater area and more population.
*Cuba Cheese Shop.
*Wilson Beef Farm in Canaseraga.
*Cartwright’s Maple Tree Inn – the same family tapping the trees for 160 years.
*The Finger Lakes Trail, which treks across much of the northern half of the county. I’ve been enjoying myself lately in the Bully Hill State Forest area.
*Oak Duke, outdoor writer and well worth reading.
*Craig Braack, Allegany County Historian… great speaker and unfailingly helpful.
*The late Carroll Burdick, who loved crafting miniature working carousels, many of them still whirling happily throughout our region. Keep your eye peeled… you’ll be glad you did.