Tag Archives: Naples

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!

On to Ontario!

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One of the great mysteries of western New York is: why doesn’t Ontario County touch Lake Ontario?

*Well, the answer is that once upon a time it did. When Ontario was created, back in 1789, it included all or part of 11 modern counties.

*What’s left has a special place in my heart, as we lived in Ontario for the first two years of our residence in New York state, in “The Bloomfields.” In 1939 my father-in-law and his cousin drove down Routes 5 and 20 on their way from Vermont to Oklahoma, hoping vainly to get work in the oil fields. At every stop they made, a knot of men huddled around the radio, listening to news of Hitler’s invasion of Poland. Little did he think that six decades later he would have a daughter, a son-in-law, and two grandsons living along that route.

*“Five-and-twenty,” which is a single road, was our first road west, following the “natural corridor” route later exploited by the Erie Canal, the New York Central Railroad, and the New York State Thruway. Our son Josh and I first drove this from west to east, heading from Lima back to Vermont. As we approached Canandaigua we gaped to see a golden dome resplendent in the sun and topped by a statue. “Is that some Mormon thing?” we asked. It’s the county courthouse, of course, but a gold star to my eighth-grade son, with no background in Mormonism or in western New York, for knowing that Ontario County is the birthplace of that religion.

*There are several Mormon historic sites in the county, not to mention the spectacular Hill Cumorah Festival, a gigantic sound-and-light-and-stage show scripted, in its latest incarnation, by science-fiction great Orson Scott Card. We’ve been – it’s impressive.

*While counties such as Yates, Chemung, Schuyler and Monroe each have a community that by virtue of its population forms the definite hub of its region, Ontario has two cities – Geneva and Canandaigua – nearly equal in size. Each lies at the foot (or north end) of a major Finger Lake… Seneca and Canandaigua, respectively. Two smaller Finger Lakes, Canadice and Honeoye, are completely within Ontario County, which also boasts the east shore of Hemlock Lake.

*Ontario is home to Boy Scout Camp Dittmer, and also to the New York State Pageant of Steam. Just as I’ve been to Hill Cumorah Festival at least once, I’ve also been to the Steam Pageant at least once. You don’t have to be especially interested, and you certainly don’t need to be an expert, to be overwhelmed. It’s really a terrific experience.

*Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion I’ve been to MANY more times than once or twice. I love to wander the grounds and weave through the greenhouses, while in the great entrance hall I expect Theodore Roosevelt or Frederick Remington to stride in any minute. Ontario County Fair could be bottled for essence of American county fair.

*Naples, with its lovely mile-long Main Street, lies in Ontario County – the ride from Naples to Canandaigua is a ride through vineyard country, often overlooking Canandaigua Lake. Pause in Cheshire, and check out The Company Store and Cheshire Union Gifts & Antique Center.

*Canandaigua’s Main Street is a good place to shop and stroll. It has an embroidery store (Expressions in Needlearts) AND a comic book store (Pulp Nouveau)… the perfect recipe for domestic harmony. I once saw a coyote on Main Street, and last week a Cooper’s Hawk. Sunken gardens set into the sidewalks add green space and process storm water.

*I know good libraries in Geneva, Bloomfield, and Canandaigua, and shoppers love Eastview Mall in Victor. Skiers like Bristol Mountain Ski Resort, while LeTourneau Christian Center camp and retreat center is washed by Canandaigua’s eastern waters. Roseland Waterpark is a popular attraction, borrowing its name from a well-remembered but long-gone amusement park. Those who like the ponies visit Finger Lakes Racetrack in Farmington. Ontario County Historical Society has a museum worth visiting, as does Geneva Historical Society.

*Canandaigua is home to Finger Lakes Community College, and to the open-air Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center, where we’ve seen Garrison Keillor, and also Peter, Paul, and Mary. The 1894 Smith Opera House in Geneva makes a lovely baroque setting for performances.

*Last week I was at the Jumpoff Point, a cliff with a dramatic view in Ontario County Park, when a cyclist appeared, looked around, and proclaimed it well worth his trip. This spot also marks the northern terminus of the rugged 55-mile Bristol Hills Trail, which I found a hard slog but a joy to hike.

*If you’re reading this in the main “Leader” coverage area, it may remind you of lots of places you plan to get around to visiting, but which are just far enough away that you never quite get there. My advice is to pick a date, pick a destination, grit your teeth, and go. I’ll be very surprised if you decide that you’d rather have puttered at home.

“Going to Church”

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Our area benefits a lot from tourism, and tourism is… whatever somebody wants to see or do. Railfans will bushwhack through the brush for half an hour to get to the place where the tracks USED to be, and consider it the best morning they’ve ever spent. Genealogists haunt the cemeteries. Some people enjoy wine tastings, though many others find that the most bizarre waste of time they could imagine. And golf is something you get, or you don’t get; there’s no middle ground.

Both tourists and local folks (not just here, but anywhere) often miss the thought of churches as places of interest. They have historical, social, architectural, religious, spiritual, and ecclesiastical significance, and they’re not usually hard to find. “Where there is a church there is civilization,” in the words of Lord Peer Wimsey. Our region has quite a few interesting edifices for churches and places of worship.

The FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH in Bath is a standout by any standard. Its late 19th-century incarnation was largely funded by the Davenport family, entrepreneurs and benefactors of fame in the county seat. The massive stone edifice rises dramatically on the courthouse square, right on the axis of Liberty Street.

Visitors come literally from around the world to view the sumptuous sanctuary, magnificently designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The church hosts drop-in tours on Wednesdays following the Fourth of July and through August, and by appointment.

ST. THOMAS EPISCOPAL CHURCH, farther up Liberty Street, is a fitting counterpoint to First Presbyterian. Also a massive stone structure, with a sky-piercing spire, the St. Thomas edifice is the oldest in Bath village. The congregation is now celebrating its bicentennial.

The EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, by contrast to these breathtaking edifices, is a lovely century-old cobblestone creation, with craftsman-style touches, tucked quietly away on a side street in Savona. GARRETT MEMORIAL CHAPEL, meanwhile, is a jewelbox Norman Gothic style church on Keuka Bluff, with services on summer Sundays. The winemaking Garrett family built it in memory of a son who died young.

TEMPLE BETH-EL, an impressive understated structure on Church Street in Hornell, is interesting as home to the only formal Jewish congregation in Steuben County.

If you go looking for HARRISBURG HOLLOW METHODIST CHURCH outside Bath, you won’t find it. What you WILL find is the steeple – JUST the steeple – standing there for all the world like the lamppost in Narnia.

TOWN LINE CHURCH in Rathbone is interesting (to me, it’s also familiar), because it follows the old New England pattern of two front doors leading to two side aisles, rather than the more common central door and a central aisle.

Reverend Thomas K. Beecher (brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe) ministered at PARK CHURCH in Elmira, where a statue honors his memory. During his time here he led the church in creating a large up-to-date facility with banquet hall, social rooms, play space, and library – the forerunner of the modern mega-church.

George Pullman (the sleeper-car millionaire) underwrote PULLMAN MEMORIAL UNIVERSALIST CHURCH of Albion in honor of his father. It was built with local Medina sandstone and includes 56 (!) Tiffany windows.

ST. JANUARIUS CATHOLIC CHURCH in Naples has a remarkable 1966 edifice that delightfully complements its vineyard setting. It also features a chalet roof, and its floor plan represents a grape leaf. This is a fine example of modern church architecture, at once thoughtful and innovative. It draws from, adds to, and fits into its surroundings.

And, of course, you should see ST. GABRIEL’S CHURCH in Hammondsport – just because it’s the coolest Catholic Church in the coolest small town in America!

A Decent Drive

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We took a ride on Veterans Day. We had a destination, and some business to do, but it was a beautiful warm sunny day, maybe the last gasp of fall before winter creeps in, and so it was a pleasure drive as well. We drove from Bath to Canandaigua, along what some have called “the road to the grapes and the pies.”
We could have gone along Route 415 out to Kanona, and then north on 53. But we elected the more direct course, along County Route 13, or Mitchellsville Road. This takes you out of Bath proper through three-generational Bluegill Farms, with its small apple orchard, small fock of sheep and some cattle, amongst extensive planted fields. It’s like someone drew a line with a ruler as you pass from the built-up village to farm country. Deer pass in and out pretty frequently (one bumped into Joyce’s car one evening, with no damage to either). Coyotes howl at night, and the occasional bear lumbers through.
The harvested fields are a magnet for flocks of geese and gulls, especially at this time of year. A little quieter just now is Hickory Hill Camping Resort, which just a few weeks ago was humming with dozens of RVs and campers, not to mention the cabins, pools, pond, and miniature golf. A spur trail here climbs straight up the slope to join the Finger Lakes Trail along the ridge.
We cross the FLT main trail just before reaching the hamlet of Mitchellsville with its little cemetery and its Methodist church. We’re now in well-wooded Wheeler, and we pass several ponds that are well-loved haunts of muskrats and waterfowl before crossing the Bristol Hills Branch of the FLT. When we come out at State Route 53, where we’re back in farm country.
Since we’re turning north here we just miss the hamlet of Wheeler with its Methodist church, Grange rooms, town hall, and monument to Marcus Whitman. A hundred years ago and more Wheeler was tobacco country, and if you look sharp you may spot an old tobacco barn set back from the road.
As we cruise on northward along a pretty nice road we pass the Wheeler family cemetery, where town namesake Silas Wheeler, a Revolutionary War soldier, lies buried with his kin. Passing farm after farm we keep a sharp lookout, for we are now in horse-and-buggy country. Conservative Anabaptists have been taking up the hill farms that modern folks find uncompetitive, building up Wheeler’s population and economy.
Driving toward Prattsburgh we pass an egg farm and an octagon house (popularized by Orson Squire Fowler of Cohocton) before reaching the village itself, with its pioneer cemetery and its fine tree-lined square, long the scene of parades, footraces, and all sorts of community celebrations.
Captain Pratt was another veteran of the Revolution, and the square in his namesake village is now lined with churches, businesses, the library, the post office, and the school. Franklin Academy is a venerable institution. It goes back to the early 1800s – in the same spot on the square, I believe, though not in the same building of course. Franklin boys marched off to the Civil War in huge numbers, and to the big wars of the 20th century. Narcissa Prentiss Whitman was an alumna, and her nearby home is now open to the public.
Leaving the village we climb an impressive hill, and as we reach the top Joyce reminisces about how she and our older son drove through here in November 1995, just before we moved to Bath from Bloomfield. They almost turned back at this point, but pushed on, and we hadn’t lived in the area very long before we learned that the top of this hill is often the site for mini-snow squalls and mini-rain storms, sort of like I-86 around Campbell. Both stretches have their own microclimates.
Now we’re back in the woods, and hilly woods at that, on a winding road. There’s a bit of a flat at Ingleside, a little hamlet that few people know about, and fewer still realize lies in Steuben County. On our way back, when the sun’s in a better position, I’ll photograph the still-active church for Historical Society files.
Right around the county line we meet another line, this time of wind turbines. Most of us locally seem to take these in stride, but when I guide out-of-state bus tours through this stretch I find that they’re always fascinated by the huge turning blades. Of course you need the right blend of topography, population pattern, wind direction, wind speed, and wind consistency to make wind farming work, so it makes sense that many people won’t have first-hand experience with it.
Then down another steep hill and… Naples, with its mile-long Main Street, where we once again cross the Bristol Hills Trail. Naples with its summer theater, lovely homes, busy restaurants, surrounding ridges, and striking Catholic church. Naples with its vineyard and winery right in the middle of town and its high school right on Main Street; I always expect to see Archie, Betty, and Veronica out front.
Past Naples (now on State 21) we just clip a corner of Yates County before arriving at Woodville, and the head of Canandaigua Lake. The road winds, the bare-rock cliff looms on the left, and the hamlet clings to the bank of the lake on the right. Like all of our lakes it’s a beautiful sight, but we soon turn away until reaching Bristol Springs. Here again Route 21 parallels the lake, but now we’re high on the overlooking ridge, and we get only glimpses of it. Sad to say, there are very few places to pull off and enjoy the view.
Cheshire is a busy little hamlet, where a former school is home to a country store from whose sign a Cheshire cat grins down on us. A few farms line the route now, but before long it’s suburban stretches, and then at last, Canandaigua. Definitely, a decent drive.