Half-Shire historical Society
November 18, 2011
The Society hosted a successful pancake breakfast on Saturday November 13, from 8-11 a.m. Our next event will be the free concert featuring the Salmon River Boys on Sunday November 20, 2011 from 1-4 p.m. All are welcome to attend this event which is funded through a grant from CNY Cultural Resource Council, NYS Arts Decentralization grant program. Soup and chili will be offered as well as free coffee, tea and lemonade. Come join us to hear some great traditional music by the renowned Salmon River Boys!
On Wednesday November 10, the Pulaski Retired teachers and School workers organization held their luncheon at Half-Shire. A very interesting presentation by Jan Tighe about her summer spent teaching in Hungary was given after the lunch. Some light genealogy research was done for those present by President Doyle and Erma Schroeder. Those in attendance were also given a tour of the building and a brief presentation by Half-Shire staff.
Sharon Turu, our Librarian continues to reorganize and better label the research wall. She has changed out over one hundred notebooks “right sizing” things and also color coding them. Our members who have been using the research area have remarked on the ease of finding things now. Lloyd and Celia Potter of Orwell have been assisting Sharon with re-binding items and bringing them back each week. Others such as Erma Schroeder and Nancy Smith also have continued to assist in these efforts. Work at the building in Richland will continue until mid-December when we close for the winter months.
Work continues on the 2012 calendar as well as the next newsletter. We expect to have both done by month’s end. We are gratified by the returns we have received on our solicitation for monies for the handicapped access project. Erma Schroeder, Phil Rombach and Shawn Doyle met with a representative of Victory Lifts in early November to get detailed cost estimates for the project. All monies received through December will be matched up to $7,000 by the John Ben Snow Foundation. Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 73, Richland, NY 13144 in care of Half-Shire. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law, and receipts can be issued by our Treasurer.
Half-Shire can be contacted at the above address, or on the web at halfshire.com or halfshire@hotmail.com check out our facebook at halfshire. We have a phone now, 298-2986 and wireless internet on site. We are open normally Wednesday through Saturday from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Half-Shire Historical
Society
December 10, 2010
The November 27,
meeting at the Barclay
Court House was only
attended by a core group
of five people. Snow
that morning, along with
failure of the column to
appear in the Pulaski
papers contributed to
the number. A lunch
of baked ziti and salad
was enjoyed, and some
planning for 2011 was
accomplished.
Many of us were
saddened to hear of the
passing on Sunday
December 5, of Dora
Traphagan of Pulaski.
Dora was a quiet
institution in our
community; she was for
many years the head of
the cafeteria at the
Lura Sharp School .
Dora was also very
involved in the Pulaski
Grange for many years,
and oversaw the orderly
closure of the
institution. The night
before she passed away
in her sleep Dora spent
time laughing and
reminiscing with
neighbor Maggie Seeley
who stopped by to help
her hem some slacks in
preparation for a senior
citizen trip. Dora had
recently given many old
yearbooks to our library
collection, and was a
good friend; our
condolences go out to
the family members.
Member Virginia
Loomis of Syracuse
passed away on December
2, after a brief
illness. Virginia was
an occasional visitor of
our lunch programs,
accompanying her brother
Willard Loomis. She was
a kind and intelligent
lady, and a treasure to
her close knit family
whose origins were in
Kasoag and
Williamstown. Our
sincere condolences are
extended to Willard and
Lynne and their
children.
Member Dee Dee
Barclay has been
continuing her valuable
transcription of the
Douglas family
diaries. It is
fascinating to read
about some of the day to
day events on the old
farm and in the Port
Ontario community.
The Barclay family have
made copies of many of
the transcriptions to
both Pulaski historical
and Half-Shire.
During the winter
months Half-Shire will
be working out of the
Richland Historians
office in the Barclay
Court House. Friday
afternoon hours will be
conducted as often as
possible, with weather a
consideration for
volunteers.
Researchers looking for
family files should call
ahead so we can bring
materials down from
Half-Shire on various
files.
Half-Shire can be
reached at P.O. 73,
Richland , NY 13144 or
on the web at
www.halfshire.com,
halfshire@hotmail.com
November 15, 2010
The
Half-Shire
newsletter
that
went out
this
week is
long
overdue.
The
feature
news
items
cover
the
summer
through
holiday
events
at the
society.
Because
it has
been so
many
months
we had
the sad
duty to
report
over 24
deaths
of
members
or
friends
of the
society.
As we
went to
print we
received
the news
of the
deaths
of Alice
Campbell
Gasperini,
Julia
Gawronski
and out
secretary
and
founder
George
O.
Widrig.
Fuller
mention
of these
former
members
will be
made in
the next
issue.
The
next
issue is
already
being
laid
out,
with
material
already
on hand
and a
general
outline.
The
cover
story of
this
upcoming
newsletter
will
feature
an
article
on
George
and his
life and
contributions
to the
region.
George
O.
Widrig
was born
in May
1931 the
son of
James
and Avis
(Donovan)
Widrig.
His
father
was a
railroad
engineer
headquartered
in the
bustling
railroad
intersection
of
Richland
.
George
grew up
and
spent
his life
in the
Richland
, he
knew
everyone
by name
in the
community
throughout
his
nearly
80
years,
and he
knew
their
lineage
also.
He was
educate
din
Richland
School ,
a
graduate
of the
Pulaski
Academy
and
Central
School
in 1948,
and he
later
went on
to take
his
degree
in Art
Education
at
Oswego
State .
George
taught a
number
of years
in
Mexico
school.
Health
issues
periodically
troubled
him
through
his
life,
and he
retired
at a
younger
age and
devoted
himself
to his
research,
painting,
music
and
gardening.
For many
years
George
also
took
care of
his
mother
Avis.
Avis and
George,
along
with
Avis’
cousin
Floyd
Kent and
his
daughter
Marie
and two
others
had
talked
throughout
1972
about
forming
a
historical
society
on this
end of
the
county.
On
November
15,
the six
met at
the home
of Floyd
and
Marie
and by
nights’
end
Half-Shire
Historical
Society
had been
born.
Our
group
was
founded
as a
sort of
“secessionist
movement”,
the
charter
members
all felt
that the
Oswego
County
Historical
Society
had not
represented
the east
end for
some
time.
Like the
earlier
secessionists
of 1847
and 1852
who
sought
to split
the
county,
the
Half-Shire
founders
wanted
to form
an
eastern
historical
society
that
would
better
reflect
the
rural
heritage
that
differs
substantially
from the
Oswego
River
valley.
Nearly
40 years
later,
George
was one
of two
living,
and the
last of
the
founders
to be
actively
engaged
in our
day to
day
affairs.
Serving
as
Secretary,
and for
the past
year
employed
by the
society
through
Experience
Works,
George
got the
mail
daily,
sorted
it and
sent it
off to
either
myself
or the
Treasurer,
he
worked
at the
Court
house
during
winter
months
answering
correspondence,
developing
research
notebooks
and
pasting
up
obituaries.
Even in
his last
months
when he
was in
steep
decline,
George
continued
to take
care of
the mail
and help
with
research.
In
his
capacity
as
society
secretary
George
particularly
excelled.
His near
daily
notes of
thanks,
and
letters
to
researchers
were
done in
a true
nineteenth
century
manner,
with
class
and
efficiency.
In
the
weeks
following
is
death,
we have
broken
George’s
duties
up and
awarded
them to
five
people.
Erin
Bacon
was
appointed
the new
Deputy
historian
for
Richland
Town ,
and will
be
working
in
George’s
editing
chair,
reviewing
all
periodicals.
Erma
Schroeder
will be
taking
over the
obituary
collection
and its
upkeep,
Paula
Sachel
has
taken
over
George’s
Experience
works
job and
works
from the
court
house
for the
time
being,
Fay Ann
Yerdon
Colvin
is
targeted
to fill
in as
Recording
Secretary
for
meetings
while
Nancy
Smith
has
agreed
to
become
corresponding
Secretary
to
handle
the mail
and send
out
notes.
This
writer,
who has
served
and
worked
alongside
George
almost
daily
since
1994 is
at a
true
loss,
George
was
always a
phone
call
away
with a
research
problem,
and his
knowledge
of
Richland
history
was
unsurpassed.
I have
lost a
very
close
friend
and
fellow
historian,
whom I
will
miss
greatly
for a
long
time.
The
Society
met last
on April
24th and
served
over 35
meals.
We
selected
a bid
for
masonry
work to
the back
of the
building,
including
the
covering
of long
ago
windows
in the
back.
Reports
were
given
from
committees
and the
town
representatives,
and the
next
meeting
was
scheduled
for
Saturday
May 22,
at the
Richland
headquarters
at
1pm
following
a noon
meal.
All are
welcome.
In
other
news,
Half-Shire
is
pleased
tot
learn we
have
been
approved
as an
AmeriCorps
work
site.
We
should
learn in
the next
few
weeks
who our
summer
intern
will
be.
Interviews
were
started
on April
30,
Half-Shire
can be
reached
at P.O.
73,
1100
County
Rte. 48
in
Richland
, NY
13144
. Our
email is
halfshire@hotmail.com
and out
website
is at
www.halfshire.com
The Silent Auction and sale
of the works of the late
George Widrig was held
Saturday November 6th
at the Richland
headquarters. The event
was attended by over 50
people and was a great
success. We had a lot of
laughs over a few of the
items and the various bid
competitors as they engaged
in friendly competition.
Thanks to Erma Schroeder and
Kathy Watson for again
staffing the kitchen to meet
our hospitality needs. Ian
Lowery, a senior at
Pulaski High School
also assisted in preparation
and through the evening.
On Friday November 12,
the society hosted a private
retirement party for
David Petrie of
Camden . Over 100
people enjoyed a meal and
entertainment by “Still
Kickin” an acclaimed country
band in our region.
Society members Richard
Telian, Margaret Sullivan,
Celia Potter,
Mark Wallace and
others were key in putting
this event together. This
was our last event to be
held in Richland for the
season, and soon the
building will be closed up
for three months.
On Sunday November 14,
our neighbor Alaina Bacon
(age 7) came over to assist
us in the planting of over
1,000 tulip and
daffodil bulbs, along
with a few hyacinths. All
of these bulbs were removed
this past spring after five
years of sustained growth.
They were separated and
replanted
on Sunday in freshly
fertilized soil. Alaina is
a very efficient and careful
young gardener and was
completely up to the task.
Alaina’s older sister Erin
is a member and our summer
2010 AmeriCorps worker, now
away at graduate school at
Notre Dame in
Indiana .
On Saturday November 12
we had some visitors in from
Montana researching
some early Richland
families, principally the
Walworth family who were
early settlers along the
lake. The couple had
obtained records from the
town Clerk in
Richland and was
looking for more information
in the local cemeteries.
We had only a few extra
pages of information to
offer them and would welcome
more information on the
Walworth family if anyone
has some.
The new book on
Williamstown Veterans
is now available. This book
covers the period from the
Vietnam War to
present, and is available
for $40 plus postage. We
are expecting to receive a
consignment of them soon at
Half-Shire. The book is as
always well researched by
the team that includes Anne
LaDuke, Roberta
Cleveland, Glenna
Gorski, Florence Gardner and
Willard Loomis.
Half-Shire can be
reached at P.O. Box 73 ,
1100 County Rt. 48, Richland
, NY 13144 or on the
web at
www.halfshire.com
or
halfshire@hotmail.com
Half-Shire Historical
Society
March 26, 2010
The society will resume
monthly meetings beginning
on Saturday March 27.
A lunch of beef stroganoff
and ziti served at noon will
be followed by a business
meeting at
1pm.
We have a busy year ahead of
us, and it is hoped that a
good turnout will be present
to help plan things.
We have learned of the
death of several members
over the past few weeks.
John “JJ”DeSantis of
Redfield, Nick Warchol of
Osceola , Alberta Pretory of
Orwell and Edward Roche of
Ohio . Our sincere
sympathies are extended to
the families.
Our winter hours at
the Barclay
Court House in
Pulaski are soon winding
down. Thanks to Erma
Schroeder for her many hours
each Friday meeting
with people and working on
projects from the Richland
historian’s
second floor office
there. Our Snow scholar
Colin Wansink has been
working through the season
on scanning photos from the
Pulaski
Masonic Temple .
Colin’s project will be
wrapping up today and the
reproduced photos along with
companion biographies of the
100 members who were
photographed during the
1891opening of the current
building will be shared with
the Masons and
Pulaski Historical Society.
A new computer was
purchased and donated the
society in January. The
computer will be kept
primarily at the Court House
and used for scanning
projects. The need for a
new computer has been part
of the delay in our
quarterly newsletter which
is now several months
behind.
Society President
Shawn Doyle and
Trustee Charlene Cole
participated in a
Historians’ roundtable on
Saturday March 20, in
DeWitt. The event was
organized by the
Central New York
Genealogical Society
which is presided over by
our Vice President Greg
Monette.
Half-Shire can be
contacted at
halfshire@hotmail.com
or P.O. 73, Richland , NY
13144
Dear
Friends and Trustees of
Half-Shire,
The first meeting of the
year will be
Saturday March 27,
at the hall in Richland. We
anticipate to serve a beef
Stroganoff dinner with garlic
bread and tossed salad. A Pan
of ziti will also be on the
side.
This has been a mild winter,
and the building came through
well with no leaks or issues.
We do hope to continue the work
in completing the Snow room
cosmetics in 2010 and also do
some cosmetic work in the main
hall likely between April and
May meetings when it is
warmer. The meeting schedule
for the year will be as follows,
following along the last
Saturday of every month with a
couple exceptions:
April 24
May 22 (an exception due to
holiday wkd)
June 19 (fair set
up at Fairgrounds)
July 31
Aug 28
Sept 25
Oct 30
Nov 27---Pulaski
Court House,
Concert
All meetings will be at the
Richland facility unless
otherwise stated
November 24, 2009
Half-Shire Historical Society
will be hosting our annual
Christmas Harp recital at the H.
Douglas Barclay Courthouse
on Saturday December 5, 2009
from 1-3 pm
Kelsey Munz, an accomplished
harpist from Osceola New York
will play a selection of
Christmas music for this
free concert. This years event
will be held in memory of the
late Pearl Flagg Bontomaise, a
member of the society who
recently passed away.
Refreshments will be served.
Contact
Shawn Doyle at 298-3620
for more information
There will be a short meeting of
the society at noon in the Court
room prior to the event.
Half-Shire
Historical Society News
June 19, 2009
(Photo--inside
of St. Mary's of Mt. Carmel,
Florence, NY courtesy of the St.
Mary's committee)
On Saturday June 13, a
handful of historians met at the
Oswego County Fairgrounds to set
up exhibits and discuss the
upcoming fair. Representatives
from
Mexico , Volney, New
Haven , Sandy Creek , Pulaski,
and Richland joined Half-Shire
members to review plans for the
5-day annual event which begins
on the evening of
June 30.
This year
Shawn Doyle and Greg
Monette of Half-Shire will be
Superintending
Heritage Hall, and will
be joined by representatives
from most of the communities in
Oswego County . The building is
expected to be quite full, and
diverse. Among the available
categories for entry are the
three separate scarecrow
contests (best-dressed, unique
and scariest) with prizes
ranging from $3-$10 along with
ribbons. On behalf of the
Oswego County Genealogical
Society Doyle and
Monette are also
organizing the 2nd
annual family photo
wall. This unique exhibit will
cover wall space of 20’ by 15’
and will be situated in what is
known as the red sitting room.
Interested people who have a
framed antique photo of
ancestors past are encouraged to
bring them to Heritage Hall
before the fair for inclusion.
Prizes for best photo will also
be awarded, entry deadline is
June 28, Contact Shawn Doyle at
298-3620 or
SPDinPUL@hotmail.com
to save a space.
Renown youth harpist Kelsey
Munz of Osceola is planning to
perform on a yet to be
determined date in Heritage
hall, our own Florence Gardner
of Albion is also expected to
play patriotic anthems
on July 4, on her
keyboard. Spinning, chair
caning, weaving, tatting and
crochet work will also be
demonstrated by very capable
experts. At 10am and
7pm daily historians will
conduct “roundtable discussions”
on topics of interest. Coffee
and iced tea will be available
as well as very comfortable
furniture to relax in while
taking a break in the hall.
In other news: more
fantastic photos have arrived
via email from the St. Mary’s of
Mt. Carmel restoration project.
The inside of the church has
been completely painted and the
images are astounding! A light
“Irish Green” was selected for
the walls, accented by both a
darker green trim and a crisp
New England white
ceiling. We eagerly await an
opportunity to visit this
historic Irish landmark in the
hamlet of
Florence .
Our second week at the
Pulaski Farmers’ Market proved
both profitable and busy. A
small exhibit on Half-Shire
region railroads prepared by
Glenna Gorski in 2006 was
displayed. Many interested
people took time to thumb
through the large notebook as
well as study the detailed map
prepared by Dick and Glenna.
On Friday the 19th
some of our recently completed
scrapbooks from the
digitalization project will be
on display (weather permitting),
On June 26th we will
have some select yearbooks from
Pulaski and Sandy Creek
out for review in the park as we
mark “Alumni weekend”. The
Pulaski market has musical
entertainment lined up each
weekend all summer long---and
best of all its free to attend!
The Maplelawn Cemetery of
Dugway is preparing to construct
a new drop-chain style fence
along the front of its property
line. Bill Sheeley, Tom Burke
and Ed Bennett have been marking
the site out in preparation.
Thanks go out to New York State
Engineer Jamie Tompkins of
Redfield who took time on his
way into work on June 10, to
meet with the fence committee to
review the right of way rules.
Maplelawn cemetery has many old
pioneers at rest in its grounds,
and their locations are
additionally backed up by a
detailed map on the wall of the
vault painstakingly prepared a
few years back by former Trustee
Jack Steinfeld. This map is
critical to genealogists, and
lists unmarked graves as well as
the marked locations. The
recent work at Maplelawn is able
to be undertaken thanks to a
generous legacy left by the late
Barb Walter of Dugway.
Half-Shire Vice President
Greg Monette has recently
updated the county-wide data
base on
War of 1812 veterans.
This first of its kind database
is being edited and will appear
on the Oswego County tourism
website soon. New information
has doubled the number of men we
have been able to prove as
veterans of the forgotten
“second war of American
Independence”. The front line
for our region was
Lake Ontario where the
British
North American capital
was located in
Kingston Ontario .
George Widrig is working on a
good-sized display that will
incorporate Monette’s work as
well as a detailed map of the
region in 1813. This display
will be at the Oswego County
Fair and other venues throughout
the year.
On June 9, Lorraine Twp.
Historian Arlene Moore and her
son Tom visited Half-Shire and
donated a tremendously valuable
collection of family photos that
relate to our region. George
Widrig and Erma Schroeder spent
time finding information for the
Moores and had a delightful
morning. Arlene edited a book
on Lorraine written by her late
husband that we still have
available for sale. “The
Huddle” is a detailed account of
the history of Lorraine and well
worth the price of $20.
Half-Shire’s Richland
research facility is open four
days a week—Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday 9-1pm and
Fridays 9-4 pm. We are
also pleased to schedule any
other appointments. Our faculty
is located in the former
Richland hamlet school, 1100
County Rte. 48, Richland , ( PO
73) or on the web at
www.halfshire.com.
halfshire@hotmail.com
Half-Shire Historical Society
December19, 200
The annual Christmas harp
recital at the
H. Douglas Barclay Court House
in
Pulaski featuring Osceola’s
Kelsey Munz was rescheduled from
December 7th
to the 14th due to
weather. Seventeen people
enjoyed the program on the 14th
that varied from Christmas
favorites to Patriotic music.
Kelsey had set the program up to
honor World War II era veterans
and families for the 7th,
and explained the period
significance of each song.
The program began with all
standing and singing the Star
Spangled Banner, and ended with
God Bless America . A
set of five religious carols was
also played with audience
accompaniment. This was a very
nice concert enjoyed by all, and
like last year there were many
remarks about how suited the
historic court room is to harp
music. One young couple
present asked Kelsey to play at
their wedding next year.
The Half-Shire weekly hours
continue each Friday at the
Court House office of the
Richland Historian.
Last week a Richard Cooper spent
considerable time with us
examining his family tree.
Richard is a fifth
great-grandson of two area
revolutionary War vets, Simeon
Trumbull and James Campbell. We
are indebted to Millie Reid for
working with us last week over
the phone to tie in some missing
links on
Coopers Campbell family
line. Marie Parsons also worked
with us from
Florida via the internet.
Completion of the 2009
calendar has been a top
priority. It is expected to be
done by
Christmas and can be
delivered by
Shawn Doyle within the
area by placing a call. The
13-month calendar features
bridges of the Half-Shire region
and is available for $7 in
person or $9 by mail. The
Half-Shire newsletter is running
very late, and is nearly ready
to go out with raffle tickets
that are due by February.
Over a week ago we learned
of the sudden passing of
longtime member and friend
Pauline “Polly” Carner from
Boylston. Polly was the mother
of trustee Rita Rombach and
member Patricia Eberle of
Camillus. Born October 2, 1917
in
Clayton , NY the daughter
of George & Laura (Elliot)
Plato, she had lived in
Boylston over 50 years. Polly
was a delightful woman, who
attended most all of our
meetings, and during research
days could be found quietly
crocheting in the sitting
area. Our sincere condolences
go out to her family.
We have just received a new
shipment of Richland Cemetery
volume II books from Julie Litts
Robst. This book is the volume
that details South Richland
Cemetery internments.
Obituaries are included for most
all people, which in itself was
an amazing feat. The nearly 400
page book sells fro $40 or $3 by
mail and is still a bargain for
its content.
Half-Shire can be reached
at P.O. 73, Richland , NY 13144
. Our web site is found at
www.halfshire.com.
Our winter quarters are
located at the
H. Barclay Court House in
Pulaski where we keep hours in
the 2nd floor annex
from 12-4pm on Fridays.
Photos---Kelsey Munz at her harp
and a view of the audience.
