Festival of Grapes 091312

FestivalGrapesof

45TH YEAR CE LEB RAT ION

Schedule of EventsPage 2

The History of Festival of GrapesPage 3

2012 Pageant WinnersPage 5

The History of Silver CreekPage 6

PREVIEWS FOR THISEDITION:

September 13, 2012 Edition – Festival of Grapes – C | www.StarNewsDaily.com • 366.9200 (Dunkirk/Fredonia) • 338.0030 (Jamestown)2

Th e Festival of Grapes kicks off its opening ceremonies on Th ursday, September 13, at 6 p.m. in the village park near the gazebo. Th e annual grape stomping follows the ceremonies. On Friday, September 14, the festival begins at noon and continues until dusk. On Saturday, it resumes at 9 a.m. and concludes on Sunday with the parade sched-uled at 1 p.m. Arts and craft s, rides and concessions, and other events including wine tasting, a farmer’s market, amateur wine making and grape dessert contest will be happening throughout the festival weekend. Information and festival souvenir merchandise will be available at festival headquarters, located at the former Penny Saver building.

Thursday, Sept. 13Anderson-Lee Library Book Sale10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Opening Ceremony6 p.m. (Gazebo)

Invocation by Pas-tor Robert Sheldon of the First Baptist Church

Meet the Board Mem-bers and Royal Court Pageant Winners

Baby Contest Winners

Pentathlon Winners

Grape Grower of the Year

Grand Parade Marshall

High School T-Shirt Design Winners

Grape Pie Sale at the First United Church(until sold out)Grape Stomping7 p.m. (Sponsored by Welch’s Grape Juice)

Entertainment: Left of CenterAll Evening (acoustic band)

Friday, Sept. 14Anderson-Lee Library Book Sale10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Arts and Crafts12 p.m.-Dusk

Farmer’s Market12-5 p.m.

Wine Tasting Tent at the tennis court4-8 p.m.

Amusement Rides and Concessions5 p.m.

Wine/Beer Tent5 p.m.

Grape Pie Sale6 p.m.

United Angels Lunch/Dinner6 p.m.

Fireman’s Hose Race (Jackson St.)6 p.m.

Entertainment: Widow Maker6-9 p.m. (Gazebo)

Entertainment: Black Widow7:30-11 p.m.

Wine/Beer Tent$5 Cover

Saturday, Sept. 15Arts and Crafts9 a.m.-Dusk

Masonic Child ID9 a.m.-5 p.m. (Gazebo)

Farmer’s Market9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Anderson-Lee Library Book Sale10 a.m.-2 p.m.Bucket of Junk Art Contest10 a.m. Children’s Events and Free Grape Stomp11 a.m. First Baptist ChurchGrape Dessert En-tries (submit by)11 a.m. Fireman’s Club

Amateur Wine Entries (submit by)11 a.m. Fireman’s ClubUnited Angels Youth Luncheon11 a.m.Grape Pie Sale11 a.m. (until sold out)Taste of Hanover12-5 p.m. tennis courtWine and Beer Tent12 p.m.Rides and Conces-sions1-11 p.m.Crino’s Martial Arts Academy & Karate Connection Demon-stration1-2 p.m. (Gazebo)

Hula Hoop Contest (open to all ages)2 p.m. (bring your hoop)Wine Tasting Tent (tennis court)11 a.m.-8 p.m.Entertainment: Terry Buchwald as Elvis6-9 p.m. (Gazebo)Entertainment: Caltrain7:30-11:00 p.m.Wine/Beer Tent $5 Cover

Sunday, Sept. 16Arts and Crafts9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Farmer’s Market9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Rides and Concessions1-5 p.m.

Wine/Beer Tent12 p.m.

VFW Chicken Barbecue12 p.m. (until sold out)

Wine Tasting Tent (tennis court)12-5 p.m.

Village Grand Parade1 p.m.

Motorcycle show/judging(N. Main St.)After the Parade

Amusement Ride Specials:Fri.: 5-9 p.m. $15Sat.: 1-5 p.m.; 5-9 p.m. $15Sun.: 1-5 p.m. $15Festival of Grapes Headquarters is located in the Ballpark Pavilion and will be open Thursday, Sept. 13-Sunday, Sept. 16. Festival merchandise, information and contest winners will be available at the pavilion.Events are subject to change pending weather and unforesee-able circumstances.

45th Annual Festival of Grapes Schedule of Events

barone's liquor & wines364 central ave., silver creek, n.y. I 934-3533

good thru september 13-16

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www.StarNewsDaily.com • 366.9200 (Dunkirk/Fredonia) • 338.0030 (Jamestown) | September 13, 2012 Edition – Festival of Grapes – C 3

By Patricia PihlManaging Editor

Richard J. “Dick” Crino was on a mo-torcycle ride through the countryside with his wife Sally, when the “vision” for the festival of Grapes came to him. He proposed the idea to the Silver Creek Jaycees, and the idea grew until the event was incorporated as a festival in 1968. It has continued as a celebration every third weekend in September.According to 2012 committee member Lisa Romano, the Festival of Grapes is the longest consecutively run all volunteer festival in New York State. She credits the 17-member board for mak-ing the event a reality each year. “Our people make sure it happens; in 2009, when there was a fl ood we still suc-ceeded in having the festival, and we did it aft er 9-11. We are doing it to support our local grape industry which supports our local economy.”Crino, who passed in February of 2011,

was given a special tribute in the last year’s Festival Program. Residing in Silver Creek his entire life, he is also

credited with serving in the U.S. Army National Guard and aft er graduation from college, joined his brother Sam as an accountant in the fi rm of Schrantz and Crino.He went on to own and operate his own music stores, R.J. Crino Music in Dunkirk and Jamestown. Not only was Crino the initiator and fi rst president of the Festival of Grapes but also he remained active for many years.

Festival of Grapes Celebrates 45th YearCalled “Longest Running, All-Volunteer Festival in NYS”

Festival of Grapes founder Richard “Dick”

barone's liquor & wines364 central ave., silver creek, n.y. I 934-3533

good thru september 13-16



Festival of Grapes in PicturesPhotos Courtesy of Joe Harvey

Festival of Grapes Pageant Contestants from 20072010 Village Grand Parade



2012 Festival of Grapes Pageant Winners

2010 Grape StompingFrom left to right: Little Miss, Abigale Rice; Jr. Miss, Emma Rice; Miss Festival, Katelyn Whitford. All winners attend Silver Creek Central School.



The first settlers of what is now Silver Creek ar-rived here from Mas-sachusetts with their families in 1803. They were Abel Cleveland, David Dickinson and John E. Howard. Dick-inson purchased over six hundred acres from the Holland Land Company and settled on what is now Lake Ave. Both Cleveland and Dickinson had milling experience in New England so they built the first grist mill for grinding corn. The War of 1812, caused these two men to leave their settlement, leaving John E. Howard as the only settler. Silver Creek’s first de-veloper was Oliver Lee; descendant of William Brewster of the May-flower, veteran of the War of 1812 and co-owner of a mercantile business in

Westfield. He arrived in Silver Creek in 1828, built a brick structure to house his business (formerly the Ludeman Block on the site that is presently Rite

Aid) and later bought John Howard’s 350 acres which included the waterfront. He built his home on Central Avenue in 1832, overlooking the lake. Lee made many improve-ments to the community (roadwork, bridges and buildings) and opened up a road to the lake (pres-ently Jackson St). Around this time, he built a 150 ft. long pier with a 75 ft. long “L” shaped portion off Jackson St. He then added a warehouse and The Steamboat Hotel. This started the shipping industry in Silver Creek. It was also the Lee family that donated the land for the Village Park down-town. Name and Incorpora-tionThe original name of the Village of Silver Creek was FAYETTE. Former Village Historian Louis Pelletter found a partial, unidentified newspa-per clipping that states, “… the other creek was named Silver Creek be-cause in the smooth shale bed will be found variet-ies of ore bearing rock. Years of water constantly flowing over these par-ticles, shining them in the process, gives a glowing silver appearance to the bed of the creek.” Oliver Lee was credited with spearheading the drive to name the village after the unusual creek. The name of the village was changed from Fayette to Silver Creek on February 14, 1826. The Village was incorpo-rated on June 1, 1848 on the petition of Charles H. Lee and others. Noah

D. Snow was the first president, as the mayors were called at that time. Abiatha Gates, Charles H. Lee, George W. Tew and Austin Clark were the first trustees. John Tilton was collector, John R. McDonald was clerk and Amos Dow was treasurer. Masonry in Silver CreekHanover Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, was instituted at Forest-ville, February 5, 1824. The charter members included Luther Thwing, Ezra Puffer, Seth Snow, Albert H. Camp, and Warren Griswold. It was discontinued in 1828 but was re-chartered in 1849. Hanover Lodge still oper-ates today and members continue to contribute to their community and the Chautauqua District. They are perennial win-ners of the Masonic golf tournament each year. Big Black WalnutOne of the most impres-sive parts of Silver Creek’s history is the famous Big Black Walnut Tree that once grew here. It was said to have been the biggest tree east of the

Rocky Mountains. The tree blew down in 1822, and remained there for three years. Then Luther Heaton, a local grocer, had a thirteen foot sec-tion cut from the tree and hollowed out to be used

for an addition to his store. The section mea-sured about thirty-one feet in circumference and over ten feet in diameter. A man was said to have ridden through the tree on horseback. A floor was

laid and a roof was built on the tree section. The Black Walnut Tree could now seat twenty people. Soon two area business-men purchased the tree and took it to Buffalo, via Lake Erie, to be exhib-ited. After running out of money they were forced to sell the tree. The new owners took it down the newly opened Erie Canal to New York City. The tree was sold and sold again and ended up in a museum in London where it was destroyed in a fire. The Black Walnut Tree stood near where Ward Ave. meets Route 20, and a monument made out of one of the

Silver Creek: A HistorySpecial to The Star

The Ward-Dickinson Dining Car, manufactured in 1938, is one of the few in the country that still retains much of its original shape, style and equipment. It was donated to the Village by Steve Pagano in 1992 (submitted photo)

Oliver Lee, the first de-veloper of Silver Creek (submitted photo)

Continued on page 8



fi rst millstones, now commemorating the spot, was placed there by the N.S.D.A.R. in 1928.Th e Burning of “Th e Washington” and the Sinking of the “Erie” During the summer of 1838, Th e Washington set out on her maiden voyage from Buff alo to Cleveland. At 2:00 am, a fi re started in the boiler room of the ship. At the time the boat was about 3 miles off the shores of Silver Creek. People from the village saved several of the passengers, but an estimated 40 people were lost by burning or drowning. Th e day following the tragedy, a burial service was held in the orchard on the Oliver Lee estate. Survivors

stayed in Silver Creek, hoping for the bodies of relatives to wash ashore.On August 10, 1841, at eight in the evening, the steamship, Erie, was taking a load of about four hundred emigrants from Buff alo to Erie Pa. When the ship was only a few miles off the shore of Silver Creek a can of varnish ignited and the ship burst into fl ames. Th e captain immediately headed toward shore and while only about a mile from shore the ship went under. Th e next morn-ing the shore was lined with over two hundred and fi ft y dead bodies of those who couldn’t make the swim. Th is incident is oft en considered the most tragic of the Lake

Erie disasters.Th e Grain Cleaning IndustryTh e S. Howes Co. has been important in the de-velopment of the village. It started in 1864, when the fi rst grain cleaning machinery shop began production with Alpheus and Norman Babcock in charge. Th e follow-ing year Simeon Howes became a partner and the fi rms name became known as Howes Babcock and Company, and in the same year they made and sold 200 machines. Later, Albert Horton joined and soon sold his interest to Carlos Ewell but by 1888, Simeon Howes became sole proprietor and the company still bears his name today. At one time

eighty percent of all the grain cleaning machinery was being manufactured in Silver Creek.Skew ArchSilver Creek’s famous Skew Arch located over Jackson St. is similar to only one other in the world. A skew arch diff ers from a regular arch in that the outside angles are parallel but not at right angles. Th e arch, built in 1869, was designed by a Frenchman who was deaf and dumb. A beautiful rendition of the builders art, a structure that any lover of quality masonry will admire.Train WreckIn 1886, an eastbound train was traveling to Niagara Falls. Orders called for the train to pass a westbound freight at Silver Creek. Th e en-gineer went through the station without stopping. As a result, the two trains rammed head-on around

a sharp curve. Th e bag-gage car completely tele-scoped the smoking car. Twenty men were killed. Fortunately, in 1886 women did not ride in smoking cars. Th e engi-neer and conductor were indicted for manslaugh-ter for countermanding the dispatchers orders.Th e Fire of 1921Th e most disastrous fi re in village history oc-curred in 1921. Fire-crackers started the blaze which destroyed the Methodist Church, the Park Ave. Hotel, the trol-ley station, the grand-

stand of the ball park and other buildings on the west side of Main St.Th e Silver Creek Fire De-partment is a centerpiece of the community and also maintains a fantastic lakeside training and rec-reation facility. Equipped with the most up to date and modern equipment this Fire Department second to none in the county.Howard “Bob” EhmkeSilver Creek’s most fa-mous resident is Howard

SILVER CREEK: A HISTORY, cont’d from page 6

Fall Foliage Train RidesEnjoy 2 hour scenic train ride along the historic Erie

Canal between Medina and Lockport

October 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 20 & 24

Depart Medina at 11:00 or 2:00Excursion includes tour of Largest Railroad and Toy Train Museum in

NY, over 7000 railroad artifacts, models and toys. Fares Adults $20, Ages 18—13 yrs $15,

12—2 yrs $13, Under 2 free

MEDINA RAILROAD MuSEuM530 West Ave., Medina, NY

Order Tickets On Linewww.railroadmuseum.net

Or Call 585 798-6106

The Village Park in 1878 (Submitted photo)

Continued on page 9

An early 20th century postcard of the Skewed Arch in Silver Creek (Submitted Photo)


http://www.railroadmuseum.net


‘Bob’ Ehmke. He was the surprise starter and pitching hero of the 1929 World Series. This heartwarming story of Connie Mack agreeing to start aging pitcher Howard “Bob” Ehmke in the first game of the 1929 World Series after Ehmke said, “Mr. Mack, there is one great game left in this old arm.” And sure enough, there was. Eh-mke struck out thirteen of the Chicago Cubs for

the Philadelphia Athlet-ics in the first game. This stood as the World Series record until 1953. Just a tidbit for your informa-tion another thing that Bob Ehmke did that will live forever in baseball history; he gave up the first homer on his way to 60 to Babe Ruth on April 15th 1927.Grape FestivalThe Festival of Grapes is always the third week-

end of September and features a ride midway, food vendors, wine tent, children’s and adult events, live music, craft fair, grape stomping and a grand parade that begins on Sunday at 1 p.m. in downtown Silver Creek. The grape stomp-ing contest inspired by Chautauqua County’s most famous personage Lucille Ball, is always the highlight of the weekend. So whether it’s for the special occasions or the beauty that this unique community offers every day come and spend some time.Reference: New York Roots.org, History at Rays Place – Chautauqua, Chautauqua County History, Philadelphia Athletics Historical Soci-ety, Chautauqua County Photos

Fall Foliage Train RidesEnjoy 2 hour scenic train ride along the historic Erie

Canal between Medina and Lockport

October 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 20 & 24

Depart Medina at 11:00 or 2:00Excursion includes tour of Largest Railroad and Toy Train Museum in

NY, over 7000 railroad artifacts, models and toys. Fares Adults $20, Ages 18—13 yrs $15,

12—2 yrs $13, Under 2 free

MEDINA RAILROAD MuSEuM530 West Ave., Medina, NY

Order Tickets On Linewww.railroadmuseum.net

Or Call 585 798-6106

Immaculata Academy5138 South Park Avenue

Hamburg, New York716-649-6161

ImmaculataAcademy.com

Open House 2012Thursday,

September 27th5:30 - 8 pm

Friday,September 28th

4 - 6:30 pm

Grape Fest Insert Ad_Layout 1 9/4/12 2:33 PM Page 1

SILVER CREEK: A HISTORY, cont’d from page 8

Silver Creek native and professional baseball player Howard “Bob” Ehmke (Submitted Photo)

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By Patricia PihlManaging Editor

The aroma of grapes wafting though the air is a familiar fall experience in Northern Chautauqua County, a clear indication that the annual ritual of harvesting and press-ing the region’s bounty is underway. Unlike years past, however, the industry has adapted to a changing American palette that increasingly chooses wine as its alco-holic beverage of choice.Wine lovers and home vintners are also increas-ingly knowledgeable about the ever-growing varieties and hybrids used for their beverage of choice. Rick Walker of Walkers Fruit Farms, whose fam-ily owns and operates 80 acres in Forestville, has been in business since the 1950’s but began processing common

varieties like Concord and Niagara for juice in the early 1970s. “People have become much more educated on wine. At one time it was either beer or wine, now (wine) is the most drank alcoholic beverage in the U.S. In some states, he says wine is sold in grocery stores - one reason, he says, it may be increasing in popularity. In the 70s and 80s, wine making was more of ethnic tradition- with most of the wine drinkers being either Italian or Portuguese, who, ac-cording to Walker, would make 200 gallons in 50 gallon barrels- which would often turn to vin-egar before half the barrel was finished. Today, Walker sells very few barrels. Instead, he says the amateur vintner “may make 200 gallons, but he’s making 18 differ-

ent varieties in 5 gallon carboys…where the ethnic way was to make a red and a white, and

that’s about it. “Walker says there are currently 10,000 home wine makers on his

mailing list. Some receive their juice via UPS. No longer a vanilla-chocolate choice, popular reds include Baco Noir, Foch, Rougeon, Chambourcin, Douchon and among the favored whites are Seyval, Vidal, Triminette, and Cayuga.“Now with the ease of five gallon glass carboys, the siphon tubes, the bottles and other options, it’s a lot easier to make better wines,” Walker says.Although it sells only 10% of its juice to home wine makers, Walkers is a wealth of informa-tion on the wine making process, offering step by step brochures, and when in doubt, questions can always be directed to Rick. Walkers also has a wine tasting room, so prospective winemakers can get a better handle on the varieties and flavors

that appeal to them.In addition, when wine-makers buy the juice rather than use fruit to make wine, many of the steps and guesswork has been taken out of the process. Details such as sugar tests, adding peptic enzymes to prevent cloudiness, or heating red grapes to get the color out are all details that they no longer have to worry about. “It’s a little bit different taking our juice and fermenting it, than using fruit. We’ve done a lot of the steps for you.”Home wine makers also have the flexibil-ity to tweak flavors and sweetness beyond what the commercial winer-ies can produce. Walker explains, “If you go to a winery and they are mak-ing Cayuga White and its dry- and you like the flavor of Cayuga White, but you’d like it to taste sweeter, you - the home winemaker can sweeten it up.” Walkers has been press-ing grapes since August 15- a little earlier due to the warmer than usual spring and summer, and will continue until the middle of October. The business will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. from Sep-tember 20 until October 28, going half days in November. Walkers Fruit Farm is located on Route 39 in Forestville. For more information on home wine making, visit walkers at www.walkers-fruitbasket.com or call 716-679-1292.

Fruits of LaborPopularity of Local Wine Making Reflects Cultural Shift

Rick Walker stands next to five-gallon juice con-tainers ready for shipment to home wine makers.


http://www.walkers-fruitbasket.com




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