The Walworthians: Granger, Harold and Nancy

The Walworthians: Granger, Nancy and Harold

A collection of telephone interviews published in the Wayne County STAR Newspaper and Wayne County MAIL Newspaper, 1994-209

by Kate Chamberlin

Harold and Nancy Granger

September 28, 1995

Harold and Nancy Granger are two of the people in our neighborhood. Alaska has always intrigued Harold. About seven years ago when a couple from their Square Dancing Group recommended Camp Denali, they took a vacation to Alaska. The Wilderness Camp for Adults in Denali National Park was the high point of their trip. They went again the next summer for a month.

The owners of the camp invited them to become staff members for the following summer. They accepted!

Harold did much of the carpentry work to open a second lodge for guests and continues to help keep things inhabitable. Nancy helps out with the laundry, serving and everything else to make a guest’s stay enjoyable.

The main lodge is more like a motel, but the newer lodge is made up of several cabins. It has a main shower room and an out-house. It is closer to nature.

“The country is just incredible,” Nancy said as her voice trailed off into memorable thoughts.

She mentioned that they’d met a bear or two on the trail. “They went their way and we went our way,” she said as if meeting a bear was an everyday occurrence!

“It’s the people,” Harold said. “The owners and the guests are just the greatest.”

Nancy Scott was born in Union Hill and brought up on her parent’s farm in Walworth. After they sold the farm. Her parents lived on High Street (just around the corner from Bill Youngman’s family) Nancy’s Aunt Pearl Scott still lives there.

Harold and Nancy attended Walworth Academy, in what she called “East Walworth”.

When I asked her where East Walworth was, she said, “Well, it’s called Walworth now, but it used to be Lincoln, West Walworth and East Walworth.”

We agreed that it was getting even more complicated with Blue Heron Hills and Gananda as part of Walworth–or are they part of West Walworth?

The Grangers were married in 1950 and lived in Ontario for 25 years. She enjoyed being home with their five children, but when the youngest was in Kindergarten she became the bookkeeper for Paul Schreiber. It was a full-time job that lasted 25 years. Actually, she still goes in to help out from time to time.

In 1983, they moved into the home they built on a portion of Harold’s parent’s farm in West Walworth.

When I talked with Nancy, she was baby-sitting one of their nine grand-children. She spoke proudly of their son, Alan, who is the Swim Instructor at the Ontario Golf Club.

Harold was born in West Walworth and maintains that he is a permanent resident of West Walworth, He just had a temporary stay (of 25 years) in Ontario!

“When I was growing up,” he said, “West Walworth was sort of considered the wrong side of town, probably because it had a bar in the center of it. The elite lived on the east side of Walworth and then there were the rest of us…”

The bar he mentioned became a grocery store and now houses several apartments.

After High School at the Walworth Academy, Harold attended Illinois School of Technology and then graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology. He was employed by Kodak for 36 years.

Traveling and photography are two of his hobbies. He as taken slides of their many trips and has them organized in carrousels. Occasionally he gives slide presentations to small groups. He has several terrific shots of bears in Alaska scooping salmon out of the river. His favorite subjects to snap are his grandchildren. He then enlarges the stills to admire or give as Gifts.

Harold is saddened to see so much building going on so near the Blue Heron’s rookery.

“If I ever win the lottery,” he said emphatically, “I’d buy up all the remaining land. Several years ago, I took a walk over where the Home-a-rama is. There were over 50 Blue Heron nests with fledglings in them. Where are they now?”

He hopes some of them will nest in the swampy area he owns behind his home.

Thank you for caring, Nancy and Harold. You are Walworthians, er, West Walworthians with the accent on Worth.

September 28, 2017 Up-Date: Harold and Nancy now live in a Webster graduated care village and are dealing with age related issues.

Reverse Curves Quilt Club

The Walworthians: Reverse Curves Quilt Club

A collection of telephone interviews published in the Wayne County STAR Newspaper and Wayne County MAIL Newspaper, 1994-209

by Kate Chamberlin

Reverse Curves Quilt Club

September 14, 1995

What do double wedding rings, log cabins, monkey wrenches, crazy eights and folded stars have in common?

Members of the Reverse Curves Quilt Club can tell you they are all names of quilt patterns.

On the 1st Tuesday from 10:00-2:– at the Presbyterian Church in Ontario, you will find members busy quilting. These are the “day quilters”. The “Evening Quilters” meet at 7:00 P.M. on the 3rd Monday of the month in each other’s homes.

Rita Goebert (597-5365) is the Secretary for the Reverse Curves. She puts out a newsletter to keep the quilters in touch with each other.

In 1973, several women persuaded Gwyn Bassage to share her knowledge and expertise about quilting. The “Quilting Bee” was revived!

They hoped to use the second floor of the former Walworth-Seely Library building as a meeting place. They made a quilt as a raffle item. The nearly $1000 raised was used to purchase carpeting and shelving.

Fired Code Regulations prevented them from using the upstairs, though. At that time, there was no fire escape.

An Historic Quilt was made to raise money to honor the Walworth sesquicentennial (150 years). (My claim to fame is that I did the Old Cheese Factory in Lincoln! Someday I’ll tell you why I wrote my name so big. )  The quilt now hangs in the Walworth Historical Museum.

A Signature Quilt was started to raise funds for the Walworth Bi-centennial (200 years). People donate a dollar and sign their name on a block (square of fabric). Gwyn has finished one quilt. There are many more signature blocks to be stitched into another one or two quilts.

Ethel Keeley (524-9073) had been quilting for “quite a few years” before she join the Reverse Curves. She attends the day-time meetings and looks forward to the friendship and sharing each month. She does everything by hand and wants to learn new patterns.

As Donna Gould (524-9665) neared her retirement after 20 years of teaching at Sodus High School, she vowed to join the Reverse Curves. She retired in 1994 and made good on her vow.

Donna likes to work only by hand and with cotton fabric. Her husband chose the Blue, mauve and Muslin color combination for the Double Wedding Ring quilt Donna is currently working on. She will teach other members how to hand stitch the Double Wedding Ring pattern during the April, 1996 meeting.

In the coming year, members hope to finish another quilt to raise money for Habitat for Humanity and to donate several baby’s quilts to Faith Haven, as they did last year.

New members are always welcome. You don’t need to be an expert to join. Their programs for the coming year include several demonstrations on hand and machine quilting, workshops to stitch on your own project and group projects that will be donated, a luncheon and a picnic.

If you’d like more information about the Reverse Curves Quilt Club, please contact Rita Goebert at 597-5365.

September 14, 2017 Up-Date: from Elaine Blankenberg, Member – Reverse Curves Quilt Group & Williamson United Methodist Church

Here’s an update : Rita….not sure what happened to her, but her name sounds familiar; Ethel…passed away; Donna…passed away

Our current officers are:

Chairperson – Kathie Syrell – ksyrell@rochester.rr.com

Co” –            Joyce Lyke – jlyke@rochester.rr.com

Co-  “ Carol Blackall – crbsew@aol.com

Secretary Jean Lemmon – JT1025@aol.com

Treasurer – Linda Taft.

You are always welcome to join us on the 1st or 3rd Tuesday at 10:00 at the Williamson American Legion Home.  We are a very active group and share a love for quilting.

Currently we are planning a PATCHWORK & PIES QUILT SHOW & BAZAAR to take place on Nov 4th at the Williamson United Methodist Church.

The quilt group will be displaying 70+ quilts in the sanctuary, selling their handmade items at the Country Store, raffling a quilt made by the group & also offering quilting demos throughout the day.  The members of the congregation will be hosting the bazaar portion with 30+ vendors, breakfast & lunch specials, baked food, local produce, scissors & knife sharpening clinic & selling PIES…LOTS OF PIES as a kick-off to their annual Pre-order Thanksgiving Pie Sale.

The Walworthians: Women Aglow

The Walworthians: Women Aglow

A collection of telephone interviews published in the Wayne County STAR Newspaper and Wayne County MAIL Newspaper, 1994-209

by Kate Chamberlin

WOMEN AGLOW

September 21, 1995

Have you ever wondered about the small announcement in the newspapers about WOMEN AGLOW? My curiosity got the better of me. I called the number in the notice.

I found myself talking to Arlene Leenhouts. She told me that WOMEN AGLOW is an international organization of Christian Women of all denominations.

I asked her what ‘AGLOW’ stood for.

“well,” she said, “it means women aglow with the Christian spirit.”

According to the brochure she mailed to me, “Our mission is to lead women to Jesus Christ and to provide an opportunity for Christian women to grow in their faith and minister to others.”

The Walworth branch meets once a month for breakfast. Usually a speaker will address the group with her Christian witness. At the September breakfast at Blue Heron Hills Restaurant, Becky Harling was the guest speaker. She is the mother of four children and the Director of Women’s Ministries at Browncroft Community Church, where her husband is the senior pastor.

They had recently returned from a ten-day conference in Bolivia, ministering to missionaries. Mrs. Harling spoke about authentic Christianity, which she had titled “Taking off the Mask”.

On October 27-29, Women Aglow will be having a weekend retreat. Susan Goodnight will be the featured speaker.

The national convention is coming up in November. It promises to be very inspirational, uplifting and a great time of fellowship.

The worldwide ministry of Aglow is overseen by an international board of directors. Each nation also has its own Aglow national leaders.

You can experience discovery and recovery, and make new friends in Aglow Bible studies, prayer groups, and support groups, led by Aglow women.

If you are interested in learning more about Aglow, please contact Arlene Leehous at (315)986-3807.

September 21, 2017 Up-Date: Aglow began in 1967 with four women who expressed a desire to meet together as Christians without denominational boundaries. The first general meeting was held in Seattle, Washington, USA , close to where Aglow’s Worldwide Headquarters exists today.

Jane Hansen Hoyt

President/ CEO of Aglow International

Jane Hansen Hoyt serves as president of Aglow International, a worldwide outreach ministry that is impacting the lives of women and their families in 164 nations. Take a look at Jane’s blog.

Email: aglow@aglow.org

The Walworthians: Hounslea

The Walworthians: Hounslea

A collection of telephone interviews published in the Wayne County STAR Newspaper and Wayne County MAIL Newspaper, 1994-209

by Kate Chamberlin

Melinda Hounslea

September 07, 1995

Melinda Hounslea is one of the people in our neighborhood. Although she’d been born in Binghamton, her family lived on a sheep farm in Pennsylvania during her grade school years. Her family moved to West Walworth in 1960. Melinda spent Grades 7 through 12 at Wayne Central. The older part of the current high school housed 7-12 at that time.

“The school district has really grown since I went there,” she said. “Now there are so many buildings on several campuses.”

I asked her if there was a small bar on Main Street in West Walworth when she first moved in.

“I don’t recall a bar,” she thought. “But I do remember there was a small grocery store.”

After graduation, Melinda worked at A. D. Data for a year before she landed a job with Bausch and Lomb. She is still with them as the Cashier for the Contact Lens Division.

Her hobby is collecting postcards. She and her father, Gordon, travel all over to shows and fairs. Her oldest postcard is a 1908 scene from West Walworth. She is always on the look-out for unique and/or old cards and duplicates for her collection.

She once told me to look for a little tiny symbol in the corner of the picture to know if it was really valuable. I’ll try to remember that if I’m ever on Jeopardy!

Traveling is another of her hobbies. She can combine doing shows with traveling! Her favorite spot to vacation in is Atlanta, Georgia.

“My brother, Stephen, is there,” she explained.

Family is very important to Melinda. She lives with her father since her mother, Patricia, passed away several years ago. They live in the home on Penfield Road where Stephen, John, Melissa and Andrew all lived when they were younger.

“I still feel the loss of Andrew, too,” she said. “I think that is why family is so important to me.”

Perhaps this is why she is so dedicated to the Neighbor Night Program at her Church in Palmyra. Every Thursday evening from 5:30 until 7:00 P.M. during the school year, she plays board games, cards, ping-pong and referees other games with the children who attend.

Melinda often helps to cook a nutritional dinner for them and, in general, provide a terrific role model.

“I’d love to see more of the neighborhood children come to our program,” she said with enthusiasm. “We really have a good time. If any of the adults want to volunteer their time, we’d love to have them, too.”

Thank you, Melinda. You are a Walworthian at heart with the accent on worth.

(The Palmyra Neighbor Night is held in the Zion Episcopal Church, 120 E. Main Street, Palmyra, 597-9236.

Mr. Ron Stein is Chairman of the Neighbor Night Steering Committee if you’d like to volunteer your time. Children aged 7 through 12 are invited to share the activities, dinner, and a good time each Thursday from 5:30 to 7:00 P.M. Their new year will begin on Thursday, September 7th.)

September 07, 2017 Up-Date:

Melinda succumbed to breast cancer a few years after this article was published.

Realizing the importance of family, she was very dedicated to the Neighbor Night Program in the Zion Episcopal Church where she was a communicant, served on the Altar Guild and in St. Margaret’s Guild.  Melinda also spent many hours helping out in            a Soup Kitchen for homeless men in Rochester.

Melinda’s parents, Gordon and Patricia, and her brothers, Andrew and Steven, predeceased her. She is survived by her siblings, John and  Melissa with   her brother-in-law, nieces and nephews, who  were all very special people in Melinda’s life.

Mingled with our tears of sadness at her death, we have tears of joy that she was our friend.