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JANUARY 3, 2020
VOLUME 5 ISSUE 1
CAR. TR. MKTG MAIL US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 244 BRADFORD, PA
L I L V E G SP RIN TIMES
The official newspaper of the Town of Concord, and the Village of Springville. Serving Springville, the surrounding communities and Springville-Griffith Institute Central Schools
Springville youth among those having fun at WinterCamp By Deb Everts Lack of snow and lots of mud didn’t stop the fun at Camp Turner’s WinterCamp held Dec. 28 through 30. Children from all over the region had the opportunity to experience a threeday, overnight camping excursion in the Quaker area of Allegany State Park. Camp Director John Mann said although the lack of snow prevented the kids from doing a few outdoor activities, including sledding and snowshoeing, there were plenty of other activities to choose from because the staff is welltrained and committed to helping the campers have a great time. Mann said indoor activities include arts and crafts, music appreciation, darts, ping pong, pool and board games. At Spa Club, the kids do each other’s hair and nails and lip-balm making is very popular. Yoga and Zumba fitness is offered, as well as a Lego
Photo by Deb Everts Campers play “9-Square-in-the-Air” on the tennis court.
Club, a Yule Ball and Mass. Campers can even help out in the kitchen. There are a lot of outdoor sports activities going on including dodgeball, pickleball, “9-Square-in-the-Air,” “Gaga Ball,” volleyball, basketball, court hockey and disc golf. One favorite outdoor
activity is “Games-in-theWoods,” which is a hide and seek-type game played in the woods. Campers can also participate in nature hikes where they track deer, learn outdoor living skills and survival skills, a night hike, fire building and how to make a campsite, along with different team-building
activities. Another outdoor activity called “Elven Village” takes place in the woods by the creek. Using rocks, branches and other forest materials, the kids go into the woods to make little structures and even entire cities for the imaginary elves who take care of the forest.
If there is snow, the kids create snow art building snowmen and snow sculptures. Mann said he would like to thank the naturalists at Allegany State Park for loaning them the snowshoes. According to Mann, the camp’s capacity is 80 kids. This year, 61 attended WinterCamp and this was the first time for about a dozen of the attendees. He said their ages range from 7 to 16 and they come from all over Western New York including Dunkirk, Fredonia, Olean, Bradford, Springville, Tonawanda, Williamsville, Clarence, East Aurora, Orchard Park, Lancaster, Buffalo and other Buffalo areas, as well as nearby Ellicottville, Great Valley and Salamanca. Mann said the camp is not only fun, but they try to make it educational as well. He said WinterCamp is a little more laidback compared to the summer program, but it’s still wellstructured and supervised.
It’s only three days and they try to gear it more toward the younger campers to give them a little taste of summer camp. “We want to help kids discover the presence of God in each other, in the staff and in nature,” he said. ORIGINALLY FROM North Tonawanda, Mann and his wife, Sheryl Soborowski who is also a staff member, live in Great Valley. Mann has been Camp Director for 17 years, but began as a counselor at Camp Turner, in 1983. Jake Overfield of Orchard Park and Marguerite Mosher of Ransomville were both campers growing up and are now on staff. Overfield, a chemistry teacher at a Buffalo area Catholic school, has been attending both summer and winter camp for eight years and now serves as the camp’s program director. “I was a camper here for five years, then I got See WinterCamp page 2
SGI elementary students Even though snow is scarce, kick-off Christmas break snowmobilers ready with holiday carnivals with trail preparations
Photo submitted This wooden block penguin artwork by Springville Elementary School student Cora Miller is just one of several activities elementary students in Springville and Colden participated in during their annual Holiday Carnivals held last Friday.
By Ely Schosek Student Reporter On the last day before Christmas break, or any break off of school for that matter,
students abound with joy and excitement, looking forward to their time away from the classroom. Although the excitement isn’t limited to elementary-
age children, their day was filled with many more Christmasrelated activities. Both Colden and Springville elementary schools held See Carnivals page 3
Times file photo Although the snow has temporarily gone away with a recent heatwave in Western New York, the local snowmobile clubs are eager to get out and ride after prepping the trails this past fall.
By Rick Miller Whether three feet of snow was on the ground or not, the hundreds of miles of local snowmobile trails
couldn’t open until Dec. 18, the day after Big Game Muzzleloading Season ends. With a recent stretch of warmer, rainy weather, it doesn’t look like the
trails will be opening again any time soon. However, volunteers from the several area snowmobile clubs tried to get as much of the See Snowmobilers page 7
A Look Back: The Springville Area Fire Companies By Jolene Hawkins
In this
first of a twopart article, we are going to be looking back on the history of the fire companies here in Springville and how they evolved. In September of 1842, the Hook and Ladder Company was organized with a membership of 10. Equipment consisted of leather buckets and hook and ladder wagon.
It is said that some wagons were pulled by horses and some by men. When a fire occurred, a brigade was formed to pass the buckets of water from one man to the next with the water coming from the nearest pond, stream or water source to the fire. Most of the buildings at this time were of wooden construction and these bucket brigades had several disastrous fires. One of these fires happened on Sunday, June 7, 1868. When “Fire! Fire!” was heard, people were
in churches and there was a rush to run out of the doors to see where the location of the fire was and to see what they could do to assist. This fire had started in a clothing store and was spreading rapidly. At that time most of the stores shared a common wooden wall, thus nothing to stop the flames from spreading. T.J. Morris was severely burned while trying to save the town’s clerk documents, but it was in vain. At this fire, everything from the Concord Land Reality to the brook burned down. Losses amounted to $28,350. The buildings that housed the Brown’s
Shoe Store and the Union Block were built afterward out of brick. The others were rebuilt of wood. In August 1873, the equipment of the Hook and Ladder was put to use again when there was a fire on the cheese factory roof. The third floor was damaged, but after three hours of long, hot work, the firemen were able to save the building. In 1875, there was yet another major fire, of six buildings on Main Street, with the loss being at $20,000. The Hook and Ladder Company, with the consent of the village, incorporated on May 18, 1878. In 1879, the three-
story opera house at 9-11 East Main St. was on fire, and all the buildings from there to Buffalo Street were burned. Shortly after that fire, a group of businessmen met and suggested that there should be an increased number of firemen for more adequate protection. Thus, the Independent
Engine Company was organized with 15 men. On Feb. 1, 1882, the Fountain Hose Company was formed and in 1935 became the Springville Fire Department. In May of 1882, a Hand Pumper Fire Engine was purchased for $650 from Seneca Falls. The engine had 400 feet of hose, See A Look Back page 4