FREE! TAKE ONE!
MARCH 13, 2020
VOLUME 5 ISSUE 11
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
Third generation of Sheret Jewelers reopens store By Deb Everts Sheret Jewelers has recently reopened under new ownership and remains in the family. Customers can rest assured that they will receive the same personal, down-home service as they have for over seven decades. New owner Sheret Jagord said after they were closed for a week to do inventory and transition into business, they officially opened their doors to the public on Feb. 24. Assisted by her son and store manager, Hunter Hawk, Jagord plans to be a full-service jewelry store, just as it’s been in the past. Many of their clientele are returning customers who have been shopping at the store for decades. As a matter-of-fact, Sheret Jewelers will be celebrating
its 75th anniversary in the spring of 2021. The reasons why people buy and order jewelry vary. Jagord thinks men and women shop differently for jewelry. Based on her observation, there’s no real study behind it. “(Women) see it and they put it in a ‘tickler’ file, which is a place in their mind thinking Christmas or some other special occasion is coming. They think maybe their husband will buy it for them,” Jagord said. “It’s a totally different sale when a man is buying an engagement ring. He puts a lot of thought into it, then he has to think about it some more.” Three generations of the Sheret family have owned and operated the business, beginning with Jagord’s grandfather, Donald Sheret,
Photo by Deb Everts Sheret Jewelers will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in the spring of 2021. Shown with a vintage clock is owner, Sheret Jagord, and her son, Hunter, who manages the store.
after he was discharged from World War II in January 1946. His son, Andy Sheret, was next in line to own the family jewelry store. When he passed away in 2013, his daughter Elise Rose and her husband, Mike, took over
the business and ran it until early February of this year. “I don’t think that’s what my grandfather anticipated when he started the store 74-and-a-half years ago,” Jagord said. “Hunter is officially the fourth generation of doing
repairs and working in the store. He’s doing a fabulous job and he has learned a lot just by observing and being around the jewelry business. My father (Allen Lindsay) is a bench jeweler and he has watched him work. He also worked with
and trained a bit with my uncle Andy.” Jagord’s first name, “Sheret,” is unique and carries on the family name. She said her mother was Pamela (Sheret) Lindsay and she was the only girl among her siblings. When she got married, she gave her daughter the name. “When my mother was in high school, she worked at the store and, when she married my dad, they both worked at the store,” she said. “I would get off the bus in kindergarten and come here after school.” Originally from Indiana, Jagord came to Springville every summer in her youth to help out at the store. “The rule of thumb (in our family) was if you’re old enough to see over the counter, you were put to See Sheret page 5
Village elections set for March 18 in Springville By Kellen M. Quigley Residents of the village of Springville will have the opportunity next week to cast ballots for three village trustees as part of general village elections throughout New York state. Elections will be held from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 18 at the Village Municipal Building at 65 Franklin St. Three seats on the village board are open, two for four years and one for two years. Terms will be decided by number of votes received Incumbent trustee Nils Wikman and former trustee Terry Skelton are running as members of the For Springville independent party. Reed Braman and Devin Kowalske are running together as members of the Revitalize Springville party. Nils Wikman The incumbent trustee is hoping to continue serving on the village board, saying local governments are best positioned to help their communities. With
Nils Wikman
Terry Skelton
Devin Kowalske
Reed Braman
Springville’s nonpartisan board that works together, Wikman said they can adequately plan for the future. “I feel that my 20 years of business experience in the private sector and my eight years on the board has positioned me to be able to be an effective voice for our village,” he said. “I want to take advantage of the knowledge that I have gained in the last eight years and apply it towards even better decision making skills in the future.” During his latest term on the board, Wikman cited the improvements on Franklin Street including the new fire hall, the streetscape improvements and the completion of Heritage
Park as examples of the board’s dedication to moving the village forward. “The transformation of that corridor is a huge change for the village,” he said. “Whether it be Fiddlefest, a concert in the park or simply walking in a pedestrianfriendly area eating an ice cream cone from the Springville Dairy, this area represents a vision for the future for our village.” Wikman also said the village has a talented group of people working hard behind the scenes with public works, fire department and police force to maintain the village services. Looking ahead, Wikman said he wants to focus on bringing
more job opportunities to the village, saying it could create new housing opportunities and help to expand Springville’s tax base. He said he also wants to see some ongoing projects continue, including the Rails to Trails, and improving those features that improve the quality of life for our residents. “For example, we are working towards improvements to the spray park facility and tennis courts at Eaton Street and North Central Avenue that will improve the overall complex,” he said. “We are also continuing our work in the DPW to further improve our infrastructure. I want to make sure that this focus is not lost.”
One key area Wikman said he’s researched is the expansion of highspeed internet access to rural areas, which could also mean affordability. He said current rates are out of reach for many residents and rising, but the county and Tom Golisano are exploring options for the area. “I would like to explore these possibilities as a way to increase competition for our only ‘real’ high-speed provider as a way to truly increase access for our residents,” he added. Within the village, Wikman said improvements to the parks, such as the skateplex at Heritage Park, the Easton Street spray park and pickle ball court are also on
A Look Back:
The Blue Cross By Jolene Hawkins
Looking back on the shelves that we have here at the Lucy Bensley Center and the many scrapbooks that have been donated full of photos, newspaper articles, notes and such, included in these are those books of Miss Lucy Bensley, and I have two that I love going through. Lucy donated
scrapbooks and going through the ones on World War I, you will find information, pamphlets, lesson plans, flyers saving bonds posters, rationing books on WWI that was put out for the schools, libraries and public. Also in these scrapbooks is information on the Blue Cross. What is the Blue Cross? Well, just read on. Two years before war broke out in Europe, the Blue Cross fund had provided vital veterinary care to the animals during the Balkan War. At that time, it was called Our Dumb Friends
League (ODFL) and was renamed due to the displaying of blue crosses that flew above the animal hospitals and ambulances to distinguish help for the animal casualties from the Red Cross, which provided aid to the wounded soldiers. The first Blue Cross hospital was opened in London and another was opened in France. Horses were an essential part of cavalry warfare and soon became needed to haul colossal artillery pieces, ammunition wagons, machine guns, ration carts and other vital supplies. These horses were taken from the
shafts of the family wagons, from the plow, from the families that they knew, the barns they knew and thrown into battle to help with the war. The French military authorities had undertaken bringing the wounded and exhausted horses to the hospitals, where they would receive the attention they needed according to their condition. Then they are returned to the fighting lines after treatment. Extracted from a letter that was received April 29, 1915, from one of the veterinarians who was working at one of the Blue Cross hospitals: See A Look Back page 3
his to-do list. “These are the types of projects that really depend on citizen involvement to insure that the projects end up meeting their needs,” he said. Wikman also mentioned the ongoing problem with the pedestrian crosswalks throughout the village, noting Route 39 traffic flowing through the Main Street business district posing a particularly dangerous problem. “As you may know, Main Street is scheduled to be paved this year,” he explained. “We have been working with the state already to come up with solutions that will help make our crosswalks safer.” Wikman has served on the board for the past eight years, but he feels that with re-election, he can contribute in a meaningful way, encouraging residents to contact him with questions or concerns. “I want the village of Springville to be a place that you can be proud of, but to do that, we need your input as well,” he added. “So ask questions, See Election page 2