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APRIL 12-18, 2019
LOCAL
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 15
SPORTS
ENTERTAINMENT
‘Listen to the Music’ Saturday in Slamanca with the Doobie Brothers ....see page 2
Getting technical at SGI: Part 2 ....see page 8
CAR. TR. MKTG MAIL US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 244 BRADFORD, PA
LUX’s no-hitter leads SGI to season-opening win over JFK. ....see page 3
Springville Chamber awards 2019 honorees at annual gala
By Elyana Schosek
For those who have given so much of themselves to the community, the Springville Area Chamber of Commerce took a night to give some recognition in return. The Chamber’s annual Awards Gala was held Saturday, April 6, honoring some of the influential community members in the Springville area with some good food and good company. The event began at 5 p.m. with a social hour until 6, at which time there was a dinner catered by Julie’s Pizzeria & Restaurant. The awards ceremony began at 7 p.m. with opening remarks from Joseph Pillittere, chamber president. Following opening remarks was a special guest, Harry Scull Jr., a Springville resident. Harry is a 1984 graduate of SpringvilleGriffith Institute. During his time at SGI, he participated in football, basketball and baseball. After high school, Harry attended Buffalo State College majoring in criminal justice with a minor in photography. Beginning in 1985, he started his career in photojournalism at the college newspaper. In 1996, he joined the staff at the Buffalo News.
Photos by Elyana Schosek Non-Profit of the Year: Club of Springville
In 2016, he moved back to Springville and has continued to contribute within his community. The first awards to be presented were the 40-Under-40 Awards. Recipients of this award were Evan Emerling, Jeremy Pyszczynski, Ashley Lowry and Joe Lowry. Evan Emerling became the
Activists mark anniversary of DEC denial of Northern Access permit
By Rick Miller
A group of activists opposed to the Northern Access Pipeline gathered for a walk Monday to mark the twoyear anniversary of the state’s denial of a Clean Water Act permit for the pipeline’s route through Western New York. That denial by the state Department of Environmental Conservation on April 7, 2017, was overturned by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last October. The DEC had denied a Clean Waters Act certification to cross 180 streams, 27 wetlands and 17 ponds along the pipeline route in New York. The FERC ruling said the DEC took longer than the one-year period allotted for review of the proposed $500 million pipeline. DEC officials pointed out that National Fuel Gas had agreed to the extensions. “That didn’t matter,” said Lia Oprea of Sardinia, See DEC Denial page 6
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general manager of Emerling Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in October 2018. Jeremy Pyszczynski opened his Edward Jones office at 43 East Main St. in Springville in late November and has successfully filled a Main Street storefront with an active and promising business.
Ashley Lowry is an SGI graduate who attended the University at Buffalo where she earned both her undergraduate and law school degrees. She is also a founding member and the current vice president of Green Springville, the local sustainability nonprofit, aspiring to become an
influential, regionally recognized organization, with an engaged local membership and capability to undertake major community projects. Joe Lowry is president and CEO of Encorus Group, the Springville based company formerly known as RJR Engineering. The next award was the Community Service Award presented to the Lions Club of Springville. The Club’s mission statement is “To create and foster a spirit of understanding among all people for humanitarian needs by providing voluntary services through community involvement and international cooperation.” The Club of Springville was the recipient of the Non-Profit of the Year Award. The mission of The Club of Springville is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens in our community. The recipient of the Small Business of the Year Award was the 49 Coffee House and Eatery. It opened on West Main Street in March 2018 and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down after
See Gala page 5
Lawrence’s Tavern celebrates 80th anniversary this month
This month, Lawrence’s Tavern at 10 North Buffalo St. in Springville is celebrating its 80th anniversary. Lawrence’s is not only the longest-running business in the village of Springville, but it also holds the oldest liquor license in Erie County. Lawrence’s continues operating today as a neighborhood bar — a business which Larry Zielinski’s parents began in 1939. Zielinski and his son, Mike, have operated the tavern since 1996, and Larry attributes Lawrence’s’ business longevity to the plan his father and mother had: provide a place for local residents to come in for a drink, a bite to eat and some friendly conversation.
Photo submitted Pictured (from left): Paul Geiger, Tony Frelash and Fido Burns with the beer delivery 1949.
In 1939, Lawrence Zielinski bought the business for $800 from the McAllister brothers, who operated the Concord House across the street. Zielinski was motivated by the hard times of the Great
Depression, and he rented the building on North Buffalo Street from Blanch Stady for $40 per month. After returning from a tour of duty in France during World War II, Zielinski purchased the
building for $8,000 in 1946. He and his wife, Ann, managed the business while they raised their family upstairs. Zielinski’s beer sales See Lawrence’s page 5
A Look Back: The first railroad through Springville
BY JOLENE HAWKINS
Looking back to the early 1800s, the way our forefathers got around Springville and Concord was by horse-drawn wagons, riding horses or by
controlled. On June 13, 1878, the Napier Brothers, of Machias, were awarded the contract for $1,830 per mile to be completed by Oct. 20, 1878. Ground was broken on July 28 with foot. Chafee at the shovel. If you wanted to visit a nearby town, you could hop upon Sardinia was to prosper as groups of Irish a stagecoach on a daily basis. The Springville Boston Road had and Swedes took up rooms as they labored gone into service by 1851 and planks were placed on the road to on the line. A locomotive was ordered from ease the passage of vehicles over wet or soft ground. Brooks Locomotive works in Dunkirk. An On Nov. 8, 1870, there was a slate of directors that were elected extra Stagecoach was added to the line to take for the Buffalo and Springville Railroad. Included on this slate folks over to Sardinia to see for themselves of directors was Bertrand Chafee, who would later become the the progress being made on the railroad. President of the Springville and Sardinia Railroad. On Oct. 31, 1878, at 5:13 p.m., the This new route connects Springville and Hamburg with a train entered Springville for the first time. standard gauge rail bed. That idea was soon supplanted by the Chafee returned again, but this time with introduction of the narrow gauge. the Springville and Sardinia railroad’s own By 1877, Springville was only second best to its railroad locomotive, named Little Darling. neighbors, the Arcade and Gowanda. It was pointed out how it Trestles — 12 in all — were built of fresh would be an advantage to have the narrow gauge connect with cut, untreated hemlock, some to the height the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia railroad at what is now of 61 feet. Bert Chafee, who weighed 250 Chafee railroad. pounds, walked out to the center of the Burt Chafee, a mill owner and farmer, Charles J. Shuttleworth, span, announcing how safe they were, to the a foundry owner, and S.R. Smith, the “Springville’s Cheese traveling public. King,” were selected to consider the line. Rather than affiliate See A Look Back page 5 with the B.N.Y & P., they suggested that the line be locally