TH HE E OFFFICIAL FICIAL NEEWSPAPER WSPA OF THE VILLAGE OF ELLICOTTVILLE AND T THE HE TO OWNS WNS O OF F ELLICOTTVILLE, GREAT VALLEY AND MANSFIELD, AND
1
NY
VOLUME 2 ISSUE FREE www.EllicottvilleTimes.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 8 - 14, 2013
6:30 Saturday. Mardi Gras Parade. Be There. Complete schedule on page 11 By Jann Wiswall
© 2013 KEYSTONE DESIGNERS
The big event this weekend in the Village of Ellicottville is the annual Mardi Gras Parade, sponsored by the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce. Few towns outside of New Orleans put on such a fun and wacky parade to celebrate the Easter season. Spectators wearing masks and tons of beads line the streets of the village to watch this annual parade, which is complete with funny, creative and themed floats, costumed groups and solo parade participants. This year, a special float has been created that is dedicated to the memory of long-time Mardi Gras parade “King” Ken Brown, who in his inimitable way represented the spirit and warmth of Ellicottville for so many years. The parade begins at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 9. Be sure to get there early to claim the best view, and then stick around to see who wins the Best Mardi Gras Theme, Most Creative Entry or the Funniest or Best Overall Float awards. Afterwards, make plans to enjoy a meal or a drink at some of Ellicottville’s popular meeting places, where you’ll find a great selection of live music and Mardi Gras specials.
It’s Winter Carnival Time! March 9-10, 2013
There’s no place like Holiday Valley during the annual Winter Carnival, where tons of fun, family-friendly events are scheduled all weekend long throughout the resort. First off, get the kids in the festive mood with a visit to the Tamarack Club Lobby both Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m.–noon for some terrific face painting. Then they’ll be ready for an afternoon of crazy
See Mardi Gras page 7
Kings and Queens of the Mardi Gras Parade
It’s a Grand History
By Mary Fox
This Saturday, March 9, the 21st Mardi Gras Parade will take place in the village at 6:30 p.m. The highlight of this year’s parade will be a float in honor of Ken Brown’s years as King of Winter Carnival.
The tradition of crowning a King and Queen of Winter Carnival began at Holiday Valley many years ago and was moved to the village in 1993, when the first Mardi Gras parade was held in the village. “The float will be decorated
ECS Teams Prepare for Odyssey of the Mind Tournament
with symbols of things Ken loved,” said Ken’s daughterin-law Vicki Brown, whose artistic talents guarantee a grand tribute. Ken’s faithful court and See Kings and Queens page 7 By Jann Wiswall
Odyssey (n): a long and eventful journey. Odyssey of the Mind is the perfect title for this international educational program for teams of elementary through college
Special Town Board Meeting
Nannen Arboretum Society By Jann Wiswall
The Town of Ellicottville’s January acquisition of the Cooperative Extension Service Building and the adjacent Nannen Arboretum prompted Town Supervisor John Burrell to call a special board meeting on Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Members of the Nannen Arboretum Committee, Cooperative Extension Service staff, the village boards, the town engineer and the town attorney also met with the board in the Extension Service Building to clarify policies and procedures, property
maintenance, renovations and other topics. Burrell specifically addressed a number of issues that had been posed by the Arboretum Committee at the February 20 meeting of the Town Board. Arboretum Organization Burrell suggested, and all agreed, that the Arboretum would be designated as a park and that the Arboretum Committee would continue to operate much as it has all along, but the committee would be renamed the Nannen Arboretum Society. The society’s function and purpose
would be to “use and maintain the Arboretum to benefit town residents and visitors.” To ensure good communication, Burrell also suggested that a steering committee composed of a town board member, a village board member and an Arboretum Society member be formed. The Arboretum, which was a non-profit organization associated with the Cooperative Extension Service, will need to reapply for 501 (c) 3 status. Town Attorney Kathleen Moriarty will advise the See Nannen Arboretum page 14
students to solve problems using creative thinking, brainstorming, teamwork and problem-solving skills. The program is designed to teach the concept that “a group is a more powerful thinking force than an individual.” To watch the students at work on their problems, one quickly sees that this program also is great fun and a source of pride as well. Five teams of Ellicottville Central School students and their teacher-coaches are hard at work fine-tuning their projects for the regional tournament that takes place this Saturday,
March 9, in Wellsville, where teams from 12 western New York school districts will be competing to advance to the state tournament. Of the five mind-bending problems posed by the international Odyssey of the Mind program, the ECS teams chose three. One elementary school team, coached by Diana Olson, is working on a problem that requires them “to design, build and run three vehicles that will deliver parts to an assembly area.” Further instructions See ECS Odyssey page 6
Sugaring a Family Affair for the Ulingers of East Otto By Jeff Martin
Tim Ulinger has lived most of his life in syrup. Growing up in East Otto, Ulinger and his father worked together tapping the dozen maple trees on their property, selling their product to friends and families. That was back in 1982. As the years went by, Ulinger and his father produced a little more each year. When he tells the story now, Ulinger, 39, chuckles a bit. “We’d come home and boil everything we had,” he said. “Boil it all night. I think the most syrup we got was 86 gallons in one season.”
Back in the good old days, the Ulingers tapped trees with primitive tools and collected sap into buckets, which they placed in plastic bags and hauled back to the fire. Now, years later, Tim and his wife Missy preside over what has become a childhood love turned popular business. While the equipment is bigger and more expensive, the hours longer and more strenuous, the process of tapping maple trees, transporting the sap through the forest and into the sugar shack before it’s boiled, the process is the same. In fact, it’s an ancient
process that continues to baffle everyone who is involved in the process — whether commercially or personally. “I mean, how did Native Americans even know to get the sap out and then boil it?” Missy questioned. “It’s amazing.” When Tim graduated high school in 1991, he entered the police academy and eventually found employment in Jamestown and other departments. He worked on his career from 1993 to 2000, and tapping maple trees became a rare occurrence. See Sugaring page 4