NOVEMBER
26 2021
Allegany County’s lost treasure: Cuba/ Wellsville carousel in NYS Museum
Photo by New York State Museum After refurbishing the Cuba Carousel the New York State Museum in Albany permanently placed it in its Terrace Gallery in 2011. Photo by Kathryn Ross Around 40 people attended Wednesday’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative meeting at the David A. Howe Public Library in Wellsville.
Wellsville called ‘good bet’ for DRI funding; community seeks ideas for application BY KATHRYN ROSS WELLSVILLE — Several dozen residents of the village and town attended a meeting Nov. 17 in which application criteria for the state’s multimillion-dollar Downtown Revitalization Initiative were outlined. John Simmins, associate provost for research and economic development at Alfred University, is one of the facilitators working with local communities on DRI projects. Impressed with Wellsville’s downtown, he
told the crowd at the David A. Howe Public Library, “Most of the big communities across the state have already gotten money from the DRI, so it seems like a good bet that Wellsville would qualify.” Among the communities which have received DRI funding for projects include Hornell, Geneva, Batavia, Olean and Oneonta. The program is in its fi fth year and Simmins expects that it will once again be in the state budget when it passes next spring. “Our new governor is from
Western New York, and she knows how much this area needs funding for revitalization,” he said. The DRI program will invest $200 million in up to 20 downtowns across the state. Funding awarded to municipalities has been $10 million, with the municipalities providing their own match for development. The village of Wellsville, under Mayor Randy Shayler and guided by businessman Mike Raptis, has been looking at the DRI program for several months. Shayler
said, in either December or January, he will appoint a DRI committee to suggest projects for the application, which would be due in late spring. Until then the public is urged to submit ideas for projects to be funded under the DRI umbrella. While each project suggestion has to be in the $100,000 range, Simmins said that almost anything is eligible, pointing out that after he had trouble fi nding a parking
DRI Funding continued ........ page 5
BY KATHRYN ROSS Older “kids” will remember spending hot summer days and breezy nights at the pavilion and amusement park once located on the North Shore of Cuba Lake. While some memories of swing- and rock ‘n’ rollfueled dances fade, others of going round and round and catching the brass ring may be recaptured by a simple trip to Albany. The Bolivar Fan Page on Facebook recently recounted, “Around 1900, Cuba Lake’s shoreline began its slow development into a recreation and resort space and for much of the 20th century the Olivecrest Pavilion on the North Shore was the heart of a recreational complex.” A big part of the complex was the 48-foot diameter carousel featuring 36 handcarved horses, ornate chariots and tubs, donkeys and deer. The carousel was originally built by the CWF Dare NY Carousal Manufacturing Company of Brooklyn in 1895. Around 1914, the HerschellSpillman Company of North
Tonawanda updated the carousel and installed the figures on a larger, more modern machine. The horses and other figures moved up and down while the base moved round and round. In 1915 the Stadel brothers of Wellsville purchased the carousel. Well into the 1930s the entrepreneurs used it as a traveling carousel, taking it from town to town across Western New York and northern Pennsylvania and sett ing it up in temporary locations for the entertainment of all. It was one of the largest traveling carousels in the country. In 1933, Fenton Olive, who had built the popular Olivecrest pavilion and amusement park on Cuba Lake, purchased the carousel from the Stadel brothers. For the next 40 years the permanently placed carousel delighted children of all ages. As time progressed it became more lucrative to sell the land where the park and
County Carousel continued .. page 7
! k LOng e e W l Al
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