Mohawk Valley Express Volume 4 Number 3 March 2024

Custom made wood products their specialty

By Dave Warner

You may have missed Finger Lakes Wood Products in Dolgville if you go to Southern Girl, Zipps, Stewarts, George Lumber, or even Green Acres. The fact is, I’ve been to all of those places many times and didn’t realize that this business is just west of North Helmer Avenue on Cavalli Street.

Brendt & Bucky Johnson bought the former Buryford Farms from Bill Alguire & Frank Herrigshaw in 2021, and they said along with their inventory came a legacy of supporting local logging families & providing customers with unsurpassed quality. On their website, they state, “When you purchase wood products from us, you’re buying highquality, sustainable wood products from the knowledgeable folks

who live right here in the community. There’s something special about the Adirondacks, and we help bring that into your home.”

Bucky Johnson worked for Rawlings for 21 years as the log buyer and a supervisor. “I made rough blanks for the baseball bats. I’ve always been in the woods hunting or cutting trees. It’s just how I was brought up.”

Johnson’s father was a logger, and his grandfather worked for Rawlings in 1958, splitting the blocks to make the billets by hand. “it’s pretty neat - a lot of history,” he said.

Bucky and his brother Brendt had always talked about having some kind of forestry business. “I really didn’t want to get into the logging aspect of it. It’s dangerous, and I watched my father get

hit with a tree, and it’s nothing I wanted to mess around with.”

He said that he did have a passion for sawmilling, and his brother said, ‘If you find something, let’s do it.’

It so happens that the former owner of Buryford Farms contacted him and said that the place would be coming up for sale.

“I told my brother, and we went for a tour; he

told my brother the price, and we thought it over. He asked, ‘What do you think?’ And I said, let’s do it.”

“I was pretty excited to come aboard. My brother is involved in a lot of businesses, including an insurance company, a logging company, and an underground directional drilling business.”

Bucky said that he likes it because his brother

is the owner, but he’s put the business in his hands. “Luckily for me, I have Rachel to oversee that side of the business. Lumber, flooring, and all of that. There’s just so much involved.”

He buys the logs, measures them, grades them, puts them on the deck for his guys, answers all the calls from log suppliers, and

Please See WOOD Page 3

On the Set at the Little Falls Movie Filming of “Wallace Peebles Paranormal Inspectre”

By Denise Louise Gregorka

Have you heard? Little Falls has once again been chosen as a place for filmmaking!

How fun to think that our city is being utilized more and more by filmmakers.

Michael Flores, executive producer, and Steven Nesbit, director, welcomed my visit on the set of their comedy “Wallace Peebles Paranormal Inspectre.”

It was a bright February day here in Little Falls when I caught up with the film crew. As I walked onto the set located in an old industrial building, which is now the home of Ace Hardware, I immediately noticed the great rapport among

the crew, with a lot of laughter and a relaxed atmosphere.

The Executive Producer

Michael Flores has been in the film business for over twenty years, starting out as an actor, which he still does, but has also segued into writing, producing, & directing. He explained, “The movie is a fun comedy about a crew of people trying to make a reality show based on their paranormal investigations.” He said that they do a breakingof-the-fourth-wall, similar to what they do in ‘The Office’ where they actually speak to the camera and connect to the audience. He stated, “It’s a lot of fun; It’s a great vehicle

for a comedy.”

He told me that he is using mostly local actors. He stated, “We try to use as many local sources and people as we can.” He is very happy to be filming in Little Falls and added, “The area has been more than welcoming. The George family at Ace Hardware here are wonderful people.”

The Director

The film’s director, Steve Nesbit, who is from the U.K., wrote this film with his writing partner, Karl Hall, also from the U.K. This is their fifth filmwriting together.

Nesbit, who also acts in the film, explained to me

Please See FILM Page 2

Photo by Dave Warner - Finger Lakes Wood Products is located at 50 Cavalli Street in Dolgeville.

how difficult it is to write a story and sell it.

He stated, “The challenges we have as filmmakers in the current film industry is that films like this, and ones that we would want to make and view, have no chance at getting made because of the state of the industry. The film industry is very risk averse, so they rely on what they call tentpole productions, which are basically reworking of the same material with very expensive actors in there to draw people into the cinema. We just can’t compete with that, and we don’t want to. We want to keep the creativity fertile with new ideas, interesting things, and new ways of doing stuff.”

“Part of that process, as has happened to me before with other films, is I’ve written a script that’s gotten picked up, and the studio gets a hold of that script. They say, ‘Yes, we love this, and we want to make it. We think it’s a fiftymillion dollar budget... but, as a director, you’re not qualified to make a fifty-million dollar film.’ All of the movies I’ve made have been under ten million dollars. So, what happens is that you create this thing, but you are not allowed to make it. So,

my thinking was, if I do ‘bite the bullet’ and I act myself, nobody can take me out of this, nobody can take it away, and it’s viewed on its own merits. If it succeeds, great, and if it fails, that’s on me. So here we are. We are paying for the film, and no one can tell us that we can’t. The downside, of course, is we would have liked a full-size crew, some budget, and more than anything...time!”

He explained that they have to do scenes with fewer angles and compromise in various ways to save time. He would have liked a month to shoot as opposed to ten days. Nesbit related that the actors are wonderful and he is very pleased with the film’s progress so far.

Filming

I followed Michael and Steve to the old, dreary basement of the building to watch a scene they were shooting, and I totally understand why they chose it for a haunted look.

Some of the Cast and Crew

I spoke with some of the crew during my time on the set. Not all were present during my time there.

Austin Green, who was born and raised in Little Falls, does the sound recording. He stated, “The fact that we are building the film scene up here is phenomenal.” He went to school for digital filmmaking. He said, “Coming back home and having the opportunity to do stuff...you can’t top it.” He worked with Michael on one of his previous films called “Sendero.”

Jon McGinty is the director of photography. He has known Flores for about fifteen years and worked on the movie “Sendero” with him as well. Jon is a gaffer on movies and TV shows in Los Angeles, and in his free time, he comes to New York to work with Flores.

Actress Jenny Bryer, from Ohio, has returned to Little Falls for this film. She worked on the proof-of-concept film with Michael and Steven about two years ago. The three were the ghosthunting team back then. She stated ‘We are really enjoying the area, and it’s a beautiful place with nice scenery.”

Actress Kristina Howard is from Utica, NY, and is a part of the team. She also worked with Michael Flores on the film “Sendero.”

She said she was enjoying herself and stated, “I love film.”

More Behind the Scenes

I asked Michael and Steven if they do a lot of improvisations with scenes and dialogue. They said they always allowed for some improv and called it “the magic of the day.” The night before my visit, they had to pivot from a scene that wasn’t working. They were very frustrated in not getting the stairwell to look right for a shot. Michael Flores suggested, “What if it just slams me in this door?”. They filmed his idea and were thrilled with the results.

I was interested in knowing how long it would take to put the film together once all of the scenes were completed. Flores stated, “We are hoping to have a real quick turnaround. The great thing is that we already have an editor on board. We are sending him dailies, and he is actually piecing together assemblies as we go. The next morning we are able to watch a rough edit. It’s great because when you do it that way, you have an idea what the scene is ultimately going to be, and Steve, as the director, can look at that and say, ‘Okay, maybe we need one more shot

of this,’ and we can make it up as we go.”

By the time they are done filming in Little Falls, they will already have somewhat of a full rough edit.

I asked if there was interest in the film from a buyer’s perspective. Flores stated, “Why we are doing this so quickly is to try to capitalize on a big opportunity that we have to sell this.” The film was originally shot in six episodes as a proof-ofconcept for a television show with some interest in it, which fizzled out but was picked up again by someone who wanted a feature film out of it instead.

He stated, “We are still hoping that even after we do a feature film of this, someone will say, ‘Maybe we should use this as a TV show.’”

Michael stated, “This building is a production designer’s dream. That’s why we chose this place because it has that character.” He stressed to me that he wanted to give special thanks to Ace Hardware and Dave Warner.

What a pleasure to spend time on the set of this fun film. I am looking forward to another visit on the next one.

Actress Kristina Howard getting direction from Steven Nesbit

Austin Green (left) and Jon McGinty (right)

The Film’s Executive Producer Michael Flores, during a break in filming.

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deals with equipment break-downs and other problems. He also has a four-year degree in forestry management from Paul Smith’s College.

Rachel Johnson manages the office and oversees everything from HR and payroll to safety, security, shipping, and receiving, and handles all the work orders.

“Everybody will call or email me, and I set up the work orders and make the sawmill list. That’s when I contact my husband and say we need these logs, or we have these logs. These are the sizes and

species that we need.” She said they then start sawing and working on the whole process for the work order.

“I think some of the things that we’ve been doing recently, including today, is custom sawing. It’s a really big thing. People are harvesting their own logs and sending them to us, and then we turn them into what they need,” she stated.

Custom kiln drying is also something that’s been big lately. “We’ve had a lot of people who have their own wood and then bring it in, and we dry it for

them. Some want us to plane it and rip it for them or turn it into something for them.”

“We’re coming into the spring season, so everyone wants larch for decking, fencing, and poles. I’ve got a list two and a half pages long for that. It’s great for decking for outside fencing, outdoor furniture, and picnic tables - a lot of people want it.”

She also said that it’s good for raised flower beds. “A lot of people want that - it’s a big thing,” she said.

You can find out more by calling 315-429-9040 or by visiting their website

Grave marker placed for Revolutionary War fifer

By Donna Thompson MOHAWK

- Amid the weathered gravestones in the Fort Herkimer Church cemetery stands a new granite grave marker for a veteran of the Revolutionary War.

The marker for Thomas Rankins, who served as a fifer in the New York Regiment, was placed last year, thanks to the efforts of one of his descendants, Don Rankins, of Ilion.

Rankins requested the government-provided headstone after hearing from a friend about the program that provides such markers for United States veterans.

Rankins has been researching his family history and sharing information on a Facebook page he titled “The Rankins Family of the Mohawk Valley,” but he credits his father, Willis Rankins, for igniting his interest and leaving behind plenty of information.

He recalls accompanying his dad in the 1960s as he interviewed family members, including Don’s grandfather, Russell Rankins, greatuncles, and others who offered information and stories handed down through the generations.

Willis kept his records on three-by-five file cards and in small notebooks, but as technology progressed, he made use of a computer and took

advantage of the Internet to aid his research. In addition to exploring his own family history, he looked up information for friends, and his research files included more than 30,000 names.

“He was quite meticulous as a self-taught genealogist,” according to his son.

Willis Rankins’ records showed there was a headstone for Thomas Rankins present in the Fort Herkimer cemetery in the late 1960s, but when Don checked the cemetery, he only found markers for Thomas’ wife,

Catharine, and daughter, Phebe; the marker for Thomas was missing.

After learning of the government grave marker program, he decided to submit a request. He had to show proof that Thomas was indeed a veteran and that he had a direct ancestral connection to him. This was fairly easy, he said, “due to the diligence of my dad’s careful collection of data.”

Young fifer

The Revolutionary War had already had a major Please See GRAVE Page 5

Photo by Dave Warner - Zack Carpenter cuts a piece of wood that will become a mantle for a client.

Photo by Dave Warner - Bill Timmerman feeds a piece of wood in one end, that will become flooring when it comes out the other.

Photo by Dave Warner - Rachel Johnson

Photo by Dave Warner - Bucky Johnson climbs into the cab.

City of Little Falls

March 1, 2024

Planning Board Meeting

Regular session 9:00 am in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

March 1 & 2, 2024

The Little Falls High School Drama Club will present ‘The Newsies’ on March 1st and 2nd at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale electronically, where buyers will select and purchase actual row and seat numbers from a seating chart. Tickets also available at the door. The play is based on a true story that took place in the late 1800s in NYC when newspaper owners took advantage of poor orphans to sell their papers. These children need to buy the paper and sell it for a dime. One of these owners decides to increase the price of the paper for purchase by the kids. But the price to the customer is still the same.

So Jack Kelly (head of the Manhattan Newsies) and other newsies get together and convince the newsies from all the NYC burrows to go on a strike. Davey and Les are brothers whose parents are struggling, so they decide to join the newsies. Katherine Plumber is a reporter and also the daughter of the main newspaper owner, but she is against her father’s decision and joins the strike with the kids.

March 2, 2024

WOMEN PAINT WOMEN

Opening Reception - The Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts is honored to present the opening of “Women Paint Women” from 2-4 pm. Six artists

in the Mohawk Valley have identified women whose contributions have been inroads in our area over the years. The exhibition is a “hall of fame of notable women whose contributions inspired the artists to paint their portraits.” The result is a fascinating group of women from different professions in our communities over the years. Each of the artists chose their subjects. Each subject is extraordinary!

March 5, 2024

Common Council

Meeting - Auditing of the bills: 6:30 p.m. Regular Meeting: 7:00 pm in City Hall.

March 6, 2024

Golf Commission Meeting

Regular Meeting: 8:00 am in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

March 11, 2024

Police and Fire Board Meeting - Bills 8:30 am and Regular Session 9:00 am in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

March 12, 2024

Recreation/HarborRegular session 6:00 pm in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

March 18, 2024

Board of Public Works Meeting - Bills 6:30 pm and Regular Session 7:00 pm in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

March 27, 2024

Urban Renewal Board Meeting - Regular Session 8:15 am in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

Little Falls Elks

March 8, 2024

7:30pm The Comedy Show is Back! Please join us for a night of laughs and libations at the Lodge! There are limited $25 presale tickets available at the Lodge or through officers.

March 16, 2024

St. Patrick’s Day party at the Elks! Live Music, Corned Beef and Cabbage. Join us for food, fun and frolic. Don’t forget to wear your green or risk getting pinched!

Dolgeville

March 6, 2024

Community Lenten Services “I Am” All services at 7 pm. Enjoy refreshments

and fellowship after the services. New Hope Christian Fellowship. John Hoffman.

March 13, 2024

Community Lenten Services “I Am” All services at 7 pm. Enjoy refreshments and fellowship after the services. U. Lutheran/ Presbyterian Parish. Gary Busch.

March 20 2024

Community Lenten Services “I Am” All services at 7 pm. Enjoy refreshments and fellowship after the services. Ingham’s Mills Baptist Church. Chauncey Brown.

March 29 2024

Community Lenten Services “I Am” All

services at 7 pm. Enjoy refreshments and fellowship after the services. Dolgeville Christian Fellowship. Good Friday Service.

Salisbury

March 1, 2024

Every Friday night in March - Friday night fish fry from 4:30 - 7:00 pm. Eat in or take out. Fish (fried or broiled), clams, shrimp or chicken tenders with choice of french fries or baked potato. $15 adult, $10 children. Salisbury Special (Platter) Choice of three of the above entrees with French fries or baked potato, $22. Included with all entrees: rolls, coleslaw slaw, applesauce. Salisbury Vol. Fire Dept. 2549 State Route 29. 315-429-5121.

The Utica St. Patrick’s Day Parade Hosts 15th Annual Food Drive

For the 15th year, nonperishable food items will be collected during the Utica St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday March 11th.

The Food Drive benefits the Mother Marianne West Side Kitchen, which is named for Saint Marianne Cope, a Utica-native who was canonized as a saint by Pope Benedict XVI in

October 2012.

If you are planning to attend the parade, please bring a non-perishable food donation to place in the wheelbarrows as they pass by. Make sure to check the expiration date to ensure the item is still usable. Containers will also be available for those wishing to make monetary contributions. ALL donations will be

delivered after the parade to the Mother Marianne West Side Kitchen.

In the past 14 years, well over 14,000 food items and almost $16,000 have been collected and donated to the West Side Kitchen. We hope to make this, our 15th Annual Parade Food Drive, the MOST successful yet!

impact on Thomas’ family when he enlisted as a fifer at the age of 8. His parents, James and Elizabeth Rankins, had immigrated to the Mohawk Valley from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

James served with the German Flatts militia during the French and Indian War and, in August 1777, joined General Nicholas Herkimer and other volunteers in the march to Fort Stanwix. The militia was ambushed on Aug. 6, 1777, and James Rankins was among those who never returned home. While his name is not on the list of those killed that day, there is no record of him after that date.

James Jr. had previously enlisted in a company of Rangers and served as a scout along the West Canada Creek. In the fall of 1776, he was drafted out of this company, sent to Stone Arabia, and then to Ticonderoga to help build a bridge to Mount Independence.

After leaving that site, they were attacked by a group of Indians and Canadians; James was taken prisoner and spent the remainder of the war in Canada.

In the summer or fall of 1779, young Thomas enlisted as a fifer in the company commanded by Capt. John Griggs of Col. Van Schaick’s Regiment, New York Line.

While it was not unusual for boys to serve as fifers or drummers in the Continental Army, they were usually older than 8, Rankins said. Since his father had likely been killed in the Battle of Oriskany, he speculated that one of the soldiers serving in the area had a hand in his enlistment.

In his request for a pension, made in 1819, Thomas states that he served in various skirmishes at Fort Stanwix as well as at Yorktown against Cornwallis. He was discharged in June 1783 at Newburg, and his discharge was signed by George Washington. He was granted an annual pension of $88.

Attacks at home

dealt with the dangers and hardships of war, things weren’t much better on the homefront. Rankins wonders how James Sr.’s widow, Elizabeth, and other women in her situation managed to keep going.

Joseph Brant’s Sept. 17, 1778, raid on German Flatts destroyed houses, barns, and mills and left the settlement in ruins. Three men were killed, but thanks to a warning by Adam Helmer, a scout who escaped after he and fellow scouts met up with Brant’s force, residents were able to take shelter at Fort Herkimer and Fort Dayton. The attack left more than 700 people homeless.

“I’m sure this included Elizabeth Rankins and her children,” said Don Rankins.

Daughter Betsey Rankins’ narrow escape during a 1782 attack was recounted in an article that appeared in the People’s Friend magazine. Scouts warned of the coming attack, and people near Fort Herkimer took shelter in the fort. Those east of the fort could not

reach its walls in time; Jacob Casler took them to “a ravine on the north side of the river near the gulf bridge, where they remained for two days,” according to the article. Betsey was among them, and Rankins thinks her mother and sisters likely hid there as well.

More veterans

The family’s involvement in the military did not end with the Revolutionary War. Thomas Rankins and his wife, Catherine Kesslar had 13 children, and two of their sons, Melchaert and James T., served during the War of 1812, as did James T.’s son, Daniel, who was a fife major.

Melchaert and James T. are among 25 family members buried in the Fort Herkimer Church Cemetery, according to cemetery records, said Rankins. He located the grave marker for James T.’s wife, Mary, but none for James T., who was buried beside her. He is hoping to have a marker placed there for him as well.

Please See GRAVE Page 7

While the men and boys

Photo by Donna Thompson - Don Rankins of Ilion has been researching his family history and had a government-provided gravestone for one of his ancestors, a Revolutionary War veteran, placed at the Fort Herkimer Church Cemetery. The original headstone was missing.

Thomas Rankins, who served as a fifer in the Revolutionary War, is now honored with a gravestone that has been placed in the Fort Herkimer Church Cemetery. His original marker was missing. Thomas was eight years old when he enlisted. Photo provided by Don Rankins

Teenage referee recognized at Buffalo Sabres game

Referee Cole Adams represented Central New York at a Buffalo Sabres game on Monday during USA Hockey’s Hockey Week Across America.

By Scott Kinville

Fifteen-year-old Cole Adams loves the game of hockey. Like most boys and girls his age, loves to hit the ice whenever he can. Cole, however, does not dream about scoring the game-winning goal. He wants to determine if the puck went across the goal line.

“He’s wanted to be a hockey referee since he was three or four years old,” Cole’s father Kelly Adams said about his son’s desire to be an on-ice official. “Cole is the only kid I know who started playing hockey so that he could someday be a ref”.

Refereeing is a job most get into after their playing days are over, whatever level that was. The minimum age in New York State to become a certified referee is fourteen, although most do not start that young. Cole Adams began playing hockey early, as he played Clinton Youth Hockey for nine years.

When he turned fourteen, he traded his playing gear for referee’s gear.

His father and family have always supported Cole’s decision to become an official. It’s no surprise given the Adams are a hockey family through and through. Kelly has helped out with the Utica Pioneers Men’s Hockey Team for several years, giving Cole, his brother Evan, and his sister Rachel exposure to the game from a very young age. Not surprisingly, Evan and Rachel play hockey as well - Evan is with the OCHC 12U program and Rachel is on the Utica Jr. Comets 12U girls team.

Getting started

Once Cole decided on his hockey path, his father knew who he could turn to. Mike Roberts is a long-time Central New York on-ice official who, like Cole, started refereeing at an early age (he was just ten years old). Roberts is the local referee supervisor for USA Hockey and sees something special in his young counterpart.

While many local officials have helped Cole develop as a referee, it is Roberts who has taken the youngster under his wing. “He officiated my first game with me and was someone who I could trust to help me grow my skills as an official”, Cole said about his mentor.

Roberts recalled how he first met Cole Adams.

“Cole’s father helps out in different aspects of the Utica University team or back then, Utica College”, Roberts said. “He would bring the scoresheet for us to sign, and his son (Cole) would come with him. I’ve probably known Cole since he was five years old. He’s the only kid I’ve ever known to go to a hockey game and root for the officials”.

“He would come in, ask questions about the game, ask questions about the officials, and tell us one day he’s gonna be an official”.

True to his word, Cole did just that. With the help of his father and Roberts, he was able to begin his training early. He now officiates games at the mites through the peewee levels.

“I think when he was 13 years old, his dad came up to me and was like ‘Can I sign my son up early? He’s gung-ho and ready to go”, Roberts recalled. “I got him in touch with USA Hockey and our referee-in-chief for New York State said yes but he’s not going to be able to do any games”.

Regardless, Kelly Adams registered his son with USA Hockey, and Cole was able to complete the refereeing seminars needed to become an on-ice official. As soon as he turned 14, the younger Adams was ready to don the referee stripes and began his officiating career.

USA Hockey is the governing body for hockey in the United States. To promote the game of hockey and attract participants, the organization is hosting Hockey Week Across America”. Each day, a different theme will be celebrated at rinks throughout the country. The Buffalo Sabres held Youth Hockey Day for their February 19 game against the Anaheim

Ducks. It would be a game where a certain young referee from Central New York would get recognized.

The referee-in-chief for the central section of New York State was looking for someone to represent young referees. Mike Roberts knew who the perfect nominee was.

“I told him (the refereein-chief) the story of how he was the kid who came in the locker room at five years old rooting for the officials and has wanted to be nothing but an ice hockey official ever since I have known him,” Roberts said with a smile. “I told his dad, just so you know this might be happening. If you have plans for Monday be prepared to move them around”.

The trip of a lifetime

Two weeks ago, Cole received a phone call informing him that he had been nominated to represent Central New York at the game. “I was immediately shocked and honored by my selection,” he said.

Before the start of Monday’s game, Cole got to meet with the linesmen and referees for

the contest. Just like the officials in Central New York, the NHL officials offered Adams some sage advice.

“One of the best pieces of advice I got was something that was passed down to these officials by veteran official Kelly Sutherland”, Cole said. “He said to pinch the pocket of my pants while thinking about the penalty call before putting my arm up. That way I can feel confident about my call after putting my arm up”.

With his parents, brother, sister, grandparents, aunt, and uncle all in attendance, Cole got to skate out on the ice with the officials in front of over 15,000 people for warmups and the national anthem. It left an impression on him that he won’t soon forget.

“My legs were shaking a little bit”, Cole said of how he was feeling as he skated out onto the ice in front of all those people. “When I was on the ice, it seemed like it lasted a long time, but once I got off it felt like it went by really quickly”.

“It was honestly just one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had”.

Cole Adams confers with a fellow official during a youth hockey game. Photo submitted by Kelly Adams.

Photo submitted by Kelly Adams.

L to R: Linesman Andrew Smith, Referee Kevin Pollack, Cole Adams, another young referee (unknown name), Referee Brandon Blandina, and Linesman Dan Kelly pose for a picture in the locker room at Monday’s Anaheim Ducks at Buffalo Sabres. Photo submitted by Kelly Adams.

The great bicycle relay race of 1892

NOTE: Details of the Great Race were published in the Utica newspaper The Saturday Globe. This article has been adapted and added to by Ann Eysaman. Schuyler.

Every year we see many people, young and old alike, riding their bicycles up and down the countryside.

Modern technology has developed a lightweight, ten-speed bicycle that can be pedaled by anyone in reasonably good physical condition, even while carrying a loaded pack on their backs.

This year marks the 132nd anniversary of the Great Bicycle Relay Race which began in Chicago and ended in New York City, and which passed through the Mohawk Valley in New York State.

The race covered 1,000 miles and was scheduled to last 98 hours.

By 1892, the bicycle had evolved from a “walk-along” invented in 1790, which was a crude 3 affair consisting of a wooden beam with wheels attached, and the French locksmith Earnest Michaux’s 1860 model with pedals attached, and the comical looking high wheeler of 1873 which required a step stool to mount. About 1880, the safety bike appeared. This was a huge improvement and had rubber tires, ball bearings in the wheels, coaster brakes, cushion saddle seats, and adjustable handlebars.

In 1892, the bicycle craze was at its height and cycling clubs existed all over the country.

The Great Relay Race was arranged by “Bearings,” a bike paper published in Chicago. Its object was to show what could be done with the “wheel” as bicycles were called in those days, and to show the terrible conditions of the roads. Riders would carry a message from General Miles in Chicago to General Howard in New York. Howard doubted

Rankins has also learned that James T. Rankins was appointed commissioner of highways at the first Little Falls Town Board meeting in 1829.

James T. Rankins is referred to as “Captain” in some documents. That was puzzling to Don Rankins, who knew his great-great-grandfather was a private in the militia. He has since learned that James T. was captain of a boat on the Erie Canal.

Rankins hopes to eventually find information tracing the family back to Scotland. And the research continues.

the ability of the wheel compared to horses as a means of transporting men rapidly over rough stretches of the country in military dispatch work. The race was to compare the time it would take to travel a given distance in the U.S. to a race of 875 miles completed by a man named Mills in Europe in a little over four days.

From an account in a Utica, New York newspaper of 1892, we pick up the race at Syracuse. Here the message was handed to C.A. Benjamin of the Syracuse Cycling Club at 2:09 P.M. He covered the distance of 15 miles to Chittenango in 1 hour and 42 minutes.

At Chittenango, the relay was passed to Roy E. Smith of the Century Club of Syracuse. About 500 people congregated on Main Street at 5:17 in Oneida to see the racers pass by. They had a special interest because the Oneida Cycling Club had been shut out by the club’s manager Spalding because of being too slow. However, the club wanted to prove itself and Captain Aldrich had selected Fred Pietrow (Or Pietrau) and Will Ackley to meet the relay at Chittenango and race the sanctioned riders to Vernon, a distance of eighteen miles. They wanted to prove to Mr. Spalding “that we had no farmers” on our team.

The Oneida riders beat the relay riders by thirtyfour minutes! The relay riders protested that they were taken on a roundabout route to Vernon by pacesetters from Oneida, thus explaining the big difference in arrival times. When the relay reached Vernon, the message was handed to George Houck. Each relay rider was accompanied by a pacemaker and as the two started down the West Shore Tracks as a severe rainstorm began. The road had just been ballasted and they had to ride over stones and through sand

and soft gravel. They were expected to arrive in Utica by way of New Hartford and hundreds of people lined Genesee Street waiting to cheer them on. However, they had left the track at Risley’s Crossing above New York Mills where they expected to meet the next rider. They waited for half an hour and when he failed to appear, they started for Utica, not sure of the way. They stopped a streetcar at the Upper Mills to ask the conductor the way. They finally struck pavement at the State Hospital and sped on through rain.

The relay was picked up at the corner of Catherine Street by Phil C. Hames at 8:30 P.M. It was now pitch dark. Hammes and his pacemaker followed the towpath in mud several inches deep. The only place a wheel could be driven at any speed was outside the stone-faced canal wall on a strip of a few inches wide. The riders were thrown several times, Hammes narrowly missing a dunking in the canal. The message bearers passed through Ilion at 10:20 P.M. The Ilion Bicycle Club, fifty strong, were out to urge them on. They had put up red lights and had hot coffee ready for the riders. Although the riders did not stop, they were loudly cheered by men and ladies alike.

Between Herkimer and Little Falls Hammes went over a fifteen-foot embankment but luckily his wheel wasn’t damaged, nor was he injured.

Hammes reached the Girvin House in Little

Please See RACE Page 8

Restaurant Week back in Little Falls after skipping a year

By Dave Warner

Restaurant Week is back after a year off and will run from March 11th through the 16th. The event started in 2019 and was run by Think Local Little Falls. It was a way to get restaurants involved during one of the least busy times of

the year.

This year’s organizer, Marica Bellico, stated, “Winter’s a little slow, so we picked March as that point between Valentine’s Day and when the busy season starts to give some exposure for restaurants.

Please See WEEK

Collected items to be donated to Humane Society

Staff & Visitors at Alpine Rehabilitation & Nursing Center collected items throughout the month of January to donate to the

Herkimer County Humane Society. Members of the Humane Society brought some pups in to visit with the Residents.

GRAVE From Page 7

Lura Camardello

Kaylee Lynch & Samantha Foster

Anna Musella Duane Brado

Falls at 12:17 A.M. The message was transferred to Wilson J. Eysaman and he and his pacemaker, Fred Rose of Utica, started out. Rose had to give up due to illness after one and a half miles and he returned to Little Falls leaving Eysaman to make his way alone in the dark and the rain. Eysaman first attempted to follow the wagon road but had to give up because of mud, so he took to the railroad track after going about a mile out of the way. He also was thrown into railroad culverts but there were no serious injuries to him or to his Stern wheel.

Eysaman reached St. Johnsville in 1 hour 58 minutes, a distance of 9 miles.

Eysaman turned the message over to E.H. Martin of Utica. His pacemaker, W.J. Farley, had to abandon his wheel after two miles and he continued on foot. Farley arrived in Palatine Bridge only three minutes after Martin, which attests to the terrible condition of the road.

The tired and wet wheelmen of the Fort Plain Cycling Club and the Utica Cycling Club were entertained at the St. Johnsville home of Otto Bellinger with “an elegant spread.”

The message

was then passed to Thomas W. Neary, J.W. Ablett, and Chas Ostrom and he was relieved at Fonda, eleven miles to the east, by William R. Mourd, Joseph Erles, and substitute E.H. Peterson. These men continued on to Amsterdam and arrived in daylight at 6:30 A.M.

Here the message was taken by E.H. Crosby of Fort Plain and David H. Lohman of Canajoharie, a member of the Utica Cycle Club and one of the best riders in the state. Crosby carried the message and since it was now daylight, they made good time considering conditions.

The Amsterdam cyclers had threatened to mob the relay men because Manager Crosby had given them no place in the race. Crosby had been unable to recruit riders from Amsterdam on his earlier trip there, so he gave positions to Cohoes men. Crosby had been warned that trouble was likely and when he and Mr. Lohman left the train in Amsterdam, they were hissed by the mob. The Cohoes riders were accompanied by fifteen other wheelmen, so the Amsterdam people thought it wise not to make trouble.

Crosby and Lohman rode over the New York Central bridge over the Mohawk River

at Schenectady. Their wheels humped over the ties but did not give out. They arrived in Schenectady in 1 hour 49 minutes, a distance of fifteen miles. The riders from Schenectady to Albany were A.H. Scattergood, R.H. Rose, and P. Schermacher, Sub William Horing, Frank Horing, and E.P. Van Siem, Sub; and W. Piccaver, Wm. H. Garrett and F. Hendrickson, Sub.

And so, the Great Bicycle Relay Race passed through the Mohawk Valley. It finally ended in New York City at the Federal Building in City Hall Park at 1:05 A.M., 13 hours and 50 minutes behind schedule. The message had been carried from Chicago to New York City in 4 days, 13 hours, and 5 minutes and 975 miles were covered. Treat, Aide-deCamp to General Howard, was waiting and took the message to the general at Governor’s Island.

Racer Eysaman from Little Falls continued to race and participated in another relay in 1893. This time the race began in Albany. Eysaman picked up the relay in St. Johnsville and reached Little Falls in 49 minutes, a much better showing than the previous year.

In 1893, a field day was held in Johnstown

under the auspices of the Keck Zonaves. Eysaman won four races that day, defeating some of the fastest races in the Mohawk Valley, among them Don Conover of Amsterdam.

Wilson Eysaman was 23 years of age when he retired from Bicycle Racing and settled down to get married. He had his medals and more from the exciting cycling days. By the way, he was a farmer, and my grandfather. His home was Sunset View, the 1100-acre farm at the intersection of Burrell and Eysaman Roads, about one mile north of Little Falls. He died in 1914 at the age of forty-three after suffering a severe stroke while replacing shingles on the horse barn roof. I never knew him since I was born in 1931. ~Ann Eysaman Schuyler is a member of the Little Falls Historical Society.

ABOUT THE SATURDAY

GLOBE: The first United States national newspaper: this Utica, New York published weekly newspaper also is reputed to be the first to regularly feature a full color cover illustration on the front page, often graphically portraying an event such as a disaster or war. ~from Falvey Digital Library – Villanova University

We wanted a week where restaurants could create a menu or specials they wanted to promote for an entire week.”

She said this year it’s close to Saint Patrick’s Day, so they are encouraging participating restaurants to come up with something along that theme. “It could be a special for the week or just for Saint Patrick’s Day.”

“This year, the event is sponsored by My Little Falls and Rock City Development,” she said.

One of the more interesting ideas is the March Madness lunch bracket being done by the Cafe at Stone Mill. “It will run for the whole month.

Basically, the top sixteen lunch items compete for the month. It’s going to be a social media bracket. They’ll choose their favorite lunch, which will work like a basketball bracket. Whatever item has the most votes will keep moving forward until we have a winner.”

“Restaurant Week is just a fun time where we encourage people to go out and support their local restaurant. It should be a good time,” Bellico said.