1997

Move Over Daniel Boone

If you were not born in Granger you probably came here to live because of the natural beauty and freedom. In many ways your feelings are very much like those of the western pioneers, who settled this land almost two centuries ago. You are very aware of your desire to continue this freedom. You are also aware of how fragile this freedom is because you have experienced and rejected a more modern lifestyle elsewhere. You want to protect the freedom, but not in the face of a sure loss. You have seen an increased population in an area virtually overrun the kind of freedom you experience here. If you were born here you see this freedom and natural beauty as your heritage. While you may not think about it you have already paid a high price to protect the freedom and are probably prepared to continue to pay the price.

How have we paid the price of freedom so far? Local politicians are quite aware that it is unwise to support any zoning law. Most Allegany County residents will approve no zoning laws. They know zoning laws will limit their property rights. They are quite aware the politicos will find it easy to extend any reasonable zoning law at a later date. Thus the idea of limited zoning falls on deaf ears for fear of future change. How is that a price? We are always in danger of having an undesirable use established next to our home. This can be as undesirable as a garbage dump!

Perhaps worse is basic economics, this is half the reason banks will not lend much money in relation to value on mortgages.

Town boards, which cannot pass zoning, tend to resort to passing specific parts of zoning laws to reduce various problems. State zoning laws, of course, prohibit such piece meal laws, but individuals lose their rights until they go to court against the town. State laws have also limited property rights with a so called fire law, which fits New York City, but puts unneeded limits on all other towns.

The second half of the problem of getting adequate mortgages is caused by dirt roads. They tend to limit the number of people who want to buy a property and thus limit its value. Our local towns have tended to use the transparently invalid excuse that hard roads cost more. Most Western New York towns are well aware that hard roads save money long term as well as increase safety. The real reason our local towns have kept dirt toads for generations is the same one which the banks use to limit mortgages. It keeps people from coming to buy at full prices. In fact, you cannot currently resell a new house for what it costs to build. This pretty much limits new homes to trailers. Additionally it tends to keep businesses from settling here. As a result, our residents have to drive long distances to get more than minimum wage jobs. Our children and grandchildren must also move out if they are to pursue opportunity. We are largely left with a missing generation and our older population locked to the land because they cannot afford to sell and move elsewhere.

The final result of all this is a financially depressed area with a larger than normal welfare case load. Since any kind of new idea such as garbage dump or other new state need, will cost less to put here, we will have to continue to fight being the target of such outside ideas.

Until someone comes up with a new way of protecting property investment without limiting freedom we have three choices. The first is to pass zoning and/or improve roads with the knowledge that this will reduce our freedoms and natural beauty and increase our wealth as the area develops. It also gives us some control of the growth. The second is to wait for other population pressures to accomplish the same end. The third choice is to follow the choice of Daniel Boone and enjoy the area now and move on as the town develops.

Conch Shell Told Time For Pioneers

Reprinted from the November 17, 1967 Edition of the Times Herald, by Dorothy Godfrey

In the 1820’s the whole village of Short Tract got up, ate lunch and retired by Isaac Van Nostrand’s conch shell time signal.

At that time, Capt. Van Nostrand owned the only timepiece in Short Tract, Town of Granger, Allegany County. The deprivation endured by men and women who settled the wilderness of Western New York after the Revolution may be somewhat imagined by remembering Isaac’s story.

Isaac was a millwright who was born and raised in Connecticut. Impressed by the primeval forest when he traveled to Western New York in 1819, he bought 200 acres of land from William short for whom Short Tract was named. He built a sawmill on the banks of Rush Creek and a log cabin in which to live. The next year, he brought to Allegany County his wife, Grace Hatch Van Nostrand, and their six adult sons and two daughters, who built homes near his. Other settlers lived within a radius of a few miles.

None of them owned a watch, except Isaac Van Nostrand. When someone observed that Isaac owned the only timepiece in the settlement, a plan was devised and a proposal was made. Isaac was a neighborly soul, and he agreed to be “watchman” for Short Tract. Besides the watch, he had brought from Connecticut one of those large conch shells seafaring men picked up on Florida or African beaches.

Each day at 4 a.m. when Isaac got up to build the fire and milk the cows, he stood in his yard and blew the shell. Men said, if the wind was right, you could hear his conch horn seven miles away! Isaac blew the horn again at noon and a curfew at 9 p.m. The whole village got up and ate and went to bed by Isaac’s conch.

The first mechanical “clocks” were only possible after Galileo in 1581 A.D. discovered the principle of the pendulum. Then, from sundials and hourglasses, Europe progressed to church-tower clocks and grandfather clocks. The era of marking time by “tick tock” began. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the word “clock” applies only to one that strikes the hours audibly. A nonstriking mechanism is a “time piece.” In Europe, notable in St. Mark’s Square in Venice, was a clock surmounted by a bell on which two figures of men with hammers banged out “12 o’clock.”

By that distinction the Olean Municipal Building has a timepiece on its west wall, while St. Mary of the Angels Church on W. Henley St. has a clock that not only strikes the hours, but every quarter hour. It also rings the Angelus signal as did the monasteries of old Europe. Some churches also ring a “curfew,” derived from the French, “couvrez les feuux” (cover the fires before going to bed.)

Ganger's Favorite Landmark

The cross on Snyder Hill (AKA County Rd. 4) has been a welcoming sight for the Town of Granger for over 25 years.

The idea came from Vesta Rice and her late husband, Charles Rice. They had seen a cross on a hill while visiting Hornell, and thought that Granger would be a perfect location for our own cross. They contacted local churches, organizations, and residents, and collected over $200 to erect the first cross.

The cross is now 50’ high, 22’ wide, and shines brightly through the religious holidays of Christmas and Easter. It is maintained by local volunteers. Easter Sunrise Services have been held at the site for many years, and this year’s service, conducted by Rev. David Peck from the Fillmore and Hume United Methodist Churches, will be at 6:30 A.M. All denominations are welcome, so bundle up, put on your Carharts, and come help us celebrate this joyous occasion. Coffee and donuts will be served.

Vesta Rice recalls one Easter morning when a bird sang melodiously through the entire service, as though God had sent him to accompany us with our glorious worship. I would like to thank the efforts of the following: Vesta Rice and her late husband Charles for creating this beautiful landmark, Grace Knibloe for all of her time and effort to enhance this site, Judy Burt for permission to reprint her article (which follows), and David Peck for conducting the Easter Sunrise Service.

The cross on the hill is calling us to worship on Easter Sunday morning. I hope to see you there. Marilyn Livsey

Judy Burt’s article: “Fillmore Cross Rebuilt”

For over a decade, a 33-foot tall cross on a hill on the Fillmore-Short Tract Road has been a shining symbol of the Christmas spirit for the residents of the area. So when the cross needed new lights, the residents donated the money which was needed to keep the cross lit.

“We started with a little cross arm in 1970” says deputy mayor, Dick Wolfer. “In 1972, we built what we have now, but it was built out of junk – old village Christmas decorations.” Wolfer is one of the people who started the project to rebuild the cross. After having to tinker with the cross every years to get it to work, Wolfer said, “We decided enough is enough and got the project started to get the money together.”

His partner in raising the money for the cross was Fillmore resident, Grace Knibloe. A total of $590 was collected from various sources to pay for the new lights for the cross. After getting all the equipment together, Wolfer, Joe Miller, and village trustee Gary Hodnett climbed up and rebuilt the cross.

“In the past we had exposed bulbs,” Wolfer said, “and every time it rained and froze, we would have to find somebody to climb up and put in new bulbs.” The new lights are traffic signal lamps. They are weather-proof and have an extended life of 3,800 hours. “We are hoping that each bulb will last up to two or three years,” he added.

The lights are run by a time clock, turning on at 5 p.m. and shutting off at 1 a.m. The cross, which is 22’ wide, can be seen from Fillmore, Centerville, Caneadea, and Portageville. The bulbs were mounted so the cross can be seen from east or west.

After experimenting with several different wattages, it was decided that 69 watts would provide the clearest outline of the cross. With higher watts, Wolfer noted, the outline of the cross could not be seen, as it looked like a mass of lights.

“We lose a little visability with the 69 watt bulbs,” he said, “but we make up for it in clarity.”

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