Tag: allegany country

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Campus News

Spooky Stories

Spooky Stories Poster - Courtesy of Savannah Stitt
By Olivia Kleinau ('23)

Dr. Douglas Gaerte, Professor of Communications, at Houghton University, shared two articles of spooky stories from the local area. 

The first article was shared from Angelica, N.Y., 21 minutes from Houghton. Cindy Wagner, writing for the Olean Times Herald, writes about an abandoned poorhouse. 

In the town of Angelica, Wagner writes, “some of the oldest graves in the Day of the Dawn Cemetery on the east side of the village have no names on the stones. Only numbers. The graves are those of long ago-residents of the Allegany County Home, one of the many almshouses—or poorhouses—opened around the country in the early 1800s.”

According to a 1857 state report regarding the Allegany County Home, the people within these poorhouses were treated barbarously. The poorhouse also consisted of terrible living conditions. 

Dr. John Norton, the county physician, wrote a report in 1864, describing the conditions as, “no ventilation, old, rotten, and filthy, and entirely inadequate for the purpose for which it is used.” 

On July 28, 1980, the house burnt down, but was rebuilt the next year. It remained open until the early 1960s and still stands today.

Another article, shared by Gaerte, is the tale of the disappearance of Flossie Wilbur from her home in Angelica, N.Y.  John Anderson, writing for the Tyler Morning Telegraph, breaks down the mysterious disappearance of Wilbur. Her disappearance was described as an unsolved murder for decades until a deathbed confession of a terminal cancer patient solved the case.

Wilbur had been missing since Aug 24, 1985, and all that was left of her were the groceries both in and out of her car.

Anderson writes that David Sherk, Wilbur’s neighbor, allegedly confessed to the murder while, “in a medical facility in Wyoming County, N.Y. with terminal cancer.”

According to neighbors, Sherk was well liked in the community, but Wilbur, however, was not. Two investigators on Wilbur’s case revealed that she kept a diary talking badly about many people in the town.

Rolland Rasmusson, who lived across the street from Wilbur, said in an interview, “Most people didn’t think very much of her. She kind of had a foul mouth when she was talking and a lot of people didn’t like her very well.” 

Despite the admission to the alleged murder, no charges were drawn against Sherk due to his condition and cooperation with the case.

Written in 2020, the article finishes by stating that the police would continue to look for Wilbur’s remains based on Sherk’s descriptions. However, the case still remains open as her remains have yet to be found. ★

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Opinions

Houghton in Angelica: College Students and Community Frequent Angelica Café

Allegany County is home to several small, well-established restaurants that attract Houghton students and community members, including 3 Bums Pizza, Ace’s Country Cupboard and the Black-Eyed Susan Acoustic Café. One of the most popular restaurants within the Houghton community, however, is only one year old: the Canteen in Angelica, New York.

thecanteen1The Canteen, located about twenty minutes south of Houghton, opened on June 23, 2015, and has since attracted a large customer base from Houghton. The family style restaurant and coffee shop serves breakfast and lunch, as well as several specialty drinks and ice cream. Several Houghton students can be found there on Saturdays and Sundays, and many say they enjoy the restaurant’s atmosphere for studying, as well as for spending time with friends.

“It’s a really good environment,” said Kim Logee ’17. “It’s everything you want in a coffee shop. The people who own it are really nice and welcoming.”

Tom and Lynn Murray, the owners and operators of the Canteen, never expected to run a restaurant. Mr. Murray worked for Kodak for 30 years, and following his departure in 2014, he and Mrs. Murray decided to buy the building that houses Heritage Antiques, the restaurant, and the apartment above the restaurant. At the time, the tenants in the building that is now the Canteen ran a café called Heritage House. When business didn’t work out for those tenants, the Murrays decided to renovate the full building. Once they finished renovations, they planned to rent out the space to tenants.

“We knew we didn’t want to run a restaurant,” said Mr. Murray. “We knew it was hard. Everybody told us it was hard.”

In the midst of renovations, however, the Murrays learned that much of the building was not up to the New York state fire code. During the nine months they worked to meet those safety regulations, the couple also found that Angelica locals would come off the street and give them suggestions for how to arrange the space. Eventually, the Murrays realized that if they did not have a buyer by the time the renovations were finished, they would have to run the business themselves to recoup their initial investment.

“It was really just to get it off the ground, establish some kind of presence, and see if it worked,” said Mr. Murray. “Then, we hoped to find someone who was really passionate about food and restaurants to take it over. That was our plan. We’re still here.”

The Canteen opened in the early summer of 2015 with the Murrays as both the owners of the building and the business. They are still in charge, but have put the whole building, as well as the equipment from the Canteen, on the market for someone who wants to run a café full-time. Despite their reluctance to run the Canteen for longer than a year, the Murrays have still enjoyed their experience as owners of a restaurant.

“We like farming and animals and that type of thing,” said Mr. Murray. “But we also enjoy meeting people like the locals and the students from Houghton. On the weekends, half of our clientele is from Houghton.” He added that the restaurant also often welcomes state troopers from Allegany County and travellers off the highway who find the restaurant through Google.

Houghton students go back to the Canteen for several reasons. Ian DeHaas ’17, a frequent Canteen customer, noted the coffee as a reason to visit.

“The Canteen’s coffee is mellow,” said DeHaas. “Their beans have a nice range from dark roast to light roast and the flavor is good, but overall their coffee is brewed to be mellow and relaxing. It has a very tea-like quality to it and it’s very non-acidic. It’s the casual coffee enthusiast’s dream.”

Rachel Zimmerman ’18 said the overall atmosphere, which feels like home, draws her back.

“I love the Canteen for all of its thoughtful details,” she added. “ The tables overlaid with newspaper clippings, the mason jar light fixtures, and the clear glass mugs that make every drink feel elegant.”

The Canteen is located at 40 West Main Street in Angelica, New York, and is open Friday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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News

Common Core Curriculum in Western NY

Allegany County schools are currently grappling with new curricula and state-mandated Common Core standards, a new set of national educational guidelines that are intended to bring diverse curricula across the United States into a common standard. Some, however, are questioning if schoolchildren are “getting lost along the way.”

“There’s no time in the day now for share or play time,” says Wendy Butler, Pre-K-4 principal at Fillmore Central School. “Extra support time just doesn’t exist. We used to have a half hour of recess a day; now if kids get 15 minutes they’re lucky.”

Courtesy of www.teachthought.com
Courtesy of www.teachthought.com

The Common Core presents rigorous expectations for student learning in grade-level content areas. Teaching materials and literature for parents show a narrower, more specific curriculum that will educate students in fewer topics but with the benefit of a more complete knowledge knowledge of approved subject material. John King, New York state’s commissioner of education, shared his vision of the Common Core “raising standards to reflect college and career readiness in the 21st century.” Teaching must now reflect these standards and prepare students for Common Core-based testing.

Principal Butler described the struggle in implementing these standards, “You need to remember if you’re a 4th grade teacher, those kids haven’t had the Common Core instruction in grades 3, 2, 1 and kindergarten. There’s a lot of pre-requisite knowledge the kids just don’t have.”

Considering this lack of knowledge, Bethany Hackett, a Houghton student-teacher in Belfast Central School, described the pressure and stress this Common Core change is inflicting on teachers. She felt “teachers were knocked down” and “joy was sucked out.” She said the problem was not the standards themselves, but the way they were being implemented.

Mike Roche, principal at Belfast Central School, believed schools just need time, and the current stress and schedule changes are purely “growing pains.” He said, “Right or wrong, I think it’s the only way to adopt the Common Core curriculum. If you have a band-aid on, you can either do it slowly and painfully or you can do it quickly and get it over with.” He later reflected, “I worry about the children. Adults will all survive, but I worry about the children who will get lost along the way.”

Professor Freytag, associate dean for education and physical education, said, “Any time you implement systemic change, there’s going to be a gap.” She affirmed that the intent of the Common Core is excellent and that educators are still navigating its implications. She said, “A lot of administrators are facing challenging decisions, and it’s going to call for a lot of hard work, determination, creativity, and good sound pedagogical delivery.”

This issue is not only the concern of educators; it impacts each student and staff member at Houghton. Kristen Schnitzer, senior Inclusive Childhood Education major, believes that Houghton students, as possible future parents, should be aware of the changes in education since they are impacting “how students are going to grow up and learn.” Professor Sullivan, chair of the education department, emphasized that “schools are a major part of our communities” and parents and community members need to realize their power in “speaking into school districts and supporting their teachers.”

In midst of the change, pressure, discouragement, and hope, Bethany Hackett shared that she and other teachers hold onto the moments “when a child’s light bulb goes off” and when children yell for her to “keep reading” a Beauty and the Beast fairy-tale. She said, “You just remind yourself that you’re passionate about kids and you’re there for them.”

“The message people need to hear right now,” said Principal Butler, “is that our teachers are working very hard.” She shared that although teachers often feel “beat up” and people hear the problems of public education, teachers are “seeking the best for kids.”