I LOVE NEW YORK

The next time you're in Macedon Public Library, we suggest that you take a look at the current I LOVE NEW YORK display in the case on the east side of the Bullis Room window. Several Bullis books on our state's history are featured as well as these vintage postcards from the collection:

Camp Watokalo, Adirondack Mountains, New York

Geneva on Seneca Lake

Hotel Rochester in Rochester

The Locks in Lockport, New York

Methodist Church and Parsonage in Sodus

High School in Sodus

Main Street, looking west from Maple Avenue, in Sodus

Ravine and Iron Bridge, near Chautauqua

College Hall Auditorium in Lima

Aqueduct, Palmyra

And if you're familiar with some of the places or settings in these pictures and would like to share a special memory, we'd love to hear from you. You can contact us through this blog or leave a message for us (the Bullis Committee) at the main desk.

FROM THE FLOOR

How often do we look at the bottom shelf of books in a library? Speaking for myself, the answer is: "Not often enough." So last week I plopped myself down in front of the History section and began pulling books at random from the lower shelves. These books may be low, location-wise, but they are high in interest to those of us who love local history. Thus I was rewarded well for my time, effort and the occasional "twinge" from my lumbar region as I made the acquaintance of these books:

Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins, and Schuyler Counties, New York

Niagara and other Famous Cataracts of the World

Landmarks of Wayne County Landmarks of Monroe County

Warriors of the Genesee Political History of New York

Topographical Survey, Adirondack Region, New York

Hotchkins History of Western New York Annals and Recollections of Oneida County

Exhibit of State of New York at World's Columbia Exposition

All these books are over a hundred years old and they do show their age. A book evaluator would use words like "loose boards, warping, yellowing," or "brittle" to describe some of their conditions. In addition to natural aging, many of these books sustained additional damage from the heat and water of the 2001 library fire. Despite the toll taken by the storms of life, however, they keep on keeping on, their contents enhancing our knowledge and appreciation of the past as well as the present. Today, they sit in their assigned places, ready to serve yet another generation of readers. Let's not disappoint them.

(As the title states, this viewpoint comes from the floor...The Bullis Room floor. Hope to see you there one of these Thursdays.)

WAYNE COUNTY DIRECTORY, 1867-8

Want the low-down on Wayne County businesses 140 years ago? Stop by and take a look at this gazetteer loaded with interesting facts on all of the towns that made up Wayne County in 1867-68. Long lists detail shopkeepers, blacksmiths, farmers, and other business people in towns, villages, and hamlets in the county.

There are also stamp duties, postal rates and regulations, law maxims, interest rates, and a 20-year calendar. Information about "the states, their settlements, etc." is also included. You can even get some ideas on "How to Succeed in Business" in 1867-8.

The directory advertises Mrs. Bristol's Baby Soother, manufactured by Arbuckle & Co. "sole manufacturers" and sold for 25 cents. Newark businessman, D. C. Bristol, Dealer in Drugs, Medicines, Stationery, Fancy Goods and Dye Stuffs, offers a reassuring statement, "Physician Prescriptions carefully compounded." And if you were living in the area 140 years ago, you might have purchased blinds, sashes, or doors from A. C. Bartle on Palmyra Street.

This directory provides hours of pleasurable browsing for those interested in the "good ole days." You're invited to stop by and take a look at it some Thursday morning.

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