WAYNE COUNTY COMMUNITY ENDOWMENT

The Wayne County Endowment Advisory Committee (together with the Rochester Area Community Foundation) announced last week the awarding of $29,400 in grants to eight nonprofit organizations serving the Wayne County community. Organizations receiving grants are: Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Services, Finger Lakes Visiting Nurse Service, Historic Palmyra, Home Meals Service, Lyons Community Center, Montezuma Audubon Center, NAMI Rochester, and Rochester Chapter of Young Audiences, Inc.

This permanent endowment fund was started in 1984 with charitable gifts from the estate of Nettie Bullis, who believed strongly in  her community, education, and projects that improved the quality of life.

This community is grateful to Nettie Bullis for these most-recent gifts. As we pointed out in a post a few months ago, her New England frugality and business acumen allowed her to accumulate the capital she used to create an endowment that will benefit this area for generations to come.

Again, we thank you Nettie Bullis.

WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT

There have been several posts on this blog about Nettie Bullis's Uncle John Lapham Bullis who fought in the Civil War and continued his military career on the western border. His contributions were recognized in many ways, including the naming of Camp Bullis in his honor.

We thought of John Lapham Bullis this week when we heard about the Friends of Macedon Public Library scheduling a June 19 presentation of the Wounded Warrior Project. Mr. Bullis, we feel sure, would have supported such a project in his day, not only because he himself was wounded in the Civil War but also because he was so conscientious about caring for his comrades who suffered such a fate.

We encourage you to come to this presentation  on June 19, 6 PM, here in Macedon Public Library's Community Room.  LCpl. J.M. Gonzalez will explore the project's mission (to honor and empower Wounded Warriors) and its purpose (awareness, enlist public support,  help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and provide unique and direct programs and services. He will also include general background on the organization.

We hope to see you on June 19. And in the meantime, please tell others about this presentation.

OUR WESTERN BORDER

In 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, whose members came to be known as WACS. Long before this event, however, women participated in combat situations in various capacities and several books in the Bullis collection record their experiences.

One book, Our Western Border ... gives us an idea of the level and manner of participation that pioneer women took in the battles in the Ohio Valley, on what was then our western frontier.  If you're into women's history, you will find this book interesting and informative.

Written by Charles McKnight, Our Western Border ... was published in 1876 by J.C. McCurdy in Philadelphia. Included in its 756 pages are 15 plates as well as illustrations. We suggest you stop by to spend some time with this book and take an armchair journey to the Ohio Valley in the latter half of 1700.

CANALS

The Erie Canal officially opened for the season yesterday, and this event is welcomed not only by boaters but also by those of us who hike and bike the towpath. (Why? Because watching the different types of watercraft gliding by on the water and waving to the occupants adds to the fun on the path.)

There have been articles in the media recently about the engineering accomplishment this canal system represents  as well as its commercial and recreational value to our state and country.  For those of you who want to know more about this subject, there are several books in this collection about the Erie Canal as well as canals in general.  We are highlighting two of them in this post.

History of the Canal System of the State of New York,

together with brief histories of the canals of the United Sates and Canada,

by Noble E.  Whitford

published in Albany, Brandow Printing Company, 1906

(This book is a supplement to the Annual Report of the State Engineer

and Surveyor of the State of New York for the

fiscal year ending September 30, 1905)

And

Report of the Committee on Canals of New York State,

published in New York, 1900.

You are invited to stop by the Bullis Room and look at all the books on canals. We're always glad to assist you.