Geraldine Coon Rademaker Reynolds, 97, brought her second-grade report card from 1919, Carol B. McIntosh had her Mary Gregory glass appraised and Glenn Gibson showed how ride a bike with a 51-inch front wheel.
Meanwhile, folks ate strawberry shortcake, took buggy rides and browsed as the band played at the History Center of Niagara County’s Strawberries & Antiques Festival on Saturday.
Reynolds, a long-time society member who helped set up the Royalton Historical Society in 1977, was given an award and a gift. She brought relatives, her grade school report cards and medals.
The Matt Coon Family came from Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1637. In 1918, when Geraldine Coon was in second grade, she and her father got influenza, which was fatal to many people at that time. When she was sick, her grades dropped into the 70s, but six years later she won the Niagara County spelling championship. Ten years later, she was the valedictorian at Middleport High School.
Gerry watched the recent national spelling bee and said, “The words we had were not like they are today ... There’s no sense to them. We had practical words.”
She studied at Bryant & Stratton and worked at the Ellicott Square Building in Buffalo, Niagara Sprayer and the State Institute for the Study of Malignant Disease — now Roswell Park.
When her first husband, Carl Rademaker, died after 46 years of marriage, Geraldine moved to Lockport.
n Glenn Gibson of the League of American Wheelmen rode at the Niagara Street party on a 1884 bike with a front tire of 51-inch diameter. That’s about twice the height of today’s 26-inch wheel. His wife, Melinda Gibson, had a smaller bike, and Bob Glaser of Newfane had a 36-inch child’s bike which his grandchildren ride.
The bikes were made before chains existed, Gibson said. The bigger the front wheel, the faster a rider could go. The limit depended on the length of the rider’s legs. The little wheel is for stability. The spokes are handmade. The tires are solid rubber.
“My uncle and father found it in my grandfather’s barn when I was 5,” said Gibson, a native of New Hampshire. “I was tall enough to ride it when I was 14.”
Gibson, who lives in Lancaster, will take the bike on 10- to 12-mile cruises and has biked 100 miles a day.
• Folks brought collectibles of all kings for appraisal. McIntosh has been collecting Mary Gregory Glass for years.
“I wouldn’t part with any piece of mine, whatsoever,” she said. “I came here to ... give it (as a) donation.”
Her 1890s glass beauty spot patch was appraised at $500.
Local News
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DAN CAPPELLAZZO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPH
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Reform agenda touted
Empire State Development Corporation executive Sam Hoyt visited Lockport on Wednesday to tout Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state budget and government reform plans.
Changing the way the state does business will bring fiscal relief to counties, cities and towns, eventually, Hoyt suggested.
It’s too bad the reforms won’t kick in before municipalities like the City of Lockport begin confronting fiscal crises, Mayor Michael Tucker said in response. -
Tucker: 'Best days lie ahead'
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Trio of new classes proposed for Newfane
Newfane High School could have three new business courses in the fall, one of which would center on video game design.
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Municipalities take wait-and-see approach on SPCA funding
The City and Town of Lockport are each withholding payments to the Niagara SPCA, while other Eastern Niagara County towns are taking a wait-and-see approach.
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Rocky II
Friends of Deputy Craig Beiter of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department plan a benefit on Feb. 26 to raise money to buy and train a new dog for the K-9 Unit.
Beiter’s German shepherd, Deputy Rocky, was killed while on duty in December, and the sheriff’s department is close to getting a replacement. -
Basket Factory closes
The Basket Factory has gone out of business.
The owners, Julie Thompson Riegle and Dawn Thompson, made the difficult decision last Monday and put the sign on the door Tuesday. -
No snow is no problem
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Shovel-ready park has perks
At first glance, the big, orange road sign announcing vacant property on Lockport Road as a “shovel ready certified” building site seems a bit gratuitous.
To companies looking for new places to launch a business, it’s not. The sign in their eyes is a welcome mat, for in three words a community pronounced itself ready, willing and able to make a deal quickly. -
Roy-Hart to play the big stage
A group of local students will be performing this month at Kleinhans Music Hall just before a BPO concert.
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will welcome the Royalton-Hartland High School Mixed Chorus as part of the BPO’s Community Spotlight program on Feb. 19 at Kleinhans in Buffalo. The chorus will perform under the direction of Carolyn Unitas Roos and accompanied by Janice McKinney. -
Former NFTA cop sentenced
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In addition, John W. Ingham will spend 25 weekends in the service of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Work Program. Ingham was sentenced Thursday by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch, Sr. Ingham will also register as a sex offender. - More Local News Headlines
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