July 31, 2023 - JULY GIVES WAY TO AUGUST
The power of Citizen involvement. This little garden is on the corner of Chapel St. and Main in Penn Yan. It is in front of the museum of history.
From the county website:
"Standing proudly on Main Street in Penn Yan is the anchor building of the Yates County History Center, the Oliver House Museum, one of three buildings comprising the YCHC. The Center….is one of the oldest in NYS."
Julie noticed that no one had ever taken care of it and the plantings and everything else has been overgrown. Over the past year she and her friend Jane Tillman began tending to it and they have turned an eyesore into a lovely corner garden
….but she didn’t stop there.
Her little garden was only the beginning of the battle. The entire grounds were a mess. It all need to be weeded, edged and mulched. This is the 200th anniversary of Yates County and there was no pride being shown in front of this venerable museum.
After a brief phone battle with a few dignitaries who blamed each other…the county and the village officials were blaming each other for who was responsible….when we returned to Penn Yan on Saturday, the job was done. Kudos to citizen Julie Schnepf!!
Tenzin Chopak stopped by the store on Friday. I hadn’t seen him in such a long time. He is a talented, Ithaca based musician. He checked out this custom shop Dobro that is a gem to look at as well as to play.
John Irvine requiescat in pace..,
JULY GIVES WAY TO AUGUST
July 31st, 2023
Hello friends,
As I move through my 70s, I am seeing more and more of my friends cross over to the next world. Each week it seems like there’s someone else missing or another service to attend. It is a difficult time, but I am very stoic about it. I realize we all have an expiration date, but it is never easy. This last Saturday we bade farewell to John Irvine. He was a fantastic banjo and mandolin player… a complete musician as well as a fine human being. Our history went back 45 years and he had turned up some of the finest instruments I have ever owned including a 1924 Gibson L-5 signed by acoustical engineer, Lloyd Loar and a MINT, unplayed 1960 Gibson Les Paul sunburst. We had a relationship and a mutual understanding that worked well between us over the many years and we never had a sour deal. But John was always grasping for something that he couldn’t quite put his hands on. Sadly, he said goodbye to this world, and his musician friends gathered together at the Edgewood Church where he was a board member. We shared the stories, laughter and tears…
In the old Italian neighborhood, surrounding the church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, where I spent a great deal of my childhood….my grandmother and her lady friends, had a group that was affectionately known as the "wake brigade". They would comb the obituary section of the daily newspaper to find out if anyone, with whom they had any remote connection, had died. They would attend the wake and perhaps the funeral. My grandmother and her "cummari" Ester Broccolo and Lena DiRenzo would visit funeral homes to pay their respects to just about anyone they could draw a tie too. Once, when I was living at her house, she woke me up from an afternoon nap and said, "Johnny, quick we’ve gotta get dressed! we gotta go see the dead". I woke up from a stupor, and said, "Wow, where are they playing!" And she said, "they’re not playing….they’re dead, and we need a ride to Rose Gigliotti’s funeral home right now!”. TRUE STORY.
July is just preparation for August which is Summer is all of its glory. Gardens are bursting, baby birds are leaving their nests, and I am planning a road trip. I am anticipating leaving Penn Yan next Sunday for a brief tour through New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. If anyone has any instruments which they would like me to take a look at it, or advise them on, and have me bring back to Rochester to sell, please contact me through email or phone. I’ll have an empty van and I plan on returning with it filled.
With love,
John Bernunzio
My trusty Optimus scooter has been meticulously restored by the boys at The Tint Shop under the close direction of their boss “Jay Bernunzio”. It had been scuffed up and damaged through three years of international travel, and they turned it into a brand new machine using his magical tint process. It has inspired me to seek out new adventures. But it is a travel, utility vehicle and best used in a travel situation. It’s not great for every day use in the town of Penn Yan or on the Outlet Trail. I intend to keep it in perfect shape for taking back-and-forth to Rochester work for international travel.
…but Julie found me something else on Sunday! This "Great Gatsby" vintage model electric mobility cart will travel up to 30 miles and will go at speeds of up to 10 miles per hour. I will be able to drive the entire length of the Outlet Trail and back. It has cushy tires and comfy seat. I will be the most stylish old guy in Penn Yan.
We purchased it from a lovely 93 year old veteran from Hornell, NY who advertised it in the Shopper’s Guide. It was about an hour drive, but a nice excursion through what is referred to as "the southern tier". So many little towns once connected by trains, and then abandon to fend for themselves when industry moved on….waiting to be rediscovered.
Sunrise, Branchport, NY….Monday morning