Longtime Cambria supervisor Wright Ellis leaves office

Benjamin Joe, Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, N.Y.
·2 min read

Dec. 30—Cambria Supervisor Wright Ellis is serving out the rest of his term this weekend. After being elected in 1991, Ellis has not stopped performing what he describes as "public service."

Ellis's journey to Cambria's executive seat was a long one. He said he joined the Navy because he came from a modest family and wanted to go to college.

"It was a case of finding money to go to college," he explained. "We didn't have a lot of money. We certainly couldn't afford to send me to college, so I was taking every scholarship test there was, and at the end of the day the ROTC gave the most money."

In those days the draft was still used and Ellis said it was generally assumed that everyone would end up in the military.

"It's hard to explain the mindset then," he said. "Vietnam was not yet a dirty word. That started in '67, with the big protests."

Ellis would go on to serve a 26-year career in the Navy, eventually reaching the rank of captain and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon and the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V.

He met his wife, Jeannine in Newport, Rhode Island and today the couple have two children and four grandchildren.

In 1987, Ellis retired and returned to Niagara County to work with his brother at Ellis Fruit Farm. A few years later he'd run for office and, "the rest is history," he said.

Ellis said the town was a different place from when he started the job.

"When I started, we said the town was in transition in that it used to be totally farm, 100%," he said. "Somewhere the college came around and that made a difference. I think developments in the Buffalo south towns, Clarence and Amherst, were pushing out to the north. Then we see pressure from Niagara Falls, people moving out (of there), and they found property in Cambria that was available."

At the moment, the town seems "rightsized" Ellis said, and feels he's met the expectations of the residents.

Ellis said he has plans to travel, maybe all the way to the Pacific Northwest, and will keep busy. However, he said he was only a phone call away for his successor, Jon MacSwan, to talk to if he needed some advice.