As the sun sets on another summer, it's best to reflect on the season's magic
Good grief. Is summer gone?
Looks that way. It’s Aug. 28, and we’re driving through Wyoming County. The corn on either side of the road is tall, very tall. What’s next? Fall. The harvest. Snow.
Shake that thought off. In Little Valley, Cattaraugus County, my hometown, we celebrate the upcoming 80th birthday of my childhood friend Ryan West.
The party is at the American Legion. Ryan is a U.S. Navy veteran, a longtime member of the Legion post, a pillar of the community. There is food, good heavens, so much food. Perhaps 70 people are there.
My sister Martha calls my brother Ed. He’s in Olean, maybe watching baseball on television. She reminds him about Ryan’s birthday. He’s Ryan’s friend, too. Martha lets Ed know about the pizza, the watermelon, the meatballs.
Enough said. Ed appears. There he is working the food line. It’s just as it was when we were kids in Little Valley at church dinners or other occasions. Ed would fill his plate, settle in. We teased him then; we tease him now. He laughs. Heads off for another slice of watermelon.
The party goes on. There is 50-50 raffle, $5 getting you 10 or so tickets. There’s always a 50-50 raffle at events in Little Valley. The disc jockey – yes, there’s a disc jockey – pushes sales, urges people to up the ante. Eventually, the birthday boy draws a ticket. As is often the case, we don’t win. The winner gives his prize back to the Legion. That’s what you do.
We say our goodbyes, spend the night in Ellicottville. It was a logging town when I grew up, now it’s a year-round destination place, a draw for skiers, golfers, weddings.
But on this Sunday night, Ellicottville is quiet, as if taking an intermission between the seasons. Or maybe it’s because families are getting ready to send their kids back to school. New clothes, new school supplies. A fresh start.
On the way home, the corn seems even taller, the hills even greener. Summer came through, worked its magic. But you can’t stop it, fall is almost here.
I remind myself that fall is the best time of the year in Western New York. The hills will glow; the nights will cool. Fall will be good, really, really, good. But still, I know what comes after that.
Good grief, I’m already obsessing over snow totals and wind chill. Best to shake that off, remember the party, remember the green magic of late summer in western New York. Why would you live anywhere else?
Remarkable Rochesterians
In remembering this Rochester sports luminary, who had one of the best nicknames in local sports, Sean Lahman of the Democrat and Chronicle wrote:
“By day, he was a bespectacled sheet metal worker at Eastman Kodak Co. At night, Harold ‘Shifty’ Gears was one of the all-time great softball pitchers.”
Given his greatness, let’s add Gears’ name to the list of Remarkable Rochesterians.
Harold “Shifty” Gears (1907-1974): An Eastman Kodak Co. employee, he pitched for the company’s fast-pitch softball team, often five nights a week, and amassed a career total of 866 wins, 115 loses and 13,244 strikeouts, as well as 61 no-hitters and nine perfect games. A Rochester native who led his team to two national championships, in 1957, he became the first player to be inducted into the Softball Hall of Fame.
From his home in Geneseo, Livingston County, retired senior editor Jim Memmott, writes Remarkable Rochester, who we were, who we are. He can be reached at jmemmott@gannett.com or write Box 274, Geneseo, NY 14454
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: As Rochester NY summer fades away, reflect on season's magic
