Chautauqua County, New York

This was different. On most of my monthly trips to a new county, and this was the sixty-ninth, I've picked the week when the weather was going to be at its best. Now that I'm on City Council in Morgantown, I don't have that luxury. Also, Joe and I are going to Key West at the end of the month to my nephew's wedding, and I thought it would be good to leave a week to be back in Morgantown before heading off again. The forecast for Chautauqua County, in far western New York on Lake Erie, the United States' border with Canada, was for snow. A lot of snow. Still, the roads are all Interstate and there are no mountains to cross, unlike driving to Virginia, for instance, so I figured it wouldn't be hard to go 230 or so miles. And generally, it wasn't.

My first stop was a rest stop on Chautauqua Lake near Mayville, the village that is the county seat. I  met David and Joanne, an older couple staffing the tourist center there, and they told me about the Luci and Desi Museum and Chautauqua Institution, closed for the winter, but a gathering place for intellectuals. Lucille Ball is from Jamestown, the largest city in the county. I told them I look for synagogues, and they told me that Chautauqua, when it's open, has two Jewish centers, and they found a synagogue online in Dunkirk, the second largest city, on Lake Erie, with twelve members. I had found a Reform synagogue in Jamestown with thirty members. There is also a mall, a Wegman's (but no Whole Foods) and forty-nine places on The National Register. So I had enough to do.

View of Lake Chautauqua from the rest stop on I-86, which is also Old Route 17, Wednesday, afternoon

My motel was located just outside the city limits of Jamestown. I got to town about three and went downtown to check out what was there.

The Wellman Building, Jamestown, 1897

Downtown Commercial Historic District, Jamestown. This is the Jamestown Hotel, from 1924

Main St., Route 60, Jamestown

Luci and Desi Museum, Jamestown

I drove back to the motel and crashed for at least an hour. Leafing through the motel's notebook, I found an ad for a Chinese buffet, located just south of the Erie Railroad overpass on Main St. Just a block south of downtown, in what looks like a flood plain, there are newish stores: a chain restaurant, drug store, and a medical walk-in office. The food at the Chinese place was good, but both the hot and cold foods were room temperature, except the hot tea and the cold ice cream. It was snowing when I left the restaurant.

I stayed up arranging my day for Thursday. The National Weather Service posted a "Winter Weather Warning" for Thursday, starting at three P.M. and extending to Saturday evening. I thought about going home the next morning, but decided to stick it out.

Thursday was cold, ranging from 21 to 31 F. and there were snow squalls alternating with bright sunshine most of the day. I had six places on The National Register to find in Jamestown, plus the synagogue, before heading off to the rest of the county. I skipped my alternate day water pill. I knew it would be too hard to have to pee every twenty minutes.

Euclid Avenue School, Jamestown, 1911, enlarged 1920

Lakeview Avenue Historic District, mostly 1890s

Jamestown National Guard Armory, 1932

My search for Jamestown's synagogue was fruitless. The building, behind the armory, is now a church. It's possible that the synagogue still meets elsewhere. The future of Jewish life in small towns is not good.

Erie Railroad Station, Jamestown, 1931. Wikipedia says the last passenger train was in 1970. It is used as a bus hub and, according to a sign outside, will be renovated as a performing arts center.

Partridge-Sheldon House, Jamestown, 1850-67, enlarged 1880. Porter Sheldon was a US Representative after the Civil War

A view of downtown Jamestown from the south, near the Partridge-Sheldon House

Governor Reuben Fenton Mansion (1863) now Fenton History Center, Jamestown

It's 26.5 miles up NY Route 60 from Jamestown, at the south end of Lake Chautauqua, to Fredonia, near Lake Erie. The Commons is a two-square block park along Main Street (US 20) in the middle of town. North of there is a campus of the State University of New York. Fredonia is one of the more prosperous looking towns in the area.

Fredonia Commons, Fredonia

Fredonia Post Office, on the Commons, 1935-36, a Works Progress Administration Project

Fredonia Town Hall and Opera House and the United Methodist Church, Fredonia Commons

On campus at SUNY (State University of New York at Fredonia)

Dunkirk, the second-largest town in Chautauqua County, is just up the road from Fredonia on the border of Lake Erie. Much of the lake is inaccessible, with industrial uses, businesses and parking lots. There is a city park on the lake. I used to work at Social Security in Miami with a young man of Polish heritage who was from Dunkirk. I saw some buildings with words in Polish  and a polish community center in Dunkirk.

Temple Beth-El , Washington St., Dunkirk. They have a webpage on meetup.com, not updated since at least last summer, that shows eleven members

School Number 7, Dunkirk, probably 1920

Coming back down Route 5 along the lake I spotted a combined Tim Horton's and Cold Stone Creamery. Joe and I breakfasted at Tim Horton's in French-speaking Canada, and so I was surprised that the young woman at the register spoke English and said "What can I get for you, Honey." I'm not used to being called "Honey." I had a gooey chicken fajita wrap, with bad fries in a cup (edible drowned in ketchup) and a Diet Coke. I hear that Diet Coke rots your brain, but it goes well with fast food.

Point Gratiot Lighthouse. As you can see, the grounds were closed. This is the office with the lighthouse, still in use, behind it, 1875, on Lake Erie in Dunkirk.

Lake Erie from Point Gratiot Park in Dunkirk

The road into Lake Erie State Park, Brocton, with the bathhouse on the right

Brocton "Welcome" Arch, 1913

It started to snow on the way from Brocton to Westfield, adjacent towns along Lake Erie.

Barcelona Lighthouse and keeper's cottage, 1829, Westfield, now owned by New York State

Coming back to the center of Westfield, which is along U.S. 20, from Barcelona Lighthouse, the snow was coming down "fast and furious." I parked behind Main St. and ducked into the café pictured here with the "open" flag. I had a cannoli and herbal tea. I didn't realize they closed at two. I got there at five of. The snow stopped for awhile, or at least slowed down enough for me to walk around. Westfield has more National Register listings than anyplace else in Chautauqua County. It was once called "Portland" and was an early port and grape-growing region. If it had not already been so late, and the weather threatening, I might have explored more of the town.

E.Main St. Historic District, Westfield

One-time headquarters of Welch's, Westfield. Lake Erie is a major grape-growing area

Town Square, Westfield, part of the French Portage Road Historical District

an early 20th Century block on East Main St., in Westfield

The McClurg Museum, an 1818 mansion, Home of the Chautauqua Historical Society, Westfield

I headed south east from Westfield back in the direction of Jamestown, to Mayville, a village, and the county seat. By this time, it was 3 P.M. and the promised snowstorm showed up.

Chautauqua County Courthouse, 1907, Mayville

Sign bragging about how much snow they get, across the street from the Courthouse, Mayville

I thought I would check out the Chautauqua Community, a resort that has concerts and lectures throughout the summer. It is just south of Mayville and has many historic structures. Although the road by there is along Lake Chautauqua, the snow was coming down so hard that it was impossible to get a clear view of the lake. I passed it by on the way to Lakeview, the western suburb of Jamestown, where there is a traditional enclosed mall. I stopped in to see what was there, and to get out of the weather. They have a Bon-Ton (same company as Elder-Beerman in Morgantown), Penny's and Sear's. There an Office Depot with an outside entrance, and some restaurants that can be entered from inside or outside the mall. Many storefronts in the mall are empty. I stopped in FYE, where I (still) buy CDs in Morgantown, and I bought the new Grammy CD, a collection of songs nominated for Grammys. This gives me an opportunity to see what the latest (last year) music is, and I usually upload it to my antique IPod shuffle to listen at the gym.

I noted the location of Wegman's near the mall and went back to my motel to nap for an hour. I went back out to Wegman's for dinner, where it is now $9.99 a pound for the food bar. I spent $!5 on greens, broccoli, a little piece of salmon, and fruit, trying to eat healthier than I did for lunch. I was back in the room early to catch up on email and social media. There was a party in the next room, which kept me up a bit. I tried to watch some of MSNBC and CNN, thinking I would get smart commentary, but on one of them was an interview with a steelworker and his father, both inarticulate, praising the President's tariffs on imported steel. There were also commercials for medication and cars. I confirmed for myself why I don't watch television at home.

I was out before nine Friday morning in near white-out conditions, drove back to the courthouse in Mayville, then to Morgantown. The weather cleared up at the Pennsylvania line near Erie, and there was less and less snow on the ground as I headed south. I was in Frankin Park, at the north end of Allegheny County, not far from Pittsburgh just past noon. I know there is an Eat 'n' Park there, and my friend Matthew, who I met in New Orleans in 1973, lives nearby. I called him, and since he is unemployed, he came and met me for lunch. It was good to see him again. Schools in Monongalia were closed because of snow Friday. It didn't seem so bad when I got there around three in the afternoon.

Like most of the smaller places I visit, it seems the best days of the area are in the past. The little old towns are pretty, and some have upscale stores, but most don't. Chautauqua Institute is famous, and I know people from all over go there for a week or so in the summer. I'm sure it's beautiful outdoors by the lake in the summer. I perversely enjoyed navigating around in the snow. Go figure!