NBNC>SYRNY: July 1 2014

July 1 2014

With the sun sharing its brilliant rays on this first day of July, we decided today is the day to travel to the back roads of our memories along the Seaway trail, which parallels Lake Ontario, to Oswego, where we spent our first day of July in 1971 together. Oswego is found in the northern part of New York State at the southeast extremity of Lake Ontario. 

Uncle Lloyd's Piggies ca 1950s

There are reminders, as we follow the gently rolling hills, of the picturesque sceneries of rural life and history. We pass through many hamlets, including Scriba and Lansing, where my father’s paternal ancestors lived and worked since 1875. The general store, built by my great-grandfather, still stands, where he was not only a cheesemaker, but was the post master for this area. And his son’s farm, my Uncle Lloyd’s, remains nearby, but minus the barns. Seeing Uncle Lloyd’s house gave me the shivers of memories of his “two-seater” outhouse. EWWWWWW!

Clark Farm est. 1816

Oswego area is not only historical in the formation of America, but also in the formation of my family. On the eastern edges of the Town of Oswego is Scriba and on the western line is the hamlet of Fruit Valley, known also as Union Village. Grants of land after the Revolutionary War were given in this area of wooded forest which would be cleared to be able to plant crops of corn, wheat, rye, oats and hay, to support the dairying. In 1816 my great grandfathers/uncles, Abram and Selden Clark, from Connecticut, paid $10 an acre, for their land, which they would eventually own 350 acres of this loamy soil. The original home still stands and has been renovated through the years but retains its original character.

Lake Ontario at Rudy's in winter

Lake Ontaria at Rudy's in summer

We drooled our way to Rudy’s, located on the shore of Lake Ontario, just beyond Oswego College. Rudy’s is near and dear to our hearts because this was where we went on our first date. Rudy’s has served their menu of fried haddock, salt potatoes, and coneys, for 69 seasons; they are in their 4th generation of being family owned and operated. Rudy’s is not a fast-food-processed food. They serve the best; meat is fresh from the same local butcher for the past six decades and their fish comes in daily and is prepared by hand in their kitchens. We enjoyed the best steamed clams and haddock sandwiches as we sat at a picnic table watching the waves roll in from Canada. There were the usual white-feathered rats (seagulls), cawking from overhead, but they were not as annoying as in years past.

Ontario Orchards

Ontario Orchards Fare

After looking at the emptied clams shells and dabs of tartar sauce on our plates we headed westbound toward Southwest Oswego to shop at our favorite farm market of the area, Ontario Orchards.  For nearly forty-eight years this once-small farm stand has become more than a vegetable stand. They sell homemade baked goods, local maple syrups, and delicious apple cider made from their own orchards.  We browsed the displays of apples, potatoes and fresh green peas and got some of each. 

Then we continued on our way to Hannibal, along the Old State Road. 

 This familiar road and its homes and farms along the way have aged. And as we neared my parents’ farm near Sterling it was hard not to become reminiscent of the hours of hard work and chores. Taking a few steps onto this land brought mistiness to my eyes. I miss the beauty of the valleyed farm, the perfume of freshly mown hay, the expanse of the blue skies. 

Valley View Farm from Nine-Mile Creek

 We kept on our way into Hannibal; some places very deteriorated and sad to see, and went by my high school (which gave me shivers just thinking of my English and biology teachers). 

Grand Uncle Middleton

Great Grandfather Middleton

We returned to Oswego on route 104A and the same road that we followed earlier today. On the way through Scriba, again, we stopped at the Pease Cemetery, where we found my previously mentioned grand uncle and wife’s graves, as well as that of great grandfather and gg mother.

Today was another memory maker for us as we near our 41st wedding anniversary and remember, through these pathways, the many years of places, people, and happenings.