Thank you for subscribing to the Historic Valentown Newsletter!
~A Note From Kathryn White~

Valentown greetings,

October is like a dog with a cold nose! It sneaks up on you and 
gets you when you least expect it. We can only yell a bit. We 
are getting ready to shut off the water and close up the 
building. But that does not mean we will not be reviewing and 
making plans for next year. We are probably more aware of the 
change in seasons than other places today. We "fall" back to our 
predecessors who followed the sun and watched every little pattern 
that let them know their next move to keep their lives in step with 
the natural flow of things. There were apples, squash and 
pumpkins on their minds too this time of year. But in many cases 
this was their own harvest, by their own hands. It was an 
accumulation of their hours and labor that began in spring and 
used the long daylight and power of the sun with no guarantee of 
the outcome. Our rural heritage is still with us in many ways. 
And that is what we hope we can share and remind people of.

The New Neighbors NextDoor!

Joe Nathanson, Olivia Krupski, Kelly Krupski, Kevin Krupski

Our new neighbors are eagerly awaiting their vintage style brew 
house. The New York Beer Project will soon be here. 
They stopped by to get acquainted and got the full tour.  They 
have wonderful plans for their new Project location and we will 
be eager to see the reaction of the Rochester and local 
community. The interior has had a lot of thought to the history of 
brewing and the atmosphere of places in the 19th century. It 
will be well worth waiting for. This is hometown business at its 
best. Please check out their original location in Lockport N.Y. 
on Face Book. But Kelly says this new spot will be a little 
different and geared towards the history of the area and brewing.

We are the history of hometown business and community and we hope 
there is always room for places in our area that represent our 
past. They are there for the same reason as 100 years ago and that 
is to prosper and give back to their community in a personable 
way that some other models cannot do today. The challenge can be 
difficult especially when a community is no longer centered the 
way it historically used to be. We applaud those who are 
neighborhood businesses whose roots are from the ground up.

Please kept in touch through this newsletter as we have some 
exciting events coming. We don't want anyone to miss any of our 
news.
As always, we are your down home, hometown museum.
Kathryn White, President

Discover your Made in America Past at Historic Valentown!

Farm Fresh & Fantastic
At your Local Market or Farm right now!

We want to talk apples this month, specifically our very own 
local heirloom variety called Northern Spy. It's very versatile 
and always has been. It can be served raw, baked, roasted, 
sauteed or slow cooked to a puree, perfect for use in pies, tarts 
and cobblers. It is also great fresh in salads. Its historical 
use was also for a single apple cider. The Northern Spy apple 
tree was first planted in the early 1800's by Herman Chaplin in 
East Bloomfield , NY using seeds brought from Salisbury, 
Connecticut. The original tree did not survive to produce but 
sprouts were taken and planted by Roswell Humphrey that went on 
to produce this wonderful old variety. Trees do not mature as 
fast as other varieties so they are found in specialty orchards, 
which means your local growers are more likely to have them. 
Known for their winter hardiness, they can be stored up to three 
months in a cool dry place. This was an important factor in the 
past where many perishables were keep in a root cellar. There 
isn't much you can't do with these apples. Just love them like 
your grandma did! 
Buy Local, Support Local, Love Local History!

Quote of the Month
 

"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color 
are their last days."

John Burroughs

News and Events

SAVE OUR SIDING PROGRESS UPDATE
~~~ as reported by Frank Kosmerl

October 8th: Carl and I just got home from another siding 
jamboree at the Hall.

We started at the squirrel holes at the northeast corner. I found 
a bunch of paper stuffed in there that was used as nesting for 
the critters and pulled it out.

When I looked again when they were on the ground, I found a note 
of numbers that I believe was from the carpenters who built the 
Hall!! We looked over other paper and found a letter, receipts 
from 1904 and 1907, some poster on purple paper. I picked up most 
of those little pieces because something might be learned by 
piecing it back together like a jig saw puzzle. Fun stuff.

The two ladies that stopped by yesterday were nieces of Sheldon.

October 19th: Yesterday, Carl and I completed siding repairs 
that we thought essential for this fall. There are still some 
high up siding holes, that we may or may not get to next year. 
Another relatively warm day in the next 10 days or so might tempt 
us out again for some quick fixes.

A rough count includes 47 siding repairs on the west, east and 
south sides, and 9 brown tin flashing covers over bird holes.
There is more to go; but I think that a major part of the 
deficiencies are completed. And we have 7 of the 23 original 
siding lengths remaining to do more, with negligible waste.

Another piece of good news is that while I was looking into the 
holes up close, I saw no wet conditions behind the siding. This 
has been a concern of mine for over 15 years. The consequence of 
wet conditions that did not dry quickly is the possibility of 
rotting structural wood. I saw no evidence of that at all.

The explanation I believe is that the wide roof overhang has 
protected most of it from rain intrusion, and if some water did 
get in, it was minor and the open nature of the siding allowed 
quick drying once the sun came out after rainstorms. Also, it 
looks like all the wood in the building is extremely durable 
cedar wood.

The other bonus to looking in the holes was the old paperwork I 
found packed into one stud cavity - for later investigation.

We are very grateful to Lynne for hosting the Riding for Siding 
fundraiser and the GoFundMe 
<https://www.gofundme.com/save-our-siding-sos>; website, which has 
paid for most of the material cost. And of course the help of 
Carl, who has risen to the call for help at every request.

WEB SITE NEWS

Save-Our-Siding information consolidation
*With so many efforts going on simultaneously to get funding to 
help repair our siding, and so many avenues of communication 
(GoFundMe, Newsletter, Website to name a few), a new forum has 
been set up which tracks the progress of the siding repairs as 
reported to the various venues. To get a full "story" of progress 
replacing the siding check out the forum:
http://historicvalentownmuseum.org/forum/index.php?forum=34. 
<http://historicvalentownmuseum.org/polls/index.php>;

EVENTS
 

SEPTEMBER SAUERKRAUT DEMO FOLLOW UP

We had a small turnout, but as usual those end up being a lot of 
fun and a little more intimate and conversational.

We started out with the first phase (cutting up and salting the 
cabbage), and then moved on to tasting and comparing some 
sauerkraut varieties, along with some pretzels and fresh apple 
cider. We tasted plain kraut, and kraut with onion and carrots. 
We also tasted dill, caraway, and hot red pepper flavored krauts. 
And we compared the home made to the store bought. /(Store bought 
lost "big time".) We're very proud to say that one of our 
attendees who didn't like sauerkraut was converted!! Yay for home 
made sauerkraut! Then we moved back to finish our batch of kraut 
and had a question and answer session. That last batch of 
sauerkraut ended up with the convert... none other than our 
President, Kathryn White! :-D

Everyone agreed you can't beat home made kraut for flavor and 
texture, ease of preparation, and price. It was a nice evening! 
And... we're going to do it again!! Stay tuned!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Valentown's Mason Bee Autumn Harvest
(Date, Time and Place to be Determined)

We haven't determined the when and where of this event yet as 
we're not certain how many would actually attend, but it will be 
sometime mid to late November.

If you would like to be at this event (either to participate or 
to observe), please contact Lynne at 
webmaster at historicvalentownmuseum.org. We guarantee it will 
interesting and educational!

Find Us on Facebook! 
<https://www.facebook.com/Historic-Valentown-157101550971895/>;

Recipes

See /our collection of recipes and hints, tips and substitutions at
http://historicvalentownmuseum.org/forum/index.php?cat=2

Homemade Applesauce

One of my customers is the largest apple grower in New York 
State, and every year they bring me a whole bushel of gorgeous 
apples. I give a lot of them away, and make apple bread, apple 
pie, apple salad, baked apples, apples and sauerkraut, and of 
course.... applesauce! Lots and lots of applesauce. ~Lynne

This recipe calls for 12 pounds of medium size apples and makes 
about 8 pint jars. I always found it difficult to convert pounds 
of apples to jars required. Over the years, I've learned that 3 
cored and peeled apples is just about right for 1 pint jar, or 
about 1-1/2 apple for a 1/2 pint, which is how I preserve the 
applesauce. That makes it easier for me to do the math.

Ingredients

12 lbs apples (about 24 medium size apples)
Water
3 cups granulated sugar (This is optional, I never use
sugar. It's like salt, you can always add it later. If you
do, and depending on how sweet you want it, figure 1/4 cup
of sugar for every 2-3 apples)
1/4 cup + 4 tablespoons lemon juice
8 16 oz Ball pint glasses

Directions

1) Prepare the water canner and jars: Fill the canner with enough 
water to cover the jars with about 1-2 inches of water over the 
tops. Bring the jars to a simmer until ready to use.

2) Add 4 to 6 cups of water and 1/4 cup lemon juice to a large 
bowl. Peel , core and quarter the apples, and and drop them in 
the lemon water until you've finished all of the apples. (This 
step helps prevent the apples from browning while you do the 
peeling and coring.)

3) Combine the prepared apples with just enough of the lemon 
water to almost cover the apples in a large pot. This helps 
prevent them from sticking. Bring the apples to a boil over 
medium high heat, and then reduce heat and boil gently, stirring 
often, for 5 to 20 minutes until the apples are tender. Remove 
them from the heat and allow them to cool about 10 minutes.

4) Drain the apples and return to the large bowl. Mash them until 
the desired consistency. (I like my applesauce to be a little 
chunky, but if you like yours really smooth, you can transfer the 
apples in batches to a food mill or food processor to puree.)

5) Return the mashed apples with 4 tablespoons of lemon juice to 
the pot and bring to a slow bubbling simmer. Maintain a the 
simmer while filling the jars, and stir frequently to avoid sticking.

6) Ladle the hot applesauce into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch of 
head space. Wipe the rims, center the lid on the jar, and apply 
the band until finger tight.

7) Process the jars in boiling water in the canner for 20 
minutes. Remove the jars and cool. Check the lids for a proper 
seal after 24 hours. Lids should not flex up and down when center 
is pressed. Unscrew the bands, and you should be able to pick the 
jar up by the lid without the jar falling off. If all is good, 
screw the bands back on, and store (at room temp OR in the 
fridge) for up to 1 year. I some didn't seal properly, pop them 
in the fridge and use with 7-10 days, or freeze.

Levi's "What is it?" Department

Here is our next "What is it?", friends.
"No folks this is not from H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, this 
device was sold and marketed as a means to respectably make money 
from the home. It was hand cranked and a nifty little machine 
that made something that was an everyday item, almost an 
essential. Once it was set up it would make this particular item 
in no time rather than the much longer hand made alternative.
Check it out on out on our Face Book site to see it a little 
better. Also there are people today who look for these machines 
and restore them in order to make this same item." Levi

Join our Facebook discussion and submit your guesses here:
Facebook 13th "What is it?" 
<https://www.facebook.com/157101550971895/photos/a.708518075830237/2373449026003792/?type=3&theater>;
 

Our last "What's It?"
 

This is a DELUXE version of an apple peeler. Apple peelers were 
in many sizes and shapes from hand held to mechanical one like 
this. http://appleparermuseum.com/Evolution.htm

Solved at Last!
This is a depiction of a woman oiling a Sabbath Lamp,
a special lamp or chandelier used in Jewish households on the 
Sabbath eve.
Thank you to the brain stormers on the Face Book site 
"antique identification and value", they were very quick 
about this.

Note from the web site manager:
This newsletter is our anniversary issue! Yes, one year ago
we sent out our very first Valentown Newsletter. This newly
solved "What is it" was in the 2nd issue of our newsletter and
has been hanging out unsolved since that November issue.
...And how nice that it was solved for our anniversary issue,
we'd almost given up on it! My confidence is bolstered by
this- that any item we use for our "What is it" contest that we
don't even have a clue what it is will eventually be solved
by our fans and followers. Thanks to all for your support and
interest! ~Lynne.

Still going. Will it ever be solved...?

The "mystery rods"
    <https://www.facebook.com/157101550971895/photos/a.708518075830237.1073741826.157101550971895/2096916816990349/?type=3&theater>;
    .