PORT BYRON - Sue Preston can trace her lineage in Port Byron back to her great-grandparents.
“My whole family was from here, all of my relatives,” Preston said. “I grew up here.”
Preston and her 4-year-old granddaughter, Aliece Preston, attended Port Byron's Heritage Days 2007, a two-day festival that showcased - what else? - Port Byron's heritage and kicked off the Town of Mentz bicentennial celebration slated for August 2008.
“People are so fascinated by our history, and by celebrating the bicentennial we are celebrating the past,” said Jay Moose, festival director and member of the Bicentennial Committee.
Port Byron was a major stop along the Erie Canal - lock 52 - a fact that Moose and other committee members showcased along with early agriculture that was vital to the community, during the festival that took the appearance of an old-time county fair, Moose said.
The festival, which attracted an estimated 1,100 people,
featured antique farm machines, old photographs, live demonstrations on how to churn butter, a farrier, who specializes in footwear for horses, a backyard carnival, a live donkey exhibit, live music and food. Additionally, committee members hung a 30 foot piece of fabric and asked community members to create a timeline of historical events in Port Byron.
“This timeline is trying to give people a sense of where they fit in,” said Mike Reiley, town historian and committee member. “Time goes by so quick, but when you look at something like this, it is like 200 years was not that long ago.”
Reiley also gave people in attendance an update on the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park project, a project that will create a park around the canal site.
Two years ago Bryan Rubenau and his wife, Chick, participated in a 400 mile, eight day bike tour from Buffalo to Albany along the Erie Canal with Parks and Trails New York, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding, protecting and promoting a network of parks, trails and open spaces throughout the state.
“It is interesting to see how Port Byron fits in the context of the rest of the canal,” said the Conquest native, now of Baldwinsville, who went to school in the Port Byron school district.
Michelle Fuller and her son, Devlin Riley, both of Auburn, came to the festival to see what it was all about.
“It's just interesting to know that the Erie Canal used to run from here,” Fuller said.
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239
Preston and her 4-year-old granddaughter, Aliece Preston, attended Port Byron's Heritage Days 2007, a two-day festival that showcased - what else? - Port Byron's heritage and kicked off the Town of Mentz bicentennial celebration slated for August 2008.
“People are so fascinated by our history, and by celebrating the bicentennial we are celebrating the past,” said Jay Moose, festival director and member of the Bicentennial Committee.
Port Byron was a major stop along the Erie Canal - lock 52 - a fact that Moose and other committee members showcased along with early agriculture that was vital to the community, during the festival that took the appearance of an old-time county fair, Moose said.
The festival, which attracted an estimated 1,100 people,
featured antique farm machines, old photographs, live demonstrations on how to churn butter, a farrier, who specializes in footwear for horses, a backyard carnival, a live donkey exhibit, live music and food. Additionally, committee members hung a 30 foot piece of fabric and asked community members to create a timeline of historical events in Port Byron.
“This timeline is trying to give people a sense of where they fit in,” said Mike Reiley, town historian and committee member. “Time goes by so quick, but when you look at something like this, it is like 200 years was not that long ago.”
Reiley also gave people in attendance an update on the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park project, a project that will create a park around the canal site.
Two years ago Bryan Rubenau and his wife, Chick, participated in a 400 mile, eight day bike tour from Buffalo to Albany along the Erie Canal with Parks and Trails New York, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding, protecting and promoting a network of parks, trails and open spaces throughout the state.
“It is interesting to see how Port Byron fits in the context of the rest of the canal,” said the Conquest native, now of Baldwinsville, who went to school in the Port Byron school district.
Michelle Fuller and her son, Devlin Riley, both of Auburn, came to the festival to see what it was all about.
“It's just interesting to know that the Erie Canal used to run from here,” Fuller said.
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.