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Walking The Serene, Haunted Lanes Of Lily Dale

One Sunday morning in August, my sister and I heard a sermon by the Reverend Thomas G. Long at the Chautauqua Amphitheater. He spoke of the raising of Lazarus from the dead and moved us all with his admonition about the radiant light of heaven and its power to cast out death. In one of Pastor Long's books, he speaks of the "wilderness of grief."Those lost in such wilderness sometimes venture to our county, to a place called Lily Dale. I've heard people say it's a haunted place. But to me, it seems a serious place of contemplation and grieving, where visitors seek some kind of communion ...

Two Retired Teachers Show Off Retail Business

Retired teachers Tom and Cathy Congdon had always thought they might like to open a retail business after they left their positions of over thirty years at Gail N. Chapman Elementary School. This became a reality six years ago, on June 3, 2010."Cathy and I have always looked at buildings along our travels that would make good stores. She has some education in merchandising, so we thought we'd like to open a store," says Tom Congdon. "She worked an additional five years after I retired. One day when I was driving by these three buildings, I thought 'we should take a look at them. We did ...

Infinity, STBC Team For Music Event

Southern Tier Brewing Company and Infinity Visual and Performing Arts, Inc will be hosting the inaugural Top of the Tier Musical Showdown at Southern Tier Brewing Company on Sunday from noon-5 p.m.Ten acts will compete for audience votes to be named Top of the Tier Champions and win prize packages from Southern Tier Brewing Company. Acts from throughout Chautauqua, Warren, Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties were invited to register for this year's event.Performing acts for 2016 include: Alex Cole (Allegany), Heron (Warren), Jk.A (Chautauqua), Michael Gerholdt (Fredonia), ...

Don’t Hide From Photography

Editor's Note: "Let's Talk Photography" will run exclusively in Tuesday's edition of The Post-Journal beginning this Fall. Until then, this column will run weekly as space allows.If you search the Internet for the phrase "there will be more photos taken this year," you'll find that estimates show more photos will be taken in any single year from now on than the total photos taken in the entire history of photographing on film. That's an incredible statement when you think about it. The reason for this is the vast number of cameras that are built into everyday devices such as cell phones ...

Timeless Music — Music That Defined An Era

Sixty years ago people witnessed the climb of one song to the number one spot on the charts. Some thought it was an awful song, others embraced it. Little did few at the time realize the impact that song and that artist would have in the music world, let alone the world. The song was originally written in 1952 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for Willie Mae "Big Momma" Thornton, a blues singer. She recorded it in August 1952. It was a success and a number of others recorded one version or another of it in the following years. Elvis Presley, who was "new" to the music industry, also heard ...

Hello Hurricane

It may seem ludicrous to say after all the recent writing I've done about my extensive gigging in the past months, but I'm heading into busy season now.I've been told I have no small delusion when it comes to my definition of the word "busy," but to me it's just the natural flow of life. Regardless, the next month will probably be the most hectic and fulfilling of the year in terms of the nature of my shows.It all starts next weekend with the Aug. 19-20 return of the Brokenstring Music Festival at the Brokenstraw Fish and Game Club in Youngsville, Pa., a venue I've elaborated on in this ...