Jan
05
Dealing Wheeling a Jax OT Win! 01/04/14
ELMIRA, NY – January 4, 2014 – The Jackals broke their 7 game losing streak with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win against the Wheeling Nailers.
Dec
17
“The Diner” Couldn’t Be Finer!
Early this afternoon I had lunch with some family & friends just around the corner from the Studio. Actually, they had lunch & I had a great omelet breakfast at Horseheads’ newest old eatery, now known as “The Diner”.
In a past life, this was formerly “Sullivan’s Diner” owned & operated by my lifelong friend Artie Sullivan’s Mom & Dad, Fran & Art Sullivan, who rescued it…the old “Vick’s Diner” from Madison Ave. in Downtown Elmira after the great flood of ’72. They lovingly filled many “Horseheadian’s” bellies for well over 30 years.
Recently though, the Diner was given a new life when it was purchased & completely & painstakingly renovated, modernized & updated, while still maintaining that original old time classic diner “feel”. The new owner is my friend & also my in-laws neighbor, Tom Witzel, who also happens to be a die hard N.Y. Yankees fan. You would never guess that fact after seeing the new color scheme both inside with the new tile & countertops, & outside complete with reverse Yankee Blue Pinstriping on the fabric of the front awnings.
Anyways, the food was great! And even though Tom was filling in for an under the weather waitress, the service was great & friendly as well! Do yourself a favor and stop by sometime…. you’ll be glad you did!
In case anyone was wondering, that’s Sue & George Yamasaki sitting across the booth from me.
Dec
16
Winter Wonderland
I spent Sunday Afternoon with Rebecca & Francis capturing their Engagement shoot up at Taughannock Falls State Park just outside of Ithaca. It was a Beautiful & Blowy Winter Afternoon, following our first major snowfall of the season. Great timing kids! Oh yeah,,,, I almost forgot to mention, that little Riley also had a fun time romping in the fresh fallen snow!
Dec
09
An Afternoon With Alex
Spent Saturday afternoon with Alex, and we had a blast working together creating his Senior Portrait Shoot. We had a nice winter weather afternoon in a great setting….I mean how can you go wrong when your parents own and operate a Winery & Vineyard that we could use as our location? So tell me….how did we do? Great Job Alex, It was a pleasure shooting you!
Nov
29
What Was Once Old, Is New Again
My last Wedding of 2013 is tomorrow, I just got back from Rehearsal & Dinner at the Spectacular, Completely Renovated and Restored Cowles Hall of Elmira College, where the Wedding will be held. The Chapel is absolutely Breathtaking! Nested at the center of the huge structure, my Groom’s Dad is the Director of Facilities at the College, so I got a VIP tour of the entire place, and it is just beyond description. These windows, of Mark Twain & Olivia Langdon, are but two of a couple dozen or so that grace the inside of the Chapel, complete with a hi-tech, digital back-lighting system behind them so that it always looks like its a bright sunny day outside, on all sides of the room. Word is that the windows alone are valued at well over 2 million dollars. Wow!
Nov
29
All Aboard!!!
Last scan of the night….year unknown, A Lehigh Valley Train with Engine # 25454 at the Horseheads, NY RR Station. You can just see the “…EADS” on the sign hanging from the center of the stations rafters. Neat Shot!
Nov
29
Horseheads High Hoopsters – 109 Years Ago!
Scanning some never before seen old glass negatives from the Horseheads Historical Society Archives (I’m on the Board) and I came across this beauty from 1904. Wow! What? No Nikes?
Nov
25
Home Again In Horseheads NY One Hundred Years Later
Here’s a neat story about another addition to my collection of “Treasures”.
Last month a family friend, Marcie Baer came up from her home in Maryland & spent the weekend. For a few years she had mentioned that she had a surprise for me, something that she had from a long time ago. She brought up with her an old piece of oak & glass furniture, an old retail umbrella sales & display case. It was in her Dad’s basement for many, many years until he died only a few years ago.
This case was manufactured by the Oscar Onken Company of Cincinnati, Ohio at the turn of the 20th century. Umbrellas were used a lot more back in those days, and were considered a vital and necessary part of every well dressed persons wardrobe. These cases were usually found in most clothing stores and haberdasheries. They were also commonly found in the general stores or local gathering places of smaller communities that sold tobacco, confections, newspapers, etc. So much for the description of what this piece was in it’s past life.
So Marcie knows I collect and appreciate historical items, and knowing that she did not have any practical use for this thing…it now became mine!
It was in terrible shape. It was watermarked, dirty, full of cobwebs, had 2 broken panels of glass. Despite all of this, I saw a real gem inside!
Over the past month, I cleaned it up, hand rubbed it all with Tung Oil, had the missing glass panels replaced, and in general brought this beauty back to life, as these images beautifully show. I actually use it now to hold the many umbrellas that I use here in my Studio. But the neatest thing about this whole story is that this case started out it’s life in the early 1900’s in one of those above mentioned little shops….a place called H.A. Messings – A store selling men’s furnishings – tobacco, magazines & books. It later was sold and changed names into Rudy Baer’s Corner, right on the corner here in Hanover Square, just two blocks away from where my Studio stands today, and where that case will now call home, at least until I retire!
Welcome home to an old friend, back home in Horseheads, NY…..where you began….where you belong!
Nov
22
“Artem’s Equalizer!”
Even though the Jackals lost a Heart Breaker Tonight, 6-5 in a Shoot-Out, here was one highlight moment:
“The Wings clamped down defensively and limited Elmira to two shots until just over three minutes remained. The Jackals turned to a reliable source for the tying goal. Karlsson worked the puck from behind Kalamazoo’s net to Artem Demkov on the doorstep and the third-year Jackals slammed home his team-leading ninth of the season. ”
