Hamlin Selection

JACKIE SMITH FOR HAMLIN TOWN ANYTHING

How is it that Jackie [Monroe County Legislator] - from Clarkson - seems to see more importance in a Hamlin issue than anyone in Hamlin Town Government has ever shown? I am posting an email from Jackie to explain.

I have always been in awe of our neighbors to the south - Clarkson in their efforts to preserve their local history while still being able to carry Clarkson into the future. Hamlin can and should be able to do the same thing. We say we are preserving Hamlin’s agricultural past and that’s great but there is more to Hamlin’s history than agriculture.

Here is my point. In reading all of the info provided by the candidates - which I will soon post here - I can’t find any mention or awareness of the preservation of one of Hamlin’s most valuable treasures and contributions to the history of America.

Hamlin has a national treasure that up until twelve years ago almost no Hamlin resident was aware of. Not until Ed Evans and his team of volunteers, then under the direction of Park Directors Marty Howden and later Jay Bailey removed 75 years of dense forest, underbrush overgrowth and entanglement to reclaim the footprint of Hamlin’s historical CCC/POW site. [CCC camps were Roosevelt’s rescue of America from the depression and the German POW camp at the same site housed hundreds of German prisoners who worked the farm fields and the Duffy Motts factory in the absence of Hamlin’s young men during WWII.]

With a new park director, and the subsequent removal of the volunteers, their work was ordered to stop and the support for the project stalled. Ed Evans has given well over 200 historical tours, talks and presentations to bring and keep this history alive but the new Park Director has never taken the tour or attended a presentation. You can’t even find the CCC/POW site labeled on the Director’s Park maps so that visitors can find it or even know it is there. Even the ball that Mary Smith, former Town Historian set into motion bringing Hamlin’s CCC/POW history back to life has stopped rolling with the present Town Historian.

This is Hamlin’s history and somehow Jackie Smith, from Clarkson realizes the importance of this history, it seems, more than anyone in our own Town government. Now or maybe ever. Let me say that Mike German, new Highway supervisor also in charge of parks has indicated awareness and efforts to help the park.

So THAT is one of the things I am looking for in a Town of Hamlin elected personnel of whatever description. Not necessarily someone who fulfills the required and daily routines as defined within the government set up, but someone who sees beyond governance and reaches the people in a broader wider definition as a creative Town leader. [I did take note that Elizabeth Maxwell stated that she has the experience and training to help or direct people to help that may have nothing to do with government.] I think that every one of our candidates meets the qualifications of the office they are applying for. So, who stands out?

Here is Jackie Smith’s [County Legislator] letter to Ed regarding her efforts to ensure that Hamlin’s history is realized and proudly remembered. She has shown the interest, taken the tour and taken action…. in her very very busy schedule.

Her letter......

“Good morning Ed. I hope my email finds you and your family doing well.

I wanted to let you know I am still promoting the CCC Camp as much as I can to our residents and all around Monroe County. Last week I attended the LakeFront Revitalization Meeting in Hamlin and met the Hamlin State Park Manager Kate Gross . I told her how important this camp is to our history in Hamlin and what a great job you and your team have done there. I did make one suggestion to her and told her I could work on this with her, you and the Hamlin Town Historian. I thought it would be nice to have a Pomeroy Marker installed in front of the CCC Camp. As you know I am a Board Member of the Clarkson Historical Society and we recently applied and received a Pomeroy Marker placed in front of the Clarkson Academy on Route 104 in Clarkson. Side note: our unveiling of the marker is this Mon, Sept 27th at 6pm in front of the Clarkson Academy on Ridge Road if you are interested in attending.

The Pomeroy Markers:
One of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation’s core initiatives is to help people celebrate their community’s history. The Foundation strongly believes that historic markers play an important role in local historic preservation by serving a dual purpose. They educate the public and foster historic tourism, which in turn can provide much needed economic benefits to the towns and villages where the markers are placed. The program also fills a gap, as New York State stopped funding their roadside markers in 1939."

This is a picture of the once beautiful CCC/POW house which is also being allowed to simply fall down. The inside has been restored but it has been abandoned with the new park administration. People, now, sadly refer to it as the "Haunted House".

A recent Hamlin Issue.... Closing The Town Dump Site

If you don't belong to the Hamlin Community page you should, because you will get to know people and issues that are really connecting Hamlin residents. Here is a recent entry on that page that resulted in many many reactions and comments. An issue all of Hamlin should be aware of so there are no surprises.

I have not posted the many comments and discussions but I am re-posting it here for information and awareness.

POSTING FROM A HAMLIN RESIDENT:

"Thought Hamlin residents would be interested in my reply from our highway department about our dump site that is closed."

From our Hwy Superintendent:

"I am sorry for the inconvenience but it has become necessary for us to close the dumping area because of abuse from contractors and residents. In the past three years we have tried to keep contractors and landscapers out and keep the area open for our residents to dump. The towns surrounding us have closed their drop off sites in the last few years bringing their residents here to Hamlin to dump. We have installed security cameras to monitor the area but continue to have contractors dumping brush and residents dumping garbage. The cost of processing the brush has become too much to burden the residents with. The composting of yard waste ( grass, leaves, etc ) is fairly inexpensive however people continue to dump debris in plastic bags that cannot be composted or easily managed. The area has been closed and will be fenced off in the near future, with an area provided inside our yard for residents to drop off waste during business hours."
Michael German
Highway Superintendent

AND HERE IS MY POST REGARDING FOLLOW-UP TO THIS ISSUE AND DISCUSSION

More of the Town Dump story:

I think that the community had a lot of good concerns [and ideas as well] regarding the closing of the Town dump site. And someone forwarded the whole thread to Mike German, our brand new Highway Superintendent so he'd know what his Town is saying about the issue [and some about him].
Guess who showed up at my house to explain first hand what the situation was. Mike German. THAT is a first and he explained that he was grateful to me for acknowledging and appreciating that he had tried to explain the situation to the person who had posted the first article.
First of all I was truly impressed with the professionalism of Mike and his concern that we were upset about the dump situation. I got a chance to hear an explanation that sounded both reasonable and understandable. There is a problem and it needs to be addressed. And it needs to be taken down to ground zero and be rebuilt with very clear expectations of use. It's doesn't sound like it's going to disappear like other towns have done. The whole concept is being redesigned so that we will NOT have to lose the service. But I guess we need to stay calm, not panic and stay informed going forward.
I think some of us have maybe become programmed to expect the worst from our government but Mike says those who serve do it out of caring about the town [and maybe a little bit of money] because they sure get a lot of negative press. [and phone calls] LOL
I found out a couple of interesting things I can pass along. First of all we told him that volunteer NIck Kramer who is constantly trying to improve the grounds at the CCC/POW site comes and fills the back of his truck up with wood chips to fill holes at the site so people don't break their ankles. Mike told us he'd gladly DELIVER a truckload to the site whenever it might be needed. He also said those who have need of stone - they have that too, because they are constantly sweeping the edges of the roadways and piling it up. We can have that too. And much more that we don't know about.
At the end of our discussion I was feeling grateful that we had some new young blood in charge of some department in Hamlin. Mike is committed to improving communication and helping his residents solve problems. YAY!! The fact that he came to my house sort of blew me away. I can't even get a candidate running for office to come to my house.
For those who might be thinking... "Where is it? I haven't seen it", do you know how long Mike has been in office? Since the very end of June, THIS SUMMER. I think we are dragging some of our old past issues into the present. Like I said, I never got an acknowledgement of any email I sent to to the Highway dept in the past. I sure got more than an acknowledgement with this new superintendent.
I am going to post this on my own page at "Hamlin Selection" to be sure more people from Hamlin know there has been a change in leadership and over time we should come to see some real differences. Mike obviously loves his job, loves Hamlin, and this has been a good reminder to me that I need to take a breath, give it a chance to be different and be just a little patient. The dump site will open under "new management" and will have a better chance to be successful - long term - with the insight Mike has gained and his energy and enthusiasm for his job.
I, for one am very hopeful!
For those asking where I went with my "Hamlin Selection" Community page, I have gone nowhere. I've been staying home like I was asked to do. LOL That's the problem. you don't find out much that way. That's why I LOVE this page!!!

A positive in the negative....

In all of this frustration across the nation about the USPS's perceived ineptness, comes a small town story of a postmaster who serves his community above and beyond the call of duty.

Hamlin's CCC/POW Flag at Night

The book of etiquette for displaying the American flag says that flags left flying 24-7 should have a light focused on them at night. Not many people have seen it but the flag at the center of Hamlin’s CCC/POW campsite on Moscow Road is lit at night 24-7-365 by a pair of solar powered LED flashlights. The original CCC camp flagpole was 10 inches across and 70 feet tall. Soon, a local Boy Scout Eagle candidate will replace the skinny, 12 foot flagpole shown in the photo with a much taller and heftier one. The Scout will also beef-up the lighting system. Watch for it!