Barn Quilt Trails, LeRoy, NY - June 11, 2016

LeRoy, New York is located in Genessee County, 30 minutes south of  Rochester and one hour east of Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Barn Quilt Trails have become popular in many communities. The LeRoy Barn Quilt project was initiated in the summer of 2011 by the LeRoy Historical Society as a contribution to the Town of LeRoy for its 2012 Bicentennial. The first bar quilt "Jell-O Jigglers" was painted during the Oatka Festival in July 2011. The plan was to paint and install 20 to 30 in the next year.

The project was so popular that in less than a year, over 75 quilts were completed. In 2013 the number exceed 100. There are four trails and maps are available in several places in LeRoy and Batavia. The six page brochure including maps of the trails in PDF format is available to download at http://www.leroybarnquilt.org/assets/barnquiltguide.pdf.

During this trip and a previous one in 2013 I have photographed 23 of the Barn Quilts. This is a collective pictorial of both trips. Most include a photo of the building where the Barn Quilt was attached.

Jell-O Jigglers

Nine Patch Scrap

Mariner's Compass

Railroad Crossing 

Night Bright

Carpenter's Square

Windmill

Maple Leaf

Plumes

Baskets

Stained Glass

 Air Force Star

Shadow Ray

No Place Like Home

Grandma's Puzzle

Gather Round the Campfire

Knight Star

Eastern Star

Emperor Tulip

Log Cabin

Corn & Beans

Friendship Circle

Prosperity

Unidentified

Donna Sue Groves of Adams County Ohio developed the concept of Barn Quilts with her wish to honor her mother. She eventually came up with the idea to have a "sampler" of twenty quilt squares that could be along a driving trail inviting visitors to travel through the countryside. The first Barn Quilt on the American Quilt Trail was the Ohio Star installed on a building at a green house that allowed for a public inaugural celebration of the first quilt trail.

According to http://barnquiltinfo.com/history.html: "This simple idea has spread to over 48 states and Canada and the trails continue to grow. Over 7000 quilts are part of organized trails; dozens more are scattered through the countryside waiting to be discovered."

Next post "One night in Canada"

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada - June 9, 2016

We spent a very full day at Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. Niagara Falls is the group of three waterfalls that overlap the international border between the United States and Canada. Geographically located between the state of New York and the province of Ontario. They are located on the Niagara River, with water flowing from Lake Erie into Lake Ontario.

The largest of the three waterfalls is Horseshoe Falls, which is mostly on the Canadian side. Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, measured by its vertical height and flow rate. Horseshoe Falls drop is about 188 feet and it width is about 2,600 feet.

The American Falls are entirely on the American side. Goat Island separates the water flow before going over the falls. The height of the American Fall varies from 70 to 100 feet because of the huge boulders at the base. The American Fall are 1,060 feet wide. 

Bridal Veil Falls the smallest of the three, is on the American side, between the other two falls. It is separated from the American Falls by Goat Island and Luna Island. It falls about 180 feet including the final fall over the boulders to the Maid of the Mist pool and is 56 feet wide. In the photo below Bridal Veil Falls is to the right of The American Falls.

In 1846 the Maid of the Mist made its first trip as a ferry, transporting people, cargo and mail for a fee across the river It very shortly became a sightseeing boat carrying passengers into the rapids at the base of the falls. Cruise boats operate from boat docks on both sides of the falls. The blue boat from the US side and red from the Canadian.

In 1885 Governor David Hill of New York signed legislation creating the Niagara Reservation, New York's first state park. It is the first state park established in the United States. The same year the province of Ontario established the Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park. 

Rainbow Bridge, build in 1941 connects the cities of Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario. It is open to non-commercial vehicle traffic and pedestrians. Rainbow Bridge is the closest to the falls and has the best view of the falls of the two international bridges in the area. The bridge deck is 950 feet long and 202 feet above the water. The depth of the water is over 175 feet and the water flow under the bridge averages 26 to 30 miles per hour with the estimated 6,000,000,000 pounds of water crossing under the bridge in one minute.

The Canadian side offers views of all three falls from walkways in Queen Victoria Park along the Niagara River Great Gorge. The park has beautifully landscaped gardens with benches conveniently located along the walkway.

We enjoyed our view of the falls and river from the park and then headed for a late lunch at the Skylon Tower with its 360-degree views. It is the dominant landmark of Niagara Falls and raises 775 feet above the Niagara River and was opened in 1965. The trip up the tower is in a glass-front elevator which includes a guide to tell you about the landmarks from the skylines of Buffalo, NY and Toronto as you zip to the dining room in less than a minute. 

The Revolving Dining Room makes a complete rotation every hour as you enjoy your meal selected from excellent varied menu. The staff warns you as you're seated not to place anything on the ledge since it does not turn with the table. As the dining room rotates the huge windows afford wonderful views of the three falls, Rainbow Bridge, downtown Toronto and Buffalo. It is said that on a clear day you could see 8,000 square miles of Canada and the USA.

Some of the LeRoy NY Barn Quilt Trail coming up.

Jell-O Gallery - LeRoy, NY - June 8, 2016

We arrived at Genesee RV Park, Caledonia NY on Jun 6th. Our friends from Auburndale, FL greeted us that evening and we were very fortunate to be able to spend some enjoyable times with them during our week stay.

We ventured into LeRoy, NY to spend some time at the Jell-O Gallery, a most interesting museum of everything Jell-O. Jell-O was invented in 1897 in LeRoy, New York by Pearl Bixby Wait, cough syrup manufacture. The flavors Strawberry, Orange, Lemon and Raspberry were added by he and his wife May. Wait failed to successfully market the product due to lack of capital and experience. He sold the formula for $450 to Frank Woodward also from LeRoy. 

In 1925 the Jell-O company was sold to the Postum Cereal Company, Inc which eventually became General Foods Corporation. In 1934 General Foods as a pioneer in radio advertising signed Jack Benny and the world then knew of "J-E-L-L-O". In 1964 Jell-O left LeRoy, New York, today it is manufactured by Kraft/General Foods in Dover, Delaware.

On the porch at the entrance

You can vote for your favorite flavor of Jell-O here. Results from their visitors through 4/30/216 were:

Cherry 107, Strawberry 75, Lime 65, Lemon 63, Raspberry 46. Not what I thought the favorite would be..... However, over all the most popular flavor of Jell-O is Strawberry. 

Did you know: "A Bowl of Jell-O Gelatin and the Human Brain Have the Same Frequency of Brain Waves?" Jell-O was tested with an EEG machine. The photo on the right is Jell-O shaped in a mold like the human brain. 

 

A few of the early advertisements.

Jell-O molds

Who eats the most Jell-O gelatin? According to a survey in 2010 the top ten areas that consume the most Jell-O gelatin (per capita):

1. Salt Lake City, Utah

2. Des Moines, Iowa

3. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

4. Omaha, Nebraska

5. Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas

6. Minneapolis, Minnesota

7. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

8. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

9. Cleveland, Ohio

10. St. Louis, Missouri

Additional Jell-O history, fun facts and recipes can be found at this website http://www.jellogallery.org/history.html

Jell-O is a registered trademark of KF Holdings

There is a new exhibit on the lower level of the building called "On the Road" with vehicles displayed from an ox car to a 1908 Cadillac. Here are a few of my photos:

Two Seat Pleasure Wagon Circa 1835 (not my idea of pleasure)

Germantown Carriage Circa 1860

Spring Victoria 1894

Piano Box Buggy Circa 1900

Model S Cadillac 1908

A day at Niagara Falls Ontario, Canada next post.