Category Archives: Angie’s Smorgasbord

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A Little Olean History

A Little Olean HistoryBradner Stadium

by Angie Brown, Guest Author

In May of 1930, from all over the city, the streets in Olean, NY, were filled with groups of school children marching in orderly fashion.  They were headed for the East Olean Park, where they all assembled to perform at the baseball field, Bradner Stadium.  The civic leaders and school teachers planned something different for this Arbor Day.  They came up with an exciting idea, making this an exciting day.  I was in the eighth grade and a part of it, so I  remember it well. As far as I know, this was the only time this presentation was carried out.

All of the school children from the age of about ten through high school would execute, in unison, simple exercises at the stadium.  The exercises were practiced and perfected in the classrooms.  The children would wear pastel colored dresses and shirts.

On the day of the presentation, the weather was perfect: warm and sunny.  Each teacher led her class through the streets, on their way to the stadium.  Extra police were on duty at every intersection.  Traffic was diverted to one-way and was sparse.  Arriving at the park, the groups were escorted through the short tunnel to their designated places on the field.  With pride and joy, the parents and friends filled the bleachers.  It was a “full house.”

Right on time, the music started and the exercises commenced, a beautiful spectacle of arm raising and foot stepping of hundreds of youngsters, all in unison. The pastel colors added to the beauty and pageantry of the students’ movements on the ball field.

At the close of the program, the audience was encouraged to join in singing the national anthem with the students. An enormous applause ended the gaiety and excitement of the performance.  What an artistic presentation for all the people of Olean to enjoy, and such an encouraging and fulfilling endeavor for the students!

(For more articles by Angie Brown, click HERE)

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The Island Experience

Português: Ferry boat na baía de São Marcos, M...The Island Experience

by Angie Brown, Guest Author

Quite a few years ago now, my family planned a visit and a picnic to a small island off the coast of North Carolina, in the Atlantic Ocean.  Our relative, Barney, had purchased a boat and had been exploring the waterway there.  The boat was propelled by an engine with the steering wheel driver standing to control the course.  It held about eight people.

After putting our life jackets on, we started out slowly. The island seemed so far away.  I couldn’t believe we’d be out in the Atlantic so far.  Our relatives had been to the island before and thought it would be a nice place for a picnic when we visited them.  So skimming across the channel, we arrived, tied our boat to the dock and climbed a short ladder.

We seemed to be the only ones there. In my mind, it seemed that you might find Robinson Crusoe there, especially after encountering a large snake in the brush. The pavilion proved to be rather dilapidated and unsatisfactory, so we decided to have our picnic on the beach.

While we explored the beach, we noticed dark storm clouds forming. The wind began to strengthen, sending the loose sand airborne and stinging the bathers.  It was obvious that a picnic on the beach was no longer feasible, so we packed up hastily and returned to our boat.  We knew it would take some time to get back to the mainland.

All was going well while we journeyed back.  Nearing the end of our trip, however, we saw a ferry boat just leaving the pier.  As it passed our small craft, it left a large swell, sending our boat way down to the bottom of the wake. It seemed as though our boat had descended to the bottom of the ocean! But thanks to our skilled and experienced navigator, we negotiated the wake nicely and returned to calmer water. The children were elated by this brush with disaster.  “That was fun,” they squealed.  Not so with the adults, whose anxious faces told a different story. Once we had negotiated the swell, we noticed that the ferry boat crew was lined up at the rail watching us and ready in case they were needed. Finally, disembarking, we finished our visit with our relatives, safely on the shore.

This was one scary adventure I would not want to do again!

(For more articles by Angie Brown, click HERE)