The National Park Service (NPS) is celebrating its 100th Anniversary with events from 2015 through 2016. You may have not been aware of this celebratory anniversary, which is actually on August 25, 2016.
Here is one on-line article which extols some free admission days to NPS parks which normally have an admission fee.
What else has 100 year anniversary in 2016?
>> Well, for those of you with ties to the City of Rochester, NY, you may find the following of interest. 2016 marks the 100 year anniversary of the city annexing the Village of Charlotte from the Town of Greece. Charlotte was a populous center in the Town of Greece, and was in fact a village within the Town of Greece prior to being annexed into the City of Rochester.
“Back in the day”, cities in NYS had powers of annexation granted to them by the NYS legislature in order to encourage economic growth in NYS. (Fast forward to today, such powers and impetus ceased to exist decades ago.) In fact, the City of Rochester over time annexed several parcels of towns surrounding it, and annexation could make for some odd lying property boundaries and associated quirks.
On point of annexation of the Village of Charlotte, the City of Rochester had over time coveted Charlotte as having a port on the Great Lake of Ontario and the Genesee River, wishing for those navigable waters to be in city limits. In fact more than one attempt was made prior to 1916 to claim the Port of Charlotte for the city’s own. But those attempts failed, unlike the final attempt that succeeded and became effective in 1916.
It was not unusual for Annexation attempts to be hotly contested, and pros and cons existed, and many points of view would be the case in such annexation attempts.
In years and decades before annexing the Village of Charlotte, the City of Rochester annexed other lands from surrounding towns. In fact in the push of city limits northward (west of the Genesee River) a number of annexations occurred from the Town of Greece. One substantial driver of this was the expansion of Eastman Kodak Company, and the desire of Kodak to have city services in the areas that it owned.
>> For those of you who shop at the iconic Rochester, NY based Wegmans’s Food Markets, you may be interested to know that Wegman’s stores have origin in 1916 in Rochester, and so Wegman’s celebrates 100 years in 2016 with some special initiatives.
Jumping to today, and a bit off topic, but within the Town of Greece, on June 11 & 12, 2016 is the Street Machines of Rochester super cruise and car show 2016 in Badgerow Park North. Eye candy and more for vintage car enthusiasts. – – – Perhaps a reason to cruise northward to this car show. Timing on Saturday, June 11th is quite impeccable, being that the Saturday late afternoon/early evening outdoor car show (4PM-8PM) follows the ADK Outdoor Expo which is held in Mendon Ponds Park and which ends at 4PM. Saturday’s Super Cruise is free admission (flyer), Sunday’s Car Show has $3 spectator admission fee (flyer).
And, for you super cruise night junkies, Friday and Thursday evenings present some distinct possibilities. Every Friday during the summer at the Damascus (Shriner’s) Temple at 979 Bay Rd, Webster, NY there is a super cruise night. www.rochestercruisenights.com And, on Thursdays during the summer at the Charcoal Corral / Silver Lake Drive-in located at Silver Lake (Perry), NY cruise nights are held. http://charcoalcorral.com/wp2014/blog/2012/03/29/cruise-night-schedule/ Both of these have food available for purchasing, thus allowing for getting dinner and checking out the cars.
Back to anniversary topics. – – – What about 200 year anniversaries?
Well, The Town of Springwater, NY originated in April 1816 by act of the NYS legislature. And, Springwater Trails is helping to recognize this bicentennial, leading hikes in the Springwater Trails Bicentennial Hike Series scheduled on the third Sunday of each month April through December 2016.
And what about 400 year anniversaries? 2016 holds the 400th year since the death of playwright William Shakespeare. – – – A tip. If you enjoy Shakespeare presentations plein air, check out either of these 2016 Shakespeare presentations. 1) Romeo and Juliet at Highland Park Bowl (at Highland Park in Rochester) July 15-30 (no Monday or Thursday performances) produced by Shakespeare Players (of Rochester Community Players) who has for decades now been presenting summer outdoor Shakespeare productions “in the bowl” ; or 2) “Shake On The Lake” (SOTL) productions of The Twelfth Night at various venues (Silver Lake is the “home” venue) in the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier Regions during late July thru mid August 2016. 2016 is the fifth year of SOTL summer Shakespeare productions, the inaugural was in 2012.
So, if you appreciate Shakespeare plein air, you’ve some opportunities. An appreciating Springwater Trails Hike Planner may wish to consider possibilities of coupling a Springwater Trails (S/T) hike nearby to a Shakespeare plein air performance for making of a S/T hike combo event, be it this summer or a future year’s summer.
