wchistoricalrecollections

History - Sodus

Recollections of Wayne County....

The follwing letter was sent to the WCHS, taped to a box that contained a vinegar cruet that originally was used at the Normandy Inn. The letter was so interesting that permission was obtained from the author to share it. It reads:

My first recollections of Wayne County are from the middle forties as I traveled on old Route 104 to go to Buffalo to college frpm my hometown way up north in the St. Lawrence Valley.

Some lasting impressions were the acres and acres of apple trees all in rows. I had never seen that before. In the fall, on my way to college, the beautiful and bountiful array of apples hanging on all those trees truly left me in awe.

Two landmarks always informed me that I was nearing Rochester... the Normandy Inn and the Windmill as you came into Williamson. Never at the time did I suspect I would make my home and teach in Williamson for 35 years. Even further from my mind was the fact that I would one day own that windmill, which I did in the sixties, until it was hit and partially destroyed by one of my best students, who sadly was killed. I'm digressing.

Traveling on old 104 through Wayne Copunty, one then passed through all the hamlets and villages from Red Creek, Wolcott, Sodus, Williamson, Ontario, etc... and by then I always thought I was nearly to Rochester.

When I came to teach in Williamson in 1949 (art) I became interested in the area and its historical beginnings. I am still interested in anything historical anywhere.

There were several single teachers who, at that time, lived in rooms and ate most of their meals in restaurants. We spent many evenings exploring the region for good places to eat - no fast food joints in those days. The Normandy Inn became a favorite. I tell you all this so that you will know who is giving you the enclosed vinegar cruet. I am pleased to be able to give to Wayne County Museum a rather insignificant relic from a rather significant old landmark. Perhaps you will note somewhere in the musty files of time where and whom it comes from.

Sincerely,
James A. Todd

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