I gave my parents a subscription to your magazine for Christmas. They live in southern New York in Middletown, about an hour outside New York City. They are now passing the magazine on to friends after they read it, who came up here with them to visit Bass Pro Shops in Auburn. Their friends have been up here a few additional times now (without my parents) and continue to shop Bass Pro Shops.
Their friends fell in love with the area and are now considering a retirement home. My mother wanted to know why we didn’t have an advertisement in the magazine. I am not going to tell her – I’ll see if she finds it in this issue and she’ll be surprised. Thanks.
– Gina Speno, Vice President/General Manager, Fingerlakes Mall in Auburn
I just finished reading your article in Life in the Finger Lakes magazine (“Fruit of the Vine: Drink what you like…and don’t apologize for it,” Spring 2006). Thanks for making it okay to like wine and not feel like you have to be an expert. I, especially, liked the survey results about wine drinkers. I would say that I am a proud member of the “Satisfied Sippers.”
I was immediately ready for a wine tasting trip. My favorite place for wine tasting is the Rasta Ranch. I think it is near Hector on Seneca Lake. The place is right out of the ’70s (it takes me back).
Thanks again.
– Donna, Shortsville
Hello there. The Spring 2006 issue of Life in the Finger Lakes is great!
There are several mistakes in the two articles about Mary Jemison. I’ve taught my fourth graders about Mary Jemison for many years and used as my sources for information, Dr. James Seaver, The Life of Mary Jemison, Edition of 1982; Arch Merrill, The White Woman of the Genesee; and Irene A. Beale, William P. Letchworth: A Man for Others.
In the article by Deirdre Byrne, she states that “Dehgewanus” meant “the old white woman of the Genesee.” She was actually given the name by the two Seneca sisters when she was given (not sold) to them to replace a brother of theirs killed in battle. They adopted her and gave her the name Dehgewanus. The name means “two falling voices” (Merrill and Beale). In Dr. Sever’s book, Mary Jemison told him it meant, “…a pretty girl, a handsome girl, or a pleasant, good thing.” Mary Jemison was not laid to rest in Letchworth when she died in 1833. She died on the Buffalo Indian Reservation and was buried there until 1874 when her remains were moved to the Council Grounds at Letchworth.
In the article “The Ladies of the Lakes,” Mr. Hughes states that Mary “was forced by her captors to trek hundreds of miles to the Seneca stronghold in the Genesee Valley.” She actually lived in the Ohio River Valley for three or more years after she was captured and married a Delaware Indian. Her first child died and when her second one, Thomas, was 9 months old, she journeyed to the Genesee Valley with her two Seneca brothers. Her husband was supposed to follow the following spring but died over the winter.
Also, the cabin at the Council Grounds is the one Mary built for her daughter, Nancy.
Thank you again for a terrific magazine. The photos are beautiful.
– Suzanne, Pavilion, New York
