GOOD TIMES AT BECKER FARMS

Tens of thousands of people from across Western New York will be descending upon Gasport over the next month. During every weekend of October Becker Farms is hosting their wildly-popular Pumpkin Fiesta and Hautanted Hayride. For complete information about these always-entertaining, good family fun visit Becker Farms' website at:

http://www.beckerfarms.com/calendar_becker_farms.html#October

LEADERSHIP NIAGARA TOURS TWO GASPORT FARMS

I am a member of this year's Leadership Niagara class. On Thursday we toured 5 agricultural establishments across Niagara County including two in Gasport....Becker Farms and Gasport View Dairy. At Beckers the class heard about agri-tourism and sampled wines. At the dairy farm the class got to see cows, the milking process, and manure up close and personal.

It was a great experience for the LN class, most being "cityfolk" and never experiencing farm life. The Vizcarra's and Whites were GREAT hosts.

The Lockport US&J covered the day here (with an emphasis on the morning's start-up that featured discussions about ag trends)...

http://www.lockportjournal.com/local/local_story_264004240.html

THERE'S STILL GAS IN GASPORT

Gasport got its name from coal gas that bubbled out of springs that were destroyed during the digging of the Erie Canal. Despite their destruction, some gas still remains.

The village portion of Red Creek that runs from the old reservoir to the Canal still has some bubbles in it here and there.

The best spot to see where we got our moniker is in the stony stream that runs through my family's farm on Slayton Settlement Road. There is a sizable area that has gas bubbling continuously in the water (see the top photo). It never stops. The area smells strongly like methane. Rumor has it hobos used to stick pipes in this spot and create eternal flames to cook on.

This year has been a dry summer, so the water is quite low in the stream. This has created an interesting situation...some of the bubble spots are now above water and there the earth is rumbling, hissing, and regurgitating gas, leaving piles of white minerals (see bottom photo).

OUTCOME OF ROYALTON PRIMARY ELECTIONS

A couple of weeks ago I had moderated the town of Royalton's candidate debates at the town hall. All in all it was a good evening of civics, representing democratic values in a republic style of government. A full house (well over 100 people) stuck around for three hours of Q&A with the candidates running for town supervisor (2), highway superintendent (3), and the town council (5). These folks turned out in droves because the town is at a crossroads in its history: this year we saw a major tax increase and the town leadership received a somewhat damning report from the NYS Comptroller's office.

The primary elections were held this past Tuesday and the Lockport Union Sun and Journal offered this report:

http://www.lockportjournal.com/local/local_story_262125149.html

GASPORT WEBSITES

For the past few years I've maintained a webpage that lists all of the Gasport-related websites. These sites cover everything from businesses to schools town offices to destinations. The page gets over 90 hits a month (all from general Gasport searches on Google and Yahoo). Check it out at:

http://www.geocities.com/bob_c14067/gasportlinks.html

If I missed any please shoot me an e-mail at bobconfer@juno.com

THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG

Whenever I tell other Western New Yorkers that I live in Gasport many of them say, "oh, God's Country. It's beautiful out there!"

That says a lot. People everywhere have respect and love for our quaint community.

Rural Gasport is a very special place, that rare piece of Small Town America. Gasport is home to truly great people, a bountiful agricultural landscape, small businesses that exemplify the American Dream, and a rich history centered around the Erie Canal.

It's a community that I love calling "home" and one that I will always call "home".

So, I thought it best that I share my love for Gasport and enlighten people about this wonderful place. This blog will serve as a website for anything and everything Gasport....news, events, commentary, stories, history, photos....to share with everyone the "what's happening" in our great community.

Residents: This site should keep you informed about events and newsworthy goings-on about town

Snowbirds and other "migrants": You can consider this your hometown "newspaper"

Out of towners: I hope you learn a lot about Gasport and pay us a visit. You'll love it out here.

Enjoy.