FRIENDSHIP: We didn’t know what we would find on the Lake
Country Tour but in a few miles we started calling it the fall foliage/ winding
motorcycle road/ pumpkins and tractors tour. When the leaves fully turn, it will
truly be a gorgeous drive with even more pumpkins for sale along the road.
The
Allegany County Scenic Drives brochure proposes that drivers start the Lake
Tour in Friendship and head toward Cuba on Route 20 and there are some blue
road signs to show the way but we had morning errands to do northward and so started
in Friendship but headed toward Belfast on County Road 17. At that intersection
is a sign advertising Nightmare Hay Rides in Ellicottville, celebrating 25
years of spookiness. That sign may have put us in the mood for fall.
As for Route
7, I’m calling it Metal Roof Road. The 14 mile stretch we covered had 31 metal
roofs. We acquired a metal roof a few years ago and understand how significant
such an investment is. These were dark green, bright blue and functional black
roofs. Some old building roofs were past their gleaming prime and closer to rusty
charm but those weren’t included in my count.
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| Round hay bales were in fields and piled in farmyards. These are for sale and ready to deliver. |
The
hills along Route 7 were getting glints of gold and some sparks of red. Rick declared
that Route 7 and several other roads were, “good motorcycle roads with turns to
lean into.” Many were newly paved and smooth roads with clean yellow lines are
always inviting.
We saw
signs for “White Creek Honey” and “Ducks For Sale” near a truckload of round
hay bales and Amish children swarming over the swing set in front of their
school. Many Amish Buggy signs are posted there.
Outside
of Belfast, we stopped at On The River Farms where we met Steve DeMarte. This farm
stand offers cut flowers, corn, pumpkins, squash, beets, potatoes and other
produce in addition to processed beef and pork and eggs- chicken or duck. Call
716-560-5594 or check facebook.com/OnTheRiverFarms
for updated lists.
We
learned that years ago there were 30+ dairy farms along Route 19 in Allegany
County with plenty more elsewhere. Back then, DeMarte said, a person could get
along on 70% of the monthly milk check, no worries. Now small farmers are losing
money, spending more to produce milk than they can sell it for, and letting
their cow herds gradually disappear.
He also
talked about testing soil, spoke about good and bad points on both sides of the
GMO (genetically modified organisms) debate and about how he’d like to turn his
milk into value added products rather than selling it outright. Cuba, after
all, once set cheese prices for the entire US.
Taking
off with what only one of us thinks of kindly (Hubbard squash) we headed toward
Belfast. A person might go to the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame in Belfast
but it is necessary to make prior arrangements with Scott Burt at 585-610-3326
or by going to facebook.com/Bare-Knuckle-Boxing-Hall-of-Fame.
There
are some nice antique shops on Main Street in Belfast as well as many places to
eat. For plants, there is garden stand north of town. Bob’s Barn is at the
intersection of Route 49 where we turned left to continue our tour while on the
right was an access point to the Genesee River, part of the Genesee River Wilds
project.
We
drove past The Lodge, Joe and Nancy Fusco’s Bed and Breakfast where guests can
take hot air balloon rides from the front door. The Lodge is also a great place
to stay if one is going to Letchworth State Park, newly named as USA Today’s
Reader’s Choice, Best State Park in America.
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| Rushford Lake |
Route
49 winds past Rushford Lake where hundreds of lucky people have cottages and
boats. The picnic area near the lake looked like it was open to the public but
we couldn’t be sure. On the roads we passed mowers, tractors, harvesters and
things we call manure-cannons. We were at leisure but we passed many working
people.
When we
returned from our errands off the trail we had a hard time finding the place to
jump back on, perhaps in part because we were going backwards. We turned south
on Centerville Road which turned into 7B and passed the Cuba Rushford School
and the Allegany Hills Golf Course.
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| Tractor line up that caught our eye. |
The
driving map indicates a County Road 47 but we actually went south on Cattaraugus’
County Road 46. Just after passing a
huge iron pot and a little church and cemetery, we saw a line of bright red
Massy Harris tractors on a front lawn.
Intrigued,
we knocked on the door when there was a pause in the vacuum cleaner rumble and we
were happily directed to Roger who was mowing out back.
Roger J
Clark stopped his mowing and said that he always had 2 ½ hours to give anyone
interested in his tractors. “You’d be surprised,” he said, “how fast time goes
when talking tractors.”
At the
age of 9, the young Mr. Clark, drove his first Massy Harris tractor on his
uncle’s farm. By the time he was in high school, he was working on the Priday
Farm where 2 Massey Harris tractors rumbled over the fields. One was a 4
cylinder that could run all day on a tank of gas but the other was a thirsty 6
cylinder that demanded a refill at lunch time.
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| What some of the tractors looked like when acquired. |
He told
us about his life as an independent wool purveyor working with Mr Priday who changed
from farming to wool trading later in his life. In about 1972, Priday sold his
farm to Clark lock-stock- and barrel with part of the deal being those tractors.
Decades
later, Roger Clark retired from farming and just 5 years ago started collecting
Massey Tractors. Newspaper ads helped him find his first tractors but now
people know he is interested and they call him. He’s in local and national
tractor clubs, even Massy Harris tractor clubs.
All the
tractors are a little different – equipment, year, design. Clark often knows a
tractor’s history and gives a tour of the line of finished tractors in front of
his house. Off to the side are some works-in-progress where he clearly sees the
gems under the rust.
Roger
Clark lives at 7578 Rawson Road in Cuba and he invites all to stop and visit.
He’d rather you stop after 10 am but he is not opposed to coming out earlier
than that to talk tractor in his nightshirt.
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| Fingerprint kit at Antique Mart Water Street, Cuba |
After
leaving those red tractors we came to Cuba Lake. Generally we travel there with
our bikes and take a turn around the lake. Today we stopped at Mak’s Meats and
then the Antique Mart on Water Street. If there is an amateur detective inside
you, you may be interested in the professional fingerprint kit on the second
floor.
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| At the Cheese Museum, Palmer Opera House |
Our other stop was the Palmer Opera House.
Wow. It’s fantastic. Eat there or shop but be amazed at the detail in the
building and check out the cheese museum too (with a copper pot twice the size
of the formerly impressive iron pot). This building is a testament to the
volunteers who worked so hard to bring it back to life.
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| Mike, at Mike and Jen's Garden Stand |
On our
way back to the starting point in Friendship, we stopped at Mike and Jen’s
Garden Stand. Open daily with food that they grew as well as food they get at
the Centerville auction. The stand operates on the honor system and Mike and
Jen appreciate the honesty of their customers. We bought pumpkins and peppers
and wished them luck with the new greenhouse that may keep the stand going into
November.
Because
of our detour, we didn’t accurately measure the length of the drive. Near 50 miles
is a guess. We spent about 6 hours driving and visiting but a person could
stretch it out to days by shopping more, roaming museums, reading stones in
cemeteries, visiting the wonderful Libraries in Cuba and Friendship and seeing the
Cuba Block Barn.
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