Day 76 of our 2025 RVing Adventure with Historical & Musical Interludes

It's Wednesday July 16th, day 76 of our 2025 summer adventure. My morning walk was a perfect time to reflect on how hard the farmers work. I walk by several big farms on my 4-mile square. The Cadyville Farm is closest to our RV. The equipment storage field is next to us. The hay barn and grain storage is kitty-corner to our camping site and one of their thousands of acres of fields are across from us. Chris Cicero owns and operates Cadyville Farm, established in 1950. He also has run the Farm Bureau ice cream booth at the Hemlock fair for many years.  In 2019, Chris was awarded the Gene “Father” Huff Agricultural Achievement Award by the Hemlock Fair. The Gene Huff Award is presented annually to a volunteer for his/her commitment to promoting agriculture through his/her volunteer work at the fair. Chris helped the local 4-H group by opening his barn doors to 15 children without agricultural backgrounds to allow them to raise show heifers for their 4-H fair projects.

We had a meeting with Sam, our financial guy, at Brighton Securities today. That is a 45-minute drive from where we are staying. On this drive we passed through Lima again, but going north instead of east. So, we are on Route 15A and I see vegetables, really large vegetables. These bright fruits and vegetables make up a mural painted in 2022 by Abigail Lee Penfold on the wall of The Normal in downtown Lima. Her creation is one of nine murals spread across nine villages in Livingston County as part of the LivCoWalls Mural Festival, an extraordinary effort on behalf of public art. The mural, which is titled The Farmers’ Spectrum, was painted as a way of honoring Lima’s deep connection to agriculture.

After Lima, we turn off Route 15A into Honeoye Falls, heading toward NY 65. Near the center of town, you come to the Vest Pocket Park. It is a small park located on W. Main Street. It is the home of the famous Honeoye Falls Totem Pole. A Totem Pole? Yes, in honor of the memory of the Village of Totiakton, David Maloney, a former Honeoye Falls Historian, built and presented to the Village of Honeoye Falls, this totem pole. The Seneca Village of Totiakton was founded in this area. The inhabitants were housed in longhouses, fashioned of logs held together by willow branches and twigs. The estimated population of the village was roughly 1,000. The Seneca of this area, members of the Iroquois Confederacy, were known as the "Keepers of the Western Door" and as such a most important segment of the Iroquois Six Nation League.

The Village of Honeoye Falls is rich with history. The Village was founded in 1791 by Zebulon Norton who purchased 1,820 acres of land for 12 1/2 cents per acre. Norton established the mode of life for the community by building a grist mill and later a saw mill to encourage settlers to this decidedly scenic and fruitful section of New York State. In 1827, Hiram Finch built a second mill which would come to be called the Lower Mill. The 3 to 4 1/2 story stone structure was built about 1829. The mill operated into the 1930s, and the structure was later used by a creamery, oil company, and for community use.

Our meeting went fine with Sam and we headed back to Livonia. We had the "farm truck" loaded with give-away items that were donated by Livonia Napa owner Matt Garzinski. This was trip #1 over to the fairgrounds. While we were there, I got Charlie a cheeseburger from the Rotary Stand and got to see Bethany, one of the owners of Leisures in Lakeville. We visited with Swifty and Lynn at the Horseshoe Bar and then headed back to the RV. We had a few requests from Jimmy to take care of back at the shop. We got all of them done and we enjoyed watching the wildlife across the drive! 

After the chores were done, we headed back to the fairgrounds with the package, trip #2. Charlie and I stopped at the Horseshoe Bar and he had a beer this time!

We came back to the RV and the rain finally chased us in for the night. No sunsets. Just another great day to be alive! Stay tuned for more Two Lane Adventures!