The Jamestown Jammers are a popular local minor league baseball team in the Jamestown area. They play at the College stadium; also know as the Russell Diethrick Park.

photo credit: whizchickenonabun

The Jammer’s  are a local a minor league baseball team and classified as a is the Short-Season team. They are an affiliate of the Florida Marlins and play in the New York – Penn League.

The Jamestown Falcons, who were originally called the Jamestown Jaguars, preceded the Jamestown Expos. The Expos left in 1993 for a new location in Vermont. The current team is the Jamestown Jammers and they have played and entertained the crowds since 1994.

The new team was named the “Jammers” after a fan vote with the mascot character named J.J. Jammer.

The question of what is a jammer plagued the team year after year so in the offseason of 2005, the Jammers changed their logo to a cartoon grape theme.

The new logo represents the strong tradition of grape growing in Chautauqua County. On June 19,2006, the eve of opening day, the team announced the name of its new mascot: Bubba Grape, the Baseball Ape. This officially put an end to the jammer question.

The Jammers’ radio affiliates are WKSN, which carries all away games, and WRFA-LP, who carried four home games in 2007. In an effort to draw people to the ballpark, the team does not usually allow home games to be broadcast on the radio.

But unless it’s pouring why not head out to the ballpark and enjoy the music, hot dogs and atmosphere of a baseball game? There always seem to be one or two surprises at a live game.

Note: Jamestown has had a baseball franchise in the New York-Penn League since its inception as the PONY League in 1939. It just goes to show baseball is still one of America’s favorite past-times.

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The Jamestown Audubon Society will sponsor the Snowflake festival Saturday Feb 6, 2010 from 11 am to 4:30 pm. Activities and demonstrations will be conducted both indoors and out.

Photo courtesy of Snowflake Festival

Normally the Festival is held the first Sunday in February but with the Super Bowl this Sunday the event was moved up one day. The event offers events for all ages and also brings to mind, Roger Tory Peterson. Peterson was best known for his book, A Field Guide to the Birds. Peterson’s studies of birds and nature are world renown.

Roger Tory Peterson

Roger Tory Peterson’s life wok with nature and bird watching has affected people worldwide. Best known for A Field Guide to the Birds, his efforts led to 52 other field guides and a life rich in teaching, art and instilling a love of nature that hopefully would be passed from generation to generation.

Peterson was born in Jamestown, N.Y. on aug.28, 1908. He always had a passion for nature, insects and birds. His mother noticed and encouraged is interest.

In 1920, at the age of 11, one of his teachers, Blanche Hornbeck, enrolled her class at the Junior Audubon Club. During school she would take them into the nearby forest where she taught them about art, science and writing. She also taught them about birds. Peterson’s interest was further piqued and he began drawing birds.

In the next few years he became interested in birds, moths and photography. He continued with photography and drawing throughout high school. He graduated form Jamestown High School in 1925 at the age of 16 with a degree in design and mechanical drawing.

In 1926 he left Jamestown to attend the Art Students League and then the National Academy of Design 1929. In 1931 Peterson began teaching art and natures studies in Boston. While in Boston he met Frances H. Allen, an editor at Houghton Mifflin Company. Peterson showed him the book he was working on, A Field Guide to the Birds. Allen felt the book was a one of a kind field guide and offered to produce the manuscript. Two thousand copies were made and within two weeks they were all sold out.

The Audubon Center & Sanctuary offers many nature activities, including birding throughout the year and the Snowflake Festival is a great way to experience what the center can offer to the entire family.

Below are a few of the many activities offered during the day.

1.  Build a Bluebird Nestbox with our Audubon Crew of Volunteers ($5)
2.  Children’s Crafts – featuring valentines from recycled materials (no charge)
3.  Horse-drawn Sleigh (or Wagon) Rides with Dennis Wright ($5/adult, $2/school-aged children)
4.  New Hope Assistance Program – a not-for-profit organization based in Warren PA that provides therapy dogs to people with disabilities.
5.  Tails of the Tundra Siberian husky rescue – including scooter and kick-sled demonstrations

The center is located between Jamestown, N.Y. and Warren. P.A. just off of RT 62 at 1600 Riverside Road. For more information check out the Website: Snowflake Festival 2010 .

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Finding postcards at antique stores and auctions can be a learning experience. And many of the postcards are beautiful. The older style of hand painted photographs are among my favorite to find.

The last postcards I found were of images drawn by Jane E. Nelson. Nelson is known for her beautiful renditions of building and scenes on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution.

This postcard by Nelson is of the main gate of the Chautauqua Institution. For those of you not familiar with the Chautauqua Institution, it is a gated community for cultural learning located in Chautauqua County NY. The Institution provides a nine week summer schedule of learning and cultural activities for all ages.

Kellogg Hall has a long and interesting history at the Chautauqua Institution. The building originally sat a few blocks from the location it occupies today.

It was used for many years for Special Studies offices and classes. Currently it houses the Chautauquan Daily Newspaper and offices while it waits for renovation for its next use.

Jane E. Nelson has produced  a large selection of postcards of homes and scenery of the Chautauqua  grounds. She  had has  many drawing in books and currently has a 2010 Chautauqua Institution calendar at the Chautauqua Bookstore for sale.

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In one of my wanderings through an estate sale I found a postcard of The Whiteside, a hotel in Maple Springs on the shores of Chautauqua Lake.

Maple Springs is a hamlet in Chautauqua County NY. Today it is best known for Midway Park, an amusement park with a rich history in the Chautauqua and Jamestown, NY area. Midway was given its name for being “midway” in between Jamestown, NY and Westfield, NY. It was also located across the Lake From Chautauqua, a bustling center for the “Chautauqua Movement.

Maple Springs was a busy hamlet with a Railroad stop in the past. Being midway between the two towns it served as a popular rest stop. Many tourists also crossed the lake to visit Chautauqua and attend the lectures and classes given in the summer season. Their trip across the lake was provided by one of the many steam ships that sailed Chautauqua Lake.

The Whiteside Hotel was one of the popular bed and breakfast stops for the travelers. The porches were a popular resting place on a hot day while waiting for transportation or to continue on to their next vacation stop.

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Chautauqua County NY offers travel, sport and entertainment year round for the entire family.

photo credit: r_bowley

Sitting along Lake Erie and Pennsylvania’s Northern border, Chautauqua County is an area that many people do not know about. But if you look into New York history, Chautauqua County has a diverse history that dates back to several Indian nations, founding exploration and the beginning of the Chautauqua movement.

Chautauqua County has been the home of many famous people including Roger Tory Peterson, former Governor Ruben Fenton, Lucille ball, Natalie Merchant and Buffalo Bills player, Shane Conlan

The following you tube will show the variety of Chautauqua County and its quaint towns and villages. I have always found the architecture in these towns to be inspiring. Each town seems to have it own area of interest. If you look closely at the buildings in Jamestown NY you will see many stained glass windows, Lily Dale has a vintage flair while the town of Chautauqua has a touch of almost every architectural style imaginable.

And while I tend to favor the summer and spending time at one of the five lakes or walking one of the many trails, winter offers a wide variety of winter sports.

Mayville, NY will host it’s winter festival “President’s Day Weekend Ice Castle Extravaganza ” in February. The building of the Ice Castle has been a tradition for many years. There are Sleigh rides offered on weekends through the quaint winding streets of the Chautauqua Institution and the ski resort, Peek-n-Peak near Findley Lake, has both winter events and summer activities.

Growing up near and area that offers so much makes me tend to overlook what all the area has to offer. I am reminded when I watch a video or entertain friends from out of town.

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