Pilgrimage to Medina

On February 29, Miriam and CJ drove to the historic small village of Medina, NY – an impromptu trip to get a feel for the place and discover tidbits to inspire our novel-in-progress (whose working title is PAWN). 

Medina (Mid-DINAH) is roughly halfway between Rochester and Niagara Falls in Orleans County. It is a few miles south of Lake Ontario and in 1825 the Erie Canal connected the village to the lake, which helped it to prosper.

Because the day was so windy and brutally cold we didn’t meander through the streets. It was all we could do not to get blown over, and as a result we didn’t stay there long at all, but during lunch we asked the waitress if there was a pawn shop (no). Oh well.

Police Station

Very few of the businesses were open so we couldn’t even buy a baguette at the patisserie (yes, there was one, complete with awning as in Episode 15 “BEAU” ) -  Günter opened the door and the pair quickly strode to their usual spot under the awning of the village patisserie. The scent of buttery croissants and yeasty baguettes perfumed the air.

Details like this help a story to come alive.  Here are some more things we observed during our brief visit:

This church is in Ripley's Believe it or Not. It stands in the middle of the road!

Beautiful stonework

Beautiful architecture and embellishments abound on private and public buildings.  Many of the old structures are made of quarried local sandstone, and many stone walls and foundations are constructed of local fieldstone. It is easy to imagine the LaForte Mansion looking like some of these buildings, a short buggy ride from downtown.

There is a Tavern called “The Walsh House”, built in 1854, (See below) which has till recently rented out rooms, such as by the Widow Facheux to Gunter. As a matter of fact, a man was sitting on the porch there despite the biting wind. Just like Gunter, the Watcher, he was watching and waiting…for what?  Someone to write his story….

In the winter (not a winter like this one, with very little snow), it must have been a real problem for people coming into and out of Medina. As we drove up Route 77/63, which took us through the Iroquois Indian Natural Wildlife Preserve, the woods adjoining the road were flooded right to the shoulder. It’s easy to imagine that when it rains hard, the town might be inaccessible to traffic, even today. What must it have been like for stage coaches and horses, in 1845?

Along the road in the swampy area were many upturned trees, baring their root balls for all to see, and the branches of wild red dogwood twigs providing colorful respite from the drab leafless trees and overcast skies.

The area surrounding and leading into Medina is farm country. We weren’t sure what kind of farms but we did pass one sign that said “potatoes”. There may have been dairy farms as well as wheat and corn fields, but we also saw a large plot of land full of grapevines along Route 77. The Niagara region produces Concord grapes for eating as well as juice and wine.

There was a gigantic water  or grain) tower near the train station that captivated my attention. All in all, it was a lot of driving for a trip of short duration, but provided enough detail to inspire us for a lot of episodes to come.

(All photos by CJ Alexander)