The Villager 10/13/2023

The Villager

Bristol Harbour Village Association

October 2023

Wow! Photos from Cliffside by Julie Held and Teri Hauck.

I couldn't decide which was the prettiest. What do you think?

Happy Fall Everyone!

I do hope you all had an amazing summer. I did, for sure. I love exiting my condo, meeting friends and new neighbors alike. I have to admit, the pickleball courts have become "my happy place" as I see many friends there on a daily basis. A perfect place to socialize.

The activities at Bristol Harbour Village are many and varied and would not be possible without the the help of our many active volunteers. I am only acknowledging a few of the many who help this community, some of on daily basis. Thanks to all of you.

The 25 residents who drove the beach shuttle from Memorial Day through Labor Day
The Recreation Committee and the Bristol Harbour Yacht Club who organized many fun activities for the whole community
John Schultes and Liz Lattimore,who on their own time, volunteered to furnish the Community Center. They shopped for the pieces, arranged the delivery, were there for set up
The numerous residents who built fires on the beach and near the community center every Friday evening to be enjoyed by all
Our Librarian, Vicki Carlisle who works diligently to keep our library in order. Please carry all book donations upstairs and place in the basket
The Noffsinger's, the Stahls, Peter Bertonis who maintain the recycling center. The redeemable cans and bottles fund donates to the Community every year and their $1,000 this year enabled us to purchase a Yamaha digital piano for the Community Center. Please pay attention to the pink sign in the recycling area and recycle correctly. Staples also recycles electronics - almost everything except tv's and dehumidifiers. Plus they give you store credit for many items!
Marilyn Noffsinger offered pickleball lessons to residents this summer
Consuelo De los Santos-Humphrey offers Zumba classes on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year
Cathy Colby and Liz Smith who consistently deliver donations to Naples Open Cupboard
The many residents who planted flowers and maintained the beds in various HOA's

It is wonderful to note that Bristol Harbour real estate has been selling well. We have many new and younger residents. We invite you to join us in volunteering and discovering ways to enrich your community. Ask your neighbor or a board member how you can help out.

This Villager contains photos of our summer activities, an article about the Environmental Committee, the dates of the town board meetings, important area phone numbers, the Bristol Harbour Library offerings for October and November, and a "Spotlight" on my various adventures. Thank you Jon!

Please know that Bristolharbourvillage,org is our new website. Residents can find important information on this site including where to take the trash that does not belong in the dumpsters! One can also find the amendments, audits, financials, public meeting minutes, and important BHVA forms on this site. The Homeowners' password is: BHVA1413

Suggestions and ideas for the January Villager are welcome at any time. The publication is only successful with your input. Enjoy the changing colors of the leaves and the upcoming snow. I will need photos for sure.

Cheers,

Patricia King (editor)

patricia.pking904@gmail.com

____________________________________________________________

BHVA Board of Directors

Gloria Harrington - President

John Constance - Vice President

Alexis Ortiz Heaney - Treasurer

Patricia King - Secretary

Hannah Snyder - Contributing Member

Ginny Lalka - Environmental Committee Chair

John Schultes - Facilities

Gina Sarkis Cushing - Contributing Member

Dave Richardson - Contributing Member

Meetings at the Town of South Bristol

October 12, 6:30 pm - Planning Board Meeting

October 24, 7 pm - Ontario County Hazard Mitigation Plan Update

October 25, 7 pm - Zoning Board of Appeals

November 13, 7 pm - Town Board Meeting

November 15, 6:30 pm - Planning Board Meeting

November 22, 7 pm - Zoning Board of Appeals

December 11, 7 pm - Town Board Meeting

December 20, 6:30 pm - Planning Board Meeting

December 27, 7 pm - Zoning Board of Appeals

And something fun to look forward to:

BRISTOL HARBOUR YACHT CLUB Holiday Gathering

Saturday, December 2nd at the Bristol Harbour Community Center

Details:

The evening begins at 6:00pm with appetizers and sparkling wine followed by a fabulous dinner buffet prepared by Casa de Pasta Italian Restaurant. Following dinner, we will have our holiday sing-a-long and our FUN and HILARIOUS holiday grab bag gift exchange guided by Santa and Mrs. Claus (George and Sue Isgrigg). Invitations will be sent in October, and the event is open to all residents of Bristol Harbour. We hope you will be able to join us!

Important Phone numbers

FF Thompson Hospital - 585-396-6000

Kenrick - 585-424-1540

Bristol Water - 585-204-6754

Bristol Sewer - 585-532-6136

RG&E - 800-743-2112

Spectrum - 888-406-7063

Town of South Bristol - 585-374-6341

Frontier Communication - 800-921-8101

Marine Docks - 585-789-0015

Introducing Pat King

by Jon Link

I was intrigued when I learned that Pat King, our dedicated board secretary, had traveled to South Africa last year and had a picture of herself with a cheetah to prove it. South Africa wasn’t on Pat’s short list of destinations at the time. Her decision to embark on the adventure was, in fact, the granting of a favor for a friend looking for a travel companion.

"I initially turned it down," Pat confides, “but it was my year of saying ‘yes’”.

What I now know is that Pat’s decision to accompany her friend was never a long shot. In a community filled with globetrotters sharing stories of their journeys to distant locales, from Reykjavik to the Galapagos, Pat might hold the record for the most passport stamps. She's been to a staggering 50 countries, give or take. Last year, in addition to South Africa, Pat spent a month in Europe and visited the Panama Canal.

I, too, love to travel, but I don’t do it enough. “Someday” you’ll hear me say. Any little road trip is exciting. Exploring Middlesex for the first time was invigorating simply because it was somewhere else.

As for Pat, travel has been a lifelong pursuit. She told me she has always had a “sense of adventure.” When I suggested that it sounded more like a quest, she agreed. Travel, Pat explained, “is a necessity.”

Pat paused before giving her consent to be featured in an article for The Villager. "I don't think I'm all that interesting," she remarked. Pat is outwardly focused, too restless for introspection, perhaps. For her, traveling means encountering other people, other ways, and she relishes these opportunities. On a recent trip to France, Pat found it “really fun” talking with cab drivers in their native tongue. (Pat began learning French in the 6th grade before earning her M.A. in the language.) “I like to find out what people’s lives are like; people make me curious. I’m not so great about wanting people to know mine.”

Pat has great facility for travel. She is seemingly undaunted by the challenges her journeys may present. Me, not so much. I remember feeling bewildered in a Parisian train station, staring up at the massive board. I was trying to figure out how to reach Frankfurt by morning to catch my charter flight back to Newark. To be fair to myself, my breakdown in problem solving was likely due to what I later learned were the early stages of mono. When I asked Pat how one might plan a significant trip, she had to think for a moment. Her reply: “I guess read and see what you’re curious about.” No worries or barriers in this method, just pure avidity.

Pat’s prowess for travel originates with her family. There is an enduring tradition here. Pat showed a photograph of her grandparents atop camels at Giza. In another, you could see 4 men on skis (her father, his brother, their dad, and their guide), attired in jackets, ties neatly knotted, looking like intrepid adventurers ascending the Swiss Alps. Seeing the world was, quite simply, something they just did. And her father continued this practice with his family, taking his children to Athens, Montreal, Rome and beyond. Her father shared his own sense of adventure and discovery with his children. In Rome, for example, guides were arranged. Pat recalls arriving at the Pantheon to the sound of organ music.

Later in life, Pat pursued travel whenever the demands of family, career (teaching French) and being the spouse to a shipping executive allowed. A typical jaunt in France with her husband might involve renting a car then traversing the countryside in search of a gite (rural holiday rental). At that time, before self-serve Airbnb’s with “absentee landlords,” travel bureaus and guidebooks provided lists of chambre d’hôtes (guest homes) for itinerant explorers. Pat recalls one fortuitous occasion, after a drive from Paris to Chartres, when the only space in town was an attic room in the mayor’s house. They took it. “Walkers” were in town, many renting rooms in the mayor’s house as well. Together they enjoyed dinner prepared by the mayor. Again, Pat enjoyed conversing with “new” friends in French.

Pat, who possesses a degree of wanderlust, takes on a different mindset when she travels. She is bolder than she is at home. When I asked her why that might be, she wasn’t sure, but then replied, “I just think I’m always ready for the unexpected, maybe.”

Pat professed a sort of fearlessness that takes over when she travels. “I traveled to India after the Mumbai bombings, to Brussels after the subway was bombed, and was in downtown Rio in an area where a couple hours later people were shot.” But she never feels comfortable taking a cab by herself. A peculiar phobia which probably is a good one.

To travel is to be educated, Pat explained. And what she frequently discovers is that a significant portion of the world not only lives in ways distinct from our own but also in ways we would find impossible to endure. The persistence of circumstances any American would consider intolerable, carry on in a sort of perpetual rhythm elsewhere. In India, Pat watched people relegated to a life of sweeping streets. In Eswatini, her tour visited an elderly man who had purchased, for the price of 17 cows each, several wives. To Pat’s amazement, a few of these wives were educated; some having been teachers. As the wives were crushing peanuts in round huts with thatched roofs, the children were walking around with cell phones. Pat marvels at these discoveries, finding them both puzzling and fascinating. Travel, Pat remarked, “is just so insightful.”

In what Pat likes to call her “greatest manifestation,” she finally visited the Taj Mahal when she and other family members traveled to India for her son’s wedding. Pat had dreamed of visiting the stunning white marble mausoleum in Agra ever since she was 17. When, years later, her son met and fell in love with an Indian woman, Pat couldn’t help but believe that otherworldly forces must have been at work.

Not every trip Pat takes is intended as a mini-survey course. Some are for nostalgia, others to complete a bucket list destination, and some are for personal discovery. When Pat decided to attend a 3-week language immersion class in Montevideo, her reason was more about experiencing a city with a family connection than improving her Spanish. Montevideo was the home of a family friend named Maria. Maria was the daughter of a couple Pat’s parents had met in 1946 on a train to Machu Picchu.

Revealing a bit whimsy in her method, Pat told me that she hopes to go to Siracusa in Sicily someday soon. One might guess that this would be for the Roman ruins there, but for Pat it was because she knew of Siracusa from a French song.

On what you might call a spiritual journey, Pat, along with her son, daughter-in-law, and a friend, retraced her parent’s steps to Machu Picchu. The trip occurred during a phase in Pat’s life when she was practicing Nia, a holistic fitness discipline that combines dance, martial arts, and mindfulness. After visiting the ruins with a guide, the small party made the decision to return, sans guide, before sunrise the next morning. As the sun rose, the ancient site bathed in tranquility, Pat told me she experienced an overwhelming sense of peace and centeredness. Pat continues to travel, of course, but in that one moment at Machu Picchu, she had taken in the whole world.

Photo below - On the Nile River - September 2019

Naples Food Pantry Update

by Cathy Colby

Thanks to all who have generously contributed to the Naples Open Cupboard

Many of you have found the new drop off location. For those unfamiliar, donations can be dropped off in the closet to the left in the entrance to the Community Center. Volunteers from our community deliver to the Cupboard weekly.

Donations from Bristol Harbour do make a difference.

The Cupboard serves approximately 250 households. The volunteer organization survives and thrives by receiving donations of food, clothing, small home goods, and monetary contributions.

Clothing and house hold items are sold for nominal prices. Funds help pay for expenses of running the pantry. Food is obtained for free or low cost through partnership with Foodlink. Other partners like Wegmans provide fresh produce, breads, meat, dairy and baked goods. Donations from here, church groups, schools, etc. keep the shelves stocked as best as can be.

This past week a Pop Up food drive was sponsored by the Cupboard through Foodlink. 150 households received boxes of food in two hours. Food insecurity is real.

Your continued support and generosity has always been appreciated. Please think of picking up an extra can or two the next time you shop to drop in our box. Or please think of donating clothing or small household items you no longer use or need.

Feel free to stop in and visit the Cupboard and see all the changes taking place. Neighbors helping neighbors make for a wonderful community.

Thank you again for you support,

Meet YOUR Environmental Committee

by Ginny Lalka, EC Chairman

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Current committee members include Todd Eachus, Ginny Lalka, Amy Gordon, Amy Luersen, Kim Pugliese and Ellen Wildman. Members represent a cross section of our community with residences on Andrews Way, Cliffside, Vardon and Lakewood.

WHY WE EXIST: The EC committee exists to preserve the quality, appearance and property values of all our homes. We are your neighbors and friends who work to ensure that we - as a community – preserve and enhance our incredible environment. To do this, we have signed on – as you have when you closed on your home – to follow the rules and regulations set out in our Declaration.

We are not here to police the neighborhood. We are here to help you – our neighbors make the correct decisions when and if you decide to alter, modify or improve the exterior of your residences.

We must compliment the community. Residents have been diligent in filing applications. So far in 2023, we have received 30 applications. 29 have been approved. Only one has outstanding conditions still to be met.

THE PROCESS: For those residents new to the community, let us explain the process. If you are contemplating a new build or a change to the exterior of your residence or grounds, please consult Article 8 of our Declaration and the two sections labeled BHVA Rules and Regulations and EC Rules and Regulations. All of this information is contained on our website, bristolharbourvillage.org in the Homeowner Section.

Fill out the applicable application (available on the website or at the entrance to the Community Center). If your residence has its own HOA, in addition to BHVA, the application must first be approved by your association before it can be passed along to Ashley Christoff, our BHVA Kenrick rep at achristoff@kenrickfirst.com. Ashley will ensure that it is correctly filled out, enter it into the system and pass it along for approval to the Environmental Committee.

Turnaround time for approvals has averaged around a week or less. Once the approval is given, residents receive a verbal or email approval from the EC so their process can move forward. They will then receive the formal approval from Kenrick.

RECENT PROJECTS: Climate change and the Canadian wild fires have really impacted the quality of our air at certain times. We have recently completed fire pit guidelines which have been approved by the Board. These should help you all make the safe decision when to light that fire pit. Guidelines and forms are located at the entrance to the Community Center and on line at bristolharbourvillage.org.

We are also working with some residents on cleaning up their front landscapes. In every case, our mission is neighborly cooperation. We want to work with homeowners and educate, discuss and find solutions before the issue escalates.

In wrapping this up, let us once again say that the EC is here to help and educate, to create good neighborly dialogue that will enhance and preserve our community while we also increase the value of all our properties. We support a positive attitude and a community culture that protects our investments and also supports Bristol Harbour’s mission and vision. The committee is here for you. Feel free to ask any member for their help.

Again, information about the Environmental Committee and its mission is located on our website – Bristolharbourvillage.org. It is discussed in Article 8 of our Declaration (Under Governing Documents in the Homeowner Section) and also in the two sections labeled BHVA Rules and Regulations (Homeowner Section) and EC Rules and Regulations (Homeowner Section). It’s all there in explicit detail. Of course, please also feel free to contact any member of the Environmental Committee with any questions.

Bristol Harbour Village at night 9/29/23 courtesy of Allen Nguyen

Bristol Library

6750 County Road #32, Canandaigua, NY 14424

585-229-5862; bristollibrarydirector@owwl.org; thebristollibrary.com

Hours: M, W, Th 3pm–7pm;

Tu & Sat 10am–2pm

Women of Purpose & Strength is a three-session speaker series held at Bristol Library on October 28, and November 4 at 11am. Join a panel of local women as they discuss their experiences as trailblazers, artists, and more, meant to inspire and spread awareness of the greatness within all of us. This series is made possible through a grant from the Ontario/Yates Fund for Women and Girls (ONYA).

The Thematic Book Club will meet Monday, October 23 from 5:30-7pm at Bristol Library. Instead of everyone reading the same book, participants choose their own read based on the monthly theme. October’s theme is “EXPLORERS”. Join us for snacks and a discussion, and leave with recommendations of what to read—or what not to read!

Trunk or Treat is Monday, October 30 from 5-7pm at Bristol Library. Dress up, bring your trick-or-treaters, and/or decorate a trunk and give out candy! This is a free community event in collaboration with the Bristol Volunteer Fire Department, the United Church of Bristol, and the Girl Scouts.

Knit & Stitch, 10:30am-12pm, first Tuesday of every month.

Euchre, 3pm-5pm, Thursdays.

Game Night, 6pm-8pm, first and third Wednesdays.

Unable to make it to the library? Sign up for Books by Mail, a free service through the OWWL Library System that sends library materials through U.S. mail. Learn more at owwl.org/booksbymail.

You can sign up for a library card with a quick visit to the library or online at https://owwl.org/help/register. Be sure and indicate Bristol Library is your home library.

Follow Bristol Library on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BristolLibrary/)

Visit Bristol Library website (https://www.thebristollibrary.com/)

to sign up for the monthly newsletter

Caribbean Night hosted by Joe Kohler

Joe Kohler entertaining us with the history of the Bahamas and his many adventures there.

Joe Kolher hosted an amazing Caribbean night September 15, complete with Conch Fritters, amazingly potent rum cocktails, Caribbean music and photos. Approximately 50-60 residents attended. The Community Center was festive and beautifully decorated with original art work, much of it painted by Joe's mother Billie, who was in attendance as well. Joe handed out gifts such as Caribbean dolls and napkin rings to a few special guests.

Joe, gracious as always, would like to thank all who participated in this fun event. Also a special thanks to Linda and Bruce Didsbury and anyone else involved setting up this spectacular event.

A Fun-filled summer: Photos of our many wonderful parties.

Pickleball party at Bristol Harbour 8/26/2023

Above: Andy's last day at pickleball.

Tim and Marilyn Noffsinger organized the pickleball tournament and party. Phil Colby and Karen Gage were the big winners!

September 3, 2023

The End of summer celebration with the Rollin' Heads

Residents and puppies socializing, and enjoying music of the Rollin' Heads.

Photo above - participants in the Walk to End Alzheimers

I’d like to extend my gratitude for all that donated and all who walked. We raised almost $1,000 for care, support, and research for the Alzheimer’s Association.

~Shelby

Bristol Harbour Yacht Club's Moonlight Paddle

by Dawn Sargent

As summer comes to a close and the colors on Bare Hill turn red and gold, the Bristol Harbor Yacht Club held its second Moonlight Paddle, September 29th This moonrise was special as it was the Harvest Moon as well as the 4th successive super moon of 2023. It was also the final super moon of the year marking the end of a very super moon filled summer. Community members gathered on the beach and pushed off in kayaks at 6:30 PM for a unique viewing of the moonrise. It was a temperate evening, with no rain and the water was smooth and calm. Though it was cloudy the great moon was still visible as it rose over the hill. Afterwards paddlers gathered on the beach to warm up by the fire and enjoy s’mores. Thanks to all the volunteers, John Hauck, Phil Colby, and Joe Charleton who helped put kayaks in the water, build the fire and the Isgriggs who monitored the paddlers from their boat.

Bristol Harbour Yacht Club Brew and Brats Octoberfeast

by Sue Isgrigg

The BHYC held its third event of the season. October Feast was on September 30 at Brew and Brats. The weather was wonderful and we ate outside under a tent. This is the third year we have held it at Brew & Brats. Every year the attendance gets larger. This year thirty people enjoyed this end-of-summer tradition. Along with the lunch combo, each guest received a gift of Arbor Hill jelly, jam, mustard or salad dressing. Hope you join us next year.