Photo: Two elevator panels blown off during a violent windstorm a couple of days before Christmas 2022. Panels now cover the open spaces.

The Villager

Bristol Harbour Village Association

July 2023

Welcome back everyone!

So far we have had a summer like no other. The smoky skies are unusual. However, even with overcast skies and incredible rain storms, living on Canandaigua Lake and at Bristol Harbour is special and ever changing. Our waters are pristine. The lake is swimmable with temperatures in the 70s. The surrounding hills are green and welcoming with many hiking trails. Our fields are full of wildflowers, deer, rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, foxes, coyotes, and even a black bear. Nature is all around us!

I spend winters in Florida and when I return, I walk around Bristol Harbour to see what changes have occurred during my absence. A lot happened, most notably the new, state of the art, pedestrian bridge. The photo above shows the absence of elevator panels which blew off during a winter storm. That weather incident made the bridge project more difficult, more lengthy, and more expensive. Still, even with complications, the bridge was finished in time for the Memorial Day weekend.

BHVA also installed new light poles around the Community Center and LED lights throughout the property. A new security system using cards instead of fobs has been implemented.

There is a berm on which deer resistant arborvitae were planted behind the maintenance facility. The usual projects such as cutting down dead and diseased trees, filling pot holes, refurbishing the beach, planting new flowers are evident. The projects in Bristol Harbour Village are numerous, but are being chipped away little by little.

We also have a website: bristolharbourvillage.org.

Homeowners' code: BHVA14424. One can find meeting minutes, financials, forms to fill out, the rules and regulations, and of course, recycling and how to dispose of trash. Please take time to look at the website.

This Villager contains the usual updates on the Naples Open Cupboard Food Pantry and the happenings at the Bristol Harbour Library. 

Our resident "Spotlight" features Darren Bressennell, whose passion for art is captured in Jon Link's article. Darren and his wife Dawn moved to Bristol Harbour in 2022.

Doug Llewellyn's history of nearby Onanda Park is informative as are his updates on the newest New York State boating laws.

Additional information:

1) Only residents and their guests may use the kayak rental program after all forms have been completed and turned into Kenrick.

2) We have a library upstairs in the Community Center full of books, magazines, and DVDs which can be checked out. There are also many jigsaw puzzles. Feel free to borrow and also donate books, DVDs, and jigsaw puzzles to our library.

3) Read the article at the end of this newsletter about recycling. I understand everyone is tired of hearing about this and I am definitely tired of writing about the trash and recycling rules and regulations, but please abide by them. We all appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

4) The new access cards are to be used to enter the recycling center, the club house, the Titus Room, the fitness center and the elevator to the beach.

Patricia King (editor)

patricia.pking904@gmail.com

Thanks to all who have contributed articles and photos for this Villager. If you have ideas or suggestions for an upcoming Villager, contact me at the email address above. It is more interesting with varied input.

____________________________________________________________

BHVA Board of Directors

Gloria Harrington - President

Alexis Ortiz Heaney - Treasurer

Patricia King - Secretary

Hannah Snyder - Contributing Member

Ginny Lalka - Environmental Committee Chair

John Schultes - Facilities

John Constance - Contributing Member

Gina Sarkis Cushing - Contributing Member

Dave Richardson - Contributing Member

Meetings at the Town of South Bristol

July 19 @ 6:30 pm - Planning Board Meeting

July 26 @ 7 pm - Zoning Board of Appeals

August 14, @7 pm - Town Board Meeting

August 16 @ 6:30 pm - Planning Board Meeting

August 24 @ 7 pm - Zoning Board of Appeals

September 11 @ 7 pm - Town Board Meeting

September 20 @ 6:30 pm - Planning Board Meeting

September 27 @ 7 pm - Zoning Board of Appeals

Bristol Harbour Community Board Meetings at the Town of South Bristol

July 27 @ 6:30 pm

August 19 @ 10 am - Annual Meeting

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 - 888-406-70

Town of South Bristol - 585-374-6341

Frontier Communication - 800-921-8101

Marine Docks - 585-789-0015

Introducing Darren Brennessel

by Jon Link



photo of Darren and his wife, Dawn Sargent

Darren Brennessel is a talented artist with a Fine Arts in painting degree from Nazareth College. He was an adult learner receiving his degree at the age of 35. Before finishing his BFA he had experience in graphic design, cartooning and drafting. His background in drafting can be seen in the precision of his compositions. As Darren will say, Albrecht Dürer, the great German Renaissance painter, was a draftsman first.

Darren's is protean in his approach to the canvas. His works are impressive in their variety of forms. Here he experiments with French impressionism.

This next work of high tonality was painted with a palette knife. It's wonderfully expressionistic.

Darren and his wife Dawn, moved to Bristol Harbour from Rochester in 2022. They fell in love with a modernistic home on Hillside Drive. Darren calls Bristol Harbour a "place of peace" that is simultaneously “invigorating.” “Everytime you wake up the sky is different, the sun is different…you can see it, the way the lake colors change. It’s very stimulating.”  

Living here, Darren feels closer to his roots. He grew up in the little big town of Dansville, NY. The town sits in a picturesque valley, a stretch of the Genesee Watershed, that cuts into the Allegheny Plateau. As a boy, Darren believed his community was a gateway to Appalachia and geographically speaking he was correct. The plateau’s gentle slopes, carpeted with trees, extend south and east growing ever taller until finally culminating as the Appalachian Mountains.

“I loved being outdoors…loved being in the woods, especially in the fall when it was starting to get gray and cold…interacting with nature.” Darren recollects in a romantic way, painting a picture of sorts with his memories. This inclination reveals his artistic nature. Youthful impressions of the world outside his door would later inform his art.

Evidence suggests Darren was destined to be an artist. He arrived on the planet with the last of the Baby Boomers and as was the fashion for mothers in those years, his mom kept a baby book. Before the age of two, his mom made the following entry: “Darren loves to draw.” Next to this little sentence was a simple sketch of a child at an easel. Fortune smiled on young Darren because not only did he recognize this penchant for creativity, he pursued it…and unrelentingly.

Darren has no memories of the toddler who “loves to draw,” but he does remember being mesmerized, around the age of 3, by an “illustrator at a drafting table” on PBS. The man was narrating a story as he drew. Darren was “fascinated” by this “magical thing…images and lines forming into a two-dimensional reality.” He considers this the beginning of his own “obsession” with art. In preschool Darren found that creating his own images on paper became a way to “travel to another world…I went into the drawing.” He confesses that it still feels this way today.  

Darren’s boyhood passion for creativity never waned. Art was his “favorite class.” His parents would oblige with paint-by-numbers sets for Christmas or birthdays. “I loved the smell of the paint, it still excites me.” At age 9 or 10 he once again was enthralled by programming on PBS.  Paint Along with Nancy (Kominsky) introduced young Darren to many of the ‘how-tos’ of painting. In school, he enjoyed the support and encouragement of his teacher, Mrs. Geiselman, an art educator revered in the region. By 6th grade Darren had decided he would become an artist.

Darren’s father was a practical man. A civil engineer by trade, he instilled in his sons an appreciation for systems, including how they might work in their own lives. Civil service exams had been the pathway to his own career, so he encouraged his sons to take them before their senior years in high school. It was ok, he had explained to his creative child, to have artistic aspirations and pursuits as long as you have a livelihood to fall back on. In fact, his father asserted, a solid income might be the most important thing to have in order to “pursue your interests.” “As much as I didn’t want to do this, I was aware of how smart my dad was…it made sense to me.” Darren took the exams, and he did quite well.

In the spring of his senior year his performance on civil service exams provided an opportunity to work as a provisional engineer aide on the Can of Worms interstate highway project. Six months later he was offered a full time position. The money was very good, but the artist within feared he would be trapped in a career that would ruin his artistic aspirations.     

He doggedly pursued his dreams. At 18, Darren found himself taking painting classes every Tuesday night on the second floor of a stationary store in Dansville. He was a unique participant “learning how to paint barns” with “housewives and grandmothers in their 50s and 60s."

As the years unfolded Darren never ceased his attempts to reconcile creativity with practicality. After 10 years of night school he completed an art degree at RIT. To support himself, he labored at myriad positions from graphic designer, to photo lab technician, to baker, to state survey crew worker. Work on the survey crew was enticing. Being outdoors put Darren close to nature, long an inspiration for his artistic sensibilities. And then he was laid off.  

Remaining determined to place art at the center of his life, Darren enrolled at Nazareth College to study art education. Darren quickly realized that a K-12 art teacher was not what he was made of, so he changed his major to painting. Darren’s output at Nazareth was feverish. “For two years I painted full time everyday.” His discovery of acrylics, their workability and versatility, aided in the pace of his work. 

As if to make up for lost opportunities, Darren, now in his mid 30s, would debate his professors like a rebellious freshman. On a museum tour with his class he argued with the professor on the validity of characterizing works of the esteemed artist Wolf Kahn as true landscapes. To Darren’s eye, these works were abstract and therefore not recognizable as landscapes. Wolf Kahn, it is said, expanded the boundaries of landscape painting by fusing realism with abstraction. His professor challenged Darren to create his own landscapes. Darren did and his horizons grew.

Darren describes the process of moving from realism to works of abstraction and expression as a “natural progression.” After hours, weeks, years in front of the canvas he began to see things as he imagined great artists like Van Gogh and Picasso had. Both artists, trained under traditional rules, ultimately broke those rules and started completely new schools of art. “The more you look at something, you see things broken apart…you see darks, and lights, and shapes…[and] you see how freeing that is, you break the chains of realism.” 

In 1999, the year Darren graduated from Nazareth, one of his works was selected to appear in the Finger Lake Biennial Art Exhibition. The very next year, another was selected as part of the Everson’s Biennial in Syracuse. Mentions of Darren’s works and awards were appearing in the papers and feature articles were being written about him. In the High Falls district and Blossom Road-Browncroft neighborhood art was big and patrons were eager to buy works from newly acclaimed artists.  

You could say that Darren had made it as an artist, but he never quit his day job. The high times didn’t last. “Tastes changed, the economy changed…galleries were closing.” Fortunately, as the local art scene was contracting, Darren received an offer to return to work for the state, this time with the DOT as a drafting technician. Darren credits his soon to be wife Dawn with helping him make the transition back to a job with a solid career path and “decent income.” But Dawn did more than that. She helped Darren see that this career move in no way meant that he needed to abandon his art, something that never would have been possible anyway.

If you are looking for continuity in Darren’s works, you wouldn't be wrong to identify themes of solitude and stillness. He will tell you he is drawn to the works of Edward Hopper, and it’s not difficult to see resemblances. 

Other works are mysterious with hints of surrealism.

Darren finally found balance between livelihood and passion. Working for the state kept Darren outdoors and moving from locale to locale. This continues to work perfectly for a man who retains a youthful restlessness.  

Darren says that his impulse to create is “always on.” Making art not only defines Darren, it soothes him as well. The act of painting fine details like “tar strips squiggled on a road where they repaired the cracks'' or “the texture of a street lamp” is “my therapy, if you will, of dealing with job, life, whatever is going on in the world.” 

Naples Food Pantry Update

by Liz Smith

BHVA volunteers continue to support the Naples Open Cupboard Food Pantry and would like to thank all the donors who have participated in helping this local organization assist over 150 families in our area. The need continues. In July, the Pantry is requesting the following items:

Canned soups

Easy-to-prepare side dishes such as mac and cheese, pasta, stuffing mix, and rice

Ramen noodles

Coffee and tea

Condiments such as ketchup, mustard, and mayo

Sugar

Jello and puddings

Shampoo and conditioner

Toothbrushes

Note: No cereal products are needed at this time.

Please drop off your contributions in the baskets in the main entrance of the Community Center. Please do not donate any homemade food or partially opened bottles or boxes as the pantry cannot accept these items. We also continue to accept donations for the Pantry's Closet. Gently-used clothing, household goods, and bedding are always appreciated. Volunteers collect donations from the Community Center weekly and deliver to the Pantry. If any questions, please contact Liz Smith at elizsmith7x7@icloud.co



Stormy Sky on Seneca Point Road

photo by Darren Bressennel

Camp Onanda

By Doug Llewellyn

Eight miles south of the city of Canandaigua lies Camp Onanda which borders on Barnes Road and West Lake Road. The name Onanda comes from the Seneca Native Americans meaning “tall fir” or “pine” - a symbol of simplicity and strength. 

But the Onanda story begins much earlier with the Ice Age one million years ago when two separate glaciers covered the entire New York State and all the way down to Williamsport, Pennsylvania. During the advancements and retreats of the 2,500-foot-thick glaciers, the 11 Finger Lakes were carved out of the landscape – including Canandaigua Lake.

Moving to more recent times, according to Ray Henry, a former Town of Canandaigua historian, “In 1911, William Foster, an early owner of the site, had passed away. Later in that year, the YWCA of Rochester began renting the home and grounds as a place where adult working women could rest and enjoy recreational activities. In 1919, the YWCA purchased the property, known as “Shale Rock,” from the Foster estate. Over the next several years, many of the buildings that exist there today were constructed, and in the 1930s the YWCA began using the camp for junior campers as well as adult women.” 

In its early years, Camp Onanda’s mission was to provide an escape for young girls working in area factories. Called the Leisure Time School, the YWCA carried on that mission so that girls from all walks of life could experience the joys of camping. Over the decades, girls enjoyed summer activities like archery, sailing, and swimming lessons. Campers came to experience the great outdoors, free from the economic hardships and the social challenges of city life. 

At that time, many female campers took a steamship from Onanda to the city of Canandaigua and then a trolley from Canandaigua to the city of Rochester and nearby communities to work.

In 1920, Onanda became a summer camp for 250 female campers. At that time Onanda Camp was exclusively for girls while Camp Cory on Keuka Lake was exclusively for boys. 

In 1972, Hurricane Agnes struck Camp Onanda and caused serious damage to the cabins and facilities. During that devastating storm, the Mount Morris Dam reached the peak of its ability to hold back water from the Genesee River, but fortunately, the dam did not overflow. If it had, most of the land north of Mount Morris, including the city of Rochester, would have been completely flooded. 

From 1982 to 1988 Camp Good Days and Special Times used the camp for a residential summer experience for kids with cancer. The camp offered campers unique experiences like seaplane rides, evening concerts and dances, as well as arts and craft classes, but later outgrew the location due to the high number of campers wanting to attend. Eventually, the camp founder, Gary Mervis (whose daughter died from cancer at an early age), wanted the organization to possess its own campground, so he packed up and moved to Keuka Lake where more space was available.

In 1988, Onanda was purchased through a cooperative effort between New York State and the Town of Canandaigua for 2.2 million dollars and was officially opened to the public in 1990. Fishing, swimming, family picnics, and gatherings soon became popular at this year-round recreational spot. 

Today the park is comprised of 80 acres (seven at lakeside and 73 acres above West Lake Road, called the Uplands). The Uplands features a two-mile hiking trail through pristine wilderness, pavilions with beautiful views of the lake, a basketball court, a children’s playground, and space for winter activities like sledding, cross country skiing, and snow shoeing. 

A New York State roadside landmark provides a brief history of the camp.

Camp Onanda is a great place to bring grandchildren, hold a family picnic, reunion, company retreat, or a romantic, rustic overnight “get-away.” A brochure showing the lakeside and Upland cabins and buildings is available at the entrance booth of the camp. The brochure lists the cabins and facilities for rent April through October. 

For more detailed information about the history of Camp Onanda and pictures of the early camp residents see: https://ywcacamponanda.com/more-history/ 

Portions of this article came from “When Camp Onanda Gives Her Call” by Carol Truesdale (a retired teacher, author, and former Camp Onanda counselor) and the Town of Canandaigua website.

Bristol Library

6750 County Road #32, Canandaigua

Hours:

Monday 3 pm to 7 pm    

Tuesday 10 am to 2 pm    

Wednesday 3 pm to 7 pm   

Thursday 3 pm to 7 pm    

Saturday 10 am to 2 pm 

The Bristol Library brings people, information, and ideas together to enrich lives and build community.                                      

Summer Reading - June 26 to August 5, with programs every Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday for all ages, including grown-ups! 

Rockets - Saturday, July 15 @ 10 am to 2 pm. $8 per child. The Rockets Program walks you through how to build and launch a rocket and every participant gets a rocket to take home! 

Guided Nature Walk - Monday, July 17 @ 3 pm - 4 pm. Meet at the Library. The group will walk across the street to Patriot Park and enjoy the well-maintained trails and the peaceful stream. 

Storytime with Beth & Blizzard

Tuesdays (July 11 to Aug 1) @ 10:30 am to 12 pm

Card-Making Craft Time - Monday, July 24 @ 4 pm

Build-a-Puzzle - Saturday, July 29 @ 11 am

Knit & Stitch - first Tuesday of every month @ 10:30 am to 12 pm 

Euchre - Thursdays @ 3 pm to 5 pm

Game Night, first and third Wednesdays, 6pm to 8 pm

The Bristol Library is part of the OWWL library system (Ontario, Wayne, Wyoming Livingston). You’ll find books, audiobooks, videos, as well as access to the Internet.

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

New Boating Requirement for New York State



In August 2019 Governor Cuomo signed legislation, called Brianna's Law, that phases in the requirement that all operators of motorized watercraft must complete a state-approved boating safety course. Brianna's Law is named after Brianna Lieneck, an 11-year-old Long Island girl who was tragically killed in a 2005 boating accident. 

Brianna’s Law will use a five-year phase-in requirement process to get all boaters certified to operate a motorized watercraft. The new law states: 

• If you were born after Jan. 1, 1993, you will need a boating safety certification when operating a motorized vessel in 2020.

• If you were born after Jan. 1, 1988, you will need a boating safety certification when operating a motorized vessel in 2022.

• If you were born after Jan. 1, 1983, you will need a boating safety certification when operating a motorized vessel in 2023.

• If you were born after Jan. 1, 1978, you will need a boating safety certification when operating a motorized vessel in 2025.

• ALL operators of motorized vessels, regardless of age, will need boating safety certification by Jan. 1, 2025.

Although there's no such thing as a "license" being required to operate a boat for recreational purposes in New York, there is a new requirement for a Boating Safety Certificate/Certification and this is what Brianna's Law is all about. The new requirement is available as a live classroom and as an online course. 

See https://www.register-ed.com/programs/new_york/252-new-york-safe-boating-course?zip=14424&distance=50 for 2023 classes in and around Canandaigua. 

Fun Times at Bristol Harbour - the Kentucky Derby Party

Bristol Harbour Yacht Club's "Welcome Back Brunch"

by Dawn Sargent

On Sunday June 11, the Bristol Harbor Yacht Club hosted its annual Welcome Back Brunch. The brunch was held at the Canandaigua Yacht Club. It was a beautiful day to start another fantastic season on the lake! The food was delicious and everyone enjoyed mingling with fellow Bristol Harbor residents. 

Commodore Mark Moretti, greeted attendees, recognized past Commodores, introduced a new slate of directors for the BHYC, and announced Joe Charlton as the new Commodore. This year’s speaker was the Democrat & Chronicle’s outspoken Buffalo Bills columnist, Sal Maiorano. Sal engaged the group with his take on the newspaper industry, sports media, as well as the Buffalo Bills.

Thanks to all involved in making this event a success!

Photos of Nature Everywhere - squirrels, a black bear, and deer

top photo taken by - Patricia King

middle - Linda Spade

bottom - Darren Bressennel

All of the pickleball courts are in use every sunny day at Bristol Harbour Village! Join your friends and neighbors for fun and merriment.

photo by Patricia King