One event wasn’t enough to celebrate the Town of Covert bicentennial, and all that Covert and the surrounding area have to offer both now and throughout the last 200 years. This Saturday, Sept. 9, the Town of Covert, and the Interlaken Historical Society, will be celebrating, and teaching, at Transportation Day.
The event starts at 10 a.m. at the Brook Farm Barn at 8228 Route 96 north of the Village of Interlaken, and will include information and presentation about the evolution of transportation over the last 200 years, and how transportation shaped the Covert area. Admission to the event is free and so is onsite parking. The family-friendly event was created to be interesting to all ages. At 1 p.m. children’s author Dorothy Stacy, who has published books based in upstate New York, will talk about life on the Erie Canal in the 1840s. Stacy has a series of books based in this time period titled the “Erie Canal Cousins.” All of her books are written for elementary school-aged children.
“We’re looking forward to having her with us,” said Diane Bassette Nelson, Vice President of the historical society board, “because it’s not a static display, and the books just bring you right into that 1841 time period. And the canals are part of our transportation system.”
Area residents can travel to the Erie Canal from Interlaken Beach, and from there head wherever the waters take them.
Among the many other modes of transportation that the event hopes to highlight are trains. At one point, the Lehigh Valley Railway and the Black Diamond Express traveled though the Interlaken and Covert area. To teach event goers more about trains and their progress throughout the years, the Upstate Model Railroaders will have some of their miniature train displays and scenes, and members of the group will be available to answer questions. Men of the area who left for WWII would often take the trains to training, or came home from WWI on the railroad, said Bassett Nelson.
But a transportation day wouldn’t be complete without information about the transportation mankind has used long before America was settled: horses. Two antique saddles will be on display at Transportation Day. Sally Hubbard, a member of the community, will be available to talk more about the history, and types, of saddles used by horse riders of all kinds. Also available at the event will be transportation equipment associated with horses: a carriage and a slay.
But the presentations wouldn’t be complete without information about transportation today and the benefits and dangers it brings. Vintage cars through the ages will likely be on display for the car lovers. But local organizations will also have a chance to share with event goers what they need to keep in mind today as they travel. The Seneca County Sheriff’s Office will be presenting on boating safety as well as how to choose the right child safety seat and install in in your car.
All of this and more will be on display at Transportation Day this weekend. But for Bassett Nelson, events like these aren’t just about the displays, they’re about the people.
“One of the big things of all the historical society events is the fellowship and the conversation,” said Bassett Nelson. “People that don’t see each other any other time come to the event and catch up with each other.”
Find all this and more at Transportation day on Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
