LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - JULY 4, 2021 by Lynne Belluscio Make sure you stop by the Library to see the July exhibit about fishing on the Oatka Creek. There are some great photos and lots of memories. (Even if Wolcott Street is closed off, the Library is open.) I told Trish Riggi, that I would put together a little bit about things in the collection at LeRoy House. In the third-floor storage area there is a beautiful leather cylindrical fishing rod case, engraved with the gold letters DW - -Donald Woodward. Unfortunately, the case is empty, but I am sure it was a magnificent piece of fishing gear although I don’t suspect that Don Woodward went fishing in Oatka Creek. Also, in storage are several Union Steel Chest fishing tackle boxes. Most are metal, but if I remember, there may be a plastic one or two. According to the 1972 catalogue, Union Steel Chest offered 27 different styles of fishing tackle boxes, 15 plastic and 12 steel. Some of the Union Steel Chest tackle boxes were made water tight and many had recessed handles so the boxes could be stacked. The plastic trays inside were made to allow airflow so lures stayed dry and wouldn’t rust. Model number S-719 had seven trays and 61 compartments! I have to say that my favorite tackle box in our collection is a wooden Jell-O packing box from the early 1900s which is on exhibit in the Jell-O Gallery. These wooden finger- lap boxes were used to ship the little 3 ½ ounce boxes of Jell-O. (Corrugated cardboard boxes weren’t common at this time.) Storekeepers could make an extra 25 cents by selling the wooden boxes to customers, who made them into a myriad of different things - - tool boxes, wagons for kids, even a case for a tube radio. The Jell-O tackle box is one of the earliest Jell-O boxes in our collection and was made for the Genesee Pure Food Company which means that it was made before Jell-O was sold to Postum and became General Foods. I suspect that the Jell-O tackle Box dates to 1915 to 1925. It has a piece of leather for a handle with two handmade wire clasps to keep the lid on. Along the top is a ruler marked off in 14 one-inch increments – handy to measure your fish. We don’t know who owned it or who made it, and it was purchased on ebay many years ago. Upstairs in LeRoy House, in the children’s room, along with some games and toys, is some fishing equipment, including a woven basket creel. In the 19th century, children would have been encouraged to go fishing and it’s quite likely that the older LeRoy children went fishing down by the creek in the mill pond. Although not really associated with fishing in the Oatka Creek, the Jell-O Gallery has some interesting “fish related” items. For example, as soon as you walk into the exhibit room, in the case to the right, is a display “What is gelatin?” And right in the middle is a piece of “isinglass.” It is the airbladder of a sturgeon, a fish that was once common in the Hudson river (and is making a comeback). Isinglass is a source of gelatin and for some people, is preferable over animal based gelatin. I obtained this piece of isinglass from the Art Conservation Department at Buffalo State University. Isinglass, in addition to being a source of gelatin, also is used like animal glue, and is important in the conservation of Russian icons. (How obscure can this be, but it’s true.) I should also add that the Jell-O Gallery has a fairly large collection of gelatin molds, and there are at least half a dozen that are in the shape of a fish. These fish molds were used for seafood molded aspics – salmon and tuna fish, although I suspect that orange Jell-O in one of these would make a nice goldfish. So, don’t forget to stop by the Library and see the photos of “my biggest fish.” And if you stop by the Jell-O Gallery, check out the Jell-O tackle box and the “school of fish” molds. We are now open 7 days a week. Monday through Saturday 10 to 4 and Sunday 1 – 4. Tackle Boxes