Redfield Parkway Celebrates 100 Years
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BATAVIA, N.Y. -- It's not the oldest street in Batavia, but you might call Redfield Parkway a slice of the bygone suburbs. There are no fences between the houses, and no two homes are quite alike.
"I guess we use the term, a melting pot of people, that make up the street," said Jim Owen, a resident of Redfield Parkway.
An urban byway which will celebrate its centennial this year.
"This happens to be the picture right here. There's no houses, this is 1912," explained Owen.
Owen is lovingly known as the "Mayor" of Redfield Parkway. He is also one of its most seasoned residents, first living there as a child in 1943.
"I'm trying to inspire other people to take over the reins," said Owen.
Searching through history, Owens discovered that 2012 would be the 100th year since Redfield's inception. Now, an official celebration is planned for Saturday.
"We're going to have some speakers come Saturday. There's going to be city officials from the county, from the state, and then from the United States Congress, we'll have a proclamation from our Congresswoman Kathy Hochul," explained Owen.
As part of the celebration, Redfield Parkway residents will take part in the time-honored tradition of burying a time capsule. It will carry major historical artifacts from Redfield Parkway in the year 2012, including articles from the local museum and the local newspaper, and even a piece of YNN.
"We take pride," said Brenda Pierce, resident.
Up and down the street, residents share their pride.
"We all, you know, do our flowers, and try to keep the median picked up, the street picked up," explained Pierce.
"Not much has changed in 20 years. There still aren't very many fences on Redfield Parkway, and I think that's a tribute to the type of neighbors we have here and the friendly nature of our neighborhood," noted Teresa Lewandowski, resident.
Even Redfield's landmark stone pillar gateway is still the same stone and mortar from 1912, though that may change soon.
Owen said, "You can see a little movement on that, and I don't want to touch it because I don't want it to fall down. It's got to stay up there a few more years."