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PAGE4 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13,2011 my friend and me, aged 11 or 12, biking near Vineyard drive (which had vineyards on it instead of busi- 'nesses and a lot less traffic). I ·enjoyed warm sunny days, the brightly colored fall foliage and the smell of the grapes. The first time I saw a mechani- cal picker was at the first Grape Festival in Silver Creek. 'The year was 196 7- and I was a college fresh- man. I went to the festival myself, just because grapes interested me and the idea of a grape festival intrigued me. I remember hearing many unfavorable comments about the picker and some predictions that the majority of grapes would continue to be handpicked. The predictions .. were wrong. Nowadays, handpicking is the exception and the mechanical pick- er the rule. After I retired from my state job, I found a job listing for a seasonal fruit inspector. In this area, the fruit inspected is grapes. I was lucky enough to work during four sea- sons (2007-2010) for New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets for National Grape Co-op in Westfield. For me, it was a great job, but clearly not what most people visu- aljze an \inspector\ does. One of my friends had a picture in her mind of me clad in a white Uniform in a laboratory setting. While there is the need to use scientific equip- ment, most notably a refractometer that measures sugar content, nor- mal attire is blue jeans. Like my mom before me, I dressed accord- ing to the weather. That ranged from short sleeved T shirts during a particularly warm season to layered clothing during cold, wet, and even snowy weather. It just depended on how the weather was that season. Mercifully, there is a roof over the dock where the trucks are inspec.t- ed. However, it is elevated and the sides are open, so I had to dress for the weather. Mom would laugh when I appeared ready to go to work in jeans and an old fleece jacket with my hair pulled up and tucked under a cap. \You look like a farmer,\ she said. The setting was most definitely not a lab. White uniforms would have quickly turned purple. I carne A family roll-top desk in his farm house on Mann Road used to be where he conducted court. Clients would come to his office in the back of the house, waiting out- side for their chance to go before the judge. There were many, he said. Take the guy who was at odds with his wife and was arrested right about the tin)e Kinney began. Since Kinney knew enough to ask if he was guilty or not, he expected a simple reply. Instead, the man looked at the room decorated with horse wallpaper and told Kinney if he brought him a block of wood GRAPES, From Page 1 home every night with grape juice and pulp on my clothes and on me. The first year I bought an economy size bottle of a stain remover and washed my clothes after I got home just before midnight each night. The next year, I visited the thrift stores and bought several old com- fortable pairs of jeans as well as a huge men's fleece sweater that would go over the shirt and hooded sweatshirt 1 wore on cold days. Jeans usually cleaned up decently, and dark colored shirts or ~weat ·shirt , navy blue or maroon, did the best coming clean. I could wash clothes every three days if I pre- treated the stains. As for myself, my supervisor told me lemon juice removes stains from the hands. It did work to a point. My hands were back to nor- mal by Christmas. Inspecting is a very physical job. When I started, I was already regarded as a senior citizen in some situations. After spending the bulk of my wqrking life at,\desk jobs\ this represented a challenge for me, but also an opportunity. There wa~ something satisfying about requir- ing my body to learn a physical task, remember all the steps. and get good enough at it to be both fast and accurate. When I had good sample help, we could get the trucks through quickly. My person- al best was six trucks in an hour with a wonderful anp funny man named Bryce who would stand on the platform and say \bring 'em on; bring 'em on\ as the trucks lined up. The next year, I did it again with David, a recent high school graduate who was polite, hard- working and kind. I quickly discovered a good way to explain why I liked this job. I told people, \This is a job that puts me to sleep at night instead of keeping me awake.\In addition, learning about • grapes and the process of inspection provided just enough mental challenge. The inspection process starts when a truck pulls into the dock area. After the truck stops, the gates are extended out from the platform so the large bins of grapes can be readied. The inspector's job was to \pull lids\ on one side of the truck. That involves moving large bungee type cords on each side of a bins over and lifting the lid. This can be difficult, especially if the bins are crammed too tightly together or the, cords are tight or caught. It took awhile for me to be able to do this efficiently. A sample helper uses a tool called a probe to obtain the sample. The probe is a long cylindrical metal tube that is hollow. It is pushed into each bin in a closed position, opened, pushed a little forward to obtain a sample and then closed. Once closed, the probe is taken\out of the bin, held over a plastic bucket and opened sd that the sample falls into the bucket. It takes muscles and skill to probe correctly. I learned how and in an emergency could do it and could teach the process to others. For sampling, the key term is a ''representative sample.\ It is important to sample all the bins and push the probe into each. A small truck may have eight to 12 bins. Larger trucks hold 16 to 24. In gen- eral two samplers work; one on each side of the truck. While the sample is being taken, the inspector looks for anything unusual. The inspector should be alert to such things as fermentation, an unusual amount of foreign mate- rial or a large quantity of grapes that are a different variety. In Westfield, during the years I worked, only \concords were processed, so seeing a large amount of a different variety was cause for concern and a call to the fruit receiving supervisor. Once the sample is gathered in the buckets, it is poured into the top of a device called a \splitter.\ The top is comparable to a large funnel thl!t can be closed on its bottom to hold the sample. Underneath and to the side of the funnel is a frame a where large metal baskets are hung. By releasing the hold on the funnel, some of the sample falls through to a bucket direct) y underneath, and some falls into the metal baskets. The funnel is then closed again and the contents of the metal baskets are poured back into the funnel. This may be repeated several times depending on the size of the sam- ple. Splitting the sample mixes the grapes to create the. smaller repre- sentative sample that will be searched for defects. For the final split, a screened basket that separates the liquid from the solids is used. The liquid is measured and entered, and the solids weighed. Considering both the liquid and solid, the sample should be about two pounds. ' The sample is first checked for Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles (MALBs). These are insects which look somewhat like our ladybug, but are non-native., Classified as a beneficial insect by some sources, the problem with this insect in con- nection with grapes is too many of them can create a bitter taste in the grape juice. If even one is found 11 larger sample is taken and s11arched to see if there are too many in the load. (In my years, while we found some MALBs, fortunately the con- centration was not high enough to cause a problem.) Once the issue of MALBs is resolv!!d, the inspector signals to the sample help that the larger sam- ple can be blended (in a blender as tall as a person) while the inspector looks for, weighs and enters the weight defects such as grape plant parts, non-grape plant parts! imma- ture grapes, decay, or foreign mate- rial in the smaller sample. At National Grape, the computer automatically calculates if there is a problem with the defects and a load can be downgraded or even failed. The final test, which is extreme- ly important, is the sugar level. The large blender is stopped and a small amount of the grape mixture is spooned into a folded \kimwipe\ (essentially laboratory filter paper). After letting a couple drops filter through the paper into the waste basket or sink, the inspector squeezes a few drops on the refrac- tometer, a scientific instrument that measures the sugar concentration. 1\t National Grape, the refractome- ter is connected to the computer, so that the ·result is recorded on the computer record. At least two tests are done to assure the results are consistant. After each test, the lens is cleaned with distilled water and dried. The instrument is checked \for zero\ about once an hour. Distilled water on a clean lens should test as zero. If it doesn't, the lens should be cleaned again and retested. Sometimes the lab has to come to check the instrument. For the grapes, a final reading of 15.0 (on the Brix scale) is accepted JUSTICE, From Page 1 and knife, he would make him a horse. Kinney sent the man back to jail, hoping he would have a better answer the following week. After returning the defendant to jail for six weeks due to always being offered a horse instead of a plea, Kinney got a call from the then-district attorney, telling him he could not keep a man in jail for six weeks without a plea. He already had, however. The next week, a lot of officials carne to court in a sheriffs car t.o make sure a plea was taken, and Kinney learned a little about being a judge. Over the course of 50 years, he kept learning. \No one else ever won,\ he said is his reason for keeping the job so long. Kinney said, he never even real- ly campaigned - except for one time. He went out door-to-door when he carne across a man whose dog had just had puppies for which the man was trying to find homes. \I ended up with the dumb dog,\ he said. If that was not enough, he owed the man $2 for the purchase - and never campaigned again. He seems glad he made the deci- sion to continue, however. \I enjoy it,\ said Kinney, adding he has met a lot of people and heard a lot of stories. Kinney said someone else may need to pick up the reigns of run- ning soon, however. He said he has two years left in his term, which he plans to try to complete. \I don't want to be shuffling into court on two canes,\ however, he said, adding this just may be his last term. He will not complete it without being honored ftrst. An open house and celebration to honor Justice Kinney's SO years as Mina town justice will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Mina-Findley SEATS, From Page 1 by Welch's for concord grapes. Levels testing over 15.5 are consid- ered first class loads. In general, higher sugar levels mean more money for the grower. Depending on the growing season, \making sugar\ can be a problem. Rain in the bins can affect the level. It is also very important that after clean- ing the blender and the splitter no extra water is left. Mark Amidon, who serves as Fruit Receiving Supervisor, com- mented about this year's grape sea- son, \Th sugar is running really well. I would say it is slightly better than average.\ Amidon also said, \This year we started on Sept. 22. The average start date is Sept. 24 .\ · I was asked back this year, but because I am working full time,' returning wasn't possible. Still it was nice to get permission through Richard Erdle, director of member relations at National Grape Co-op to go and take pictures for a story about grapes. I enjoyed talking to Amidon who signed my attendance sheet and was there if I had a problem or question. I took pictures of Claudia Romanchuk, a graduate of Purdue, who is young enough to be my daughter but started inspecting before I did and taught me so much my first year. I admire her efficien- cy, knowledge, and calm manner. Occa,sionally, I\ see some of the truckers as I go about my business locally: Mr Kusneske who is now· at least 80 and has threatened every year would be his last; \Shakey\ who always came in with a smile, and several times grew his hair to donate to locks of love; the young trucker who kept inspection going while I waited for an ambulance with the sample helper who seemed to\ be having a heart attack; Dawn, the female trucker who joined me in the \Birdy Dance\ in reaction to the rap music.of a couple sample helpers; and Dave Wilson, Stockton Town Supervisor, whose meetings I pow cover as a reporter. Grapes is truly a unique season for many special and hardworking people in our local area. I'm glad I got to experience it firsthand. Send comments on this article to dchodan@observertoday .com. Lake Community Center, 2883 North Road, Findley Lake, where he now holds court. There will be a variety of speakers, reports Rebecca Brumagin, Mina town supervisor, who said New York State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller will give an address. Community members will also have a chance to share experi- ences. She said she encourages the pub- lic to \celebrate this historical mile- stone\ for the Honorable Craig W. Kinney on Sunday. Send comments on this article to sturano@ post-journal.com. vye for the seat being vacat- ed by Doug Richmond. R- Westfield. Hemmer holds the Republican, Conservative and Independence Party lines. Bertrando will appear on the Democratic line on November's ballot. In District 25. former Fredonia mayor Michael Sullivan will square off against the co~tnty's former public defender, Billy Cougnlin. Sullivan holds the Republican line, while Coughlin holds the Democratic, Conservative and Independence Party lines. UNCONTESTED RACES As it currently stands, a total of 17 familiar faces will be returning to Mayville come January - seven Democrats and 10 Republicans. The Democrats who stand to return unopposed are Keith Ahlstrom, Dunkirk; Shaun Heenan, Dunkirk; Vickeye James, Jamestown; Lori Cornell, Jamestown; Paula DeJoy, Jamestown; Chuck Nazzaro, Jamestown; and Tom DeJoe, Brocton. The Republicans who stand to go unchallenged are Bob Duf(, Sheridan; George Borrello, Irving; John Runkle, Stockton; Larry Barmore, Gerry; Vince Horrigan, Bemus Point; PJ Wendel, Lakewood; Jay Gould, Ashville; Fred Croscut, Sherman; David Hirnelein, Findley Lake; and Bob Scudder. Fredonia. Send comments on this article to ndean@post-jour- nal.com. ~ ( Community Events ) Is your group or organization putting on an event? Tell us! Send an email to editorial@westfieldrepublican.com or visit our Virtual Newsroom at www.westfieldrepublican.~m or www.mayvillesentinelnews.com. Fri.,Od.14 Roast pork. dinner The First Presbyterian Church in Westfield will be hosing a roast pork dinner on Friday, Oct. 14 from 5 to 6: 30 p.m. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children 10 and under. Dinner includes mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, seasoned green beans, baked apples, homemade rolls and dessert buffet. Sit down, lake- out and delivery are available -.. at 49 South Portage Street. but call before noon for delivery. The community is welcome to join. Fore more information, call326-2643. Rummage. bake sale The United Methodist Women will have a rummage and bake sale on Frlllay. Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15 · tiiom S a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. The sale will be in the Fellowship Hall of the Methodist Church at 81 South Erie Street in Mayville. · - Ptemy of parking and handi- capped accessibte. Sat., Ot:t. 15 Murder mystery dinner Ripley Free Library once again presents its crowd pleasing murder mystery din- ner, \Lethal Luau,\ which will be .held Saturday. Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. at the Ripley First Baptist Church. East Side Hill Road in Ripley. The luau is complete with roast pork and all the trim- mings, including a pina cola- daconfectiond~ert. ' Tickets are $17.50 and are available at Ripley Free Library at 736-3913 or by .calling 640-6131. These advance sale tickets go fast. so call early. There will be no tickets at the door. Spaghetti dinner The· Dewittville-Hartfield United Methodist Church will be holding a spaghetti dinner on Saturday. Oct. 15 from 4 to 6 p.m. Dinner con- sists of tossed salad. bread. beverage and a choice from the dessert table for a dona- tion of $7. Bring the family to the church at the comer of Route 430 and Meadows Road in the heart of Dewittville for dine in or carry out. ner will be $25. The dinner will begin at 6 p.m. and will be followed by the induction of this years recipients which RotaryGoldRusb are Dr. Coleen \Mazie\ The ever-popular annual Darncott, Harry W. Brosius, Gold Rush. sponsored by the John M. Swartz, PhD., Westfield/Mayville Rotary joseph \Joe\ Sventek. PhD., Club. is scheduled for and Dr. Sam Barringer. In Saturday, Oct. 15, at the addition to these ind:ivi'dual Firemen's Exempt Hall on recipients, over 100 military Bourne Street in Westfield. veteran's name will be placed Beginning at 6 p.m. with on the Veterans Wall of dinner, drawing for cash Honor. Call Susan Hayes at prizes »\ill begin shortly 761-6121 ext. 4813 to after. The dinner consists of reserve a seat. steak, potato. salad. beer or soft drink, cake and coffee. Moo., Od. 17 The grand prize is $1,000 College info session while first prize is $200, sec- SUNY Empire State ond prize is $150. third prize· College Information Session: is $125. and fourth prize is Monday. Oct. 17 at 5 p.m .• $100. A ticket to the event is 112 West Maiii Street, Suite $30 and may be purchased !, Fredonia. Call 673-1200 from any Rotarian or Linda for reservation and/or infer- Dunn. n:tarion. Wall of Fame induction 'Iues,- 00.18 Sherman Central School Trip Down Memory will be hosting its second Lane annual Wall of Fame indue- A Trip Down Memory tion dinner on Saturday. Oct. Lane: History of Ripley Part 15 at Celebration Hall in ll at tbe Ripley Free Library Mayville. The cost of the din- at 2 p.m. with speaker Art .. ... . . ;,.;c - 7Wtft7f 0 ii!Ki'in'SS'YF ft'hMj' y'-'\§ ; ;.;;;;;;;; , N--~·~---~~- ••• Kinney. . After school games. an at Patterson AD ages crafts, art, games and activities after school at Patterson Library every Tuesday. The Teen Area will be open to all ages Tuesday afternoons until 5 p.m .. Call Eli at 326-2154 for more infonnation. Music Together with Kay Barlow Music Together with Kay Barlow is every Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. at Patterson Library from Oct. 4 to N,ov. 22. For babies tlmough kindergarten. can 326-2154 for more iufmma- tion. Wed.Qd.J9 · Spagbetti dbmer Saint Dominic R.C. Church will be hosting its famous spaghetti dinner on Wednesday. Oct. 19 from 4 to 7 p.m. DiJJ.e in and take out is available for $7 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under at the chwrcb's Westfield site, 15 Union Street. Read Me a Story Teach the child in your life to love t\ellding aild learning. Join Amy Stephenson at Patterson Library every· Wednesday morning at 9:45 a.m. for stories. movement. music and crafts for 2 to five year olds. Flee, but sign up by calling 326-2154. Fri.Od.M Chicken dinner The First Presbyterian Church in Westfield will be hosing a cheesy herb chicken dinner· 0n Friday, Oct. 21 from 5 to 6: 30 p.m. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children 10 and under. Dinner includes seasoned rice. buttered peas. cmiJbeEiy salad, homemade roDs and choice of pies.. Sit down. takeo11t and delivery are available at 49 South Purtage Sweet, but caD before noon fm; delivery. The community is welcome to j.oin. Fore mme information, calll 326- 2643. THU - Fo J:; ~ I 4
