Part I–An Era Comes to an End Once upon a time in the early 1950s, Westinghouse Electric decided to put a vacuum tube manufacturing plant on the outskirts of Bath. By the early 1980s, Philips North America decided to buy the facility–and the concentration had long ago moved from tubes to specialty lighting applications. When they ABANDONED the site and…
One of the curious things about many villages in New York state has to do with election terms for village officials–specifically the mayor and a percentage of trustees. I suppose that it’s much simpler with four-year terms–but we are blessed (or cursed) with two-year cycles. So it was this past Tuesday when current Mayor Mike Sweet and two incumbent trustees…
Bath is going to pot–and not in a good way… There have been several new businesses popping up in Bath lately—some for the good, and others of questionable motive. A startling example of the latter has been the proliferation of ‘head shops’ with the aspiration of becoming legitimate cannabis dispensaries once the NYS Cannabis Board creates and establishes regulations for…
Bath is getting yet another hardware/home improvement option! Valu Home Center is moving into the old Acme/Salvation Army building at Washington & SR 54. It was a serious blow to that plaza when Bath Building Supply (a branch of Corning Building Supply) closed its store on the opposite end of the strip plaza. This situation was further compounded by the…
Yeah, that’s all wrong. But our old Pizza Hut is now becoming a KFC Chicken Parlor—as in a complete teardown and rebuild. Bath had one many years ago—where the Ling Ling is now. Then Fred’s Fried Chicken. Long ago and far away. There was some hubbub surrounding the planned KFC in Painted Post (the old Chemung Canal Bank Building). A…
So much, and so much more. This writer has fallen behind on keeping things fresh–so let’s have a recap! Amazon is on again with lane changes. A “gas” recovery plant is in the works for the county dump. A building materials plant is locating near Simmons-Rockwell in the old industrial Park alongside the Jail. Great stuff and there are the creepy…
Have you ever driven past the Upstate Niagra cheese plant on I-86 by the Campbell exit and seen the “torch” burning in the back? This is done to process gasses produced when the waste products of the plant are ‘digested’ and made safe to discharge. Large landfills that have been capped also produce large quantities of methane gas (among others)…
LP Corp., mainly doing business as LP Building Solutions (Louisiana-Pacific) will construct a new $24 million, 74-acre manufacturing plant in Bath. As planned, it will be located in the old Steuben County Industrial Park on SR54. The company plans to build its new LP® SmartSide® ExpertFinish® at the Bath pre-finishing facility. The company will receive its raw exterior home siding stock…
Many of us were sad to see the closure of Pookies Little Britches over a couple of years ago in Painted Post. The owner of the plaza had allowed the roof to decay–and left no alternative but for them to move out. Surprisingly, this move was to the Arnot Mall in Horseheads, somewhere not particularly convenient for Bath residents. The…
Have you ever wondered what our local village, town, or county employees make? Well then, wonder no more! The Empire Center for Public Policy, Inc. which is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank based in Albany, New York–is doing the work for us. Through a website called “See Through NY” they are attempting to give New Yorkers a clear view…
Later this year in October, we must begin dialing local telephone numbers using the 607 area code. This means a lot of folks will be getting busy updating their digital contact lists and speed dial numbers. What happened that we need to do this? On July 16, 2020, the FCC adopted rules to establish 988 as the new, nationwide, 3-digit phone number…
Since the announcement earlier this year that Amazon was planning to locate a new distribution center in the old Mercury Aircraft building, this writer has taken a great interest in following the development–and the possibilities that this could mean for our community. Imagine my puzzlement when one month turned into another, then another, and nothing seemed to happen. It seemed…
For many years, “Dysfunction Junction“[n]This name describes the social dynamic existing at the intersection of Liberty & William Streets. It contains the Shannon Apartments, a convenience store, and other things [/n] has been a busy place–in all the wrong sort of ways. Featuring the ‘affordable’[n] Affordable in this case as many residents rely on public social service and housing funded…
I am sure that all of us truly enjoy the gem that is Pulteney Park. This place has seen so many things over the years that are truly part of our community’s pulse. Whether an afternoon in the sun and the gazebo— or an evening of Music In The Park, is a wonderful place to go. There’s just one little…
THINGS YOU PROBABLY WISH YOU DIDN’T KNOW #1 I like old cemeteries. The people who live out their lives in a place define what that place is— who they were, what times they were a product of— and what they managed to accomplish for themselves and their communities. Cemeteries help to tell that story. The more illustrious of these folks…
Things are heating up a bit for our county with a surge in new COVID-19 cases. After a very nice respite from masks and being able to participate fully in the greater community–we are seeing an upswing in confirmed cases. For the week ending on Friday, 8/28, the Steuben County Public Health Department announced 70 new COVID cases. Not a…
Village of Bath receives nearly $2 million for sidewalk renovations
I am sure that many of us had wondered for quite a while what was happening with the prospective Park Café bakery business locating next to Liberty Street Pub. Months came and went as we waited for the brown butcher paper to be removed from the windows. Then more time passed–and quite a few people mused that this was going…
[Photo credit Jeff Smith/The Leader] Sometimes, things take a long time to get where they need to be. Over a decade ago when we were relocating to Bath, my family and I stopped at the Chat-A-Whyle restaurant for lunch. I remember saying to my wife and daughter “I guess we’re going to be spending a lot of time here.” Then…
Welcome to our site. Up With Bath chronicles village life in Bath, NY–news, gossip, growth, musings, and random grumblings! Bookmark us and check back weekly to see what is new… This is a work in progress!
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