A Letter from Sharyl Stear Lewis

21 July 2015

Springwater Bicentennial Logo entry by Sharyl Stear Lewis. Click image to enlarge.

Good afternoon, Steve and Terry,

Well I suppose you are wondering what crazy person with the email address of bionic_babe would be doing writing to you.

My name is Sharyl Stear Lewis and I am a former resident of Springwater, NY. Both my mother, Bertha Stear and father, Ralph Stear are buried in the cemetery, Mt. Vernon Evergreen. My father and mother owned a farm of about 120 acres from 1944 until the late 1950’s located just down behind the Ivan Mastin property on Canadice Road. I attended Springwater United Methodist Church since birth and held positions in the youth group. Loved my Sunday School teacher, Dorothy Englert; and my favorite pastor, Howard Warriner. I even lived in the house with the big picture window right next to the church directly across the street from Bruce and Lois Haywood’s house.

I lived in Springwater all of my life until after my father passed away in a tractor accident while working for Lucien Hill. After I graduated in 1962 from Wayland Central School, my mother, sister and I moved to California to be near my brother, Tom Stear and family, after they had been transferred from Gunlocke to start the new factory in Whittier, CA.

I miss my life in Springwater even though it was only for 18 years, and I am now 71. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of moving back there to my favorite place. I have returned from time to time, but I miss the changing of the seasons, the green rolling hills, the journey of riding from town to town with open spaces between those villages, and the laid-back feeling of the countryside.

O well, that is not my reason for writing to you. I have just excitedly found out about Springwater’s Bi-Centennial celebration. I am trying to make plans for next year to return there just for that reason. I have not been able to find out the dates when most things will be happening. Are you doing an all-year long celebration or several events at different times? My plans were to come around late September to early October, 2016 - so I can get my “fix” on Fall colors and festivals.

Also, my child-like self got really interested in the logo contest and I am delighted to see that one lucky person has already won with their great entry. I would have been too late anyway for the deadline, not really a logo that could be used anyway, but wanted to send my interpretation of what I felt Springwater meant to me and get that passion out of my heart. I knew Judy Brehm and her parents, the Caskeys and Donald Haywood. I think Don lived in the old Canon house, which my mother used to clean. Fond memories of that beautiful house and swimming in the pool behind it each summer.

So just sharing my thoughts and memories, wishing you great progress on this very special event - just wish I lived there so I could help it come to fruition. If there would be anything I could do to help when I get back there, I would be so excited to participate.

Blessings,

Sharyl Lewis

2514 W. Orangethorpe, Sp. #35

Fullerton, CA 92833

bionic_babe65@att.net