history keep Letchworth State Park No. 1 include the museum, the gravesite and memorial to Mary Jemison, who played a key role in relations between the Seneca tribe and settlers to the area; the Glen Iris Mansion, popular wedding destination, restaurant and inn and the site of the Portage High Bridge. Stonework seen throughout the park is a legacy left behind by the Civilian Conservation Corp., a New Deal era jobs program that employed 3,000 workers who did jobs similar to what CSEA members do today. Many cabins, shelters, stone walls, and picnic tables the workers built are still in use nearly a century later. A new nature center will soon be built, and CSEA members have been collecting rock from the park’s riverbed for its construction. “That is how the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp.) would’ve done it,” Wolfer said. “We will need a lot of stone to maintain the look of the park and keep things as close to historically accurate as possible.” Year round fun CSEA members maintain year round the park’s 134 cabins and 34 campsites, which include RV camping, tent camping and group camping area. Workers are converting the cabins from electric heating and wood stove heating to propane gas to make it safer for winter patrons. Cross country skiers and sledders also frequent the park, which features a very popular sledding hill that can attract up to 200 tubers and sledders on any given winter weekend. Letchworth State Park, and all of New York’s public parks, are gems because of the dedication and hard work of public employees. To many of the workers, working at the parks is much more than a job. “I was self employed as an electrical contractor for 22 years and had an opportunity to come here,” Wolfer said. “Somebody asked me one time why I gave up my private business to do this and I said, ‘have you ever come in and seen the gorge at 6:30 in the morning? You would give up your personal job, too.’ It’s a great job and a beautiful place to work.” — Jill Asencio Fixing sewer line breaks from spring thaws, severe storms and bedrock movement are regular occurrences for the maintenance crew at Letchworth. Below: The Portage High Bridge, once the highest wooden bridge in the world, was built by Letchworth above the Upper Falls to carry passengers along the Buffalo line of the Erie Railroad in 1851. After an 1875 fire, it was replaced by the towering iron trestle that is still in use to carry goods through the valley. CSEA members have begun clearing trees and preparing for the next phase of the bridge’s history; a new concrete version slated to be built later this year. Linda Hennard, a CSEA member and cleaner at Letchworth, maintains a window in a restroom building, which contains stone collected from the park’s riverbed by CSEA members. Below: Tyler Snyder uses a leaf blower to keep the Letchworth grounds clean. July-August 2015 The Work Force 11
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