BATH – The public is invited to the Steuben County Hall of Fame reception immediately following the regular session of the county Legislature July 23. Those nominated for honors in 2018 and expected to be approved during the regular legislative session are:
Mark R. Alger – The first county administrator, and later the first county manager, Alger graduated from Hornell High School in 1972 and earned degrees from SUNY Geneseo and Western Illinois University. After graduation from Western Illinois, Alger became the Senior Planner in the county Planning Department and served as Planning Director from 1981-1984. Named the first county Administrator in 1984, Alger was responsible for the daily oversight of county operations on behalf of the county’s newly formed Legislature. In 1995, he was appointed Deputy Director of the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, returning to Steuben to serve as Commissioner of Social Services from 1999- 2000. In 2000 Alger was again appointed county administrator, serving in this capacity until 2014, when he was appointed the first county manager, with the passage of the Steuben County Charter. He retired in June 2015.
· Clara Comstock – A Hartsville native, Comstock graduated from the Canisteo Academy in 1895 and continued her education at Academy’s Teacher Training Course. After moving to New York City in 1911, she began working as an agent for the Children’s Aid Society, where she became known as the "The Orphan Train Lady," selecting adoptable children from New York City and sending them by train to destinations farther west. Comstock personally escorted 74 groups of children between 1911 and 1928, then worked as the superintendent of the Children’s Aid Society until she retired in 1944. A member of the Daughters of the American Revolution she is founded the Canisteo Valley Genealogical and Historical Society.
· Anna Cadogan Etz – A Hornell native, Etz attended Fredonia Normal School, took advanced training at Alfred University and graduated from the University of Michigan. Her newspaper column "Suffrage Notes and Comments" appeared in 40 newspapers from 1912 to 1917. Active in the New York State Women’s Suffrage Association she was a founder of the Hornell Equality League of Self Supporting Women. Following the death of her son, David, she and her husband donated funds to the Hornell Library for a room that became the state’s first Children’s Room. She joined others to start a Children’s Home and taught Americanization in the Hornell School district following World War I.
For the past several decades, the county Hall of Fame has honored individuals who have enhanced the name of the county and/or developed the county in memorable ways. The proposed inductees were selected several weeks ago by a committee of local historians and civic officials from a field of candidates nominated by local residents. Past inductees include aviation pioneer Glenn H. Curtiss, Vietnam POW and Silver Star recipient U.S. Air Force, Lt. Col. (ret.) Wallace Newcomb, local paramedic, national Red Cross honoree and spokeswoman for the World Health Organization Winnie Romeril and former Congressman Amo R. Houghton, R-Corning. "We are excited to honor the individuals who have made contributions to Steuben County both past and present," said county Historian Emily Simms. "Each has worked to enrich our community in a unique way whether through education, promoting suffrage, or their leadership in government. It is important to recognize their efforts and the role that they have played in Steuben’s history."
The reception honoring the inductees will be held in the County Office Building third-floor foyer.
· Anna Cadogan Etz – A Hornell native, Etz attended Fredonia Normal School, took advanced training at Alfred University and graduated from the University of Michigan. Her newspaper column "Suffrage Notes and Comments" appeared in 40 newspapers from 1912 to 1917. Active in the New York State Women’s Suffrage Association she was a founder of the Hornell Equality League of Self Supporting Women. Following the death of her son, David, she and her husband donated funds to the Hornell Library for a room that became the state’s first Children’s Room. She joined others to start a Children’s Home and taught Americanization in the Hornell School district following World War I.
For the past several decades, the county Hall of Fame has honored individuals who have enhanced the name of the county and/or developed the county in memorable ways. The proposed inductees were selected several weeks ago by a committee of local historians and civic officials from a field of candidates nominated by local residents. Past inductees include aviation pioneer Glenn H. Curtiss, Vietnam POW and Silver Star recipient U.S. Air Force, Lt. Col. (ret.) Wallace Newcomb, local paramedic, national Red Cross honoree and spokeswoman for the World Health Organization Winnie Romeril and former Congressman Amo R. Houghton, R-Corning. "We are excited to honor the individuals who have made contributions to Steuben County both past and present," said county Historian Emily Simms. "Each has worked to enrich our community in a unique way whether through education, promoting suffrage, or their leadership in government. It is important to recognize their efforts and the role that they have played in Steuben’s history."
The reception honoring the inductees will be held in the County Office Building third-floor foyer.
