The first Warren C. Crandell Memorial Scholarship entry period is now open!

The Greece Historical Society proudly announces a scholarship in honor of Warren C. Crandell, to a highly motivated, graduating high school senior from the Town of Greece who plans to further their education as a History or History Education major or minor at a two- or four-year college or university. The number of scholarships may vary annually.

Warren C Crandell scholarship

Completed applications must be submitted, delivered, or postmarked by the last Monday in March. The committee will review all applications received. Three candidates will be selected as finalists and interviewed by the committee at a date and location to be determined. Announcement of Awards to be made by the last Monday in April.

To learn more about the scholarship click here which will have the link to the application, the requirements for the scholarship, and brief information on the donor of the scholarship.

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Warren C. Crandell Memorial Scholarship Program

Presented by the Greece Historical Society

Warren C. Crandell
Warren C. Crandell (1926-2021)

The Greece Historical Society proudly announces a scholarship in honor of Warren C. Crandell, to a highly motivated, graduating high school senior from the Town of Greece who plans to further their education as a History or History Education major or minor at a two- or four-year college or university. The number of scholarships may vary annually.


AWARD:

$2,000.00 payable directly to the student for use towards college expenses such as tuition, fees, books, room and board, and other expenses associated with higher education. Awards will be given in two installments: first, $1,000.00 upon proof of registration/ letter of acceptance with a two-year or four-year college or university, and the final high school report card with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher submitted to the Greece Historical Society; and second, $1,000.00 upon the submission of the first-semester report card with a grade point average of no less than 2.75 to the Greece Historical Society. Estimated delivery dates: July 1 and January 1.


SUBMISSION:

Completed applications must be submitted, delivered, or postmarked by the last Monday in March. The committee will review all applications received. Three candidates will be selected as finalists and interviewed by the committee at a date and location to be determined. Announcement of Awards to be made by the last Monday in April.

Submissions must include:

  • Completed Application
  • Most recent grades and Official Transcript from the current school – No Photocopies will be accepted.
  • Letter of recommendation
    • One letter from a school official (teacher, coach, counselor, or administrator) clearly illustrates their support for the student to receive the scholarship –
    • No more than one page.
  • Essay – Write an essay of 500 words to 750 words*, on a historical story or topic related to the Town of Greece. Your Essay will be featured in the Society’s Newsletter and also will be posted on the website as a guest author. Also, include copies of any images that may help tell the story when it is posted to the website. See examples of previous stories written by our volunteers in Living in Greece.
  • When Submitting the photos please use Jpeg file format for the picture you submit and please use a Zip, 7-Zip, or other file compression tool to send them in case they are too big to attach them in the email please use Google Photos, or other photo sharing service to share the photos with the society please do not use copyrighted photos unless you get permission to use them.

Link to Download the Application for the Scholarship PDF or you may use our online submission portal this is the preferred method of submission.

Or you can download the form below and fill out the paperwork

The completed packet must be mailed and addressed as the following

Warren C. Crandell Memorial Scholarship Fund
Greece Historical Society
P.O. Box 16249
Greece, NY 14616

If you email your packet to ghsscholarship40@gmail.com please compress the entire application into a single zip compressed file using built-in file compression software and label it with your name and school name and 2023-24 student for example (Jane_Doe_Greece_Odyssey_2023-24.zip) and in the subject line of the email put your name followed by Warren C Crandell Scholarship Application for 2023-24 School Year this way we can keep track of all the students who are applying for the scholarship. The fastest way is to use the online submission portal which will allow for quick upload and submission of the application.

*originally format of the essay was to be 750 to 1000 words but after careful consideration and reviewing of guest articles the committee has decided to lower the word count to 500 to 750 word essay.


DONOR INFORMATION:

Who Was Warren C. Crandell?

Warren in his Undress White Service Uniform Navy uniform
Warren in his Navy Undress White Service Uniform

Warren Crandall was born in 1926. He grew up in Rochester, but before he could graduate high school, Uncle Sam called him up for service in the Navy. He sailed in the Pacific on a supply ship, during which time he said they didn’t see much action. He did, however, cross the Equator, which is a pretty big deal for sailors, earning him the designation of Shellback. Warren was discharged from the Navy in June 1946. More on his service along with other pictures can be seen in our publication Our Town in World War II.

Britton Road Junior High School

Returning to Rochester, he finally obtained his high school diploma and went on to SUNY Oswego to become a teacher of industrial arts, math, and science. He was instrumental in setting up the Industrial Arts program at Greece Olympia and at the junior high on Britton Road. He and his wife, Marion, were married for 50 years and were longtime residents of Desmond Road.

Greece Olympia High School Campus

Marion passed away on March 29, 2005.

Warren was an enthusiastic amateur historian along with his other interests and attended programs at the Greece Historical Society whenever he could. His love of learning and teaching stayed strong throughout his life. Warren C. Crandell passed on December 19, 2021, at age 95. The bequest he left to the Greece Historical Society will be used to honor his memory by paying it forward to graduating seniors who show the same enthusiasm he had for learning.

BICENTENNIAL SNAPSHOT COLLECTION ON DVD

Bicentennial Snapshot Logo

From March 2022 through March 2023, in celebration of our town’s bicentennial, the Greece Historical Society produced 54 multimedia podcasts called Bicentennial Snapshots. Each snapshot, averaging five to 10 minutes, explored a different aspect of Greece’s history.

Even though all of them are available on our website, the complete series of Bicentennial Snapshots is also available on a set of four DVDs for $15.00. Click on the Buy Now button below to order your DVD set of our Bicentennial Snapshots.

Bicentennial Snapshot DVD Cover
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GHS AWARDED FOR EXCELLENCE IN PROMOTING LOCAL HISTORY

We are thrilled and honored to announce that on September 20th, 2022 the Association of Public Historians of New York, along with the New York State Museum, presented to the Greece Historical Society its 2022 Award for Excellence in Promoting Local History.

The Association of Public Historians of New York State is a professional organization that represents the 1,600+ government-appointed historians in the state.

We are incredibly proud of all our volunteers, who are directly responsible for our receiving this honor.

Besides maintaining our museum with permanent and changing exhibits and presenting a popular lecture series. the Greece Historical Society has published books and stories, produced videos, provided speakers to local organizations, digitized local newspapers, erected historical markers, and conducted cultural resource surveys of local architects like The Thomas W. Boyde, Jr. Project.

Most recently, in celebration of the town’s bicentennial, GHS volunteers researched and published stories of pioneer families of Greece and produced fifty-four 5 to 10 minute videos highlighting various aspects of the Town of Greece’s history. The bicentennial videos can be found on the left side of our homepage in the section labeled Bicentennial Snapshots.

Our Tuesday Programs can be found under GHS Program Archives. The Archives section is being transformed into a unique experience that will make it easier to see articles from our newsletter, view snapshots, and learn about Greece landmarks. We also plan to add parts of our digital kiosk to the website over time.

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Boyde Project

The Greece Historical Society (GHS) is sponsoring a Cultural Resource Survey of The Architecture of Thomas W. Boyde, Jr., Rochester’s first African American architect. The project is funded by grants from the Rochester Area Community Foundation, the Preservation League of New York State/New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), and individual donations.

Thomas Boyde 1930 NY Architects Office cropped to headshot
Thomas Boyde 1930 NY Architects Office cropped to headshot

Thomas W. Boyde, Jr. was a prolific designer of Mid-Century Modern homes and businesses, but also did significant work designing buildings for economically disadvantaged communities. The survey will help identify Boyde’s built work which spans across Western New York, including several houses in the town of Greece, and bring new appreciation to the work of this supremely talented architect who left a remarkable legacy in the greater Rochester area.

The project team includes: Christopher Brandt, architect at Bero Architecture PLLC; Jeffrey A. “Free” Harris, independent historian and historic preservation consultant from Hampton, VA; Katie Eggers Comeau, former architectural historian at Bero; Gina M. DiBella, preservation consultant from Greece; Jenna Huizinga, Brighton Historian’s Office intern and SUNY Geneseo student; and Alexis Rivers, research assistant.

While conducting research, the project team discovered additional drawings, correspondence, and interviews that went beyond the original scope of the project. They are now working to raise additional funds to include this new information and complete the project.

Rendering of Private Home in Penfield - RMSC
Rendering of Private Home in Penfield – RMSC

Please consider making a contribution to further the research on Mr. Boyde. Click Boyde Project to make a donation.

For more information on Thomas W. Boyde, Jr. and some of the work the project team has already completed, read this AIA Rochester article or view the Thomas W. Boyde, Jr. presentation recorded by the Greece Historical Society on April 12, 2022.

Pioneer Families Publications

Pioneer Families of the Town of Greece – Vol. 1

Pioneer Families of the Town of Greece - Vol. 1
Pioneer Families of the Town of Greece – Vol. 1

This book is researched and written by Marie Villone Poinan, and JoAnn Ward Snyder, and honors the families who settled in the area before 1872. It contains vignettes, photos, and input from current family members that highlight each family’s contribution to the town.

The following families are featured in Volume 1: Baker, Beaty, Bemish/Lane/Wilder, Britton, Captain, John Burns, Terry Burns, Butts, Carpenter/Toal, Cole/Kenyon, Denise, Eddy, Farnan, Fetzner, Joseph and Patrick Fleming, Robert Fleming, Goodwin, Hogan, Janes, Johnson, Kirk, Latta, Lay, Lowden, Mitchell, Mura, Nash, Newcomb, O’Neil, Perrin, Preston, James, Reilly, Reniff, Shearman, Speer/Carroll, Thorpe, Tiernan/McGee, Upton, Veeder, Veness, Volkmar.

(Available on Amazon, and in museum gift shop, or by visiting our gift shop in the museum during our regular office hours.)


Pioneer Families of the Town of Greece – Vol. 2 (Expected to be available in Late 2023)

This book researched and written by Marie Villone Poinan and Jo Ann Ward Snyder, honors the families who settled in the area before 1872. It contains vignettes, photos, and input from current family members that highlight each family’s contribution to the town.

This second volume will honor families who settled in the area before 1872 but were not included in Volume 1.

Below are the families that will probably be featured in Volume 2 depending on family approvals and signatures to allow the families to appear in the book:

Allen
Andrews
Beattie
Beck
Benedict
Blackwell
Bonesteel
Buckman
Budd
Burger/Phillips
Burns (Michael)
Button
Clarke
Coffey
Combs
Cottrell

Davis/T. Mitchell
Defendorf
Dorsey
English
Faker
Falls
Frisbee
Glass
Hadlock
Hincher
Hickox
Hopper
Keene
Lochner/Goodell
Justice
Marchant

McShea
Meech
Phelps
Quinn
Rowley
Ruggles
Sage/Cason
Sharpe
Spaulding
Vick
Weitz
Whelehan
Wietz
Williams
Worboys



(Will be available on Amazon, and in the museum gift shop, in Late 2023.)

Pioneer Families of the Town of Greece - Vol. 2
Pioneer Families of the Town of Greece – Vol. 2