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Caz native’s writing celebrated Update given on By Jason Gabak Editor
As a writer, Jadi Campbell, a Cazenovia native, has garnered a great deal of praise and attention for her work. The most recent accolade, which came as a total surprise to the author, was being named the winner of the 2023 SanFranciscoBookFestivalfor general fiction for her story collection “The Trail Back Out.” Campbell said she recently completed her fifth novel in and in the process of sending out query letters for publication she was compiling information on her previous works
when she learned that she had been named a winner in San Francisco. “At the start of July I received an announcement that the winners of the 2023 San Francisco Book Festival had been selected,” Campbell said. “They did not personally inform us if we had placed. I scrolled down the official announcement page and saw that my book had won.” Campbell’s work was up against a large field of competitors. AccordingtoCampbell, the festival doesn’t have a category for short story collections and she said she didn’t think
she was going to win since she had to submit her work in the general fiction category, putting it up against everything from romances to mysteries, thrillers and everything in between. “My book won over more than 600 other titles,” Campbell said. “To be selected was a fantastic shock. Fewer than 5% of books considered ever place in their festivals. To be honest, I figured it had the proverbial snowball’s chance in hell. ‘The Trail Back Out’ is a collection of short stories. Aside from science fiction, all the fiction books were entered Book l Page 3
lease of Cazenovia College campus By kate Hill Staff Writer
Submitted photo
Cazenovia native Jadi Campbell’s book “The Trail Back Out” was recently named the winner of the 2023 San Francisco Book Festival for general fiction.
Lavender Blue celebrates 20 years in business By Kate Hanzalik
Two hundred years ago, 74 Albany St. was a bar and a trading post. Twenty years ago this past July, the building became home to the much loved, world-class boutique filled with all things French, Lavender Blue. Over the years, co-owners Judith Warburton and Eileen Lowe have learned a lot about embracing risks, seeing opportunities, and appreciating serendipity. In fact, the two grew up 40 miles away from each other in Cheshire, England unbeknownst to them. Their children were born in the same small cottage hospital eight years apart. Their husbands were recruited to work in Syracuse around the same time. It wasn’t until Warburton and Lowe met at a dinner party in Cazenovia that they realized their shared history, a history that blossomed into a future that has changed the landscape of our town - and the interior of many homes around the world - for the better. The inspiration for Lavender Blue began with Warburton’s fascination with the art form of coated French tablecloths, and her wish to solve an age-old problem for Americans. “We had all traveled extensively in France and seen the unique table linens with their cotton base and acrylic coating that allowed everyone at the table to relax as every spill could be wiped up leaving no trace so different from the traditional white damask that stained at the first drop of wine,” she said. The idea of selling these tablecloths didn’t really materialize until Warburton slipped and fell one day. “It was just serendipity. On a bad day, I saw the shop; the barber had a sign in the window, ‘For Sale By Owner,’” Warburton said. She took a look around, “And that day, all those ideas came. I thought immediately of Eileen because
Kate Hill
Lavender Blue is celebrating 20 years in business. I was sure we would work well together.” “Judith had a vision for the store. It was an opportunity to bring France to Cazenovia,” said Lowe. The former director of financial development for the American Red Cross was willing to take the risk. “It’s a willingness to be able to not be too sure of what’s ahead of you,” Lowe said. Lowe’s husband, David, and Warburton’s husband, Peter, were happy to support their wives. “[They] worked tirelessly with [us] in preparing the old barber’s shop (owned by Ford Lamb for 40 years) to be the space to transform our dining experience into a joy, and blast of colors from the South of France and particularly Provence,” said Warburton.
“We had people on the first weekend coming in and singing [the English nursery rhyme] Lavender Blue,” said Lowe. At that time, they had one supplier, but that changed over the years. “In our attempt to bring the very best items to Cazenovia we started our yearly visit to France to discover the perfect designers and distributors - then [we] expand[ed] our search to Spain for our ceramics. At times we felt like the adventurer Marco Polo bringing back treasures from Europe,” said Warburton. Now they offer a treasure trove of products from dozens of suppliers to customers all over the world. People often stop in or call to talk about their travels. They ask for advice about places to go in France. To some, the store is a
travel destination. “[Lavender Blue is] a touch of class, and wanderlust,” said Alex Altamonte, owner of H. Gray Supply Co. “We get to travel going into the store. There’s nothing like it around here, or anywhere.” Lowe and Warburton have sold their products at garden shows, lavender festivals in Clinton and Skaneateles, the French festival in Clayton, Walnut Hill Farms in Pittsford, Thousand Islands, to name a few. They also partnered with Mackenzie Childs and collaborated with students studying advertising and business at Cazenovia College. After 20 years of success, they have some words of wisdom to share. For those interested in owning their own business, Lowe
a&E: Cazenovia native releases new single.
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In other news
The board reserved Memorial Park for Monday, Sept. 11 for the community’s annual 9/11 candlelight vigil, which is co-
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Volume 214, Number 32 The Cazenovia Republican is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 35 Albany St., Second Floor, Cazenovia, NY 13035. Periodical Postage Paid at Cazenovia, NY 13035, USPS 095-260. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Cazenovia Republican, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206.
During the Aug. 7 Village of Cazenovia Board of Trustees meeting, Mayor Kurt Wheeler provided a brief update on the short-term plan for the use of the Cazenovia College campus. About two weeks prior to the meeting, the New York State Police officially entered into an agreement with Cazenovia College to lease a large portion of the campus for use as its new NYS Police Basic School Auxiliary Academy, which will run concurrently with the NYS Police Training Academy in Albany. The two-year lease began Aug. 1 and includes the buildings that make up the main college campus, as well as the athletic center. Wheeler reported that since Aug. 1, there has been a “skeleton crew” of people on campus doing a lot of information technology work and preparing for the arrival of the academy’s first class. Most of the staff should be on campus on Oct. 1, and training is scheduled to begin on Oct. 16, according to Wheeler. The leased space can accommodate up to 275 recruits. “That’s about the number we’re looking at; they hope to have a full class of 275,” Wheeler said. The trainees are required to stay on campus from Sunday evening through Friday evening each week during the program. “There will be just a very minimal crew here on the weekends,” said Wheeler. “Cadets are allowed to go home on the weekends, and most of the instructors will probably go home on the weekends as well.” Wheeler noted that he thinks it will be important to communicate to the community that the campus is no longer home to a small liberal arts college. “It was fine if classes were going on at the college and you were wandering through with your dog, [but the state police] will be doing some pretty high-intensity law enforcement training,” he said. “. . . On the weekends if you are wandering through, no one is going to care, but Monday through Friday if they are in the middle of training, [they] are not going to want civilians wandering through.” He added that as far as he was aware at the time, the athletic facility would not be accessible for public use due to liability reasons and training requirements. “We will communicate any updates on that,” he said. Wheeler also reported that with the lease finally signed and the short-term plans for the campus solidified, A&G Real Estate Partners has increased its marketing of the campus properties on behalf of the bondholders. “I’ve heard secondhand through [Cazenovia College President] Dave Bergh that they’ve gotten a pretty good response [with] new inquiries and some old inquiries following back up,” he said. “We are kind of cultivating a couple of folks that have expressed interest that we think would be particularly good fits. I’m optimistic that there will be some movement in the next month or two on that.”
sports: Cazenovia, Chittenango get NYSPHSAA honors.
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A&E �������������������������������� 2 Editorial ��������������������� 4 history ������������������������ 4 letters ������������������������ 5
AUGUST 14-20, 2023 Next Year: August 12-18, 2024
Obituaries ������������������ 3 PennySaver ���������������� 6 Sports ����������������������� 13