One of the few remaining homesteads along the village’s main street is scheduled to be sold at public auction on Nov. 2.
The old Hetnar home at 406 Oswego St. — one of the last places where home-made baskets were sold in the late-1960s recalling the once-thriving willow-weaving craft here in Liverpool — is being foreclosed by Onondaga County Office of Real Property due to a long-unpaid tax bill of $27,834.89 charged against the estate of the late Caroline Hetnar.
A public auction notice signed by county Director of Real Property Donald Weber was posted several months ago on the house’s front door. A few years ago, the village codes enforcement office forced the demolition of its old backyard willow barn which was in serious disrepair.
Willow-weaving site
While Liverpool’s willow products became nationally known between 1892 and 1920, baskets were still being made here up until 1971, notably by John Hetnar on Oswego Street. John and Caroline Hetnar were among some 50 Liverpool residents whose oral histories were captured on video for the Liverpool Legends series produced by Liverpool Public Library.
The old Hetnar home is one of 26 town of Salina properties on the public-auction block next month, along with scores of others from countywide.
The Nov. 2 auction will be conducted by Brzostek’s Real Estate Auction Co. at the Crouse-Hinds Theater at the Mulroy Civic Center, 411 Montgomery St. downtown.
For info, visit brzostek.com/tax-foreclosure-auctions/onondaga-county-2015/, or call the
County Office of Real Property at 435-2857.
Skä-noñh opens Nov. 20 to 21
Skä-noñh, The Great Law of Peace Center, to be located at the former St. Marie site at 6680 Onondaga Lake Parkway in Liverpool, will celebrate its grand opening with a festival-like atmosphere from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21. At 11:30 a.m. that day the center welcomes Robin Wall Kimmer, author of “Braiding Sweet Grass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants.”
The night before, on Nov. 20, a Thanksgiving Gala will benefit the center’s educational programming and exhibits. Tickets for the dinner cost $100 per person. Reservations can be made by calling Karen Cooney at 428-1864, ext. 312.
Skä-noñh is a Haudenosaunee welcoming greeting meaning “Peace” and “Wellness.”
The opening of the center marks an exciting new chapter in the life of what we used to call the French Fort; skanonhcenter.org.
A 400th anniversary
Thursday, Oct. 8, marked the 400th anniversary of explorer Samuel de Champlain’s invasion of the Onondaga Nation. The 2009 book “Champlain’s Dream” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Hackett Fischer locates the battle of Oct. 8, 1615 on the southern shore of Onondaga Lake.
Lloyd Withers, the founder of Onondaga Shoreline, a public policy group working since 2007 for the return of Onondaga Lake shoreline to the Onondaga Nation, said there has always been some controversy over where Champlain’s attack actually took place.
“Champlain’s plan was to lead his modern army equipped with armor and [muzzle-loaded] arquebuses and with the help of his native allies from Huronia, set out on Sept. 1 to attack the Iroquois capital of Onondaga. His intention was to clear the way for unfettered settlement and trade throughout the St. Lawrence River valley and Great Lakes. The expedition would be expensive, long, difficult and treacherous.
After more than 40 days of travel, his army arrived at and laid siege to the walled Onondaga village. “Burning it was not an option,” Withers said, “as the village had ample water to put out fires, so Champlain directed the building of platforms called ‘Cavaliers’ to allow his soldiers to stand above the 30-foot-high walls and fire down into the village. It must have been a terrifying experience for anyone in that village.
Fischer writes, “Champlain’s arqubusiers killed and wounded many Indian defenders of the fort. We have no count of casualties, but the firing was heavy and prolonged, the range was point-blank, and the cost must have been severe to this small Iroquois nation.”
Despite Champlain’s weapons advantage, Withers said, the Onondaga repelled the attackers. Champlain himself was severely wounded in the leg by an Onondaga arrow and his army retreated to their hidden canoes on the shores of Lake Ontario.
Withers’ group advocates for the lake’s remediation and restoration by those responsible for its contamination and stands for its formal recognition as a sacred site to the Haudenosaunee.
The columnist can be contacted at [email protected].
