On July 5 — God willing — Ken Hurst will turn 98.

But before he does, the longtime Tulip Street resident will watch his family’s old willow-weaving shop continue to welcome visitors. 

Anyone interested in what Liverpool was like 150 years ago should stop by the season opening of the Liverpool Willow Museum, from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 3, on the Gleason Mansion grounds at 314 Second St., Liverpool; (315) 572-1776.

The museum will also be open from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 4, and every Saturday and Sunday during the summer.

Horse-drawn wagon rides

On Saturday, the Historical Association of Greater Liverpool will offer free horse-drawn wagon rides and museum tours recalling the village’s vibrant willow-weaving industry. Visitors will be astounded by the variety of willow-ware in the museum and its neighboring Steamer Building, everything from hand baskets to furniture to baby carriages. The museum is the actual space where the Hurst family gathered nightly in the 1920s to construct laundry baskets.

This little white building comes complete with the tools used as well as examples of work-in-progress and finished products. The shop was originally located behind the Hurst home on Oswego Street, before it was moved to its present location in 1992.

The village historian’s exhibition in the Gleason Mansion will also be available for viewing Saturday, and Village Historian Dorianne Elitharp Gutierrez hopes to be on hand, as do representatives of Liverpool Public Library and Clay Historical Association.

Willow-weaving heyday

While Liverpool’s quality 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.

The willow industry began here in 1852 when John Fischer, a German-born salt boiler, noticed willow bushes growing profusely in nearby swamps. That willow closely resembled the German domestic willow that was used for basketry.

The Liverpool Willow Museum is open from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the summer.  

By the way, Ken often mans the museum on Sundays and regales visitors with his vivid recollections of back-breaking willow work and his astute observations about long-gone village characters. No doubt about it — Ken Hurst has a prodigious memory and a priceless gift of gab.

Job-seekers beware!

Here’s yet another reminder of a basic truth of the 21st century: you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet!

Two village residents looking for work recently contacted a fraudulent company while they conducted job searches online, according to Liverpool Police Chief Don Morris. 

“The company that they dealt with went by the name of Keane Construction,” Morris said.  “There are legit Keane Construction companies throughout the U.S., but this fraudulent company utilizes the following tactics described below by another victim.”

That job-seeker saw Keane Construction advertised on Indeed as a company looking for an office assistant. “The emails sent to me were well-written and professional-looking,” the victim told police. “The emails stated the hours (six hours daily) and the pay ($20 per hour) plus benefits and 401k. The position was for work-at-home until an office was set up locally. I got the job. A couple of days later, they emailed me that a cashier’s check was to be mailed to me and I was to deposit it. I was to show them the deposit receipt. The hiring manager, Hardy Jonas, said that this money would be used to get office equipment I needed. After that, he told me to get Apple iTunes cards for a value of $170 plus another for the value of $175. They told me to scratch them off and send pictures to him so that the technician could use them set up my accounting software in the new computer. Yesterday, the cashier’s check bounced. I called my bank and they said it was a fake.”

Chief Morris warns village residents to be wary of any such job offers, especially those made online by parties unseen and unknown.

Eagle award-winners

Congratulations to my ink-stained colleagues Sarah Hall and Herm Card, who received well-deserved professional recognition awards from the Syracuse Press Club on May 6 at Drumlins Country Club.

Sarah, who’s the editor of the Eagle Star-Review, was recognized for her dramatic Election 2016 graphic illustration. Herm, a talented photographer, won a feature photo award for his shot titled “Big Duck in town… and some smaller admirers.”

Contact the columnist at [email protected].