What is local history, if not memories handed down through the generations?

This book embraces that mission as a community collaboration to preserve memories about our beloved Bristol Hills in the western Finger Lakes region of New York. Dozens of local residents commissioned original watercolor paintings by local artist Anna Overmoyer and wrote accompanying stories about a favorite place, an historic site or event, a legend — memories they cared about.

Some are stories that have been told many times and are reinvented in these pages with Overmoyer’s distinctive, fanciful figures. Others are told here for the first time. Some are strictly factual; others about a spirit world we can only imagine, or Native American origin stories about this region.

This 78-page keepsake is for readers and art lovers of all ages. Its net proceeds benefit the work of its publisher, the Bristol Hills Historical Society, which produces educational programs and preserves some of our towns’ architectural treasures. Read the book’s table of contents here.

Thanks to a partnership with Finger Lakes Community College and the generous support of the Stan Steele Agency, there is a video version of the book! Set to original music with animated versions of Anna Overmoyer’s paintings, the book’s creators tell how the book came to be and what it means to the community, and they read from 11 of the book’s stories. Check out how to view it at this link.

The Society gives special thanks to the Ontario County Arts Council for its generous support of this project. Its grant, along with advance purchases of the book, enabled us to afford a first printing of this handsome book in hardcover.

The book is available through mail order (paperback and hardcover), at Historical Society events (paperback only), and at these select local retailers who carry the paperback:

Rochester Museum and Science Center’s Cumming Nature Center, 6472 Gulick Road, Naples. (585) 374-6160

Heartfelt Designs, 7203 State Route 5, Bloomfield. (585) 491-5177, rachelsheartfeltd@gmail.com
Hopper Hills Floral & Gifts, 3 East Main St., Victor. (585) 924-9696
Inspire Moore Winery, 197 N. Main St., Naples. (585) 374-5970
Reed Homestead Shop, 8728 Main St., Honeoye.

Order the paperback edition at this link for $25 plus shipping and sales tax.

Order the hardcover edition at this link for $35 plus shipping and sales tax.

Please allow up to three weeks for delivery of online orders, since the books are printed on demand.

One of the sponsors of a painting and story in the book is Bristol Mountain, which told a delightful legend about how snowmaking — one of Father Winter’s “mighty powers” — came to be a skill possessed by people. Anna Overmoyer illustrated Father Winter with his long silver hair as ski slopes. Bristol Mountain’s managers liked the image so much that they featured the book in their “Mountaineer” publication for the 2023-24 ski season. You can view their article and the painting here. We thank them for their support, as we do all of the patrons of the book’s illustrations and stories.

Laurel C. Wemett’s review of the book in Life in the Finger Lakes called it “an ideal keepsake to be enjoyed by generations to come,” and praised the “charming mix” of obscure and well-known stories about our region. Of Anna Overmoyer’s “imaginative” illustrations, she wrote: “The artist’s whimsical artworks feature spirits, fairies and magic — setting a perfect tone for storytelling.”

And, as Valerie Knoblauch of the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection told us, “Having an interest in the Finger Lakes history, geology, art, and culture — this book is a natural to land on my coffee table and to show our many guests!”

We hope the same is true for all who live here or care about this place, and wish to preserve its memories.

Here are just a few paintings from the book.