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FALCONER – The Village of Falconer’s first historical marker was dedicated in honor of famous ball player Hugh Bedient on Monday.
A member of the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame, Bedient started his career pitching for Falconer High School then went on to play for the Boston Red Sox from 1912 to 1914.
The community, including the mayor, President of the Hall of Fame, and Bedients’ own family came together at the Mosher Street Ball Field where he once played to unveil the marker.
Bedient’s grandson, Hugh Imus, shared his memories of his grandfather at the park, including when he himself played ball.
“My grandpa, he used to come up, I used to pitch in Little League, he used to come up and watch, behind the fence, just like Randy was saying, he was always a modest guy,” describes Imus. “He had a big straw hat on and he used to sit in left field out there, on the other side of the fence and come up and watch. That was always good, especially as you get older it means more.”
Numerous family members were present for the unveiling, but Mayor James Jarosynski says the village also has a lot of pride in their connection to Bedient.
“This is a very exciting moment in the village of Falconer history,” says Jarosynski. “Hugh Bedient, as was stated by one of the speakers here, Mr. Randy Anderson, he played for a Major League team back in the early 1900s. He came back to this area in mid 1914-15, played for a team near Buffalo. He could’ve went anywhere, but he came back here in the village of Falconer and the surrounding area. His family, his extended family, is still here and it means a lot to the village of Falconer to recognize Mr. Bedient.”
Pride in Bedient led to the hard work by many to make the installation of the marker possible, including Brenda Cavallaro, village historian. She described the step-by-step process, beginning with gathering information.
“This was quite an involved project that we had a team of people who really had different ideas and contributed, but the application process is quite extensive,” explains Cavallaro. “You have to submit primary sources, then they’ll tell you if you think it’s a go. And then after that you do even more work to prove what you’re saying is true, and then you wait and see if you’re gonna get the funding. And when the funding comes in I guess that’s the easier part, to order the marker and get it in place.”
Now that the marker has been unveiled, Cavallaro hopes it leads the community to stay invested in their history and ask questions, but especially to look towards the future at what is possible.
“It may inspire some of our youth to really know that they can go that extra mile.”
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