My Teenage Sweetheart and Mother of My Children Dies

Vicky Cornaire and Myself, Gary Walts, at my parents house in Calcium, NY in 1972

This was me in 1972 with my high school sweetheart and the mother of my children. We were young and eventually went our separate ways. During our years together she chiseled away a lot of my rough edges making me a better man. She was kind and loving. She was hardworking, artistic and independent. Vicky Walts passed away Friday afternoon, July 11, 2025. 

Vicky Walts with our first grandchild Stone Walts, December 1999.    photo by Gary Walts

2019 Kia Sedona Blower Motor Replacement.

Friday July 11, 2025. 

AC/Heater blower motor replaced because it was making high pitched grating and grinding noise. 

I replaced this noisy blower motor in our 2019 Kia Sorento. Easy to remove: 3 screws and a wire connection. Installing new one was challenging trying to hold motor in place while inserting the first screw. 3 hands would have been better than 2. All told it took me under 90minutes. The weather was 85+ degrees and high humidity. Caused me to sweat like crazy. Bought new motor at Auto Zone that totaled $131.75 with tax.

Blower motor receipt from Auto Zone

Porch Lattice Repair / Rebuild

 

Finished lattice project, Chaumont, NY. (I could have done a better job.)

This afternoon I finished replacing / repairing a section of lattice at one end of our front porch. I used a piece of vinyl lattice that I bought at Home Depot for $50.00. It's very flexible product and was problematic trying to get it in place from under the porch.  I decided to try and brace it by gluing strips of wood to it. from some angles the wood braces were a bit visible so I decided to paint those edges black. I used Loctite brand adhesive. Seemed to work pretty good but one of the braces fell off as I was handling the lattice. Vinyl has a problem with expansion and contraction which can cause it to crack and break if fastened to tightly. I used some at our Franklin St house some years ago and it cracked and broke after a couple of years. I screwed it in place too tightly. 

Replacing lattice on porch, Summer 2025. This is not visible
from the street and consequently has been easy project to put off

Original lattice, very weather beaten and old. But it's salvageable which I intend to do.

New vinyl lattice held in place with wood strips, screws do not penetrate the vinyl.

Painting wood bracing that I glued to vinyl lattice. 

Wood bracing glued to vinyl lattice. This greatly improved handling the thing.

Easily cut the lattice these  hardware scissors

Tooth Extraction, Sold Clay St

418 Clay St, Watertown, NY, sale closed today.

 Closing on the sale of our Clay St apartment house was today at 3:00.  Selling that was an education. Wasn't happy how all of it went. Had North Star Realty as our agent. Not pleased with them. Too tired to go into it now. The Better Half had a tooth extraction today. Aslo learned that my ex, the mother of my children, has entered into hospice care. I am saddened about that. It was mostly cool and cloudy day here but it got warmer and more humid as it progressed.  Currently at 11:30 it is raining. 

418 Clay St, Watertown, NY, sale closed today.

Fishing Cape Vincent - Hot Weather

People fishing, Cape Vincent, NY. photo by Gary Walts copyright 2025

We have hit a spell of hot weather here in the North Country. Humid and 86 degrees here in Chaumont. Been working around the house, moving slow because of the heat. Mowed the lawn this morning. Been working on the front porch o our Chaumont house. Framing up some lattice on the porch end facing the stone quarry. Would be left side of house when looking from the street.  We took late afternoon drive to Cape Vincent yesterday, I snapped these photos of people fishing there. I love the haze this weather produces. It mutes the background. Used aSony 6600 Camera and a Minolta 200mm f2.8 AF lens. 

People fishing, Cape Vincent, NY. photo by Gary Walts copyright 2025

People fishing, Cape Vincent, NY. photo by Gary Walts copyright 2025

I Played Guitar at Watertown NY Pride Event

Rainbow flag and revelers outside Watertown NY City Hall today. 

Today, June 21, 2025 I played guitar at the Jefferson County Historical Society Pride Event: Mimosas at the Mansion. 11:00-12:30. This event followed a flag raising at Watertown City Hall. The mansion is the Paddock Mansion, home of the historical society. They have beautiful shady gardens. There was sunshine today, some wind and temperature around 80 degrees. It was wonderful all the way around. 

Me playing at the Pride event Mimosas At The Mansion.

I Install New Schaller Guitar Tuning Machines on Guild Mark V Guitar

 Thursday June 112, 2025

Beautifully packaged Schaller Hauser style classical guitar tuning machines.

I installed new Schaller guitar tuning mchines on my 1984 Guild Mark V classical guitar. The instrument fell over last Saturday and bent the original machines. I ordered replacement machines from StewMac.com located in Athens, Ohio. Placed the order online Saturday evening and the machines arrived the following Thursday. Very quick service. I purchased the Hauser style gold machines. They appeared on the website to be identical to the originals on my guitar. The new ones fit PERFECTLY. No new screw holes to drill or anything. Took old ones off and new ones fit perfectly, screw holes lined up precisely. Swapping out the machines and putting on new strings took me 30 to 40 minutes. Easy. 

New machines set in place in guitar peg head. Old machines bottom. 

New tuning machines by Schaller. Beautiful. 

Detail of New tuning machines by Schaller. Beautiful. 

New tuning machines by Schaller were perfect fit. Original screw holes
aligned precisely with them. 

Damage My Guitar at Farm Market

 Saturday, June 7, 2025

Me at Watertown Saturday Farm Market Pavilion, JB Wise parking lot.

Saturday I was setting up to ply guitar at the Watertown Saturday Farm Market when my guitar fell out of the guitar stand and anded on concrete floor of the arena. YIKES! I am thankful the only damage appears to be a bent tuning peg. It's the first string peg. This was my 1984 Guild MarkV classical guitar. What a horrible way to start a gig! The bent peg rendered the string untunable so I tuned the remaining strings to it. I hate to replace the tuning machines with something other than originals. I believe they are Schaller Machines. Quick google search and found some Schaller machines that look almost identical. I ordered them. Price $132.00 I am hoping they are an exact fit so I don't need to drill new screw holes. Other than that the gig went well, I played satisfactorily. Vendors and patrons at the market seemed pleased and I was asked to return the following Saturday which is coming up. June 14th.

First string tuning peg bent on my 1984 Guild Mark V Classical Guitar

We Say Goodbye to Korean War Vet Bill Dover

 Today there was a service for Korean War Veteran Bill Dover at the cemetery in Calcium, NY. He was 91 years old. Mr. Dover owned and operated a small country store in the hamlet of Calcium, the place where I grew up. His daughter Nora and I are the same age, graduating together from Indian River High School in 1972. Most people in Calcium interacted with Mr. Dover in one way or another on almost a daily basis. The store was the hub of the community and he, along with his wife Angie,  became iconic figures. Outside the store and after he retired he was helpful and kind. The following obit says it all. 

I had the honor of attending Bill Dover's 90th Birthday.

William A. Dover Obituary

William A. Dover, 91, formerly of Calcium, NY, passed away on May 26, 2025, at Samaritan Nursing Home, where he had been a resident.

He was born on January 5, 1934, in Toccoa, Georgia, the son of James K. and Winnie Ruth Rickman Dover. William graduated from high school in Toccoa, Georgia, and entered the U.S. Army in March 1951. He served as a medic during the Korean War and was honorably discharged after being wounded in action on March 19, 1954. For his service, he was awarded the Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars.

While stationed at Camp Drum, he met Angelina Lago. The couple married on March 21, 1954, in Toccoa, Georgia. In 1963, they moved to Calcium, NY, where they owned and operated Dover’s Grocery Store for 32 years. During that time, William also worked for Loblaws for 20 years.

William was an honorary member of the Calcium Fire Department, an avid gardener, a collector of coins, and a true jack-of-all-trades.

He is survived by two daughters and their husbands: Nora M. and Mark K. Cloonan of Calcium, NY; and Cheryl A. and Francis A. Montressor Jr. of Calcium, NY; five grandchildren: Ryan Montressor, Jade and Jamie Montressor, Jerick Montressor, Gabrielle and William Mayfield, Brittany Widrick and fiancé Greg Essenlohr; and great-grandchildren Gavin, Logan, Sasha, Joseph, Aydriana, Cameron, Levi, and Brielle.

He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Angelina Dover, who passed away on August 21, 2023; his brother, James Ray Dover; and three sisters: Evelie Walrup, Willie Ruth McCracken, and Sally Mae Dover.

******

Clay St Oil Tank Filler Tubes Removal

 

Monday May 5, 2025

Oil filler & vent tubes 418 Clay St, Watertown, NY
Removal needed for new siding.

My brother Al & I spent better than 3 hours removing filling tubes on fuel oil heating tanks. The tubes protrude out the back wall of the house which will be getting new siding soon. It would have been quicker to use a Sawzall to cut the pipes, but that could potentially create sparks that might possibly ignite any fumes lingering in the storage tanks. I'm sure the pipe connections have never been undone since the original install. I don't know when that was, but many many years. We used a 4 foot pipe on  pipe wrench too break the fittings free. Due to space constraints we could only give the connections very small turns. Every turn of the wrench required much exertion. All said, it was a long, dirty, sweaty job. 

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Coffeen St Sunset Photo, Watertown, NY

Sunset Coffeen Street Hill, Watertown, NY   photo copyright Gary Walts May 2, 2025

 This photo shows sunset at Coffeen St and RT 81 in Watertown, NY. I snapped while on my way from the Orion Art Gallery on Mullin St. I was there for the mixed media artwork show opening for artist Taylor Soderquist. I took a number of other shots while standing outside the gallery.

Black River, Sewall's Island, Factory Square Photos

 

I snapped these photos of the Black River, Sewall's Island and Factory Square area in Watertown, NY  on Saturday April 19, 2025. I used a Sony a6000 camera with a Sony 18-105mm f4 zoom lens. I used a black & white mode and the Toy Camera mode, just to be a bit creative. All pic presented here were made with the Toy Camera mode.