The Rapids Owl Returns Home

Robert G. Ortt

The Rapids Day community event in the Town of Lockport Saturday not only celebrated the hamlet with a parade, but also the legacy of a popular Rapids resident, “Uncle Joe,” who was known in the neighborhood as “the Rapids Owl” in the early 1900s. This year marks the 175th anniversary of Joseph Edwards, who was posthumously commemorated – again – with an 8-foot-tall, handcrafted owl that’s been under restoration for the past two years and missing several years before that. Senator Ortt took part in the re-dedication ceremony as the Rapids Owl made its ‘larger than life’ return to the hamlet. Read the full article in the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal. The Senator is pictured with Norm Pearson of Lockport.