BlueStone Press

The best source for local news from Marbletown, Rochester & Rosendale

Published the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month | Vol. 27, Issue 19

Kerhonkson Synagogue celebrates 100 years

Another volunteer fire district closing in Marbletown

Photo by Manuela Michailescu

Vivianna Schwall of Kerhonkson is pictured having fun at the 16th annual Heritage Day Festival on Main Street, Accord. The rain held off for a beautiful, overcast fall day, making it chilly but not cold. The day had perfect conditions for enjoying apple cider doughnuts from Saunderskill Farm that were given out at the Accord Market. A shuttle was provided to take festival goers to the festival and back to their cars. After being dropped off by the shuttle they were greeted by some classic cars and a short walk to the main street with horse riding and a hayride through the pumpkin patch. The Jennie Bell Pie Contest was a success, with a tent where, for $2, you could choose and taste three of the pies made by adults and children, and vote for your favorite. For 16 years, this annual event has helped people meet new faces and catch up with old acquaintances. Heritage Day is about preserving, promoting, and celebrating the historic heritage of the Town of Rochester. -written by Thomas Childers for BSP

Get fit in the park in Rosendale PAGE 11

PAGE 9

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Heritage Day fun

October 7, 2022 | $1.00

BOE discusses installing gender-neutral bathrooms Board considers concession stand bathroom design options Amber Kelly BSP Reporter The Rondout Valley school board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 27, took place in the district office and also on Zoom. In attendance were board president Dawn Van Kleeck, board vice president Chris Schoonmaker, assistant superintendent of schools & operations Lisa Pacht, school business official Alyssa Hasbrouck, board members Dean Rylewicz, Dr. Alan Roberts, Carolyn Peck, Nicole Parete, Christine Kelder, Megan Snair and Lucy VanSickle. Also attending were assistant superintendent of student support services Meg Braren, director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Nicole Kappes-Levine, student board members Emily Bartolone and Sierra Hikade, district clerk Debra Barbiani, as well as many building principals and administrators. Dean Rylewicz said, “We had our first (budget) meeting last Tuesday, and an issue came up about the bathrooms in the

concession stand, asking if there could be gender-neutral bathrooms. We discussed it and we left it open to look into the options of what could possibly be done. I looked at it and at first had the idea of both bathrooms being gender-neutral. After thinking about it, I went home, I thought about it and actually texted Chris the following night. In schools … gender-neutral bathrooms in the school is fine, because it is kids and kids. But outside, when it’s with the public, we have to think about that. I have a problem with my 10-year-old daughter walking into a bathroom with a 40-year-old man. If it is going to be done it should be possibly doing separate bathrooms, and a gender-neutral bathroom. Schoonmaker said, “So, we would like to hear some of your thoughts … As many of you know, we have already laid the foundation for the concession stand, all the plumbing is already in place. We had the architects come in, and asked if we were to convert this into a gender-neutral set up, it would be reworked. For a true set-up we would have to rip up a lot of the plumbing underneath, the plumbing would have to be ripped up and pipes rerouted. If we decided to go with more of a gender-neutral or European style, that would be inside the building with walls going up, but that would be added expense. But that creates some angst because there is a

single door with both genders going in. We got a $250,000 grant through one of our congressmen, but our bids are for double that. It is going to cost us $500,000 to build this concession stand. There is some discussion to have a pavilion, right up there where they have the Gander garden and all those tables, putting a pavilion there somewhere down the road. When we do that there is the opportunity to have additional bathrooms. My opinion is that we keep this plan as it is and not change the structure. Right now, we are slated to open by springtime and any changes now would delay that.” Kelder proposed that the best solution is to have the high school building open during games until a pavilion is built. Parete asked, “What would need to happen so that we would have gender-neutral stalls? Individual stalls, right, with doors that lock?” “Originally it was presented with three [entrance] doors,” Schoonmaker said, “A men’s, a women’s, and a gender-neutral or family that all lock. Issues with that is you lose stalls, so you lower capacity. There is plumbing underneath so it’s a pretty extensive overhaul.” “The other option that would be less extensive is European style,” Schoonmaker

See Rondout BOE, page 6

DEP prepares $1.25M water mitigation for town residents Brooke Stelzer BSP Reporter Town supervisor Rich Parete and councilwoman Daisy Foote met with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection the week of Sept. 20 to review details of ongoing study in Marbletown focused on 51 local properties impacted by underground leaks in the Rondout deeprock pressure tunnel. Research by the USGA has revealed several small cracks in the tunnel’s concrete liner, where water

exits the tunnel and flows into the surrounding bedrock and up to the surface in certain places. “[There are] locations where the surface expressions (water from the tunnel) emerge at grade and flow through existing drainage pathways (such as streams or swales) and eventually to the Rondout Creek,” said John Milgrim, outreach coordinator at the DEP. As a result, the DEP has prepared a $1.25 million dollar mitigation fund to help impacted Marbletown residents. “The proposed fund is not expect-

Workers make progress in the Rondout Tunnel. April 21, 1911. Photo courtesy of DEP

ed to be distributed but instead used to reimburse impacted property owners for repairs of certain damages that DEP agrees is caused by the tunnel leaks,” said Milgrim. Parete noted the costs will likely

be different from property to property. The DEP hired the U.S. Geological Service in late 2018 to analyze leaks in the

See Water, page 8

Page 2, October July 1, 2022, 7, 2022 BlueStone , BlueStone Press Press

'People before profits' How did you make your way to the area? I was born in the Bronx but moved here when I was 2 from Belize. I grew up on Main Street, Rosendale, in the days of Vaughn’s pharmacy, Roosa’s and the Youth Center. It was a busy little main street; I knew everyone and everyone knew me. They were all our neighbors and friends. Tell us about your family. My father was Dietrich Werner, who escaped Germany during WW2 with his family, and they ended up in Greene County. After a stint in the Navy, he found Rosendale and fell in love with it. As a self-made historian, Rosendale’s story from pre-coVisit the folks lonial days through the cement mining next door era fascinated him. So much so that when the Snyder Estate and Widow Jane Mine were threatened by developers, he knew he had to act aggressively to preserve the center point of Rosendale history and beyond. For years, with his wife, Gayle, my brother, Anton, and many others, he literally worked night and day to acquire and pull the Snyder Estate into a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of the area. For those who don’t know, Rosendale supplied most of the cement that built America, including the Brooklyn Bridge. In fact, cement in the U.S. was known as “Rosendale Cement.” Losing the history of all the families, native and immigrants, who toiled here was abhor-

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Althea Werner Age: 45 Profession: Director, Century House Historical Society Site Town: Rosendale

rent to him. Their efforts paid off, and the Snyder Estate was recognized by New York state in 1993. Immediately, my father began to build membership and schedule fundraising events, no small feat pre-worldwide web and social media. Locals and visitors from around the world came to check out the property and attend events in the mine. After Dietrich passed and Gayle fell ill, I picked up the reins of the day-to-day operations of the organization. Unfortunately, the property had fallen into disrepair and was on the verge of losing its mission. The first action I took was a call to the community for emergency funding. The community responded and we were able to secure the site. I’m most proud that I was able to repair the Brooklyn Bridge entrance pillars and get them re-lit. They are still lit and passersby on Route 213 can see them. Our board has been supportive and responsive to the challenge of running a historical society, managing a 22-acre property and planning our busy fundraising events schedule. You said, “You wear many hats.” Can you elaborate on that? On a day-to-day basis I’m a mother, partner, landlord, site coordinator, treasurer and events planner. I also inherited one of my father’s buildings on Main Street in Rosendale. I lived in the very apartment

building that I grew up in and started my own family. I have had the good fortune to have had a number of really good tenants but also the bad fortune of very bad ones. After one tenant started a structure fire which, did over $250,000 in damages and forced out two of my building's longest running tenants, I decided to go with short-term Airbnb rentals in one of my units while the others were being worked on. This allowed me to be on site with my children as construction was being done during the week and make some income on the weekends. Over the past two years the local housing climate has changed dramatically. As profitable as Airbnb is, it doesn’t outweigh my feeling of responsibility and obligation to my community. Yes, the Airbnb guests spend money in the shops and restaurants and help keep the local economy going, but when our own residents are being pushed out by “new” property owners and losing their housing by no fault of their own, I felt the need to act. Recently, I was approached by a family who was being pushed out of their apartment they have rented for 10 years. The building had been sold, and rents were being increased by 25%, with only shortterm leases. With area rents so high, when they are actually available, this family had no place to go. Seeing my neighbors being pushed out, I did what was right and decided to take the Airbnb off the market and offer it to them as a long-term rental at a fair price. I feel as if landlords are seen as notorious profiteers and nameless, faceless corporations. And in most cases this is probably true, and I think this is a problem with America. But people need safe, secure housing and deserve not be seen as just an income stream. Housing is not a car or a cell phone, it’s not a luxury, it’s where we live and raise our families and create community. There has to be a balanced partnership between the tenant and the landlord that’s based on respect and integrity. I can’t provide a building for people to live in without tenants who pay their rent, and tenants need that safe and secure housing. People before profits is the true sense of community is it not?

P.O. Box 149 Stone Ridge, NY 12484 Phone: 845-687-4480 Email/website: bluestonepress845@gmail.com www.bluestonepress.net Office located at: 4301 Route 209 South, Stone Ridge.

Publisher: Lori Childers Editor: Gregory Childers Copy Editor: Linda Fite Office Manager Martha Brittell Graphic Artist: Jan Melchoir Reporters: Ann Belmont Thomas Childers Anne Craig Pyburn Emily Reina Dindial Amber Kelly Chelsea Miller Michelle Vitner Jeffrey Slater Brooke Stelzer Alison Stewart Sara Trapani Calendar of Events Editor: Donna Cohn Viertel Columnists: Wally Nichols, Susan Krawitz, Linda Tantillo, Joanne Ferdman, Jodi LaMarco and Kelly Wright

--Compiled by Jeff Slater, BSP Reporter

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BlueStone Press, October 7, 2022 , Page 3

Disagreement between Rochester and KAFAS: finally resolved? Ann Belmont BSP Reporter The Sept. 16 issue of the BSP contained an article about the Kerhonkson-Accord First Aid Squad and its recent conversion from an all-volunteer model to a partial paid staff, to augment the volunteers and ensure EMS coverage for the town of Rochester at all times. An outside agency called E5 Services is providing KAFAS with EMS professionals. The article was based on a press release put out by the KAFAS advisory board. However, at the time when it was published, no contract between the rescue squad and the Town of Rochester had yet been signed. Until both parties can agree on a contract, no town funds will be released to cover the staffers’ salaries or for other expenses. The reason, according to Rochester town supervisor Mike Baden, is that “the town and KAFAS have different opinions of the items in the contract, and it involves insurance … we sent a contract in January. We received a reply in June that was a very different contract from what we sent. Since June, we’ve been negotiating.” Once the contract is signed by both entities, $150,000 from American Rescue Plan funds the town received from the federal government will be released to pay KAFAS expenses for the rest of 2022, Baden said. This is money that was set aside “so they could buy new equipment and move toward paid staffing.” To sustain KAFAS financially after that money runs out, “we created ambulance districts to pay for EMS starting in January 2023. It’ll be a separate tax. Just like your fire tax, you’ll get an ambulance tax … the average taxpayer will pay about $40 a year

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for EMS coverage." Charles Nerko, head of the KAFAS advisory board, said that the squad is presently in dire financial straits. "Our staffing agency threatened to cut off access to our paid staff this week," he said. If that happened, "We would revert back to our volunteer response model." KAFAS was able to hire the paid workers because "we had some assets. We had sufficient money to start it, but not to sustain it." KAFAS, a nonprofit corporation, also took out loans "for the first time in recent memory … in order to procure medical equipment." Without town money, “we’ll go insolvent. It’s happened to other rescue squads throughout the state.” Why not wait until the contract was signed to hire people? “Some of the equipment had to be immediately replaced,” Nerko answered. “Like a stretcher not powerful enough to lift patients; we were concerned about injury to our volunteers … We had to do what’s best for the community. We just want a fair contract consistent with the town’s best practice,” he said. Besides the insurance dispute mentioned by Baden, Nerko and the KAFAS board say they need to add another $25,000 to their budget. However, as of this writing, the Town of Rochester and KAFAS appear to be finally moving toward an agreement. In a phone call, Baden affirmed that a motion authorizing him to sign the KAFAS contract would be on the agenda for the Town Board's monthly meeting on Oct. 7. The insurance issue has been resolved to the Town Board’s satisfaction, he said, and the extra $25,000 has been added to the budget request. Nerko said in an email that he was confident that the board would vote in favor of the contract.

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Page 4, October 7, 2022 , BlueStone Press

Historic barns, and the stories they tell Ann Belmont BSP Reporter Like any place where humans have settled for long, the Rondout Valley is full of reminders of the past. Harry Hansen has spent a lifetime immersed in local history, particularly of farms and farm buildings. His interest – and his profession in historical building restoration – come naturally. He spent his youth on a dairy farm on Lucas Turnpike in High Falls, and still lives on the property in a classic old stone house, although the family dairy business was abandoned long ago. During a recent lecture sponsored by the Friends of Historic Rochester, Hansen covered several hundred years of barn history, starting in the 1600s right up to the present day. As he talked, it became clear that the history of buildings reveals much about the lives of the people who made and used them. His first slide showed a drawing made in 1751 of a house and barn that once stood on the corner of Lucas Turnpike and Kyserike Road, owned by an evidently prosperous family named Van Wagenen. “In the 1750s, [Route] 209 didn’t exist," he commented, and even Lucas Turnpike wasn’t built until 1810. Next came photos of two immense Dutch barns built in the 1780s. Hansen noted that their design recalled, but did not copy, barns in Holland. “Numerous books have been written on the Dutch barn," he said, and it was easy to see the attraction of these simple rectangular structures with their steeply pitched roofs, so grand in scale. Everything, including nails and hinges, were made of wood because metal was so expensive. The frames were of oak or chestnut, the siding of pinewood. There were teams of craftsmen who specialized in constructing them, “which is one of the reasons you get the same form throughout the area – the Schoharie Valley, the Hudson Valley and down into New Jersey.” Individual creative touches showed in such details as various shapes of holes high up on the walls for nesting boxes to encourage pigeons, whose eggs were collected. “When the settlers came

20th century gambrel-roofed barn, Cherrytown Road. Photo by Harry Hansen

through, the first structure they built was the barn,” Hansen said. They would sleep there along with their animals till their houses were finished. Hansen displayed an intimate knowledge of the barns' design and construction. He had diagrams of the horse stalls, hay storage rooms, cow and pig areas, of H-frames and anchor beams. Under FDR, “to keep architects employed, the Public Works Administration had them go out and do measured drawings of barns, stone houses, bridges,” to document antique construction methods; no doubt that was the source of some of Hansen’s slides of architectural renderings. And he showed illustrations of outbuildings like corncribs and carriage houses and an ingenious round structure on stilts, used for hay storage, with a conical thatched roof that could be jacked up and down. Rather than tear the Dutch barns down, later settlers modified them. Hansen showed an illustration of an “English barn” with side entrances, depicting the Kortright farm on Lucas Turnpike in 1881. (Where the long-vanished barn was, the Catskill Animal Sanctuary now stands.) Next, he introduced the gambrel-roofed barn, “which opened up the upstairs for

considerable more hay storage." Around the same time, silos started to appear. The corn stored there “was allowed to ferment, becoming a high-protein food the cows would eat all winter long. Up until then, milk production basically shut down in the winter ... in the 20th century, you start to see the dairy industry take off." Prerefrigeration, farmers kept their milk cool in a springhouse “or an icehouse at the end of the milkhouse." There was a creamery in Kyserike, “where Williams Lumber now is," owned by the railroad, which took milk down to New York City daily. But as time went on, dissatisfied with the money paid by the railroad, dairy farmers started to organize cooperatives. The result was “a second creamery at the Kyserike site owned by the local farmers. Everyone stopped selling to the railroad and sold to the coop.” Intense farming was having a profound effect on the landscape of the Rondout Valley. The settlers took down every tree for their farms, Hansen said, and used every square inch of land, because with horses you could basically farm every little nook and cranny of land, however rocky. But “once tractors became popular," they couldn’t access some places with lots of

rocks, so those places were allowed to go back to forest. Rondout Valley and most Catskill trees are thus not more than 100 years old. Barns grew bigger as the industry grew bigger and farmers realized they had to scale up. “Here’s the farm I grew up on,” Hansen commented, showing his family's barn, which, in contrast to the old Dutch model, had many wings and extensions. However, by the 1970s small dairy operations in Ulster County were no longer making money. “Everybody wanted to stop banging their heads against the wall,” as Hansen put it, “and stop dairy farming," his father included. Today, barns built for the purpose of working small herds of cows are obsolete, and the farmers who still cut hay don't need any kind of building to store it; it’s just wrapped in white plastic and left in the field. There are still local examples of Dutch barns standing today, Hansen affirmed, including one he worked on personally that’s across the street from the Stone Ridge Library, in back of the Cornelius Wynkoop house, itself an impressively maintained edifice hundreds of years old. The barn wasn't originally built in Stone Ridge, he explained. It was taken apart, board by board, transported from its original site (“I think it was up in the Albany area"), and reassembled in Stone Ridge. The house and barn are the property of Gary Tinterow, former chairman of the Marbletown Historic Preservation Commission. Now that they have become antiques, some of the most handsome relics of an earlier, more pastoral age are being preserved and renovated, like the Accord granary, or the big barn on Boice Mill Road, until recently the studio of a local sculptor. For those who think they might have something worth preserving on their property, “New York state has some tax credits to help out if you’re doing a restoration," offered Hansen. Harry Hansen's lecture on historic barns can be viewed on the YouTube channel "Mike Baden's Personal Meeting Room."

BlueStone Press, October 7, 2022 , Page 5

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Page 6, October 7, 2022 , BlueStone Press

Briefs Guided tour of ‘Art Colonies of Ulster County: Elverhoj, Cragsmoor & Byrdcliffe’ exhibit The Ulster County Historical Society will offer a guided tour of its latest exhibit, “Art Colonies of Ulster County: Elverhoj, Cragsmoor & Byrdcliffe,” 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Bevier House, 2682 Route 209, Marbletown. The tour will be given by UCHS’s outgoing director, Suzanne Hauspurg, and will be followed by a reception where light refreshments will be served. At the event, the board of trustees of the Historical Society will be honoring Hauspurg for her 14 years of service, as she begins her retirement. The Art Colonies exhibition features ceramics, jewelry, fine table wares, paintings and hand-colored design books from three communities of artists working in the tradition of the Arts & Crafts Movement popularized by William Morris. The decorative and fine arts in the exhibition include materials from private collections and area museums and demonstrate Ulster County's unique expression of the international design movement. Admission for the guided tour and reception is $15, $10 for seniors, $5 for students, and free to members of the Historical Society. Join as a member at the event for free admission. Following Saturday's event, the museum will be open by appointment throughout winter. To receive notice of the upcoming program schedule or to RSVP for the event, email uchsdirector@gmail.com or call 845-377-1040. For more information, visit ulstercountyhs. org.

Rondout Valley Business Association mixer and theater event Join the RVBA mixer and theater event on Thursday, Oct. 13, starting at 6 p.m. at Gaby’s Café, Mexican Bar & Grill, 141 Canal St., Ellenville, then on to the Shadowland Stages, 157 Canal St., Ellenville, at 7:30 p.m. for “The Lifespan of a Fact” by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal and directed by Brendan Burke. “The Lifespan of a Fact” follows Fingal, a fresh-out-of-Harvard fact-checker for a sinking literary magazine. When his editor charges him with the assignment of checking an article written by a prominent literary powerhouse, D’Agata, the magazine hopes this is the article that will change their fortunes. When not everything checks out, Fingal and D’Agata go head-to-head as hard facts battle against emotional truths in a high-stakes and hilarious verbal showdown. Admission to the show is $20 per ticket for RVBA members. For tickets and more information, visit rondoutvalley.org or call 845-687-4567.

July 4th fundraiser The July 4 Committee presents their “Breakfast for Dinner” fundraiser to benefit the Ellenville/Wawarsing July 4 Celebration, Saturday, Oct. 22, with three seatings at 4, 5 and 6 p.m. at Napanoch Fire House, 25 Plank Road, Napanoch. The buffet-style event includes John’s famous pumpkin pancakes, eggs, sausage, potatoes, juice and coffee. Tickets are $8, and kids age 5 and under are free. There will be no cancellations for inclement weather. For more information, call Cathie at 845-647-5963.

Rondout BOE from page 1 continued. “In Europe, you have a door that enters here, sinks, and then there are a series of stalls that are fully enclosed with lockable doors. “We have $250,000 and it looks like we need double that. We’d like to see a plan to have a gender-neutral bathroom in the future, but maybe not in the concession stand.” During public comment time, Jim Sullivan of the WISE program appreciated the board for all their hard work and said he would love to schedule a presentation to the BOE. Student board member Emily Bartolone said that seniors from the Environmental Club and from the Human Rights Club volunteered with local environmental organizations. The second annual homecoming food truck festival is set for 4:15-7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7. There will be a pep rally for the first time in three years, followed by a Homecoming Dance Saturday, Oct. 8. Student board member Sierra Hikade said that the Junior Prom Committee is working with not-too-generous funding. The food truck festival will help with finances, but more is needed. Board member Roberts said, “We had our first policy meeting. Being a community college president for so many years, I dealt with nine school districts. I think that the WISE projects of Rondout really stand out.” Parete said that they had the first educa-

tional delivery meeting reviewing summer programs. The high school level program alternates between Ellenville and Rondout Valley high schools, and next summer it will be at Rondout. A middle school program happens at the Rondout Valley High School that had about 28 students. Summer camps for reading and math were very well attended this year. “We also got an overview of Infinite Campus, our new student management system, and Illuminate with our three platforms, which are being implemented this school year,” Parete said. “Then I went to our curriculum meeting at Marbletown and everyone seemed excited about it – Mr. Davenport, the teachers all mentioned it – so it seems like it is going to be a big deal. It is a way that we can collect data and so help our teams, our teachers, and our administrators all know what our kids are doing and what systems need to be put into place. Everyone is working very hard to make that happen.” Schoonmaker continued on another subject, “We have not adjusted senior tax exemptions since the year 2000. We want to make sure that it is in line. We have just broached the project and want to address the increase of tax rate. We want to look at what the tax increase has been over the past few years, taking into account that we are putting a burden on taxpayers with these capital projects. This will help us to see how much of our taxes are going into capital projects.”

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BlueStone Press, October 7, 2022 , Page 7

Historic Kerhonkson Synagogue celebrates the past while looking toward the future Established 100 years ago, the Kerhonkson Synagogue has endured Chelsea Miller BSP Reporter It’s a flurry of activity over at the Kerhonkson Synagogue as the congregation prepares for the high holidays as well as their centennial year. The coalescing of these meaningful events has both the board president, Laura Goldstein, and spiritual leader, Rabbi Sally Shore Wittenberg, celebrating the past while looking toward the future. According to the congregation’s website, the beginning of Jewish culture and worship in the valley is deeply tied to agriculture. It was in the early 1900s that Jewish people who had intent to farm began arriving via Jewish resettlement agencies. By 1910, we know through the Jewish Agricultural Society that a group of men met at rotating homes on sabbath to pray. The land that is home to the synagogue was transferred to a man named Louis Spiegel in 1921, which he in turn donated to the Beauty of Judea and Israel with the express purpose of building a synagogue. And despite the many challenges, including large pockets of antisemitism, build they did. Established in 1922 as an orthodox synagogue (and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013), the Kerhonkson Synagogue has endured, providing spiritual community for generations of families. The synagogue is currently in the midst of high holidays – a precious time that began with Erev Rosh Hashanah (the eve of Rosh Hashanah) on Sept. 25 and culminating on Yom Kippur at synagogue. “We’re in this fantastic period between the beginning of the year and Yom Kippur – the period of atonement,” explains Shore Wittenberg. “These are the 10 days of repentance, however, we look at this time not for paying penance but rather as time to take a look at yourself and how you’ve been and who you’ve been with yourself and other people, and try to make things right, to call people and ask for their forgiveness. Because sometimes I don’t know that I’ve done something. I could have hurt someone’s feelings or been brusque, and this is an opportunity to apologize and ultimately make a different choice next time – that’s the teshuva.” Shore Wittenberg accepted the post of spiritual leader 10 years ago. She was referred to the congregation by a friend, and she says that while driving up to the

synagogue for her interview from her home in lower Westchester she was reminded of her ties to the area, stretching back to her parents, who met at Minnewaska. “As my husband and I (who I’ve been married to for 40 years) were driving up for the interview, I felt like I was coming home,” explains Shore Wittenberg. “I walked into a community [that] had been together for 25 years. They were friends, siblings, they had raised their kids together, they were a really solid community, and so I took my lead from them. And the lead that I followed was that they were an incredibly warm and embracing community.” She says that she is continually struck by what a warm and supportive community the congregation offers. “You’re walking into shul and three people come up to you, they want to greet you and feed you and are so welcoming, and that has always been and continues to be one of the most important parts of my rabbinate – to welcome.” Over the years Shore Wittenberg says that she has seen the fundamental power of community. “I don’t know that anyone can appreciate what it feels like to be held in community when things are difficult and when things are joyous. It gives extra life,” says Shore Wittenberg. “When someone you love dies and people come that didn’t even know them but they know you and love you – or maybe they even just tolerate you – but they come because they are part of the community and they care that you are suffering and they understand because they too have lost someone, so they know what it’s like to grieve. Community gives you accompaniment.” Goldstein expresses a similar feeling of welcome and community. She says that when she first began coming upstate in the early 2000s she noticed the building, however, she would come to find out that it was more than a beautiful space awaiting her. “My partner and I had driven past it a number of times when we were first spending time in the area, so there was curiosity initially. Then the first time I attended a service there I really recognized that this was a unique and special place. The sanctuary is historic and beautiful and the community is a very warm, very welcoming, very egalitarian congregation. I felt very at home from the very beginning.” And, says Goldstein, that experience is not unusual. “That’s one of the things that people respond to when they come and visit us. It’s a very welcoming, spiritual, and really great experience.” Looking toward their landmark anniversary, Goldstein says that in addition to honoring the rich past of the synagogue, they are looking forward to safeguarding the next 100 years. “The main focus is to

Board president Laura Goldstein (left) and Rabbi Sally Shore Wittenberg inside the Kerhonkson Synagogue sanctuary

try and assure our future, really lay that foundation for the next 100 years. We hope that the celebration is planned for Oct. 23 and will include the launch of a capital campaign, a feast catered by the Big Cheese in Rosendale and Klezmer music from Chai on Life by the Saints of Swing. “It will be an afternoon of food and music and memories from people who have been involved in the synagogue and hopefully new friends and neighbors to mark this milestone,” says Goldstein. The afternoon will also include a ded-

ication of the kitchen to the memory of Marla Stein, who was a synagogue member. “Marla used to do a lot of the food for synagogue events and we wanted to put something up in her memory,” says Goldstein, “so we’re going to dedicate the kitchen, where she prepared a lot of good food, to her.” “Stepping in to such an old synagogue is such a privilege,” says Shore Wittenberg. “It’s a privilege to step into that building and hold a service, with how much is in there, everyone who was ever in there. The generation of members that I came into are connected to all those people who came before them. L'dor va dor, which means from one generation to the next … there is such a deep sense of that here, and I am very grateful and feel privileged to be a part of that in this community. My hope for the next 100 years is that the children of this generation come into this building and remember their parents and grandparents, and that their children after that also come and join in this community. That we continue this tradition of being held and accompanied not just by who is here right here and right now but a feeling of being in the presence of all those who came before.” For more information on the Kerhonkson Synagogue and the Centennial Celebration, visit www.kerhonksonsynagogue.org or visit from noon-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, at the synagogue, which is located at 26 Minnewaska Trail in Kerhonkson.

Page 8, October 7, 2022, BlueStone Press

Briefs Annual fall cleanup and daffodil bulbs planting in HF Join the community, at the High Falls Conservancy annual fall cleanup and daffodil planting on Main Street, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15. The day will begin as usual with hot coffee and doughnuts, near the flagpole in Grady Park. Over the years, Conservancy volunteers have collected over 1,800 pounds of litter and planted over 2,000 daffodil bulbs. Be part of this effort and help make High Falls Main Street as beautiful as it can be. The “Daffodils on Main Street” have become a delight for all to see trumpeting in the spring in High Falls. They are also a means of honoring and/or memorializing loved ones. The Conservancy is grateful to those who choose to contribute to this project by purchasing bulbs to be planted each fall. And the annual High Falls traditional planting of the bulbs have become a festive and fun way to give back to this beloved hamlet. For more information, contact Carole Eppley at 917-705-8711 or the conservancy at highfallsconservancy@gmail. com. Anyone interested in donating to the “Daffodils on Main Street” project, may visit the “Get Involved” section at highfallsconservancy.org.

Reserve for Sauerbraten Dinner The Rondout Valley United Methodist Church 9th Annual Sauerbraten Dinner will be held 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, by reservation for takeout, at the church, 25 Schoonmaker Lane, Stone Ridge. The menu includes sauerbraten (marinated beef), kartoffelkoesse (potato dumplings), rotkohl (red cabbage), gurkensalat (cucumber salad), apfelmus (apple sauce), and sortlert kuchen (assorted desserts). Dinners are $20, $18 for seniors and kids under 12. For reservations call 845-687-9140.

Water from page 1 Catskills Aqueduct, a 92-mile conduit that brings water from the Ashokan Reservoir to New York City, running through Marbletown. The tunnel reaches about 500 feet deep on Pine Bush Road, where it runs under Stone Ridge and High Falls, coming back up on Lower 27 Knolls Road off Mohonk Road, a total of 23,608 feet of pipeline. The Rondout pressure tunnel is a 14.5foot diameter pipe that was constructed between 1910 and 1913 and became operational on Dec. 27, 1915, when it first delivered water from the Catskills to the Bronx, and has operated nearly continuously since then. It is the longest of seven pressure tunnels that allow the aqueduct to carry drinking water to New York City, beneath broad valleys that include creeks and rivers. Over the last four years, the DEP has shut the water down for short periods to help the USGA analyze what might happen when no water is leaking from the tunnel. The town helped locate residents who were willing to let the organization monitor their wells. “There’s been properties where ponds have gone dry, because we’ve had this shutdown for the last four years, they shut it down for three months, so the pressure tunnel has no pressure, there’s no water, and that’s why they’ve been monitoring wells near the aqueduct and far from the aqueduct,” said Parete. “In late fall 2022, [the] DEP will send a remote underwater vehicle equipped with cameras and sensors inside the pressure tunnel to inspect the concrete liner ensuring the upcoming repair program is adequately scoped,” said Milgrim. He said repairs to the tunnel aren’t scheduled until 2027. He continued, “Due to the tunnel’s depth and age, the repairs are more complicated than a pipeline that might exist on the surface, so its design/repair will take a bit longer than other comparable projects.” The town and the DEP have been waiting for the USGA to issue its final report, which they expect to be released in mid-2023. Neither the town nor the DEP are aware exactly which 51 properties are impacted, as the USGA has been operating completely independently and has shared

Workers construct the steel frame of the Rondout Pressure Tunnel of the Catskill Aqueduct using a bull riveter. January 24, 1913. Photo courtesy of DEP

little to no information so far. The town and the DEP said they expect those properties to be identified when the report is issued next year. “I've met the USGA team a couple times, and they made it clear they could not share information until the final report is issued,” said Parete. “I don't think they shared information with either DEP or the town because they don’t even want the appearance of having been influenced.” Parete said the DEP hasn’t issued any warnings about health concerns for residents. Milgrim stated, “[Over an] extended period of time, water can erode limestone deep underground, but that is not considered a risk to the tunnel.” Parete said he expects to learn more in the coming months, and that the DEP will attend a Marbletown Town Board meeting in November to answer questions. The DEP will pay out the full $1.25 million fund and will own each claim on it. The town will manage the fund, the specifics of which are currently being laid out in an intermunicipal agreement between the DEP and the town attorney while they wait for the USGA report to be issued. “Once the report is issued and the DEP   

and the town approve the agreement, we’ll be ready to start working with property owners,” said Parete. The town supervisor went on to note that the agreement could take some time, and that the mitigation program may not start until late 2023 or even 2024. The town will hire an engineer to assist property owners and work with both the town and the DEP. The engineer costs are not to exceed 25% of the total budget. Parete added that the town isn’t taking any responsibility from the DEP, and that the agency is responsible for the claims, while the town will be the administer of the program. “We [Parete and Foote] did tell them we are working to extend the water line, and would they help pay for some of the construction costs for the water line, and they did say that, depending on where these properties were and in conjunction with the water line, they would not say no. So, I have a good feeling about it,” said Parete during the Town Board meeting on Sept 20.

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BlueStone Press, October 7, 2022, Page 9

Marbletown Fire District to dissolve Fire house off of Rt. 209 covers north Marbletown, south of Hurley, north of SRFD Brooke Stelzer BSP Reporter The Marbletown Town Board meeting was held in-person on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the Rondout Municipal Center on Lucas Turnpike, Cottekill, and streamed on Facebook Live Tuesday. Town board members present in person included Rich Parete, chairman and town supervisor, along with Tim Hunt, Daisy Foote, Ken Davenport and Don LaFera. The first October Town Board meeting was held on Tuesday, Oct. 4. Present in person were Parete, LaFera and Hunt, while Foote and Davenport joined virtually. In the Sept. 20 meeting, Parete shared that the Marbletown Fire District has announced its dissolution, effective Dec. 31, 2022. The responsibility for fire coverage will be turned over to the town, similar to the recent dissolution of the Vly-Atwood Fire District. In a statement to BSP, Parete said Marbletown fire commissioners called to request a meeting between the town, the fire commissioners and their attorney to discuss a dissolution. Councilman LaFera and Parete took the meeting and agreed the town would handle the dissolution. “We will get their firehouse and I think three trucks, so we will need to figure out what we want to do,” said Parete during the Sept. 20 board meeting. “I don’t think we want to own another building, so

if anyone wants a firehouse, let us know.” Parete stated the firehouse’s attorney is working through the plan and the town should have a better idea of the full firehouse inventory soon. Parete said he doesn’t anticipate a significant change in fire coverage for Marbletown residents. “Currently, Hurley and Kripplebush provide mutual support calls. The town can’t contract with a district that is not contiguous (due to state law), so Kripplebush won’t be able to continue covering them.” Parete said he thinks the Stone Ridge and Hurley districts would make the most sense for coverage. In terms of impact to the community, Parete said, “Being in the fire protection business is new to Marbletown government. Throughout the state, a lot of towns have fire protection districts, so, we aren't inventing the wheel. I am happy the town can be involved. We paid for an emergency services study two years ago, and what is happening now is exactly what the study says has to happen. It's a slow process, but residents will be better served, and I think we'll see overall spending reduced significantly.” Parete has repeatedly stated he believes a consolidated fire district would best serve Marbletown and its hamlets, but so far there is not a plan to do so. “Districts are always talking, and that's a good thing. Relying on outside or neighboring districts for regular calls isn't a good thing,” he said in the Sept. 20 meeting. On Oct. 4, the town passed Resolution 97, which is the proposal for the town to form a fire protection district following the dissolution on Dec. 31. The public hearing on forming the fire district will be held on Nov. 15 at the Marbletown Town Hall at the RMC.

The Marbletown fire commissioners have asked the town to mail a letter to all Marbletown residents informing them of the public hearing. “Once again, this is awesome work,” said Davenport. “One of the things that Marbletown can take the lead on is showing people how to consolidate services. This is a blueprint on how we do it.” “We should commend the commissioners, too,” said LaFera. “[The county] told us that we’re the first fire districts that are doing this [dissolution] in the county, and that other districts are going to look at this and see how it works out. We need to thank George [Dimler] and the Stone Ridge Fire Department because they have the manpower that is going to be picking up to cover these districts. All the other fire districts are trying to help out and pick up,” said Parete. Hunt asked if the recent dissolution of the Vly-Atwood fire district, in combination with Marbletown, stemmed from the emergency services study that the town had contracted last year. The board agreed that it helped, and LaFera noted that the commissioners read the report and took it to heart. “In Marbletown, if you’re in the Stone Ridge fire district but you happen to be in Cottekill, you can’t jump in a Cottekill truck, or if you’re in Lomontville, you have to drive past that firehouse to go to your firehouse,” said Parete. “If we had one town Marbletown fire district, you could jump in any single one. To me, this is such a public safety issue. If George is in High Falls working, he should be able to get into a High Falls fire truck, and under the current rules, he can’t. And that is an issue of public safety. There is no commissioner

who can tell us that it’s not a public safety issue, the way our town is set up now, it’s not good. Now that departments have to share volunteers, it matters a lot now.” Three resolutions were presented at the Sept. 20 meeting and all were passed, 5-0. Resolution 91 is a service agreement with Lead Data Technologies for firewall protection in the Rondout Municipal Center from Oct. 3, 2022, to Oct. 2, 2023. The cost is $60 higher than last year. Resolution 92 sets a public hearing for the historic designation of 74 Ridgely Drive in Stone Ridge. The Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously to approve the designation in early September, in accordance with the Historic Preservation Law. The public hearing will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Rondout Municipal Center. Resolution 93 approves the town to pay $3,000 of the $6,000 scoping study application fee to Egg Geo for community heat pump systems, also known as the geothermal energy network, in Marbletown. The resolution states this, provided that Ulster County, SUNY Ulster, or some other outside source of funding is found for the balance. The town is aiming to execute the scoping study in a potential shift to renewable energy sources and away from propane and fuel oils, which would reduce peak loads on the energy grid. The resolution notes the Federal Inflation Reduction Act provides significant tax credits (some of which can be used by municipal and other non-taxable entities) for heat pump systems. Most residences in the hamlet of High Falls have unused water wells that

See Fire Dept., page 15

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Page 10, October 7, 2022, BlueStone Press

Briefs Marbletown Dems election news In the Nov. 8 election Marbletown voters will be electing federal, state and local officials. According to Carolyn Hansen, chair of the Marbletown Democratic Committee, “For Marbletown voters the local race for county executive between Jen Metzger (Democrat and Working Families) and James Quigley (Republican and Conservative) and the Pat Ryan (Democrat) race for the U.S. Congress

are priorities, but all the races are important.” Marbletown will also participate in the election of a NY state senator – the Democratic candidate is Eric Ball – and a NY state representative – the Democratic candidate is Sarahana Shrestha. Three openings on the New York State Supreme Court for this district will be filled. The Democratic candidates are Sharon Graff, Heidi Cochrane and Meagan Galligan. Besides governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller, New York will elect a U.S. senator, and incumbent Chuck Schumer is the Democratic candidate. And there are two ballot proposals, NY# 1 and Marbletown Local Law 6, both of which provide for protecting the environment. According to Hansen, “UlsterVotes.com is a good place for information on voting.” There are three ways to vote: 1) Early voting Oct. 29 to Nov. 6; 2) Election Day on Nov. 8 at your local assigned polling site; and 3) Vote by mail by absentee ballot. Apply for absentee ballots by Oct. 24 and postmark them no later than Nov. 8. Visit Ulstercountyny.gov/absentee-ballots-info for details. The Marbletown Democratic Committee will meet by Zoom at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17. The first half-hour will feature a guest speaker, Eric Ball, the Democratic candidate for the NY Senate 51st District, which now includes Marbletown. Hansen described this as “a good opportunity for our voters to get to know the Democratic candidate for this important position.” Following Ball’s remarks and Q&A, the committee will discuss activities related to the Nov. 8 election. The meeting is open to the public, and Hansen stated, “you are welcome for your participation in both the meeting and our election activities.” The meeting ID is 882 8608 6253, and the passcode is 831747. For more information, call 845-706-4050.

100 years young Philomena Brown Link will celebrate her 100th birthday on Sept. 19, 2022, with family and friends at Guido’s Little Italy Restaurant in Kingston. Philomena was the first child to her immigrant parents, Nicholas and Christie deDominicis Brown. “Pop” came to Atwood in 1908 and opened Brown’s Hotel on Route 213 Link and, later, the historic Hilltop Tavern nearby on Atwood Road. This landmark was the family home for nearly 100 years and is where Philomena grew up. Philomena began her education in the one-room Atwood school. Her four younger sisters, Anna, Delia, Edith and Margaret, and two brothers, Frank and Nicholas, followed until the school closed in 1944. Her education continued at Kingston High School, graduating in 1940, where she was an outstanding student and basketball star. The Moran School of Business followed high school. Upon leaving the Kingston area, the next many years were fulfilled in New York City. Philomena interviewed in 1951 for an executive secretary position for Mr. Howard Fyfe, the U.S. Dispatch Agent for all official government shipments of personal and household goods of federal employees serving throughout the world. The position led to an appointment by Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller as an assistant supervisor in the Office of In-

ter-American Affairs, a position that she held until she returned to Kingston. Her life then became foundational, having married on June 3, 1951, Charles Link, her husband of 63 years, and the arrival of newborn son Glenn. In Kingston, her career continued as an office manager for the Oscar B. London Clothing Stores, starting in 1958 and working until her retirement 27 years later when all five stores closed. She worked during the following several years at Sanger Cabinet in Port Ewen. Mrs. Link is recognized as an active community supporter. She was a founding member of the Saint Peter’s School Association in Rosendale and treasurer for eight years. She was a 4-H leader for 25 years, seeing generations of children growing up. Philomena has lived a life reflecting the answer to a question she was asked in her 1951 interview with Mr. Fyfe: “Is there anything you could say to the new generation of secretaries who want to work for the government?” Her response, “Education is the most important aspect of work. Continue to learn all you can. Common sense is important. Basically you must be ambitious, conscientious, and eager to help anyone you can.” Having an unfailing love for God, for her son, Glenn, and granddaughter, Morgan, as well as her extended family and friends, has been a vital source of strength through her many years. Words of congratulation can be sent to Philomena Brown Link, 1115 Maple Ave., Kingston, NY, 12401, where she lives.

BlueStone Press, October 7, 2022, Page 11

Town of Rosendale holds ribbon-cutting event for new outdoor Fitness Court 'The Fitness Court is a free, open-air wellness center that allows users to leverage their own body weight to get a complete workout' Michelle McAuliffe Vitner BSP Reporter On Tuesday Sept. 27, Rosendale town supervisor Jeanne Walsh hosted a ribbon-cutting event to unveil the new outdoor Fitness Court® at the Rosendale Recreation Center. This was a multi-party effort between the Town of Rosendale, MVP Healthcare and the National Fitness Campaign, which aims to bring accessible fitness opportunities to communities around the country. Significant funding to build it was provided by MVP Healthcare, a nationally recognized, not-for-profit health insurer caring for members in New York and Vermont. Funds also came from a grant from the American Rescue Plan Act. According to the Town of Rosendale press release, “the Fitness Court is a free, open-air wellness center that allows users to leverage their own body weight to get a complete workout. Created with people aged 14 and over – and with all abilities – in mind, the workouts are adaptable for all fitness levels and allow users to move at their own pace. Users can also download the free Fitness Court® app, which acts as a coach-in-your-pocket and transforms the outdoor gym into a digitally supported wellness experience.” Construction of the Fitness Court was completed on Sept. 21. Supervisor Walsh opened the event by sharing that “the Town of Rosendale felt this was an important way to provide a safe space for people to work out, to congregate, especially after what we’ve been through with Covid, where we got locked in our homes for so long, and this is just a great way to be able to stay fit and still see people, which I think is nice. That goes along with the other improvements that we want to do in our Rec Center, which we will see very soon with a new playground and tennis court.” After the town supervisor’s statements, the participants stood together for a group photo and ribbon-cutting, followed by cheers from those attending as the group shared bagels and other refreshments. Led by Carrie Wykoff, fitness ambassadors then demonstrated each of the fitness stations on the court. LaFera, Schaffrick, Prakelt and Favata each performed exercise variations, ranging from easy to more difficult, on each piece of equipment.

Wykoff reminded everyone that the exercises could be found via QR code on the main fitness court structure, where online videos will also be a guide. In addition, there is a simple outline of each activity written on the side of the fitness structure, alongside the photos mentioned earlier. Wrapping up the event, Chief Schaffrick looked around at the new fitness court and said, “I’m very glad to see this. I’m actually going to take advantage of it. It was nice to be asked to be an ambassador and, I think, you may see me out here early in the morning doing some workouts. I will put it on our Facebook page and invite the people. So, instead of just coffee with the chief, it might be a coffee and a workout with the chief … 10 dips if you have a complaint, and we can go from there!” he said with a smile. Walsh added, “I’m very excited about it. I think this is a great addition to our park and I love the way it looks. I’m very excited to provide this service for our residents.” Walsh thanked the following people and organizations for their monetary, organizational and creative input to the fitness court: ■ Stacy Barrs and Sylvania Tapia of MVP Healthcare, which donated $50,000 toward this project. ■ National Fitness Campaign, especially Olivia LeMieux and Allison O’Neil, who helped put this project together. ■ Jill LaFera, the supervisor’s assistant, and Doreen Whitaker, assistant to the Highway Department, who played a large part in making this project happen. ■ The Rosendale Town Board for their approval and willingness to support this project, specifically councilmembers Carrie Wykoff, Christopher Pryslopski, Ernest Klepeis and Joseph Havranek. ■ Bob Gallagher, highway superintendent, who helped prepare the space so that Doug Countryman could prepare the slab that goes underneath the court. ■ Tim Gunnels and Craig Ausrud of Engineered Installation Solutions LLC came in and quickly installed the Fitness Court. ■ The Fitness Ambassadors present at the event (who would demonstrate shortly how to use the equipment in the court), including Rosendale Chief of Police Scott Schaffrick, councilmember Carrie Wykoff, Thomas LaFera (Forza Performer Training), Martha “Marty” Prakelt (Marty’s Fitness Studio on Main Street) and Christian Favata (TRT Bicycles). ■ Anne Coleman and John Fischer, two well-respected local photographers, on behalf of the Town of Rosendale, for the beautiful images they provided that have been incorporated into the finished framework of the Fitness Court. The photos depict local landmarks and areas of natural beauty such as the Trestle, Widow Jane Mine and the D&H canal. Walsh pre-

On top, town supervisor Jeanne Walsh cuts the ribbon, officially opening the outdoor Fitness Court to the public. Bottom, newly built outdoor Fitness Court at the Rosendale Recreation Center, now open to the public. Photos by Michelle McAuliffe Vitner

sented a $2,500 check each to the artists. After an introduction by supervisor Walsh, Stacy Barrs, leader of field marketing at MVP Healthcare, got up to the podium and spoke. “Thank you to the Town of Rosendale for partnering with us on providing equitable and accessible equipment to everyone. So, regardless of your skill level, regardless of your age, of whether you can afford a gym membership or not, you have something to help keep you healthy throughout the year. And MVP Healthcare is so proud and passionate about ensuring that the lives of our communities remain healthy … we hope that everybody in the town enjoys the Fit-

ness Court throughout the years to come.” The remaining costs for this project were provided by (ARPA) grant money for a total cost of $155,500. ARPA will also pay for other Rosendale Recreation Center improvements in the near future. Next year, the town hopes to have enough funds to build a cover for the court, allowing access all year long. To learn more about the MVP Healthcare Fitness Courts, visit nationalfitnesscampaign.com/newyork.

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Page 12, October 7, 2022 , BlueStone Press purpose. He will open the first concert for the season of Concerts in the Nave, 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at Christ the King Episcopal Church, 3021 Route 213 East, Stone Ridge. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door and can be purchased at ctkstoneridge.org/tickets.

Briefs A panel discussion, ‘Universal Basic Income, Transformative Policy or Utopian Fantasy?’ Registration is required for this event, open to the public, 2-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, in the Parlor at the Mohonk Mountain House, 1000 Mohonk Road, New Paltz. Panelists include Dr. Almaz Zelleke, professor of Practice in Political Science at NYU Shanghai; Dr. Stephen Nuñez, lead researcher on Guaranteed Income at the Jain Family Institute; Conrad Shaw, writer/ filmmaker/UBI researcher and founder of Comingle.com, and Keiko Sono, Hudson Valley-based UBI advocate and founder of the Forge Collective. For more information and registration, visit mohonk-consultations.org or call 845-256-2726.

Rondout Valley Lions Club presents bench to Conservancy Back in July, Susan Curcio, president of the Rondout Valley Lions Club, presented a “Bags to Benches” bench to the High Falls Conservancy, to be placed wherever the Conservancy decided. The Conservancy gratefully accepted the bench and chose the Community Church of High Falls as the perfect location in appreciation of all the wonderful things the church has done for the people and community of High Falls. This bench is the fifth one that the Lions Club has presented to the greater Rondout

Celebrate Polish American Heritage Month with an adult paper flower cutting workshop at the Rosendale Library

Bill Brooks and Susan Curcio deliver bench to High Falls Conservancy.

Valley community and is part of the Lion’s “Bags to Benches” program that prevents thousands of pounds of plastic from entering the environment and the ocean. Curcio and fellow Lions Club members Bill Brooks and Janet Sutter take on the job of collecting, cleaning and storing plastic bags until they reach 500 pounds, the number necessary to make each “Bags to Benches” bench. For more information, visit highfallsconservancy.org or call 917-705-8711.

healthy yard, including leaving the fall that autumn brings. Find the beauty in how nature changes seasons by allowing space for a diverse ecosystem, rather than imposing a “neat as a pin” lawn approach. One advantage to this lifestyle is a more relaxed way to put the garden and yard to rest for the winter. For more information, contact master gardener coordinator/Agriculture Program assistant Courtney Churchill at cmc534@cornell.edu or call 845-340-3990, ext. 335.

‘My beautiful yard,’ the final free event in the ‘Learning in the Garden Series’ in Stone Ridge

Concerts in the Nave presents Northern Ireland’s song man, Tommy Sands, in Stone Ridge

This free event will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, in the SUNY Ulster Xeriscape Garden, at 491 Cottekill Road, Stone Ridge. Explore a new approach to the land around the home, discover ways to have a

Singer, songwriter and social activist, Tommy Sands of Northern Ireland has made peace-building through music his

From the Polish folk-art tradition called wycinaniki (pronounced vee chee nan kee), the Rosendale Library will host this paper flower cutting workshop, 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at the library, 264 Main St., Rosendale. The event will be taught by Stone Ridge art educator Jill Obrig. For more information, visit rosendalelibrary. org or call 845-658-9013.

Holistic Health Community volunteer Therese Bimka continues Zoom meditations HHC volunteer Therese Bimka will continue to have an 8 a.m. daily community meditation via Zoom, open to all and free of charge. Each session will last 20 minutes. The bulk of the time will be used for group meditation. Each daily meditation will end by setting an intention for healing self and the community. Meeting ID is 973 702 2629 and password, 397057. For more information on the daily community meditations and all her events, including the Interfaith Pray-in and the Community Mental Health Forum, reach out to her by email at theresebimka@gmail.com.

Life’s enchanted moments: Morganstern’s new short story collection Rosendale author Mark Morganstern has a gift for seasoning his work with just the right dollop of surreal. You’ll be reading along, enjoying the adventures and thoughts of a relatable person, and when the magic comes along, its existence is pleasingly inevitable. This talent is on full display in “The House of the Seven Heavens & Other Stories,” a collection of two novellas and three short stories that makes a delectable sandwich of adventure and thought provocation. In “The House of the Seven Heavens,” we journey with Davora, youngest daughter of a Polish immigrant family, as she navigates the social and spatial labyrinth of a slightly sideways mid-20th-century New York City. She’s unstoppable as she balances love and music and magic and refines her gifts in pursuit of “someAnne thing more than what destiny had Pyburn Craig planned for her.” “The Gay Seventies” lets us eavesdrop on a group of older guys at their favorite watering hole and follow one of them home. “Condiments” begins with a man shopping for the mayonnaise that his wife, who’s just barely left him, had never allowed in the house; another of her major complaints had been that he drank wine on the rocks, so,

Book Review

dammit, he’ll just have some. Things get explosive, in a thoroughly unexpected way. In “Reiver’s Receipt,” an elderly history professor finds his life entwined with that of a homeless Jamaican guy with a curious karmic connection to George Washington’s chef. The closing novella takes its unlikely hero, top salesman at a criminally Morganstern scammy Florida real estate company, on a wild ride through a hilarious, terrifying California. R.B. Zoitner turns out to be just as unstoppable as Davora as he rolls and tumbles, homeless, up and down the coast among mystic women and Middle Eastern billionaire family dynamics, always managing to connect with a taco or some tofu and a decent cover IPA. Morganstern’s protagonists are regular folks in intense circumstances at pivotal moments; the surreal touches fit so well that you’d never dream of doubting their experiences if you got lucky enough to hear one over a late night beer. His Hudson Valley settings are closely observed and rich in the irony, lunacy and decency we all know and love. The crew in “The Gay Seventies” has seen their pub morph from a biker bar into a place that serves kombucha and chickpea salad alongside the burgers and beer without regrets. The Newburgh

history professor finds himself drawn out of his routine to help young Reiver defeat a false criminal charge. People in general are tired and kind enough, and the bad ones are absurd. Through it all, Morganstern’s vivid and straightforward voice lets us immerse ourselves thoroughly in these recognizable, slightly tilted realities without a hitch, in the company of characters with vividly drawn inner lives. There’s a lot of philosophy in here to ponder; like real life, it’s subtle and not easily reduced to sound bites. This is a wonderful read to snuggle up with on a chill autumn evening when the wind is inviting you to contemplate the seasons of life; the adventures will stick to your ribs like a good stew. A book launch event for “The House of the Seven Heavens & Other Stories” will be held at the Rosendale Cafe at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23. It will feature a reading and book-signing by Morganstern, as well as audience Q&A, and an opportunity for local readers and writers to connect and socialize. Although the cafe is closed, refreshments will be available. Another book celebration will be held at the Rosendale Library at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, and Morganstern will be at the Local Author's Showcase at Rough Draft in Kingston on Nov. 14, 5-7pm. The book is available in paperback or e-book on Amazon; starting October 17, it will be available at Postmark Books in Rosendale and other outlets both on and off-line.

BlueStone Press, October 7, 2022 , Page 13

Memoriam Virginia ‘Gina’ Rauner

KERHONKSON—Virginia “Gina” Rauner of Ellenville passed away peacefully on Sept. 18, 2022, at the age of 77. Gina was born on Feb. 8, 1945, in Hillsborough County, Florida, to the late Elwood and Margaret (Cassidy) Rauner. A lifelong resident of the area, she was predeceased by her loving companion of over 40 years, Virgil A. Miller. Virgil passed away in 2010. Gina worked various waitressing jobs and had owned some businesses over the years. Most recently she worked in home health care with Always There and ran the Meals on Wheels program for Ellenville. She is survived by her son, Sean Miller of Ellenville. The visitation for family and friends to honor and celebrate Gina’s life was held at the Humiston Funeral Home, Kerhonkson, on Sept. 22 followed by burial at Pine Bush Cemetery, Kerhonkson. Personal condolences may be left for Gina’s family by visiting humistonfuneralhome.com.

Laura S. Dennington

HURLEY—Laura S. Dennington passed away on Oct. 1, 2022, at the age 65 in Kingston Hospital after suffering a battle with pneumonia and years of chronic illness. Born July 19, 1957, in Manhattan, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Francis Kayser. Laura worked at many retail stores in the area at checkout and deli. Eventually she became a CNA and worked for many years at the Northeast Center for Special Care in Lake Katrine and many home health care positions. She also worked in the family Dennington logging business for over 25 years as a secretary, answering the phone, scheduling, and doing the books all while raising four loving daughters and maintaining the family home. She was an avid photographer as a hobby. She loved animals/pets of all kinds. She was also a gourmet cook, famous for her lasagna. Laura was the glue that held the family together when seemingly insurmountable problems would arise, always with a solution. Laura is survived by her husband of 47 years, James Dennington; children, Jamie (Rory Chamber), Nicole (Shane Avery), Dawn (Milton O’Bryon), Alena (Andrew Lawlor); and her four grandchildren, Nathan, Seth, Allura and Ellie-Ann. She is also survived by her brother, Cliff of Brooklyn; sister-in-law Vivian Stein of Texas; and lifelong friend Anne Marie Steinberg of West Shokan. Laura was predeceased by a grandson, Tyler Cameron Edwards, and her foster parents, Alena and George Barthel. Thank you to Kingston Hospital and all her doctors at Family Practice who dealt with her health problems over the years. We will miss Laura very much. Graveside funeral services were held Oct. 6 at Fairview Cemetery, Stone Ridge. The Rev. Arlene Dawber officiated. Memorial donations may be made to Marbletown First Aid Unit or to the Hurley Fire Department. George J. Moylan Funeral Home Inc., Rosendale, is assisting the family with arrangements.

Vance Davis Rich

KERHONKSON—Vance Davis Rich of Yardley, Pennsylvania, and formerly of Kerhonkson, passed away on Sept.18, 2022. He was 93. Vance was born on June 4, 1929, in Kingston; he was the son of the late Harold and Lydia (Davis) Rich. On Aug. 4, 1963, Vance married the love of his life, Betty Lou (Lyons) Rich, at the Rochester Reformed Church in Accord. Together they lived in Kerhonkson for over 45 years where they raised their family. For many years Vance had worked for the Ellenville Savings Bank, where he became the vice president and then Rich retired in 1994. Throughout his life he was a faithful Christian. He was the Sunday school superintendent and was strong advocate for the Heifer Program, which donated animals to people of Third World countries so they could further sell the animals’ eggs, meat, etc. Vance was an avid Bible reader,

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NEW PALTZ—Robin Petite Searson was born Oct. 17, 1941, in Augusta, Georgia, to Robinson Plato Searson and Virginia (Ziegler) Searson. That same year her father was assigned the precarious duty of disarming battlefield ordnance in World War II. A sensitive, widely-read man, Bob, like JRR Tolkien, sent home from the war little poems, drawings and fables for his daughters Virginia Tea and little Robin. During the war, Robin’s mother, an elementary school teacher, remained in Rock Hill. Robin and her cousins were all “shipped out” to the family farm near Allendale. She says her passionate love of horses began on a hill of that farm, where she watched the vibrant colors of sunset reflected in the lucent eyes of a mare and sensed the animal’s living soul. After the family returned to Rock Hill, Robin’s artistic abilities began to blossom; elegant and anatomically detailed drawings of animals, especially dinosaurs and horses, but also dragons and hippogriffs, adorned her notebooks and canvasses. In high school, Robin became apprenticed to York County Nature Museum curator Lee Settlemyre, who identified her artistic genius, hired her at the museum, and became an important mentor. Robin’s skill as an artist and designer of museum exhibits caught public interest, and her work was entered into several art shows, winning a number of regional prizes Her freshman year at Coker college, Robin faced a moral dilemma: A dorm mate was having an emotional crisis and became suicidal, calling for her parents, who lived some distance away. But there was a rule forbidding any students leaving campus without official permission, and no deans were on campus. One of the few girls at the college with a car and a valid license, Robin drove the girl to her home. Despite the support of her parents and some faculty members, who stood up for her, Robin was put on trial and expelled. (Throughout Robin’s life she consistently resisted what she felt to be “unjust authority,” especially to help her family and friends.) Robin transferred to Winthrop College, closer to her parents, as an art major. She graduated with honors in 1962 and then continued with a master’s program in Art as Education at NYU. While on a climbing trip in the Shawangunks in 1963, she met Stephen Larsen, a Columbia psychology student, and the two fell wholeheartedly in love. They were married in 1964. Robin went on to teach in inner-city schools throughout the five boroughs. A telling story reveals how much Robin was loved as a teacher. When Martin Luther King was killed and riots broke out, her African American Harlem High School students formed a phalanx giving her safe escort home. In 1968, Stephen was offered a full-time psychology position at SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge. The couple sold their loft in New York City and bought a 225-acre farm (with its own climbing cliff, waterfalls and not much else). During the next decade, Robin taught at

Marist College and SUNY’s Orange, Ulster and New Paltz colleges. The couple built their own home on the farm, followed by an art studio for Robin, who would continue to draw and sculpt. Robin earned her Ph.D. in art history from The Union Institute in 1979. Soon after she was hired as editor in chief for the magisterial 550-page pictorial biography “Emanuel Swedenborg; A Continuing Vision,” published by the Foundation in 1988. In 1989 the Larsens won a contract from Doubleday Books for “A Fire in the Mind, the biography of Joseph Campbell.” Under the careful editorship of Jacqueline Onassis, the book was published on time, in 1991. That year they also founded the not-for-profit Center for Symbolic Studies, a healing and performing arts center, famous for its Beltane Renaissance Festival—now in its 32nd year. In 1996 Stephen became psychology professor emeritus at SUNY Ulster, and began to focus on his practice as a psychotherapist/writer. Robin continued to write fiction and poetry, make and exhibit art throughout her life, mentoring scholars and artists alike. Beloved for her warmth and her deep appreciation of every living thing; Robin is known for her abilities in serpent-flinging, fence-building and raccoon-wrangling. Robin died peacefully at home, in the early morning hours of Sept. 26, 2022, with Stephen at her side and her children around her. A green burial took place at Rosendale Plains Cemetery, where she was laid to rest on Sept. 29, 2022. George Moylan Funeral Home in Rosendale assisted the family; www.GJMoylanFuneralHome.com.

as well as a teacher and Christ follower; one of Vance’s main goals in life was to further God’s Kingdom in any way he could. He was also a very loving husband, father, Papa and Great Grandpa. Besides his wife, Betty Lou, Vance is survived by his children, Kathleen Kelly Edwards, Heather Joy Redmond and Timothy Daniel Rich; six grandchildren: Alton Edwards, Vancent Edwards, Anthony Edwards, Jenna Redmond, Sarah Redmond and Gabby Redmond; and three great-grandchildren: AJ III Edwards, Avery Edwards and Javannah Edwards. The visitation and funeral service were celebrated at the Grace Community

Church in Lake Katrine followed by the burial in the Fairview Cemetery in Stone Ridge on Sept. 23. Arrangements were under the guidance of Humiston Funeral Home, Kerhonkson. To further God’s Kingdom, Betty Lou asks that memorial contributions be made in Vance’s name to the Grace Community Church, 160 Seremma Court, Lake Katrine, NY 12449 and/or to Central: A Christ-Centered Church, 2015 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ 08618. Personal condolences may be left for Vance’s family by visiting humistonfuneralhome.com.

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Page 14

Athletics, recreation & fitness

October 7, 2022

Hit by injuries, Rondout football works hard to stay competitive Jeff Slater BSP Reporter “This season has been a real challenge,” said Chris Frenza, head coach of the Rondout Valley varsity football team. “We have had low numbers to start and then have some injuries. The players are a great group of guys who I really enjoy being around. They work hard and have a great attitude and want to learn about the game.” Despite these obstacles the team’s record is 2-3 with victories over Monticello and Saugerties, while losing to Chester, Red Hook and New Paltz. The team plays 10 games in all, not counting the playoffs if they make it. A player who makes a big contribution is Johnny Soi, playing quarterback. He has 562 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground. He also has 250 yards passing and two TDs through the air. Soi said, “We started the season with a solid senior core and a solid group of young talents. I could never have imagined we’d get hit with the injury bug as bad as we did. Nonetheless we do have

Rondout Valley varsity football team during the national anthem. Photo by Theresa Carlucci

some talent left and can make most of our games competitive.” Other high performers are Mike Markle and Billy Brush on defense and Colin Seablom and Isaac Milroad on the offensive line; key receivers are Conor Slinsky and Preston Demorest. Frenza continued, “Some of our

strengths are that we never quit and are adaptable. The guys have a never-saydie approach. When asked to play new positions they jump in with an attitude of ‘whatever is best for the team.’ This team is resilient and has had to overcome many obstacles. We are working on making sure that all players know

their responsibilities and all players know multiple positions.” The playoffs start the first week of November. “We are hoping for a playoff spot this year, that is always one of our goals. Another goal is being an All-Academic team. “They are a great group of guys and are fun to be around,” concluded Frenza. Mike Markle sums it up. “Our season has had lots of ups and downs. We have had many injuries, but we are trying to overcome them. We are a hard working and determined team. We are working hard in practice and our morale is up and we’re ready to play. We are looking to finish the season strong.” So come on out to the Homecoming game tonight and cheer on this team of resilient young men, and who knows what can happen? Go, Ganders! Kickoff for the Homecoming game against Highland is at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7.

Rion catches first walleye on Oneida Lake Last month, 12-year-old fisherman Jaden Rion of Accord caught his first walleye on Oneida Lake. The fish was 22 inches and almost 4 pounds. “Because of their size, strength and the difficulty to catch them, walleyes are one of the most sought-after game fish,” explained Rion. “They are hard to catch because of their razor-sharp teeth that usually snap the fishing line and they put up a big fight because of their strength.” “This will be the first time we are going to eat walleye,” said Ann Degrote, Jaden’s dad’s fiancée. “Jaden leaves all the cooking to me. And he’s the first to run to the table when I let the family know it’s time to eat!” In more recent news, Rion placed first in the junior division of the Legacy Jr. Bass Tournament, held on Oct. 1 at Rudd Pond, the last competition of the season.

9th Annual NRA Women on Target Clinic held at Marbletown Sportsmen’s Club The Marbletown Sportsmen's Club hosted its 9th Annual NRA Women on Target Instructional Shooting Clinic on Sept. 24 at their club house and range on Scarawan Road in Stone Ridge. This clinic is geared for especially for women with little or no knowledge of handguns or had little shooting experience. Ken Cooper, head instructor, his assistant, John Jenerose, along with assistance of the MSC volunteers, helped to make

Jaden Rion of Accord caught his first walleye in September

this another successful event. All of the women who participated received extensive classroom instruction on Handgun Safety, NY Article 35 Defense of Justification, Rules of Range Safety, and much more. After lunch, they had individual instruction down on the shooting range. At the end of the day, each of the women received a NRA Women on Target Certificate of Recognition for completing this firearm education class and as well as the marksmanship orientation required during this clinic. There were many items donated from the NRA Women on Target program, the Strum Ruger Company and the Henry Repeating Arms Company. The Henry Company also donated a Henry. 22 Golden Boy rifle, which was raffled off that day and was won by Carolyn Staley of Rosendale. For more information on the next Marbletown Sportmen's Club's NRA WOT Clinic event, as well as other events, contact the MSC Ladies program chairman at 845-687-7735, or visit the MSC website, www.marbletownsportsmensclub.org.

BlueStone Press, October 7, 2022 , Page 15

Fire Dept. from page 9

can potentially be repurposed for thermal exchange, and the town plans to expand the High Falls Water District to Stone Ridge, resulting in numerous additional residences with unused water wells that could be repurposed for thermal exchange. The resolution also states that, in addition to residences and businesses, three town buildings, including the Stone Ridge Library, the Stone Ridge Fire Department and the High Falls Fire Department, all have the potential to benefit from a community thermal network. The Rondout Valley Business Association, Stone Ridge Library and the Ulster County Department of Public Works have all signed letters of support for the scoping study. Ken Davenport shared his experience encountering e-bikes going at an estimated 20 mph or more on the rail

trail. Davenport proposed posting a sign for e-bikes to slow down for pedestrians. The board debated for some time but it was determined that New York classifies e-bikes as motorized vehicles, which are not allowed on the trail. Further debate continued about how to mitigate the issue, while councilman Tim Hunt suggested more research about how other communities have addressed e-bikes on pedestrian walkways. The board presented its initial 2023 budget at the Oct. 4 meeting, and recommended changes will follow at the Oct. 18 meeting. A public hearing regarding the 2023 budget will take place the Thursday after Election Day, on Nov.10. In addition to the aforementioned Resolution 97, a total of six resolutions were presented on Oct. 4, and all were passed, 5-0. Resolution 94 approved the sale of a Vly-Atwood Fire District truck, a 1999 F-450 Super Duty rescue truck to Mohonk Mountain House for $6,000. The board noted that because the truck was priced under $25,000, it was not subject to public referendum or bidding. Resolution 95 overrides the tax levy limit for 2023. The

board agrees it will likely override the tax levy limit next year. Resolution 96 appoints Laura Ankler to the Environmental Conservation Commission. Resolution 98 replaces the shed at Town Park with a purchase of a new shed from Brad’s Barns at the price of $10,434. Resolution 99 empowers municipal corporations, such as school districts, boards of cooperative educational services, counties, cities, towns and villages, and districts to enter into, amend, cancel and terminate agreements for the performance among themselves as a cooperative. The town wishes to invest portions of its available investment funds in cooperation with other corporations and/or districts, known as the NYCLASS Municipal Cooperation Agreement. Marbletown will host its 3rd Annual Drive-Thru Trick or Treat at Marbletown Park, 350 Tongore Road, from 3:30-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Last year the town hosted more than 120 local children, and it hopes for another great turnout this year.

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Your letters, views & ideas

Page 17

Wild Beauty Farm: Cultivating a connection to nature, ritual and community Chelsea Miller BSP Reporter Nestled in the heart of Olivebridge, just off the beaten path, is Wild Beauty Farm, a family-run homestead dedicated to ritual, honoring the land and gaining food sovereignty. Camille Eroy-Reveles and Jon Lee Rucker are at the helm of the vision, and even at one of the heights of harvest season they’re busy sowing the seeds for next season, and future generations of seasons after that. The husband-and-wife team met in New York City, but they both have profound connections to the earth that predate their meeting. Eroy-Reveles was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California. At the age of 4, with her parents in the midst of a divorce, Eroy-Reveles and her two sisters were sent to live with her grandmother in Watsonville, near Santa Cruz, and it was on her grandmother’s farm over the course of the next two years that Eroy-Reveles first remembers really connecting with the land. “My grandmother had a reverence for the entire life cycle of food and all of the animals that were there – she used everything. My sisters and I all had little jobs, collecting eggs or cutting the tomatoes. It was nice to farm in California, lots of sun and a lot of water (at the time). We were very involved in the outdoors and the cycles on the farm.” She continues, “It was a challenging time while our parents were divorcing and it was a very big healing for us to be out there in nature and with animals on the farm.” After high school, Eroy-Reveles headed to UC Santa Barbara, where she graduated with a focus in global studies and physical education. Emerging with a deepened interest in healthy living and delving deeper into what it could mean or look like as a whole to be healthier, she headed east after being accepted to Columbia University, where she studied public health. “I was trying to really explore how to do the big intervention – how to get more people healthy all at once,” Eroy-Reveles explains. In part to pay her way through school, she stared working at the American Academy of Personal Training, which balanced out her studies. “I was there in grad school really learning about the macro – how do we change environments to make people healthy? And then through my work with the American Academy of Personal Training I was having direct impact on people on an individual level.” Graduating Columbia coincided with the crash of 2008, and, faced with very few employment prospects in the public health field, Eroy-Reveles founded her own private training company, The L Trainer (which continues to this day). “I was very involved in educating trainers to help work with people with the current population who needed to be more active – not just those who wanted a six-pack,” says Eroy-Reveles. This work led her into more holistic territories. “I started studying yoga and flow arts and thinking about how do we as people in New York City, in this modern achievement-based environment, how do we find health? I started looking at different ways to bring in more earth – that’s what brought me back to nature.” Rucker was raised in Rockland County and says that his first memories related to farming and the land originate about the age of 6 or 7 when his uncle taught him how to drive a tractor. However, stewarding of the land took a back seat in his suburban upbringing, and after graduation he headed to Full Sail University where he studied music engineering. After graduating he headed back to New York and straight into the industry, working in a couple of studios and building out his own to produce artists. In 2008 a spark was lit as he began to read more about the environment. “I got curious and started researching our food systems and why we are where we are today,” says Rucker. “I started pioneering my own activism,” continues Rucker, “getting out there and talking to people and making connections and raising awareness.” He began working at the Cropsey Community Farm in New City and came to the conclusion that he might not be able to change the entire world but he could start with himself. “I decided that the social system we were working with was so messed up that I wanted to learn self-sufficiency and gain the ability to not rely on the system for survival. I wanted to get liberated from the system and it was another tool for my eco-activist ambitions,” he says. It was while at the Cropsey Community Farm that he attended a permaculture convergence where he met a few peo-

Camille Eroy-Reveles, Jon Lee Rucker and little Yana of Wild Beauty Farm on the couple’s wedding day in September 2022

ple who would become partners in The Eastern Light Project, a permaculture education center situated on 25 acres. “We demonstrated suburban scale permaculture and had a lot of community come to us to learn, and we also learned a lot, it was really successful,” says Rucker. However, when the land was sold to a developer it was time to consider next steps. “After we had to move off the land, the idea of PermaJam hit me like a lightning bolt,” says Rucker. In essence, the concept for PermaJam is that it is possible for people to gather as a community and, as a collective, leave a specific patch of land better then they left it. The model works off a four-year time line, with the first two years dedicated to plan, design and create permaculture through shared work, song and celebration. “The word permaculture means ‘permanent agriculture’ – the idea is that we’re creating something that is going to last for generations and that by coming together as a community and singing and creating it is possible to leave a positive impact on future generations. It’s not just the environmental healing but it’s also the cultural and social healing, the opportunity to bring together elders from indigenous tribes, wellness experts, people of all ages and backgrounds, and create a brand-new social cohesion with an intention,” Rucker says. Eroy-Reveles’ and Rucker’s storylines collide in New York City before the pandemic. Rucker had moved to the city in the hopes of building further alliances for PermaJam, a bridge between urban dwellers and the earth. It was at a fateful Christmas Eve party that the pair met. Eroy-Reveles says that she first met Rucker with her eyes closed. “I was sitting there meditating and I heard someone singing and I felt like I was coming into the earth, I felt like I knew this person, I felt a kinship just in his voice,” explains Eroy-Reveles. On Rucker’s part, he says that he became aware of Eroy-Reveles with his eyes wide open. “I first noticed that there was this woman that was smiling the whole time, and that smile lit up the room.” The pair instantly bonded over shared values. “We just got on very well, explains Eroy-Reveles. When the couple discovered they were expecting, their thoughts turned upstate. “The big vision for us coming together has always been that we are both really motivated to impact in a positive way; there is an element of service to both of us, and we got pregnant with Yana (now 3!) … that was a big initiation for us. We knew we wanted to live differently and wanted her to have opportunity to be as healthy as she can be.” Through a series of fortunate events, they closed on their homestead in 2020 and set about getting to work . “We came to this land and started to get to know it and were, and continue to be, humbled by it,” says Eroy-Reveles.

The mission of Wild Beauty is multifaceted and includes both community-supported agriculture as well opportunity and space to learn and reconnect with the earth. Woven throughout daily life is a deep sense of ritual with the land and with each other. “Ceremony is our spiritual foundation, and we have been fortunate enough to be brought into Native American ways though local indigenous people. For us it’s about sharing a harmoniously way of life,” says Rucker. “A lot of our agricultural and physical practice are in line with the basic spiritual principles of the ways of indigenous cultures. As humans we’re part of this wild ecosystem and we need to play a beneficial role in this ecosystem – caring for the land, for the earth, for ourselves, and for each other.” Eroy-Reveles adds, “This work is a reclamation of that spiritual part of us that isn’t just found in church. Our hope is that we can be a bridge for people to return to a healthier, more nature-centered life. We’re being that bridge by living in this way and inviting people to come and experience it with us.” This year, Wild Beauty Farm had 30 families as part of their CSA, which organically grew a jaw-dropping variety of heirloom crops including corn, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, leafy greens, kale, collard, beets, turnips, squash, melons, root vegetables, sweet potatoes, groundcherries, and herbs of both the culinary and medicinal persuasion. They are also laying the foundation for fruit crops that will pay off in future seasons. Rounding off the current offerings, Eroy-Reveles crafts a line of salves and body oils using the medicinal herbs grown at Wild Beauty Farm using healing herbs such as lavender, comfrey, mugwort and tulsi. “The rule is that whatever we put on our skin, we should be able to eat. The products are all organic and very pure,” says Eroy-Reveles. Rucker also offers consulting services for those looking for their own homesteading set-up at any scale. At the heart of the garden is a dedicated children’s garden with not only a sandbox but also beds to grow programming for our littlest eco-activists and homesteaders. Additional programming is planned for 2023, including yoga classes for adults with concurrent nature/art-based programing for children, and workshops with elders and thought leaders in homesteading and gaining food sovereignty. A geodesic dome or yurt based on the principles of sacred geometry is in the works, and the pair is beginning to work on an altar for the farm. “We realized that even us landing here, that was part of ceremony – so we want to build an altar in the middle of farm so that we and the community have a place to gather and celebrate and the elements,” explains Eroy-Reveles. “Everything returns to the earth. It’s part of the reclamation with our lineage, something my grandmother understood, that we have this relationship with the plants and it should be honored and celebrated. We want Wild Beauty Farm to be a place where whole families can come and join in the ceremony and feel good while learning how to be closer to nature, their food and themselves by doing.” For more information about Wild Beauty Farm, their offerings, or to get involved, visit: https://wildbeautyfarm. com.

Page 18

Your letters, views & ideas

Three cheers for those …

Letters policy Please send letters to the editor to the BlueStone Press by email at bluepress@aol. com or send to P.O. Box 149, Stone Ridge, NY 12484. Include your name, hometown and daytime phone number. Letters should be fewer than 500 words and may be edited for clarity, brevity and taste. Letters won't appear in consecutive editions from the same author. The BSP hopes that, in the spirit of community dialogue, readers and writers in the letters section are respectful of a diversity of viewpoints. We err on the side of freedom of speech in our letters, and we hope that vigorous dialogue is more likely to produce an informed public than censorship, however well meaning. Call 6874480 with questions.

Update from the BSP publishers Well … here we are 2022. Some old-timers, some newbies, some in-between, rolling with the punches, keeping on, keeping on. Local, hand-made newspapering really has never been easy, but it seems real, and worth the fight. The world of newspapers has been shaken for sure, yet the BlueStone still exists. Because of people like you who care about their neighbors and this unique, beautiful place, we are here. It's old school, no philanthropic funds, no government programs, just real efforts to do our best as a team to write stories that are close to this small community. We are pleased to say that people still respond to what is written in the BSP and want to participate with local papers. We have a new reporter covering Rosendale, and Thomas Childers, a fresh-faced 24-year-old, is working in the office. He’s out-and-about in the community representing the family brand, writing stories and meeting with advertisers. We will continue as long as you will have us. Please let our advertisers know you saw them in the BlueStone – it's really the best thing you can do to keep the system going. Also, as always, we ask you to invest your time in writing letters to the editor with considered opinions about local issues. Thank you all for your continued love and support and for helping us keep on keeping on.

Lori and Greg Childers BlueStone Press publishers

Why I will vote yes on Local Law #6 To the Editor: I have lived in Marbletown for over 30 years. In that time – I built a gardening and landscaping business that is part of what makes for a thriving, healthy community. I also think that, like planning for a successful garden, a town must plan and envision its future if it is to maintain the qualities we most cherish. And that is why I will vote yes on local law number six. The real estate transfer tax is one of the ways Marbletown can plan for its future. It is an investment in our very way of life. By asking people who move to this town to join in our ongoing planning and preservation efforts, we are being thoughtful and proactive about the future of Marbletown. So on Nov. 8, turn over your ballot and join me in Voting Yes For Local Law # 6. Marge Brower Marbletown

Heritage Day a wonderful gathering To the Editor: The rain held out and the 16th Annual Heritage Day kicked off on Main Street, Accord, this past Saturday, Oct. 1st. The Annual Jennie Bell Pie Contest was a hit, with winners Catarina Cowden, Courtney Debrosky, Dorothea Schwall & Joseph, and Brandon Sweeney. Historic Preservation Awards were presented to homeowners who renovated their homes while keeping the his-

October 7, 2022

Autumn Activities! Apple Picking

Picnics

torical character or renovating toward its historic origins. Recipients of this year’s awards were Frank Macagone & Keith Eddleman of Crested Hen, Adam Bloom of 1078 Samsonville Road, the Reservoir house, Hank Hiejink of Appeldoorn Farm, and Nancy Purdums of Whitfield’s one-room schoolhouse. Heritage Day is about preserving, promoting & celebrating the historic heritage of the Town of Rochester, learning about your local organizations, meeting new faces, and seeing old acquaintances. On behalf of Friends of Historic Rochester, we would like to thank the following volunteers: Jared Gundberg, Donnie & Lisa Rider, Reilly Waddell, Christina Ferrara, Brian Rand, Brenda Hof, Elizabeth Harris, Sally Roy, Peter Nelson, Rich Miller, Melissa Mertz, Rita Harkins, members of the Recreation Commission and Historic Preservation Commission, Pat Davis, Will, and Alyssa Farrell, Courtney Coffey, members of Accord Company 1 & 2 Fire Departments, members of the local Bruderhof Community, Deb Martin, Jim Ayers, Anna Henebery, Jeff Frey, Tom Crotty and Matt Dennin Jr. There were so many more that were offering a helping hand throughout the day, and we can’t thank you all enough. There was great music, food and entertainment for all, and this could not have been done without our financial donors – Westwind Orchard, Sprague & Killeen Inc., Zachary Kleinhandler, Modern Accord Depot LLC, Accord Market, Philliber Research & Evaluation, Solid Waste Disposal Service, Saunderskill Farms, First Student, The Revenue Markets Inc., Medenbach & Eggers, David Lawrence Construction, KMR Landscape & Excavation, H. B. Humiston Funeral Home, Diane Schoonmaker & Patrick Williams, Bob Gaydos Auto Body, Bell’s Christmas Trees, Domino Farm, William J Redding DMD, Williams Lumber & Home Centers, Gene’s Tire Service, Dave Estroff Plumbing and Heating, Daryl Scroggs Custom Electronics and Hudson Valley Seed Co. We also would like to thank the residents of Main Street and Schoolhouse Road for their patience and understanding. We would not be able to hold this festival without their support. We look forward to next year!"

Kathleen Gundberg President of Friends of Historic Rochester and town historian

Lions Club Fall Festival comes back with a roar To the Editor: We were a success! Special thanks to Sierra Tyler & Paradise Tanning for resurrecting the Rondout Valley Lions Fall Festival, held this past Sept. 17, at Veterans Park in Accord! Thank you to all our sponsors, vendors, donors, volunteers, fellow Lions and the public for all your support in making this event possible; we

Trail Hikes

Just a few starter ideas. Come up with your own. Summer was hot and nasty at times, let’s get out and enjoy the Valley before winter rolls in !

couldn’t have done it without you! Kudos to all involved!

Janet Sutter Treasurer, RV Lions, High Falls

Rochester board ambulance funding response To the Editor: We, the elected members of the Rochester Town Board, support well-funded and well-run ambulance service for our entire community. We thank the members of the ambulance squads that serve our town for the essential service they tirelessly provide with dedication. We understand this service comes at a cost. To this end, we voted unanimously to increase funding in 2022 and to form two Ambulance Improvement Districts starting in 2023. As elected representatives we have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents of our town. This includes ensuring the viability and quality of our emergency services and protecting the residents of the town from the financial burdens of potential lawsuits arising from the provision of emergency services. The 2022 Town of Rochester budget utilizes ARPA funding to increase funding to both the Kerhonkson-Accord First Aid Squad (KAFAS) and the Marbletown First Aid Unit (MFAU), which covers part of the Town of Rochester. The larger contributions from the Town are intended to help create a more sustainable model for ambulance service in our community. The board views this as an important adaptation for our community. In January of 2022 both ambulance services were provided contracts which included mutual indemnification clauses as well as basic financial reporting requirements. Mutual indemnification is essential protection for the taxpayers in our town. It means that if there is a lawsuit arising from service provided by an ambulance service, the Town of Rochester will not be held responsible. Indemnification is essential because the Town cannot control if someone decides to sue if an ambulance service is involved in an incident. Mutual indemnification protects the residents of the town from the financial costs that could arise from such lawsuits. We believe it would be irresponsible, and contrary to the interests of the town, to provide funding without both indemnification and basic financial reporting. Without these provisions It is the citizens who will be most at risk. The Town Board signed its contract with MFAU in January, however KAFAS will not sign any contract that includes their indemnification of the town residents. In See More letters, page 15

BlueStone Press, October 7, 2022 , Page 19

The One That Got Away Dear Wally – I have an ex who tells people that I’m “The One That Got Away.” I know I’m a great catch, and we both know that he messed up majorly, but I’ve moved on. Still, it makes me smile to think he’s actually living with regret. He drunk-texts me here and there. Hopefully the next woman he dates gets treated better and with more respect. I think he reads your column so I’ll not give my name. But go ahead and let him know (without letting him know) it’s allllll good! I am with an awesome partner now. – The One That Got Away

Dear Wally

Dear The One – I’ll say it’s all good! Glad you are over it and moved on. There’s probably Wally Nichols have lots of drama you are sparing us that got you to this point, if you need to use words like “respect” and “treated better” and “drunk text.” I’m sure you’ve been told this before, but while you can’t really control what others say or do, you can control how you react to people’s actions and words, and that includes physically removing yourself from toxicity and relationships that are busted and not fixable. And it sounds like you are on

More letters from page 14 the course of repeated attempts to resolve this impasse, the Town Board has requested meetings with the KAFAS board, their lawyer, and insurance provider. The Town Board has yet to hear back on meeting with the KAFAS board. We remain ready to meet with KAFAS to discuss solutions at any time and hope we can reach a resolution soon so the Town can provide the $150,000 that was budgeted. The Town Board knows the squad provides an essential service to the residents, and we are eager to come to an agreement and get the money to KAFAS so they can continue to support our town. Michael Baden, supervisor Michael Coleman, councilman Erin Enouen, councilwoman Adam Paddock, councilman Charlotte Smiseth, councilwoman Town of Rochester

A response to antisemitism To the Editor: Last week I attended an event for recent refugees to America, which included a panel of officials in law enforcement, human rights and religious leaders. The topic was combatting hate, racism and antisemitism. Law enforcement differentiates between “hate incidents” and “hate crimes.” Hate incidents may be painful but they often do not rise to the level of a crime under the law. Many types of “hate speech” are protected by free speech in America (but not in some EU countries). Many incidents are not prosecuted because either the victim does not step

it! Yay you. Anyway, in the Pantheon of sketchy expressions “The One That Got Away” has a big place in creepy Uncle Zeus’ lap. The words alone suggest an environment of unilateral captivity. WTF does it mean when one human says to another, “You are the one that got away”?* Do they have others stashed under the kitchen floor boards who didn’t get away? * You might inform your erstwhile captor that it’s “the one WHO (not ‘that’) got away.” Unless he’s a master grammarian and intending to further dehumanize/objectify you …? Nah, never mind. I know I’m taking a rather dark interpretive approach to an expression that has come to otherwise resonate with the harmonics of a compliment, and self-reflective regret, but words matter, and these words are gross. So too, for that matter, are the words YOU contextually use, to wit, “I’m a great catch.” You aren’t a mackerel, a haddock, a cod or even a gefilte.* The fishing metaphor we have come to use in the relationship sense is so odd to me. *Like you, this is also not a fish. Unlike you, it’s a popular, deboned Ashkenazi appetizer. Fish are tricked and lured into biting a sharp hook that causes them injury. They are then dragged up out of their environment, taken out of school without a note from their parent, starved of oxygen, subject to hypothermia by having ice tossed on them, clubbed to death, or butchered alive. And if they are too small, they are fat shamed forward or is a child whose identity is shielded. The best way to combat hate is to arouse public action. Panelists recommended having marches in areas where hate fliers or signs were distributed, doing forums for school administrators and teachers in schools where incidents were reported, and taking out ads in local media denouncing hate incidents. Studies of such actions have clearly resulted in diminishing hate incidents. But if not responded to by the public, hate incidents can grow into serious hate crimes. Pressure on local law enforcement and prosecutors to investigate incidents also helps. Another response by victims of antisemitism is to sue the haters. This has resulted in curtailing hate incidents and crimes by individuals, but also has resulted in the shutting down of entire hate organizations. The best example of this is the action of KlanWatch, now called the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Founded in 1971 in Alabama, the SPLC has been credited with devising innovative ways to cripple hate groups, such as the KKK, particularly by using “damage litigation.” Their groundbreaking move in 1984 was to bring a civil suit against the United Klans of America for the lynching of a young Black man. His mother sued with their help and was awarded $7 million in damages. She became the owner of their Klan headquarters in Tuscaloosa, essentially bankrupting and shuttering that tentacle of the KKK. Today, Jews are faced with a many-sided hydra of antisemitism. The best time to stop genocide is before it happens. Fortunately, there are a number of reputable organizations that do civil action suits and anti-hate education, including a number of reputable organizations that will assist Jewish victims of hate incidents. Harv Hilowitz Stone Ridge

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION? WRITE bluestonepress845@gmail.com • BlueStone Press, PO Box 149, Stone Ridge

YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR.

and height shamed and tossed back. If they are too big, they are posted all over social media without permission. Some of them are rendered into fish sticks, which is next level humiliation. YOU are not a “good catch.” You are your awesome self and not subject to the judgment and valuation and vagaries of anyone else, including someone who forgot to lock the dungeon door thereby allowing you to get away. In fact, you should probably find him, preemptively kick that simp in the nuts in case he thinks he can reel you back in with stronger pound test, and tell him you didn’t get away. You left. You bit, swallowed, broke the line and crapped out the hook. And you left because he sucked. You need not dignify the situation with your current state of happiness – that’s strictly (and confidentially) between you, your current partner, me and the entire 5,000-person BlueStone Press circulation Is that a good enough job of letting him know it’s all good?? Hahahah! Glad you are now in a good supportive thing! Brava. – Wally P.S. You aren’t an ex of mine, are you??!?! Eeeek. I DO occasionally read this column … Got a question for our advice columnist or just want to share an expression that irks you? Email him at cwn4@aol. com.

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Page 20

Your friends and community

October 7, 2022

First Miles for Our Middle School Walkathon Michelle McAuliffe Vitner BSP Reporter Under a blue sky and during one of the last warm days of September, Rondout Intermediate and Junior High students took part in the inaugural Miles for Our Middle School Walkathon on Sept. 24 from 10 a.m-3 p.m. at the Rondout Valley School District campus. Students in grades 4-8 challenged themselves to complete many laps around the track as part of a schoolwide event, organized by the Parent Teacher Student Association. The goal was to earn donations via sponsors for funds that will be used for school trips and enrichment. The donations were tied to each child’s participation, by cash or via an online portal, either as a dollar amount per lap, or by flat donation. In total, students walked 906 laps, 226.5 miles, and raised $10,363. As each student completed a lap, they collected a sticker from a volunteer and placed it on their index card, as they had been doing during the previous week in gym class. Some kids continued onward to the next lap, chatting with a friend or forging a path by themselves, while others took a break for a refreshment provided by the PTSA. Some ran, some walked. Some stayed for a short time; others, the whole event. Pushing past their comfort zone but with a goal in mind, these students were successful in many ways – by giving their time to their school community, but also working hard to physically challenge themselves to do “just one more lap.” Parents watched on in support or walked alongside the kids while music played to keep energy high. Some students asked if they could keep going past the end of the five-hour event. In addition to raising funds from sponsors for their participation, the students also took part in competing for the most laps done along with other classmates and classes for prizes. During the school week, there was a cooperative effort between gym staff and the PTSA to make sure all students would get the chance to participate, whether in or outside of class. Although some of the completed laps that students did took place during the school week in gym class, the PTSA estimates that nearly two-thirds of all students who raised donations had attended the Saturday event as well. Harty, the PTSA president, said, “Our purpose is to enrich student’s lives, to enrich their experience at school, giving them field trips, dances, assemblies, in-school events, school pictures … helping out whenever we can … supporting (students) financially as well as physically when we can be in the building to support different events. That’s why we’re here. We also try to recognize the teachers, secretaries and staff in luncheons and in other ways. This was our big event to initiate our comeback after Covid. We’re hoping to make it an annual event. We heard a lot of new families had come to the school district and wanted to get out and meet people, so we were pushing this to be a family-fun day. Bake sale, 50/50 raffle, music, walkathon – all rolled into an event as well as a fundraiser for the PTSA. We pulled in all of our PE teachers, who had been taking students out on the track all week as part of gym class as well as the event (this was convenient as the gym is still under repair right now), and they had the kids keep track of the laps they walked with stickers. It was very kind for them to participate with us.” PTSA executive secretary Jami Craig was guiding a thirsty student toward a table with free water. She shared, “It was nice to have everyone come out and be together on a beautiful day. It seems like there’s been a lot of excitement, which is great. The PTSA is primarily a fundraising body, to provide enrichment for students beyond what can typically be done within the school budget or funds; all the extra things schools get to do come from fundraising – in addition to school trips, dances, providing food, music ... the Teacher Appreciation Day luncheon, also Secretary’s Appreciation Day luncheon ... even some extra funds when a teacher may approach us to run something different and enriching. Also, these funds pay for afterschool clubs for the seventh and eighth grade (grades 4-6 after-school clubs are covered by grants).” Alicia Colomer, PTSA corresponding secretary (who covers other PTSA positions too at times, because they are short the full amount of executive members), was running the main table alongside Harty, getting people registered and helping new members sign up to the PTSA. Colomer spoke about how fundraising came together on the technical side for donating online. “Over the summer, I had a couple of Zoom calls with Member Hub, our fundraising and membership platform that we use for everything. I

Rondout students pose for a group photo after completing the walkathon. Photo by Hannah Vitner

spoke with their fundraising coordinators, and decided (they were) the best route to go for holding the walkathon as well as receiving donations and sponsorships. Then I was able to put together on the website all of the criteria that we were looking to do. It worked really well. We got class lists from both principals of the Intermediate and Junior High schools; I was able to format them into an Excel spreadsheet and upload them to the database for everyone, so every student had a particular web page where their name and teacher’s name showed up.” Regarding how the funds are used, she shared that sometimes grants will cover a school trip, but most do not, so the funds help to make that happen. “Also, sometimes we fill the gap in covering a student's need, as teachers or administrators might suggest that, say, a student can’t afford a yearbook … we can step in and help.” Chad Miller, PTSA treasurer, was guiding students at the bake sale table. He came over to the main event table to share how he felt the day was going: “It appears we have exceeded our financial goal, over $6,000 at this point (the event was still underway), although there’s still some per-lap pledges that can’t be recorded until their cards are turned in at the end. [The total after the event was $10,363.) But, prior to this morning, we had exceeded our goal. We support all students across the board. We wanted everybody to participate during their phys-ed classes, so they came out and did laps. Some parents don’t have the time or means to come today, so taking part during school is inclusive and gives all kids a chance via their gym activity during the week.” While Chad was busy, his wife, Lauren Miller, a fifth grade teacher at Rondout Intermediate School, jumped in to assist at the bake sale table along with the kids. Chad says that he and Lauren lean on each other a lot in their respective roles in the community and are proud parents of a fifth-grader, Cooper Miller, also at the Intermediate School. Lauren Miller says she wears many different hats, sometimes as a mom, sometimes as a teacher. Regarding how the kids responded to the idea of the walkathon in the classroom, she says, “They know what it’s related to, they see that connection and want to participate.” Although the kids knew there were class awards for most participation, she feels they really understood that fundraising relates to helping them get field trips and other activities. When asked about the PTSA from a teacher’s point of view, she said, “Honestly, in this organization (PTSA), from myself being at the Intermediate School – before Covid, during Covid and now – I feel that there is more of a presence than there was in the past. Knowing the change from the elementary school’s involvement in the PTA versus the PTSA, you do get the students more involved in the PTSA and you get to hear their voices. They love it! I see students walking around that were in the PTSA in the spring of last year and they will say, ‘What do you want to change? What can I bring to the PTSA when we have a meeting?’ The kids go to the meetings (who have become members).” Chad Miller shared, “We do have student members and they get elected by their peers (in the classroom).” Lauren: “They have to give a speech, then they are nominated and voted for by their classmates. Just like how the student council is done.” Incidentally, Intermediate School principal Lee Cutler had given an assembly only a few days before the walkathon about the PTSA and how students can participate via

Winners and prizes Top walkers: Intermediate school: Lurah Baker (63), Wyatt Baker (60), Peter Colomer (60), Carter Carr (56), Cierra Miller (55) Junior HS: James Casey (52), Veronica Prevete (32) Prizes won: Lurah Baker and James Casey each received $25 gift cards. Wyatt baker, Peter Colomer, Carter Carr, Cierra Miller and Veronica Prevete received free ice cream credit at Cherries. Junior HS first place was James Casey, who

will be principal for a day, and Connor Murray was runner-up and will be vice-principal for a day. Intermediate School top fundraiser was Adelaide Harty, who will become the Intermediate principal for a day. Runner-up Peter Colomer will get to be vice-principal for a day. Classroom that raised the most: Mrs. Smaldone’s fifth grade class, $2,772; Mrs. Sanford’s homeroom, $1,150. Both will receive a pizza and ice cream party.

class as well as through direct membership, which gives students a vote on decisions that the PTSA puts forward in their meetings. In the last hour of the event, a volunteer parent, Sarah Hendrick, waited patiently with a smile for the remaining walkers, to give them the sticker on their card that showed a completed lap. She had two student participants of her own at the walkathon, her sons Avery Bissell (grade 4) and Orin Bissell (grade 7). “Volunteering is important. It helps out everybody and we’re all working as a team.” When asked how he felt the event went, Avery said, “It was good. Except that it was hot! ... I got a sunburn!” Soon after, Sarah’s older son, Orin, was finishing a lap. When asked what he thought of fundraising and the walkathon, he said, “I really think that it will help younger kids to experience what I got to.” He shared that last year he was able to go to the Holocaust Museum, where he was moved by “learning what humanity is really like.” He speaks with gravity about this experience. “I think that if we are going to teach our kids something that is important about history and humanity, then these field trips will help them understand.” Then with a smile, he said, “I’ve raised about $285 today!” Students and adults shared responsibilities at the bake sale table, taking turns at the helm of a grand spread of cookies, cakes and other sweet edibles. Students collected money under the guidance of adults for both homemade and some store-bought items. In all, bake sale volunteers raised an additional $510 toward the walkathon. A 50/50 raffle was drawn at the end of the day and Adelaide Hardy, a fifth-grader, won. A mix of pride, accomplishment and tiredness could be seen on most of the student's faces as, one by one, they neared the end of many laps. One fourth grade student, Cierra Miller, had just finished 55 laps as the event came to a close at 5 p.m. While walking slowly alongside her mother and evidently with sore feet, she shared, “It was fun ... kinda hard … but I’m not getting out of my bed tomorrow!”

BlueStone Press, October 7, 2022 , Page 21

1964 Rondout graduates celebrate life Jeff Slater BSP Reporter They called themselves the “can-do Class of 1964.” And they are still doing it. A few weeks ago, 25 or so 1964 graduates gathered in the area. A lot of them had been in contact often, but the pandemic served to strengthen their ties. “Those who graduated in 1964 were part of the first class to complete grades 9-12 at the ‘new school.’ As such we always felt special. With centralization of the district two disparate groups made a seamless transition to form lasting friendships. When Covid hit I had contacted several classmates and asked if they would like to meet on Zoom. We first met in April of 2020 and have been meeting every week since that time,” said Sharon Christopherson, organizer of the Zooms. “When the world shut down in March 2020 due to Covid, it was an emotional crisis for me since my social and political connections were so important for my well-being,” said classmate Letty Derman Thall. “The weekly Zooms initiated by Sharon Skolky Christopherson were a life saver. It was fascinating to learn what classmates (some of whom I had not seen since 1964) had been doing with their lives; and we all bonded over the absurd ego and marketing tactics of the then-president. Once we were all boosted, we could get together in person,” Thall said. Joseph Freedman, a retired civil servant who resides in Philadelphia, said, “The pandemic and its restrictions have sparked a rediscovery of social connections, such as our high school class, on Zoom and beyond, At our age and in these times, these Zoom meetings are protective in that we respect and strengthen one another.” A few weeks ago, the group got together at Ole Savannah, a restaurant in Kingston, and these seniors have not been wasting a minute of their time. John Wood of Vermont shared, “I recently returned from a 10,560-mile road trip with the husband of one of

“Can do” Class of ’64 at Ole Savannah in Kingston

my classmates. We drove round trip to and from Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada. This is the only place where it is possible for a member of the general public to drive to the shore of the Arctic Ocean. It was an adventure, and I look forward to more adventures with my wife and others.” Francoise Collet had this to add to the group’s accomplishments: “On Sept. 15 the Olive Branch Studio and Gallery featured, along with other artists, five of my sculptures in stone, wood and clay. While I have always wanted to carve stone and wood, I didn’t get that chance until I was 50 when I met my first mentor. I have participated in a several group and solo exhibits in the area, the most recent at Opus 40. At 76 I still work for myself part time in the mental health field as a trauma specialist.” “In between Covid and grandparenting duties this year, we had an amazing trip sponsored by the Nation magazine visiting civil rights sights from the ’50s and ’60s which I had read about in Life or Look magazines when I was in grade school,” said Thall. “It was an incredible privilege to hear firsthand about the trauma experienced by one of the ‘Little Rock Nine’ students and the youngest black Freedom Rider (who is now 75) in Jackson,

Mississippi. It is so clear that much work for equity and social justice needs to be done. I will continue to use any soapbox to encourage social justice in our world,” she said. Gordie and Paula Bell met at high school and own Bell’s Christmas Trees in Accord. “During these two and a half years we’ve begun to realize how much our RVC and Rondout Valley backgrounds have given us so much in common,” said Paula. “Most of us were friendly, but not friends in school, as we were in different classes and came from different backgrounds and towns. What our gathering meant was a wonderful chance to have an in-person gathering with friends and acquaintances!” she said. “We have become a tight group sharing our activities and adventures each week,” said Sharon Quick Cobb. “We also laugh and hug a lot. I moved to Texas two years ago and have driven up for both of our mini reunions of the Boomer Zoomer Ganders (a name recently bestowed upon us). I will continue to commute to share with them and have them as part of my ‘family,’” she said. You can see why they call themselves the “can-do Class of 1964.”

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Page 22

October 7, 2022

Badlands When I was 16, I took a vacation to the Badlands of South Dakota with my father. I had been to places like Florida and Cancun, but nowhere as alien as the American West. The Badlands are perpetually breaking. Big skies give storms plenty of room to churn out heavy rains, which chew the corners of buttes and flash through otherwise-dry streambeds. The sun also does its part, baking the ground to brick, making it vulnerable to cracking and cleaving. These forces cause the topography to continuously change, exposing layers of earth rich in fossils. Under the guidance of a paleontologist, we wandered the vast, crumbling acres of a cattle ranch, searching for bones. It was easier than you might think. We did no digging. Fossils were all around us, spilling from the sides of eroding mesas. Most of what we found was too damaged to be valuable, but those afternoons were filled with the sense that treasure was everywhere, locked in the earth, waiting for the rain and sun to let it out. Last month – 23 years since that first visit – I finally returned to South Dakota. This time, a friend and I drove to Badlands National Park. We entered at night. Most of the terrain was invisible, but what I could see looked like a haunted moonscape. Stone and dirt bleached white by

Jodi LaMarco

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

our headlights cut angular shapes against the darkness. “I don’t want to sleep in my tent,” I said to my friend. Spooked or not, I had no other option. I set up, climbed in, and did my best to suppress my imagination. The morning revealed a landscape I hadn’t anticipated. I watched the sun come up behind a razor’s edge of sculpted sandstone. Daylight illuminated more colors in the rock: striations of pink and khaki laced between ivory and taupe. I thought back to my last visit at 16. Now as then, the weather picked at every surface, chiseling the

dry prairies into new formations. Ancient rivers began the process of erosion a half million years ago. Today, wind and rain nibble the park at a rate of an inch per year – lightning speed compared to places composed of granite like the nearby Black Hills. As the hours ticked by, I found that what the wind and sun do to the prairies, it also did to my body. With each reapplication of lotion and lip balm, the land looked less like earth and more like cracked skin. En route to South Dakota, I had discovered that my borrowed tent was unusable and bought a $26 Walmart replacement. By our second day of camping, it was clear I had overpaid. Wind coming off the plain licked at my rainfly until it detached and went slack, leaving the mesh sides of my tent exposed. In the evenings, I’d return to a bed filled with sand. Our last day was brutally hot. All that night, I flipped between my back and stomach, covered in sweat. The sight of my gritty self in the bathroom mirror the following morning gave me a good laugh. I was the same color as the sandy rock within view of our campsite, and nearly the same texture. It was as if the Badlands had tried to swallow me. The morning we left, I felt the thud of mule deer bounding behind the tent, their hooves drumming the ground. There was something about that – the way the sound moved through me. It was just like everything else. The wind and dust. The sun. The desert heat. It all blew inside of me. Stuck to me. Shaped me a little. Not all at once, but over days. The way it does to the land. An inch at a time.

Octobers past in the Rondout Valley New Paltz Times – October 11, 1867 Jacob Burr, of Marbletown, was robbed on Saturday evening, of a roll of bills amounting to over $900, and a check for $1,900. He had purchased a hotel at Napanoch and came to Kingston to pay for it, and finding that his man had gone to the Fair, he went there in search of him, but did not succeed in finding him. This delayed him until night-fall, when he went to “the Corner,” Hank Van Etten’s, and became intoxicated, and while there exhibited his money. When he got into his wagon on leaving, three Linda strange men were standing near it, and it is supposed that he was Tantillo relieved of his money by them.

From the archives

October 14, 1869 – New Paltz Times The Freshet. The following extracts from the Ellenville Journal of the 9th inst., convey but a faint idea of the terrible devastation caused in that vicinity by the freshet of Oct. 4th .

“All bridges from Ellenville to Greenfield were swept away. – D. Elting & Son’s “Midland Mills,” on the Greenfield road, were damaged to the amount of $1,000.— At the Ellenville Foundry, the foundry building and blacksmith shop were carried away, which together with other damages, caused a loss of from $8,000 to $19,000. — The damages at Mr. J.A. Turell’s tannery, at the above place, were estimated at about $5,000. — The grounds of the Ulster Female Seminary were also sadly ravaged. — The bridges on the Sandburg creek were all destroyed and mills along the stream suffered terribly; a house belonging to Mr. Parker, and the barn of Mrs. Marshall, on the same stream were carried off. — Mr. A.D. McKinstry loses, by damages to his tannery on Honk Hill and his saw mill in the town of Denning, some $10,000. — Nearly every bridge on the Lackawack stream from Napanoch to Sundown, including the covered bridge at Napanoch, is gone. — The Napanoch Axe Co. lose from $600 to $800.— At Middleport, on Monday forenoon, a colored man was drowned in the canal … — The damage in the town of Wawarsing it is thought will amount to about $75,000. — Damage along the D&H Canal is very severe, but it is expected that boating will be resumed by the 25th of Oct.” [Note: inst., short for

instant, means “of the current month.”]

October 14, 1869 – New Paltz Times “Apple-butter stirring,” which were fashionable in the country when the old folks of the present generation were youths and maidens, have, it is said, come into vogue again this fall. [Apple-butter stirring, or “Frolics,” were major fall social events where people gathered to make apple butter but also to socialize. Courting couples had to kiss if they bumped the kettle and splashed the apple butter.] October 24, 1878 – New Paltz Times There was a great catch of eels on the Rondout Friday night last in the eel weirs: at High Falls 149 pounds; Lawrenceville two barrelfuls; Rosendale 250 pounds, and on Saturday night 347 pounds.

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BlueStone Press, October 7, 2022 , Page 23

Not a big acorn year How do you know when it’s going to be a banner year for acorns? By September you will feel like wearing a hardhat when you walk in the woods, or even down the road, to avoid getting beaned by one. You will be working outside and hearing PLOP. PLOP, wondering briefly, “What's THAT?” before recognizing the sound of acorns falling everywhere, like a hard rain. As a small child I liked to collect them, get a basketful, the same way a kid living on the shore might collect seashells. They looked like heads with tiny hats; no doubt I was imagining them as Disney cartoon characters, with a few lines for faces. (I think I tried to roast some in the oven once, but they tasted terrible.) Last year, 2021, was a big “mast” Ann Belmont year, that being the terminology for acorns, hickory nuts and other tree fruits. There was an incredible amount of acorns underfoot in my neighborhood, too much for the animals to eat them all. This year, not so many. Only an occasional tiny thud can be heard during my daily stroll. The acorn harvest is way down. Oaks do have cycles, producing lots of acorns only every two or three years. But what, I wonder, has caused them all to seem to be on the same point in their cycle? The summer drought could have a lot to do with that. “Acorn crop failures can occur if there are extreme weath-

Wild Things

Horoscopes Mercury returned to direct motion on the 2nd of this month and Pluto will also return on the 8th of this month. However, we must remember it takes a few extra days to return to normal and finish the negative effects of Mercury. The personal planets, the Sun, Mercury and Venus, are conjunct in the sign of Libra, while Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are placed in four segments, or a trine formation, in the Zodiac. The full Moon on the 9th in Aries promises to blow fierce winds – causing unexpected events that we may not be ready for. In addition, Mars is slowing down in preparation for turning retrograde at the end of the month. Note that Mars is slowing down while the full Moon in Aries is speeding up.

Your Zodiac

ARIES: 3/21 to 4/19: Mars, your ruling planet, is positioned in the 3rd solar house of Gemini, the ruler of communication and edJoanne ucation. Since Mars is the planet Ferdman of action, you may find it difficult to act forcefully, in your usual manner. You may also be involved in a conflict at the time of the new Moon on the 9th when reason interferes with action. TAURUS: 4/20 to 5/20: Venus, your ruling planet, is positioned with the Sun and Mercury in your 6th house of daily work and health. It is in good aspect to Mars, the planet of action, in the solar house of money. The full Moon in Aries promises an increase in the action called for in a different aspect of your regular work.

Photo by Ann Belmont

er conditions,” a blog called ‘treenewal’ informed me. The trees have been stressed, they don't have the resources to make a lot of fruit, so they save their energy for next year. Meanwhile, the animals that depend on fattening up with acorns in the autumn will have a harder time making a living. Leaving out the predator species, that includes most of the non-predatory mammals common hereabouts, not to mention birds like turkeys, blue jays and woodpeckers. Chipmunks will eat worms and bugs if they have to, even little frogs and toads. Bears, as most of us hereabouts know from experience, are into whatever is available, be it their usual nuts, berries and other plants, or whatever’s in your garbage can. Squirrels, too, will eat practically anything in a pinch, including “birds’ eggs, insects, fungi, cereal, pet food, cheese, and trash,” according to rangerplanet.com. But acorns are a superior food, full of fat and carbs, so a lack of them means a lot of creatures are going to have to forage a lot farther ... I think I'm going to wrap all the shrubs up in burlap this winter – those deer tion and is in good aspect to Mars. This may result in an increased income resulting from a previous breakthrough in one aspect of your work. The full Moon in Aries may bring additional acknowledgements of your important contribution.

VIRGO: 8/23 to 9/22: Mercury, your ruling planet, is positioned in your 2nd solar house of money conjunct both the Sun and Venus – and all are also in good aspect to Mars. This results in positive results from career activity. You may decide to make minor career changes at the full Moon after the 9th, which may help increase income even more. LIBRA: 9/23 to 10/22: Venus, your ruling planet, is positioned in your 1st solar house as part of the stellium of personal planets that are in good aspect to Mars, and about to enter your 10th house of career. This bodes well for the future. The full Moon on the 9th in your 7th house of partnership promises an active social schedule if you’re so inclined. SCORPIO: 10/23 to 11/22: Mars and Pluto, your two ruling planets, are in poor aspect to each other, making it difficult for you to achieve your goal at this time – especially with the personal planets in your 12th house, and hidden from view. However, the full Moon in Aries suggests that by keeping to your goal, the work you achieve will keep you on track. SAGITTARIUS: 11/23 to 12/21: Jupiter, your ruling planet, is positioned at the beginning of the 5th solar

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GEMINI: 5/21 to 6/20: Mercury, your ruling planet, is positioned in your 5th solar house of children, love, and creativity. With Mars in good aspect, you’re satisfied with your prospects for the future. However, it would be a good idea to hold back somewhat at the time of the full Moon when many events seem to be happening at one time. CANCER: 6/21 to 7/20: The full Moon on the 9th in the sign Aries is positioned in your 10th solar house of career. It is in opposition to your personal planets in the 4th solar house of home and family, once again taking you out of the home and into the working world, stronger than before. Just be sure this is the type of work you enjoy!! LEO: 7/21 to 8/22: The Sun, your ruling planet, is positioned in your 3rd solar house of education and informa-

and are going to be desperate for some fresh buds to eat. I don't want them to starve. But. The drought this summer was especially intense in Massachusetts, where my cousin Bonnie Jean lives and has a small vineyard. It's probably not a coincidence that this year, for the first time, woodpeckers and catbirds got inside the netting over the grapes and ate half her crop; she'll only be able to make half the usual amount of wine. So if you think about it, a lack of insects for the birds to eat means fewer bottles of vino for BJ to drink next year. A complete failure of the acorn harvest hardly ever happens; the trees will always manage to put out at least some. Red and white oaks, by the way, have different schedules. Red oaks – the ones with the sharper leaf points, and the darker wood, if you happen to have some cut logs – are on a different schedule than white oaks, which have more rounded leave points. Treenewal says, “Acorns of trees in the red oak group take 15 months, two growing seasons, to mature ... White oak acorns are less bitter and mature in three months, one growing season. Each fall, trees in the red oak group will have a combination of small, immature acorns on the current year's growth and mature acorns on the previous year's growth.” So if one species isn’t ready to drop acorns in a particular fall, it’s likely that the other one will be. But Nature is – I'm sure you've noticed – unpredictable. So bury your acorns well, store your potatoes in a cold place, and always save some bottles of wine for a rainy day. house of creativity and children. With the personal planets in good aspect, you will be able to break through past bottlenecks and achieve the goals you’ve been searching for. The full Moon in Aries will help you feel heroic.

CAPRICORN: 12/22 to 1/20: Saturn, your ruling planet, continues in your 2nd solar house of money. While the personal planets are positioned in your 10th solar house of career in poor aspect to Saturn – they direct Mars to the source of the goals you set. The result works in your favor with some temporary success. The full Moon also helps. AQUARIUS: 1/21 to 2/19: Uranus, your ruler, continues in your 4th solar house of home and family, your prime consideration. Your personal planets are positioned in the 9th house of education and communication – seeing to the welfare of your children. The full Moon in Aries on the 9th reinforces your objective – to have an educated family. PISCES: 2/20 to 3/20: Neptune, a very slow-moving planet continues to be positioned in your 1st solar house of personality. However, your personal planets, the Sun, Mercury and Venus, are propelled by Mars to begin making a change in outlook and motivation. This full Moon helps you realize the importance of a regular, reliable income. Joanne is available for private/personized consultations at 561-744-9962. Treat yourself – learn what to expect from the current transits and receive an overview of your longterm goals.

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Page 24, October 7, 2022 , BlueStone Press

FOR THE FAMILY Little Ones Learning Center Indoor Yard Sale and story times A huge indoor yard sale will be held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. over Columbus Day weekend, Friday, Saturday and Monday, Oct. 7, 8 and 10, at Little Ones Learning Center, in the Rochester Reformed Church, 5132 Route 209, Accord. There will be great prices on everything from toys and Christmas decorations to household goods and jewelry. Little Ones Learning Center has story times, 10 a.m.-noon every Wednesday and Saturday, at the church. For information, contact Mary Lee at 645-750-1341 or marylee2440@gmail.com. Celebrate October's Polish American Heritage Month with Stone Ridge artist Jill Obrig Teens and tweens can create traditional Polish wycinanki (veechee-non-kee) cut paper flowers, 3:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, in the activity room, at the Stone Ridge Library, 3700 Main St., Stone Ridge. Register at stoneridgelibrary.org or by calling 845-687-7023. Register ASAP for a blood donation at the Marbletown Community Center, appointments book fast! There is an urgent need for blood donors. Make a difference in the community and beyond. The gift of lifesaving blood may seem small but can change more than one life for the better. Create a ripple effect with a blood donation, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, at the Marbletown Community Center, 3564 Main St., Stone Ridge. For more information and to make an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org. Kripplebush-Lyonsville Fire Company Sub Nites Enjoy great sub sandwiches at the Kripplebush-Lyonsville Fire Company, at the intersection of County Route 2 at 519 Pine Bush Road in Stone Ridge, just 1 mile north of Route 209. Ham, turkey, roast beef, or mixed meat, mixed veggie, chicken parm, meatball, tuna, and of course Philly cheese subs are made to order on a 12-inch roll with choice of toppings and served with a bag of chips and a drink (assorted cans of soda, iced tea or bottled water). Take a sub home or eat one in the dining room at the firehouse. Sub Nites are held 4-7 p.m. (with call-ins at 3:30 p.m.) on the second Friday of each month, March-November (this month on Oct. 14), for a suggested donation of $10. For more information and takeout orders, call 845-687-9801. Last month of the Rosendale Farmers Market until next June Serving the community since 2006, the Rosendale Farmers Market is open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. each Sunday, June-October, this month Oct. 9, 16, 23 and 30, in Willow Kiln Park, 5 Hardenburgh Lane, Rosendale. Pop-up vendors include Momemade all natural vegan dog treats, local potter Kila Bates, Seven Sisters Botanica, Colden Spring Farm, Nosh, Ram's Valley, and Rocky Hill Forge. Regular weekly vendors are Manifest Coffee, Fiddlehead Farm (thefiddleheadway.com), Spruce Run & Stoney Ridge Farm (sr-srfarm.com), Three Sisters Farm (on Facebook as the Three Sisters Farm), HV Heirloom Farm (hvheirloomfarm.com), Hermans Erie Hotel, and Cereghino Smith Wines (cereghinosmith. com). Visit TheRosendaleFM on Facebook and therosendalefm on Instagram. Second Sunday Supper is back, live and in person! The Rondout Valley United Methodist Church will host its Second Sunday Supper at 5:30 p.m., Oct. 9, at the church, at 25 Schoonmaker Lane, off Route 209 in Stone Ridge. All are invited to meet and greet other members of the community, dine together and enjoy one another’s company. Second Sunday Suppers are free and held on the second Sunday of every month (except July and August). For more information, call 845687-9061. Sunday worship at RVUMC is in person at 10 a.m. or online anytime at rvumc.org. Need prayer? Call Pastor Caroline at 845-687-9090. Clove Valley Community Farm work party Join Aileah, the farmer, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays (Oct. 11, 18 and 25) and/ or 4 p.m.-dark, Thursdays (Oct. 13, 20 and 27) to spend time outdoors, connect with the soil, be and work with the plants, and celebrate the summer and fall seasons (through November) with others in the gardens, at Clove Valley Community Farm, 81 Clove Valley Road, High Falls. Open to all ages and abilities. Text Aileah, at 570-762-2872, and visit clovevalleycommunityfarm.com.

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The pickle eating contest is just one of so many events featured at the Rosendale Pickle Festival. Visit rosendalepicklefestival.org for all the happenings. Photo by Carl Cox Studios of Rosendale

25th Pickle Festival! The 25th Annual Rosendale International Pickle Festival will be held in large tents on the grassy field of the Rosendale Recreation Center, 1055 Route 32 South, Rosendale, this event will run 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, rain or shine. The Rosendale International Pickle Festival is in its 25th year. There will be pickle vendors from all over the East Coast, a food court, plenty of grocery and craft items, in addition to a wide variety of entertain-

Arts Mid-Hudson together we create presents ‘Have you seen my friends?’ with Jill Obrig Discover the world of extinct birds. Travel back in time to learn about these birds over a four-week series, 4:30-6 p.m. Tuesdays, Oct. 11 and 18, at the Hurley Library, 48 Main St., Hurley. Students will create a paper bird sculpture that will be turned into a book. For more information, visit hurleylibrary. org or call 845-338-2092. Rondout Valley Lions Club New members, men and women of all ages, are wanted and encouraged to join the Rondout Valley Lions Club, serving the towns of Marbletown, Rochester and Rosendale since Oct. 18, 1950. During this time, they have helped those in need, whether it is for sight, hearing, medical emergencies or any worthwhile cause. “We serve” is their motto, and this is what they do. The Lions meet 5 p.m. on the second Wednesday (Oct. 12) of every month at the Marbletown Inn, 2842 Route 209, Marbletown and at noon on the fourth Thursday of every month (Oct. 27), at the Black Board Bistro Conference Room, 1920 Lucas Turnpike, Cottekill. For more information on being included in the club’s next meeting, contact Sue Curcio, president, at otrlsc@gmail.com or Janet Sutter, treasurer at janet.sutter@ aol.com. Junior Sportsmen’s Program takes aim at knowledge and safety for all, last month of the season Each Thursday at 6 p.m., May-October (Oct. 13, 20 and 27), students of all ages come out to the Marbletown Sportsmen’s Club Junior Sportsmen’s Program. The archery class,

ment and contests throughout the day. Founded 25 years ago, Bill and Cathy Brooks, along with their visiting friend from Japan, Eri Yamaguchi, decided to hold a small pickle festival, expecting 200 people, and over 1,000 showed up. Operating as a nonprofit, the Pickle Festival has given over $150,000 back to the community since 1997. Admission is $5 per person and kids are free. For more information, visit rosendalepicklefestival.org.

taught by Pete Sarr, chairperson of the program, is alternated every other Thursday with firearms, with both programs held at the Marbletown Sportsmen’s Club, 95-105 Scarawan Road, Stone Ridge. Students of every level, from first timers to seasoned hunters, from kids to mature adults, learn everything from the proper stance to how to hold the bow and gun to the proper terminology on the range, and much more, all emphasizing proper safety. All necessary equipment is provided for the program at no cost. Call Sarr at 845687-9305 or visit marbletownsportsmensclub.com. Rosendale Seniors meetings The Town of Rosendale Seniors meetings are held at 1 p.m. every second (Oct. 12) and fourth Wednesday (Oct. 26) of the month, (excluding November and December), at the Rosendale Recreation Center, 1055 Route 32, Rosendale. The second Wednesday is a social meeting and includes trivia and/or bingo. For more information, contact tour guides, call Chickie Steritt at 845-658-2414 or Hal Sampson at 845-658-9020. Help Rosendale and Stone Ridge Libraries in Annual Ulster County Food Fight food collection contest The Ulster County Food Fight is an annual food collection contest held in cooperation with 14 libraries throughout Ulster County from Thursday, Sept. 1, to Saturday, Oct. 15. The “Food Fight” is part of the Great Give Back on Oct. 15, happening throughout New York state. The common goal is to “spread food all over Ulster County” by filling up

the shelves of local food pantries and putting an end to hunger in local communities. The library that collects the highest number of food items receives a winner’s certificate. Help with donations of nonperishable (and nonexpired) food items for local food pantries. To find out how to donate to the Ulster County Food Fight for the Rosendale Library, visit rosendalelibrary.org or for the Stone Ridge Library at stoneridgelibrary.org. The history of horror and sci-fi movies, silent film-1970, a PowerPoint presentation A wonderful walk through the history of fantastic film! From Silent Era phantoms through 1960s outer space aliens with plenty of terrific monsters along the way. The films, the actors and the filmmakers will all be presented, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, at the Rosendale Library, 264 Main St., Rosendale. For more information, visit rosendalelibrary.org or call 845-658-9013. Marbletown Seniors meetings and trips The Seniors hold their meetings at the Marbletown Community Center, 3564 Main St., across from Key Bank in Stone Ridge, at noon on the first Friday, Nov. 4 (bring a dish to share or drop $3 in the basket on the food table), and at 1 p.m. on the third Friday, Oct. 21 (bring a dessert to share or drop $2 in the basket on the dessert table), each month. On Wednesday, Oct. 19, the bus takes off at 9:30 a.m. to travel to the Riverview Inn, Matamoras, Pennsylvania. The group will sing, dance, laugh and remember as Rich Wilson sings songs of “Days of Yesterday.” Appetizers will be given upon arrival, and lunch at noon includes salad, breast of chicken and top round beef, vegetables and potato, with dessert, coffee, tea, iced tea, soda and open bar with beer and wine. Cost $52. All trips leave from, and return to, Marbletown Reformed Church, 3750 Main St./Route 209, Stone Ridge, across from the post office. Call Sharon Letus, trip chairperson, at 845-687-9162 for information. Tillson Community Church Craft Fair This event will be held 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, with a rain date of Oct. 29, at the Tillson Community Church, 45 Grist Mill Road, Tillson. For more information, call 845-658-9314.

ARTS, MUSIC, BODY & MIND In-person, two-hour restorative yoga and sound bath with Marely Corniel tonight! Enjoy this rejuvenating, restorative yoga experience tonight, 6-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, in the Sky Room, at Whole Sky Yoga, 3588 Main St., Stone Ridge. Relax on bolsters and blankets to support the body in floor postures, encouraging deep and absolute comfort. Postures are held for 5-20 minutes, giving the body plenty of time to unwind and soften. The evening will end with a sound bath, which soothes the nervous system, vibrates on a cellular level, and helps us move into a meditative state. Enjoy crystal singing bowls, voice toning, gong, chimes and shamanic drumming. Bring an eye pillow if available and wear comfortable clothing. Cost is $30/$24 members. For more info and registration, visit wholeskyyoga.com or call 845-706-3668. Rosendale’s Theatre on the Road and the Old Dutch Church present living history cemetery tours For their fall “living history” presentation, Theatre on the Road of Rosendale and the Old Dutch Church in Kingston will offer a new living history tour, “The City Awakens.” Tours will be conducted at 7 p.m. Saturdays, Oct. 8, 15, 22 and 29, in the Old Dutch Church Cemetery, 272 Wall St., Kingston. During the one-hour tour guests will meet George Clinton, a Revolutionary War hero who became the first governor of New York; American abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth; John Jay, the first Supreme Court justice; James Lindsley, the first mayor of Kingston; Matthewis Persen, a local tavern owner during the time of Revolution; and Mama Nuchwe, a member of the Esopus tribe. Tickets are $15, $10 for students and seniors, free for those age 12 and under, and must be purchased by visiting livinghistoryny.com. For more information, visit theatreontheroad.com or call 845-475-7973. Q&A with psychologist and certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist Anne

See More events, page 25

BlueStone Press, October 7, 2022 , Page 25 Events continued from page 24 Bartolucci This month, Women & ADHD, an online community created by Rosendale’s Katy Weber, will host psychologist and certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist Anne Bartolucci, Ph.D., at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, via Zoom. Bartolucci will review common ADHD sleep problems like insomnia, delayed circadian rhythms, and “revenge bedtime procrastination,” answer questions about sleep issues, and offer tips for getting a good night’s sleep. For more information and registration, visit womenandadhd.com. Move with the Stone Ridge Library Saunter-ers The group will continue their weekly sojourns: noon-12:45 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 13, meet at the Women’s Studio Workshop parking area (on Breezy Hill Road), as the group will be walking on the WV trail toward Kingston; Oct. 20, the O&W Rail Trail, meet at Marcott Road; and on Oct. 27, the O&W Rail Trail, meet at Route 209 Russell Road, Hurley at the Gazebo. The Saunter-ers are not in a hurry and spend about an hour walking and talking on local rail trails, weather permitting. Look for Sarah, who will be wearing her trusty NPR ball cap, wear comfy walking shoes, bug spray and sunscreen. For more information, visit stoneridgelibrary.org or call 845-687-7023. On the way home yoga with Deb Jones Stone Ridge Library, in collaboration with the Town of Marbletown, will offer hourlong yoga classes with instructor Deb Jones, 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, 20 and 27, in the gym at the Rondout Municipal Center (formerly Rosendale Elementary School), 1920 Lucas Turnpike, Cottekill.Jones encourages her students to find the balance of peacefulness and energy in yoga. Classes are free and must be registered for separately. Class size is limited to 20 people. For information and registration, visit stoneridgelibrary.org or 845-687-7023. Music Fan Series presents ‘Moonage Daydream,’ the life and genius of David Bowie “Moonage Daydream” illuminates the life and genius of David Bowie. The documentary will be shown 7:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday, Oct. 14-16; 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15; and 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the Rosendale Theatre, 408 Main St., Rosendale. Director, editor and producer Brett Morgen created this feature-length experiential cinematic odyssey that explores Bowie’s creative, musical and spiritual journey. While researching the film, Morgen came across hundreds of hours of never-before-seen 35mm and 16mm footage, allowing him to assemble Bowie’s performances from these original camera masters. The film is guided by Bowie’s own narration. Admission is $10/$6 members. For more information, visit rosendaletheatre.org or call 845658-8989. ‘Fluidity,’ an exhibition by local painter Marilyn Perry at Wired Gallery Wired Gallery presents “Fluidity,” a new exhibit featuring paintings by local artist Marilyn Perry, on exhibit through Oct. 23, with artist reception 5-7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at the gallery, 11 Mohonk Road, High Falls. After leading such prestigious institutions as the Kress Foundation and World Monuments Fund, and spending years in Venice, Rome, Florence and London as a historian of Renaissance art, Perry was past 60 when the artist in her finally emerged. She is self-taught and sees her art as a play with paint on canvas. Hours for the gallery are 11 a.m.4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and one can always ring the doorbell at any other times since gallerist Sevan Melikyan lives in the building. For more information, visit thewiredgallery.com or call 682564-5613. Stone Ridge Library Foundation online auction continues through Oct. 16 It’s that time of year again! SRLF’s annual online auction supports the library and the community. Check out the products and services from local businesses. Online bidding continues through Oct.16. Auction items include gift certificates for local lodging, restaurants, gift shops, bookstores; wine; artwork and classes; wellness services; pet sitting, music concerts and lessons; garden design consultation and sculpture; flowers, and more. For more information, contact SRL Foundation coordinator Aimee Trumbore at foundation@stoneridgelibrary.org,

See More events, page 26

Music with the Lisa Markley Band and more at Lydia’s Café

First read in 1941 to honor the anniversary of the Bill of Rights with a special message from FDR, “We hold these truths,” will be held as a radio play at the Rosendale Theatre, directed by Ann Citron with the cast of Mourka Meyendorff, Lydia Pidlusky, Susan Einhorn, Fatima Deen and Citron; and music and sound by Fre Atlast, Julia Hanes and Caru Thompson.

‘We hold these truths’ radio play and voter registration drive at Ros. Theatre The Rosendale Theatre will present “We hold these truths” at 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, as a live radio play, at the theater, 408 Main St., Rosendale. “We hold these truths” was first heard on Dec.15, 1941, seven days after Pearl Harbor. It was written, produced and directed by Norman Corwin. The radio play was followed by an address to the nation by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was commissioned to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. The cast of the radio play includes Mourka Meyendorf, Fatima Deen, Susan Einhorn, Lydia Pidlusky and Ann Citron, who also directs the play. Vocals and music are by Fre Atlast, Caru Thompson

and Julia Hanes. There will also be a voter registration drive in the lobby starting at 3 p.m. conducted by the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization that works to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. The last day to register for this November’s election is Oct. 14. The community is invited to come by, register, and make sure their vote counts. Tickets, available online and at the box office, are $15 general admission and $12 for members of the theater. For tickets and more information, visit rosendaletheatre. org or call 845-658-8989.

D&H historian and curator Bill Merchant at mouth of Lock 8 Lawrenceville

A lecture on Roebling’s D&H Canal Aqueducts tonight and Path Through History tour Sunday Join the community for this local history lecture with Paul King on Roebling’s D&H Aqueducts tonight, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7,

at D&H Historical Society, 1315 Main St., High Falls. King, a professor of architectural technology at New York City College of Technology, also serves as a historical consultant to the National Parks Service, providing tours of Roebling’s Delaware Aqueduct. Admission is $5/person or free for members. Join historian and curator Bill Merchant for a free guided tour of the National Historic Landmark Five Locks Walk, 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, at D&H. And 7-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, is a lecture by Henry Lowengard, “Life after cement, adaptive reuse of cement mines.” For more information, visit canalmuseum.org/events.

‘Let’s Haunt the Library’ exhibit With Halloween approaching, the Stone Ridge Library presents their “Let’s Haunt the Library” exhibit, Oct. 17-31, at the library, at 3700 Main St., Stone Ridge. The show will feature works from local artists Lily Bednarz, Kristin Flynn, Lynne Friedman, Martha Klein, Chris Seubert

and Lora Shelley hung throughout the main library. An exhibit of children’s art from the October children’s programs will be exhibited in the activity room. For more information, call 845-687-7023 or visit stoneridgelibrary.org.

Enjoy live music 7-10 p.m. Saturday nights at Lydia’s Café, 7 Old Route 209, Stone Ridge. Upcoming performances include the Lisa Markley Band, with Markley on vocals, Lee Tomboulian on keys; Rich Syracuse, bass, and Jeff Seigel on drums, on Oct. 8; the Rob Scheps Core-tet, Markley with Scheps on saxophone and flute; Jamie Reynolds, piano; Lew Scott, bass; and Anthony Pinciotti, drums, Oct. 15; the Professors, with Vinnie Martucci, keys; Mark Dziuba, guitar; Rich Syracuse, bass; and Jeff Siegel, drums, Oct. 22; and Nancy Donnelly & Friends ,with Donnelly on vocals; Peter Tomlinson, keys; Mark Usvolk, bass; and Matt Garrity, drums, on Oct. 29. There is a suggested $20 donation fir live music events. Reservations are highly recommended. For more information, call 845-687-6373 or visit lydias-cafe.com.

Music in the woods with Ann Belmont and more at the Rail Trail Café There is a natural backdrop and canopy of trees, a small sound system, a few lights, and open ears and hearts at the Rail Trail Café, 310 River Road Extension, Rosendale. Upcoming performances and events include the Café Bazaar flea market and craft fair, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Monday, Oct. 7-10; Levanta, with Ev Mann, Thomas Workman, Gabriel Dresdale and Timothy Hill, 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7; Shokoloko, electro-acoustic improvising trio with Joakim Lartey Belmont on drums, percussion and voice; Chris Lane, guitar, electric guitar, oud-guitar and banjo; and Richard Carr, violin and electric violin, at 1 p.m., and composer, musician, and music director Peter Wetzler at 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 8; Ann Belmont, with Todd Anderson, Fre Atlast, and Sarah Urech, with Brazilian and American jazz with guitar, vocals, saxophone, flute and percussion, at 1 p.m., and Madeleine Grace with performance, visual and healing arts (sonicelixirs.com), at 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 9; Indigenous Peoples Day, Honor the Earth, 1-4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, with Neetopk Keetopk (Algonquin for “My friends, your friends”), a grassroots collective, co-hosting the afternoon of music, song and story with the Rondout Valley High School Human Rights Club led by Diana Zuckerman, Spanish teacher, Human Rights Club adviser for RVHS, and coordinator for the Amnesty International Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter, visit amnestyusa.org; and All Day Mini Kirtan Fest with the Spirit Brothers, Steve Gorn, Renee Radharani, Seth Lieberman, Arundhati, Ishwari, Ned & Lynn, and Kirshna devotees from Bhakti Bhandar, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15. A basket is passed at all events, and $10 or pay-what-you-can is suggested. “Please bring cash,” says the Rail Trail Café website. Visit railtrailcaferosendale.com or call 845-389-7714 for information.

Page 26, October 7, 2022 , BlueStone Press

Rosendale music and art for seniors presents Julia Haines harp songs

Events continued from page 25 845-687-7023, ext. 7, and visit stoneridgelibrary.org. Olive Free Library's exhibit ‘Hudson Valley Watercolors,’ curated by Rosendale’s Staats Fasoldt The Olive Free Library Association presents “Hudson Valley Watercolors,” showcasing the works of 24 Hudson Valley artists who have dedicated their time to creating watercolor artworks. The show, curated by Rosendale artist Staats Fasoldt, runs through Nov. 5, at the library, 4033 Route 28A, West Shokan. Participating artists in this show include Bruce Ackerman, Robert Barnes, Beverly Bennett, Nancy Campbell, Carol Davis, Barry DeBaun, Beth Dixon, Claudia Engel, Staats Fasoldt, Mira Fink, Angela Gaffney-Smith, Betsy Jacaruso, Alex Martin, Kate McGloughlin, Alan McKnight, Linda Novick, Mary Ottway, Walter Pokowitz, Richard Segalman, Susan Silverman, Wayne Sittner, Thomas Stratton, Anna Wang and Joyce Washor. For more information, visit olivefreelibrary.org or call 845-6572482. Marbletown’s Jazzstock presents Sharp 5 Sharp 5 with Teri Roiger on vocals, Pete Levin, piano and keyboard; John Menegon, bass; Jeff “Siege” Siegel, drums; and Nanny Assis, percussion, guitar and vocals, will perform two sets, 4 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, at Jazz Forumn, Westchester’s Premier Jazz Club, 1 Dixon Lane, Tarrytown. For more information, call 914-631-1000. For tickets and more information, visit jazzforumarts.org. Artful Journeys lecture with Sevan Melikyan, ‘Paul Cézanne Studio and Provence: Arles’ This lecture series on Zoom meets at 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Nov. 1, for Artful Journeys, with instructor and tour guide Sevan Melikyan, owner and operator of Wired Gallery in High Falls, founding member and director of Chagall in High Falls Inc., lecturer on art museums, and an artist. The next Artful Journey excursions are to Paul Cézanne Studio, Aix-en-Provence, on Oct. 11, and Van Gogh in Provence, Arles, Oct. 18. Cost is $15 per session. Visit artfuljourneysllc.com/provence for info. Register at artfuljpurneysllc.com/classes-registration. Teatime book group discusses ‘The Ten Thousand Doors of January’ by Alix E. Harrow The group will meet at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12, in the activity room, at the Stone Ridge Library, at 3700 Main St., Stone Ridge to discuss “The Ten Thousand Doors of January” by Alix E. Harrow. For more information and to join the group, contact programs manager Sarah Robertson, at sarah@stoneridgelibrary.org, visit stoneridgelibrary.org or call 845-687-7023. ‘A Life of Medium Intimacy,’ a sculpture and painting exhibit in Olivebridge The new Olive Branch Studio & Gallery, at 5097 Route 213, Olivebridge, is currently showing its second exhibit featuring sculptures and abstract paintings of a half dozen local area artists, most of whom have spent decades honing their craft, which gave rise to the title of the exhibit, “A Life of Medium Intimacy.” The show is on display through Saturday, Oct. 15, at the gallery. For more information, visit olivebranch.art. Death Café group discussion via Zoom; free & open to all Circle of Friends for the Dying’s Death Café is a group-directed conversation with no agenda, objectives or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session; it is free and open to everyone. Death Cafés are held on the 18th of each month, with the next discussion, 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, via Zoom, discussing different types of losses, death, relationship, empty nest, environmental, retirement, job loss, move, illness, loss of function – any of these that can bring a sense of loss of identity. For more information and registration, visit cfdhv.org. Mystery Book Group talks ‘Tricks’ by Ed McBain The group will meet 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, in the activity room, at the Stone Ridge Library, at 3700 Main St., Stone Ridge, to talk about the book for October, “Tricks” by Ed McBain. For more information and to join the group, contact programs manager Sarah Robertson, at sarah@stoneridgelibrary.org, visit stoneridgelibrary.org or call 845687-7023.

Performers, composers and teachers specializing in 19th- and 20th-century American folk songs and dance music, Jay Ungar & Molly Mason, at the Ashokan Center. The two will be part of the live music featured at the fall family fun fest, along with Lara Hope’s Gold Hope Duo and Strawberry Hill Fiddlers.

Fall family fun fest at the Ashokan Center Celebrate fall with the whole family, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Ashokan Center, 477 Beaverkill Road, Olivebridge. The day will feature apple cidering demos and tasting; seasonal foods, guided nature hikes, horse-drawn hayrides, pumpkin painting, blacksmithing and broom-mak-

ing demos, live music by Lara Hope’s Gold Hope Duo, Strawberry Hill Fiddlers, and Jay Ungar & Molly Mason. Admission is $5 for adults, and kids under 12 are free. For more information, visit ashokancenter.org or call 845-657-8333.

Alice Maceyak of Saugerties delivers her Women's History mini quilt to Mary McLaughlin of Kingston as part of the “Quilts of the Valley” display in Cottekill. Photo by Sarah Kessenich

‘Quilts in the Valley,’ a biennial display, at Marbletown/Rosendale Town Hall Join the community, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, Rondout Municipal Center, 1925 Lucas Turnpike, Cottekill, for “Quilts in the Valley.” The biennial display of quilts, wall-hangings, and wearables made by members of the Wiltwyck Quilters

Guild will feature vendors, a raffle quilt, dream baskets, and music by the Wheelers. Handmade articles will be available at reasonable prices at the Members' Boutique. Admission is $10 at the door, children under 10 free. For more information, visit wiltwyckquilters.org.

Artist talk with Stone Ridge photographer Barry Mayo Moderated by Emmy award-winning video producer and High Falls resident Susan Farkas, this talk with Stone Ridge photographer Barry Mayo will be held 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, at Wired Gallery, 11 Mohonk Road, High Falls. “Races and Faces,” a photographic exploration of interracial, mixed-race relationships by Mayo, is currently on display at the gallery through Oct. 9. The genesis of Mayo’s interest in racebased issues stems from his being raised during the 1960s, observing the tail end of the Jim Crow era, combined with his experience of integrating a New York City public school in the third grade. He found himself living experientially with one foot in the Black world, and one foot in the

Join other seniors ages 65+ for this free program with local contemporary bardic harper, composer, multi-instrumentalist, teacher and music therapist Julia Haines, 1-2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at Park Heights Senior Housing Community Room/Courtyard, 1033 Haines Route 32, Rosendale. For registration and more information, visit rosendalelibrary. org or call 845-658-9013.

D&H’s ‘Makers of History’ presents Chinese military with Malia Du Montwill The D&H Canal Historical Society will be inaugurating a series of presentations entitled "Makers of History" in its Mid-Hudson Regional Visitor Center, at 1315 Main St., High Falls. The program will feature people working and living in the area whose work is of national and even internationDu Mont al importance. The first talk will be 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, with Malia Du Mont, an expert on the Chinese military and its territorial ambitions. She is winner of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service. She has lived in China and speaks mandarin, now serves as chief of staff to Bard College president Leon Botstein and is a member of the Canal Society's advisory board. Admission is free to the presentation. If guests would like to make a donation to support the Canal Society and its mission, a $15 donation is suggested. For more information, visit canalmuseum.org or call 845-687-2000.

Marbletown native Sarah Perrotta in concert with strings Stone Ridge photographer Barry Mayo is currently a board member of the Reher Center in Kingston and recently joined the advisory board of the Dorsky Museum in New Paltz.

This special concert, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, will be held at Studley Theatre, at SUNY New Paltz, 1 Hawk Drive, New Paltz. Along with her band, White world. Mayo’s investigation has not Rondout Valley native only provided a means for self-exploration, Sarah Perrotta will but a vehicle for the ongoing study of race have a string quartet relations in the United States, viewed from join in for a few songs, playing arrangements the prism of personal relationships. composed by Italian Seating is very limited for the artist talk, Perrotta film composer Enzo and reservations are required to attend in DeRosa for Perrotta’s person. 2021 album “Blue to Gold.” Tickets are For more information, reservations, and $10 at the door and free for SUNY New for the Zoom link to the event, visit thewir- Paltz students. For more information, visit edgallery.com. sarahperrottamusic.com.

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TOWN OF MARBLETOWN Rondout Municipal Center 1925 Lucas Avenue, Cottekill marbletown.net 845-687-7500 MPIC Meeting October 11 @ 5:00pm Housing Committee October 11 @ 7:00pm Historic Preservation October 13 @ 6:00pm Planning Board Meeting October 17 @ 6:00pm Town Board Meeting October 18 @ 6:00pm Housing Committee October 25 @ 7:00pm Zoning Board of Appeals October 26 @ 6:00pm

TOWN OF ROSENDALE All meetings held at Rondout Municipal Center unless otherwise noted, 1915 Lucas Avenue, Cottekill townofrosendale.com 845-658-3159 Town Board October 10 @ 7:00pm Environmental Commission October 13 @ 6:30pm Planning Board October 13 @ 7:00pm Zoning Board of Appeals October 18 @ 7:00pm Economic Development October 19 @ 5:30pm Recreation Commission October 19 @ 7:15pm

TOWN OF ROCHESTER All meetings held at Harold Lipton Community Center unless otherwise noted 15 Tobacco Road, Accord townofrochester.ny.gov 845-626-7384 Planning Board October 10 @ 7:00pm Historic Preservation October 17 @ 2:00pm Recreation Commission October 19 @ 9:30am Zoning Board Meeting October 20 @ 7:00pm Environmental Conservation October 25 @ 6:00pm Town Board Workshop October 27 @ 7:00pm

RONDOUT VALLEY CSD BOARD OF EDUCATION District Office, Kyserike Rd, Accord BOE MEETING October 11 @ 7-9pm

Visit bluestonepress.net and select Special Sections at the bottom.

BOE MEETING October 25 @ 7-9pm Confirmation of meeting times through individual town offices is recommended.

Page 28, October 7, 2022 BlueStone Press

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