by Bea Peterson
Congratulations to Ashley Costantino and her dedicated crew for providing a fantastic evening for a great cause.
This is the second year Costantino has organized a dinner and fashion show to benefit the Karen McGovern Memorial Fund. This year folks pitched in to provide a delicious buffet dinner.
[Read more…] about Knock Out Cancer Fashion Show Is A Big Hit For A Great Cause
Archives for June 2013
Beer Diviner Tap Room Opens In Stephentown
by David Flint
Jonathan Post, aka the Beer Diviner, presided at the grand opening of his Tap Room and Market Saturday in Stephentown. Post opened just last year what he calls a nano-brewery – that’s something smaller than a micro-brewery – up in Cherry Plain on Bly Hollow Road. The brewery remains up in the woods, but Post wanted a location closer to civilization where he could market his brews.
[Read more…] about Beer Diviner Tap Room Opens In Stephentown
Grafton Summer Festival Is July 13
The Annual Grafton Summer Festival is scheduled for July 13 in the Grafton Town Park on Rt. 2 in the center of town. The festival includes a Flea Market featuring the wares of local artisans. Booths will be set up by the Grafton Historical Society, the Grafton Town Library, the Binding Friends Quilting Group and the Friends of Grafton Lake State Park. Restrooms will be provided by the Grafton Snowmobile Club. Other community organizations are invited to participate with booths and displays. Baked goods will be sold by Our Lady of the Snow Altar Rosary Society. Anyone who would like to reserve space may call John at 271-8555, or contact the Parish Office at 279-4943.
The Church will also feature Sister Kenan’s Giant Raffle which was initiated by Sister Kenan McGowan over 30 years ago as a fund raising event for the parish. Sister Kenan was Parish Life Director in Grafton and Berlin. She was active in building the community throughout her years of service to the people in this area. It was her dream to build the church in Grafton, moving worship from a milk shed to the beautiful worship space that stands today. The parishioners of the parish, now Our Lady of the Snow (formerly Sacred Heart in Berlin and St. John Francis Regis in Grafton) have decided that the best way to honor and remember Sister Kenan is to revive our participation in the summer festival in her name.
Prizes for the Giant Raffle, which has close to 90 total prizes, include handcrafted items, gift certificates to many local restaurants and outlets – Price Chopper, Cumberland Farms, Home Depot and Stewart’s to name a few, theme baskets and three large Grand Prizes.
The Grafton Library is sponsoring Jim Snack, the magician, who will stroll among the vendors in the morning and perform at the Everett Wagar Senior Center on the Park at 11 am.
Musical entertainment will start at noon and continue until the end of the festival. Nick Viscio and Tom Benson will begin the afternoon with bluegrass music and songs. Tri-County Banjo Band will play from 1 to 2 pm with toe-tapping, sing along music from the early 1900s. Nick Viscio and Tom Benson will entertain again until the end of the day.
A chicken barbecue will be prepared by Our Lady of the Snow in the lower Parking Lot of the Church. Tickets cost $10 for ½ chicken, baked potato, coleslaw and watermelon. Serving will be packaged to go and begin at noon and continue until 3 pm. Limited seating will be available. Tickets are available from parishioners in Grafton (St. John Francis Regis) and Berlin (Sacred Heart).
Set up for the flea market will begin at 7 am. Coffee and pastries will be available at that time.
For information to sign up as a vendor call 518-271-8555, and, for general information, contact 518-279-4943.
A Parliament Of Owls
The Summer Of The Owls Starts July 3
Legend has it that the name Hoosick comes from an Indian word meaning “valley of the owls.” This summer the community is invited to participate in celebration of the Hoosick’s history and the iconic creature from which its name is derived.
[Read more…] about A Parliament Of Owls
Wildlife Changes Over Time At The SHS Dinner
The summer potluck dinner meeting of the Stephentown Historical Society will be Monday, July 1, at 6:30 pm at the Stephentown Heritage Center, Garfield Road (County Route 26), Stephentown. Those attending should bring a hearty appetite and a dish large enough to share, either main dish, salad or dessert. Plates, utensils and beverages will be provided. The event is free and open to the public. The building is handicapped accessible. For directions, telephone 518-733-0010.
Gayle Tardif-Raser, education coordinator for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, will present an illustrated program on “Iron Ore and Orioles – Wildlife Changes Over Time.” The focus will be on four species – orioles, New England cottontails, spotted turtles and Atlantic salmon – from the time of European contact until today with a discussion of human impacts on wildlife populations, including habitat changes, introduced species and current status.
Of local interest is the plight of the New England cottontail, known in the Berkshire-Taconic region as the swamp bunny or the swamp gray. Any knowledge or sightings of the New England cottontail from audience members is of special interest because the Stephentown area is one of the last patches where they are found.
Tardif-Raser is the Education Coordinator for Massachusetts Audubon’s Berkshire Wildlife Sanctuaries, working with teachers, students, day camp and public programs. She attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, majoring in Natural Resources Studies, and Salem State for graduate school in fisheries. She has been at Massachusetts Audubon for almost 20 years and has also worked at the National Marine Fisheries Service and Williams College Schow Science Library.
An Artful Story: Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels And The Battle Of Gettysburg
Michael Shaara wrote The Killer Angels, a novel that some consider the best fictional account of the Battle of Gettysburg ever written. How did Shaara become so interested in this battle and why did he write this novel? What books and historical events influenced him? Come to the Cheney Library in Hoosick Falls on Tuesday, July 9, at 7 pm to find out. Local Civil War historian and former Hoosick Falls Central School teacher, Michael Russert, will examine Shaara’s troubled life and his approach to teaching and writing. The program will also explore the differences between the actual battle and Shaara’s fictional treatment of the people and events that were part of the Battle of Gettysburg. The program is being offered as part of the Friends of the Cheney Library Love Your Library Series.
Although they were present, but not treated in Shaara’s book, the role of the local Civil War regiment, the 125th New York Volunteer Infantry and their involvement in the Battle of Gettysburg will be discussed. The evening will be both entertaining and informative.
Russert has a Master’s Degree plus sixty hours in Nineteenth Century American Studies. He is a member of the Company of Military Historians, a book reviewer on the staff of The Civil War News and has served as Coordinator of the New York State Veteran Oral History Program.
Stephentown Memorial Library News
The Stephentown Memorial Library will be closed on Thursday, July 4, for Independence Day. Please use our book drop, located near the handicapped ramp on the front of the building, when we are closed. We wish you all a relaxing and happy holiday.
Summer Book Festival
The Annual Summer Book Festival will be on Saturday, July 13, from 9 am to 3 pm at the Library, 472 State Route 43, Stephentown. Thousands of books and items for summer entertainment, including hardcover, large print, paperback, DVD, audiobook, CD and more will be on sale. A variety of delicious food will be available for purchase, along with Bake Sale items. Space is available for informational tables of local community groups and local vendors and artisans selling their wares.
There will be locally prepared refreshments, live music and a family program featuring Rhonda’s Reptiles.
Come early and stay late – all proceeds go directly to support the Stephentown Memorial Library.
For information, call the Library at 518-733-5750. The rain date is Sunday, July 14.
• Zumba Classes – Weekly on Wednesdays at 7 pm. Zumba is an exhilarating Latin-inspired dance fitness class designed to benefit anyone, regardless of age or fitness level. Each one hour class costs $5 per participant. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes.
• Easy, Restorative Yoga with Jules – Thursdays from 10 to 11:15 am. Join us for this great program held in the SML Community Room. Limber up your body and have fun doing it. Enjoy gentle yoga in a supportive atmosphere with music and easy asanas. Please sign up soon as space is limited. Contact Jules Harrell at 265-2808, yogafortrauma@yahoo.com or the SML front desk.
Grafton Flea Market And Bake/Food Sale
Rensselaer County’s Everett Wagar Senior Center, 2 Roxborough Road, Grafton invites the public to the Flea Market and Bake/Food Sale at the Everett Wagar Senior Center on Saturday July 13, from 9 am to 3 pm.
Tables are available for rent inside or outside for $5 and $10. Proceeds from sale will benefit Rensselaer County’s Everett Wagar Senior Center.
For more information or to donate an item for our sale, contact Penny at the Senior Center at 518-279-3413.
The Town Of Hoosick Democrats And Hoosick 1st Party Host A Chicken Barbecue And Meet the Candidates Night
The Town of Hoosick Democrats and Hoosick 1st Party will be hosting a chicken barbecue on Thursday, July 11, from 5 to 7:30 pm at The Polish Hall. Everyone is invited to come and enjoy some delicious slow cooked chicken with potato salad, coleslaw, dessert and cold beverages and to meet this year’s candidates.
The candidates are Mark Surdam for Town Supervisor, Dave Sutton and Michael Hickey for Town Council, William Shiland III for Highway Superintendent, Tom Restino for Town Justice and Sue Stradinger for Town Clerk.
Tickets are on sale at Thorpe’s Pharmacy from Jim Monahan, Kevin O’Malley at 686-9460, Maggie Casey at 686-7367, Mark Surdam at 686 -0745 or Bob Ryan at 686-4857 and at the Polish Hall. Tickets will also be available at the door. Tickets cost $12.
Trash To Treasure
submitted by Tammy Osterhout
The Berlin Youth Commission Arts and Recreation program’s theme this summer is “From Trash to Treasure.”
We are collecting plastic containers that are numbered from three and up, except motor oil containers or any other hazardous materials containers. We also need all plastic bottle tops, all sizes and types. Some other items that we can use are styrofoam meat trays, plastic trays, etc – please make sure all items are washed. We will also accept any craft or art supplies you may have and are no longer using – we use yarn, beads, paints, etc.
Please contact Tammy Osterhout at 658-2924 to arrange pick-up or drop off. Please do not just leave items at the Town Hall. I can make arrangements to meet you at the Town Hall on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturday mornings during Anne Maxon’s Town Clerk hours.