Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper
by Bea Peterson
Cheryl Lawyer, outreach coordinator for the Northeast Association of the Blind at Albany, which covers 15 counties, spoke at the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation at Hoosick Falls on Wednesday. Her topic was helping legally blind older adults stay active and independent. She explained that legally blind older adults are entitled to free low vision rehabilitation services sponsored by the NYS Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped.
Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo
The 21st Anniversary Celebration of the opening of the Grafton Peace Pagoda will be observed on Saturday, October 4, starting at 11 with a Buddhist Sacred Ceremony, an interfaith prayer and closing music.
We gather this year to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the building of the Peace Pagoda and to honor all who have been a part of the Grafton Peace Pagoda community over the years. We will share a potluck meal together after the ceremony. Please bring a dish to share (vegetarian options preferred) and your own dishes and utensils so we can be gentle on the earth.
The Grafton Peace Pagoda is located at 87 Crandall Road, Petersburgh. For more information please call the Peace Pagoda at 518-658 – 9301 (please, no calls after 8 pm).
Stephentown Town Historian Pat Flint will tell of 18th and 19th Century murders in Stephentown, at the Stephentown Historical Society meeting on Monday, October 6, at 7:30 pm. The meeting will be at the Stephentown Heritage Center on Garfield Road (County Route 26), Stephentown. The program is free and open to the public. The building is handicapped accessible. For directions or information, phone 518-733-0010.
Pat Flint is a Past President of the Historical Society. She will recount several of the recorded murders of past centuries and then introduce a skit performed by prominent local men. The skit will be based on the reported facts of the 1791 trial of Whiting Sweeting of Stephentown, who was accused of murdering Deputy Constable Darius Quimby, the first New York State law enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty. It is the earliest of Stephentown murders that is recorded. Quimby’s name is on the Albany wall memorializing officers killed in the line of duty. Whiting Sweeting was the son of Dr. Lewis Sweeting, a physician in Stephentown. The narrative will demonstrate the differences in the law as it was back then and now.
The Grafton Historical Society’s 16th Annual Wine & Cheese Festival fund-raiser
is Saturday, October 18, from 4 to 6 pm at the Historic Grafton Inn, Route 2, Grafton.
Wine, cheese and hors d’oeuvres will be served. There will be door prizes and a raffle.
A donation of $20 per person is asked. There are limited tickets available.
For tickets and information please contact Allison Kirchner at
518-279-9372 or email her at gts68@aol.com.
New England Folk-Rock Singer and Songwriter Tom Abdow will be performing an acoustic concert of folk, country and rock music at the New Lebanon Library on Friday, October 10, starting at 6:30 pm. Abdow has performed throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas.
Boom And Bust And Beyond
On Saturday, October 11, at 4 pm the New Lebanon Library will host a special Columbus Day weekend performance of Boom and Bust and Beyond, a concert of vintage American songs. The program will include songs from the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s. Composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Rogers and Hammerstein, among others, will be represented. Vikki True will sing with Doug Schmolze on guitar and vocals and Eric Martin on violin/viola. There will be sing-alongs also. All ages are welcome at this event, which is free and open to the public.
Schmolze trained in guitar at the Berklee School of Music and in voice with Frank Kelley. He performs in a variety of venues throughout the Berkshires and beyond. Vikki True is well known for her soulful renditions of blues, jazz and gospel. Eric Martin studied at the University of Limerick, Ireland. He plays classical and traditional styles.
For further information on these free events, please call the Library at 518-794-8844. The public is welcome, and the events are free. The Library is located at 550 State Route 20, ¼ mile north of the yellow blinking light at the intersection of Routes 20/22.
The Grafton Community Library presents Intermediate Basket Weaving – Candle Basket Workshop as part of the Grafton Community Arts Program that has been awarded grant funding from The Arts Center of the Capital Region. The student will learn intermediate basket-making techniques to create this attractive basket. Basic weaving skills are required. Linda Dayton is the instructor for this class.
The Candle Basket is a decorative basket with a loop handle useful for hanging on hooks or pegs. The class will be held on Saturday, October 18, from 9 am to 1 pm, at the Everett Wagar Senior Center in Grafton. Class size is limited to ten participants (age 14 and above). Pre-registration is required, along with a $15 materials fee. Sign up at the Library at 2455 NY Route 2. Connect with the Grafton Community Library by phone at 279-0580 or visit www.graftoncommunitylibrary.org.
The Stephentown Library Book Group will be discussing Colm Tóibín’s novel, The Master, on Tuesday, October 21, at 1:30 pm in the Library. This beautifully written work captures the mind and heart of the writer Henry James.
Copies of the book are available at the Library desk. New readers are always welcome. The Stephentown Library Book Discussion Group meets on the third Tuesday of each month at the Library. For more information, call 518-733-5750.
The Cheney Library in Hoosick Falls will host a Put Your Garden to Bed program on Wednesday, October 8, at 7 pm in the Library. Helen Dolan and Pat Mulligan, Master Gardeners from Cornell Cooperative Extension, will be at the Library to present the program. It will be an informative presentation to show gardeners how to end the growing season and prepare the garden for the winter ahead.
Cheney Library hours are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 1 – 8 pm; Tuesday 10 am – 5 pm; Friday 11 am – 4 pm; Saturday 8 am – 1 pm. Our hours will soon change beginning the week of October 13. On October 13 we will be closed for Columbus Day. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday hours will stay the same. Friday hours will be 11 am – 5 pm and Saturday hours will be 9 am – 1 pm.
The Stephentown Memorial Library is planning a Halloween party for Stephentown children, in association with the Town. If you are interested in participating in planning or helping at the event, please call Laurenne Teachout, Library Director, at 733-5750.
On Sunday, October 5, from 7 to 11 am, the Berlin Fire Department will be holding its monthly breakfast. Breakfast includes all-you-can-eat pancakes, French toast, biscuits with homemade sausage gravy, bacon and sausage, home fries, toast and eggs (sunny side up, over easy or over hard, scrambled). Beverage choice is coffee or tea (both available as decaf), hot chocolate, milk and orange juice.
The price is $8 for adults, $5 for children ages 5-12 and free for children under 5. Take-outs are available by calling 658-2890.
