The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

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Bernice Lewis To Perform At The New Lebanon Library

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Berkshire based folk musician Bernice Lewis will perform at the New Lebanon Library on Friday, November 22, at 6:30 pm. This event is free and open to the public although donations for the performer are appreciated.

A fixture on the coffeehouse circuit, contemporary-folk radio and at major folk festivals, Lewis, who studied vocal improvisation with Bobby McFerrin and guitar technique with Alex DeGrassi and Guy van Duser, has been a featured performer on National Public Radio’s “Mountain Stage” program and a finalist in the 1987 New Folk Songwriting Contest at the prestigious Kerrville (Texas) Folk Festival. She sings from a woman’s perspective with wit and eloquence in distinctive, powerful vocals that have been described as “utterly and uniquely her own.”

For further information, please call the Library at 518-794-8844. The Library is located at 550 State Route 20.

Festival Of Trees

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Rensselaer County’s Everett Wagar Senior Center, 2 Roxborough Road, Grafton, will be holding a Tree Festival again this year. Start thinking about how to decorate a 2 to 5 foot Christmas Tree for the Festival of Trees in Miniature at the Center in Grafton.  Trees will be displayed from Sunday, November 24, through Sunday, December 22.

The trees may be traditional or completely original but no taller than five feet and should be in place by November 23.  Local businesses, organizations and individual community members are invited to participate; prizes will be awarded.  Categories for prizes will be business or organization, adult group, adult individual, child group, child individual, most original and best traditional.

If you are interested in displaying a tree please call Donna Walker at 279-3275 or the Senior Center at 279-3413.

Dublin Porter Performs Music Of Ireland At The New Lebanon Library

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Irish music trio Dublin Porter will perform at the New Lebanon Library on Friday, November 15, at 6:30 pm. The repertoire of this Berkshire band focuses on the dance music and airs of Ireland.

For further information on this event, please call the Library at 518-794-8844. All are welcome and the event is 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.

Stephentown Texas Hold’em

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The Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department will hold a Texas Hold’em Tournament on Saturday, November 16, in the Stephentown Fire Hall, located at 35 Grange Hall Road in Stephentown. The doors will open at 5:30 pm and close at 6 pm. Play begins at 6:15 sharp.

No advance registration is required. A donation of $35 per player will be accepted and give the player 6,000 in chip value. Players can make an additional $10 donation at the door for 2,000 extra in chip value. This tournament will pay one place for every 10 players with a minimum of four places and a maximum of 9 places.

A free buffet will be served at the first break and refreshments will be available.

Celebrating The Rensselaer Plateau

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The Rensselaer Plateau Alliance is sponsoring a joint gallery show from November 15 through the month of December highlighting the Rensselaer Plateau. At the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, view current photographs of the Plateau by three area artists. At the Sand Lake Town Library see an exhibition of materials on loan from the Grafton Historical Society. [Read more…] about Celebrating The Rensselaer Plateau

Kevin McGuire Is Scrooge In A New Staging of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol

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Broadway star Kevin McGuire returns to the Capital Repertory Theatre as Ebenezer Scrooge in Patrick Barlow’s rousing new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. McGuire – who founded the Theater Company at Hubbard Hall – was recently at theREP, playing artist Mark Rothko in John Logan’s critically-acclaimed Red and previously appeared as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha. He plays a decidedly different Scrooge downtown, surrounded by actor/musicians who remember the fun found in the original tale.

Barlow, an English actor/comedian/playwright, is best known for his hit Broadway adaptation of the espionage thriller The 39 Steps. He has built a career on stripping stories down to their basics and finding frivolity in the midst of tension. In The 39 Steps, one actor played the role of spy hunter Richard Hannay, and three actors played everyone else, often switching characters at high speed in mid-scene. The result was a Charles Ludlam-like wackiness that never lost sight of the true heart of the tale.

Similarly, Barlow’s take on A Christmas Carol – which is being given its second national production at theREP –  is funny, sweet and redemptive, with, as the playwright said, “The beating heart of Dickens still safe and sound within.”

At theREP, a wonderful quartet, featuring Kevin Kelly, Marcy McGuigan, Doug Trapp and Kristyn Youngblood, creates Victorian London all around McGuire’s stingy Scrooge. In addition to juggling roles, they are creating even more characters with puppets (wait ‘til you see Tiny Tim!) and straw dolls, singing Yuletide favorites and providing all of their own accompaniment on a variety of musical instruments.

Preview performances for the family-friendly A Christmas Carol, which runs approximately two hours with one intermission, take place November 22-24. Opening night is Tuesday, November 26. Regular performances continue through Sunday, December 22. Performance times are 7:30 pm Tuesday through Thursday and 8 pm Friday and Saturday with matinees at 3 pm Saturday and 2 pm Sunday and Wednesday, December 4. The Capital Repertory Theatre is located at 111 North Pearl Street, Albany. Tickets range from $20 to $60. Students with valid ID and children under 17 pay $16 for all shows. For tickets and information on other events surrounding these performances, call Tickets by Proctors, 518-445-7469 or visit capitalrep.org.

NYS Youth Snowmobile Safety Course Offered In Grafton

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On Saturday, December 7, the Grafton Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club and the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will host a snowmobile safety course for young people ages 10 to 18. Students must be at least 10 years old on the day of the course. Parents are encouraged to attend and participate. The course will be held at the Grafton VFW/Fire Hall on South Road from 8:15 am to approximately 5 pm. The course will be taught by NYS certified volunteer instructor Jim Blessing. The course will cover topics such as NYS laws and regulations, riding skills, trail emergencies, protecting the environment, maintenance and repair, trailering, etc.  To register, call the Grafton Lakes State Park office at 279-1155 or email Elizabeth.Wagner@parks.ny.gov with the parent’s name, student’s name and age and your phone number.  Space is limited, so no walk-ins please. The course is free of charge, and lunch will be provided.

Andrew P. Bowes

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Petersburgh – Andrew P. Bowes, 50, passed away on Tuesday, November 12, 2013, at the Samaritan Hospital in Troy, NY. He had resided with his wife Debbie (Messier) Bowes and his daughter Helen Bowes in Petersburgh, NY.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Andrew was the son of the late John W. and Helen (Yankowskas) Bowes. He graduated from Averill Park High School. Andrew enjoyed ham radio and was a member of the Troy Amateur Radio Association and the SOVARC radio group in Bennington, VT.

Survivors, other than his wife and daughter, include a brother, John Bowes of Florida, and several nieces, nephews and cousins. He is also pre-deceased by a brother, George Bowes.

Funeral services will be Saturday, November 16, at 11  am from the Immaculate Conception Church on Main Street in Hoosick Falls, NY. There will be no calling hours. Memorial contributions may be made to the Troy Amateur Radio Association through the Mahar Funeral Home, 43 Main Street in Hoosick Falls, NY, 12090, who are handling the arrangements.

Shirley Margaret Bourn

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Hoosick Falls/White Creek – Shirley Margaret Bourn, 86, died at home on November 12, 2013, after a long illness. The daughter of George Arthur and Ellen Margaret (Mooney) Prescott, Shirley was born at her parents’ home in Hoosick Falls, NY, on October 12, 1927.

Educated in Hoosick Falls, Shirley left school in 1943 to work for the war effort at the Specialty Insulation Company in Hoosick Falls, manufacturing distributor parts for military vehicles. After the war she was employed at the Hoosick Falls Undergarment before leaving to work at Tansitor Electronics in Bennington, VT, first on the production line and later in quality control. After Tansitor Electronics changed hands, she worked for a time at The Dress Shop in Hoosick Falls before leaving for employment at Stanley Tools in North Bennington, VT, from which she retired in 1990.

In her younger years, Shirley belonged to the Hoosick Falls Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. A former communicant of the Immaculate Conception Church, Shirley was for many years a member of the Altar Rosary Society and the Church choir.

Shirley married Robert J. Hebert (deceased) of Hoosick Falls on May 16, 1946, with whom she had her two beloved children, Carol A. and husband Mark Folgert of Hoosick Falls and Donald P. Hebert of Johnsonville, NY. She married Carroll H. Bourn on October 15, 1988, who, since 2007, has cared for her at the home they built together in White Creek, NY.

In addition to her loving husband and children, Shirley is survived by her brother, Edward McNary Prescott of Bennington, her grandchildren, Justin Michael Levey and his wife Kelly and Brandon Matthew Levey, all of Florida, and many nieces and nephews. Her sister, Dorothea K. (Mrs. Forrest) Cherbonneau of La Puente, CA, formerly of North Bennington, pre-deceased her in 2009.

Calling hours are Thursday, November 14, from 5 until 8 pm at the Mahar Funeral Home, 43 Main Street, Hoosick Falls. Funeral services will be held at 9:45 am Friday, November 15, from the Mahar Funeral Home and at 10:30 am from the All Saints Church, 4935 NY Route 7, Hoosick, New York. Interment will follow the service in Woodlands Cemetery, Cambridge, NY.

As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern New York or to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society.

Georgianna Grogan

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Hoosick Falls – Georgianna Grogan, 69, passed away on Wednesday, November 6, 2013, at the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation in Bennington, VT. She had formerly resided in Hoosick Falls, NY, with her late husband Gary Grogan Sr.

Born on August 17, 1944, in Hoosick Falls, Georgianna was  the daughter of the late George and Hattie (Haviland) Slocum. She was a graduate of Hoosick Falls Central School. She was later employed by the Hoosick Falls Central School, working with many children throughout the years.

She is survived by her son, Gary Grogan and wife Holly, two grandsons, Dillon and Blake Grogan, all of Hoosick Falls, three sisters, Dona Mattison, Madeline DiMaggio and Cythnia Rider, a niece, Rosalie Hall and Robert, and her nephew, Zachery Hall, all of Petersburgh, NY. She is pre-deceased by two sisters, Helen Sherman and Myra Slocum, and one brother, Alvin Slocum.

The burial will be held at the convenience of the family. The arrangements are being handled by the Mahar Funeral Home, 43 Main Street, Hoosick Falls, NY, 12090.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Cheney Library through the funeral home.