In honor of American veterans, from Revolutionary times through today, the Bennington Battlefield Historic Site will host a flag retirement ceremony on Veterans Day, November 11. The ceremony will take place at 1pm in the afternoon at the Visitors Center on Caretaker Road.
Local Scout troop members and the Sons of the American Revolution will be in attendance to conduct the flag retirement ceremony. Phyllis Chapman, a history interpreter from Vintage Voices, will offer some remarks about the Bennington Battlefield. A musket salute and patriotic song will also be part of the program.
The Bennington Battlefield Historic Site will be open on Veterans Day from 10 am to 7 pm and then will be closed for the season until May 1, 2014. Please note that the Visitors Center is only open during the program. For more information, please call 279-1155.
Woods Forum On November 14
Did you know that the Rensselaer Plateau is the fifth largest forest in New York State and that it is 90% forested and that those forests are 90% privately owned?
Do you love your land and value your woods? Then attend a Woods Forum conducted by the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance (RPA) on Thursday, November 14, at 7 pm at the Sand Lake Town Hall, 8428 NY 66, Sand Lake.
Join fellow woodland owners and forestry professionals for a discussion on how to maintain the value of your woods for timber harvesting, recreation, wildlife and for future generations. Discuss how to care for your woods today and plan for its future. Talk with and hear about the experiences of other landowners. There is also a chance to win a visit from professional forester, Mary Spring, or RPA gear. Attendees will also receive a copy of the brand new “Guide for Landowners” intended to help landowners find information in the Rensselaer Plateau Regional Conservation Plan that is useful to them. Both of these resources and much more are now on the RPA website at http://rensselaerplateau.org/RensselaerPlateau/ConservationPlan.aspx. Refreshments will be served. Please call Sarah Parks at 302-584-7748 for additional information. This program is co-sponsored by New York Forest Owners Association, the Rensselaer Land Trust and the Agricultural Stewardship Association.
Keep informed of the many activities going on with RPA or the more than 30 Alliance organizations by checking out our new data-base driven calendar of events at http://renpa.azurewebsites.net/.
Rev. Joseph L. Halloran
New Lebanon – Rev. Joseph L. Halloran, 87, died Tuesday, November 5, 2013, at the Teresian House in Albany, NY. Born in Cohoes, NY, on May 30, 1926, he was the son of the late Joseph L. and Elizabeth L. Geiger Halloran. He moved to Troy, NY, at the age of four and was a 1944 graduate of Catholic Central High School in Troy. He attended St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, CT, and did his philosophical and theological studies at Our Lady of Angels Seminary at Niagara University. He was ordained a priest on his 26th birthday, May 30, 1952, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany by Bishop Edmund Gibbons.
[Read more…] about Rev. Joseph L. Halloran
Donald Joseph Decker
Hoosick Falls – Donald “Flea” Joseph Decker died on November 1, 2013, surrounded by his three children. He was born on March 18, 1946, to the late Edward and Rosella (Gates) Decker.
As a young man in the Vietnam era, his plans for college were disrupted by the draft, and at the age of 18 he was sent to war. His ability to run under a five minute mile with full gear on earned him the distinguished honor of joining the Green Beret attachments in Vietnam as a radio operator. He earned a Bronze Star for his service as well as the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Oak Leaf Cluster and a Presidential Unit Citation.
Upon returning stateside, he went to work at Bijur in Bennington, VT, where he worked his way up over the course of 47 years. He spent the last nine years with Bijur living in Greenville, NC, cheering on his beloved ECU Pirates.
Don was the valedictorian of his graduating class at Southern Vermont College in Bennington. He was a dedicated community member and was a member of the Elks Club in Hoosick Falls, NY, for over 40 years, President and coach for the Hoosick Falls Little League and a Board Member at the Hoosick Falls Youth Center.
In 2012 he retired from Bijur and was able to move back to his hometown of Hoosick Falls to be closer to family. He was devoted to his family and thoroughly enjoyed the company of his grandchildren. Don is pre-deceased by his older brother, Edward, his twin brother, Denny, and his younger sister, Sally. He is survived by his younger brother, Pat Decker of Pownal, VT, his three children, Robert Decker of Hoosick Falls, Scott and Aimee Decker of Sarasota, FL, and Barbara and Jon Moore of Essex Junction, VT, his seven grandchildren and a very special friend, Kathleen Ferguson. He also leaves behind the entire Village of Hoosick Falls in which he had too many friends to count. In the words of Flea, “You gotta laugh every day…”
Relatives and friends may call at the Mahar Funeral Home, 43 Main Street, in Hoosick Falls on Saturday, November 9, from 10 am until 1 pm. Services will be at 1 pm from the funeral home. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Hoosick Falls. Memorial contributions may be made to the Ed Carknard Memorial Fund through the funeral home.
Leon A. Morse, Sr.
Hancock – Leon A. Morse, Sr., 81, passed away on Saturday, November 2, 2013, at the Hillcrest Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Pittsfield, MA.
Born in Bennington, VT, Leon was the son of the late Wayne and Ethel Montgomery Morse. He was raised in Bennington where he received his education. He later served his country proudly in the U.S. Army from the time of his enlistment in 1952 until his honorable discharge in 1961. Leon owned and operated Leon’s Shell Service in both North Lebanon, NY, and Stephentown, NY, and Hancock Auto Repair in Hancock, MA. He retired in 1992, as a truck driver, from Henry V. Rabouin, Inc. Trucking Company in Hancock.
Leon enjoyed the times spent with family and friends, restoring antique cars and fishing. He was a motorcycle enthusiast and avid wood worker.
Leon is survived by his beloved wife, Barbara L. Cure Morse, to whom he was married on June 16, 1960, in Rutland, VT. He was the loving father of Kelly L. Morse and wife Maggie Brown Morse of Hancock, Tracy Jo and husband Martin Rogers of Pittsfield, Whitney L. Morse-Koffi and Emile Koffi of Pittsfield, Leon A. Morse, Jr. and wife Julie of Berlin, NY, Wade Morse and wife Niki of Hancock and Joanne George of Bennington. He was the brother of Eleanor Harvey of Shaftsbury, VT, and the late Doris Babson, Marjorie Bond, Kennen, Wayne, Ted and Marie Morse. He is also survived by 23 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren as well as several nieces and nephews.
A funeral service for Leon was held on Tuesday, November 5, at 11 am in the Hall & Higgins Funeral Home, 457 NY Route 43, Stephentown. Interment followed, with military honors, in Hancock Cemetery. Friends were invited and visited with Leon’s family on Monday, November 4, from 4 to 7 pm at the funeral home. For those wishing to remember Leon in a special way, his family asks that donations be made to the Hillcrest Commons Nursing Home, 169 Valentine Road, Pittsfield, MA, 01201, in his memory.
The Life Of George Holcomb – Troubles With Peddling
by Alex Brooks
In the last episode, George went to considerable trouble to prepare for peddling cider and cake at a religious camp meeting. He walked to Pittsfield to make arrangements with the Methodists to allow him to sell on the meeting ground. He was to get a recommendation from a lawyer in Pittsfield to one of the Methodist organizers named Foot. He even bought a keg of “Molaga wine” to sell at the meeting. However, these preparations soon went awry…
Tuesday, June 23, 1829: I called in Pittsfield to C. Martin’s to get the before-mentioned recommend, but he had gone to Lenox and his wife looked in his office but could not find it where he directed, and she stated a few lines to said Foot the situation, but all to no purpose, the Methodists did not admit peddlers on their ground. We got there about ten. We sold but little today for it was quite rainy. Tonight we put our cake and baggage into a house near, and brother Sylvester stayed with it and went to bed, and Mr. Newton and I went on to the camp ground and stayed til nearly midnight. We were requested to leave the camp at ten, but it rained quite hard and we stayed until we were almost forced away. It was dark and rainy and we took shelter in an old sawmill two or three hours until the moonrise and then we went to the house where Sylvester was and our baggage was and took a little rest on the floor by the fire where a number had taken up their lodging.
Wednesday: quite cold, not much peddling until towards night, but a large concourse of people passing to and from the camp. Today Mr. Newton got discouraged peddling and I went to camp a spell and then went home. Tonight brother Sylvester and I went a little further off and put our baggage into a barn and took lodging on the floor with a number of others.
Thursday: This morning we returned to our peddling ground and sold considerable, but did not sell out by a greater part, and tonight we started for home. My horse keeping was 25 cts during the time in Mr. Merry’s orchard. On the way home Sylvester left the cake with Mr. Ross in Pittsfield, what we did not sell, and part my beer and part my homemade cake, and a few glasses my Malaga wine, and the Methodists came and threatened suing if I sold any more and I stopped selling the said wine. It was after midnight before I got home.
Hoosick Falls World War II Veterans Honored
by Bea Peterson
Hoosick Falls World War II veterans were honored Saturday in a special program and lunch at the Armory presented by the Hoosick Falls Voice of a Vet task force. [Read more…] about Hoosick Falls World War II Veterans Honored
The Rest Of The Grafton Town Board Kerfuffles
by Kieron Kramer
One can infer from Grafton Town Supervisor Frank Higgins’ remarks at the Grafton Town Board meeting on October 21 that there have been complaints about the job Town Clerk Sue Putnam has been doing lately and about the fact that her friend, Jim Remington, spends time in the Clerk’s office with her. [Read more…] about The Rest Of The Grafton Town Board Kerfuffles
HFCS Board Votes For Pellet Fuel Heating
by Alex Brooks
At its meeting on October 17 the Hoosick Falls School Board voted unanimously to move forward with the pellet fuel heating project proposed by Bioenergy Partners LLC. The resolution does not fully commit the District to building the pellet fuel heating system – that will happen when a contract is signed, probably in a couple of months. [Read more…] about HFCS Board Votes For Pellet Fuel Heating
