Taconic Valley Soccer Club will hold its annual meeting at the Berlin Town Library at 7 pm on March 26. All members are encouraged to attend. Any player who is on a Spring travel team and who will need a new uniform needs to get their order to their coach or to Jen Burhans at 658-2096 by March 23.
Berlin Teen Night Kick-Off Event
Youth 2 Youth Berlin will be hosting a Spring Fling Teen Event on Thursday, March 21, at the Berlin Middle/High School from 7 to 10 pm. Berlin teens have a night of games, music, dancing, Wii and other activities planned.
There will be music, games, prizes and raffles. Tickets cost $3 in advance, $5 at the door. The ticket includes snacks and beverage.
Tickets can be pre-ordered through the Y2Y Berlin Group, Biffy Cahill, the Main Office at the Berlin Middle/High School. Email Biffy Cahill at BiffyCahill@gmail.com or call her at 518-733-9031.
Celebrating the Revolutionary War At The Grafton Historical Society Meeting
The Grafton Historical Society will meet at 7 pm at the Grafton Town Hall on March 20. At this month’s program the Society will host Marvin Bubie discussing his third book, Celebrating the Revolutionary War, which is an accumulation of seals from places involved in the Revolutionary War. This book is a celebration of the American Revolution, of the unique freedom that resulted from it and of how Americans view civic identity.
Bubie not only shows the seals but recounts interesting and funny stories related to each one. These seals are official and can appear everywhere from welcome signs in our communities, to the podiums from which our officials speak, to identifying municipal buildings, vehicles, etc. Some seals are self explanatory, but many are not. In Bubie’s book, he tries to uncover those meanings and to celebrate the events behind the seal. Marvin’s book takes us through the Revolutionary War using symbols found on municipal seals.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase after the program. The program is free, and the public is welcome. Refreshments will be served. Contact Allison at 518-279-3565 or email historicgrafton@aol.com for more information.
Poestenkill Historical Society Program On Indian Lore
The Poestenkill Historical Society will hold its March meeting at the Poestenkill Town Hall on Rt. 351 on Tuesday, March 26, at 7 pm. Shirley Dunn will present “Mohican Indian Lore.”
The history of this area usually centers on Dutch/English settlement and very little has been published about the Mohicans who occupied this land long before Henry Hudson’s exploration in 1609. Dunn has changed all this through her research of Indian deeds and her publication of two books, The Mohicans and Their Land,1609-1730 and The Mohican World 1680-1750.
The Mohican name means “from the waters that are never still.” Historians say that the original group came from the North and West across the water to settle around the Hudson River. The Mohicans were first encountered by Henry Hudson in 1609.The story of the Mohican Indian is one of a great people who, like other Native Americans, were exploited by the early settlers and eventually ended up on reservations in Wisconsin.
Dunn has worked as a teacher, museum interpreter and historic preservation consultant, member of the Board of the “Friends of Fort Crailo” and was a founder of the Dutch Barn Preservation Society. The public is warmly invited. Refreshments will be provided after the program. For directions, call Patricia at 518-283-5223.
Poestenkill Corned Beef And Cabbage
The Men’s and Ladies Auxiliaries of the Sullivan-Jones VFW Post in Poestenkill are having a Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner on March 16 at 6 pm for one serving. The cost is $12 per person, and children 8 years and under eat for free. For tickets call the Post at 518-283-4661.
Kent’s Sugar House To Host Maple Weekend
submitted by Lilly Hewitt
NYS Maple Producers Association is a not-for-profit comprised of the folks who make maple syrup in New York State. The Association is welcoming everyone to visit member Sugar Houses on “Maple Weekends,” March 16 and 17 and 23 and 24, to learn about the process of making maple syrup. Kent’s Sugar House, a 38 year old local business, will be the Rensselaer County host. It is located at 2529 Plank Road in Berlin and is open from 10 am to 4 pm on both Maple Weekends.
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A Public Meeting On The Rensselaer Plateau Conservation Plan
Please come and join others who live, work or play on the Rensselaer Plateau for a presentation and discussion of the Rensselaer Plateau Regional Conservation Plan (The Plan). On Thursday, March 21, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance (RPA) will host a public meeting at the Carner-Etman-Smith VFW Post in Grafton. Turn on South Street directly across from the Town Store. The VFW Post is 1/3 mile on the right. A copy of the draft plan is available at www.rensselaerplateau.org.
The Plan has been under development for over two years which included community forums in 2010, public workshops in 2011-12 and targeted stakeholder meetings to facilitate public input. The purpose of the Rensselaer Plateau Regional Conservation Plan is to:
• identify the areas with the most significant ecological, economic and community values;
• identify conservation and stewardship needs for those areas, and
• create a toolbox for all of the stakeholders of the Rensselaer Plateau region to use.
Participants will have an opportunity to discuss and comment on the plan. RPA will be accepting individual and organizational comments until May 1, 2013.
Whitney “Bud” Rathbun
Berlin – Whitney H. “Bud” Rathbun, 82, of Green Hollow Road, Berlin, NY, died peacefully on Thursday, March 7, 2013, at Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY, surrounded by his loving family.
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G. Michael Cottrell
Walloomsac – G. Michael Cottrell, 56, a life-long resident of Walloomsac, NY, passed away on Thursday, March 7, 2013, with his loving family by his side, at the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington, VT.
He was born in Bennington on May 6, 1956, and was the loving son of the late George E. Cottrell and Margaret (Lavin) Cottrell of Walloomsac. Michael was a dairy farmer all his life, working the family farm and, recently, for Skip Clark. He was also a life-long member of the North Hoosick Fire Department.
He was the loving husband of Melissa (Suite) Cottrell. Beside his wife, he is survived by his children, Sarah Nason and husband Matt, Kearsten Bushee and husband Eric, Zachary Suite, Katelyn Cottrell and Kelsey Cottrell, and last but not least his grandchildren, Illiana and Logan Nason, whom he loved dearly.
The funeral service was Tuesday, March 12, from the Immaculate Conception Church on Main Street in Hoosick Falls, NY. Burial followed the service at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Hoosick Falls. Relatives and friends called at the Mahar Funeral Home, on Monday evening.
Mary Jane O’Dell
Hoosick Falls – Mary Jane O’Dell, 70, passed away on Sunday, March 10, 2013, at the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Hoosick Falls, NY. She had resided on Elm Street in Hoosick Falls.
Born on January 28, 1943, in Hoosick Falls, Mary Jane was the daughter of the late Kenneth and Ruth (Brownell) O’Dell. She was educated at schools in Hoosick Falls. Mary Jane worked in the family business, O’Dell’s Store, on Elm Street. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Hoosick Falls.
Survivors include her sister, Barbara Zagorski of Hartford, CT, her brothers, William and Richard O’Dell of Hoosick Falls and Robert O’Dell of White Creek, NY. She is also survived by several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. She is pre-deceased by a sister, Elizabeth Peret, and a brother, John O’Dell.
Funeral services were Thursday, March 14, at 10 am from the First Baptist Church on Main Street in Hoosick Falls. Burial followed the service at Maple Grove Cemetery in Hoosick Falls. Relatives and friends called at the Mahar Funeral Home on Wednesday evening. Memorial contributions may be made to the Karen McGovern Memorial Fund through the funeral home.