The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Hoosick

Tara Lamb And Edward Cottrell Are Wed

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Tara Anne Lamb and Edward William Cottrell were united in marriage on Saturday, August 16, 2008, in a private ceremony along the Battenkill River on the grounds of the Georgi Museum and Park in Shushan, NY.  Afterwards the couple, along with their families, enjoyed a private reception at the Eagle Bridge Inn.

Tara is a the daughter of Terry and Christina Lamb of Buskirk, NY. She is a graduate of Hoosic Valley Central School and Hudson Valley Community College. Tara is currently employed at Stewart’s Shop in North Hoosick and Edmaral Farms in Johnsonville, NY.  

Edward is the son of Edward P. Cottrell of Pennsylvania and Betty Smith of Petersburgh, NY.  Ed graduated from Hoosick Falls Central School and attended Hudson Valley Community College.  He is currently employed at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington, VT.

Free Gas Raffle!

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The Hoosick Falls Kiwanis is having a Gas Raffle. For a $5 donation you get the chance to win either $350 (First Prize) or $150 (Second Prize) in free gas from Stewart’s. Or use your certificates for food. This fund-raiser is going to assist the Kiwanis Club of Hoosick Falls in sponsoring a Holiday Party for local children. The Kiwanis Club believes that with the tough economy the children feel it first. For your chance to win, contact any Kiwanis Member or call Roberta Breese at 686-7217.

Everyone Wins At The Liporace Golf Tournament

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On July 25, The Tenth Annual Leonard Liporace Charitable Golf Tournament to benefit the Hoosick Falls Health Center Foundation was successfully held at the Hoosick Falls Country Club with one hundred and eight golfers participating. The Foundation was able to net $14,000 from the event.

First place was awarded to the Mahar Funeral Home team with a score of 58. The Saint Gobain team was a close second with a 59. Other prizes were awarded for closest to the pin, longest putt and most accurate drive. No one was able to win the hole-in-one prize (a 2008 Chevy Cobalt) sponsored by Patire Chevrolet. Golf shirts, acknowledging the 10th Anniversary of the tournament, were provided to each golfer by the Liporace family.

The day was filled with fun and memories with the entire Liporace family in attendance; many who came from out of town.

The Hoosick Falls Health Center Foundation Board of Directors thanks all who participated and sponsored the event.

Letter to the Editor: In Awe Of The Community

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Letter to Editor:

We are life long residents of Hoosick Falls with the last nine years in the North Hoosick-Walloomsac area. Our family recently attended the fund raising event at the North Hoosick Fire House for Luke Hoag and we are in awe of our community, the Fire Dept. and all of their hard working “angels.” The entire event, ran so well from the largest task (food) to the smallest of details and the many generous raffles, was so well organized. Even the weather cooperated! I hope all of you are as proud of this community as we are.

Please remember to continue to keep Luke and his family in your prayers. It goes to show us that big hearts grow in small places.

God Bless All

The Stratton Family

Cottrell Road, Hoosick Falls

Informational Meeting On Hoosick’s Draft Land Use Law

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The Zoning Commission of the Town of Hoosick will introduce its first draft of the Land Use Law of the Town of Hoosick on Wednesday, September 3, at 7 pm in the State Armory in Hoosick Falls. The Town of Hoosick Board established the Commission in November of 2006 and appointed local community members John Cooney, Gail Delurey, Wally Sheffer, Sr., Ellen Scott, John Smith and Marianne Zwicklbauer. Supporting the Commission in the development of the Local Law is Linda VonDerHeide, Principal Planner with Rensselaer County Economic Development.  Town of Hoosick Supervisor Marilyn Douglas is the  Town Board liaison to the Commission.

The purpose of this Information Meeting will be to present an overview of the Local Law to the public.  This meeting will then be followed up with a public workshop scheduled for September 11 at 7 pm at the Armory to listen to public recommendations and questions.  After the public workshop, the Commission will assess the recommendations and concerns for inclusion into the Local Law.  Following this, the Commission plans to present the Local Law to the residents of the various hamlets of the Township and ask for their direction in drawing up a zoning district map and further revisions.

The Local Law will complement the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and provide direction for further Town development.  The public is encouraged to attend and participate in these meetings.

Hoosick Fire District Approves Purchase Of Haynes Ford Property

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by Bea Peterson

The anticipation is over for members of the Hoosick Fire Department. On Tuesday evening 116 people voted on whether the Department should purchase the former Haynes Ford property on Route 7.

After November the Hoosick Fire Department won’t have to park a truck outside to make space to hold a meeting. All the trucks will easily fit into the new building on Route 7. (Bea Peterson photo)
After November the Hoosick Fire Department won’t have to park a truck outside to make space to hold a meeting. All the trucks will easily fit into the new building on Route 7. (Bea Peterson photo)

The site consists of 6.5 acres and two buildings. The cost is $625,000. The vote was 70 yes and 46 no. Hoosick Fire Chief Bill Rifenburgh, Jr. said, “It was a good cross section of the community. I’m glad people showed up. Regardless of the vote, it’s good they came out.” It’s the largest voter turnout the District has ever had. Fire Commission Chairman Bob Breese was surprised at the large turnout. “It’s almost double the number we’ve had for previous elections,” he said. Most times the Department feels lucky if 30 people vote on an issue.

 

“The largest turnout we had,” said Breese, “was the public hearing in 2005 when we wanted to expand this fire house. Sixty people attended.”

Breese and Rifenburgh said they anticipate the move to the new building will take place the first part of November. “We have to get the money, have an engineering assessment of the building, and I have to make another trip to the Planning Board,” said Breese.

Referring again to the 2005 public hearing Breese said, “They told us to go look somewhere else and that’s what we did.”

A Blast From The Past

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The Aluminum Overcast, a B-17G Flying Fortress, restored in the colors of the 398th Bomb Group, is based at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, WI.
The Aluminum Overcast, a B-17G Flying Fortress, restored in the colors of the 398th Bomb Group, is based at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, WI.

by Bea Peterson

When Aaron Burdick of North Hoosick, received the flyer from the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) offering tours of a WW II B-17 Flying Fortress that would be stopping at the Schenectady, NY, Airport, he knew he had to go see it. Burdick was too young to have flown one in the big war, but he did fly one in the late 60s that was converted to a crop duster.  

The EAA has completely restored a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, Army Air Corps serial number 44-85740 and called it the Aluminum Overcast. From 1935 to 1945, 12,732 B-17s were built. Today about a dozen are still flying. The EAA is taking their plane across the country, stopping at airports and offering WW II veterans and aviation buffs an opportunity to tour the giant plane or take a short flight in it. Burdick just wanted to see it. 

He has a lifelong love of flying. “I’ve always enjoyed aviation,” he said. As a kid, living in Petersburgh, he built model planes. As a Boy Scout he joined an Aviation Explorer Post. At 16 he had his pilot’s license. After a stint in the Air Force as a truck mechanic he was a commercial pilot out of Round Lake and then North Adams, MA. He also did charter flights out of Bennington, VT. “Back in ’62 a flight cost $13 an hour,” he said. He would do crop dusting in Florida in the summer. 

After WW II more than 7,000 retired Army bombers, fighters and training planes were left standing row to row at the old Kingman Army Airfield five miles east of Kingman, Arizona. It was the world’s greatest concentration of aircraft in one area at one time, covering five square miles. The planes were sold. B-17s sold for $13,750 apiece. In 1968, Burdick got to fly a B-17 that was converted to a crop duster. “That plane could spray a 120 foot swath,” he said. He worked with the US Department of Agriculture on a fire ant eradication program. There were reports of people eaten by those ants, he said. They couldn’t use a fast acting poison on them. “If the ants saw another ant die from something it ate, they wouldn’t eat it. The USDA used ground up corn cobs treated with a slow acting poison, which worked. In the south he flew Fire Patrols from January 1 to April 15. “After that the watermelons, peanuts and soybeans came in,” and it was crop dusting until August. Then he was off from August to January. For years now he has spent time between North Hoosick and Florida.

Then, on August 12, he and Joyce Glaspell went to Schenectady to see that B-17. Burdick, an EAA member, told the crew of his crop dusting experience with the same model plane. They invited him to join them on their flight the following day to their next destination, Lawrence, MA. Three other people were taking the flight and they were driving a rental car back to Schenectady. Burdick couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that! On Wednesday, Joyce drove him to Schenectady for the flight. When one of the passengers didn’t show up, she was invited to fly with them. The flight was a little intimidating for her. “I didn’t know they had so many holes!” she said, referring to the gun sites. Burdick, who has a lifetime pilot’s license, hasn’t flown in several years. He said he got the thrill of a lifetime when they turned the controls of the B-17 over to him. He flew the aircraft for more than a half hour. “The plane has all new gauges and a GPS,” he said. “It’s much better than the old military gauges. “That GPS is really something! There’s a red line with a little plane on it. You just have to keep the plane on the line!” Burdick admits he loved the 20th century but he’s not geared for the 21st century. Seems like he stepped into it big time last week. 

Facts About The B-17

The B-17 was designed by Boeing. The EAA plane was delivered on May 18, 1945. The B-17 required a crew of 10. Pilot, Co-pilot, Navigator, Bombardier, Flight Engineer (top turret gunner), Radio Operator two Waist Gunners, Tail Gunner and Ball Turret Gunner.

The B-17G is powered by four 1,200 horsepower Wright Cyclone nine cylinder, radial, air-cooled type engines with a 16:9 gear ratio. The propellers are three-bladed Hamilton Standard propellers, 11 feet, 7 inches in diameter.

Empty, the plane weighs 34,000 lbs. Wartime gross weight was 65,500 lbs. Fuel capacity is 1,700 gallons. The plane has a range of 1,850 but could be extended when equipped with “Tokyo Tanks” which provided a total capacity of 3,630 gallons of fuel.

The wing span is 103 feet, 9 inches. The length is 74 feet, 4 inches, The height is 19 feet, 1 inch. The service ceiling 35,600 feet.

The armament was thirteen Browning M-2 .50 caliber machine guns with a fire rate of approximately 13 rounds per second. No gun on a B-17 carried more than one minute’s supply of ammunition.

The bomb load depended on the types of bombs. Maximum normal load could go to 8,000 lbs. If a B-17 was fitted with special external racks, the maximum normal short range bomb load could go as high as 17,600 lbs.

Maximum speed is 300 m.p.h. at 30,000 ft. Maximum continuous speed is 263 m.p.h. at 25,000 ft. Cruising speed is 170 m.p.h.. Landing speed is 74 m.p.h.. Rate of Climb is 37 minutes to 20,000 ft.

231st Battle Of Bennington

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The cannon is fired during ceremonies at the Bennington Battlefield State Park last weekend commemorating the 231st anniversary of the Battle of Bennington. (Bea Peterson photo)
The cannon is fired during ceremonies at the Bennington Battlefield State Park last weekend commemorating the 231st anniversary of the Battle of Bennington. (Bea Peterson photo)

by Bea Peterson

Visitors had ample opportunities from morning to evening to relive history on Saturday, August 16, at the Bennington Battlefield and the Barnett Homestead. Members of the Walloomsac Battle Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Ondawa Cambridge Chapter of N.S.D.A.R. had their usual detailed display of Battle paintings and writings as well as handouts on the top of the hill at the Battlefield. Members of the 2nd Continental Regiment of Artillery, Al Bartlett and Jim Hilton, talked to visitors about the cannon and their soldier’s lives. Eric Snitzer described the life of a German soldier in this war. 

At the Barnett Homestead visitors talked with Joe Craig from the Saratoga National Historical Park who portrays a Revolutionary War surgeon. He described in detail the hardships of those times such as men waiting more than 24 hours for care of their wounds, unsanitary conditions and amputations. Rick Salazar of the Eastern Woodlands Alliance portrayed a Native American and described his campsite and weapons.

Phyllis Chapman of the Vintage Voices churned butter and cooked outdoors. Inside the house other members of the group described the battle and gave tours of the house.

Peter Schaaphok of the Brigade of the American Revolution portrayed General John Stark while he took visitors on tours of the actual battlefields.

In the evening people gathered at the Battlefield for the solemn cannon and musket salutes and placing of wreaths at the monument. Battlefield event coordinator and S.A.R. member John Sheaff said, “We are not here to glorify war but to commemorate this historic event and to remember the sacrifice made by so many over the years.” 

Bringing The Past To Life

As part of the evening program Peter Schaaphok read General Stark’s report of the Battle of Bennington and Paul Loding read a German surgeon’s report of the Battle and his capture. Ingrid Schaaphok opened a window to history in her composite portrayal of Emma Reuter and her compatriots. All her comments are copyrighted by the Brigade of the American Revolution. She began, “Welcome to you all! I am Mistress Emma Reuter from the town of Dutch Hoosick, a bit south of here. I am sure that you all have heard the news that a detachment of Germans, British Rangers and Indian Allies, under Colonel Baum, are headed this way to seize the stores at Bennington. To thwart the plans of General Burgoyne and his foreign minions, a call-to-arms has been raised. And yesterday, my husband set out with his militia company to join the fray. But I have just learned that he may have been wounded, and perhaps fallen into the hands of the enemy! As I have some knowledge of the physic, I most ardently wish to minister to him myself. My duty being clear, I have set out to find him.

While venturing on my unhappy quest, I have met many others swept up by these turbulent times – some performing their duty, others pursuing profit, and many the sad victims of circumstance. Today I would like, if I may, to introduce you to a few of the people I have met on my travels…

General John Stark hails from New Hampshire. He is a veteran of the French and Indian War where he served with Rogers’ Rangers. In the current conflict, he led his New Hampshire troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and then served for a time in the Continental Army. A talented and experienced officer, he has become disillusioned with Congressional politics, as inferior men were promoted to positions that by rights should have been his. 

He returned to civilian life, but with the approach of Burgoyne’s Army, the New Hampshire Council implored him to take command of their troops. He quickly helped raise an army of over 1,000 men, and marched to Manchester, Vermont. From there, he has proceeded to Bennington, and now he faces an historic confrontation with Colonel Baum at Walloomsac.

Like most common soldiers, Jack Culpepper was born to a very humble family. Raised without a proper trade, and unable to secure honest, steady work, his future looked bleak. But a chance encounter with a silver-tongued Recruiting Sergeant infused him with the prospect of glory, adventure and riches. He accepted the King’s shilling, and enlisted in His Majesty’s Army. The Crown has provided him with all the necessities of life: food, shelter, a fair wage and an honorable profession. 

Last May, Col. Frasier was directed to select the two best shots from each regiment and to form a “Company of Select Marksmen.” Culpepper’s extraordinary skill with a musket ensured that he would be one of Frasier’s Chosen Men, and he has served this unit with distinction in actions at Valcour Island, Ticonderoga and last month at Hubbardton. 

Like most soldiers of the Line, he wears a red woolen coat. The decorative tape you see surrounding his buttons is called “lace.” The lace is different for each regiment and serves as a means of identification. His woolen waistcoat and breeches (also called “small clothes”) he is required to pay for himself by means of so-called “stoppages” to his monthly wage. He carries a .72 Caliber smooth bore musket, affectionately known as a “Brown Bess.” As an experienced and well-trained soldier, Pvt. Culpepper is able to fire at the rate of three shots per minute. For close quarter action, he is equipped with a 10” long bayonet; when attached to the end of his musket, it is a formidable and lethal weapon.

Sgt. Hezakiah Cooke once owned a thriving farm and mill in Dutch Hoosick. For many years, the so-called “Green Mountain Boys” have tried to lay claim to his property, believing it to be part of the “Hampshire Grants.” But the Crown always sided with Mr. Cooke in these legal disputes. When the Rebellion broke out, and the King’s Legal Authority was overturned, the marauding Mountain Boys finally seized his land by force. Hezakiah had no recourse but to take up arms, and he joined Peters Corps of the Queen’s Loyal Rangers.

Sgt. Cooke wears his civilian clothes. Because their clothing is so varied, the members of his company have tucked a Continental bank note into the bands of their hats as a means of identifying themselves to each other.

For many years, Jonas Rudd had diligently worked his farm east of Bennington, land that had been deeded to his family under Gov. Wentworth’s New Hampshire Grants. But when the Crown declared the grants invalid, Rudd joined the Green Mountain Boys to fight for their claim to the lands. He has served in the militia for seven years now, and when the alarm was raised that Burgoyne intended to pilfer the stores at Bennington, Jonas eagerly took up his arms. His experience with irregular skirmishing, combined with his knowledge of the local area, will no doubt serve him well in the upcoming struggle against Baum and his detachment. 

Mr. Rudd wears the civilian clothes customary for militia men. He carries his own arms. His haversack contains food to sustain him while he is mustered away from home.

Charlotte Newcomb is the beloved only child of a prosperous merchant in Williamstown. Her father’s Tory leanings put him at odds with the so-called “Patriots.” The antagonism eventually erupted in a most tragic episode. One fateful night, an over-zealous group burned their fine home to the ground, and poor Mr. Newcomb perished in the conflagration! With no other family to take her in, the unfortunate girl has sought temporary refuge and protection with Peter’s Corps. She hopes to make her way to Canada, where other Loyal citizens have found safe haven. Though severely reduced in fortune and circumstance, Charlotte tries to maintain her genteel appearance…

Private Gottfried is a career soldier from Brunswick in the lower Saxony region of Germany. I have heard many people disparage these German troops, calling them mercenaries or soldiers of fortune. Yet in truth, an enlisted soldier like Pvt. Gottfried, merely serves his prince. Perhaps, it is the Duke of Brunswick, induced by political and financial motives to hire out his army to the British Forces, who might more accurately be called “a mercenary.” 

Pvt. Gottfried is immediately recognizable as a German soldier by his blue wool regimental, his long hair wrapped in a queue and the full-gaitered trousers covering his legs. He carries a “tournister,” a unique kind of pack, which contains spare clothing, bedding and what few effects he might own.

His Brown Bess musket was issued to him by the British army. And German infantry is armed with swords, a privilege afforded only officers in the British and American armies. These intimidating troops truly inspire awe.

Many Flags is a Native ally attached to the company of Select Marksmen. He is a Cahn-ah-wah-gah Mohawk from Trois Rivieres near Montreal, a cousin to the tribes of the Mohawk River Valley. 

Unused to open field fighting, most of his native brethren have fled back to their homes following the engagement at Hubbardton. But Many Flags is a man of his word and has stayed on, serving as a Guide and Scout.

100 years of association with Europeans is reflected in Many Flags’ clothing. He wears his hair long, not shaven, and he has donned a European-style shirt. His sash indicates his rank. He does sport the leggings and breechclout of his people, and around his neck are “war trophies,” including a French gorget given to him by his father who fought in the Seven Years War. He also carries his father’s French fusil musket. 

“I hope you have enjoyed meeting some of the men and women caught up in these momentous events,” Emma Reuter concluded.  “Indeed, there are many such fascinating characters here today, and I heartily encourage you all to make their acquaintance. 

Oh, yes! If there is any among you who can oblige me with information regarding my unfortunate husband, I shall forever remain your most humble and grateful servant …”

Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte At Hubbard Hall Is A Rich Experience

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review by Alex Brooks

The first production of the Hubbard Hall Opera Theatre opened this past weekend to a packed house at Hubbard Hall. The show was Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, in which two pairs of young lovers test their fidelity under the skeptical eye of the wealthy philosopher Don Alonso, who bets the young swains their lady loves will not remain constant in their absence. After staging their disappearance under the guise of army orders to depart, the two young lovers return tricked out as “Albanian nobles” trying to woo each other’s fiancees.  Don Alonso recruits the ladies’ maid Despina to aid his schemes, and the game is on.

The fact that the two lovers in their disguise are reminiscent of Matt Groening’s characters Akbar and Jeff only adds to the hilarity. Despina has some fun ribbing them about their goofy costumes. Ivan Amaro, playing Don Alonso, Alix Jones, playing Despina, and Kara Cornell, playing Dorabella, are all accomplished comedians and get a lot of mileage out of wry expressions and  subtle glances.

It’s unusual for opera to be so intimate. Most big-time opera is in large houses where audience is quite a distance from performer, and the acting is necessarily broad. To have it so close is a delight.

One might have supposed an opera in Cambridge NY would be populated with young, inexperienced, or shaky singers. One would be supposing wrong. The quality of the music and the singing voices is astonishing. Some are professionals from New York City, some are very talented local or sort of local artists. The small orchestra assembled by Conductor Richard Giarusso is very solid. The company was apparently assembled largely by Alix Jones, who in addition to singing the role of Despina, is the founder of this opera company and the Production Manager.

The opera is sung in Italian, which gives the audience a lot to do – appreciating the music, taking in the dramatic action, and keeping track of the English translations projected on a small screen keeps the spectator busy. In addition, the show can be taken on several levels. It can be understood seriously, as a meditation on human fickleness, or it can be seen as primarily a romp, with comedy foremost. There is much more to say about it than I have space for here, but suffice it to say that this is an auspicious debut for this opera company, and it is a rich experience well worth the trip to Hubbard Hall.

Remaining performances are August 21 and 23 at 8 pm, and August 24 at 2 pm. Tickets are $30, $25 for members, $20 for students. For information or reservations, call (518) 677-2495

Hoosick Receives Farmland Protection Grant

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by Bea Peterson

Hoosick was one of 14 towns that recently received grants from the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets to develop a Farmland Protection Plan. Town Supervisor Marilyn Douglas said the $25,000 grant will be used to process and identify all the farms in Hoosick with prime soils as well as open space. “The objective is the preservation of farm lands and the purchasing of development rights to those lands.” The Town will be talking to David Haight, Director of the NYS American Farmland Trust, about overseeing the project. “Establishing a town-wide plan will put our farmers in a better position to receive funding to sustain their land and to help them identify other farm related sources of revenue,” she said. Supervisor Douglas said the County has a Farmland Protection Plan, but she believes Hoosick is one of the first Towns in the County to develop its own plan. “I believe farming is an important business in the Town, and it’s important we preserve its economic vitality. This grant will help to further the preservation of our farmland.”

According to a release from the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets, since the program’s inception in 1996, NY has awarded more than $151.4 million out of the Environmental Protection Fund for farmland protection projects, assisting local governments and their project partners in 26 counties to help protect 63,800 acres on 276 farms. To date nearly half of those project contracts have closed, protecting in perpetuity 28,138 acres of farmland. NYS has 7.5 million acres of farmland with more than 34,000 farms.