Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper
On Saturday, September 13, the Shaker Museum|Mount Lebanon will hold its annual benefit in support of the Museum and its work. This year, our benefit gala will be held in honor of our upcoming exhibition of Dan Graham’s 1984 art video, Rock My Religion.
[Read more…] about Dan Graham’s Rock My Religion At Mount Lebanon
submitted by Police Chief Robert Ashe
The Hoosick Falls Police Department has been receiving several reports from citizens who have received a phone call from individuals who have been engaging the citizen in conversations about their home computer, home services, for example power or phone companies, even about collecting on a bill. [Read more…] about Advice From The Hoosick Falls Police Department
submitted by Kevin O’Malley
The Tractor and Agriculture Show is an exciting feature at the sixth annual Pumpkinpalooza community-wide event. Antique and vintage tractors, horse drawn farm equipment and implements, as well as contemporary machinery, will be on display in Walter A. Wood Park on Saturday, September 27, from 8 am to 3 pm.
Ruck March Is On September 20 From Poestenkill To Grafton And Back
submitted by Gail Smith
The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that there are 52,000 Veterans living in Rensselaer County and the surrounding five counties. Members of the military, from World War II to the War on Terror, experience a myriad of challenges, including post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, substance abuse and mental health problems and problems associated with reintegration, such as finding employment and stable housing.
Come and meet Lucy Larcom, nineteenth century textile mill worker, author, poet and teacher, at the Stephentown Historical Society meeting on Monday, September 8, at 7:30 pm. Phyllis Chapman will portray the Massachusetts girl who started working in a Lowell textile mill at age eleven and went on to become a poet, author and teacher. 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.
Lucy Larcom was the second youngest of eight children whose widowed mother came to Lowell with her children to supervise a boarding house for mill workers. Lucy went to school at first but began working at the textile mill in 1837 to help support the family. Lucy represents the young Yankee women who worked 60 to 75 hours per week for the “highest pay available to women” at that time, from $1.85 to $3 per week. Lucy’s story is also the story of the industrial experiment, in which thousands of Yankee farm girls became skilled, if low paid, factory workers, that transformed the economic and physical landscape of southern New England.
In 1840 a group of female factory operatives, including Lucy and her sister, founded a magazine which carried poems, letters and fiction and was notable nationwide for being published by factory workers. Lucy had a poem in most every issue. In 1846 Lucy left Lowell, taught school, finished her education and eventually left teaching to write full time. Her 1889 book, A New England Girlhood, Outlined from Memory, is still in print today.
Phyllis Chapman has been portraying historic figures for 16 years, starting at the Bennington Museum. She was an art teacher for 21 years as well. She has a Master’s degree in Museum Education from Skidmore College.
Erik and Lauren Parisi of Stephentown welcome their baby son, Erik Joseph Jr., born August 19, 2014. He weighed 7 lbs., 12 oz. and was 21 inches long at birth.
How much do you know about the ecological systems in your backyard? Did you know we live in one of the largest and most ecologically intact native habitats in New York State? On Friday, September 12, at 7 pm, the Grafton Community Library will provide the chance to learn a whole lot more with a free, informative program featuring local experts David Hunt and Rachel Riemann from the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance. They will be demonstrating their recently completed, multi-year GIS mapping project that provides an in depth look at the ecological communities of Grafton and other towns on the Rensselaer Plateau.
Come learn about Grafton’s ecological features such as stream systems and forest interiors that are home to populations of fisher, bobcat, bear, moose, porcupine, hermit thrush and black throated blue warbler, as well as many rare plants. Hunt and Riemann will present the data and the maps and use them to offer a personalized ecological analysis of the local areas where you live.
For more information contact Grafton Community Library at 279-0580 or graftoncommunitylibrary.org
The fall programs at the Petersburgh Public Library will begin on Tuesday, September 9, with pre-school story hour at 11 am. Pre-schoolers and their caregivers are invited to join us for stories, activities, crafts and snacks. In September will be having stories about transportation. Trains will be featured on the 9th and boats on the 16th. If Tuesday morning is not a good time for you, please contact the library and let us know what time would be good for you. There is a survey being conducted to find out what would be good times for story hour and other programs at the Library.
The book discussion group resumes on Wednesday, September 10, at 7 pm when Bring Up the Bodies by Hillary Mantel will be discussed. Copies of the book are available at the Library. New members are welcome to join the group or if you have read the book and would like to join the discussion for the evening you are invited to join us.
Wire wrapping of beautiful stones has been around for centuries, and the simple beauty of a wire wrapped pendant is a piece of jewelry anyone would love. The Grafton Community Library will present an introductory Wire Wrapping Workshop on Saturday, September 27, from 11 am to 2 pm. Instruction will cover basic wire wrapping techniques using sterling silver wire to frame a cabochon and at least one pendant will be finished and ready to wear by the end of class. Suggested minimum age is fifteen. Class size is limited, and advance registration, along with a twelve-dollar materials fee, is required.
Born in Berlin, NY, instructor Sandra Vincent Haggett has had a lifelong passion for the visual arts. She began her artistic journey with instruction in tole and decorative painting and taught classes locally for several years. After an introductory metalsmithing and jewelry-making course at the Arts Center in Troy in 2004, Haggett began creating unique pieces of jewelry. Her work encompasses gold, silver, brass and copper as well as found objects. She continues to teach at the Arts Center.
Register at the Grafton Community Library, located at 2455 NY Route 2, during open hours on Monday, Tuesday 3-7 pm, Thursday, Friday 3-8 pm, Wednesday and Saturday 10 am – 1 pm. Connect with the Grafton Community Library by phone at 279-0580, or visit www.graftoncommunitylibrary.org.
This project is made possible in part through a Community Art$ Grant, a program funded by The Arts Center of the Capital Region through the NYS Council on the Arts.
