Stephentown
Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department Texas Hold’em
The Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department will hold a Texas Hold’em Tournament on Saturday, September 27, 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 ten players with a minimum of four places and a maximum of nine places.
A free buffet will be served at the first break, and refreshments will be available.
For further information, please call John Linton at 518-733-0469.
Thelma A. Locke
Stephentown – Thelma A. Locke of 79 East Road, Stephentown, NY, died July 26, 2014, at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, MA, with family at her side.
Born September 23, 1918, in Groveland, MA, she was the daughter of the late Eugene and Ada (Holland) Aiken. She married the love of her life, Percy W. Locke, on her birthday, September 23, 1945. Together they owned and operated an ice and coal business and a poultry farm. She worked for many years from the late 30s into the 60s as a chicken sexer.
Percy and Thelma moved to the Berkshires in the early 60s where Percy trained and showed Morgan horses (with Thelma always at his side) for Green Meads Farm in Richmond, MA.
Thelma leaves her grandchildren, Erika and husband Joe Voltoline, Michael and wife Marie Locke, Jacob Locke, Nathan and wife Breanna Sumy, Stephanie Sumy, Laura and husband Bill White and Abby Locke, her niece, Sandra Gilmore and partner Greg Knowlton of Chichester, NH, her nephews, Joseph “Pick” Cole and Eugene “Nipper” Cole and his wife Evelyn of Athens, ME, her niece, Thelma and husband Tom Rheaume of Stephentown, and several great-grandchildren and great-nieces and great-nephews.
An animal lover all of her life, she and Percy exhibited their beloved Palomino stallion, Golden Delicious, to many state championships in the 50s and 60s. Thelma also bred and exhibited Boston terriers and miniature poodles. In her later years, she delighted in the company of her many peacocks, especially her favorite, Vane, and Herm the cat.
Thelma is pre-deceased by her husband Percy, who died on February 22, 2001, her two sons, Earle L. Locke and Raymond McFarlane, Jr., her siblings, Daisy Aiken, Dorothy Cole, Earle L. Aiken and Donald Aiken.
A graveside service will be held Saturday, September 20, at 1 pm at Garfield Cemetery, Stephentown. A reception will follow at the Stephentown Fire Department Pavilion.
Arrangements are by the Hall & Higgins Funeral Home in Stephentown.
Stephentown Firemen’s Water Polo
Come watch teams of three Firefighters compete in this head to head competition at the Stephentown Fire Hall on Grange Hall Road on Saturday, September 13. Kid’s Water Polo will be at 4:30 pm; the Fireman’s Competition begins at 7 pm.
Kids will need parents to sign a waiver to participate. Gear will be provided for kid use. Firefighters need to bring their own helmets, jackets and 3/4 boots or bunkers. Food and drinks will be available. Come join the fun!
A Little Night Music For SML
Janet K. Rogers
Stephentown – Janet K. Gill Rogers, 69, passed away Monday, September 8, 2014, at the Mt. Greylock Extended Care Facility in Pittsfield, MA. Born in Port Chester, NY, on April 7, 1945, Janet was the daughter of the late Norman and Elizabeth Wright Gill. Janet was raised in Greenwich and Stamford, CT, and also lived on Long Island, NY, and most recently in Stephentown, NY.
Motocross Track Redux?
by David Flint
“It’s been all fun.” That’s Lebanon Valley Speedway owner Howard Commander talking to a Times Union reporter on the occasion of his receiving a DIRTcar Hall of Fame award last month for his 50 years of dedication to the sport of racing.
But just before the “all fun” wrap-up, Commander made a comment that has gotten some folks pretty riled up. He said he had two things remaining on his bucket list, fixing the flooding on his land, “And on Sunday afternoon I want to see the drag track, motocross track and go-kart track running and being packed full of people.” [Read more…] about Motocross Track Redux?
Lucy Larcom, Textile Mill Worker, In Stephentown
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 Joseph Jr. Is Born
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.
