Stephentown

Authors Julie L. Sloan and William J. Patriquin will give an illustrated talk, “The Berkshire Glass Works,” at the Stephentown Historical Society meeting on Monday, March 4, at 7:30 pm. The meeting will be at the Stephentown Heritage Center on Garfield Road, Stephentown. It is free and open to the public. The building is handicapped accessible. For directions or information, phone 518-733-0010.
The purity of the sand found in northern Berkshire County provided The Berkshire Glass Company with an excellent resource for over fifty years of glass making in Berkshire Village, a section of Lanesborough, MA. From its first cylinders of glass blown in 1853, the company’s work grew by leaps and bounds until it was producing 3,000 square feet of glass by 1855. Berkshire Glass Company made regular window glass and colored glass for stained glass windows. The company’s business suffered during the Civil War, but it came out of the strife stronger than ever.
Patriquin and Sloan are experts in the field of stained glass, lifelong residents of Berkshire County and authors of the book The Berkshire Glass Works. They will have copies of that book for sale at $22. William Patriquin, a former biomedical technician, navy diver and chief petty officer has worked as a professional stained glass restorer since 1997. Julie L. Sloan is a conservator and stained glass consultant with an M.S. in Historic Preservation from Columbia University. She is the author of “Conservation of Stained Glass in America” among many other publications on stained glass and its restoration. Their talk will cover a wide range of topics, from manufacturing to architectural art of the times and social history of the community.
They will bring samples of some of the glass produced by the Berkshire Glass Company. Any examples of glass produced in Rensselaer County’s own Glass Lake factory would be welcomed.

The Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department will hold an all you can eat corned beef, cabbage and more dinner on Saturday, March 9, in the Stephentown Fire Hall, 35 Grange Hall Road in Stephentown. The doors will open at 4 pm and close at 7 pm.
Take-out dinners will be available.
Adult and take-out dinners cost $10, $6 for children aged 6 to 10 and free for youth aged 5 and under. No advance registration is required.

The Veterans of Stephentown will hold a Texas Hold’em Tournament on Saturday, March 2, in the Stephentown Fire Hall, located at 35 Grange Hall Road in Stephentown. The doors will open at 5 pm and close at 6 pm. Play begins at 6:15 sharp.
A free buffet will be served at the first break.
No advance registration is required, and a donation of $35 per player will be accepted. Players can make an additional $10 donation at the door for 1,000 extra chips. This tournament will pay one place for every ten players with a minimum of four places and a maximum of nine places.
For further information, please call Tom McVeigh at 518-658 2448.

Would you like a thriving community with local businesses that put money in the Town economy, save you miles of driving and offer you service on a first name basis?  Community Stephentown is working to make that happen.
Formerly known as Sustainable Stephentown, Community Stephentown is working with local businesses to create a business directory.  According to Tom Quimby, who is leading the effort, local businesses are key components of a thriving community.  “Local businesses tend to hire and invest locally. Some local businesses create or grow their products locally, further supporting the economy.  Creating this directory is one concrete step we can take toward supporting them,” said Quimby.  Gathering the information is the first step toward creating the directory.  The form and distribution of the directory will be decided after the information is gathered.
Community Stephentown invites businesses who would like to be listed in the directory, as well as people who want to become active in Community Stephentown, to send contact information to community.stephentown@gmail.com.
For more information, please visit the Community Stephentown website at http://stephentowncommunity.wikispaces.com/.

Camp Logan
Soul Rebel Performance Troupe Inc. (SRPT) will perform a dramatic presentation of Camp Logan on Friday, February 22, at 7:30 pm and Saturday, February 23, at 2 pm.  This drama is based on the 1917 court martials and ensuing executions of 19 black soldiers of the 24th Infantry, United States Army, Houston, Texas. It is written by Celeste Bedford-Walker and directed/produced by Jean-Remy Monnay.
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