Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Critters delight children

AMENIA — On Monday, Aug. 29, the Two-by-Two Animal Haven paid a visit to Indian Rock Schoolhouse in Amenia.

The traveling zoo brought with it several baby goats, a dragon-like lizard, a tortoise who shared space with a furry bunny, some attractive chickens and an irresistible 8-month-old kangaroo named Macaroni.

The well-attended event was hosted by the Amenia Free Library.

Jessica Santiago and Heather Iannucci from the mini-mobile animal kingdom were the ones who brought the animals. They introduced the critters to many excited children, not to mention their enthusiastic caretakers.

The purpose of the program, noted both the library and Two-by-Two, was to educate people about animals, and ways to protect their welfare and survival.

Two-by-Two Animal Haven is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that’s been teaching local residents and little ones about animal conservation since 1993.

The deep-red one-room Indian Rock Schoolhouse was built in 1858 and is located at 25 Mygatt Road.

For more information about Indian Rock Schoolhouse, call 845-378-8338 or go to www.indianrockschool.org.

To contact Two-by-Two Animal Haven, located in Pleasant Valley, go to www. twobytwoanimalhaven.com.

To contact the Amenia Free Library and learn of its offerings, call 373-827-3845 or go to www.amenialibrary.org.

— Judith O’Hara Balfe

Local children were brimming with excitement to be introduced to one of the traveling zoo’s goats. The goats seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. Photo by Judith O'Hara Balfe

Makenna Freeswick tended to Macaroni, an adorable kangaroo. Makenna was happy the Two-by-Two Animal Haven visited Amenia last week, adding Macaroni was very cuddly. Photo by Judith O'Hara Balfe

Local children were brimming with excitement to be introduced to one of the traveling zoo’s goats. The goats seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. Photo by Judith O'Hara Balfe
Millerton News

Latest News

The Millerton News - October 1, 2026

The Millerton News - October 1, 2026

Download directly

Celebrating Dick Hermans’ life built around community

Celebrating Dick Hermans’ life built around community

Dick Hermans in the Oblong Bookstore on Millerton\u2019s Main Street in 1985.

Provided
No matter what I’ve done, I’m trying to be useful to the communities I’m associated with.
— Dick Hermans

When Dick Hermans receives the Estabrook Community Leadership Award on Oct. 11, he will accept it for a lifetime of work that has taken many forms: bookseller, radio host, school board member, advocate for the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, business owner, volunteer and, perhaps most importantly, a person who has consistently looked for ways to be useful to the communities around him.

The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News will present Hermans with the 2026 award at the annual Jubilee celebration at the Sharon Playhouse. The award honors outstanding leadership in community service and was inspired by Mary Lou and Robert Estabrook, former owners of the newspapers who believed that strengthening a community extended well beyond the work of publishing a newspaper.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community

Tending the Fire: Homelands PowWow brings Mohican culture home to the Berkshires

Tending the Fire: Homelands PowWow brings Mohican culture home to the Berkshires

Members of the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe at Homelands PowWow in 2025.

Joeseph Plante New Media Storytellers
Our goal is to continue building an annual gathering that honors the history, culture and traditions of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans in their original Homelands.


For the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican people, the Berkshires are not simply a place to visit. They are ancestral homelands.

Keep ReadingShow less
community
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Ancram Center’s “A Number” doubles questions of identity

Ancram Center’s “A Number” doubles questions of identity

How would you feel if you found out you weren’t the only you — if there was an exact replica of you? What if you found out that you’d been cloned? Would you believe that you’re the real you? Would you suspect you might be a copy of the original? How could you be sure anything about your life was real? These are some of the questions posed in Caryl Churchill’s play “A Number,” opening at the Ancram Center for the Artson Oct. 1.

Churchill was born in London in 1938 and has been hailed by the theaterl world as one of the strongest voices of her time to take on sexual politics and feminist themes. Her works garner pointedly considered analysis from the highest levels of theatrical intellectualism. Basically, it’s about as far from “The Lion King” as you can get. While she’s experimented with dance theater in the past, “A Number” is much more stripped down, highlighting Churchill’s chosen themes and the skills of both actors on stage.

Keep ReadingShow less
performances

Dispatches from the Farm

Dispatches from the Farm

Adamah Farm crew members planning out the day’s tasks on a late September day.

Janna Siller

“Dispatches from the farm” is a new, periodic column offering a firsthand look at the rhythms, challenges and rewards of farming through the eyes of a local farmer.

The thing about plants is that they can’t get up and move. When a storm like last weekend’s nor’easter threatens to roll through, you can’t just round everybody up and settle them safely on the sofa for movie night.

Keep ReadingShow less
dispatches-from-the-farm

Pinchas Zukerman brings an all-Beethoven program to Hotchkiss

Pinchas Zukerman brings an all-Beethoven program to Hotchkiss

Pinchas Zukerman to perform at Hotchkiss Oct. 4

Cheryl Mazak

The passion, drama and energy of Beethoven will fill Katherine M. Elfers Hall at The Hotchkiss School on Oct. 4, when world-renowned violinist Pinchas Zukerman is joined by pianist Shai Wosner for a special recital.

The 4:30 p.m. program at the Esther Eastman Music Center will feature three of Beethoven’s celebrated violin sonatas: Violin Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23; Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24, “Spring”; and Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.