AMENIA — Apart from the sounds of passing cars, distant train whistles and the occasional community gathering, those who visit the town of Amenia are likely to find peace and quiet most weekends. However, a few people were surprised to hear crowing in the town earlier this month as a rogue rooster was spotted walking around the business district, making his presence known with a loud “cock-a-doodle-do.”
As one of the first people to report the rooster’s crow, Sheila Petnuch Fields, a Hudson Valley freelance writer and founder of www.AwakenedWoman.me, said she first heard the rooster on Saturday, Oct. 17. She could hear his incessant crowing around the Main Street area, and thought it strange as she had would not have expected to hear a rooster in the mixed commercial and residential area.
“It sounded like he was sending out an SOS, like ‘E.T. wants to go home,’” Fields said, adding that his crowing tugged on her heartstrings.
The following day, Sunday, Oct. 18, Fields said she was again walking in the area and happened to notice a rooster in the yard of a house in the area. The gentleman who lived there, she said, happened to be in the yard and they began chatting, though she soon found out that the rooster she had heard the day before was not the same as the one in the gentleman’s yard. Continuing her walk around the neighborhood, Fields kept her eyes open in case she saw the rooster she was looking for before she eventually ended back on Main Street.
Popping into Yellow Submarine Used Books, located on Route 343, Fields chatted with the store’s owner, Mary Thompson, and eventually turned the conversation to hearing the rooster. It was then that Thompson revealed that she and her husband, Robert, had seen what she believed was the same rooster crossing traffic on Route 343.
Thompson said that she had seen the rooster in question on Friday night, Oct. 16, when a neighbor living above the bookshop had called her attention to him. Giving a description of the reddish rooster, she said, “He looks quite ornamental, he’s very colored, so I’m hoping he wasn’t a fighting rooster or [that] somebody had him for poor reasons.”
Thompson told Fields that she and her husband thought the rooster may have gotten hit by a vehicle when Robert later saw feathers on the side of the road. A customer at Yellow Submarine Used Books mentioned that the rooster looked like he had a wing hanging down when they saw him. Thompson noted that a neighbor said a hen had found the rooster and was hanging around him on Sunday.
While Thompson doesn’t know whether or not the rooster and hen are a pair, she voiced her concern about their safety as “nobody seems to be looking for them.”
After hearing about a sighting of the rooster, Fields decided to continue her pursuit. There, she came across the tell-tale rooster and snapped a photograph of the feathered fowl.
Recalling her encounter, Fields said, “He allowed me to get fairly close and talk to him. He seemed a bit lethargic, which led me to believe he had been clipped, and he was resting. Typically, when you see a rooster or a hen, they’re walking around pecking, but this little guy was all settled in.”
When asked whether she had reached out to someone about the rooster, Fields said she was going to call the town’s animal control officer on Monday morning, Oct. 19. Come Monday, she said she didn’t hear any reports that the rooster was crowing and assumed that either someone had taken him to a veterinarian or that he had passed away.
“I would be curious to find out where he came from,” Fields mused. “Where did him come from and where has he gone?”
If any readers of The Millerton News know what has become of this rogue rooster, email kaitlinl@millertonnews.com, and the paper will try to run a follow-up article in the future. We hope there will be good news to share.
AMENIA — The first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School went smoothly, with teachers enthusiastically greeting the eager young students disembarking from buses. Excitement was measurable, with only a few tears from parents, but school began anyway.
Ready for her first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School, Liliana Cawley, 7, would soon join her second grade class, but first she posed for a photo to mark the occasion.Photo by Leila Hawken
AMENIA — While the courage and perseverance of Revolutionary era patriots is well understood and celebrated, the stories of the fate of British loyalists in New York are not as clear.
Seen as the initial event in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Amenia Historical Society will present a talk titled, “The Plight of a Loyalist in Revolutionary New York,” examining the journal of Cadwallader Colden, Jr., spanning the period of 1777-1779. The speaker will be noted author, genealogist and historian Jay Campbell.
The talk is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. at the Smithfield Presbyterian Church in Amenia. The handicapped-accessible church is located at 656 Smithfield Valley Road. Refreshments will be served.
Colden was the son of a New York Lieutenant Governor. He was a surveyor, farmer and mercantilist, serving as a judge in Ulster County. His fortunes changed dramatically with the dawn of the Revolutionary War when he remained loyal to the British Crown. His arrest came in 1776, just before the start of his journal.
Campbell is a historian specializing in Hudson Valley history, and the regional stories of Revolutionary era families.
Erin Rollins of Millbrook in the Fashion Feed booth, open year round, at the Millbrook Antiques Mall. All proceeds from Fashion Feeds go to the Food of Life Pantry. As an interior designer by trade, Rollins designed this booth to evoke a high-end department store to align with the designer brands she carries.
MILLERTON — The Townscape 50/50 raffle drawing has collected a pot of more than $7,000.
That raffle drawing will take place this Saturday at 2 p.m. in Veteran’s Park. The moment is not just about picking a winner, but also about reflecting on how far Townscape has come since its humble beginnings in 1998, when founder Catherine Fenn — alongside Renee Vollen and Jan Gilmor — first set out to beautify her beloved village.
Fenn’s connection to Millerton runs deep. “I moved here from the Bronx when I was eight years old and fell in love with the place, even as a child,” she recalled, remembering camping trips at Rudd Pond and enjoying the quiet pace of life.
At 15, her family relocated to southern Connecticut. “My dad didn’t think there was much here for us, so we moved. I left kicking and screaming, literally, and I said, ‘Someday I’m coming back.’”
Years later, after marrying, divorcing, and raising children, Fenn kept that promise. She returned to Millerton and married a childhood friend who was very involved in the fire department. After his passing, Fenn threw herself into her own way of giving back.
“I care about this village deeply. Townscape is my way of helping Millerton be the best it can be,” she said.
What began as an informal effort to gather volunteers and plant flowers eventually blossomed into something larger. “We started with flowers up and down Main Street — barrels of them everywhere. Then it grew into benches, tables, trees and even events. It was such a fun world, a really wonderful organization with so many people involved.”
Fenn’s service to the community extends beyond beautification. She spent roughly two decades on the Planning Board, served as Town Supervisor and worked with the county housing authority. Still, her passion for flowers, trees and landscapes has left the most visible mark on Millerton — shaping not only how the village looks, but how it feels.
In 2006, Townscape became a nonprofit organization. But beautification, Fenn admits, isn’t always the easiest cause to fund. “We’re just putting flowers out — and I shouldn’t say ‘just,’ because to me it’s really important. The trees, the benches, all of it matters. But it’s not high on most people’s list when they think about charitable donations. Still, people have been wonderfully generous over the years.”
This Saturday’s raffle drawing is one way neighbors can show their support. The winner does not have to be present to claim the prize, but those who stop by can enjoy cookies, lemonade and artwork by local creators on display in the park.
MILLBROOK — Local crows should prepare to become highly spooked as planners of Millbrook Community Day, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 20, have announced that a Scarecrow Contest will be part of the festivities.
Residents are invited to get creative and devise their own renditions of a scarecrow from traditional to whatever imagination might come up with.
Judging criteria will include creativity, including originality, new ideas, or perhaps whether the scarecrow tells a story. Design criteria include the creator’s technique, materials — recycled materials are emphatically a plus — and durability.
Rules include that scarecrows be free-standing, able to stand on their own or with minimal support. No scarecrow can be store-bought. Entries must be able to fit within a 6 x 6 foot space once assembled. A stand is available upon request. Scarecrows must be non-political, family friendly, and in a good-natured spirit.
Entrants are responsible for set-up, scheduled from 9 to 10 a.m. on Sept. 20, location to be assigned the week before. Judging will begin at 1 p.m. Winners will be announced at 2 p.m.
For more information and to register to participate, email mba@millbrooknewyork.com or go to www.millbrooknewyork.com/community-day-2025
