Diana Bethke, Nancy McKensie, Susan van Togeran and Chali Paley present some of the offerings they grow for the St. Thomas Comida de Vido / Food of Life Pantry in Amenia Union.
AMENIA — Much of the fresh produce “neighbors” receive each Friday from the Comida de Vido/Food of Life Pantry at the St. Thomas Church in Amenia Union comes from the hands and hearts of a small band of volunteers who faithfully tend two gardens from the emerging spring through the chill of early winter.
The pantry is unique among others in the area in that the organization uses the grounds surrounding the picturesque 172-year old Episcopal church to serve anyone from anywhere who otherwise might go hungry.
The larger of two plots, known as The Giving Garden, is under the direction of ultra-enthusiastic Marsha Kaufman who says she loves the job she took on five years ago.
While carefully tending to the garden every day, she lauds the loyalty of volunteers Diana Bethke, Nancy McKensie, Susan van Togeran and Chali Paley and church warden Jim Wright who work several times each week. As of the end of July, they had coaxed some 1,200 pounds of food from the soil.
Saying of the expanse which is about the size of half a football field, she notes that in recent years, the garden has become more productive as the quality of the soil has been enriched and growing space has expanding thanks in large part to grants from the Millbrook Garden Club.
Recognizing that some plants such as small squash and beans didn’t need much support, the group used initial grants to build boxes against the fences which helped those plants to grow upward. With a smile in her voice, she said, “We make the most of what we have.”
The wide variety of produce from the garden follows the seasons and, according to the Rev. A.J. Stack, is used exclusively to stock the pantry which serves on average 130 families each week. There are no residency, registration, nor income requirements, with free weekly visits welcome every Friday from 3 to 5 p.m.
He says some 30 volunteers man the program with anyone involved in any way at any level referred to as “neighbors.”
“Any and all welcome,” he said.
The seasonal produce is supplemented by meat, bread, butter, cheese and canned goods. Paper and personal products are also available. A portion of the items are packed for distribution, but others can be chosen depending on individual needs.
All of that can also be topped off by a visit to the recently created Jean Krulis Teaching Garden which contains a wide variety of plants such as herbs, onions, peppers and even flowers. Stack says the garden is enclosed “to keep out the critters” but that the gate is always unlocked so that is can be accessed anytime something is needed — perhaps to spice up a meal. It receives about 50 visitors each week.
The site was created last year in honor of the late Krulis who was responsible for the creation of the gardening program at the church. It is currently run as a collective effort by volunteers Juana Perez, Gaye Parise and Danny Percefull.
In addition to the community “pick your own” portion, it also contains individual plots, begun in the spring by anyone interested in growing their own produce with the church supplying seeds, starter plants, tools and advice.
The property also features shaded picnic tables where all are welcome to have their lunch or just spend time in the open air.
Stack says next year they plan programs and classes focusing on food and gardening. Noting that the church has plenty of space, he hopes more families will take advantage of all the free opportunities to connect with the earth and the community.
For more information on the church, located at 40 Leedsville Road, Amenia, call 845-373-9161.
Peter Riva
The short answer is yes for urban areas. The longer answer – for the planet – no, not currently. Here’s why:
1. Oil fired powerplants generate electricity by burning fossil fuels in the form of oil. These are called thermal utility-scale oil-fired plants. They extract energy from the oil. The percentage of energy they extract run only 30% - 40% of the energy the fuel is capable of, so-called “contains.”
2. Gas fired powerplants generate electricity by burning gaseous forms of fossil fuels – mostly “natural gas” piped up from the ground reserves. These are called Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) systems. They extract energy from the gas using gas turbines. The percentage of energy they extract run only 33% - 60% of the energy the fuel is capable of -- depending on whether the newer plants have Heat Recovery Steam Generators added where they approach 60% efficiency.
3. Coal fired powerplants generate electricity by burning fossil fuels in the form of hard coal. The percentage of energy they extract runs only 30% - 45% - the 45% plants are ultra modern plants of which there are very few.
4. The USA overall average electricity production by powerplants using fossil fuels is an approximate fuel efficiency rating of 42%.
5. Atomic power plants, solar farms, and wind generation are hugely expensive to install and legislate but operate at between 85% and 92% efficiency based on input running costs. That does not include environmental post use or recycling costs for spend radioactive fuel rods which have a half-life of tens of thousands of years.
Putting aside the discussion of transportation (oil, coal, gas moving from mine or well to a powerplant), infrastructure (drilling, mining, pipelines), and never least the financing of refineries and powerplants by Wall Street, the comparison of efficiency for automobiles using either electric or gas/diesel modes, all rely on the overall efficiency of the energy consumption needed per mile. And energy consumption must take into account the efficiency of the engines using the fuel.
Now, it has to be said that electric cars cause less pollution, while running, than diesel or gasoline cars. That is why they are better for urban environments, just as catalytic converters were essential to stop smog related illness in tight urban environments. However, not causing as much pollution in situ does not take into account their consumption of fossil fuels in the production of that electricity and that resultant pollution globally. At best, therefore, electric cars are operating at 42% fuel efficiency and must face fair comparison to the most modern car engines in order to secure the label of “friendly to the environment.”
Mercedes Benz has a test program, as do several other manufacturers and engineering firms. It is called Formula 1 racing. MB produced a car engine that is so efficient it has an output of 50% of the fuel’s potential energy. Coupled with regenerative braking (hit the brakes and you are engaging a generator instead of disc brake coupled with inboard batteries to produce a hybrid system for more efficiency), overall most Formula 1 racing cars average between 60% - 72% efficiency overall depending on track conditions.
When you compare that new fossil fuel engine efficiency of 60%+ to electric cars using current electricity generation averaging 42% efficiency for the same amount of fossil fuels, electric cars have not, yet, reached parity or added benefit for the environment.
Of course, generation of electricity is an investment nightmare but with huge rewards for the whole planet. Electricity is easier to transport to where it is needed than fossil fuels. If you can build a more efficient powerplant, like the nuclear fusion reactors under development that produce no waste, then indeed electric power for cars and all means of transportation is the wiser choice longer term.
But, for the moment, when you see your neighbor’s car burning gasoline or diesel, and you drive an electric car, understand the choices you are making for your local pollution are worthwhile, but overall you may actually be polluting more. The hope is that soon electricity may be generated more efficiently to make your electric car actually environmentally friendly.
Peter Riva, a former resident of Amenia Union, New York, now lives in Gila, New Mexico.
Millerton News
The following excerpts from The Millerton News were compiled by Kathleen Spahn and Rhiannon Leo-Jameson of the North East-Millerton Library.
April 18, 1935
$346.40 Worth Of Clothing Distributed By Red Cross
Clothing distributed to needy families during the past winter by the Town of North East branch of the American Red Cross amounted to $346.40 in value, it was disclosed at a recent meeting when reports were heard on the work accomplished up to the first of April. Eighty-eight garments were made by members of the local branch, representing 174 hours of work.
Authorities Smash Poultry Theft Ring
[Sic] poultry-theft ring which has been operating in the central part of Dutchess County and even as far east as Amenia and Dover Plains was broken last week by Sheriff Hiram C. Carroll’s force and State Troopers. Two men were arrested as they were about to deliver a load of thirty-nine chickens and a teletype alarm was sent out for the alleged leader of the gang. Taken in custody were George Corey, 19, of Washington Hollow and Patterson, charged with third degree burglary, and Malcolm Florence Jr., of Washington Hollow, held as a material witness. Three other youths, including two brothers of the Florence boy, were released after making statements to the sheriff’s attaches.
John Ferris, 54, is sought as the leader of the ring. The teletype description of him was: five feet, nine inches tall; weight about 200 pounds; bald head; when last seen wore high-top brown boots, riding pants, gray coat and soft gray hat.
Finds Balloon, Gets Free Pair of Glasses
Because he picked up the remains of a toy balloon he found in a pasture lot on his farm, Samuel T. Goodman of Avon, Conn., will find it a little easier to read the small type in his newspaper evenings [sic]. Attached to the remnants of the balloon was the business card of Dr. Harry S. Tripp, optometrist of Millerton and Beacon, stating that the finder would receive a free pair of glasses. The balloon was released by Dr. Tripp at the opening of the Brinckeroff Road, in the southern part of Dutchess County, last spring.
Although Dr. Tripp had given up hope of ever learning of the balloon’s fate, he received a letter with the tag enclosed from Mr. Goodman the other day. The farmer will be fitted with a new pair of glasses at Dr. Tripp’s office here.
Farmers May Secure Loans For 1935 Crops
Emergency loans for producing 1935 crops and for the purchase or production of feed for livestock are now available to farmers who can qualify under the regulations, according to recent [sic] announcement. In accordance with the Act of Congress authorizing the loans and regulations issued by Governor W. I. Myers of the Farm Credit Administration, Ioans will be made only to farmers who are unable to obtain elsewhere seed, fertilizers, supplies, feed or the necessary credit to purchase such items. Loans will not be made to applicants who can obtain credit in the amount needed from any other source, including the production credit association.
Any farmer who has the necessary security should apply to the production credit association first. If the association is unable to make him a loan in the amount needed the farmer will receive a statement to that effect and will be considered eligible to apply for a loan from the emergency fund.
The regulations provide that the largest loan to one farmer this year is $500 and the minimum $10, but no loan may be made in an amount greater than is actually needed to cover the cash cost of purchasing seed, fertilizers, supplies, feed, etc. Loans will be made for the purpose of growing and harvesting crops, for summer fallowing, for purchasing feed for livestock; but not for the purpose of purchasing livestock or machinery, or for the payment of debts or taxes.
April 15, 1976
Reading Committee Sponsors Lottery
The Reading Committee of Webutuck Central School is sponsoring a lottery in connection with a special collection of mystery stories and books.
The committee is collecting as many mysteries as they can through loan and donations and will make them available to the students in the Junior-Senior High to borrow.
For each book borrowed and returned, the students will place an index card with their name and a short report into a drum. At the end of the month, there will be a drawing and prizes awarded. The more books read will afford a greater chance of winning a prize.
The Reading Committee requests anyone who has mystery books to donate either leave them at the high school or call the school to arrange to have them picked up (leave a message for Mrs. Longstreth or Mrs. Clark). There will also be a place to leave books in the front hall on the night of the Bicentennial Celebration.
Books will be available for student use April 12 - May 11.
Fire Destroys 80 Acres
A grass fire caused by an overturned garbage incinerator devoured 80 acres of grass and woodland in Gallatin on Saturday, April 10.
The fire started on Saturday morning at the home of Gene Case. According to firemen at the scene the incinerator was in poor condition and it apparently disintegrated.
Milan and Ancram Fire Companies attended the fire which raged for most of the day.
April 19, 2001
Gift Shop/Gallery Relocates in Millerton
MILLERTON - Rhinebeck resident Alyssa Knapp has officially opened the doors of her recently relocated gift shop and art gallery, Luminari.
Ms. Knapp has moved her store from Rhinebeck to Millerton, and is now located on Main Street, adjacent to the Mane Street Salon and next to the Millerton Moviehouse.
Offering a wide variety of gift items, from the classical to the whimsical, Luminari also features local artists’ creations, such as sculptures, paintings and photographs.
Ms. Knapp described Luminari’s offerings as “an eclectic mix.” According to Ms. Knapp, the store harbors “hand-made, one-of-a-kind articles, as well as mass-produced gifts.” Ms. Knapp believes this variety of merchandise allows for a more flexible price range.
“I try to mix it up, so there is always something for everyone,” she said.
Ms. Knapp looks forward to becoming a part of the Millerton community.
“I’m very excited about meeting new people and artists,” added Ms. Knapp. She encourages people to make themselves known to her: “I’m not going to know you’re there if you don’t talk to me, so just come on by.”
Nathan Miller
MILLERTON — The Climate Smart Task Force is gearing up for a busy April.
Millerton and North East’s joint Climate Smart Task Force is a group of community volunteers who work to promote green initiatives in the community that earn the town and village points toward grant funding opportunities. The group is part of a statewide initiative known as Climate Smart Communities that promotes environmentally conscious policies at the municipal level.
Committee member Kathy Chow said April is typically an active month for the group because of Earth Day, but this year brings more activity as Millerton seeks certification under the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA initiative.
Chow said the weekend of Saturday, April 18, will be busy for the group. Planned events for Arbor Day and Earth Day will be spread across two weekends.
Chow’s personal favorite is Bulk Trash Day on Saturday, April 18.
“We help everybody unload their car and trailer full of household junk,” Chow said. “It’s just such a happy day.”
On Bulk Trash Day, residents can take bulky items to the town’s old highway garage on South Center Street in the Village of Millerton for a fee. Volunteers will accept furniture, carpeting, lawn equipment, tools, scrap metal and appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners.
Fees will vary depending on vehicle size and item type, with charges ranging from $15 to $60 for vehicles, $20 for items such as mattresses and couches, and $10 to $30 for most appliances. Units containing Freon will cost $30, and oversized items may be accepted at a fee of $50 at the discretion of staff. Tires will also be accepted for recycling at $15 each, with rims permitted.
Payments must be made by cash or check.
That same weekend, the Moviehouse will be hosting a screening of “The Extraordinary Caterpillar.”
“It’s the most spectacular photography you’ve ever seen,” Chow said of the film that explores the lives of insects that are often overlooked in favor of human needs.
Tickets for the event are free. Seats can be reserved at www.themoviehouse.net.
Climate Smart-sponsored activities continue the following weekend with a Repair Cafe at the NorthEast-Millerton Library on Saturday, April 25. Visitors can bring up to two items to be repaired by volunteers with skills in small electronics and appliance repair, textiles and clothing, bicycles and knife sharpening. All repairs are free and five knives count as a single item.
Chow said the task force’s responsibilities spread far beyond planning events. The group’s work has resulted in both Millerton and North East receiving Bronze status in New York State’s Climate Smart Communities initiative, a certification that recognizes the community’s commitment to environmental conservation.
She said reaching that status was no easy feat, as inherent qualities of the town and the village work against the communities.
Chow explained that North East, unlike Millerton, is incapable of adopting green infrastructure like LED streetlights because the town doesn’t actually operate any streetlights and doesn’t have any reason to. Millerton, in contrast to North East, lacks large amounts of open space to actively conserve. Both actions can be important ones in the effort to be certified with the state.
Achieving higher certifications takes labor and expertise, Chow said, and she welcomes anyone in the community with a passion for the environment to join. She especially encourages the overly enthusiastic and quirky to join.
“There’s so many actions that are there to be done,” Chow said.
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Jennifer Almquist
The parking lot of The Little Red Barn Brewers in Winsted was full on Wednesday, April 8, as more than 100 people from 43 Connecticut towns — including New Haven and Vernon — arrived carrying personal treasures for a live taping of “Audacious LIVE Show & Tell.”
Chion Wolf, host and producer of Connecticut Public’s “Audacious,” and her crew, led by production manager Maegn Boone, brought the program to the packed brewery for an evening of story-driven conversation and shared keepsakes.
Reflecting on the evening’s spirit, Wolf, a four-time Gracie Award winner from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation, said: “To me, Audacious — and Connecticut Public — are about making space for people to be fully themselves: curious, vulnerable, weird, honest, all of it. ‘Show & Tell’ feels like that spirit brought to life.”
Attendees clutched mementos — sentimental, unusual and sometimes humorous — hoping for a chance to step onto the small stage and share their stories.
Caroline Christensen of Winsted carried a large conch shell and told the audience about nearly losing her fiancé to a storm tide while he struggled to retrieve the shell she wanted.
Gerry Griswold, a wildlife rehabilitator and educator from White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield, brought a Victorian taxidermied pet dog in a glass case.
When Tim Dwyer of Coventry showed a vintage T-shirt featuring “Bill the Cat,” Wolf rolled up her pants leg to reveal a matching cartoon tattoo.
Author Christine Ieronimo drove from Plymouth with a photograph of her late grandmother, Florence De Mario, holding her beauty contest trophy as a young woman, along with the original silver cup engraved with “Interstate Rhode Island and Connecticut Beauty Contest, September 28, 1929.”
The evening blended humor, nostalgia and vulnerability, with food and drinks provided by Nils Johnson, co-founder of the brewery, which has become a lively gathering place in
Winsted.
Jessica Severin de Martinez, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Meg Fitzgerald and Vanessa de la Torre were also part of the Connecticut Public team that helped produce the event. Connecticut Public is home to Connecticut Public Radio and Connecticut Public Television.
Lucy Nalpathanchil, vice president for community engagement, said the organization hosts “Audacious LIVE Show & Tell” events around the state to connect with residents and reach new audiences.
“We’ve hosted them so far in Winsted, Willimantic, Hartford and Stamford,” Nalpathanchil said.
“If your readers have thoughts about where the next one should be held, they can email ideas to events@ctpublic.org,” she said.
Wolf summed up the night simply: “We held the space, sure, but those who attended made the magic. People walked in as strangers carrying meaningful objects from their lives, and by the end of the night, the room felt warm, open and deeply connected. That’s public radio at its best.”
Mike Cobb
On Sunday, April 19, at 4 p.m., Close Encounters With Music (CEWM) presents On the Wings of Song at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.
The program focuses on Robert Schumann’s spellbinding song cycle Dichterliebe (“A Poet’s Love”), a setting of sixteen poems by Heinrich Heine that explores love, longing, and the redemptive power of beauty. Featured artists include John Moore, baritone; Adam Golka, pianist; Miranda Cuckson, viola; and Yehuda Hanani, cello.
In a recent interview, Artistic Director Yehuda Hanani said,“Audience members will bask in the glow of Romanticism at its apex with Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn and the poet whose verse underlies their music—Heinrich Heine.‘In beautiful May, when the buds sprang, love sprang up in my heart: in beautiful May, when the birds all sang, I told you my desire and longing.’”
Dichterliebe strips away the distance between singer and listener, capturing the age-old themes of love and betrayal with exquisite sensitivity. Romanticism here is at its most personal and refined.
Heine’s poetry also captivated Felix Mendelssohn, who set several of the poet’s verses to music, including the iconic “On the Wings of Song,” which lends the concert its title. Mendelssohn’s majestic Piano Trio in D minor—one of the towering chamber works of the nineteenth century—completes the program. Radiant, urgent, and expansive, the trio reflects the composer’s unwavering belief in the possibility of a harmonious, enlightened world and the triumph of beauty through music.
“How can you not fall in love with a song cycle about a sorrowful knight that begins with these beguiling sentiments? This is the start of Dichterliebe, or Poet’s Love, Robert Schumann’s musical rendering of Heine’s Lyrical Intermezzo.Alas, like many love stories, it does not end well. Cupids weep and mourn, and the poet packs his love andhis suffering into a coffin that will be thrown into the sea—so heavy that twelve giants must carry it. All the various states of Poet’s Love—a hothouse of responses to flowers, dreams and fairy tales—end in anger, bitterness, resignation and bewilderment. Yet, despite love betrayed, ardent faith in the power of art leads the way to a harmonious and better world. A timely message,” Hanani added.
On the Wings of Song weaves together poetry and music, intimacy and grandeur, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience Romantic masterpieces in the uniquely close, immersive spirit that defines Close Encounters With Music.
After each performance, audiences are invited to an “Afterglow” reception to meet the artists and mingle with fellow music lovers. Select concerts will also be available online, extending CEWM’s reach to listeners far beyond the Berkshires.
For tickets and information, go to mahaiwe.org
Alec Linden
Photo by Alec Linden
A climber explores Great Barrington’s renowned bouldering areas, reflecting the growing local interest in the sport ahead of the planned opening of Berkshire Boulders.
Berkshire Boulders, a rock climbing gym, is set to open in the Berkshires later this year, aiming to do more than fill a gap in indoor recreation — it could help bring climbing further into the region’s mainstream.
Its co-founders already have their sights set beyond the roughly 2,000 square feet of climbable wall planned for a site off Route 7, just north of downtown Great Barrington.
“There’s an opportunity that I felt was on the table to bring outdoor recreation and these other sports into the public domain,” said Nick Friedman, a Sheffield resident behind the project, alongside Dan Yagmin.
Friedman said that while underground communities in the region around more adventurous outdoor sports, such as rock climbing and mountain biking, have long existed, they have often been overlooked compared with more traditional pastimes like hiking.
With the gym, “I feel like we could make a start in formalizing these forms of outdoor recreation,” Friedman said. He described it as a way to create a more tangible connection between the broader community and a climbing scene that has developed quietly for decades.
Berkshire Boulders is the brainchild of Friedman, who began climbing 20 years ago on the gneiss boulders and bluffs that dot the hills around Great Barrington, and Yagmin, a climber with three decades of experience originally from central Connecticut who now lives between Winsted and Colebrook.
Both bring entrepreneurial experience to the project. Friedman co-founded Theory Wellness, a cannabis dispensary in Great Barrington where he now serves as chief strategic officer. Yagmin combined his passion for climbing, training in fine arts and years as a climbing gym route setter to start Decoy Holds, producing nature-inspired climbing grips.
Yagmin is shaping the climbing experience at the new gym at 325 Stockbridge Rd., which will focus on bouldering, a form of ropeless climbing on walls typically under 15 feet tall, with padded floors for protection. His holds take cues from real rock types, including the granitic gneiss found across the Berkshires and prized by climbers
Even though the gym is indoors, the connection to the rock outside is central to its mission. Friedman serves on the board of the Western Massachusetts Climbers Coalition, which works with governments, landowners and land managers to keep climbing areas open and accessible.
He said the project is structured so that any profits from the gym will support organizations that advance access to climbing.
“I have no investors, no lenders, and I’m self-financing,” he said. “So I plan on donating any available profits to an organization that aligns with the mission, which is really to make climbing more accessible.”
Accessibility, he added, also means affordability. He plans to offer reduced memberships for those facing financial hardship.
“Then hopefully as the gym gets going and grows,” he said, “that can become a bigger and bigger component.”
Yagmin said the gym could become both a hub for local climbers and an entry point for newcomers.
“I think a lot of people just don’t really understand the sport,” he said. With the gym, “hopefully people stop in, start getting familiar with it and see that it’s a positive thing.”
Friedman said that when he and Yagmin were introduced through the local climbing network, the idea of a gym had been “percolating around the Berkshires for decades.”
Until Berkshire Boulders opens — which he estimates will be this summer — the closest dedicated climbing gyms are roughly an hour away, including those in Poughkeepsie, Kingston, Albany and West Hartford.
Until then, Friedman and Yagmin have their plates full. Since announcing the project last month, Friedman said interest from prospective members has been strong.
The pair are in the process of gathering information to plan adult and children’s programming, though details are still to come.
In addition to bouldering walls, the gym will include climbing-specific training equipment and a standard fitness area. An FAQ page on the website, berkshireboulders.com, also references a hangout space, retail section, outdoor area overlooking a bend in the Housatonic River, and possibly a sauna and cold plunge.
Friedman said the final product will reflect the needs of its users.
“This gym is really oriented to be there for the community,” he said, “so we want to reflect that community as best we can.”
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