Handmaking ornaments at Hunt

Handmaking ornaments at Hunt
Children at the David M. Hunt Library made ornaments on Saturday, Dec. 2, prior to the town’s tree lighting festivities.
Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

Residents with the holiday spirit were already milling about the town Green well ahead of the official starting time of 4:40 p.m. for the lighting of the town’s tree and the singing of carols and holiday songs Saturday, Dec. 2.

Candles were distributed and lit, relative newcomers mingled with old-timers, and children dashed about according to their own logic.

The revelers sang a mix of traditional carols and popular songs, led by Rachel Gall on violin and John Stey on guitar.

Once darkness settled in and the tree was lit, a Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department fire engine, suitably decorated, motored slowly down Railroad Street to the corner of Main Street by the Green.

This was the moment the youngsters had been waiting for.

Santa Claus — the genuine article, not some department store impostor — clambered down from the cab and made his way into the crowd.

The children looked on in awe, seemingly unable to speak.

Until a young voice piped up.

“Hi, Santa Claus!”

“Ho ho ho,” replied Santa.

The ice now broken, the children swarmed the man in the red suit.

Earlier in the day, children gathered at the David M. Hunt Library worked on handmade ornaments, some of which made it to the town tree.

Latest News

Fallen trees injure man, destroy fences at dog shelter

Two uprooted locust trees still lie in the yard in front of Animal Farm Foundation’s original kennels where they fell on a fence during a storm on Thursday, June 19.

Nathan Miller

AMENIA — Fallen trees, uprooted and splintered during a thunderstorm, injured a man, destroyed fences and damaged a dog kennel at the Animal Farm Foundation facilities in Bangall.

Isaias Nunez was cleaning along a road on the property with Marco Ortiz, another employee of the dog shelter, when the storm rolled in on the afternoon of Thursday, June 19.

Keep ReadingShow less
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit millertonnews.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less