![A Trail of Memories, from General Patton to His Own Family History](https://millertonnews.com/media-library/jurgen-kalwa-is-writing-a-book-about-ladislas-farago-who-wrote-the-book-that-became-the-film-patton-while-living-in-what-is.jpg?id=48216622&width=980&quality=90)
Jurgen Kalwa is writing a book about Ladislas Farago — who wrote the book that became the film “Patton” while living in what is now Kalwa’s house in Sharon, Conn.
Photo by Cynthia Hochswender
An unpaid bill for snow plowing at his home in Sharon, Conn., led journalist Jurgen Kalwa on a trail that ultimately led to World War II General George S. Patton.
Kalwa told his story to an online group at an event sponsored by the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon on Sunday, May 2.
The 1970 biographical film “Patton” was based on a book, “Patton: Ordeal and Triumph” by one Ladislas Farago, who rented the house in Sharon now owned by Kalwa.
He wrote the book there — and failed to pay the snow plowing bill.
Kalwa discovered this when he hired the same person to do some landscaping work.
Kalwa said Farago was a fairly prominent writer and personality, gaining some notoriety in the 1970s with his claim that Adolf Hitler’s factotum, Martin Bormann, was alive and well and living in Argentina.
This story subsequently “blew up in his face,” Kalwa noted wryly.
Farago got hold of the typescript of Patton’s unpublished wartime diary for his book. And while writing the book, he was being sued by Patton’s family in federal court.
Eventually a settlement was reached that precluded the use of “anything that looked like a verbatim quote.”
Despite that condition, the book provided “a very strong window” into Patton’s military career.
The film “Patton” premiered in late 1969 and was in general release in early 1970. At the 1971 Academy Awards, “Patton” won seven awards, including best picture and best actor. George C. Scott, who played the general, famously refused the award.
Kalwa said Farago was paid $75,000 for the rights to his book — a substantial sum for the time. Producer Frank McCarthy tapped the young and obscure Francis Ford Coppola to write the screenplay.
Kalwa said the story behind the book and movie appealed to him as a journalist and a “postwar German.” (Kalwa produced a documentary on the Farago connection and Kalwa’s subsequent discoveries for German radio.)
Kalwa said he was “battling” with the legacy of German history and his family’s history.
“I grew up with questions and have pursued answers.”
Kalwa said Patton was out of step with his superiors. “Politically, he was a weirdo.”
In charge of Bavaria after the war, he went against the de-Nazification tide and used former Nazi government officials to help with the rebuilding effort.
And Patton wanted to keep fighting — against the Soviet Union.
This was “politically impossible,” Kalwa said.
But from Kalwa’s point of view, Patton had one dominant characteristic:
“He helped to kill Nazis.
“People like me were liberated by people like Patton.”
LAKEVILLE — Ann Marie Nonkin, 80, of Millerton Road, passed away Aug. 25, 2024, at Connecticut Hospice in Branford. She was the loving wife of the late Dr. Paul Nonkin.
She was born April 12, 1944 in Queens, New York, the daughter of the late John and Ann Vallen.
She was a medical technician for Manhattan Eye and Ear for many years.
She was an active Parishioner in years past at St. Mary’s Church in Lakeville, where she ran many activities. Alongside that, she was an avid gardener.
She is survived by one cousin, Joan Jalbert.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, Aug. 30 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary’s Church the Parish of St. Martin of Tours in Lakeville.
A burial will be on Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, Long Island.
Memorial contributions can be made to The Little Guild, 285 Sharon Goshen Turnpike in West Cornwall, CT 06796.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
Elm Drive Elementary School in Millbrook.
MILLERTON — The beginning of September is quickly approaching, which means that summer is coming to an end for many kids in the Hudson Valley.
Webutuck, Millbrook, and Pine Plains schools are looking forward to the first day of school next week. On Wednesday, Sept. 4, children enrolled in the Millbrook or Pine Plains school district will start their academic year. The following day, Thursday, Sept. 5, students in the Webutuck district will have their first day of school. These school districts are starting the year with a short week for students, allowing the children to get a sense of routine without overwhelming them.
According to the Weather Channel, the school week starts Wednesday and Thursday will be slightly cloudy and in the low 70s, with a chance of rain later Friday evening.
Fairgoers at this year’s Dutchess County Fair from Aug. 20-25 enjoyed thrilling rides on the Midway, including on this flying chair ride. The annual fair in Rhinebeck is one of the largest attractions in Dutchess County with 12 acres of fairgrounds and barns showcasing livestock, along with three show arenas, free entertainment and plenty to eat.
RHINEBECK — The Dutchess County Fair has ended for the season, which ran from Aug. 20 until Sunday, Aug. 25.
The Dutchess County Fair designated 12 acres of the fairgrounds to showcase local livestock. This included 12 barns housing dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, and rabbits, three show arenas with daily scheduled events, and workroom demonstrations.
Besides offering dozens of themed gardens, waterfalls, and ponds filled with koi and colorful flowers, the fair also travels back in time with the “turn of the century treasures.” It features a century museum village, the firefighters’ museum, a working blacksmith shop, and a gas-powered engine show.
Classic treats like candy apples and cotton candy fed the masses at the Dutchess County Fair. The annual fair in Rhinebeck is one of the largest attractions in Dutchess County with 12 acres of fairgrounds and barns showcasing livestock, along with three show arenas, free entertainment and plenty to eat.Photo by Olivia Valentine
Free entertainment included live music, frisbee dogs, a stilt circus, racing pigs, a petting zoo, dock dogs, a fishing tank, and a VR tractor ridealong. Musicians who performed included Tracy Byrd, Kameron Marlowe, Conner Smith, Kissnation, Bluffett, and Grammy-winning artist Rick Springfield.
Agencies represented included the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, Medical Reserve Corps, Animal Response Team, and more.
A major partnership with the fair is ThinkDifferently, implementing accommodations for individuals and families with disabilities.
“ThinkDIFFERENTLY Thursday was born half a dozen years ago with the understanding that institutions like this and places like this often are difficult for individuals with any amount of disability to access,” U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-19) said.
Elizabeth “Tilly” Strauss’, the Town of North East’s clerk, and her father, Julian, won two blue ribbons at the Dutchess County Fair for his maple syrup. From a third-generation farm in Dutchess County, Julian started making maple syrup about 14 years ago, naming it Home Farm Maple Syrup. This was his first year competing at the fair, winning four ribbons. To learn more about Julian’s syrup, visit @homefarmmaplesyrup on Instagram or email homefarmmaple@optonline.com
Photo by Olivia Valentine
The ferris wheel at the Dutchess County Fair ran all week, taking visitors high into the sky. The annual fair in Rhinebeck is one of the largest attractions in Dutchess County with 12 acres of fairgrounds and barns showcasing livestock, along with three show arenas, free entertainment and plenty to eat.
A. Gregg Pulver
POUGHKEEPSIE — Dutchess County Comptroller A. Gregg Pulver filed an audit request of the New York Department of Public Service Commission Thursday, Aug. 15.
Pulver sent the letter to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli over concerns about recent rate hikes by electric and gas utility provider Central Hudson. Pulver said the utility has practiced bad corporate citizenship by hiking rates and refusing to address problems in its billing department despite soaring corporate profits.
As of Friday, Aug. 23, the state comptroller’s office has not responded to Pulver’s audit request. “Tom DiNapoli is very responsive to needs, I’m sure we will hear something shortly,” Pulver said.
Pulver’s concerns center around the approval process for the rate increase. He said he wants more information about how exactly the PSC balances customer concerns with the financial materials supplied by Central Hudson.
The PSC requires utilities in New York to file regular rate plan approvals. That process takes 10 to 12 months to complete. “It was a litigated case,” Central Hudson Director of Media Relations Joe Jenkins said. “Which means it was essentially put on trial.”
During that process, interested parties, industry experts, employees of Central Hudson and concerned customers give their testimony and recommendations to the PSC. In this case, the Office of Investigations and Enforcement conducted an investigation of Central Hudson’s billing issues and PA Consulting was hired as an independent monitor to verify Central Hudson had rectified the issues and to make further recommendations to the PSC.
After that deliberative process, the PSC issued a rate plan that allowed the utility to increase revenues from electric by 5.5% and from gas by 7.3%. The average customer would see an approximate $12 increase on electric bills and a $9 increase on gas as a result.
Pulver also raised concerns over Central Hudson’s billing practices. “People were getting billed for three or four or five times what they used to do,” Pulver said. “It was an atrocious time.”
Jenkins said Central Hudson has ironed out these issues. In July PA Consulting, the independent monitor hired by the PSC, issued a report stating Central Hudson had resolved its billing issues and that bills were accurate moving forward.
As part of the approved rate plan, the PSC mandated Central Hudson must make recommended investments in billing and customer service, including implementing monthly meter readings, and that ratepayer funds could not be used to pay for those investments.