![Vintage Vehicles That Can Inspire Dreams & Bring Back Memories](https://millertonnews.com/media-library/some-extraordinary-cars-show-up-on-our-area-roads-this-1953-hudson-hornet-was-on-main-street-in-kent-conn-at-the-end-of-may.jpg?id=48216379&width=980&quality=90)
Some extraordinary cars show up on our area roads. This 1953 Hudson Hornet was on Main Street in Kent, Conn., at the end of May.
Photo by Lans Christensen
Truly a legendary piece of American automotive history, the Hudson Hornet was only manufactured from 1951 through 1954. It was one of several Hudson models, but by far the most popular and sought after.
With only four years of production there just aren’t many of them available or even in existence.
This perfect example, a 1953, belongs to Ron Devito of Sherman, Conn., who has owned it for more than a year.
The Hornet appealed to this discerning buyer, who wanted a little something special, rather than a model from Ford, Chevy or the other Detroit giants. (The Hornets were made by Detroit’s Hudson Motor Car Company.)
The Hornet’s sleek and “aero” bodywork put it ahead of the crowd. The “step down” design lowered the car and improved its handling.
Remarkably, it sported a six-cylinder engine when the competition was already on eights — and yet the Hornet was the dominant NASCAR champion, winning 64 of its 108 races!
Among its devoted owners, Jay Leno has one in his famous “garage” and raves about it in a half-hour production on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPoIb3zTGcA).
An enforceable agreement was reached with the state to maintain labor and delivery services at Sharon Hospital for the next five years.
SHARON — Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced Monday, Aug. 26, that an agreement was reached with Northwell Health to maintain labor and delivery services (L&D) at Sharon Hospital for the next five years.
Northwell Health is set to become the new owner of Sharon Hospital pending a merger with Nuvance Health. The recent agreement was reached as a solution to “resolving the antitrust investigation into the proposed affiliation between the two hospital systems,” stated the Aug. 26 press release from the attorney general’s office.
In the statement Tong was quoted, “Miles and minutes matter when it comes to labor and delivery, and I am pleased that Northwell has committed to preserving affordable, lifesaving care—especially maternity care—for Western Connecticut. This is a strong, enforceable agreement for healthcare access in Connecticut.”
The agreement was reached following an investigation by the attorney general’s offices of Connecticut and New York as to the antitrust implications of Northwell becoming a competitor in Hudson Valley and western Connecticut.
In addition to Sharon Hospital, the agreement included the preservation of services and staffing at Putnam Hospital for one year after the merger is finalized. Northwell agreed to install a unified electronic records management system across its expanded hospital network and to permit contractors to work across state lines within the network.
Sharon Hospital released a statement Aug. 26: “We are pleased to partner with the Connecticut and New York Offices of the Attorney Generals in developing an Agreement of Assurances which identifies specific post-affiliation activities and commitments that will benefit the communities currently served by Nuvance Health. Under the Affiliation Agreement, Northwell has made a commitment to provide Nuvance Health with capital, expertise, and support to achieve long-term fiscal stability and make critical growth investments.”
State Sen. Stephen Harding (R-30) stated, “This has been a top concern in the Northwest corner: keeping the doors of Sharon Hospital’s Maternity Ward open and operational. Our mutual goal is to maintain affordable access to rural health care in our region. I thank Attorney General Tong for his work on this.”
A pending resolution remains before the Office of Health Strategy’s Certificate of Need regulatory process, which will need to be resolved before the merger between Nuvance and Northwell can occur.
LAGRANGEVILLE — The 33rd annual Hudson Valley hot-air balloon festival will be held from Friday, Aug. 30, to Sunday, Sept. 1, at Tymor Park in Lagrangeville.
The weekend will have full hot-air balloon flights, tethered hot-air balloon flights, helicopter rides, fireworks, morning yoga, live music, food trucks, a beer and wine tent, local vendors, and many more family activities to participate in.
This year, there are five mass hot-air balloon ascensions with over 120 flights scheduled. There are two different full-flight times that people can choose from throughout the weekend. Morning flight check-in is at 5:30 a.m. and takes off at 6:30 a.m., and evening flight check-in is at 4:30 p.m. and departs at 5:30 p.m.
Morning admission on either Saturday or Sunday costs each person attending $13.95. Friday, Saturday, or Sunday evening admission costs $23.95. The festival also offers an all-weekend pass for $37.95, allowing admission for all dates and times. Admission tickets give access to the activities and vendors within the park, as well as seeing all of the balloons take off.
Full hot air balloon rides typically last up to 45 minutes and cost $350 per person and $30 for a tethered ride. The full flight requires a $75 deposit at the time of registration, and the remaining balance should be paid in cash on the day of the flight.
Tickets are only sold online and will not be available to buy at the gates. For more information and schedules, visit www.dcrcoc.org/balloonfesttickets
Panacea’s Rockaway oysters on the half-shell are procured daily and served fresh. Accompanying the oysters is a classic bowl of vinegar and a house-made raspberry mignonette.
Arriving at Panacea feels like arriving at a friend’s house. A charming blue exterior, with a large patio and string lights, surrounds a welcoming and warm interior. Since the restaurant opened a little over two weeks ago, I have made not one, but three trips, and every time has been just as enjoyable as the first.
Upon entering, one is greeted by a host’s stand in a small front dining room, as well as a handful of tables and a little bar tucked into the corner. Moving back through a small hallway, hosting two gender non-specific bathrooms, there is another dining room, larger but still just as cozy. The entire place is made up of dark, caramel colored wood, with beams stretched across a white ceiling, a fireplace tucked in the back dining room and eclectic artwork smattered around. From the back dining room diners enjoy a glimpse into the kitchen, clean and busy, and an enclave where one can see the finishing touches being put on dishes before being whisked away. All of these parts, clearly lovingly curated by Jake Somers and his fiancee/co-chef Khendum Namgyal (who is responsible for the absolutely unmatched pasta), come together into a very pleasant whole.
I was pleased to see a wonderful cocktail list, the absolute champion of which is the Chef’s Slightly Dirty Martini (which I ordered extra dirty, my personal preference). Expertly made, served in a chilled glass, it was well worth the $18 price tag. I had no fewer than two on every visit, and will be going back for a solo martini/oyster date. The wine selection, though respectable, remained untouched on my end due to an unfortunate sulfite allergy. Panacea also has a mocktail list, which I believe should be the norm, including a very interesting take on a Shirley Temple. Their beer list is regrettably small, considering the availability of craft beers in this area, but I think that can be forgiven.
That being said, the food is the absolute standout. Panacea prides itself on locally sourced produce — right now Paley’s, Maitra, Hepworth and 5 Acre farms, but soon to include others — and they use it in masterful ways. Their heirloom tomato appetizer with housemade whipped ricotta is outstanding — the ricotta alone had us discreetly licking the plate, not even to mention the glory that is the tomatoes. Other appetizers include Rockaway raw oysters with a breathtaking raspberry mignonette — the waitress had barely set them down before they had been finished off — and the Fire Fritto! a shrimp and calamari dish with local veggies that was so delicious our entire party of six was ordering their own. One of whom, bizarrely, is on an entirely protein diet, and was quite pleased to find that the appetizer was more than generous with the shrimp and calamari.
The appetizers give way into a limited but far reaching entree list, the star of which is the house made pasta. The Malfadine was perfect. Long, curlicue noodles perfectly al dente, a generous portion of shrimp (halved, making them fold perfectly into every bite) and a subtle crunch of fresh basil all enveloped in an incredible tomato sauce. Also on the pasta list is a rigatoni- perfect noodles, melt in your mouth pork shoulder, and sauce I would happily eat all on its own. I did find myself wishing for maybe one piece of crusty bread, but only because it seemed too tragic to leave any of the sauce on both dishes behind. On my last visit, I managed to tear myself away from the pasta and ordered the Catch of the Day, which was a Bronzino. Crispy, delicate skin, flavorful and juicy meat, beautifully served with tender beans and a sauce which rendered me speechless.
Dessert is necessary in every form, and Panacea does not flounder at the finish line. Every dessert went above and beyond, but the chocolate mousse is a must have, even for those lacking a sweet tooth. It is the definition of decadence, and I found it best paired with their espresso martini, which is also a thing of beauty. Made with fresh espresso, it has a wonderful bite with an edge of liquor and a hint of sweetness to ease the palate.
All in all, Panacea is a star. The entire experience is perfectly curated, the staff are knowledgeable and warm, and the owners are welcoming and friendly. They’ve recognized us on every return visit, and seem to make a point to personally greet every table. Their skill in crafting these dishes is both a breath of fresh air for Amenia and something we should all be thankful to experience. I cannot wait until my next visit, and I especially cannot wait to see what they do in the coming seasons.
Bottle of Spring Hill cabernet franc with watercolor label art by Barcelona native Santi Moix.
Wine finds its perfect pairing in art at Spring Hill Vineyards in New Preston, Conn., where site-specific sculptural installations function as the visual feast to complement a focused lineup of thoughtfully crafted wines.
Guided by an ethos for quality over quantity, four wines—a light, bright estate-grown cabernet franc, sippable unoaked chardonnay, lean and refreshing Cayuga white, and a sweet rose of pinot noir—make up Spring Hill’s current wine list.
“We don’t want to be big, we want to be good,” said winemaker and farm manager Andrew Johnson as he swirled a glass of 2017 cab franc, currently being poured for tastings. Echoing with a teasing laugh the late-70s Masson vow to “sell no wine before its time,” Johnson explained that the winery’s best product—a deep, velvety Marquette—is still awaiting ‘its time’ since being vinted in 2021 and spending 14 months maturing in Hungarian oak barrels.
A similar impetus has driven—and continues to drive—the careful curatorial decisions that built a compelling outdoor art exhibit of the wooded glade that serves as Spring Hill’s gathering space.
Before founders Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia planted their first grapevines or artworks, the site that would become Spring Hill Vineyards was a hay farm that dated back to the 18th century; reinterpreted vestiges and suggestions of this history represent the core aesthetic being cultivated.
View of Spring Hill through a window in the Bee Brook Grotto, housed inside a 1940’s grain silo.Sava Marinkovic
“Everything here has had a past life,” according to Stephanie Ingrassia—the modernized barn was built from 150 year old beams and siding, the restrooms from a train car. Over the main space towers a refitted 1940s silo, original to the site, whose cracked doors invite visitors to make the thirty foot climb to its crown grotto—a scintillating surprise of sinuous forms and gleaming materials that is meant to feel, according to artist Randy Polumbo, “like a shared memory from the future.”
And the facilitation of sharing—of memories, moments, and the space provided—is what Wine Tasting Program Manager Emma Terhaar describes as Spring Hill’s true mission.
“It’s a community space to be shared,” said Terhaar, summarizing the Ingrassias’ vision for a place where residents of rural Connecticut could gather and mingle with their community. “It’s a destination worth coming to, for whatever reason,” Terhaar averred, whether for a glass of wine, a gander of art, or just to relax with friends and family.
Spring Hill Vineyards is the annual host of Spring Hill Arts Gathering (SHAG) and maintains SHAG’s permanent collection. Upcoming events include dancing and drinks for Salsa Night on Sunday, Aug. 25; a croquet tournament guided by United States Croquet Association’s Preston Stuart on Sunday, Sept. 8; and a celebration of Sept. 22’s autumnal equinox featuring food, yoga, meditation, live music, and—a given for all things coming into balance—plenty of wine.