Copake Grange readies 1,000 Cupcake Celebration

Cupcakes will be the order of the day with 1,000 of the goodies at The Fourth Annual Cupcake Celebation at the Copake Grange on Sunday, June 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Christine Bates
Cupcakes will be the order of the day with 1,000 of the goodies at The Fourth Annual Cupcake Celebation at the Copake Grange on Sunday, June 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
COPAKE — Copake Grange members throughout the hamlet are baking up a storm as they prepare for what Grange secretary Rita Jakubowski says is “the most fun activity of the year,” The Fourth Annual Cupcake Celebration to be held at the Grange from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 23.
Jakubowski says a record setting 1,000 cupcakes are expected for the fundraising event with everyone earning a prize as bakers — both amateur and professional — vie to win the title “Ultimate Copake Cupcake.”
The event is just one of a number held throughout the year as members work to provide the dollars required to make needed repairs on the historic 1903 building whose poor condition, she believes, was in part responsible for a collapse in membership some half dozen years ago.
With only seven members, the group failed to reach a quorum for meetings. That, in turn nearly led to the loss of the charter which would have caused the building to be ceded to the Grange parent organization which actually owns the building.
Determined to keep the structure, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Jakubowski reported, “That group got together and they started recruiting new people and built it up to 20 to 25 members.”
She said people joined because they “began to realize it’s a badly needed community organization that also happens to have building with a stage. It’s a place where people could gather socially and for entertainment and education and general community gathering.”
Despite a slow down when the Grange was closed in response to COVID, the non-partisan, non-political organization continued to grow and now boasts nearly 150 members.
The calendar of events, most of which are free and open to the public, features dances, plays, open mic nights and more including Copake Bicentential talks spotlighting “The Copake Pharmacy,” “Life on a Copake Farm,” and “Copake Falls and Copake Lake:A Retrospective.”
In addition to time honored favorites, the organization actively works to be responsive to the community’s needs and desires, even posting online a form for suggestions for future events.
The most recent example of innovation took place on Sunday, June 8, when a small group joined together for the first ever family meetup.
The gathering was brought about as many activities typically are by what Grange secretary Jakubowski labeled as an “organic” effort. As a member of the membership committee, she had a traditional welcome coffee with a young mother and professional woman who worked from home.
Jakubowski said the new Grange member mentioned that the town did seem to lack a place for children to gather and play and hoped the group might add some programming for the youngest residents.
Jakubowski encouraged her to submit a proposal for a new program with the result being the happy sounds of a few children and their parents gathered for no reason other than to have good time.
She said, “The family meetup is currently a one- time event. Future meetups will depend on local interest and whether enough people participate and continue to organize regular events.”
Noting a modest membership fee of $28 per person per year, Jakubowski emphasized,
For more information go to copakegrange.org.
Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.
STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.
At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.
July transfers
79 Ernest Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 6.87 acres in 2 parcels sold to Matthew C. Marinetti for $1,225,000.
29 Drake Road — 3 bedroom/3.5 bath home on 2 acres sold to Harper Montgomery for $850,000.
6042 Route 82 — 4 bedroom/2 bath home on 1.09 acres sold to Spencer Thompson for $795,000.
125 Tick Tock Way — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath ranch on 1.9 acres sold to Fleur Touchard for $475,000.
August transfers
102 Prospect Hill Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 6.35 acres sold to Karl Creighton Pfister for $565,000.
252 Ernest Road — 2 bedroom/1 bath cottage on .85 acres sold to Meg Bumie for $465,000.
1196 Bangall Amenia Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 2.16 acres sold to Roderick Alleyne for $875,000.
Hunns Lake Road (#759929) — 59.1 acres of residential land sold to Argos Farm LLC for $3,325,000.
* Town of Stanford recorded real estate transfers from July 1 to August 31 provided by Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly transfer reports. Details on each property from Dutchess Parcel Access - properties with an # indicate location on Dutchess Parcel Access. Market data from One Key MLS and Infosparks .Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Hunt club members and friends gathered near Pugsley Hill at the historic Wethersfield Estate and Gardens in Amenia for the opening meet of the 2025-2026 Millbrook Hunt Club season on Saturday, Oct. 4. Foxhunters took off from Wethersfield’s hilltop gardens just after 8 a.m. for a hunting jaunt around Amenia’s countryside.
Joining in the fun at the dedication of the new pollinator pathway garden at The Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, local expert gardener Maryanne Snow Pitts provides information about a planting to Lorraine Mirabella of Poughkeepsie.
MILLBROOK — Participating in a patchwork of libraries that have planted pollinator pathway gardens to attract insects and birds to their native plantings was one of the accomplishments being celebrated at the dedication of a new pollinator garden at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“A lot of work went into it,” said Emma Sweeney, past President of the Millbrook Garden Club, who started the local library’s initiative two years ago.
The Pollinator Pathway program is a national effort to plant native plants that native insects depend upon for sustenance and preferred plants for their own seasonal reproduction.
Jana Hogan of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Executive Director of the Pollinator Pathway program, was on hand to present a plaque to the library for its successful participation.
“A garden is not just a garden,” said garden designer Andy Durbridge of Wassaic, designer of the library’s garden. “It may serve as a model for other gardens along the line.”
Speaking to the 50 visitors at the dedication, Durbridge said that the library’s garden has a mission, that it is a working garden, planned to serve insects and birds over their seasons. The earliest plants support pollinators, while the full range of plants continues to serve the needs of those they attract, offering habitat, shelter and food.
A pollinator garden is akin to a prairie, rather than a formalized European garden, Durbridge noted.
The garden project was supported by the library’s Friends group using funds raised during the Holiday Silent Auction and ongoing book sale. A grant from the Millbrook Garden Club also provided support.
Amenia Town Hall on Route 22.
AMENIA — After gathering comments from the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, as it considers adding alternate members to those boards, the Town Board discussed possible changes to local laws governing those boards at its meeting on Friday, Oct. 3. The meeting date, usually on a Thursday, had been changed to accommodate a holiday.
In recent weeks Town Board attorney Ian Lindars has been compiling comments from the affected boards along with comments from the Town Board. The new laws may bring the appointment of two alternate members to each board. Alternate members are likely to be required to attend all meetings and be prepared to be seated if needed and be familiar with the applications being discussed. They would also need to take training required of all board members.
Lindars will prepare a draft of the new local laws to be reviewed by the Town Board and the affected boards.
As the Town Board begins work on the town’s annual budget negotiation process and anticipating an increase in some budget lines to accommodate major projects, the board unanimously approved three resolutions. The first will override the tax levy limit imposed on municipalities by the state of New York, a limit generally tied to the rate of inflation.
A public hearing on the proposal to override the levy limit was set for Thursday, November 6, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall.