letters to the editor

Letter to the Editor: Thursday, April 17

Thanks for an Amenia team effort at cemetery

An article in the Harlem Valley Times 25 years ago highlighted the efforts of the Amenia Historical Society, aided by the manpower of the Amenia Highway Department, to clean up the old Amenia Burying Ground on Mygatt Road.
Bill and Janet Burke were new to the neighborhood in the year 2000 and were eager to improve the sad condition of the burying ground across the road. They shared their concern with the historical society members. Ann Linden responded wholeheartedly. Someone in the group called on Stanley Whitehead and his highway crew for assistance. AHS was very grateful for the work that was accomplished. From then on, Mr. Burke faithfully kept an eye on the place — until he was no longer able to do so.
Now, in 2025, a similar story is playing out. Sadly, it is without Bill Burke’s enthusiastic presence. However, in preparation for a special event at the cemetery, which is scheduled for April 26, historical society members have been concerned about the neglected place and the need to neaten up the grounds. Much to their relief, the Amenia highway department once again offered to help. This time it was through the good graces of Megan Chamberlin, following in Whitehead’s footsteps. On a rainy, cold morning last week, she mobilized men and machines to clear away years of decaying leaves, limbs and vines from under an old, rotten tree in the cemetery, doing AHS and the Town of Amenia a great favor.
Last fall, Northwest Landscaping did their annual job of removing leaves as best they could, but fallen tree limbs and vines hampered the leaf-blowing efforts. Just recently, Lee’s Tree Service did a great job removing limbs and branches from off the stone walls and cutting back the low hanging tree branches that endanger the ancient gravestones. Town Supervisor Leo Blackman has supported these endeavors.
The special ceremony at the cemetery, scheduled for April 26 at 2 p.m., is open to the public. AHS will be unveiling a sign to honor the Revolutionary War soldiers who were buried there. Three more cemeteries in Amenia will have similar events in the coming weeks, as we begin the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War. Thanks to our Amenia team effort at the cemetery, we are off to a good start.
Betsy Strauss,
Town Historian
Amenia

letters to the editor
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Millerton News and The News does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Kevin Kelly’s After Hours

Kevin Kelly’s After Hours

Kevin Kelly

Photo by Christopher Delarosa
“I was exposed to that cutthroat, ‘Yes, chef’ culture. It’s not for me. I don’t want anyone apologizing for who they are or what they love.”— Kevin Kelly

Kevin Kelly doesn’t call himself a chef; he prefers “cook.” His business, After Hours, based in Great Barrington, operates as what Kelly calls “a restaurant without a home,” a pop-up dining concept that prioritizes collaboration over competition, flexibility over permanence, and accessibility over exclusivity.

Kelly grew up in Great Barrington and has roots in the Southern Berkshires that go back ten generations. He began working in restaurants at age 14. “I started at Allium and was hooked right off the bat,” he said. He worked across the region from Cantina 229 in New Marlborough to The Old Inn on the Green at Jacob’s Pillow before heading to Babson College in Boston to study business. After a few years in Boston kitchens, he returned home to open a restaurant. But the math didn’t work. “The traditional model just didn’t feel financially sustainable,” he said. “So, I took a step back and asked, ‘If that doesn’t work, then what does?’”

Keep ReadingShow less
restaurants

Books & Blooms’ tenth anniversary

Books & Blooms’ tenth anniversary

Dee Salomon on what makes a garden a garden.

hoto by Ngoc Minh Ngo for Architectural Digest

On June 20 and 21, the Cornwall Library will celebrate its 10th anniversary of Books & Blooms, the two-day celebration of gardens, art, and the rural beauty of Cornwall. This beloved annual benefit features a talk, reception, art exhibit, and self-guided tours of four extraordinary local gardens.

The first Library sponsored garden tour was in June 2010 and featured a talk by Page Dickey, an avid gardener and author. This year’s Books & Blooms will coincide with Ellen Moon’s exhibit “Thinking About Gardens,” a collection of watercolors capturing the quiet spirit of Cornwall’s private gardens. Moon, a weekly storyteller to the first grade at Cornwall Consolidated School and art curator for The Cornwall Library, paints en plein air. Her work investigates what constitutes a garden. In the description of the show, she writes: “there are many sorts...formal, botanical, cottage, vegetable, herb...even a path through the woods is a kind of garden. My current working definition of a garden is a human intervention in the landscape to enhance human appreciation of the landscape.” Also on display are two of her hand-embroidered jackets. One depicts spring’s flowering trees and pollinators. The other, a kimono, was inspired by Yeats’s “The Song of the Wandering Aengus.”

Keep ReadingShow less
cornwall library