MILLBROOK — The community gathered to create an overflow crowd to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, after learning how to say “Happy New Year” in Chinese.
The event celebrated the start of the “Year of the Snake” while gaining greater understanding of Chinese arts and culture. The program, held at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Feb. 15, was sponsored by the Millbrook Arts Group and the Mid-Hudson Chinese Language Center.
“We’re always excited to introduce Millbrook’s children to a wider community,” said Millbrook Arts Group board member June Glasson.
Lin Fen-Lan, director of the Mid-Hudson Chinese Language Center, located in Poughkeepsie, began the program by teaching a bit of the Chinese language and explaining the cultural tradition of the Chinese paper lantern and lantern festivals held throughout China, Taiwan and surrounding Asian countries.
What observers commonly believe to be Chinese dragons, often seen in parades or cultural celebrations, stem more from the lion, seen as a mythical creature, as lions are not found in China. Some traditions have thought of the lion as a cat, all serving as inspiration for the design of the dragon with a large head and fabric body animated by human dance performers providing the legs. The dragon-lion-cat dance is thought to have the power to frighten away evil spirits.
Young dancers demonstrated their talents in interpreting Chinese dance as cultural tradition at the Chinese Lunar New Year event that attracted an overflow gathering of families. The program was sponsored by the Millbrook Arts Group and the Mid-Hudson Chinese Language Center at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Feb. 15. Photo by Leila Hawken
Accompanying the dragon dance is a traditional cacophony of percussive instruments, gong, cymbals and rhythmic drums, the sounds filling the library space, the total effect being to keep evil spirits at bay.
Babies born in the Year of the Snake, Lin said, can look forward to possessing intelligence and wisdom, good fortune, prosperity and health. The Chinese see the snake as wise, clever and thoughtful, so that babies born this year will grow up to be problem-solvers who think before they act.
Other performances included Chinese yo-yo demonstrations requiring expert coordination, and young costumed dancers demonstrating their talents in traditional dance.
Noting that this year was the first performance appearance at the Millbrook Library, Lin was pleased to see Millbrook’s children being introduced to Chinese culture.
“We love our culture,” Lin added.
A Poughkeepsie all-volunteer non-profit since 1968, the Mid-Hudson Chinese Language Center is family-oriented where students of all ages and backgrounds come together to learn the Chinese language, culture and the arts.
To learn more, go to www.mhclc.org.
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Ralph Fedele sits at a desk in the historic Irondale Schoolhouse, which he led the effort to relocate to downtown Millerton.
Starting in 2015, the building was disassembled and moved — piece-by-piece — thanks to the efforts of a local organization called the Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse and a Millerton resident that has dedicated much of his life to the community and preserving local landmarks.
That man is Ralph Fedele, a revered figure in the community both for his efforts to restore, maintain and educate people about the former schoolhouse and for more than a decade serving on the North East Town Board.
Fedele moved to Millerton from New York City 37 years ago, in 1988, and has since worn many hats – volunteer, historian, advocate, elected official – yet he still doesn’t believe he’s earned that title.
“I’m a transplant,” he said matter of factly. “I’m from the city.”
Years after settling in Millerton full time, Fedele was driving north on Route 22 when he spotted an old, classic building and couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“It was in dire straits,” he recalled. “Right on the road, but beautiful. I remember thinking, ‘Wouldn’t that be a great building to move into the village?’”
That moment would eventually turn into Fedele’s lasting legacy.
Fedele joked that people may have thought he was crazy during the lengthy restoration. “I was a tyrant,” he said with a laugh. “I really made sure that we were able to get it done.” The effort required coordination with the state, the county, village and town officials, and his newly assembled nonprofit board.
As a self-proclaimed history buff, Fedele didn’t stop at the restoration. He found a list of students in old records and did what any determined historian would do. He opened the telephone book and started making calls.
Eventually, he tracked down one of the schoolhouse’s original students – Mary (Mechare) Leitch – who, at the age of 101, returned to the building after renovations were complete.
“It was a marvelous time,” smiled Fedele. “I was so happy to see her.”
North East Town Supervisor Chris Kennan, left, and Mary Leitch, who was the last living Irondale Schoolhouse student until her death in 2025.Provided
Leitch died on Dec. 24, 2025, at the age of 103.
Leitch was born in Millerton in 1922 and grew up on Winchell Mountain in the hamlet of Irondale. Her early schooling was at Irondale’s 1858 one-room schoolhouse until it closed in 1930. She was proud of having been the last person to attend the school. From the third grade onward, she attended school in the Millerton school district.
“If you sit still, you will rust,” was a favorite Leitch saying, perhaps inspired by the Irondale district and the area’s iron industry.
Leitch delighted in the outdoors and in the company of animals and people, caring for many dogs—especially Jack Russells—and cherishing the horses that were part of her long, vibrant life. An avid sportswoman, she enjoyed deer hunting and fishing, keeping her licenses current right up until her passing. She was a longtime member of both the Jack Russell Club of America and the Dutchess County Professional Horsemen’s Association.
In 1958, she married William “Billy” Leitch of Millbrook, a professional horseman, sharing a love of the sporting life and enjoying active membership in the Millbrook Hunt Club. Billy pre-deceased her in 2015.
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