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Millbrook races to support ailing resident

Millbrook races to support ailing resident
Violet Mackey, 14, with her mom, Danielle, and her brother, Brooks, 12, after running the 5-K Walk and Run for Barri. Here, they are after signing a card for Barri. 
Photo by Judith O’Hara Balfe

MABBETTSVILLE — Angels of Light was known for more than 15 years as a local nonprofit charity group that gifted a worry-free holiday season to area families with children who had been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. Angels of Light would shop for holiday gifts, wrap them and then present them to the families so they could enjoy worry-free, stress-free holidays.

The Millbrook organization has provided these Christmas and Hanukkah blessings to more than 1,000 families during the past number of years. This past May, Angels of Light announced it would be broadening its mission to help families with other basic needs throughout the year. 

One recipient of its good works is local resident Barri Donellen, known by family and friends as a giving and generous person, beloved by many. Donellen has been diagnosed with Stage IV Esophageal Cancer. 

Angel of Lights Director Lori Decker organized a 5-K walk and run, along with a shorter race for children, that was held on Sunday, July 10, at the Town of Washington Park in Mabbettsville. The event was sponsored by Forza Fitness on Franklin Avenue in Millbrook; more than 70 people signed up to participate. 

“I’m so appreciative of the community and Lori for putting this all together. It’s just me and my mom, and it’s been so difficult,” said Daron McShane, Donellen’s daughter.

— Judith O’Hara Balfe

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Susan Schneider and the magic of marbling
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
It’s a joyful process. —Susan Schneider

A beautiful September morning found Susan Schneider of Shandell’s working in her Ashley Falls home studio, while linen cocktail napkins she had marbled the day before hung on a line outside her back door. Her helpers, dogs Daisy and Stubbs, are never far from her.

“Marbling,” Schneider explained, “the art of floating paint on a liquid and printing it on a medium, has been around for hundreds of years.”

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Through the lens of war

Through the lens of war

“Omaha Beach Rescue, D-Day +1, Normandy, June 7, 1944.” one of the best-known photographs of D-Day.

Walter Rosenblum

Longtime Norfolk resident Nina Rosenblum will present her award-winning documentary, “They Fight With Cameras,” on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 6:30 p.m. at the Norfolk Library.

The film tells the story of her father, decorated U.S. Army Signal Corps combat cameraman Walter Rosenblum.

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Brian Gersten finds the story in the overlooked

Filmmaker Brian Gersten

D.H. Callahan

At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, award-winning filmmaker Brian Gersten will screen four short documentaries at the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village, exploring obscure topics such as a lingering territorial dispute between the United States and Canada, a nationwide toilet paper panic sparked by a late-night joke, the infamous “Balloon Boy” saga and the history of bowling in America.

The Chicago-raised, Millerton-based filmmaker has worked as an editor on feature-length documentaries like the cycling film “Enter the Slipstream” and Netflix’s profile on author Tom Wolfe, “Radical Wolfe.” In 2025, “Why We Dream,” a film he edited about bringing D-Day veterans back to the beaches of Normandy, premiered aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid in New York City. When it comes to directing, Gersten’s own interests focus more on the underappreciated and unremembered, as the four short films he directed will demonstrate.

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Sharon artist takes top prize at Lime Rock art show
Muriel Stockdale, left, and judge Roger McKee during the awards announcement at the juried art show at Trinity Episcopal Church. Stockdale\u2019s \u201cKevin\u201d was the second place winner.
Patrick L. Sullivan

The annual juried art show at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock was won by Mi-Kyung Hwang of Sharon for “Wild Hazelnut from Eggleston.”

The winners were announced at the show’s opening reception at the church Friday evening, Sept. 18.

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