ANCRAM — Over a decade’s worth of the Ancram Preservation Group’s (APG) renovation efforts came crashing down in July when a car drove straight through the historic Stiehle House. Though the building itself has since been demolished after being deemed unsafe, the group has been entertaining the idea of rebuilding, though whether it’s feasible remains to be seen.
As published on its website, www.ancrampreservation.org, APG formed in the fall of 2000, during which time there were quite a few derelict historic buildings in the town, according to APG President Kit White. Among its earlier projects, the group purchased and restored the historic Simons General Store on County Route 7, in 2002. Once sufficiently restored, White said the group wanted to sell it and put it back in use. However, they first needed to address the derelict buildings surrounding the historic general store, including the Stiehle House on Route 82 and the “Tinsmith” house across the street.
Focusing on the Stiehle House, the group purchased a facade easement to give them the right to fix the outside of the building, and then acquired a side easement for the right to purchase the building. They eventually purchased the Stiehle House six years ago and sold Simons General Store with the intent of using the funds from that sale to renovate the Stiehle House.
White explained that Ancram’s center is bracketed by the three historic buildings, and while he claims the Stiehle House is not really architecturally significant, “our feeling was it was the placement of the house that made it important because it gave some shape to the town.”
APG has been making preparations to renovate the building for more than a decade, so it could be used for office space and as an internship building for the Ancram Opera House. Building plans for the renovation were filed last winter and APG was ready to proceed in March when their plans were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. They had just started the work this summer when they received devastating news about a vehicle that plowed into the structure on Saturday, July 18.
Ancram resident Joseph Martino was reportedly traveling southbound on Route 82 in the early morning hours when he missed making a turn. His vehicle drove through the building, causing significant damage; he was later charged with drunk driving and a slew of related charges.
Between the cost of purchasing the building and what renovations had already been completed, APG had invested roughly $60,000 into updating the Stiehle House. Prior to the crash, White said the Ancram Opera House had applied for a grant from the state to develop the Stiehle House into a mixed use building. Taking the Ancram Opera House’s interest into account, the crash represented not just the loss of the building, but also the potential for funding and for having the building be put back into use for cultural activity in the town, said White.
APG members spoke with Chad Lindberg, the structural engineer that Ancram Building Inspector Edward Ferratto hired to evaluate the building, as well as with Mark Day, an engineer from Day & Stokosa Engineering P.C., to get a preliminary ruling as to whether the building could be saved.
White said he was informed by both Lindberg and Day that the Stiehle House could be saved.
However, Ferratto deemed the building unsafe based on a structural report he received from Taconic Engineering and declared that it had to be demolished.
In spite of its belief the building could be saved, APG complied with Ferratto’s orders, and the Stiehle House was demolished in August.
“The decision that I made was based on how unsafe the building was, and I had based that on a structural engineer’s report that I received from Taconic Engineering,” Ferratto said. “Basically it said that the building’s support was heavily damaged by the accident and was in imminent danger of collapse.”
White said the group is still assessing the situation and awaiting to learn what the insurance settlement will be. Having spent about $25,000 on demolition costs, he said APG is also assessing its funds going forward.
“I think that this kind of historic preservation is always an uphill battle,” White said. “We’ve really been on our own in this battle and it would be nice if there was more support from the town.”
NORTH EAST — Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County will conduct a presentation on Thursday, May 9 on buying a three-bedroom affordable home to be built in the Town of North East.
The presentation will be held at the NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex at 5:30 p.m.
Any first-time home buyer interested should attend the information session.
The application for this pilot program home-buying opportunity must be made between May 1 and June 10.Minimum household income for the pilot program is $55,000 while maximum income is determined by family size.
Applications are available at the North East Town Hall.Habitat for Humanity describes itself as a nonprofit with global reach, working across the United States and in approximately 70 countries.
‘Migration Collage' by ransome
If you claim a single sobriquet as your artistic moniker, you’re already in a club with some big names, from Zendaya to Beyoncé to the mysterious Banksy. At Geary, the contemporary art gallery in Millerton founded by New Yorkers Jack Geary and Dolly Bross Geary, a new installation and painting exhibition titled “The Bitter and the Sweet” showcases the work of the artist known only as ransome — all lowercase, like the nom de plume of the late Black American social critic bell hooks.
Currently based in Rhinebeck, N.Y., ransome’s work looks farther South and farther back — to The Great Migration, when Jim Crow laws, racial segregation, and the public violence of lynching paved the way for over six million Black Americans to seek haven in northern cities, particularly New York urban areas, like Brooklyn and Baltimore. The Great Migration took place from the turn of the 20th century up through the 1970s, and ransome’s own life is a reflection of the final wave — born in North Carolina, he found a new home in his youth in New Jersey.
‘Square Quilting painting' by ransomeAlexander Wilburn
Map fragments of North Carolina feature heavily in a large collection of eight-by-eight collage and acrylic paintings, sold individually but together mounted on Geary’s wall resembling the stitched patterns on quilts, like the quilts by the late Black American artist Arlonzia Pettway. Along with artists like Annie Mae Young and Mary Lee Bendolph, Pettway was a renowned artist associated with the quilts of Gee’s Bend, generations of women in the town of Gee’s Bend, Alabama who preserved African American culture in beautiful and vibrant textile art with bold combinations of stripes, textures and colors. The influence is also wonderfully clear in ransome large-scale collages and acrylic paintings like “Square Quilt painting” on display at Geary. It’s a powerful symbol of Gee’s Bend’s legacy continuing on, even under a new artistic medium.
In the smaller works, called “Migration Collages,” painted portraits are combined with pieces of floral and pastel paper, evocative of the tradition of “Sunday Best” splendor worn in Black churches in the South. “The women elders at my Baptist church often greeted each other that way on Sunday mornings when one hat was more elaborate, colorful, or wider brimmed than another,” New York Times veteran Lena Williams wrote in her 1996 essay, “In Defense of the Church Hat.” “It was traditional to put on one’s newest finery for church, and in many historically black churches, the wearing of fancy hats by women carried both spiritual and cultural significance.”
“The Bitter and the Sweet” is on view at Geary through Sunday, June 2.
Hospitality, ease of living and just plain fun are rolled into one for those who are intrigued by the leisure-time Caravana experience at the family-owned Four Brothers Drive-in in Amenia. Tom Stefanopoulos, pictured above, highlights fun possibilities offered by Hotel Caravana.
The month-long process of unwrapping and preparing the various features at the Four Brothers Drive-In is nearing completion, and the imaginative recreational destination will be ready to open for the season on Friday, May 10.
The drive-in theater is already open, as is the Snack Shack, and the rest of the recreational features are activating one by one, soon to be offering maximum fun for the whole family.
Tom Stefanopoulos, the second generation helping to guide the Stefanopoulos family’s recreational complex, brings a deep understanding of hospitality and business sense in support of the multi-faceted enterprise, begun in the 1970s, that is now a mainstay of the town of Amenia, located on a corner in the heart of the commercial district. He paused for an interview on Friday, April 26.
Two luxury camping trailers, each with an attached wooden deck and fire pit, make up Hotel Caravana, and each offers a different fun vibe, Stefanopoulos explained. The larger of the two, offers a California lifestyle, retro to 1967, although its modern where it should be. It can sleep four.
The smaller Caravana sleeps two and offers a lifestyle of the future dating to about 2041. It’s a brand-new Airstream, Stefanopoulos noted. It also has an attached deck with firepit.
“We get a lot of New York City people,” Stefanopoulos said when asked what sorts of people are apt to be attracted to Hotel Caravana. “They want to experience the upstate life,” he added. The idea of sitting out on the deck while watching an actual drive-in movie appeals to them, as does room service offered by the restaurant.
The lobster rolls prepared by the Snack Shack, are served on brioche hot dog rolls, either Maine-style or Connecticut-style, and the lobster can be topped with caviar. Four Brothers version is praised by customers for the generous portion of lobster in each, and the price is competitive.
Caravana guests may book for a single night, or maybe two, or even longer, taking advantage of the bicycles to pedal along the nearby rail trail, a local amenity, Stefanopoulos noted.
“We make our guests feel like movie stars,” Stefanopoulos said of the hospitality. And, if they like miniature golf, it is just a few steps away from their Caravana deck.
Asked how and why the Caravana idea began, Stefanopoulos recalled that as the drive-in theater grew in popularity, people were traveling from greater distances away. The last film of the night might start at midnight, he said, so the idea grew that Four Brothers might be able to offer an accommodation to stay the night.
In addition to Caravana, Four Brothers offers an alternative of two or three tent camping sites.
Future plans may include a third Caravana, Stefanopoulos said. Also, there is a giant mastodon skeleton, presently in storage, that should be on display, he said.
“It’s pretty big,” Stefanopoulos added.
The playground might be enlarged in the coming seasons, and perhaps an old-fashioned arcade added for retro amusement.
The community that surrounds Four Brothers remains important to the Stefanopoulos family as they offer substantial summer employment opportunity. Stefanopoulos said that a goal is to contract locally for business needs, such as musical entertainment and advertising. The drive-in also schedules occasion fundraisers to benefit local organizations, including the Amenia Fire Company and area schools.
