MILLERTON — When Boston Corner resident Mike Burch was growing up in the 50s in Albany, life was very different for him. He’s now 5-foot, 8-inches tall, 198-pounds and 72 years old. He has long white hair, peppered with a bit of gray typically tied in a pony tail in the back and grown in a long, chest-length beard in the front.
He no longer has to train with weights and take part in sports to strengthen his lungs due to his childhood asthma. Yet train with hundreds of pounds of weights each day he does.
That’s how this grandfather came to be the new record holder for the 70-to-74-year-old age group in the 198-pound weight class in the American Powerlifting Association’s (APA) National Championship competition on Saturday, May 28, at the Steel Beach Gym in Oakville, Conn.
The national APA competition marked the 35th anniversary of its founding in New England, which is why it was held in the Nutmeg State.
As the APA noted on its website, www.wpapowerlifting.com, “powerlifting is a strenuous athletic event.” The competition included three categories: squat attempts, bench presses and deadlifts.
“I broke the world record with lifting 490 pounds,” said a beaming Burch, “before that the record was 485 pounds. I used to lift 800 pounds for five reps back in my 20s. I used to bench press 650 pounds.”
Considering the septuagenarian is a grandfather of one and father of three, dead lifting nearly 500 pounds today is still pretty impressive.
“I have three kids and a grandson,” said Burch, clearly proud of his family. “I started all of my kids with weight lifting, my two sons and daughter. I started weight lifting when I was 2 years old because I had asthma and I guess the weights increased my lungs. I tell these young kid to start lifting weights all the time.”
Burch said his father, who did not himself train with weights, became his personal trainer when he was a child. None of his other relatives lifted weights, but Burch said his dad somehow knew the exercise regimen would help his breathing.
“My father recommended it for the asthma, and guided me when I was young,” remembered Burch. “He was good at training me. As a student, I became a top sprinter in New York State, and ran the 100-meter race in 9.8 seconds — that’s pretty good for an asthmatic.”
The U.S. champ said he “felt pretty good” about his transformation from sickly to superstar. As he grew older, Burch continued to train and make a name for himself on the weight-lifting circuit.
“I became state and national champion on the bench, and today my grandson trains with me. Eli is my training partner,” said Burch. “He really motivates me; he’s 16 and lives in Great Barrington, Mass., and he can really psych me up.”
For this year’s national APA title, Burch faced off against the former U.S.-record holder from Ukraine, who set the former record of 485 pounds in 2017.
“I beat him,” said Burch. “I’m going to the worlds in September… and I’m planning to break it big this time. I’ve been going to the worlds and nationals all my life.”
While Burch could not explain why powerlifting has never made it to the Olympics, he said if it did, the U.S. would be assured a gold medal.
“It was never in the Olympics; I don’t know why. It should have been because the U.S. would dominate,” he said, noting athletes can partake for as long as their bodies hold out, and he would. “At 72, I would take part. Sure, why not?”
The building housing Babette’s Kitchen and Compass Real Estate at 3293-3295 Franklin Ave. in Millbrook sold in October for $1,357,500.
MILLBROOK — October was an unusual month for the Town of Washington with only two commercial properties transferred in the Village of Millbrook, including ownership of the home of Babette’s Kitchen, and two ranch homes located outside the Village. The 12-month median sales point fell to $625,000, well below the 12-month high of $900,000 recorded in February 2024, which was a historic peak for the town.
Reservoir Drive (#474075) — 0.27-acre residential vacant lot in the Village of Millbrook sold to 3302 Franklin Ave. LLC for $275,000.
3293-3295 Franklin Ave. — Detached row commercial building of 9,489 gross square feet sold to Side Two Realty LLC for $1,357,500.
4408 Route 82 — 3 bedroom/3 bath brick ranch on 2.11 acres sold to Gabriel A. Mancuso for $599,000.
179 Horseshoe Road — 4 bedroom/2 bath raised ranch on 1.52 acres sold to Richard Pitz for $384,800.
*Town of Washington recorded real estate transfers from October 1 to October 31, 2025 sourced from Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly reports. Details on each property from Dutchess Parcel Access. Current listings from One Key MLS. Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Shaina Morse stands at the checkout counter in Butter, her home decor store that she opened in Stanfordville a little over a year ago. Morse, an interior designer, sells vintage and antique home goods and decor at the store located at 5963 Route 82.
STANFORD — When interior designer Shaina Morse was driving her young son to daycare, she passed a space for rent on the corner of Bulls Head Road and Route 82 in Stanford that immediately caught her attention. A firm believer in self-manifestation, Morse said she saw it as the perfect opportunity to open a shop, something she had long dreamed of doing.
Morse would go on to open the doors to Butter, a curated home-goods store, in 2024. The shop began as a home-decor-focused space rooted in Morse’s love of sourcing vintage and antique pieces and collaborating with other creatives to develop exclusive products. She and her husband, an industrial designer, also envision it as a platform for designing and producing their own work.
“It’s ultimately a portfolio for me,” Morse said. “I’m trying to stay flexible with what the space can evolve into.”
Now in its second year, the shop has been both a learning experience and a test of patience. “Everyone tells me it takes at least three years to really establish yourself,” Morse said. “But the shop has been really well received. People are rooting for us, and that means a lot.”
What makes Butter particularly notable is that Morse founded it shortly after relocating from Los Angeles to the Hudson Valley. A graduate of San Diego State who was born and raised in Southern California, Morse said she wanted to live somewhere new for her own personal growth.
“Even though Los Angeles had been home forever and I love my family and friends dearly, I didn’t see it as my forever,” she said.
Morse also said she was seeking a better quality of life for her now two-year-old son. With her husband’s family based on Long Island, the move east felt like a natural fit.
“I think the year that I moved, it just felt like everything was strangely falling into place,” Morse said. “These opportunities kept presenting themselves, and because I didn’t have a job, I had time to focus on potentially opening a store.”
At first, Morse said she didn’t think opening a shop would be possible — she had just moved and didn’t yet have a job. However, when she met the building’s owner and learned that he was a high-end residential contractor, she reasoned that even if the shop didn’t work out, the connection could still be valuable.
“If nothing comes from this,” she said, “at least I’ve made a connection in the industry.”
Ultimately, Morse and her husband decided the leap was worth the risk. As two creatives, the couple saw the space not only as a retail venture but also as an opportunity to build something that reflected their shared design sensibilities and long-term goals.
“I don’t have any expectations because this is my first time running a store,” Morse said. “I’m learning a lot, and it’s been helpful getting to know other small business owners, especially being new to the area.”
Alongside the shop, Morse continues to run her interior design practice, offering services ranging from paint and color consulting to full-scale renovations, new builds and custom furniture design. While she’s open to many project types, residential work remains her focus.
“It’s more intimate,” she said. “You really get to know people, and it becomes a collaborative process.”
Morse draws on her undergraduate degree in interior design as well as her professional experience working with prominent designers such as Waldo Fernandez and Peter Dunham. Balancing her design practice with curating products for Butter, she said, can be challenging, but it also informs the shop’s identity. She aims to prioritize carrying goods made by small-business owners.
“The space is essentially a reflection of me,” Morse said. “I find things I like — products, smells and scents I gravitate toward — and I wouldn’t bring anything into Butter that I don’t love or wouldn’t use in my own home.”
The 17th annual Friends of the Millbrook Library Holiday Silent Auction closed bidding on the more than 120 tempting items with a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception on Saturday, Dec. 20. Enjoying the festivities were, at left, Denise Bauer, chair of the Library Friends organization, with Tom and Susie Stroup of Millbrook. Proceeds raised by the event totaled $12,000.
Max Marsal, left, and his brother Liam volunteered to light one of the candles for the menorah together at the urging of their mother.
MILLBROOK — A crowd of about 40 people came together to pray and sing around the large menorah in the front yard of the Thorne Community Building on Franklin Avenue in the Village of Millbrook on Sunday, Dec. 21, for a menorah lighting ceremony.
Rabbi Mendy Mochkin of Chabad of Amenia led the lighting and prayers, continuing a tradition he said has been ongoing in Millbrook for years.
Mochkin's address to the gathered crowd called for brotherhood and peace in the wake of a fatal shooting during a Hannukah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, killed 15 people and injured dozens more.
"I know the rabbi who — God forbid — unfortunately lost his life, Rabbi Schlenger," Mochkin said. "And a cousin of mine is fighting for his life. He's in the hospital now."
Following the touching tribute to Bondi Beach victims and the lighting of the menorah, the crowd shuffled down Franklin Avenue to Babette's where hot drinks and snacks were offered.
Rabbi Mindy Mochkin, right, holds the shamash candle, or the middle candle on the menorah that is traditionally used to light the other eight candles, while Sergeant Michael Rahilly, left, lights it.
Photo by Nathan Miller
Ali Marsal, center, and her sons Max, left, and Liam huddle together to fight the frigid temps.
Photo by Nathan Miller
