MILLERTON — Families who are relying on the Sunday in the Country Food Drive (SITCFD) to provide traditional meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas will not be disappointed, according to program Director Bill Anstett, despite it being something of a struggle this year for the organization to meet its funding goals.
The group, which distributes holiday baskets at food pantries throughout the Tri-state region, traditionally relies on private donations and fundraisers. Anstett said plainly, the funding is “not as good as last year.”
At that time, many responded to COVID concerns by reaching into their pocketbooks and sending in donation checks.
“We have those who donated for years and they’re [still] donating, but things are slow to come in at this time,” he noted.
The challenge could be daunting. But Anstett, who volunteered with SITCFD for years when his predecessor, NASCAR Dave MacMillan, ran the program. Anstett then took over the charity when MacMillan retired to Florida; he's now remaining optimistic.
“It is what it is, but we’re definitely doing Thanksgiving and Christmas again,” said Anstett. “We’re looking for the donations, but I ordered turkeys on the first of August — have them set up ahead of time. I ordered 4 tons of dry goods that we give out as well. I got ahead of the game there. I wasn’t sure of the availability this year.”
Noting some of the difficulties facing the food supply chain due to the pandemic, he added, “There are a number of issues — trucking and probably a gap of a number of items at certain times. I’m not sure how it’s going to play out, but hopefully we have everything in line and ready to go.”
Sharing credit with all who make the decades-long holiday meal program run, Anstett said, “It’s the whole community. Everybody pitches in — anyone that sends money.”
Anstett acknowledged that there have been changes over the past few years — especially since MacMillan, who founded the SITCFD program after experiencing hunger first-hand and deciding to do whatever he could to make sure as few in his community went through the same pain, moved South.
“We have a very small core group now,” said Anstett, who runs SITCFD with his wife. And even though he said they are not as worried about transmission of the coronavirus as they were last year, he said, “We set a lot of things aside with COVID. We’ve managed to do it with less help, and we’re probably going to stick with that for now.”
Changes included cancelling some of the regular fundraising events such as the annual golf tournament, but the group did manage to pull off some activities at a few locations to help raise critical funds.
They cooked food and sold tickets for their annual raffle sale at the Salisbury Winter Sports Association (SWSA) Brew-Ski Fest on Oct. 10 in Salisbury, Conn.
At the Maplebrook School in Amenia, they raised $10 per car with a Drive Thru Spooktacular from Oct. 28 through Oct. 30, which featured decorations, ghost stories and “candy and Halloween trinkets.”
Tickets for the SITCFD’s upcoming annual raffle, which cost $5 each or six for $50, were sold at the Nov. 7 Millerton Farmers Market. They continue to be available at Herrington’s in Millerton, the Amenia Steak House and the Sharon Valley Tavern, from Millerton Mayor Jenn Najdek or by calling someone affiliated with SITCFD; the drawing will be on Saturday, Nov. 21.
Working with several food pantries in the region, SITCFD serves hundreds of families stretching from Amenia, Ancram, Dover, Millerton, Pawling and Wassaic in New York and in Lakeville, Sharon, Cornwall and Canaan, Conn. It’s also served numerous pantries in Massachusetts throughout its time.
In addition to the holiday baskets, Anstett said the organization responds to individual needs that might arise during the year.
To donate to the raffle or purchase raffle tickets, go to www.sundayinthecountry.org; email sundayinthecountry@gmail.com; phone 518-267-9865; or send checks to SITCFD, P.O. Box 789, Millerton, NY 12546.
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.
