Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Original radio play celebrates America’s 250th anniversary

Original radio play celebrates America’s 250th anniversary

Residents and visitors gather at Millbrook assisted living facility The Fountains to hear “We the People,” a production of the Fountains Radio Workshop, on Friday, July 3. The event was fittingly in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Photo by Leila Hawken

MILLBROOK — A local group that regularly performs original radio plays at an assisted living facility celebrated the nation’s 250th anniversary with yet another original staging.

The Fountains Radio Workshop tipped its hat to the nation’s 250th anniversary by presenting “We the People,” on Friday, July 3. There were 22 in the cast and a capacity audience out front.

Project director and Fountains resident Marge Wardrop created a verbal tableau that traced familiar quotes beginning with a reading of the Declaration of Independence punctuated by a chorus of “We the People.”

“Who are we, the people?” asked announcer Jim Wardrop.

The answer began with a quote from George Washington, followed by quotes from American heroes, well-known historic figures and the not so well known, but all contributing to the tested fabric of history as people met the challenges of their times. Those times included the early years of the young country, various periods of war, the Depression, the long civil rights movement and its heroes, all the way up to a modern-day voter, mindful of the responsibility of being one of the nation’s people.

Sound work was by Janet Robinson.

Latest News

Slow fashion takes the runway at Stone Ridge Orchard

The organic runway at HVSFW puts sustainable style among the apple trees at Stone Ridge Orchard.

Jay Ballesteros

Fast fashion has made it possible to buy the latest trend almost as quickly as it appears on social media. The environmental cost, however, is anything but fleeting. Fashion production accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions, consumes enormous quantities of water and energy, and an estimated 85% of textiles end up in landfills each year. Synthetic fabrics also shed microplastics when washed.

So what would happen if we slowed things down?

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

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.”

Keep ReadingShow less

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.

Keep ReadingShow less
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.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.