PINE PLAINS — If the COVID-19 crisis has shown society anything, it’s that acts of kindness go a long way. As plans for celebrating birthdays, graduations, weddings and more have changed due to the coronavirus pandemic, people have done their best to adapt to the new normal. But local families wanting to celebrate their children’s birthdays were stymied about how to do so with social distancing preventing any party planning. That’s why the Pine Plains Hose Company and the Stanford Fire Company have joined forces to make birthdays special for the children in their two towns.
Calling it a morale booster during COVID-19, Pine Plains Councilperson Matt Zick said he thought of the idea as a way to help support the community.
“I feel I do a lot under the radar,” said the councilman, adding he wants to make sure that Pine Plains residents understand and appreciate how much the Town Board is trying to do to help people out right now. “I would like them to see that I’m doing good things that I believe are good for the town.”
Zick’s father, Stanford Fire Company Vice President Ed Zick, agreed that organizing a special celebration for local children by holding socially-distanced firetruck parades was a good idea. He added their other “cohort in crime” is Stanford Fire Company Secretary/Treasurer Kathie Spears, who was key in encouraging the fire company to cheer up local children who were unable to celebrate their birthdays in the traditional way.
So far, the fire companies have been offering to make rounds with their fire engines to children’s homes on Saturdays between 1 and 4 p.m. As an example, for children with birthdays between Monday, April 13, and Sunday, April 19, the fire companies drove by on Saturday, April 18. For children with birthdays between Monday, April 20, and Sunday, April 26, the fire companies drove by on Saturday, April 25. For children whose birthdays fall between Monday, April 27, and Sunday, May 3, the fire companies plan to drive by on Saturday, May 2.
For each house on their route, the fire companies expressed birthday wishes by blowing the horns and wishing the children a happy day. Spears reported on a later date that the fire companies stopped by 11 houses on Saturday, April 18, and 14 houses on Saturday, April 25.
“We’re doing this namely for the kids,” Ed Zick said. “When we run rounds on Saturdays, it’s such a joy just seeing the kids — it’s unbelievable. All the people that have driven in these parades agreed they would do it again, so it’s as much a morale booster for us as it is for them.”
To have their child’s birthday included in the fire companies’ rounds, parents should reach out to either Matthew Zick at 845-705-5533; Ed Zick at 845-266-8366; or Kathie Spiers at 845-868-7320. Parents have also been advised to call by 8 p.m. on the Thursday prior to the Saturday they want the drive by to occur. After determining their schedules, the fire companies will then reach out to the parents to give them an estimated time for their drive by. Additionally, the fire companies have asked parents to make sure they are outside with their child to ensure their child is supervised when the firetrucks pass by.
As far as how long the fire companies intend to make their birthday rounds, Matt Zick said, “I guess you can say we’re planning to do this as long as we need to.”
His father added that they wanted to thank Pine Plains Fire Chief Brian Walsh for helping to run the birthday program. He also mentioned that the fire companies from Milan and East Clinton joined the program last weekend.
In the meantime, the councilman said that the fire companies are now trying to get local town businesses involved with the rounds. As a celebration of healthcare professionals working around the clock to care for patients during the pandemic, Ed Zick said the fire companies have been trying to get a list of nurses in the participating towns to include them in a special celebration on Saturday, May 2.
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The Millerton News
Hot-tub style approach with a sledge-hammer assist at the lake.
While the chill of recent weeks has driven many Northwest Corner residents inside and their energy bills up, others have taken advantage of the extended cold by practicing some of our region’s most treasured — and increasingly rare — pastimes: ice sports.
I am one of those who goes out rather than in when the mercury drops: a one-time Peewee and Bantam league hockey player turned pond hockey enthusiast turned general ice lover. In the winter, my 12 year-old hockey skates never leave my trunk, on the chance I’ll pass some gleaming stretch of black ice on a roadside pond.
Last winter, when ice was hard to come by, was a massive disappointment for me, as it was for the other ice-obsessed among us. I was delighted, then, when I arrived at Lake Wononscopomuc on a comparatively balmy (26°F) Saturday afternoon to find recreators strolling, skating, fishing and fat-biking across the frozen expanse of its surface.
Grabbing my camera and stepping out onto the ice with the intention of chatting with some of the merry-makers, I gauged the uneven — but passable — surface below my feet and decided to run to the car and switch my boots with skates.
The going was rough at times, contending with intermittent snow layers and slush crusts, but even so the skates were vastly more efficient than my boots as I made my way from group to group.
I stopped to chat with David Bain, who was just starting to set up his fishing station after getting a late start. I asked him the depth under the hole he had just drilled, and he said it was about five feet, despite being 200 yards from shore on the deepest natural lake in Connecticut.
He explained that he had situated himself over a weed bed, and was hoping to catch some brown trout lurking off its shelf. A Norfolk resident, he said he was glad the ice was back after a season or two without it. He said the last time he had fished out on Wononscopomuc’s ice – 2023, he reckoned — he had caught two sizeable brown trout (about 10 and 8 pounds) within 15 minutes of each other at a spot just yards away from this one. I wished him luck for a similar outcome, and skated off to some distant figures hunkered over their ice drills.
I found Kyle Carso of Glastonbury and Andy Sabetta of Berlin, who are long time fishing friends, huddling over their holes as they hoped for a bite. They had been moving around the lake since 7 a.m., and had only pulled up a couple of perch so far, Carso said. Echoing Bain, Carso told me that Wononscopomuc is known for big brown trout though, and the duo had proof: Sabetta had caught a 14-pounder in June.
Carso said he was grateful for the ice conditions this season, which have been difficult to come by in several recent years. He said the ice was generally solid, about eight inches in most places, but encouraged caution as they had found some variability in the holes they drilled, with some spots thinner than others.
Brothers Eamon and John McNiff, who I found with beers in hand just offshore of Eamon’s lakefront property, similarly urged caution for those looking to explore the ice. He said that the frozen lake provides a valuable wealth of recreation, made more special by its seasonal transience – “as long as you’re being smart about it.” With the right caution, though, he said time spent on the ice is “magical.”
The kids get to skate around the lake – close to shore, he specified – and for the adults? “There’s nothing better than an ice beer.”
His brother John had just fat biked — essentially a mountain bike with huge, deeply treaded tires for traction on snow and ice — across the lake from his own property on the other side. Upon arriving at Eamon’s house, he slipped out and sprawled on the ice, pulling a muscle in the process. He said he was better now, though, enjoying a “recuperation beer” provided by his brother.
My final stop of the afternoon found a different type of cold-weather health practice — hanging out hot-tub style in a sledge-hammered hole in the ice. Danny Tieger and Tyler Spofford, both local to the area, are avid cold water swimmers they explained, and try to submerge themselves a few times a week during the winter months.
Tieger said that taking regular cold dips has been transformational after starting about five years ago: “It changed my relationship with my health and brain.”
The two stayed in the water, with apparent calm, for a remarkably long time. Spofford said that once you get over the shock, the water can actually feel a bit warmer than the air, because it actually is at about 34°F compared to the air temperature in the mid 20s.
As they finally climbed out and did some post-dip exercises, I looked out over the lake, dim silhouettes of anglers and fat bikers speckling the white expanse in the soft blue light of the late afternoon. Pulling off my skates for the day with numb and fumbling fingers, I felt grateful for the ice and the unique joy it brings to an oft-maligned season.
With cold weather growing less consistent with each passing winter, days like these can feel a little melancholic and fragile, as if those of us who take to the ice are salvaging for something already almost in the past. Perhaps we are, but it comforted me to be in good company as I scanned the lake’s surface for the last few hold-outs as the clock neared five. If it freezes, we will come.
Any lake ice recreation is inherently dangerous as the ice can be inconsistent. Anyone venturing out onto the ice must consult experts before doing so and follow town guidance.
Emma Brockett, Josalyn Cipkas and Tiffany Oltjenbruns in rehearsal for “From All Angles.”
Garet Wierdsma and her northern Connecticut-based dance company, Garet&Co, will return to Norfolk for their third annual appearance with Dance Workshops on the next three Sundays, followed by two performances of “From All Angles” in Battelle Chapel on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 23, at 4 p.m.
In “From All Angles,” audience members will witness Garet&Co translate three of the works presented at their fall show, “Can’t Keep Friends,” danced in the round, where viewers can witness each piece from a new angle.
Additionally, Garet&Co will be premiering two new works, including a site-specific work made for the beautiful Battelle Chapel performance space. Notably, Garet&Co will be reprising an excerpt of their preeminent piece, “and sometimes I wish” for this show.
On Saturday, Feb. 22, audience members will enjoy a post-show reception followed by a Q & A session.
On Sunday, Feb. 23, audience members will enjoy a pre-show performance with dancers performing installation work.
Garet&Co offers several classes in the performance space at Battell Chapel during their residence, including:
Intermediate/Advanced Technique: this Sunday, Feb. 2, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary Phrase Work: Sunday, Feb. 16, 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Beginners’ Contemporary: Saturday, Feb. 23, 1 to 2 p.m. (please join this class prior to the Sunday show for a special discounted package of class + show tickets)
Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary: Saturday, Feb. 23, 2 to 3 p.m. (please join this class prior to the Sunday show for a special discounted package of class + show tickets)
Garet Wierdsma expressed her excitement: “This year, we are bringing more dancers and more pieces than ever before, plus we are adding special elements that will keep audiences on their toes. We can’t wait to share this show with everyone!”
Evie Sondag, Jessica Winter, and Kyleigh Olivier in rehearsal for “From All Angles.”Elias Olsen
