
HVRHS seniors Ellie Wolgemuth, left, and Tess Marks were panelists for “Students as Historians: A Community-based Approach to History.”
Patrick L. Sullivan
HVRHS seniors Ellie Wolgemuth, left, and Tess Marks were panelists for “Students as Historians: A Community-based Approach to History.”
MILLERTON — High school history teachers Rhonan Mokriski and Peter Vermilyea demonstrated how they “let students lead” in studying history at The Moviehouse in Millerton Thursday, March 27.
The demonstration took the form of two documentary films made by students at Salisbury School and Housatonic Valley Regional High School, plus one from Yale University’s Beinecke Library.
“Coloring Our Past” from Salisbury School follows the story of the Cesar family, Black residents of Salisbury and Sharon. It also shows how the students conducted research, including field trips to the places the family lived and worked, and an interview with a descendant.
“Faces of Adversity” from HVRHS deals with the story of how two Black girls came to the high school for the 1958-59 school year.
The girls were from Little Rock, Arkansas, which was the epicenter of the fight over school desegregation.
The documentary uses a mix of archival footage and a contemporary interview with one of the Little Rock students.
From Yale came Michael Morand’s “What Could Have Been,” about an 1831 proposal to establish what would today be called an Historically Black College or University, or HBCU, in New Haven.
Supported by abolitionists and prominent citizens, the proposal was nonetheless soundly defeated at a town meeting. Many of the opponents were also prominent citizens.
Morand was scheduled to attend the screening but was unable to make it. Salisbury School’s Mokriski and Vermilyea from HVRHS spoke after the films were shown, highlighting how the tactic of letting students take control of such projects yields considerable results.
“This is students getting their hands dirty as historians,” said Vermilyea.
The teachers noted how the students took advantage of modern technology to get access to source material.
“It’s a game-changer,” Vermilyea said.
Mokriski added “We can use this as a template.”
HVRHS students Tess Marks and Elinor Wolgemuth, both seniors from Salisbury, presented at the America 250 conference “Shaping a Commemoration Rooted in Belonging,” held at the University of Connecticut on March 21. Marks and Wolgemuth were members of a panel discussion entitled “Students as Historians: A Community-based Approach to History,” along with Mokriski, Vermilyea, and Charlie Champalimaud, owner and operator of Troutbeck in Amenia. The students spoke about how student projects presented at last year’s Troutbeck Symposium could serve as a model for the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence.
This year’s Troutbeck Symposium runs from April 30 to May 2. The student-led forum includes students from 14 regional and independent schools who will “listen, present, and discuss findings of their research projects uncovering little-known local histories that tie to our national fabric,” according to the Troutbeck website.
Board members from the Amenia Garden Club were at work on Saturday, May 10, planting a new native pollinator garden in front of the Amenia Free Library.
AMENIA — Trowels in hand, board members of the Amenia Garden Club set about planting a native garden of pollinator plants, its gift to the Amenia Free Library on Saturday, May 10, the plant choices to be an attraction for bees, insects and birds common to this area.
The new perennial garden measuring 6 feet by 12 feet replaces old rhododendron bushes and a patch of wild strawberries, adding a colorful native display throughout the growing season for all to enjoy.
Butterflies and birds will soon be seen flocking to the Amenia Library to take advantage of a newly planted native pollinator garden. The entire board of the Amenia Garden Club gathered on Saturday, May 10 to do the planting using a Homegrown National Park/Ecoplantia kit. Left to right are Ryan Bagley, Nina Peek, Michael Peek, Ken Monteiro and Paul Arcario.
A program offered through the Homegrown National Park organization, cooperating with Ecoplantia of Frederick, MD, provided 25 live plant plugs that will bloom throughout the growing season from spring to fall, attracting and nourishing pollinator species. The planting kit includes a kraft paper biodegradable template to spread over the prepared soil, showing precise placement for each plant. A bit of fertilizer and a cover of mulch completed the task.
Ken Monteiro, president of the Garden Club, provided details, describing the various plants, all native to the region and therefore of interest to pollinating insects and birds that search for these specific plant species.
Visitors to the library during summer will delight in purple coneflower attracting a variety of butterflies and later, goldfinches. Then Black-Eyed Susans will appear in summer, along with Beardtongue, irresistible to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Ornamental purple Lovegrass will also appear along the way, as will a profusion of Coreopsis and Aster.
Michael Jarvis
NORTH EAST — A Dutchess County Deputy Sheriff conducted a traffic stop on May 4 related to a minor traffic infraction that led to the arrest of a North East man on drug charges involvingquantities of fentanyl and cocaine.
Michael Jarvis, 49, of Cooper Road in the Town of North East, was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd Degree, intent to sell, a class B Felony, and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance, third degree, (weight), a class B Felony.
The arrest of Jarvis followed an investigation begun by theDutchess County District Attorney’s Office Drug Task Force after information was obtained from the community aboutalleged significant drug activity in the area of Cooper Road.
Drug Task Force Agents provided intelligence to the Dutchess Sheriff’s Office Patrol Bureau regarding a specific area on Cooper Road and requested traffic enforcement in that area and surrounding areas to identify the person or persons involved.
Deputies allegedly found Jarvis in possession of over 150 bags of fentanyl and more than an ounce of crack cocaine.Photo provided
Deputy Sheriff Dylan Merritt conducted the May 4 traffic stop of a vehicle for minor traffic infractions.While conducting an investigation, the deputy allegedly found Jarvis to be in possession of more than 150 bags of fentanyl packaged for sale as well as over an ounce of crack cocaine packaged and ready for sale.
Drug Task Force Agents responded to the scene to assist in the investigation.
Jarvis was arraigned in the Town of North East Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail.
If anyone has information regarding this case or about any other individuals selling drugs in Dutchess County, you are urged to contact the Drug Task Force confidential tip line at 845-463-6040 or by emailing your tips to Drugtaskforcetips@gmail.com.
Please join us for a Celebration of Life to honor Michael R. Tesoro M.D. (May 20, 1941-—Dec. 25, 2024) whose vibrant spirit touched so many. We will gather on May 17 at 11:30 a.,m. at Trinity Lime Rock to remember Michael’s life with love and laughter.
A light fare reception to immediately follow at the church’s Walker Hall.
Trinity Lime Rock, 484 Lime Rock Rd., Lakeville. In lieu of flowers please direct donations to: Malta House of Care, Inc.,136 Farmington Avenue,Hartford, CT 06105 www.maltahouseofcare.org
SHARON — Keith Raven Johnson, a long-time resident of Sharon, died on April 26, 2025, a month after his 90th birthday, at Geer Rehabilitation and Long -Term Care facility in Canaan.
He was born on March 21, 1935, in Ithaca, New York, the son of John Raven Johnson and Hope Anderson Johnson.
Keith was a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Cornell University where he was editor-in-chief of the Cornell Daily Sun and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
After serving his active duty in the New York National Guard, he joined the New York Herald Tribune as a reporter in 1957. Four years later he moved to Time magazine where he served as a writer and editor in New York and as a correspondent based in Los Angeles, Washington, Paris and London, with temporary assignments in Africa, Germany, and Vietnam. He was executive editor of Money magazine and later of Discover magazine. He retired as a member of the board of editors of Fortune magazine in 1993.
Before his retirement, Keith served on the vestry at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City where he was also chair of the Choir School. He later became a member of the Lime Rock Episcopal Church.
After retirement, Keith served on the executive committee of the Lakeville Journal where he also contributed a column called “Cars” reflecting a life-long interest in performance automobiles. He also served as a trustee and treasurer of the Hotchkiss Library in Sharon and was on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut. He was a member of the Cornell University Council and at one time chaired the Advisory Council of the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell.
Keith is survived by his brother, Leonard Johnson, and his wife, Patricia, his son, Stephen Main, his niece, Paige Johnson Roth, his nephew, Keith Raven Johnson II, and his niece, Heide Novado Johnson. He was predeceased by his parents and his nephew, Eric Anderson Johnson.
Donations may be made in Keith’s memory to ACLU of Connecticut, 765 Asylum Avenue, Hartford CT 06015, or Keith Johnson ’52 and Leonard Johnson ’56 Scholarship Fund, Phillips Exeter Academy, 20 Main Street, Exeter NH 03833.
A celebration of Keith’s life will be held on Saturday, July 12 at 11 am at the Lime Rock Episcopal Church, followed by a reception in the parish hall.