AMENIA — A new Amenia recreation program kicked off on Monday, Feb. 3, with an invitation to enjoy winter skating at Silo Ridge’s outdoor rink on selected Mondays during February.
Skaters of all ages and varied experience on the ice came to the first session with more anticipated to participate as the word gets out. A warming fire was a popular feature.
The open skating community invitation will be repeated on Feb. 10 and 24. Each session will begin at 3:30 p.m. and continue until closing at 6 p.m. Advance registration is required . For more information, go to www.amenia.ny.gov, or to register, email the Recreation Department at pbogin@ameniany.gov.
“This is a good opportunity for Amenia and Silo Ridge to collaborate and bring events to the town,” said new Amenia Recreation Director Paul Bogin. “This will lead to more events for people to enjoy.”
“It’s been a long time coming,” added Mark Hussey, Director of VIBE at Silo Ridge, responsible for setting the mood of the field club’s atmosphere for its residents. He said he was pleased to see the town being able to use the ice.
New Amenia Recreation Supervisor Paul Bogin was on hand on Monday, Feb. 3, for the first of three Open Rink community events sponsored by the Recreation Department in collaboration with Silo Ridge where the rink is located. The free community skating will be repeated on Monday, Feb. 24, inviting local and area skaters to enjoy using the expansive rink. Registration required.Photo by Leila Hawken
Also attending to the details of the open skate day were Zachary Spencer, outdoor pursuits coordinator and outdoor pursuits attendant Maebal Spencer — no relation.
Their efforts kept the fire pit stoked with wood, and a variety of tasks to ensure the skating experience would be positive for all.
“The more the merrier,” said Zachary Spencer, noting that the open rink idea was under consideration for a long time. “It’s definitely something I support.”
He was pleasantly surprised, he said, to see the local visiting skaters had impressive skating talent, some even managing some figure skating moves.
“It’s good to see the public enjoying it, the town coming together,” Maebel Spencer observed.
“It’s a good vibe,” Hussey added, pleased by the evident sense of community brought about by the event.
Little Sloane Oksenhendler, 4, of Clinton Corners was fearlessly enthusiastic about the experience, not her first time on skates, nor her last.
Finding it fun, she managed to skate along and remain upright with the help of an ingenious “walker” box for use on ice.
“I’m going to invite all of my friends to come skating with me,” Sloane said, adding that she particularly loved how they — the other skaters — do tricks on the ice.
Local skaters enjoyed free skating at the Silo Ridge Ice Rink on Monday, Feb. 3, the first of three planned open rink days sponsored by the Amenia Recreation Department in collaboration with Silo Ridge. The Open Rink program will be repeated on Mondays, Feb. 10 and 24, inviting local and area skaters to enjoy community skating fellowship. Registration is required.Photo by Leila Hawken
Participating students and teachers gathered for the traditional photo at the 2025 Troutbeck Symposium on Thursday, May 1.
A showing of student artworks within the theme of linking the past with the present opened the symposium on Wednesday evening. Each work of art had to draw on historical research to foster an informed dialogue between the artist and the contemporary audience.
The second day was devoted to student research presentations, showcasing teams from the region’s leading public and private schools with strong programs aimed at cultivating engaged young historians. Primary source materials and live interviews with descendants were included in the process.
Topics were divided into blocks with guest commentators providing reactive response as each block of student presentations concluded. Serving as commentators were Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Ohio State University, and Dr. Christine Proenza-Coles, University of Virginia.
Resistance in the face of oppression and stories of resilience that spanned generations formed an important theme as students presented the stories of area settlers and residents who suffered but endured.
As a sampling, The Taconic School teamed up with The Salisbury School to unearth untold stories of Boston Corners. The Hotchkiss School looked into the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in Connecticut. The Cornwall Consolidated School students stepped up with their untold stories of early Cornwall women.
Other presentations explored criminal justice — witchcraft trials — dealing with society’s “undesirable” elements, individuals in history who took action, people and movements that formed resistance, and various forms of discrimination.
Praising the work of the students, Dr. Jeffries identified a theme of resistance and survival.
“The war ended but the resistance did not,” Jeffries said. “We don’t take indigenous people seriously,” he added. “White supremacy happened in our own back yards.”
“We saw the evolution of research,” said a Cornwall Consolidated School representative. That project moved into civic engagement by the students that moved beyond the classroom.
“This is not the past; this is part of the present,” said Dr. Proenza-Coles.
A panel discussion among educators whose students had participated in the 2025 Troutbeck Symposium was held on Friday, May 2, to offer reflections on the symposium, its value and future development. Panelists from left to right were Jessica Jenkins, Litchfield Historical Society;Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason, Brown University; Morgan Bengal, Old New-Gate Prison; Frank Mitchell, Connecticut Humanities; and student representatives Dominik Valcin of Salisbury School, and Shanaya Duprey of Housatonic Valley Regional High School. Leila Hawken
The third day invited area history educators to assemble and share ideas for redesigning elements of history education, a day of reflection.
The panel included Jessica Jenkins, Litchfield Historical Society; Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason, Brown University; Morgan Bengal, Old New-Gate Prison; Frank Mitchell, Connecticut Humanities; and student representatives Dominik Valcin of Salisbury School, and Shanaya Duprey of Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
Valcin reflected on his work as a shared project within The Salisbury School, one where the inquiry would seek to find “the deeper story behind a base story.”
Duprey also spoke of process and the educational value of engaging with historical inquiry.
Each representing a profession that brings them into contact with historical inquiry, the panelists recounted tedious history classes of past decades. Jenkins described her own career as “public history.”Lamb-Canon’s experience began with choosing history electives in college. Bengal spoke of community engagement and the power of involvement with history.
“History is not the opposite of scientific inquiry,” said Bengal.
Significant discussion centered on the possibility of offering the Troutbeck Symposium model to a wider audience of school systems throughout the U.S.
“A community approach to education,” was a characterization offered by Troutbeck owner Charlie Champalimaud, commenting during a brief interview at the end of the symposium on Friday, May 2. She encouraged a push toward increasing even more the number of participating schools, their educational communities and symposium sponsors.
A string quartet opened the Bard Conservatory of Music program for Region One third grade students at Music Mountain.
After a brief introduction from Bard’s Mira Wang, the first item on the program was a string quartet, playing a piece by Haydn.
The students also heard a solo rendition of medieval songs played on the alto trombone, an unusual instrument.
The annual third grade concert is a tradition that stretches back decades at Music Mountain. It’s a treat for the children, and for the music students, who get to experience the incredible acoustics of the Music Mountain concert hall.
Two flutists performed later in the show.Patrick L. Sullivan
