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All That Jazz
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Sunday, November 2, 2008
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EVAN JAGELS
NIGHT LIFE
It’s hard to fill a room with just guitar and bass.
A jazz duo is the real skeleton of swing, a truly exposed dialog where every grammatical mistake radiates without cover from other voices.
Without drums, the bassist’s rhythmic role becomes equal to that of its harmonic one, demanding absolute musical foundation.
As sole harmony, the guitarist must be especially tasteful with note choice and volume. Too loud, complex, or self-indulged and it is no longer a dialog.
This is a truly professional task.
So on Tuesday, Oct. 28, it was a pleasure to see bassist Rich Mollin and guitarist Bill Farrish perform at My Father’s Place behind the Rainbow Inn on Route 7, not only for the musicianship, but as an introduction to a new venue supporting area musicians.
Quite frankly, there seem to be a disproportionate number of professional musicians and venues able to sustain them in the Oneonta area.
My Father’s Place promises a little change in a good direction.
Brothers Eddy and Ryan Pereira would like to bring more authentic Portuguese cuisine and diversity of music to this space behind the Rainbow Inn, owned by their father Ed for the past 25 years after moving to New York from Portugal.
Authentic Portuguese tiles already line the floors and large wine barrels, cut in half, serve as impressive oak arches on top of the bar.
This most recent jazz performance, with dates to follow, is due in part to the promotion of SUNY Oneonta professor Tony Scafide.
“I want this to grow exponentially, because adults need something to do, too, as well as people who like jazz,” Scafide said.
Speaking of Mollin and Farrish, he expressed his delight in hearing “...two people approach standards and play them completely differently.”
As any jazz aficionado in 2008 would agree, this is a laudatory remark.
To work with root motions and melodies – many from the first half of the 20th century – and to play them in such a way that they are presented as new material, yet still easily recognized as their original form, and without relying on any notes or chords on paper, and you can call yourself a jazz musician.
Once more, it is special to see a double bass player who can accomplish all this with flawless pitch even in the highest register of the instrument.
The ability to cover the range that a horn would normally play in while not neglecting the bass of the bass and keeping all the feet tapping against those Portuguese tiles in lieu of a drum set is what really brings a fresh breath to a jazz duo – or just “breath,” if you are familiar with Don Byas and Slam Stewart, or other phenomenal duo performances.
No surprise, however, as Mollin has studied with some of the best, including Milt Hinton, “the dean of jazz bass players,” and Coltrane bassist Dr. Art Davis among others.
Mollin has taught at SUNY Oneonta for the past six years, where he leads one of the largest bass programs in the state university system.
Prior to his appointment at the college, he was music director at The Otesaga in Cooperstown and band leader on Norwegian Cruise Lines, Costa Lines, Holland America Lines and Carnival Cruises.
Upcoming at My Father’s Place, Mollin will be performing with pianist Rob Roman on Saturday, Nov. 8, and Friday, Nov. 14.
Guitarist Dennis Turecheck, founder and president of the Classical Guitar Society for Upstate New York and accomplished jazz guitarist, is due on on Friday, Nov. 21, and Saturday, Nov. 29.
Both Roman and Turecheck are also professors at SUNY Oneonta.
With all hope, these engagements and others of their promised caliber truly will grow exponentially at My Father’s Place.
Evan Jagels is a SUNY Oneonta music major.Labels: 11-07-08, City of the Hills, Evan Jagels, Night Life |
posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 8:15 PM   |
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Prime Angus
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SAM GOODYEAR
ART BEAT
It’s the best there is. And so is David Angus, the recently appointed music director of Glimmerglass Opera.
The New York Times praised his “sensitive leadership” in conducting Bellini’s “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” (2008), noting as well the excellence of the Glimmerglass orchestra in general. Ringing endorsements from the New York Times don’t come easy, and a nugget of gold from Steve Smith last summer is akin to the famous food critic Duncan Hines’ going into raptures about a cut of prime rib.
(Your columnist was particularly taken with the Bellini musically last summer as well.)
You might ask, as I did, what exactly does a music director do?
One thing he does NOT do is automatically conduct all the operas of the season. He will conduct Menotti’s “The Consul” in 2009, and that’s it.
That’s it for conducting, that is, for his duties outside off the podium are numerous and extraordinarily important.
He oversees everything on the musical side of things. This means some delegating, of course, but you can’t delegate without knowing what you’re doing or having the good of the company close to your heart.
Clearly, Mr. Angus scores high on both counts. He will report directly to General & Artistic Director Michael MacLeod, but there is a collegiality and gentleman’s agreement aspect to the relationship.
Mutual respect and collaboration are understood.
Mr. Angus didn’t exactly go kicking and screaming into the field of opera, but it did come about thanks to some happenstance and unexpected attention.
He, in fact, did not even start conducting until fairly late, specializing initially as a pianist at the University of Surrey (he is a citizen of Great Britain).
He started conducting, and then his musicianship caught the attention of people who saw his dramatic potential. He eventually, and rather quickly (and very prestigiously), ascended to the position of chorus master and staff conductor at Glyndebourne.
His first opera experience was with Claude Debussy’s “Pelleas et Melisande,” not exactly rollicking oom-pah-pah “easy listening.”
In a recent telephone interview, he described the incremental seduction of that first close encounter with the medium: by the time all the elements had been put together in their final form – singers, orchestra (rather than rehearsal piano), sets costumes, wigs – he was enthralled and an ardent convert.
Perhaps not an original question, but I did ask him who his favorite composer is. He replied that it might sound disingenuous, but his composer of choice was whomever he happened to working on at any given time.
So last summer, for a few weeks, it would have been Bellini. He does have a special place in his heart for Britten, and Janacek, and Tchaikovsky, and Verdi, and an even higher passion for Mozart. But he was genuine in his love for the composer-of-the-moment.
In fact, one of the particularly appealing characteristics of Mr. Angus’ personality is his genuineness all around.
No divo unapproachability for him. No musical snobbery. No affectation. No musical clubbiness.
When asked if he had any parting comment before closing the interview, he said, “I am genuinely excited about [the position], and looking forward to it.”
We believe him, and we are genuinely excited about his tenure as well. Welcome!
Sam’s column on the arts in Otsego and Delaware counties appears weeklyLabels: 11-07-08, Art Beat, City of the Hills, Columns, Sam Goodyear |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 8:13 PM |
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As Rolls of Needy Rise, So Does Price of Food
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A Dozen Eggs Up 68 Cents;
Bread Goes Up 30 Cents
By JEANNINE BOHLER
A loaf of white bread cost $1.08 in September 2006. That same bread cost $1.38 in September 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index.
A dozen eggs went for $1.25 in September 2006. The same dozen sold for $1.98 in September 2008.
Prices at the check-out are expected to increase and consumers are feeling more than a pinch. Many find themselves no longer able to make ends meet.
Grocery prices continue to rise. Fuel prices, although dropping in recent weeks, remain at a premium.
It is going to be a hard winter.
The demand for food always rises in the winter as families struggle with heating bills, but this year the need is expected to be unusually high, said Dan Maskin, Chief Operating Officer of Opportunities for Otsego in Oneonta.
The agency provides energy assistance and emergency housing to qualified individuals.
The increase in food prices, fuel prices and healthcare costs, combined with stagnant wages and an uncertain economy are making finances even tighter, not only for the families who often need assistance, but for those families who have usually been able to support themselves.
Many of these families are referred to as the working poor, meaning that although they work, many full time, they are unable to meet their living costs.
Often, their income is too great to allow them to be eligible for services such as fuel assistance or the supplemental nutrition assistance program, but not great enough to allow them to meet their families basic needs. Food pantries offer a source of support and relief.
“The demand at food pantries is increasing,” Maskin said.
So far, local pantries are meeting the need most of the time, but this may change as winter sets in.
The tight economy hits nearly everyone and people who typically donate money and food items to the pantries may find themselves needing to give less. Regional suppliers, like the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York in Latham, which supplies food to many of the area pantries, may also struggle to keep up as their suppliers cut back.
There is no easy solution. The Board of Directors of Opportunities for Otsego decided to discontinue it annual Holiday Adopt-A-Family initiative this holiday season, asking instead that groups and organizations make contributions to their emergency fuel fund and Holiday Basket Food Drive. It is hoped the additional donations will meet the increased demands in the month
ahead.
The need for donations is crucial, Maskin said, as it is difficult to get emergency funding for food because there are no federal grants for it and no federal food source.
The Cooperstown Food Bank saw a 60% increase in demand for its services over the past year. As a result, it has had to cut its service area to residents of Northern Otsego County only. Those who live south of Milford are asked to seek help in Oneonta or other area food banks.
During the summer, the bank, which is hosted by the Presbyterian Church and run by volunteers, saw 160 – 170 families each month. In the month of October, the first month the new policy went into effect, 130 families visited the food bank.
“We have seen a drop, but it isn’t huge,” said Audrey Murray, who co-directs the pantry with Ellen St. John. “At this point we are still able to handle it, but we worry what will happen if we ever reach 200 families.”
Families who need assistance may visit the pantry once per month and they receive a four day food supply of three meals per day. In all, the pantry helps nearly 500 people each month. No referral is needed and people are not turned away, Murray said.
She cites an end to seasonal jobs, taxes, heating bills and the tough state of the economy for the increase in the number of new families seeking help. An $8,000 grant the pantry received over the summer is already gone.
“We rely on the generosity of the community,” she said. So far, the level of donations has remained consistent. Food drives by local Sunday school classes, the Leos and monetary donations give much needed support.
The Salvation Army in Oneonta served 232 families in September, 40 of which visited for the first time.
“We are seeing a number of hard working families who have always made it before,” said Sharon Haines, officer manager at the Salvation Army. “Wages just aren’t going up and this is a hard, hard time for them.”
In addition to the need for food, the Salvation Army anticipates a greater demand for holiday help. Last year, nearly 400 families benefited from gifts and food baskets. This year, Haines anticipates applications from almost 600 families.
“We were short on toys because of the increase last year,” Haines said. “We got together and prayed.” A call a few hours later from a church in Binghamton answered the prayers. They had enough toys for last year and a few to save for this year. “God comes through,” she said. “Through people, God comes through.”
So far, donation levels are staying the same as in the past, according to Major James Smith, Commanding Officer of the Oneonta Salvation Army. Support from churches and civic groups as well as fiscal donations help keep things going. A grant from the regional food bank normally helps throughout much of the season – last year it lasted through December or January, Smith said. This year, it was gone by October.
The United Way formed a Hunger Task Force hoping community collaboration will help address the issues and challenges that lie ahead.
St. Mary’s Food Pantry in Oneonta is struggling like the rest.
“I see it getting worse,” said Janice Hinkley, outreach coordinator. “People can only stretch their money so far.”
In October, 160 families visited the pantry, 40 of them for the first time. In the past, the pantry has served about 100 families each month, with an average of ten new families.
“A few bags of groceries can cost $60. Things have really gone up, fuel prices, gas prices, grocery prices,” she said. “Salaries are not going up much. What are people supposed to do?”Labels: 11-07-08, City of the Hills, Food Bank |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 8:09 PM |
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‘Stone Soup’ Dramatizes Dilemma
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COOPERSTOWN
 At noon on Saturday, Nov. 1, the crowds began to gather at St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” Church for Stone Soup.
In works like this: Organizers simply boil water with a stone in it, and depend on contributions from the public – a carrot here, a potato there – to actually turn it edible.
This year, instead of the church’s annual Oktoberfest, Diane Koffer planned the soup exercise as a fund raiser for the Cooperstown Food Bank. Ladies from the church prepared multiple types of soup to serve those who participated in fellowship with other community members, while children spent the morning dropping off contributions for their own Stone Soup.
“I’d say we had 35-40 children stop by and drop vegetables into the soup this morning, and they were not just church members, but children from all around,” said Koffer. By day’s end, more than 150 people showed up and more than $3,000 was raised for the cause.
As community members came into the fellowship hall, many dropped cash donations into a plastic cauldron, some wrote checks, and others yet brought bags full of food, all to benefit the Cooperstown Food Bank.
“We are aware of the growing need for food, and we wanted to help out the food bank,” said Steve Heneghan; he and his wife Martha contributed purple potatoes.
The generosity of the community really stood out at this event. Koffer reports that many individuals dropped off unsolicited baked goods.Labels: 11-07-08, Stone Soup, The City of the Hills |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 8:02 PM |
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Hometown Views
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The First Time I Met Dad...
TOM MORGAN
ANOTHER VIEW
Veterans Day stirs up three memories: A boy tugs open a dresser drawer to talk to his dad. A man named Bucky beckons from a photo on a wall half a world away. A strange man thumps up our stairs at midnight to grab me.
The first memory belongs to a friend. His parents married in January 1942. He was born in November. Soon after, his dad went off to war.
His mother rode a train to Missouri to share a few tender hours with her husband near his Army camp. And that was all there was.
Her husband, his dad, died in Belgium in 1945.
“My mother probably never looked at, never thought of, another man,” my friend tells me. “She was like a swan who lost her life’s mate. She knew there would be no other.”
So he grew up without a dad, without even a memory of one, without knowing fully what a dad was supposed to be.
“When I wanted to talk with my dad,” he says, “I ran up to my mother’s bedroom and pulled open the dresser drawer and talked to his uniform and his medals and the flag that had draped his coffin.
“When I think of my dad, that’s what I think of. I think of all those times I talked to him in the dresser drawer,” he says.
•
The second memory is mine.
When I was in my mid-20’s, living in New Zealand, I joined a fraternal organization because it had given us our home mortgage.
The monthly meetings were mostly an excuse for a card game for other members. After a while I realized the only reason I went was to spend a moment before a photo on the wall of the club room.
It was one among a collection of photos of club members who had gone to war and not come back. This photo was of a young man named Bucky. His grin, his golden curls, his lively eyes captured me, beckon me to this day.
I knew and know nothing more about him. Nothing, except that in his photo he looks so eager to romp through life. Nothing, except that his was a pretty short romp. Nothing, except that if I could paint I would, after all these years, create his likeness as accurately as if he sat before my canvas today.
And if any message emanated from the image it would be that life is a banquet and lucky are we who make it to the main course.
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Before I reach the third memory I must confess to falling into a schmaltzy habit. When I talk to a veteran of one of our wars, if we talk about his work in the war, I often blurt: “Thank you. Thank you for going.”
There. Confession over.
Now to the thumping stranger on our stairway. I am 3 years old and up at midnight. Why this is, I am not sure.
Clutching herself, my mother bolts from one room to another and back and I know from the way she behaves that this night differs from others.
She hears a car, rushes to the window, bursts into tears. I hear thumping on the stairs. The door flies open. I remember wrapping my arms around legs, my mother’s and some in brown trousers. I remember voices loud, then muffled.
Suddenly, I am swept into the air, higher than I have ever gone, and clutched into brown fabric, kissed by a swarthy man I do not know.
This is my introduction to my father. He has come home from the war. He will be more than the contents of a dresser drawer, more than a photo fading on a wall. He will be a dad. I am one of the lucky sons.
This is Tom Morgan’s favorite column. The host of the nationally syndicated radio show, Money Talk, lives in Franklin and Oneonta.Labels: 11-07-08, Columns, Hometown Views |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 7:57 PM |
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Hometown History
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125 Years Ago
Van Amburgh’s circus closed its season in Oneonta last Saturday, showing to fair-sized audiences at both afternoon and evening exhibitions. A more jaded looking lot of men and horses than were in the short procession it would be difficult to imagine. The show travels by its own conveyance and the rough roads and severe weather had had a telling effect upon the forces. Saturday night, many of the men were paid off in full and discharged, about $7,000 we understand, being distributed among them. The show has gone into winter quarters at Amenia, Dutchess County.
November 1883
100 Years Ago
Overwhelming Majorities! Taft and Sherman Victorious by 306 Electoral Votes to 156 for Bryan. Republican Good Times Assured for Four Years Longer. The battle is over! The Victory is won! By an overwhelming vote William H. Taft has been elected President of the United States. And by a vote equally decisive William J. Bryan has been consigned to the limbo of forgotten things. In Otsego County the majority for George W. Fairchild for Congress was 1,545, being the largest received by any candidate. Mr. Fairchild also has a plurality of 2,467 in Delaware and of 2,000 in Ulster while he loses Schoharie by the small plurality of 350. His total approximate majority is therefore 6,000.
November 1908
80 Years Ago
L.A. Pratt, well known to the traveling public as a successful hotel man of Otsego County and vicinity, and who lately accepted the position of manager of a leading Amsterdam hotel, has resigned that position and returned to Oneonta where he has taken a lease from John W. Shaver of the Wilson House at the corner of Chestnut and Market streets, where he has immediate possession. John W. Shaver has successfully conducted the Wilson House for the past 18 years, and with no increase in prices, the fine repute of the hostelry will be maintained by the new management.
November 1928
60 Years Ago
Advertisement – Schine Theatres – Oneonta Theatre – “Life With Father” and “Racing Luck” – “Red River” with John Wayne and Montgomery Cliff – Saturday through Tuesday; “Foreign Affair” with John Lund; plus “Smart Girls Don’t Talk” with Jean Arthur and Marlene Dietrich; at the Palace Theatre – “Albuquerque” with Randolph Scott and “Raw Deal” with Dennis O’Keefe and Claire Trevor; “Devil’s Cargo” with John Calvert; “Blazing Across the Pecos” with Charles Starrett and Smiley Burnett; “Pardon My Sarong” with Abbott and Costello; “Lady from Cheyenne” with Loretta Young; Mutiny on the Black Hawk” with Richard Arlen and Andy Devine and “Ex-Champ” with Victor McLaglen and Tom Brown.
November 1948
40 Years Ago
Oneonta patrolman Paul C. Wenck is seeking $52,000 for the alleged wrongful death of his son, one of two persons killed June 24, 1967, when a sports car crashed into a tree in Oneonta. His suit against Ronald C. Lovejoy, 21, and Donald J. Reuter, 25, both of Hastings, Minnesota, is on the calendar for the November term of Supreme Court which will get underway Wednesday with Justice Joseph P. Molinari of Oneonta presiding. Killed in the crash were Airman 2-C Gerard O. Wenck, 21, who was stationed at Dow Air Force Base in Bangor, Maine, and John R. Reuter, 22, of Hastings, Minnesota. Those injured were Zane A. Raidibaugh, 21, of Oneonta, Mr. Lovejoy, owner of the 1967 Pontiac Firebird, and Donald Reuter who is alleged to have been driving. Patrolman Wenck, a widower and father of three, brought the action individually and as administrator of his son’s estate.
November 1968
20 Years Ago
Marie Bruni, director of the Huntington Memorial Library in Oneonta is the recipient of the 1988 Intellectual Freedom Award of the New York Library Association and Social Issues Resources, Inc. because of her refusal to provide the United States Secret Service with library circulation records without a subpoena issued by a judge. Bruni’s refusal came during a 1983 investigation of a written threat against President Ronald Reagan. New York State has since extended confidentiality for library records by prohibiting outside searches of computer files, reference requests and title searches. Before the law was expanded, only library circulation records were protected.
November 1988
10 Years Ago
A house at 5 Maple Street has been demolished ending a year-long dispute between the City of Oneonta, the residents of the Walnut Street Historic District and the Main Street Baptist Church. The church, which owns the property, believes that demolition of the structure improves the neighborhood. The church has no immediate plans for the vacant lot. Trees on the site were not disturbed.
SUCO News – State University College at Oneonta President Alan B. Donovan, along with members of his cabinet, will serve an early Thanksgiving dinner to an estimated 500 students in Wilsbach Hall on Thursday between 4 and 7 p.m. A disc jockey will provide entertainment for the event and drawings for door prizes will be held. Peace of Mind, a student group will hold a prayer/meditation gathering at the Peace Circle/Bandstand on Main Street in Oneonta, Wednesday, November 11. Andrew Hocker, organizer of the event, said the group’s purpose is to make people think and reflect in honor of veterans, warriors of peace and American tribes. The group promotes peace on earth now and in the future, but also wants to honor men and women who have fought in any type of war. The event is held in conjunction with Native American Heritage Month.
November 1998
Resources for Hometown History have been provided courtesy of the New York State Historical Association Library.Labels: 11-07-08, Columns, Hometown History |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 7:55 PM |
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Letters to the Editor
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Rett Syndrome Can Cut People Off. Don’t Let It
To the Editor:
I love a girl With Rett Syndrome.
That’s what I read on the car in front of me at the rest stop. I was thrilled. I know what it is to be touched by someone with Rett Syndrome (RTT). I had to introduce myself.
We spoke for a few minutes about the wonderful girls we know and how much they mean to us and of our experiences with Rett Syndrome. Then we went our separate ways.
Rett Syndrome is a neurological disorder that is seen mostly in girls and presents itself when a girl with seemingly normal development is 6 to 18 months old. There is a regression; a loss of the ability to communicate, a loss of purposeful hand movements and a loss of mobility.
Someone with this disorder has the desire to walk, talk, use their hands and eye gaze but apraxia prevents them from doing so. It’s like they are trapped.
In addition to the regression, stereotypical hand movements (wringing, mouthing) develop. A child will have breathing disturbances and possibly seizures.
The difficulties encountered with Rett Syndrome do not mean that someone has nothing to say, does not understand or doesn’t have feelings. It’s quite the opposite.
An individual with Rett Syndrome has a lot to say, understands much more than they can tell us, feels emotion, and is very attentive. The person with RTT has to make us understand.
When speaking about someone they know with RTT, I hear people (including myself) say “she takes it all in, she is like a sponge”, “her eyes and smile light up the room”, “she has such a sense of humor” and “she gets it.”
A person with Rett Syndrome will become a friend to those who take the time to get to know her. RTT will not keep her light from shining. The International Rett Syndrome Foundation (IRSF) is working hard to benefit the lives affected by RTT. (For more informationn in IRSF, call 1-800-818-7388. )
Rett Syndrome is known as the “rosetta stone” of disorders of the brain. Through research; advancements in understanding, treatments and cures for RTT and related disorders such as; autism & schizophrenia can be made.
If you have the opportunity to get to know someone with Rett Syndrome take it. Don’t miss out. Please take the time to learn more and to help IRSF with their mission. “Every 5 hours a child is born with Rett Syndrome.” We can make a difference in their lives. My friend with RTT has certainly made a difference in mine.
I love someone with Rett Syndrome.
LAURA THONNESEN
Oneonta
Editor’s Note: October was Rett Syndrome Awareness Month.
Thanks To All Who Helped Jesse Torruella
To the Editor:
Thank you to everyone who helped make the “One of Our Own” 5K Run/2 Mile Walk a huge success! With your help, we crushed our expectations.
Not only did you help us to help One of Our Own, you embraced Jesse Torruella as if he was one of your own. From his family and friends, to school mates, people who knew him only in passing, and even individuals who knew nothing of him except that he needed help; you all came together and we appreciate that more than words can say.
There were many area businesses and individuals who assisted us with donations and sponsorships. This helped keep all funds collected available for Jesse and was greatly appreciated.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you. We would also like to thank every single person that contributed in any way.
Things got wild at the end, and we did our best to keep track of all contributions. If you are not on the list, I apologize.
Together, we raised more than $25,000 and the amount is growing everyday. I would also like to thank the many volunteers who assisted with the meals and race. It could not have been so smooth without your help.
Stephanie Rich Church & Scott Otsego County DSBA Otsego County DSPBA Cooperstown Bicycle Works Clark Sports Center Leatherstocking Corp Springfield Tractor Cash Oil Oneonta PBA Ron & Judy Wangerin Cooperstown Baseball Bracelet Cooperstown PBA The Mindurski Family Cooperstown Dreams Park Pioneer Patio/Christmas Shop Cooperstown Fire Department Smith Ford The Kukenberger Family The Holbrook Family The Brooks Family Gates Cole Insurance New York Central Mutual NYCM Employees Cooperstown Med. Transport Spurbecks Tunnicliff Creamery John Finch The Bordinger Family W.L. Taylor & Son Sid & Deb Parisian Country Club Chevrolet Richard Duke Westford Fire Department Martin & Gina Patton John & Linda Chamard Leatherstocking Region FCU Denny’s Straws & Sweets Strike Zone John Mitchell Real Estate Fargo Overland Sue Baldy K&B Craft Supplies The Imperato Family Maxwell’s Pizza Hut Depot Deli Best Western Sal’s Pizzeria Box Office Video The Clip Joint Cooperstown Glass & Mirror Daddy Al’s Edison Computers Glimmerglass Opera National Baseball Hall of Fame Heaven’s Hands Massage Heroes of Baseball Museum Miss Dawns Manicures Park View Deli Price Chopper Riverwood Gifts Smooth Operators Stewarts Shops Tally Ho Restaurant The Body Shoppe Time to Tan Tino’s Pizza Springers Tractor Take 2 Sports Dot’s Creations Davidson’s Jewelry Tin Bin Alley Bennett Motor Sales Daniel Brothers Auto Sales Hometown Oneonta The Pennysaver Bank of Cooperstown BJ’s Wholesale Club Great American P&C Foods Otsego Sheriff’s Office New York State Police Cooperstown PD Village of Cooperstown Town of Middlefield Delaware Valley Spring Water Sodexho Services Haggerty Hardware Brewery Ommegang Brooks House of BBQ The Putnam Agency National Pastime Schneider’s Bakery Sports World Copy Shop Fly Creek Cider Mill Jamaica Dream Farm Losies Gun Shop The Shipping Room Stop DWI Bassett Healthcare Bruce Hall Girls on the Run McDonald’s TJ’s Place CVS Pharmacy Boy Scout Troop 1254 Cooperstown Football Judy Wangerin Laurie Wilson John Finch John Dillon The Hensley Family Deb Miller Maurice & Beth Ann Torruella Susan & Mark Colone Bradley & Gloria Beers Salvatrice Stokes Sal & Jeanne Licata Lucas Boyer Lisa Tambasco Paul & Deborah O’Brien Larry & Barbara Ainslie Gloria Robinson Scott Brady Eric Fields Robert & Barbara Kane John & Christine Ruland Dorothy & Bruce Quarltere Julia Capozza John Shufelt Patricia Patkewec Kristen Licata James & Margaret Wolf John Dobbie Michelle Couperthwait Amanda Pinney Jason Hoag Jacqueline Marciniak Kristin Harrison Aparna Muralidharan Jeanne Dewey Richard Mallon Joseph McDonald Erwin Osuna Patricia McDonald Theresa & Rick Hensley Matt McDonald Julie Dadamo Jessica Rockwell Billee Jo Pickard Ron Wangerin Robert McDonald Mark Wangerin Penny Gentile And the many that donated at the Pasta Dinner and Brooks BBQ lunch. We thank you.
Otesgo County Sheriff’s Sgt. MIKE RECKEWEG
Oneonta
Labels: 11-07-08, Hometown Views, Letters to the Editor, Opinion |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 7:49 PM |
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Editorial
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Memorial Walkway Will Connect Today With Victories Past
What’s the point of a memorial if everybody’s forgotten what it memorializes?
Despite the inviting aesthetics of the Memorial Walkway to be built in Neahwa Park next spring, despite the safety dimension – mixing pedestrian and vehicular traffic is clearly a hazard – the “memorial” aspect is particularly worthy of praise.
As Veterans Day approaches Tuesday, Nov. 11 – pause for a minute on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, when the Armistice was signed in 1918, ending World War I – it is worth reflecting on how often we honor “Lest We Forget” in the breach.
City Historian Mark Simonson is a local treasure. His intense interest in the often-dramatic history of our interesting city is beyond commendable. Still, if even he has to do a little spadework to refresh his memory on the Neahwa Park monuments, how much farther must the rest of us be from keeping our forebears’ sacrifices front of mind?
•
Remember Ethel Scatchard?
She is the subject of the oldest monument, Simonson reported, erected in 1922 in honor of a nurse, an Oneonta native, who tended U.S. doughboys on the Western Front during World War I, only to die on Feb. 11, 1919, in Paris, possibly a victim of the influenza epidemic that swept both sides of the Atlantic in the war’s wake.
The monument, in the roundabout at the Lower Main Street end of the park, is surrounded by the aging remains of 20 trees, planted to commemorate the 20 soldiers who died in The War – we ruefully recall – To End All Wars.
Then there’s Charles Woodworth’s red caboose, dedicated in September 1924. Rescued from obscurity as a tool storage shed in the railyards, it was where eight men met in June 1883 to found the International Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.
The impetus for the fledgling union, Simonson said, was the refusal of insurance companies to cover workers in that then-dangerous line of work – amputations were common. An outcome was a strengthened Capital City Aid Association to fill that shortfall.
Then there’s the monument, dedicated in 1948, that commemorates the 856 members of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen killed during World War II. During that ceremony – on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Village of Oneonta – a medal was presented to Eugene Wessel, the last surviving original member of the union.
You may also have wondered about the 8-foot-tall replica of the Statue of Liberty near Hodges Pond. It is one of 200 “little sisters of liberty” erected in 1949-51 through the “strengthen the arm of liberty” campaign launched by Jack Whitaker of Kansas City, Mo., in collaboration with the Boy Scouts of America. In addition to Oneonta, similar statues rose in Utica, Schenectady, Olean, Leroy and Niagara Falls in New York State alone.
The local statue was dedicated in 1951 during a Boy Scout Jamboree that attracted 1,500 scouts to Webb Island, since split by I-88 construction. It was coated with an apoxy in 1983 to help preserve it, said Simonson.
•
The point is that the whole concept of the Memorial Walkway is commendable, the aesthetics, the safety aspect and, most of all, the historic markers that will allow present and future Oneontans to connect with the men and women who built the city we know today, and those who fought the wars that preserved the liberties we celebrated, most recently, with the Tuesday, Nov. 4, election of a new president.
Progress is incremental. Without monuments that truly live, we can’t draw strength from the the knowledge of victories already won as we face challenges ahead.
Congratulations to Mayor John Nader (and his predecessor Kim Muller), Common Council, Community Development Director Joe Bernier and all the others who have had a hand in this very exciting undertaking.Labels: 11-07-08, Editorial, Hometown Views |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 7:46 PM |
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How Did Wendy Loucks Build A 36-Member Girl Scout Troop?
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By LAURA COX
 Thirty-six girls.
How has Scout Leader Wendy Loucks grown Girl Scout Troop #214 at the Great Plains Elementary School into the largest troop in Otsego and Delaware counties.
It’s unheard of in a community this size.
Loucks grew up participating in Girl Scouts from first through eighth grade, then left when her friends did because it wasn’t a very active troop. Instead, she started to help out with the younger groups of girls.
She got involved in Girl Scouts again when her step-daughter Samantha showed interest in participating and Loucks saw a community bulletin notice saying they were in need of leaders.
She started small – seven girls – and by the end of her 7th year leading the Laurens Unified Troop there were 27 members.
After leading Samantha’s troop, Loucks took a year off before her younger daughter Alexandra became a daisy in 2005. Her mom volunteered once again, this time at Greater Plains Elementary.
“We started out with five girls as daisies, and then I was approached that the first graders wanted to join as well, so we ended up with 12 girls the first year,” said Loucks, “The next year we bridged some of the girls to brownies and so we had 22 brownies and seven daisies.”
Many of the girls had younger siblings and their parents wanted their girl’s troops to meet at the same time, the troop grew to 36 girls by the end of the 2007-2008 school year. Loucks made the decision to close the troop to new members due to the limitations of having a troop of a much larger size.
So what makes Loucks’ troop so popular?
Loucks said, “All your friends are there and you’re having fun, who wouldn’t like it?”
Girls Scouts is the only activity some of these girls participate in and it is a well rounded activity including physical activities, camping, community events, and trying things they might not elsewhere. They are community minded, and participate in drives for the local animal shelters, Red Cross, making food for the Ronald McDonald House in Albany, and collecting items for thanksgiving baskets.
She also indicated they have had a tremendous amount of parental support which has made it possible to plan many fun activities for the girls, including a trip to the Bronx Zoo last year as well as trips to the butterfly conservatory, Ski Windham, and camping at Gilbert Lake.
Loucks, a natural working with children, has run a registered daycare and worked as a DJ, but devotes many hours each year to the careful planning and organization of her large troop.
Troop #214 meets twice a month from 6:15-7:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church for a total of 18-20 meetings a year. The first 15 minutes of the meeting is for parents to sign their kids up for things and turn in money and other business items, and the girls meet starting at 6:30 p.m.
Loucks plans the whole schedule out at the beginning of year so she can provide families with the schedule so they can plan around the events and girls don’t have to miss out on things because of short notice. For some larger events planning can start as early as two years ahead.
“Paperwork is the hardest part of being a leader. It is not a paid position, but it is one of the most rewarding positions,” she said.Labels: 11-07-08, City of the Hills, Girl Scouts, In The City of the Hills |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 7:42 PM |
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City of the Hills
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 FARES UP: The Common Council raised bus rates across the board at its Tuesday, Nov. 4, meeting, effective Jan. 1. The basic rate will rise from 65 cents to $1. These are the first hikes in 18 yeras.
BRESEE AID: The City of Oneonta has submitted an application to restore the former Bresee’s Department Store with state Main Street funds.
KIDS FOR BARACK: Students at Riverside Street Elementary voted 3-1 in favor of Obama in a mock election the school held on the real election day.
IN THE CLOUDS: NASA has awarded Todd Ellis, SUNY Oneonta assistant professor of meteorology, a three-year $70,000 grant to introduce students to the CloudSat Network, which allows them to research the provide data on clouds and precipitation from space.
AT HYDE HALL; Diane Elliott, former executive director of the Foothills Perfoaming Art Center, has been tapped as interim executive director at Hyde Hall, the National Historic Landmark mansion on Otsego Lake, while a permanent executive director is recruited.
CLAY RETIRES: Carleton Clay, a mainstay of the Otesgo County music scene, was honored at a reception Sunday, Nov. 2, on his retirement from SUNY Oneonta.
ON DISPLAY: Artifacts from the Phillies and Devil Rays to commemorate the 2008 World Series will be on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, starting in mid-November. Highlights include the jersey MVP Cole Hamels wore in Game Five.
VETERANS DAY: Don’t forget to commemorate Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11.Labels: 11-07-08, City of the Hills, Front Page |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 6:38 PM |
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Don’t Worry, You Parents! All The Paint Is Washable
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OWL Plans First Event:
Paint Fest Saturday, Nov. 15
By LAURA COX
 Paint Fest is coming! Can the Oneonta World of Learning be far behind?
OWL – it is seeking to build a children’s museum in the City of the Hills – is planning its first event, a “festival of painting and washable fun for the whole family”: Paint Fest, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at Arc Otsego Oneonta’s Day Services Site on Lower River Street.
The event, co-sponsored by the Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts and Arc Otsego, is geared towards children and their grown-ups, for artists of all abilities to participate in creative exploration.
“The goal is to explore and have fun as a family; that is a big part of our mission,” said Andrea Thies, mother of two and one of OWL’s initiators.
The Paint Fest will include many workshops with artists who have experience working with children.
Doug Jamieson will lead water-color painting; Lisa Marian, felting, and Theresa O’Brien, felt stamping. Andrea House will lead fledgling artists in the footsteps of Andy Warhol.
Each workshop will be offered three times, for ages 3-5, 6-9 and 10 and up.
The Magic Paintbrush Project, a group who works with individuals with disabilities, will also be leading workshops for qualified families. Pre-register for this workshop by calling Rachel at 432-3528.
Other activities: painting with bubbles, marbles and string, ornaments painting, cookie painting, and painting to music. Many of these painting techniques can open opportunities to discussions on teamwork, science and self expression.
To promote the event, OWL organized mini workshops in the after-school programs in each of the Oneonta elementary schools, where kids made promotional banners. Mary Peterson shepherded that effort.
OWL hopes at least 100 children and their families will attend Paint Fest.
“All the paint is going to be washable and non-toxic, so even the littlest kids can participate with help from grownups,” said Thies. “We want to promote parents playing with their kids and feeling its okay, and this time, were here to clean up for you.”
OWL, which only formed in August, hopes Paint Fest will demonstrate the need for the project it is undertaking.Labels: 11-07-08, Oneonta, OWL, Paint Fest |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 6:24 PM |
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Obama 1st Democrat To Win Otsego County Since Johnson
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Seward Sweeps All Counties But One; Arcuri, Gillibrand Win Tight Contests
By JIM KEVLIN
 It was a historic night, yet a night where Otsego County was different and still the same.
The rock-ribbed-Republican stronghold nonetheless voted for Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain, the first time a Democrat has won the county since the LBJ landslide in 1964, 44 years – two generations – ago.
And yet the voters crossed back across the line en masse to support state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, who was facing his first Democratic challenger since 1996.
Republicans also gave enough support to John Lambert to win him the county judgeship over Jill Ghaleb, who had the support of Democrats and Conservatives. Both candidates are Cooperstown lawyers; Ghaleb had won the Conservative primary and had been a seated judge since her appointment by Gov. David Paterson at mid-summer.
“It says something about Otsego County changing,” said Dan Shea, retired SUNY Oneonta political science professor. “It’s still Republican, but probably less so.”
In the two congressional seats serving the county, the one-term Democratic incumbents, Mike Arcuri in the 24th and Kristin Gillibrand in the 20th, narrowly turned back Republican challenges. Republicans predoinate in both districts.
As in the nation, it was a day of anticipation from Southside Oneonta to Richfield Springs.
While lines were nowhere as long as they were reported to be elsewhere in the nation, voting was steady throughout the county throughout the day, and the final turnout beat all recent records.
It was “tremendous,” said Charlotte Koniuto, former Republican elections commissioner, who was filling in at the county Board of Elections in the county’s Meadows Complex in the Town of Middlefield. “I’ve been to Exeter, Richfield, Roseboom. It’s unbelievable. I’ve never seen such a turnout in my life.”
Minor voting-machine malfunctions surfaced around the county, but only in the Town of Hartwick did a machine completely break down. Koniuto had to drive 150 paper ballots out to the polling place to ensure everyone could vote.
In Oneonta, Senator Seward, celebrating in Republican headquarters on Deitz Street, said he was “very pleased” when it appeared his tallies doubled his challenger Don Barber’s in every county in the 51st Senatorial District except one, his opponent’s home county of Tompkins. The Town of Caroline supervisor won there by 500 votes.
“The voters, particularly in this environment, looked at my record and my vision for the future, and supported me,” said the senator, first elected in 1986. “I’m just pleased and thankful to the voters of the district. We’ve had a good partnership. We’re facing tough times because of the fiscal crisis. But we’ve been through tough times together before.”
In Cooperstown, Lambert, who had lost the Conservative primary to Ghaleb in September, was visibly relieved by the outcome.
“I’m so thankful for what everybody has done for me,” he said.
His campaign consultant, Vince Casale of the Casale Group, expressed satisfaction with the Otsego County results, but predicted “a Republican bloodbath” statewide, with the GOP losing control of the state Senate despite Seward’s victory.
Of the voters splitting their ballots, Casale said, “I think this is indicative of what we’re seeing in politics and in our elections now. People are electing candidates they think are best for them ... People look at a race like county judge race, and they base it on candidate traits. Party label is secondary.”
As for consultants like himself, Casale – he’s the son of Vince and Theresa Casale of Cooperstown and a dean at Herkimer County Community College – said, “It certainly changes the dynamic. You’re going to run races based on the person and not on party labels ... You’re going to need some new ideas and some new thinking in this new dynamic.”
Meanwhile, his thoughts were elsewhere: His wife Amy was due to deliver their child Wednesday morning.Labels: 11-07-08, 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Jill Ghaleb, Jim Seward, John Lambert, Kirsten Gillebrand, Mike Arcuri, Otsego County, Sandy Treadwell |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 6:13 PM |
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Job Well Done, Life Well Lived
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Arts Promoter Peter Macris
Honored At Surprise Dinner
By LAURA COX
ONEONTA
 It took a great man to found five of Otsego County’s most prominent cultural organizations.
That was the consensus among speakers who came to praise Peter Macris, recently retired to Connecticut, at a surprise testimonial dinner Thursday, Oct. 30, at the Foothills Performing Arts Center, one of those five organizations.
“Peter does not just imagine, he lifts up one foot and changes the world around him,” said Ashok Malhotra, SUNY Oneonta philosophy professor. The longtime friend of the honoree recalled, “We did not compete; we inspired each other.”
As for Macris’ youthfulness: Malhotra always asked his friend where the fountain he drank from was located.
Other speakers included two Foothills executive committee members, Doug Reeser, president, and Gene Bettiol, first vice president, as well as Foothills colleague Sam Goodyear and Mayor John S. Nader.
Filling in for her campaigning husband, state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, Cindy Seward said, “Jim was delighted to partner with Peter and so many others to make it happen, but we certainly have to credit Peter for his drive and experience and perseverance.”
And what a difference Macris made, his friends said, bringing people together to found the Catskill Choral Society, Glimmerglass Opera, Orpheus Theatre, the Oneonta Boys Choir and, finally, Foothills.
Macris retired last summer, and in August moved with his wife Ursula to Connecticut, closer to their daughter and grandchildren in Connecticut.
He had been told this was a fundraising dinner; instead, he found his three children – from Colorado and Indiana in addition to Connecticut – and seven grandchildren there to cheer him on.
Macris was born and grew up in Buffalo. He attended University of Buffalo for his undergraduate studies, Middlebury for his master’s and New York University for his Ph.D., where he specialized in German playwright Bertolt Brecht.
Drafted into the Army, served as a singer and clarinetist in the 84th Army Band in Europe, as well as leading many trips for students to Germany and Austria.
He then accepted a job at SUNY Oneonta as a professor of foreign language, teaching German Literature, and spent his career at that ever-growing institution.
Macris started programs in German theater and music at SUNY Oneonta. He was influential in a self-instruction program for students seeking to learn rarely taught languages.
“Sometimes people wonder how a German literature professor ended up in theater,” he said. “But what is theater but words?”
From the start, he had a dream of founding an opera, and one of the things that attracted him to Oneonta was its proximity to Cooperstown, which he perceived as an ideal place to make his dream a reality.
“It reminded me of an opera festival I visited in Bregenz, Austria,” he said, which featured an open-air theater. “Surrounded by the hills and mountains, on Lake Constance, the festival was the model for Glimmerglass.”
Before the opera, Macris launched the Catskill Choral Society.
“I was personally invested in the choral society. I started it knowing I wanted choral singers ready for an opera company I wanted to start, and there have been singers from the society in the opera every year since it began.”
“The opera took off like wildfire, and at the same time, as an oddity of fate I became the head of the Language Department at SUCO.”
The opera’s first season, in CCS’ Sterling Auditorium, was cast mostly with people Macris knew from in Buffalo, New York and Europe. An audition in New York for two of the parts drew 50-60 people.
“The opera took off like wildfire,” he said.
The second season, the producers had to stop auditions at 200 people, and could have auditioned many more.
By the third season, Glimmerglass Opera performances had been reviewed in New York Times and Boston Globe, even a newspaper in England. It was launched.
This was a busy time for Macris who, as it happened, was named Language Department chair at SUNY Oneonta just as the opera got under way.
“I had a double life,” he said, “and that became very heavy; my summers off were spent leading the opera.”
After five years and four opera seasons, Macris turned to something he thought would be less demanding: Orpheus Theatre, which he envisioned as a professional organization.
“Even though we are in the country and not in the city, I thought there was enough talent to do that, as long as we bring a couple of professionals from outside this area to play key roles,” he said.
That turned into a 17-year gig, and Macris often thought of a building to house the undertaking. With support from many prominent community members, The Foothills Performing Arts Center took form.
“Gene Bettiol, a businessman, Jim Seward and so many others were important in making this happen, saw it would be good for the area,” said Macris. “We have been a railroad town and then a college town; we thought something like an art center would fit well.”Labels: 11-07-08, Front Page, Glimmerglass Opera, Oneonta, Peter Macris |
| posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 6:09 PM |
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