mvlmagazineissue15december2014

sharry’s holiday fun guide! classic adirondack meat pie recipe! FREEMAGAZINETAKE ONE!MOHAWK

VALLEY LIVING15

LOCAL ARTS

A VISIT TO THEZINN BRILLIANT WORKSHOP

MV HISTORY

LOCAL MUSIC

WINTER FRIENDS

LOCAL HOLIDAY TV SPECIAL FROM

THE 1970S

MOHAWK VALLEYLIVING MAGAZINE

PUBLISHERSLance and Sharry Whitney

EDITORSharry L. Whitney

DESIGN & LAYOUTLance David Whitney

ASSISTANT EDITORShelley Delosh

ADVERTISING EXECUTIVESusan Collea

(315) 292-3905email: [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORSPeggy Spencer Behrendt,

Jorge Hernandez, Brian Howard, Suzie Jones, John Keller, Frank Page, Susan

Perkins, Matt Perry, Tim Pryputniewicz, Cynthia Quackenbush, Denise Szarek,

Gary VanRiper

CONTACT US(315) 853-7133

30 Kellogg StreetClinton, NY 13323

[email protected]

Mohawk Valley Living is a monthly magazine & television show exploring the area’s arts, culture, and heritage.

Copyright © 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without

the consent of Mohawk Valley Publishing.

Printed at Vicks in Yorkville, NY.

DECEMBER 2014

Next Issue:

January 1stAvailable at our sponsors and yourclosest Stewart’s Shop. Visit our website for a complete list of pick-up locations. Yorkville & Herkimer New Hartford

Mohawk Valley Living is brought to you by

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contentsOneida County Historical SocietyADK JournalLittle Falls Public LibraryMV Music DownloadsAt the MarketButternut Barn PrimitivesDid You Know: ClintonMV History SpotlightMidnite Mike GrimaldiMV Up CloseMV Astronomical SocietyLocal 70s Holiday TV SpecialDecember ForestOn the Farm with SuzieMV GardensArtist Doug WhitfieldZinn BrilliantHoliday Fun GuideMusician Mike PeekGiant Swallowtail ButterflyChristmas Tree MemoriesTales from Shawangunk Chapter 3Gallery GuideMV ComicsLive & Local MusicAdvertiser Directory

FREE copies of back issues available for a limited time.Artisans’ Corner, 1 College St., ClintonBrenda’s Natural Foods 236 W. Dominick St., RomeLittle Falls Antiques 25 W. Mill St., Little FallsTurnbull Insurance 600 French Rd., New Hartford

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Steet-Pontea u t o g r o u p

TryingtofindthebestdealonaniPhonefor a Christmas gift? Fighting crowds for that must-have Sparkle Princess? I hate to tell you this, but chances are 5 to 10 years from now your son or daughter won’t even remember that “I-can’t-live-without-it” gift you bought them! Sometimes we get so wrapped up with shopping for what we think they “need,” we forget about what’s important. Whether you celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday or not, we all desire time spent with the people we love. Those are the things your family will remember. A simple thing, like cutting your own Christmas tree, or an elaborate event, like a holiday stage performance, will make lasting memories. Another way to make a memorable holiday is to give gifts that have a story. If you buy someone an antique, research its history and share it. If you buy a handmade item from a local artisan, include a printout of the artist’s biography or the process of making it—you willmostlikelybeabletofinditontheirweb-site or, better yet, take a picture with them if you can. Or ask the creator of the item if he or she has information you can include. The Zinn Brilliant ornaments I bought for my sisters (shhh, don’t tell them) came with little book-lets that describe their fascinating history. After all your hard work putting together your thoughtful gifts and arranging family outings, don’t be discouraged when your son or daughter squeals at the new Transformers “Chomp & Stomp Grimlock” that Santa got them. I pretty sure that won’t be part of the Christmas stories they share with their chil-dren some day. Need some help getting into the holiday spirit? Check out our Family Holiday Fun Guide that starts on page 47.

Making Memoriesby Sharry L. Whitney

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5

The Mohawk Valley is home to a rich heritage and cul-ture that spans the centuries. Our story is accessible due in large part to the historians, photographers, and journalists who documented the goings-on of their day. One of those visionaries was Utica photographer Carl Frey, who was born in the city to German immigrant parents in 1858. His body ofwork as a local photographer spannedmore thanfiftyyears. Frey got into photography as a teenager, working under the tutelage of L.C. Mundy in the early 1870s. In 1887 he and a partner, Abner Gardner, took over Mundy’s studio at 11 Broad Street. Gardner & Frey ended their partnership in 1897, after which Frey became the sole proprietor of the

by Brian Howard, Executive Director

Images From Our Past:

The Work of Carl Freyfrom the Oneida County Historical Society

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Frey’s photography studio at 247 Genesee Street. They moved to this location in 1921.

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2993 State Route 28 Old Forge, NY 13420

315-369-3838www.webbhistory.org

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business. Frey stayed at 11 Broad Street until 1920 and then moved his operation to 247 Genesee Street, remaining there until his death in 1937. Records indicate that his wife and stepsons continued the business into the early 1970s. Frey Photography was one of the most successful portrait studios in the upper Mohawk Valley. In addition to amassing thousands of family portraits over the years, Frey photographers recorded many of the iconic images that inform our understanding of the 19th and 20thcenturiestoday.Weareallthebeneficiariesofhiswork.

27 Genesee St., New Hartford 315.797.7700 www.villageflorals.net

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This iconic image of Genesee Street looking south was taken in the years

preceding World War II.

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The former Bagg’s Hotel as it appeared during the early 1900s.

Frey’s portraits of individuals, groups, and

families documented trends in clothing and fashion during the 19th

and early 20th centuries.

One of the area’s early baseball teams posed at Frey’s first studio at 11 Broad Street in Utica.

Frey captured workers at the West End Brewery after the end of Prohibition in 1933.

www.zinnbrilliant.com

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Bird migration is fully under way and sometime just before our Adirondack lakes freeze over, the Common Loons also will be taking off for the open water of the ocean. But many of the nearly 500 species of birds found in New York state will remain with us for the next few months and tough out the winter. And for those northerners who are not themselves “snow birds” but who like to stay closer to a warm fire indoors, it ispossible to bring some of the movement and color of the wild to your windows and brighten up what can often otherwise be a gray and gloomy landscape. Attracting winter birds to your backyard is easy, especially if you can offer them any of the three basics for survival: food, open water, and shelter. Birds do need fresh, clean water throughout the year, and a

Story and Photos by Gary VanRiper

9

ADK Journal:

Bring the Wild to Your Window

Artisan Cheese handmade by the Felio Family and sold locally throughout the Mohawk Valley!

For locations visit: www.threevillagecheese.comAlso see us every Saturday at the Oneida Co. Market at Utica’s Union Station!

This Dark-eyed Junco was photographed through a window on a branch that was

attached to a platform bird feeder.

RAYMOND ALESSANDRINI, OTR/L, CLT

Ben & Judy’s Sugarhouse

Also available at: Peter’s Cornucopia, Twin Orchards, and Stoltzfus Family Dairy770 Beaver Creek Rd., West Edmeston Find us on Facebook!

Call (315) 899-5864 to purchase products

or schedule a tour!

Christmas Open House!Nov. 29th & 30th, Dec. 6th & 7th (Sat. 9-5, Sunday 12-5)

Pure maple products.

We can ship anywhere!

Black-capped Chickadees are among the most common birds attracted to

winter feeders.

Raulli’s Iron Works

www.raullis.com133 Mill St., Rome, New York

315-337-8070

Custom hand-made iron railings, fences & gates.

LocomoTionHobby

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Trains & More!

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variety of heated bird baths are available commercially. Birds also desire protection from predators and, so, nearby shrubs are desirable where birds can fly safely backand forth from a feeder. There are birds of prey, such as owls and hawks that feed on smaller birds at feeders. Among the most common birds visiting feeders are Black-capped Chickadees and Dark-eyed Juncos. And during irruptive years, your feeders can be invaded by such species as Evening Grosbeaks that can wipe out large quantities of seed in a

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11

very short time. Grosbeaks are usually accompanied by additional species such as common Redpolls, but also by Northern Shrikes – those birds of prey that tag along to dine on your other feathered guests. If you would like to take photographs of birds from your window, consider using a platform feeder with your larger seed. Then attach branches to the platform on which birds can land while awaiting their turn to descend on their meal. Try to position the feeder in a place where the background is free from clutter – you want people to focus on the bird in your photo, not the snow blower. Using a long lens, you can shoot effectively through most window glassandfill the framewith thebird,making it appear you braved Antarctic conditions to get the shot. Other perches I have used include single fence posts

Common Loons will leave Adirondack Lakes just before first ice.

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This Evening Grosbeak was photographed on a strategically positioned fence post

sprinkled with sunflower seeds.

on stands that can easily be moved from place to place, and the “recycled” Christmas tree that propped up in snow near the feeder provides both multiple perches and some natural shelter. Black-capped Chickadees can be rather friendly, and if you do venture outside to take photos, you may be able to attract one directly to your hand with some seed. I’ve actually had them land on my head as theyflewfromanearbytreetothefeederandback again. Hmm. Come to think of it, that wouldmakeaprettycool“selfie.”

Gary VanRiper is an author, pho-tographer, and pastor at the Camden Wesleyan Church. He has written 13 children’s books with his son, Justin. Find out more at:www.adirondackkids.com

Q Farm Weddings R

Q CULTURAL Events R Jones Family Farm Herkimer NY www.anotherjonesfamilyfarm.com

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14

I know most people go to their nearest public library to feedtheirlibraryfix,butsometimesIliketoexpandmyhori-zons. One recent afternoon I took a drive to the Little Falls Public Library.ThefirstthingIdidwasaskifIcheckedoutanybooksifI could return them to a different library within the Mid-York system. I could. However, I found Little Falls Public Library so charming, I take the excuse to make another trip there! When I mentioned that I hoped to write an article about the library, Marc Klimek, the aide at the desk invited me to walk around anywhere downstairs. We were standing in the “30-year-old new addition,” as he put it, but the rest of the li-brary was a Victorian home which had been donated by Judge Rollin Smith in 1911. He offered to take me on a tour of the upstairs when his colleague returned from lunch. As I walked around I admired the woodwork and furnish-ings.Iespeciallylikedafireplaceinoneroomandthechan-deliers in three rooms. Patrons were sitting at the library’s computers or at tables with their own laptops. Another room heldshelveswithglassfigurineswhichIlaterlearnedwereStaffordshire.Aframedbutterflycollectionhungonthewall.That room also contained four very modern but comfort-able-looking chairs upholstered in denim. I do like eclectic décor.

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The Everyday Adventures of Mohawk Valley Girl:

a visit to theLittle Fallspublic library

I wandered back to the main room and looked for some books. I chose three then sat down to work on a letter to a friend. Remem-bering a man in the other room on his laptop, I thought that someday maybe I’ll have a laptop to bring to a library. However, once I started writing in my paper notebook with a pen, I felt perfectly contented. But there I go dating myself. Soon the colleague returned from lunch and I got my tour of the upstairs. We started in the China Room. Two large cabinets held China collections that were once used by the family. It made me feel my own plates and such are terribly un-fancy. At least my col-lection is eclectic. A plaque just outside the door of the

Cynthia M. Quackenbush, a.k.a. “Mohawk Valley Girl,” writes a daily blog about her everyday adventures in the Mohawk Valley. Follow her frugal fun at: mohawkvalleygirl.wordpress.com

room read “George Leonard Smith Memori-al Library.” The plaque originally hung on an addition in the back of Smith’s home, where that library was housed. G.L. Smith, no re-lation to the Judge, was on the library board in the 1930s and ‘40s. His money paid for additions to the library. Floor to ceiling shelves held old books that had been donated by both Smiths from their personal libraries. Portraits of local notables hang throughout the library. More Staffordshire figurines decorate the direc-tor’soffice.Thedirector’sofficealsoboastsafireplacewithamarbleizedslatemantleandbookcases made by CJ Lindstrom, a local cabinet-maker of note. Marc was very knowledgeable about the

history both of the library and the area. I was delighted with my tour and with the books I had chosen. I’ll add Little Falls Public Li-brary to my list of good places to go in the Mohawk Valley.

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Clockwise from left: A portrait of Judge Rollin H. Smith, who donated his home for the Little Falls Library, hangs on the wall; Eight-year-old Jasmin of Little Falls is having a hard time deciding between the many books; The original part of the library looks much the same as it did when Judge Rollins lived here; A display of miniature Santas is part of the library’s holiday decorations; Ornate woodwork, like this banister finial, can be found throughout the original section of the Little Falls Public Library.

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Little Falls Public Library10 Waverly Place, Little Falls, NYMon. - Thurs.: 9am - 8pm, Fri. - Sat.: 8am - 5pmSun.: Closed(315) 823-1542www.lflibrary.org

16

december mvl music

downloadsFREE LOCAL MUSIC!www.mohawkvalleyliving.com

To download this month’s selection just go to:wwww.mohawkvalleyliving.com/downloads.htm

Hurry, they are only on the site for 30 days!

2 Songs from

soundbarrier“When a Dream Becomes a

Nightmare, Who Wakes Up First”“The Road Not Taken to My

Telltale Heart”

2 Songs from

john keller“December Skies”

A winter’s tale from John’s first Christmas EP

“My Sweet Christmas Present”A Christmas love story from his second Christmas EP

2 Songs from

“Midnite Mike” Grimaldi

“Boogieman”“This Way and That Way Blues”

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featuring rare and unusual antiques from our years of collecting!

at the marketHoliday Traditions

18

By Denise A. Szarek

Many of us have food traditions centered on the month of December. Depending on our ethnic origins they can be vastly different, but all cele-brate the season and its abundance. For many of us the feasting begins with Christmas Eve. Most of us are familiar with the Italian “Feast of the 7 Fishes” and the Eastern Europeans celebration of the “12 Dishes,” or Wigilia, in Polish. For the En-glish it’s Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding, and for many Latin cultures the meal centers around a roast pig. In my family, Prime Rib and Yorkshire Pud-ding made up our traditional Christmas Day Din-ner and they still do to this day. But on Christmas Eve we celebrated our questionable French Cana-dian roots. My grandfather came to Syracuse to be an engineer on the railroad from Ireland by way of NovaScotia.Ihaven’tquitefiguredoutwheretheFrenchCanadianinfluencecamefrom,butChrist-mas Eve was always celebrated with a Tourtiere,

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or meat pie. The Christmas Eve Tourtiere was brought to the Adirondacks in the 1800s by lumberjacks from Quebec who were logging for the paper mills. It still can be found in bake shops and homes in and around Tupper Lake. I was curious—in research-ing the history of this dish—if there is any con-nection to the Mohawk Valley, and sure enough there is. And it lead me back to, of all things, the Passenger Pigeon (from Matt Perry’s article in last month’s issue), the French and Indian War, and the Huguenots. The French word for pigeon is tourtre. In New France it is tourte. Since the birds were so abundant during that time it would make perfect sense that it would have ended up in this dish. I still haven’t found the French Canadian an-cestry in my lineage, but I’m glad we adopted the Christmas Eve Tourtiere! Our modern version now typically contains pork,butoftenincludesgameforadepthofflavor.

What does this have to do with a winter farmers market you ask? All the ingredients for this pie can be purchased at your local farmers market or are already sitting in your pantry! The most im-portant ingredients in this pie are the spices and I know they are abundant in your pantry during the holiday season: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. Like any dish passed down, every family has their own recipe but all will have some combi-nation of these spices. The ingredients you will need from the farm-ers market: pork, beef, lamb, or veal, (you will evenbeabletofindgamemeatdependingonthemarket) potatoes, onions, butter or lard, parsnips, carrots, and root vegetables. Whatever your holiday food traditions, check out your local winter farmers market for the fresh-est meat, veggies, cheese, butter, milk, bread, baked goods, honey, maple syrup, jams and jel-lies! Happy Holidays From my family to yours!

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Denise A. Szarek and her husband, Bernard, own Szarek’s Greenhouses in Clinton.

Christmas Eve Tourtiere by Denise Szarek

Pie Crust4cupsflour2 tsp salt1 ¾ cup lard or butter1 large egg, lightly beaten1 T vinegar½ cup ice water

In a largebowl, combineflour andsalt. Cut in lard or butter until piec-es are pea size. Add egg, vinegar and ice water. Work mix into a soft dough ball. Divide in half and put one half aside for another pie or freeze. Cut the dough in half. On work surface dustedwithflour,rolloutbottomandtop crusts. (2 pie yield)

Filling1 lb ground pork1 lb ground beef, veal, lamb or venison (or a combination)1mediumonion,finelychopped2 cups beef stock or broth1 tsp of each: cinnamon, cloves, all-spice, nutmeg1 T Herbs de Provence or Thyme or Summer Savory3 cups mashed veggies: I use a mix of potatoes, carrots, parsnips and celeriac1 T milk

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, com-bine pork, onion, salt, and beef stock. Simmer gently, stirring often, until all liquid evaporates, about 4 hours. Stir in spices. Add potato/veggie mix and beat well to combine thoroughly. (This mix can be made a few days ahead.)

Full Buffet & Salad Barserved Mon-Fri 11:30-2:30

Wednesday Night Buffet 4:30-8:30Serving Lunch & Dinner Mon-Sat

Full Menu Available Mon-Thurs 11:30-9pm, Fri & Sat 11:30-10pm

Enjoy authentic Lebanese Cuisine

623 French RoadNew Hartford (315) 733-2709

Phoenician R E S T A U R A N T

Serving Breakfast and LunchOpen daily 7am-3pm, Closed Wed.

(315) 508-5083 28 West Main St., Little Falls

19

Line a pie plate with one crust. Spoon in meat/potatomix.Addtopcrustandflutethe edges. Brush the top with milk and prick with a fork. Bake for 30 min. Can be served warm or cold, with a dollop of chili sauce or a chutney.

Snow Ridge Ski Resort

More trails! More lifts!

More snow! Just more fun!

• 22 trails and 6 lifts• Beginner trails to

• PSIA certified ski & snowboard instructors -book your lessons now!

(315) 348-8456 4173 West Road, Turin, NYLike us on Facebook! www.snowridge.com

Holiday Special!4 Lift Tickets for $100! Good anytime!

Offer expires 12/24/14

Enjoylunch or dinner

at Michael’s Restaurant!

An ocean of poinsettias of all sizes and colors for your holiday decorating and gift-giving.

Grown right here in our greenhouses!www.riverroadgreenhouses.com

Open Mon-Fri: 7-6, Sat & Sun: 9-4 9182 River Rd, Marcy (315) 736-3252

I like shops with character, where the setting is as interesting as the merchandise. I discovered an excel-lent example of this at Butternut Barn Primitives in RichfieldSprings,NY. I had carefully written down directions from the website,buttheshopwaseasytofind,justoutsidethevillageofRichfieldSpringsinabeautifulruralsetting.I was charmed as soon as we walked into the old car-riage house. I felt as if I had stepped back in time. “This place is like a museum,” I said. One of my favorite kinds of museums: about American folk histo-ry. We wandered around looking at old furniture and decorations. I especially liked the rag dolls sitting in various places. Old clothes and aprons hung on the walls.Dryingherbsandflowershungfromtheceiling. We were joined by Judie Stone, one of the shop-keepers, and chatted about the building and other things. She told us about restoring and modifying the

The Everyday Adventures of Mohawk Valley Girl:

butternut barn Primitivesin richfield springs

20

When plan “A” fails, go to...

PLAN B“B” Prepared

Emergency Preparedness • CampingHiking • Self Reliance

8585 Turin Rd., Rome (315) 533-6335WWW.PLANB-BPREPARED.COM

Facebook: Plan B Emergency Preparedness

A dusting of snow covers the old carriage house that is now home to Butternut Barn Primitives.

The low light, antique furniture, and drying herbs make you feel like you’re visiting a homestead in the 1800s.

Redmond’sRed Deer Farm

Locally raised venison:Tenderloin • Roasts • Steaks

Burgers • Snack SticksSummer Sausage • Hot Dogs

Also antler gift products and dog chews

www.redmondsreddeer.com9521 Steuben Valley Rd.

Holland Patent (315) 865-8670

carriage house, which was originally built about 1848. The wooden spiral staircase leading to the up-per rooms used to be a hole for a hay drop. She point-ed out where the wood was different around the front door. The modifications blend in with the originalstructure, maintaining the atmosphere of times past. I purchased some note cards with pen-and-ink drawings of the shop. We also indulged in a couple of home-baked pumpkin cookies. I made plans to bring my mother and sisters to see the shop soon. The Barn also offers special events. We missed “Witches Night Out” on Oct. 24. We could have dressed as witches and gotten 20 percent off. I marked my calendar for “Christmas at the Barn” on Dec. 6 and 7 and got on the mailing list to receive notice of future events!

See what we have cooking on facebook! (315) 797-6835 2520 Oneida St., Utica

(315) 737-5011 • 9716 Roberts Rd., SauquoitOpen daily: Mon-Fri: 9-8, Sat & Sun: 9-6

Massoud’sTREE FARM

Christmas Trees!Displayed indoors or cut-your-own!Fresh Wreaths Customed Designed by Order!

Mail order wreaths available!

Visit our Christmas Gift Shop

MONDAYS 6:30-8PM (except holidays)

St. Elizabeth College of Nursing2215 Genesee St, Utica - 1st floor

For Info Call 768-7031

Obsessive Compulsive

Disorder Group

Up to 80 guests! Call for a consultation (315) 336-0671738 Erie Blvd. West, Rome

Let us help plan your next party, banquet, corporate function,

wedding, or special event!

DiCastro’s Too

NEW Event Facility!“Rustic in all the right ways!”

Where everything is homemade!

Full menu catering options (pick up or delivery)

Italian cookie trays (all sizes)

2644 Genesee St., Utica 315-721-ROSA(7672)Mon: 10-4, Tues-Fri: 8-6, Sat: 8-2, Sun: Party Tray pick ups only

www.rosastrattoria.com

See us for your holiday party needs!

Butternut Barn Primitives427 Butternut Rd., Richfield SpringsOpen most days from 10am to 5pm from mid-April to December. From January through March customers can make an appoint-ment by calling (315) 858-0964. For more information you can visit their website at www.butternutbarn.com.

SINCE 1961

506 N. James Street, Rome • www.dibellasgifts.comCall or visit our website for current hours (315) 336-7890

Extensive array of unique gifts for all ages!

DiBella’sFamous for custom made gift baskets.

Order yours today!Specialty beers, snacks, & pasta!

22

7915 Rt. 28Richfield Springs

315.858.2078

Open 7 Days a Week 9-5 Since 1929!

Apples, Cider, Homemade Pies & So Much More!

Plus home made treats and gift shop!

Shoppes at the Finish Line

809 Court Street, Utica (Across from the Brewery Gift Shop) 315-733-0533

Nestled in the Revitalized Brewery District!

Healthy Eats &Tasty Treats at Utica Brews!Serving breakfast & lunch featuring local products. Let us cater your holiday party, event, or business meeting! Call (315) 733-0533Cafe open Mon-Fri: 8am-2pm Sat: 9-2 and evenings during events. FREE wi-fi!

Visit the Shoppes at the Finish Line for quality furniture & carpeting at

reasonable prices, and unique gifts!

Shoppes at the Finish Line open Mon & Thurs 10-8, Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat 10-4www.shoppesatthefinishline.com

Open Mic Night!Thurs., December 11, 8-11pm

Also a Charity Drive! Please donate: Food (Feed Our Vets), Toys (The Neighborhood Center), Coats (Rescue Mission)

11 W. Park Row, Clinton 853-5299Tuesday-Saturday: 11am-5pm, Thursday til 6pm

Like us on facebook @ The Village Crossing

Let us help you putit all together at...

Reversible!

A rainbow of scarves & texting

gloves!

Come visit & browse the

ONEIDA COMMUNITYMANSION HOUSE

A wonderful array of distinctive and hand-crafted items.Hours of Operation: Monday – Saturday 9am to 5pm

Sunday Noon to 4pm

Gift Shop

170 Kenwood Avenue • Oneida, NY • 315-363-0745www.oneidacommunity.org

23

did you know?

clintonfrom the Clinton Historical Society

Prominent American Red Cross founder Clara Barton attended a

private school here.

Clinton was settled in March 1787 and named after Gover-

nor George Clinton.

The outdoor skating rink at Meadow Street and Franklin Avenue opened in 1926 and

ended in 1948 when the first Clinton Arena on Kirkland

Avenue opened.

Railroad builder Leland Stanford also attended a private school in Clinton.

Millions of tons of Clinton Hematite iron ore remain under ground here; it was

mined from ca. 1800 to 1963 and used for cast iron.

Clinton-born Elihu Root won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912.

Book Your Holiday Parties Now!Private Parties or Business Affairs and Luncheons

Daily lunch and dinner take-out Mon-Fri Call 768-70378411 Seneca Turnpike, New Hartford

And visit our NEW cafe at 116 Business Park Dr., Utica!Take out M-F: 8am-3pm Visit us on facebook for daily specials

SUNNYBROOK FARM

Grass-fed Beef, Pastured Poultry & PorkGift Certificates Available

Give the gift of locally raised meat!

Winter Hours: M-F 8-4, Weekend Pick-Up by appt. only.

Williams Fence2033 Brothertown Rd., Deansboro

www.sunnybrookmeats.com

(315) 841-4910

from the Oneida County Historical Society

24

MV history spotlight:

Proctor Motorcade

On June 23, 1907, Thomas Proctor (in the lead car directly behind the driver) alongwithanumberofprominent citizensandcityofficials in14automobiles,toured the land thatProctorhadgiven thecityofUtica for itsmagnificentpub-lic park system. In 1891, Maria Williams and Thomas R. Proctor were married in Utica and went to Europe on their honeymoon. In England, they visited the famed Kensington Gardens and the great public parks in London and upon their return to Utica often mentioned that London’s parks were within the city—convenient for the public to reach easily and enjoy. The Proctors gave Utica more than 600 acres for a public park system within the city.This original black and white photo was digitally colorized by Carl Saporito of the Oneida County Historical Society (available for sale at the OCHS).

Good FriendsGood TimesGood Wines

Trenton StationLIQUORS & WINES

Welcome to a historic landmark with an inviting atmosphere & exceptional customer service!An extensive selection of NY State, imported wines and liquors.Half & Full case discountsOwners Chris Buck and Terry HudonLike us on facebook!

Open Mon-Sat: 9-9, Sun: 12-6, 8231 Route 12, Barneveld (315) 896-4444

Signature 81A Destination for your Artistic Side

Tues-Sat 11-6 • 17 College St., Clinton (315) 269-7799 www.signature81.com

A specialty gift shop featuring handcrafted, repurposed, upcycled and vintage home decor, jewelry and gifts.

One of a kind Christmas Gifts!

Beverly Warner • Cynthia Kershner4 Meadow Street, Clinton, NY (315) 381-3024

www.thetwoewes.com

Quality Yarns at Affordable Prices• Frog Tree• Trendsetter• Drunken Strumpet• Cascade• Berroco• Della Q and more!

Holiday Hours:Sun-Mon:

Noon-4pm,Tues, Weds, Thurs, Sat: 10am-4pm

Fri: Noon-9pmChristmas Eve:

10am-2pm

Gifts for the Knitters on your list!

B I S T R O A N D W I N E B A RExperience the inviting atmosphere

and incredible edibles!•Tapas, soups, salads, paninis & creative dinner menu

•Available for catered private parties•Original art work displayed and for sale!

8171 Turin Rd., Rome Wed-Fri 3-9pm (closed the week of Christmas) 334-7342 or 725-6178

Extensive wine list, beer

& specialty coffee

CD: One Take Jakeby “Midnite Mike” Grimaldi

Local blues legend, “Midnite Mike” Grimaldi has released a new CD, One Take Jake. In a career that has seen Mike open for Kings – BB and Albert, his new album pays tribute to a third King – Freddie King. One Take Jake is true to its title. All the songs were single takes with no overdubs. Raw and real. But don’t let that fool you, this is a strong, full-on blues assault that gratefully avoids the obvious Freddie King tunes like “Hideaway” or “I’m Tore Down,” but heads into more album-oriented territory includ-ing King’s stop at Leon Russell’s Shelter Records label. Songs such as “TV Mama” and “Big Leg Woman (With a Short, Short Mini Skirt)” are hard-driving and fun, while tracks like “Boogieman” and “Nothin’ But A Woman,” really put Midnite Mike’s Southern drawl vocals to perfect use. His guitar is stunning throughout especially on “Living On The Highway.” Grimaldi’s band, The Bent Blinds (Hutson Wheel-er/drums and Glen Rohner/bass) compliment Mike’s six-string exuberancesbeautifully.Ifthereisoneflaw,it’sthatthedrumsare mixed a bit high in places that shake the focus away from theguitar.Butthisdoesnotdeterfromatrulyfinelisteningjourney through Freddie King’s catalog as told by Mid-nite Mike. The ten tracks on One Take Jake flew bymuch too quickly for me. Mike Grimaldi wears FreddieKing’sinfluenceinhisheartandletsitflowoutgenerouslyinashowcaseforhisincred-ible guitar and vocals for our listening pleasure. Freddie would be proud.

HOLIDAY CENTERPIECES

25

new CD review

“Midnite Mike” Grimaldi

Cranberry Ridge [email protected]

315.964.9900

Pure Goat Milk SoapEach bar is made with care from the finest vegetable oils, thera-peutic grade essential oils and pure goat milk providing the ulti-mate in fine skin care and repair.Great for the whole family!

By John Keller

Turn to page 16 to learn how to download

FREE mp3s from

Midnite Mike!Midinite Mike with BB King

Story & Photos By Sharry L. Whitney

MV up close:

Richfield Springs

(800) 638-3836934 Earlville Road, Earlville(between Poolville and Earlville)Open Mon-Fri: 9:30-5, Most Sundays 10:30-3, closed Sat.www.jewettscheese.com

Jewett’s Cheese HouseA family business since 1970

NY State aged cheddar 1-20 years old!Over 400 items of cheese & gourmet foods.

26

Do you recognize this architecture? Tell us where they are located & you could win an MVL mug from A&P Master Images! We are often so busy and in a hurry that we miss the interest-ing architecture and art that surrounds us. Take the time to look around and you might be surprised at what you find.

Clue:Turnpike travelers,decades ago,“parked” themselves hereto wait out the snow.Email your answer to:[email protected] or mail:MVL, 30 Kellogg St. Clinton, NY 13323Deadline: 12/30/14

All correct answers will be entered in a random drawing for an MVL mug from A&P Master Images, located at:205 Water Street, Utica Open Mon-Fri: 9-5, Sat: 10-35 mugs will be awarded. Answer next month.

Answer to last month’s Up Close: The Stanley Theatre in UticaCongratulations to the many peo-ple who knew that last month’s MV Up Close was the sculptures that grace the inside of the Stan-ley Theatre. The exterior design has Mexican influences while the interior is host to Habsburg lions, Indian faces, and a multitude of angels and cherubs.

B&FMilk Center

Fresh bagels and donuts every Sunday!Open 7 days a week (315) 736-6857

38 Roosevelt Dr., Whitesboro

Coffee, Cappucino, Milk, Lottery Tickets,

Groceries and more!

Something Good & a Lot of It! www.brendasnaturalfoods.comBrenda’s Natural Foods

236 W. Dominick St., Rome (315) 337-0437 M-F 9:30-6, Sat 10-3Natural Groceries • Supplements • Local Foods Organic Produce & Plants

Natural Food Cafe Now Open!

Featuring: Gluten-free options and

homemade soups!

27

All that glitters is not gold or snow. De-cember’s night sky offers many sparkling objects to observe, including planets, a colorful meteor shower, and stars that will form a large cross above the horizon on Christmas night.

Planets: Several planets glide into view.

•Mars is in the southwest an hour aftersunset and is definitely reddish-orangecompared to other stars.

•Venusappearsmid-month in thesouth-west about 30 minutes after sunset. It’s bright white and climbs higher during the month.

• Have you ever seenMercury? Towardthe end of December locate Venus after sunset then look slightly right and below for a small white dot. That’s Mercury.

•Jupiterreturnsmid-month.It’slargeandeasily spotted in the east about 10 p.m. Use binoculars to see four small moons close to the planet – their positions change every few hours as they race around the gas gi-ant. Did you know that about 1,300 Earths

by Carol Higgins

Mohawk valley astronomical society

DECEMBER’S DIAMONDS

A Multi Dealer ShopFeaturing 60 Dealers displaying a diverse

array of antiques and collectibles.

315-337-3509

Come Spend the Day With Us!Route 233 Westmoreland, NY 1/4 mile North of NYS Thruway Exit 32

www.westmorelandantiquecenter.com

Open Daily 10-5, Closed Tuesdays Where friends send friends!

Get your $100 coupon at www.enjems.com

Carpet, hardwood, laminate, ceramic tile, and vinyl

2010 Oriskany St. West Utica, NY (315) 733-0421

canfitinsideJupiter?

•You’llfindSaturninthesoutheastaboutan hour before dawn in early December. It moves higher in the early morning sky every day.

Meteors: December offers one of the best meteor showers of the year plus a second one for good measure.

•TheGeminidmeteorshower,knownforbright and colorful meteors thanks to aster-oid debris, occurs December 4 through 17. The peak is December 13 to 14 when it can produce 120 meteors an hour. Look toward the southern sky anytime after dark, al-though most appear after midnight. Dress warmly, sit in a comfortable chair, and en-joy hot chocolate and your favorite snacks. No equipment needed, just look up.

•TheUrsidmeteorshowerproducesfewermeteors but is still fun. It peaks December 22 after midnight, though meteors appear between Dec 17 and 25. Look toward the Little Dipper, almost straight up.

Northern Cross: Constellation Cygnus

also is known as the “Northern Cross.” At the top is blue supergiant Deneb, the 19th brightest star in the sky. At the bottom is Albireo, a binary star with one gold and one blue star. To the right of Cygnus in constellation Lyra is blue-white star Vega, the second brightest star in the northern sky.

Visible overhead all summer, Cygnus heads toward the western horizon as win-ter approaches then disappears until spring. On December 25 Cygnus is in an interest-ing orientation. At 8 p.m. Christmas Day look toward the horizon in the northwest, and you will see its stars aligned to form a large cross in the sky.

Stargazing December 20: Join the Mohawk Valley Astronomical Society members for an evening of stargazing at the Barton-Brown Observatory in Wa-terville starting at 7:30pm. Visit www.mvas-ny.org for details.

Wishing you clear skies!

Do your Family a Favor...Arrange your funeral plans. Pre-planning gives you peace of mind, takes the burden off your loved ones, and assures that your service will reflect your personal beliefs. (315) 797-1900 470 French Road, Utica

www.nunnandmcgrath.com

Nunn & McGrath F u n e r a l D i r e c t o r s

This holiday seasonshare good food,happy memories,and your plans...

65 years in the Trzepacz FamilyYorkville Memorials

(315) 736-1781 1309 Champlin Ave, Yorkville

Visit us for preplanning options.

by Malio Cardarelli

Local tv special

The King WhoCancelleD ChRISTMAS

Back in 1970, when children’s Christmas television shows were re-ferred to as animated cartoons, I was a father of two young boys: Paul, age 8, and Larry, only 4. Having always been inspired to do some cre-ative writing, I came up with the idea of crafting a children’s Christmas show of my own, dedicated, of course, to Paul and Larry. Well, it is one thing to have an ambition and altogether another to executeit.Strugglingformanymonths,IfinallysettledontheconceptofwritingastoryofacancelledChristmas.Itwouldreflecttheunthink-able—a year without this universally sought-after holiday. Okay,that’sthefirstpartoftheproject—toestablishthestoryline.Now, I needed characters and fresh ideas to put it in motion. There’s real-ly no explanation for how it entered my mind, but I came up with the idea of writing about two opposing elements, Love Glows and Ice Men, both in the North Pole, which would be under the domain of King Sagnor, whose harsh decree would become the pivotal element in the story: From this day forward, I now proclaim, this holiday season will not be the same; for Christmas is cancelled, it’s pretty absurd. Christmas is ended, and that’s my last word. It was at the point of writing this passage that the title was estab-lished—The King Who Cancelled Christmas. And in keeping with the mandate for a happy ending, all conflictswouldbe resolved, and theblessed day would be reinstated to everyone’s relief. Atfirst,thestorywasaradiopresentation,airedlocally.ButIwantedit to be for TV, so I fashioned the characters, the background, the props, and everything else needed for a visual presentation, using a well-used 35 mm camera to record it all. With the help of many friends and with the facilities of television station WKTV, a half-hour show was produced under the sponsorship of the Boston Store with sound track and slides, more than 200 of them. This was a two-year effort, but a gratifying one, especially since Paul had two speeches in the recorded show that has many times aired on local TV during the holidays. Some 25 years later, with the help of a computer, a book was creat-ed—all illustrations coming from the TV production. It is available local-ly wherever my books are sold or via www.BooksbyMalio.com. In reality, of course, Christmas is not cancelled, and as long as we are devoted to its true meaning, it never will be.

28

King Sagnor decrees that Christmas is cancelled.

The mean-looking Ice Men of the North Pole.

A scene peeking in a snow-covered window.

4695 Middle Settlement Road, New Hartford, NY (315) 736-5883 Open Mon-Sat 9-6, Sun 10-5

Family Owned for 70 Years

Visit us today for all your holiday needs!

Many Varieties to choose from:Honey Crisp, McIntosh, Gala, Cortland, Ida Red, Crispin, Jonagold, Red Delicious, and More! Bosc Pears, Cabbage, Potatoes, and Squash!

We also carry: Local Maple Syrup,

Honey, and Adirondack Cheese!

Try our fresh baked cider donuts and pies.

Apple cake and pumpkin rolls make a wonderful addition to your

holiday table!

Menu to go items!Keep in mind our fresh

salads, wraps, paninis and soups to go!

SweetApple Cider

Too!

Scenes from The King Who Cancelled Christmas, a half-hour television show that was created using hundreds of photographs

of posed figures and props.

FURNITUREa different kind of store

(315) 768-1857351 Oriskany Blvd., Whitesboro

OPEN: M, W, Th, Fri: 10-5, Sat: 10-4, Closed Tues & Sun

Entertainment Centers, Jelly Cupboards, Dining Rooms,

Bedrooms, Rolltops, Curios,Amish Products, Reproductions,

Lamps, Gifts & More!

Sign

atur

e81

17 College Street, ClintonHandcrafted Home Decor,

Gifts & Vintage Finds

A Destination for your Artistic Side

Cross-Country Skis & SnowshoesBicycle Parts/Repairs Accessories & Clothing

411 Mohawk St., Herkimer, NY 315-866-5571www.dickswheelshop.com

INC

.

Welcome to “Our Home”with strong Italian roots and Gagoots!

3963 Oneida St., New Hartford (Washington Mills) (315) 507-2794Catering and Banquet Room Available! www.papajoesrestaurantny.com

Fresh Beer Battered Friday Fish FryServing Lunch and Dinner Tues.-Sat.

Your hosts Bob and Lorrie Arcuri MarkasonServing traditional Italian Specialties just like Papa would have it.

Banquet RoomHoliday Parties - on site or catered

Like us fordaily specials!

8390 Seneca Tpke, New Hartford • Serving dinner Tues-Sun starting at 4pm315 724-4882 www.michaeltsrest.com

Celebrating 30 years family owned in New Hartford!

Come try our world famous riggies! We’re also famous for our haddock and we offer a

variety of fresh seafood specialties every day!

MichaelT ’s GiftCertificatesAvailable!

Call for holiday catering!

31

HOLLAND PATENTFARMER’S CO-OP

More Than Your Average Farm Store!

(315) 865-5281 Open M-F: 9-5 Sat: 8-3 9560 Depot St. Holland Patent (behind the train depot)

www.hollandpatentcoop.com

See us for your winter clothing needs! New arrivals daily...

Red Wing Shoes • Carhartt Clothing • Wolverine Shoes • Muck Boots (kids too!) • LaCrosse Boots

WigWam Socks • Kinco Gloves

Plus Blueseal feed, bird seed & suet, shavings, gates, fencing, dairy supplies & medicines, Ertl toys,

Rada knives, and more!

Open to the Public!Attention Dairy Farmers- Let us market your milk!

Create time for you.

From massage, facials, waxing, hand and foot treatments to

spa packages and small group gatherings.

Christmas Gift certificates available online!

Open daily 9-5. Appointments every day except Tuesdays. 315.853.33007201 Route 5, Clinton www.timeformedayspa.com

All is not asleep in the December Forest. Itmayseemthatwayuponfirstglance,butacloser inspection reveals signs of activity all around. Though we may see neither hide nor hair (nor feather) of the animals themselves, their actions are dutifully recorded by the tracks they leave behind in the snow. A careful ob-server can glean a great deal of information by following footprints. Methods of hunting and foraging can be clearly indicated by well-pre-served tracks. Last winter, while following the tracks of a coyote, I was able to get an excel-lent idea of how it spent at least a few hours of its evening. The animal spent some time near the entrance of a vole’s burrow, waiting for the rodent to emerge. Subsequent tracks and some bloodyspotsinthesnowconfirmthatthepred-ator’s wait was rewarded. With a small meal

secured, the coyote loped off into the ravine, possibly in search of another rodent burrow by which to stand vigil. Examining the footprints of wildlife pro-vides us with a way to “watch” them when they are alone and not influenced by humanobservers. For many species, particularly predators, when they perceive they are being watched, they behave quite differently and we lose the ability to see them interact naturally in their environment. Another candid moment revealed by footprints involved a Fisher. The Fisher is a large weasel that has become much

more common in the Mohawk Valley in recent years. I was following the animal’s dispropor-tionately large footprints as it crossed through the old woods, when I found something quite unexpected. The prints revealed that the animal went out of its way to visit a patch of ice that had formed in the tire ruts of an ATV trail. The Fisher approached the ice and then quite de-liberately slid its body over it. It then proceed-ed directly to the next patch of ice and did the same thing. You can’t say that weasels don’t know how to have fun—at least when no one is looking.

by Matt Perry

Secret Lives Revealed in the December Forest

Large feet allow the Fisher to more easily walk on top

of the snowFisher tracks

Hours: Monday 12-4, Tuesday - Saturday 10-620 West Park Row, Clinton, NY 315.853.3650 www.kriziamartin.com

For the gifts you love to give and receive!

Complimentary gift wrapping!

Now including Pet Retail Shop and Day Care!

Unique Gifts for Pets & Pet Lovers!Day Care open: Mon-Fri: 8am-6pm

Retail Shop open: Mon-Sat: 10am-4pm

Grooming by appt. (315) 829-39005350 East Seneca St., Vernon

Give the gift of comfort!

Choose from our large selection of recliners.

Route 5 , Sherrill 363-3131www.froassfurniture.com

Mon-Wed: 9-5:30Thurs & Fri: 9-8:30; Sat: 9-5

Light up someone’s life with a beautifully unique lamp!

ScroogePresented by The Players of UticaFriday, December 12th, 7:30pmSaturday, December 13th, 2pm

Coming Up at The Stanley

Apr.7 & 8

261 Genesee Street l Utica, NY 13501 l Box Office 315.724.4000 l www.TheStanley.org* Schedule subject to change

Dec.12 & 13

The NutcrackerPresented by The Mohawk Valley BalletSaturday, December 6th, 7:30pmSunday, December 7th, 2pm

Dec.6 & 7

Feb.17 & 18

The 15th Annual Mohawk Valley Antiqefest Presented by Vintage FurnishingsSaturday, January 24th, 10am - 5pmSunday, Janurary 25th, 10am - 4pm

Jan.24 & 25

Nice Work If You Can Get ItPresented by Broadway Theatre League of UticaTuesday, January 27th, 7:30pmWednesday, Janurary 28th, 7:30pm

Jan.27 & 28

Sister ActPresented by Broadway Theatre League of UticaTuesday, February 17th, 7:30pmWednesday, February 18th, 7:30pm

Beauty & The BeastPresented by Broadway Theatre League of UticaTuesday, April 7th, 7pmWednesday, April 8th, 7pm

Mitsuba Japanese Cuisine17 Ellinwood Dr., New Hartford

(The Orchard Plaza)(315) 768-8266

Serving Lunch & Dinner 7 Days a Week

www.mitsubarestaurants.com

Give the Gift of Good Taste!

Buy a $25 Gift Card &

Get $5 FREE!This Merry Christams Deal expires 12/31/14

BITTERSWEET PINES4900 St. Rt. 233, Westmoreland 853-3677

(1.2 mi south of Thruway Exit 32)

Nothing captures the essence of your personal creative flair like...

Pre-owned Furniture & Decor

Berry Hill Book Shop

Over 75,000 used books!2349 Rte 12-B, Deansboro, NY 315-821-6188

Open Tues-Sat 10-5 [email protected]

A few short weeks ago, I was giving a farm tour to a group of college students and interns. It was a perfect fall day: The sky was a brilliant blue, the surrounding hills were dotted with yellows, oranges and reds, and the sun was still pleasantly warm on our shoulders. We visited the cheese plant,thehenhouse,thegoatsandsheepinthefield,allthewhiletalkingabout our farm’s various lines of business. The students asked questions along the way. We eventually came to our pastured chickens, where several groups of meat birds happily scratched the earth and soaked up the fall sun in a large, fenced-inarea.Idescribedhowwemovedthepaddockaroundthefieldon a regular basis, pointed out the homemade shelters my husband had designed, and invited the students to investigate the thick, rich sward of healthy grasses the chickens left behind them. I contrasted our methodol-ogy with that of industrial, commodity chicken producers. I told the group how much I enjoyed raising chickens in a way that encouraged a varied dietandlotsofexerciseandhowhappyourcustomersarewiththeflavor

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People who raise their own chickens, like the editor’s niece Delaney Foss, can better understand

other farmers’ challenges and choices.

On the farm with Suzie:

Understanding Farmers’ Choicesby Suzie Jones

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© 2014 CNH Industrial America LLC. All rights reserved. New Holland Agriculture is a trademark registered in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates. New Holland Construction is a trademark in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates.

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and quality. I then surprised the students—and myself, a bit—by admitting that although I loved the way we were farming, I understood why large, in-dustrial farms employ the methods they do. The students looked a little shocked—how could I, a small-scale family farmer “understand” the methods of large-scale commodity chicken farms? “Look around you,” I told them. “If I were to scale up to grow the tens of thousands of chickens housed in even one of the large producer’s barns, it would be impractical in our pasture system. That significantly limits ourgrowth as a farm business. Plus, today may be a gorgeous day, but look at how exposed we are here to the elements. Scorching heat, freezing cold, rain, high winds—all are a constant battle. And we’ve been relatively lucky, but predators, too, are something a large-scale poultry opera-tion doesn’t have to worry about. Their chick-ens are housed in temperature-controlled barns, safe from the elements, with automated water-ing and feeding systems…yeah, I get that!” I don’t know what sort of message the stu-dents took away with them that day. But for me, Ihadfinallysaidaloudsomethingthathadeat-en at me for some time. When my chickens fail to gain the weight required to keep our produc-tion on schedule, I understand other farmer’s choices. When cold night temperatures cause feed consumption to skyrocket, you bet I un-derstand the need to control the environment. When extreme summer temperatures result in heat exhaustion and deaths, I absolutely under-stand why someone may not want to farm the

Delaney’s flock of chickens scratch for feed in the snow.

© 2014 CNH Industrial America LLC. All rights reserved. New Holland Agriculture is a trademark registered in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates. New Holland Construction is a trademark in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates.

With responsive performance, big comfort and reduced operating costs, the upgraded T4.75 PowerStar™ tractor is ready to be a key member of your farming family. You get 74 horsepower on tap to handle even the most demanding jobs, and the engine meets the new Tier 4B emissions regulations, so your PowerStar tractor goes easy on you and on the environment. That’s New Holland SMART.

• Spacious cab with class-leading visibility and convenient controls positioned on the Command Arc console

• Head-to-toe comfort with two fans, and 10 vents to keep you at the perfect temperature no matter what the weather

• Responsive common rail engine reduces fuel consumption by up to 13%

• Lower maintenance demands with industry-leading 600-hour service interval

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way we do. It’s not that I want to change the way we raise our animals per se; I just understand why other farm-ers may make the choices that they make. Their choices may not be my choices, but I respect them nonethe-less. It’s probably fair to say that other farmers will read this and

understand much better than most. Whether small or large, conventional or

organic, every farm has its own set of chal-lenges—its unique soils and microclimates,

financial situation, farmer skills,market outlets—the list goes on and on. Farmers are an opinionated bunch, yes, but they are hesitant to tell other farmers how to farm. What may work for me may not work for you. Which is why I’m always duly impressed when I meet an indi-vidual “non-farmer” that has strong opinions on my or other farmers’ methods.I’llgiveyouaveryspecificexample:Apotentialcustomercame to visit me at a farmers’ market and proceeded to ask all sorts of wonderful questions about our chickens. When I told her we bought our chicken feed, she became very agitated and told me I needed to growthefeedmyself.Iwasdumbfounded.“Idon’tknowthefirstthing about growing corn,” I told her. Believe it or not, she actually screamed at me for being so irresponsible before she stomped away. Now, I might be tempted to write her off as completely nutty, but she came back the very next week to apologize and we ended up having a very nice conversation. I explained that, besides having to gain a wholenewskillset(growingaspecificcrop),I’dneedexpensive,specializedequipment,landtogrowsufficientquantities,awaytostore the grain properly without losing quality or nutrition, and then anefficientway togrindor crack it soas tomake it edible…notto mention the time to plant, cultivate, and harvest. The lady kindly admitted the issues were more complex than she had realized. How did she get so passionate about farming and form such strong opin-ions, I asked? She had read one book on the subject. She had never farmed…not one day in her life. That lady will never know it, but that interaction shook me to the core. It was personally upsetting and yet enlightening at the same time. I realized that while I want people to care passionately about their food, I also want them to appreciate the complexities of grow-ing it. I want them to appreciate farmers, their talents and knowledge, and be willing to learn from them. The skill set and the challenges are far greater than most could ever imagine. I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to sell directly to consumers and wish more farmers would (or could) do the same. Po-tential customers can quiz me on farming methodologies and philos-ophies to their hearts’ content. I genuinely enjoy these discussions and am in a privileged position to learn what is important to them. If

my farming choices do not agree with their concept of how it should be done, they have every right to not buy our prod-ucts. Every one of us should care deeply about our food and how it is raised. Unfortunately, there is a tremendous

disconnect between consumers, our food, and the farmers—large and small—that grow it. More than anything, I wish people understood the challenges that

farmers face…everywhere, every day.

Suzie Jones and her husband, Peter, own Jones Family Farm in Herkimer. Together, with their children, they produce specialty

goat cheeses and gelato. Find them at local farmers’ markets and at: www.anotherjonesfamilyfarm.com

“Their choices may not be my choices, but I respect them nonetheless.”

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FormeDecemberisamonthfilledwithan-ticipation. Winter Solstice heralds celebrations of rebirth all throughout history. Just in time for holiday celebrations, seed catalogs arrive in the mailbox, signaling the renewal of the garden and floodingmyimaginationwithgrandplans. As a child, as the Christmas cards started ar-riving in our mailbox so did a smattering of seed catalogs. Mail doesn’t get any better than the com-bination of both. My dad would make sure they were tucked away in a special drawer so as not to be misplaced during all the holiday festivities. The week between Christmas and New Year’s was set aside to plan and lay out the next year’s garden. The seed catalogs were brought out and spread over the dining room table; with notepads and drawings, our small backyard was transformed into wonderful gardens. First, the old favorites were selected: Kentucky Wonder and Romano pole beans, on strings right by the back porch so little hands could help pick. Then the tomatoes: Roma, Big Boy, and Jet Star, which were put up

into the best chili sauce in late summer. But the garden was never complete without green bunching onions. There was always a drinking glass on the kitchentable,halffilledwithwater, holding a beautiful bouquet of freshly picked green onions. All summer

By Denise A. Szarek

long my dad would start dinner by eating a few with a sprinkle of salt. Next, my sister and I were allowed to pick the veggies we wanted to grow. We would spend hours combing through the catalogs for just the right veggie by reading all the colorful descrip-tions. We would change our minds daily, and my dad patientlywaited for the final decisions.OnNewYear’sDayalldecisionswerefinal,becausethe next day the seed orders went to the mailbox. Historically, seed catalogs reflect the times;during the Golden Era, the artwork in catalogs and on seed packets could be quite amazing. During WorldWarIItheytookonapatrioticflavorwiththe birth of the Victory Garden. Now, we are en-amored with the photography, which allows us to tell exactly what the plant or veggie will look like in our garden. On the farm and in our greenhouses we dili-gently source organic, non-GMO seeds from the following seeds companies. These are our favor-ites: Johnny’s Selected Seeds – 100% employ-ee-owned seed company in Maine. Johnny’s focus is on small farmers rather than on backyard gar-deners. They have adopted the safe seed pledge, vowingnottocarrygeneticallymodifiedseeds. Fedco Seeds – is a cooperative seed company, also based in Maine. Consumers own 60% and worker members 40%. Fedco offers a huge selec-tion and the cheapest prices of untreated, open polli-

mv gardensAs the Winter Solstice Approaches, the Seed Catalogs Arrive

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nat-ed and organic seeds that I have seen. Baker Creek – publishes the most beautiful catalog I have ever laid eyes on, featuring artistic photos, recipes and quotes. They carry a huge se-lection of rare seeds from the 19th century. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange - is a worker-run seed cooperative in Central Virginia. Also, their website offers a lot of helpful growing information, including a wonderful handout ex-plaining how to save seeds. Seeds of Change – offers 100% organic seed grown by small farmers and professional growers. While the company produces high quality seed, they tend to be pretty expensive. High Mowing – sells 100% organic, untreat-ed seeds. High Mowing grows the majority of its seed on its own farm in Vermont and has worked within the Vermont Community to bring local food businesses together. Their website features a great blog. If you haven’t read Ben Hewitt’s book, The Town that Food Saved, I highly recommend it as a great read that features the story of High Mowing. I love seed catalogs, and I bet I’d be hard pressedtofindagardenerwhodoesn’t.

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ArtistDougWhitfield’sstudiooverlooksCedar Lake in Clayville. His workspace is comprised of a large easel in a small loft in his home that he shares with his wife, Franca, a collection of bonsai trees, and a host of characters he has created on canvas. His artwork hangs on every wall—his latest work, a triptych, stands in the corner of the living room. The women depicted in the set of three paintings appear aware of our presence and stand like guests waiting,

indifferently, to be seated. Each holds an object of seeming importance that makes us curious as to its meaning. It is no surprise that Doug studied the work of Leonardo da Vinci, who is known for using numbers and symbols in his classical drawings. “I enjoy hearing people’s interpretations of my paintings,” he says, while admitting that sometimes they are more interesting than his own ideas. Doug has been drawing since he was a child and, since his veryfirstpaintingatage20,hisfavoritesubjecthasbeenfigures.Growing up in a family of artists, he knew at an early age that

Local Arts:

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A close-up showing the classical style of Doug Whitfield’s painting

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painting would be his life’s pursuit. He studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Mohawk Valley Community College, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Syracuse University. He received his A.A.S. in Design in 1965 and B.A. in Painting in 1968 at R.I.T. He earned Master Teacher Certification, Integrative LearningSystem in 1999 from Syracuse University. The artist studied and copied the works of the classical masters like Rembrandt and da Vinci. He was thrilled to see the recent exhibit at Munson Williams Proctor, The Golden Age of European Painting. “I visited the exhibit seven or eight times,” he says. “To see the actual paintings that I have studied for years was amazing. I wish I could own one so I could look at it every day.” Although Doug’s work is founded in classical painting, there is a sense of the surreal. “My compositions are dreamlike; they blur myth, history and fantasy together,” he states. Large, yet seemingly featherlight, figuresoccupy dreamlike compositions and appear to be on stage for our enjoyment. When asked whymanyofhisfiguresseemtobeoverweight,he admits that it stems from not liking to paint backgroundsandpreferringhisfigurestofillthecanvas. Doug’s paintings are in private collections around the country and Europe and part of the

Last DanceWhitfield’s large figures are light on

their feet and dance for our enjoyment.

42

FlightDoug Whitfield’s characters come to you as players in a fantastic theater, gesturing dramatically and striking romantic poses on their stage.

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permanent collection at the Oxford Gallery in Rochester, NY. His 2012 show in Little Falls at the Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts was well received, and he was pleased to sell a number of paintings. To him, life is painting. Doug is often working on several pieces at the same time. Currently, he is preparing for an upcoming exhibit “The Condition of Music” that opens April 25th at the Oxford Gallery. The theme of the show takes its cue from the Victorian essayist Walter Pater’s famous dictum, “All art constantly aspires to the condition of music.” Doug is looking forward to the challenge of interpreting Pater’s adage in his painting. Evenhis career as amilitaryofficer—temporarily taking him and his family away from the area—couldn’t stop him from painting. Wherever Doug was stationed his work was featured in the local art shows. “I get tense and frustrated when I don’t paint,” he says. “Like an avid runner, you can’t live without it...you get emotionally out of shape.” You can see Doug Whitfield’s workand even the progression of a painting at his website:www.dougwhitfieldpaintings.com

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MOHAWK ANTIQUES MALL

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EVENT!Charles Dickens’ Christmas Party

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Story and Photos by Sharry L. Whitney

Local Arts:

Zinn brilliant If you happen upon Bill and Janet Rigby strolling through Cooperstown you might think they’re retired, but they are most likely just taking a break from their busy home-based business. Their workshop, located in the basement of their Victorian home on Elm Street, is how you would imagine Santa’s workshop--tools lined up in rows, colorful bottles of paint and brushes, glittering pieces of metal, and products in various stages of completion. The Rigbys are indeed as busy as Santa’s elves creating sparkling Zinn Brilliant ornaments. The molds they use to make the decorations were designed in the 1880s by Gustav A. Mayer, a New York businessman and inventor who came to the United States from Germany at age 19. The Rigbys happened upon the molds in the 1980s. They knew Mayer’s then elderly daughters who were selling off some of their father’s furniture. The molds were discovered in the drawer of a desk. The Rigbys purchased the 42 molds and then, with much experimentation, re-created the process and produced some ornaments. When the Rigbys shared their re-creations with the sisters, who by then were blind, they felt them and exclaimed, “It’s Poppa’s brillanten!

But how?” They were sure they had surrendered all the molds to the scrap drive during World War II. The fact

that they still existed seemed a miracle. The Rigbys, busy raising a family at the time, packed away the molds for another day.

Now, in their “retirement,” they share the ornaments

and the process with interested onlookers. Bill, an avid lifelong tinkerer, was behind researching the

history and setting the groundwork for

making Zinn Brilliant a reality. Janet, with a degree in Museum

Studies and a passion for the

Photos above: Gustav A. Mayer was a businessman and inventor; A sales flyer from the late 1800s depicting the ornaments available for purchase; Using the original, recently restored, elephant mold, Bill Rigby quickly dips the mold in hot, liquid tin then removes the cooled thin film of shiny metal.Although it appears to be encrusted with gems, the Zinn Brilliant ornament (left) is actually comprised of colorfully painted recessed reflectors.

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Bill Rigby shows off one of the larger Zinn Brilliant ornaments made with the original 1880s mold. His wife, Janet, holds mascot Effie.

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history of everyday things, also was eager to revive this art that would have been lost. She hand-paints the ornaments and designs the packaging and presentation. “We should be retired, Bill says, “but the things we get involved in are too much fun!” You can see the mold-making process of Zinn Brilliant ornaments at the Rigby’s Christmas Shop, 73 Elm Street, Cooperstown, NY. Open Thursday-Saturday: 10am-4pm through December 20th.You can also see the process and shop online at: www.zinnbrilliant.com

See more of their work on the

next page...

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The Sandwich Chef

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Book Signing with William J. O’Hernauthor of Adirondack Wilds and many other regional titles.

Last minute holiday gifts including framed art, local pottery, and 2015 calendars!

Tools of the trade, clockwise from top left: Bill Rigby removes the ornament from the mold; A line up of some of the original molds

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Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”Sunday, Dec. 14 at 2pm & 5pm and Satur-day, Dec. 20 at 3pm & 7pmEnjoy a live performance.Tickets: $15 (ages 13+), $10 (ages 6–12). Children under 6 free.The Farmers’ Museum5775 State Hwy. 80, Cooperstown(607) 547-1450www.farmersmuseum.org

Wonderland of LightsThrough Jan. 1st, 5:30-8:30pm$8 per vehicle at gatehouse entrance.Masonic Care Community2150 Bleecker St., Uticawww.wonderlandoflights.info

Sounds of the Season

Masterworks Chorale and SymphoriaTuesday, Dec. 2 at 7:30pmTickets: $8/$6Wellin Hall, Hamilton College, Clinton(315) 859-4331www.hamiltonpa.org

B Sharp Musical Club ConcertSunday, Dec. 7 at 2:30pmNew Hartford Presbyterian Churchwww.bsharpcny.org

Holiday Family FuNby Sharry L. Whitney

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If you missed the Clinton Shoppers Stroll or the Santa Express train to Old Forge’s Christmas on Main Street, don’t worry, just mark them on your new 2015 calendar for next year. There are still plenty of family fun events and activities to get you in the holiday spirit! Here are a few ideas.

Classic Christmas EventsThe NutcrackerFriday, Dec. 5 at 6:30pmPresented by the Kirkland Art Center and Center Stage Dance Studio Adults $12, Children $8Tickets: call the KAC at (315) 853-8871 andavailableattheboxofficeoftheClin-ton Performing Arts Complex, Chenango Ave., Clintonwww.kacny.org

The Nutcracker at the StanleySaturday, Dec. 6 at 7:30pm and Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2pmTickets call: (315) 724-4000259 Genesee Street, Uticawww.thestanley.org

337 Genesee St., Utica (315) 738-1333www.vintagefurn.com




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The Sound of MusicSunday, Dec. 7 at 2pm. This classic musical will be performed live. $20/$15 Member, $5 Children View Arts Center, NY 28, Old Forge(315) 369-6411www.viewarts.org

Scrooge, presented by Players of UticaFriday, Dec. 12, & Saturday, Dec. 13Richard Enders stars in this annual favorite.Stanley Center for the Arts261 Genesee St, Utica(315) 724-4000www.playersofutica.org

A Christmas Carol: the Original Staged ReadingSaturday, Dec. 13 at 2-4pmActors will do a staged reading of Charles Dickens classic story. Free.Utica Public Library, Uticawww.uticapubliclibrary.org

It’s a Wonderful Life: Film (1946)Friday, Dec. 19 at 7pmSaturday, Dec. 20 at 2:30pm & 7pmAdults $6, Children (12 & Under) $2Capitol Theatre220 W. Dominick Street, Rome(315) 337-6453 www.romecapitol.com

It’s A Wonderful Life: Radio PlaySaturday, Dec. 13 at 2pm.Performed by Pendragon Theatre. $20/$18 Adults, $5 children View Arts Center, NY 28, Old Forge(315) 369-6411www.viewarts.org

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Tapestry Christmas ConcertSaturday, Dec. 13 at 7pmAdmission at the door is $10 adults, $5 seniors.St. James Episcopal Church9 Williams St., Clintonwww.facebook.com/TapestryTheAllCentu-riesSingers

A Tapestry ChristmasSunday, Dec. 14 at 3pmHoliday music from six centuries.$10 General Admission/$5 Students. View Arts Center, Old Forge(315) 369-6411www.viewarts.org

Fort Herkimer German Flatts Town Park, State Rte 5S, next to Fort Herkimer Church

Visits With SantaSaturdays between 11am-1pm, December 6, 13, and 20.Hamilton Center for the Arts, Lebanon Street, Hamiltonwww.thisishamiltonny.com

Skate with SantaSaturday, December 6, 2-4pm, $5 (includes skates)Morrisville Ice Plex, 105 Madison Rd., Morrisville

Holiday Wagon RidesSaturday, Dec. 13, and Dec. 20, Noon-2pm FreeCelebrate the holidays with an old-fash-ioned horse-drawn wagon ride around Hamilton. www.thisishamiltonny.com

Village of Herkimer Holiday StrollSaturday, Dec. 20thSleigh rides in Myers Park 11am-2pm

A Tuba ChristmasTuesday, Dec. 16 at 7pm, FreeCapitol Theatre220 W. Dominick Street, Rome(315) 337-6453www.romecapitol.com

Sweetback Sisters Country Christmas Singalong Spectacular at the Mansion House presented by Earlville OperaFriday, Dec. 19 at 8pmAdvance tickets: Adults $20, Children $10, call the EOH at (315) 691-3550Oneida Community Mansion HouseOneida, 170 Kenwood Ave., Oneida

MVCC Presents: The Concert Band Holiday ConcertWednesday, Dec. 17, at 7:30pm, FreeCapitol Theatre220 W. Dominick Street, Rome(315) 337-6453www.romecapitol.com

Santa, Sleighs & Trains

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Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Rail-road Special Holiday TrainsSanta Express TrainSat. & Sun., Dec. 6, 7, 13, 14 at 2pmChristmas Lights TrainSat., Dec. 6 & 13 at 6:30pmReservations Required, call: (607) 432-2429136 East Main Street, Milfordwww.lrhs.com

Adirondack Scenic RR Polar ExpressDeparts from Utica’s Union Station Thursdays at 6:30pm through Dec. 18th, and Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays at 4:30 & 7pm through Dec. 21st.Coach: $28/Adult, $24/Youth (2-12)First Class: $49/Adult, $42/Youth (2-12)Union Station 321, Main St., Utica(315) 724-0700www.adirondackrr.com

Christmas Stories & Fun

An Afternoon of Holiday Stories for allTuesday, Dec. 2, 3:30pm-4:30pmRemsen Didymus Thomas Library9639 Main St, Remsen

Family Christmas PartyFriday, Dec.19 at 6:30pmRefreshments will be served and prizes awarded to those who come in their jam-mies! Old Forge Library220 Crosby Blvd, Old Forge(315) 369-6008www.oldforgelibrary.org

Festivals & Candlelight

7th Annual Christmas in Little FallsSaturday, Dec. 13thIndoor Farmers’ Market & Artisans’ Fair, Horse & Carriage Rides, Santa and more!www.christmasinlittlefalls.com

Children’s Holiday Event at GemsSaturday, Dec. 6, 1-4pmFestivities and pictures with Santa (1-2:30pm).Gems Along the Mohawk800 Mohawk Street, Herkimerwww.gemsalongthemohawk.com

Puppet Shows: The Nutcracker andThe Night Before Christmas Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 9:30 & 10amThursday, Dec. 11 at 9:30 & 10amFriday, Dec. 12 at 9:30 & 10amKirkland Town Library55 1/2 College Street, Clinton(315) 853- 2038www.kirklandtownlibrary.org

John Porcino’s “A Heck of a Way to Stay Warm - Stories and Songs to Kindle Winter’s Hidden Light”Saturday, Dec. 13 at 3:30pmTickets call: (315) 691-3550 or visit:www.earlvilleoperahouse.comEarlville Opera House18 E Main St, Earlville

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Sharon Springs Victorian Holiday Cele-brationFriday-Sunday, December 5th-7thwww.sharonspringschamber.com

Candlelight Evening at the Farmers’ MuseumSaturday, Dec. 13, 3-7pmThe landscape of the museum illuminated by hundreds of candles.Farmer’s Museum, Cooperstownwww.farmersmuseum.org

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Holiday Arts & Crafts

Earlville Opera House 17th Holiday Artists SaleFriday, Dec. 5 at 10amEarlville Opera House18 E Main St, Earlvillewww.earlvilleoperahouse.com

Tour The Oak & Ivy Bed & Breakfast Artisan and Craft FaireSat., Dec. 6: 10-5, Sun., Dec. 7: 10-4Decorated for the holidays. Local artists’ art and gift sale. Admission $5600 North George St., Romewww.facebook.com/OakandIvyBe-dandBreakfast

Traveling Trunk Holiday Craft ShowSaturday, Dec. 6, 11am-4pmA small-scale craft fair promoting local shopping while giving back to libraries. Utica Public Library303 Genesee Street, Utica

Wassailing Weekends at Fly CreekSat. & Sun. Dec. 6, 7, 13 & 14Demonstrations on how to make this tradi-tional holiday drink.Fly Creek Cider Mill288 Goose Street, Fly Creek(607) 547-9692www.flycreekcidermill.com

Fountain Elms Victorian YuletideThrough January 4, 2015, Open Tues-Sun-day at 10amFountain Elms, Genesee St., Utica(315) 797-0000www.mwpai.org

Following one’s heart and passion is a musician’s credo. One local musician has embodied this wholly. Mike Peek has been afixtureonthearea’smusicscenesformostof his life. He has been in several well-known and well-respected bands performing virtually every venue - north, west, east and south, and given his all toward each project. I encountered a young, ambitious Mike Peek at a Mountain Jam festival when he was in Feedback, a hard indie rock band. Since then, I’ve heard, and been encouraged, by his successive endeavors. His band for the last few years is soundbar-rier (yes, small s). Performing a combination of modern and classic rock, they are constantly playing all over the Mohawk Valley. Besides being an ever busy musician, Mike, andhisfiancéeMissyAlmas,givetheirextratime to saving and rescuing lost and abused animals. Once again, following his heart. I recently spoke with Mike about his musi-cal past & present, as well as his humanitarian (pet-itarian?) pursuits.

Who are your influences, both musically & personally? It’s been a long time since I really thought aboutinfluences.BackwhenIusedtowritealot,Icouldfindinfluenceinalmostanythingif it affected me. Musically, The Goo Goo Dolls were (and still are) always able to do it for me. I felt that their singer/songwriter, John Rzeznik, wrote songs that felt similar to mine in subject matter, music that was from the heart andreflectedaninternalstruggle.Personally,

being unhappy was a greatlyricalinfluence.When you’re strug-glingtofindwhoyouare, you tend to have more to say.

Was Feedback your first band? We started as Atomix, then Disturbing the Peace.WhenFeedbackfirstformed,I’donlyplayed my guitar for a few months. I wasn’t trained as a singer, and my songwriting ability was amateur at best. But every musician starts somewhere.

How long were you together and what hap-pened to them? Feedback was together from 1999 un-til 2005. By the time we called it, I think we weren’t enjoying ourselves anymore and need-ed a change. We did get together once or twice after April Shroud disbanded just for fun. One of those concerts incidentally set into motion the chain of events that led me to my future wife. But, I was interested in starting some-thing new.

You followed Feedback with April Shroud. Where did the name come from? From the poetry of John Keats. Back in 2005, I was really into being an English ma-jor and was doing a lot of poetry analysis. Something about Keats’ subject matter as a Romantic Poet appealed to me, and the name April Shroud was in a line in his piece “Ode on

Melancholy.”

Even though you performed some original music with Feedback, April Shroud was predominately self-written material. Were you the main songwriter? I’d love to say that I was, but truth be told, Mike Schmitt was a heavy contributor. We co-wrote a majority of the songs. In most cases, we’d have only half a set of lyrics and the other wouldfindawaytofinishthem.Inthefinalproduct, even bassist Walt Kresa had written lyrics for the album. Musically, we all contrib-utedtothefinalproduct.

Your songs are vivid and filled with strong feeling. Several are such great epic tales. It’s hard to not get drawn in. From where did you draw your inspirations? It’s still hard for me to put myself back in that mindset where I was when I wrote most ofthatmaterial.Freshoffadifficultbreakup,most of the songs were fueled by a strong de-sire to make things right, to be wanted, and to either undo or forget the past. It’s a fairly com-mon understanding that artists produce their best material when in a dark place personally.

Take us through your songwriting process. The process was always fairly structured.

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The Music never stops:

Musician Mike Peek

Members of soundbarrier (yes, small s) from left to right: Rocky Graziano, Jim Roberts, Jeremy Schor & Mike Peek (Photo by Chris Penree)

played bass for over twenty years.” We called him over to audition, and it’s been about three years now and we truly feel like a family.

You have pretty much changed to a cover material band. What prompted this deci-sion? Believe it or not, that was never our inten-tion. Rocky and I both have an extensive his-

tory as songwriters, and we both still would really like to flesh that out seeing

as we have yet to collaborate on original material. Some-

thing always seems to get in the way. Maybe it’s my fault, as I never seem to do anything with the bits and pieces I write. Maybe we’re too distracted by the

other details in our lives. In the past two years I’ve

bought, and am in the process of renovating, a house, and have

gotten engaged. Jim has gotten mar-ried, and Rocky’s son is basically his top prior-ity. Maybe a cover band is the result of a group of guys who really love music but just don’t have the time to say what they want to say any-more.

Do you still perform originals in the band or in the side project The Other Guys? When we rebooted, we ditched everything, including the originals. We did perform one TtLG original for a few shows, but lost inter-est. We also played one of Rocky’s originals for a few shows, but haven’t done that in a while either. When playing certain venues, we try to play what the crowd wants to hear. For a while, we tried to throw them in but decided that it wasn’t the right time. We eventually stopped suggesting them. When Rocky and I play as The Other Guys, we do throw originals in more frequently because it’s just an acoustic duo and the collaboration isn’t quite as demanding. In-stead of four guys trying to make a song work, it’s just two of us having fun with it.

The lyrics usually came first, and then themusic would sort of fall into place. Very rare-ly did I write lyrics to a musical piece that was already composed because it felt forced. Feedback tried that with “Secret Stairs” on the self-titled album, and it always just felt fool-ish.Tomakeanarrativefitapiecefeltwrong.I used to be able to hear unwritten melodies in my head all of the time. As of late, I don’t really hear the music very often. I might have a set of lyrics that had come to me over a pe-riod of time, but music doesn’t quite material-ize the way it used to. It might have been like this for a while without my noticing, because in Through the Looking Glass, Jimm Raymer actually contributed a lot of the musical com-position that I basically added to.

Have you ever looked back at some of your songs and changed lines or complete verses years later to reflect your current outlook? Oh of course! The song “Alone” from my solo work got a complete revision from its original form on the self-titled Feedback al-bum. Even the composition got stripped down and revised.

Was Through the Looking Glass (TtLG) a continuation of April Shroud? What spurred the name change? Actually, when April Shroud ended, we all went separate ways. Most of the guys moved completely out of the area. TtLG more closely resembled Feedback because it had 50% of the same members. It was a new project entirely, however, as the songwriting took a more pro-gressive direction. The addition of Jimm Ray-mer (a former metal bassist) and Jeremy Schor (whowasfiveyearsyoungerthanusandthere-fore into much different music) as drummer really shaped the kind of music we produced during that time period.

Were there any recordings of TtLG, as there were with Feedback and April Shroud? Werecordedafive-trackdiscwithLymanChristensen (formerly of Gecko Recording

Studio) back in 2011. In a departure from pre-vious songs I’d written, the lyrics on this al-bum were darker. It felt like there was more an-ger than sorrow. I don’t think it had as much to do with my personal life as much as the desire to explore the mindsets of other people. I think for that album, I was looking at the problems that the people I knew had instead of my own and wrote about that.

Through all of your bands, there has been one constant - gui-tarist Jim Roberts. Tell us about him and his contri-butions to your projects and motivations. Jim has always felt like a brother onstage. We’ve played together for about fifteenyearsnow,whichisliterally half our lives. I’ve always admired his ability to shred the guitar and get lost in whathe’sdoing.Whenwefirststartedout,Jimseemedterrifiedofapproachingami-crophone, stood in his spot and never relaxed. Now, Jim is arguably one of the most animat-ed musicians on our stage. We’ve even named some of his “personalities,” and the crowd eats it up. Jim is a “purist” when it comes to guitar. He’ll spendfifteen to twentyminutes some-times just experimenting with the tones he can getoutofhisamplifier,andhe’dprobablybeat it longer if we let him. That’s probably why his other band CP works so well for him. As a jam-band side project, their music is all instru-mental. Jim really shines in that circumstance.

Now you have soundbarrier. Who is in this? When Jimm Raymer left TtLG, we weren’t sure what direction to go in. We were toying with the idea of ditching our current set-list and starting over. My fiancé introduced meto guitarist Rocky Graziano of The Bourbon Mothers at one point, and I texted him “My life would be so much easier if you played bass.” His response was simply “Dude... I’ve

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What do you hope that audiences take from your music? Years ago, I would have hoped that the music would help them realize that other peo-ple felt the same things they felt but wouldn’t talk about. I may have even hoped that peo-ple would think I was clever. Now that I’m in my thirties, I just want people to have a good time. If people are dancing, singing along and requesting to hear songs they know we play, then I feel I’ve done my job.

Seeing that you’re right in the middle of it, what is your take on the local music scene? What can be done to improve it, in your opinion? Honestly, I know that there’s so much talent in the area. There are also so many venues that cater to the “little guy” just trying to get their music heard. Robin and Garrett at Tramontane have always been huge supporters of the local music scene. The bigger bars like those on Varick Street give the more established acts a venue to be heard and attract more profession-

al gigs such as weddings and private events. Ulti-mately, every kind of mu-sician, band or venue has something special here. It really just depends on what you’re looking to do creatively. Improvement is such an abstract con-cept, because it suggests that there’s a problem. If I were to suggest a prob-lem anywhere, it’s that I’ve encountered some bar/club owners that are unaware of what’s around them. One bar actually sent a scout to watch us perform to see ifwewereafitfortheir

venue. We had played every neighboring venue around them for years, so it wasn’t as if they hadn’t heard us at some point. They sent the scout for thefirst twentyminutesofourshow, and then reported back that we wouldn’t get booked because we didn’t play any dance music. My response to that is “Of course we weren’t playing any. It was 8:00 at night and thebarhadn’tfilledupyet.Whyuseourpartymaterial before the party starts?” I still refuse to even set foot at that bar since that event.

Changing gears, let’s talk about another in-terest that means quite a bit to you. You are involved in a pet rescue project with your fiancée, Missy. What does that entail? Missy might just be the most charitable person toward animals I’d ever met. Before her, I’d be empathetic and maybe even try to call around looking for a lost pet’s owner, but I would still have probably taken a “live and let live” approach. Since I met her, we’ve res-cued easily over two dozen animals. This in-cludes dogs, cats, squirrels... I’ve even walked up my front porch past a skunk that was three feetfrommydoorwithoutflinching.Thisyear

alone we’ve rescued or found “forever homes” for eight cats. Most notably, we’ve spent over a year slowly coaxing this sad, stray cat to stop hiding and crying under her car at night to the front porch, to eat out of a shelter we built, to spend the night in a basket on our porch, to ac-tually come into our house. It has since been neuteredandtreatedforfleasandticks,andison a waiting list at the Rome Humane Society. Missy truly cares, and I think that I’m a better person because of her.

What would you like to see concerning ani-mal abuse laws and issues? I’ve seen so many stories of neglect and abuse that I’m at times sick over the issue. I’veseeninstancesofanimalssetonfire,hadtheir tails cut off, their limbs taped together and tossed into rivers, and all I can think to myself is “what sort of human being can be so depraved that they would intentionally cause harm to another living creature?” I think animal abuse laws stop far too short of justice. People who actively cause harm to animals (that includes lawenforcementofficialswhochoosetoshootfirstandapologizelater)shouldfacestrictpun-ishments and forced psychotherapy. A felony charge would also be welcome.

I do agree these things need to be addressed. Thank you for your time, Mike. Good luck with your music and pets. Where can we catch soundbarrier or The Other Guys next? Thank you, John! You can catch sound-barrier on Friday, December 5 at “The Gig” at Exit 33 of Turning Stone Casino! You can also check our Facebook pages for upcoming shows. www.facebook.com/SoundBarrierUti-ca or https://www.facebook.com/theotherguy-sutica

Local musician, John Keller, is the owner of Off Center Records in downtown Utica, NY.

You can catch soundbarrier on Friday, December 5 at “The Gig” at Exit 33 of

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MV Nature:

the Giant Swallowtail Butterfly

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tra-long proboscis that allows them to probe deeplyintoflowerswithoutgettingveryclose.The female doesn’t even land when laying eggs! Instead she hovers next to the leaves of the “host-plant” and reaches out with her ab-domen to lay single eggs. Itstandstoreasonthatifabutterflyisfoundin an area during the breeding season, then that species’ host-plant or main food-plant is likely growing somewhere in the vicinity. Afterall,butterfliesdon’tlivebynectaralone.During their larval or caterpillar stage they mustfeedonspecifichost-plants.Whilesomespecies are generalists and can use a variety of host-plants, many have more exclusive tastes. In the southeastern US where the heart of the Giant Swallowtail population resides, the spe-cies feeds on the leaves of citrus trees. In fact they are often considered pests by citrus tree growers who refer to them as “Orange Dogs”. The last time I checked, the Mohawk Valley isn’t known for its Orange trees; however, we do supposedly have Prickly Ash, which is a native shrub in the Rue or Rosaceae family (the family citrus trees belong to). However, since Prickly Ash is so hard to come by, I sus-pect the Giant Swallowtails are relying more on non-native cultivars. Garden plants which can serve as hosts for Giant Swallowtails in-clude: Common Rue, Mexican Orange and

Gas Plant. Hoptree, like Prickly Ash, is anoth-er native species that can be utilized by the Gi-ants; but, as far as I can determine, that species isevenmoredifficulttofindthanPricklyAsh. Some early naturalists claimed that Gi-ant Swallowtails were not uncommon in the Northern States in the 19th Century. It’s thought that by the mid-20th Century, pesti-cide use and possibly changes in the butter-fly’shabitathadeliminatedthespeciesfromthe northern portion of its range. This would suggest that the Giant Swallowtail is not new to the region but may instead be in the process of recolonizing areas within its historic range. My own history with the Giant Swallow-tailButterflybeginsabout25yearsagowithone otherwise forgettable grapefruit breakfast. After cutting the fruit in half, I noticed the seeds inside had sprouted and a few spindly shoots fell onto my plate. I almost threw them out, but opted instead to put them in soil. The seedlings responded with growth and were soon transferred to a pot. The plants, collec-tively known as “Mr. Grapefruit”, took up res-

Above photos from left to right: The Giant Swallowtail chrysalis looks like a broken off branch.

The adult Giant Swallowtail emerges from its chrysalis

Over the past decade, a new enigmatic but-terflyhasbegunshowingupintheMohawkValley and throughout much of the Northeast. The Giant Swallowtail, as its name suggests, is a large species – easily bigger than most but-terfliesthatoccurintheregion.Withawing-span that can reach 6.5 inches, it manages to edge out the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail for size ranking. The Giant Swallowtail’s super-sized wingsmakethemstrongfliersand,asaconse-quence,theycanbedifficulttogetclosetoandto photograph. The female Giant Swallowtail is generally larger than the male and can glide faronasingleflapofherwings.Quick,buoy-antflightischaracteristicofthespecies.Paleyellow on the underside of the wings makes them somewhat resemble the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail but unlike that more familiar species the top of the wings are dark brown or black and show bands of yellow spots. One of the bands stretches from the top of the abdomen to the forward tip of the wing, thus providingaverydistinctivefieldmark.Wheninflight,theysometimeslookliketheyhavea large yellow “X” on their wings. Like oth-er swallowtail species, the Giants are restless creatures.Theydon’tlandonflowerstofeed,but instead hover in front of nectar plants by rapidly beating their wings. As an adaptation for feeding on the wing, the species has an ex-

idence in a window box in the kitchen where they eventually turned into a tight cluster of saplings. Fast forward to now and Mr. Grape-fruit is a 6-foot tall tree that lives on the porch in summer and inside next to a sliding glass door in winter. Never the happiest potted plant intown,thetreeneverfloweredandcertainlynever produced fruit, which is a good thing since the weight of a single grapefruit prob-ably would break it in two. Then, something extraordinary happened late in August of 2011. I was inspecting the Grapefruit tree’s foliage and came upon 8 orange eggs the size of pinheads. The eggs were occurring singly on a few leaves and leaf-stems. Of course, these were the calling cards of the Giant Swal-lowtailButterfly!Apparently, likeamoth toaflame(ormoreappropriately,likeabutter-flytoitshost-plant)atleastonefemaleGiantwas drawn in by this unlikely located citrus tree. About the eggs: sure they were tiny, but compared to other butterfly eggs I’ve seen,they were veritable bowling balls. Also, their relatively bright color really made them really stand out on the green foliage. I was excited about the prospect of seeing the entire life cycle of the Giant Swallowtail Butterflyunfold in suchaconvenientplace,but I also had some concerns. It was nearly September and the Grapefruit Tree would soon need to be moved inside the house or else it would be damaged by frost. The time of year seemed especially problematic for a “south-ern”butterflyspeciestostartitsreproductivecycle. I didn’t see any way the butterfliescould emerge from their chrysalises before the cold weather arrived. I also sincerely doubted that the Giants could survive a northern winter in their caterpillar or chrysalis stage the way thatmanyofourwinter-hardybutterfliescan.Another problem was that I wasn’t sure if the Grapefruit Tree had enough leaves on it to sa-tiate the caterpillars’ appetite. Surely the cater-pillarsofsuchalargebutterflyspecieswouldbe capable of going through a lot of salad. I looked into obtaining another citrus tree locally, but found nothing. (I wonder why

people don’t sell Orange Trees around here?) Then I found out that a friend’s co-worker had anornamentalOrangeTreeinhisoffice.Ibe-gan to amuse myself with a plot that would entail dropping off the caterpillars at his of-ficeeverynight,lettingthemfeedinthedark(which is what they prefer to do), and then picking them up in the morning before he came in to work. This sounded like a cunning plan, but of course I never carried it out. When

nighttime temperatures began to drop, The Grapefruit Tree was brought indoors along with 8 freshly hatched caterpillars – all hap-pily munching away on the leaves. The cater-pillars themselves looked like no other swal-lowtail larvae I’d ever encountered. While the Black Swallowtail’s caterpillar is green with bold black and yellow concentric rings going down its body, the Giant Swallowtail caterpillars are bird-dropping mimics. That is

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Giant Swallowtail caterpillars avoid predation by mimicking bird-droppings

The caterpillar of the Black Swallowtail shows a much

different pattern

to say they look like excrement. So much so thatwhenthefirstoneventuredacrosstheden,presumably in search of a place to become a chrysalis, I thought the cat had missed its lit-terbox. I actually came close to cleaning him up! This kind of mimicry is not uncommon in the insect world, which speaks to its success as a survival tactic. Interestingly, the head shape and scale-like markings on the thorax of old-er caterpillars (later instars) create a passable impression of a predatory snake. That means they are also snake-mimics! So if you can’t get a predator to leave by grossing it out, try scaring it away!

Besides the mimicry defense, these cat-erpillars, when threatened, can erect foul smelling horns from the back of their heads. Theretractable,fleshyhornsarecalled“osme-terium” and they are reddish in color. These strange organs are not exclusive to Giant Swallowtails; other swallowtail species also have them. A colleague recently observed them being deployed by a Black Swallow-tail caterpillar. Unfamiliar with this defensive display, she thought she had injured it when removing it from some carrot greens. For some reason, most of the Giant Swal-lowtail caterpillars kept falling off the Grape-

fruitTree.NosoonerwouldIfindoneandre-turn it to a branch, then it would fall off again. Finally the ones that just wouldn’t stay on the tree were put inside a small tabletop green-house along with some grapefruit leaves. This is where 4 of them ultimately became chrys-alises. Two remained on the Grapefruit Tree and developed right through until the time came to shed their larval skins. I’ve watched this process before in several species, but this wasmyfirsttimewithGiantSwallowtails.Inpreparation, the caterpillar attached itself by its lowest pro-legs to a thick branch. Some caterpillars hang upside-down when they shed their skins, but not this species. With its head aligned above its body, the caterpillar stands upright and leans away from the tree branch. It uses a silk string as a harness to hold itself in place. Thus positioned, the caterpillar’s skin breaks starting at the top of the back and then sheds downward, managing somehow to slide beneath the harness and down to the base of the abdomen where it is cast off, revealing the chrysalis. When dry, the pupa or chrysa-lis is brown and of a rough bark-like texture. It looks remarkably like a broken-off branch since it is still held at an angle from the tree


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trunk by the harness. It is yet another example of uncanny mimicry employed by this spe-cies. Late in September, about 3 weeks after the first caterpillar became a chrysalis, thefirstbutterflyemerged. Itwas trulyamazingthatsuchalargebutterflycouldcomeoutofsuchasmallpackage.Thebutterflycameoutwith its wings folded like a closed curtain, but for some reason, after the insect pumped its wingsupwithfluid,both thefore-wingandthe hind-wing on one side did not completely

unfurl. I’ve seenbutterflies in thewildwiththisdeformitystillcapableofflight,but thisone wasn’t so fortunate. Most of the other butterflies emergedwithno issues andoncetheir wings were dry, they were released into a meadow. Hopefully they immediately be-gan to make their way south. By October, the numberofwildplantsthatarestillfloweringin the Mohawk Valley is much reduced, so time was quickly running out. Meanwhile, what do you do with a flight-impaired Swallowtail? I put her in a

large birdcage which I was able keep inside on cold days and move outside on warm days. ShewasabletoflyalittlebitandsoIwouldoccasionally take her out of the cage for “ex-ercisetime”.Feedingwasdifficultthough;asI mentioned above, swallowtails hover when they feed and this individual was incapable of that. She would sometimes dip her proboscis intotheflowers,sugarwater,orover-ripefruitthat I offered, but more often she refused all food and eventually perished. It was very in-terestinghavingapetbutterfly, ifonlyforacouple of weeks. The next summer, a procession of female Giant Swallowtails descended on the Grape-fruit tree and laid about 2 dozen eggs on its leaves. There was no way this was going to work. That tree barely survived having 8 caterpillars chewing away on it the summer before. This time, I collected all but 6 of the hatched caterpillars and delivered them to the ButterflyConservatoryinOneonta.Thepro-prietor there was willing to give them a good home. She told me she even had a large citrus tree which was more than capable of feeding a large brood. The ones that I kept at home

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Matt Perry is Conservation Director and resident nat-uralist at Spring Farm CARES in Clinton. He manag-es a 260 acre nature preserve which is open for tours by appointment. Matt is also regional editor of “The Kingbird”, which is a quarterly publication put out by the New York State Ornithological Association. Matt writes a weekly blog about the nature preserve, which can be found at: talesfromthewilds.blogspot.com

matured nicely, but then mysteriously disap-peared from the tree before they were ready to become chrysalises. I suspected that a bird, chipmunk or Red Squirrel discovered them and turned them into a meal – or more likely, several meals. Sometimes even the best mim-icry is not enough to fool a really determined predator. In the intervening time, I’ve purchased a small Orange Tree that can help share the bur-den with the Grapefruit Tree – that is, in case the Giant swallowtails provide us with anoth-er mother-load of eggs. Only a few eggs were found on the tree this past summer. Evidently some predator found them before they had a chance to hatch. In nature the vast majority of butterflyeggslaidwillneverturnintocater-

pillars and the vast majority of caterpillars will notsurvivetobecomebutterflies.Thisiswhybutterfliesneedtolaysomanyeggs. If you would like to observe more butter-fliesandcaterpillars inyouryard,youdon’tnecessarily need to buy an Orange Tree, but you may consider planting (or allowing) oth-erbutterflyhost-plantstogrow.Manypeopleunderstandtheimportanceofprovidingflow-ers as nectar sources, but few want to harbor the sometimes weedier-looking food-plants. However, including these plants in your land-scapegivesbutterfliesanotherreasontovis-it your property and doing so would make a positivecontributiontobutterflyconservation.Some native plants that are good for drawing in egg-laying butterflies include: PearlyEv-

erlasting, Turtlehead, violets, milkweeds and nettles. Grasses are the host-plants for many of theskipperbutterfliesaswellastheNorthernPearly-eyed and the Common Wood Nymph butterflies. So, if you have the room, it’s agood idea to allow some space for grasses to grow tall. A few native trees that are also great butterflyfood-plantsinclude:AmericanElm,Black Cherry, Hackberry, hickories, willows and birches. Lastly, it is important not to use pesticides or herbicides around a property that isintendedtobebutterfly-friendly.

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Christmas Tree, 1960

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so bad there was about a foot of space between the branches. Dad drilled holes into the tree to stick in branches to make it look fuller, but it didn’t help. I called it our “Charlie Brown Tree.” What a chal-lenge it was trying to decorate that tree! At least there was space to hang long or-naments. It makes me laugh to this day thinking about it. When I was a teenager we went to the Darling Christmas Tree Farm on Shedd Road in the Town of Salisbury to pickoutatreeand,forthefirsttime,weactually had a full and nicely trimmed tree. The tree was so full Dad had to put a nail into the wall and tie a string around the tree to hold it up so it wouldn’t fall over. I still have some of the Christmas ornaments that you see in the pictures. My sister Mary and I would go to the

Dolgeville 5 & 10 and buy pres-ents for our mother. It was usually a pretty handker-chief or an apron. One year, I bought an apron that was twice the size of my moth-er; she was petite lady. My mother wore the apron anyway because that’s what mothers do. For my father we would go to the Village Gift Shop (owned by Dan and Alice Green) in Dolgeville and buy Dad a tie tack. It was a treat to come to Herkimer to see their decoration and go to H. G. Munger’s Department Store to see the beautiful Christmas decorations. On the way up to Herkimer we would drive down Main Street in Little Falls to see their decorations. All the local Main Streets

would be decked out for Christmas. Another fond memory is Dad driv-ing us to St. Johnsville to see Mrs. Fowl-er’s outdoor Christmas display on her front lawn. Cars would come from miles around just to see it. I wish I had pictures of those displays.

“Charlie Brown” Christmas Tree, 1970s

Christmas Tree, 1972

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TALES FROM SHAWANGUNKShawangunk nature preserve, cold brook

Chapter 3by Peggy Spencer Behrendt

In 1974, Tim and Peggy Spencer Beh-rendt set off on an adventure. They began a new life in the woods of Cold Brook, NY, without modern conveniences like electric-ity or indoor plumbing. These are excerpts and reflections from Peggy’s journal chron-icling their adventures. See issues 1-12 for her diaries from their first year.

Chapter 3December, Circa late 1970s

We caught a mouse last night that was playing the guitar…truly! We could hear the strings when he ran across them. To-day when Tim played it, it sounded like a castanet because the mouse had stored ap-

ple seeds in it. I was releasing the mouse in the woods up the road on this misty morning of autumn tranquility, enjoying the ubiquitous peace of our Alpine wood-lands, when I ran into a fellow trying to flushturkeysouttoshoot.Igotveryupsetand started crying. I yelled; “You’re shoot-ing our friends!” and tossed the mouse jar at him. It bounced off his shoulder and he looked like he thought I was nuts. We got a card from an old friend say-ing, “Happy Solstice.” I’ve never heard of celebrating solstice, but all of a sudden this has profound meaning to me, to us. So much of our time here is spent in twi-light with only the soft, gold light of can-dles and kerosene lamp illuminating our tiny cottage deep in the forest. Where is

the sun? The early morning skies are an ecstasy of vehement magenta, waning to apallidpinkfor thefirsthalfof theday.A gloomy dusk takes up the remaining half after a brief and faint glimpse of our anemic sun obscured by viscous gray just over the treetops at noon. The nights are interminable. Too much reading in dim light causes eye strain, so I crochet or write in my diary. Occasionally, I draw or paint the few things I can see: Tim, or the wood stove, or the kerosene lamp. We go to bed, look at the stars, get excited about seeing a comet, reminisce, or sleep for the long, dark hours. Like the wild things we share our forest with; we must hibernate. I’ll be glad when the days begin to lengthen and the snow comes to stay because it will am-

Peg with our homemade snowplow

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Our First Year: 1974Shawangunk nature preserve, cold brook

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brighten these brief solstice days. Was I looking forward to the snow? On the way home from church in Utica we enterablizzardonDeerfieldHill.Fromalandscapeofrust-coloredfieldslacedwiththe muted white of aged goldenrod we pass through a shroud of white into anoth-er planet. Our fellow travelers are strewn about the road, spinning their wheels on ice and slush, sliding sideways and back-ward. “Slow down!” I command Tim. “We’ll

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go out of control!” “I don’t dare,” he grimly answers. “We’ll lose traction and never get up the hill.” I tightly grip the handle on the dash in front of me so my loose seat doesn’t toss me about, as we inch our way up, sometimes for-ward, sometimes sideways. I’m constantly afraid we’re going too fast, too slow, or about to collide with something. We reach the top in an eternity, and I’m impressed with Tim’s driv-

ing and the traction of this Super Beetle.Thefloorisflimsy,thedefrosterispractically non-existent and so is the heat, but it sure holds the road. We park at the end of our unplowed roadandbeginfourtofivemonthsofhik-ing in the last half mile to return to our frozen cottage. Winter is truly here! I iron our city work clothes with sad irons. I heat them on the kerosene cook stove because the wood stove is rarely hot enough. It leaves a coating of black soot on the iron I have to wipe off with a wet rag. Lots of steam bursts out and I have to

do it quickly so I don’t get burned by it. Did women in the past have this problem, too? I have to iron things inside out, just in case I missed some soot. But I can’t press out the smell of wood smoke that perme-ates our clothes. Like the Amish, I share similar clothes andgoalsofsimplicityandself-sufficien-cy. One day when I’m looking in Leh-man’s Non-electric catalogue for Amish families I see something I really want. “Tim, there’s a kerosene-powered iron here!” I exclaim, very excited. “No kidding!” he replies, unenthusias-tic but politely expressing interest. “Yes! Just think. I could press our clothes and wouldn’t have to turn on the stinky cook stove and wipe off the iron every time I heat it up. We really need this so we can look acceptable when we go to work.” Tim sighs wearily. “How much is it?” “Oh, only $65 plus shipping.” “Well, if we get a wedding or an extra job somewhere we could put the money toward that. It would be a Christmas gift to ourselves.” WefinallydogetitandIamthrilled,but discover it’s complicated. You have to pump a knob to build up pressure, then release a valve, then light it in the right spot. It quickly gets very hot and makes a “sizzzzzzzing” sound. You can see the flameinsidetheiron.Sometimesitflaresa bit and I hope it won’t catch the clothes onfireorscorchmyhands.Itworksprettywell for a couple of years, but one day I lightitandflamesshootupsixtoteninch-es all around the edges of the iron. “Open the door!” I yell to Tim. “I’ve got to get this thing out of here!” Instinctively, I know better than to hold

Daughter Becky using the kerosene iron

it in front of me as I walk, so back out with my mittened hand on the handle as shoot-ing,hissingflamesandblacksmoketrailsbehindfillingourcottage. Somehow we turn it off. “No more!” I exclaim, and that experiment is over. Sad irons don’t seem so bad after all. Christmas Eve we go 25 miles to Salisbury Center for a lovely service in that old village Universalist Church but must leave imme-diately afterward to get to the Utica Church, over 30 miles away in 45 minutes down the scenic, but steep and windy Newport Road. This is scary even when the roads are clear. Lots of people will be disappointed if we don’t make it. I play mu-sic and direct a choir while Tim conducts a moving candlelight service. I crochet a beard for myself out of wool yarn from our sheep and dress as one of Santa’s Elves in a skit. The adults are amused and it’s fun play-act-ing with the kids. I decide I’m grateful I don’t have to wear one all the time. It’s itchy and hot. After the holidays I decide to make a hand-pulled plow. If I drag a board at an angle, it’ll just slide snow off to the side…brilliant, right? I build it, but it’s lots harder than I imagined to pull and

65

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Peg playing Santa’s helper with her crocheted beard

the board just wants to straighten out. So it goes back into our scrap “Lumber Com-pany.”

Mid 1980s December We get a brief thaw that raises Misty Brooktofloodlevel,swirlingwithiceandthick with snowy slush. A friend is expect-ed to visit, but how to get him across? We only have two pairs of hip boots and one of them leaks, and since we have no phone, we can’t call him to cancel. Aha! How about tying a rope across the creek and ferrying him across in the old John Boat we found on the latest land we bought? We’ll simply glide along in the boat by pulling on the rope, hand over hand. Larry’s never been here before and looks seriously doubtful about taking a boat into that swirling chaos of potential annihilation. But our enthusiasm for the short boat ride catches on, so with trust and good will, he steps in with Tim and me and we push off. Snow falls on our heads and down our necks as we bump intothealdertreesinthefloodplain.We

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Tim picking up Larry in the row boat

discover that it’s very hard to keep the boat facing in the right direction. The current wants to sweep it right out from under us with the potential of jamming into bushes and tipping over. I am seriously concerned and holding on desperately. “Oh, it’s al-ways like this,” I explain with a superfi-ciallyconfidentsmile.“Isn’titfun?”(Oh,please, let us make it!) We survive to tell this tale, but we nev-er try the boat ferry again, and future visits with Larry are elsewhere. I’m always partly relieved when the holidays and running around are over and partly sad because someday it may be the last time I see the old ones in the family. Holiday dinners are so awkward for us nowthatwe’revegetarian.Yes,thestuffingcan be baked outside the turkey, there are mashed potatoes, squash, and sometimes lasagna, but we discover that the commu-nal connection is lost. We feel like outsiders and know that we are making others defen-sive about enjoying their meat dishes. I al-ways dread the inevitable question from a

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December Special:

Kerosene lamp in winter dawn painting by Peggy

Pegs embroidered picture of Isaiah

Tuesday through Thursday, Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. I Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.

310 Genesee Street, Utica, New York I 315-797-0000 I mwpai.org

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The Shawangunk Nature Preserve is a deep ecology, forever wild, 501©(3), learn-ing and cultural center. Tim and Peggy still live there and can be contacted through their website.

www.shawangunknaturepreserve.com

fellow diner as they savor their roast beef or turkey: “And why are you a vegetari-an?” It’s a topic too awkward to address in that situation. On the way to a family dinner in a well-groomed, suburban community, we discovered we couldn’t go over 25 mph or Isaiah would do the rumba because the back end was so heavy with a pile of wet snow that had just fallen. We barely made it safely to my relatives’ house. When I entered, people were clustered around the window, totally appalled. “What’s he doing out there?” “It looks like he’s shoveling snow out of the truck!” “Why would he haul snow from the forest and dump it on our curb? Some-body make him stop!” Tim was trying to lighten the load so we could drive home more safely. I guess he should have chosen a different place to put it. Wegotourselvesahand-crankedflourgrinder that attaches to a table top. Now we can buy wheat berries in bulk for the winter and make our own freshly ground flourforbread.Ithastwo,large,flatdisks

Look for more from Peggy’s memoirs next month!

that crush and pulverize the berries. We can even do corn meal, or buckwheat, or rice…such possibilities! I’m planning to try making sourdough bread since it doesn’t require using fresh yeast for every batch. That’ll save a few nickels and make us more self-sufficient. So far, though,we’refinding that grinding enoughflourfor bread is really a lot of work…exhaust-ing, in fact.And the flour is so coarse;the bread doesn’t rise at all. Maybe if we grind it up twice...I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Call 33-PIZZA615 Erie Blvd. W., RomeOpen M-Thurs 11-9, Fri & Sat 11-10, Sun 12-8

Our WoodFired Brick Oven along with the freshest & finest ingredients make a rustic, neapol-itan-style pizza that is the best you will ever taste!

Enjoy a pre-dinner drink at our new full bar addition-

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Call 315-853-5581Stiefvater Distributors, Inc.225 Clinton Rd., Rt. 12B, New Hartford, NYMon. 8am-7pm; Tue. thru Fri. 8am-5pm; Sat 8am-2pmwww.sdoutdoorpower.comWe Service What We Sell.

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equipment and have parts for do-it-yourselfers.

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See dealer or toro.com (toro.ca for Canadian residents) for warranty details. Product availability, pricing & special promotions are subject to dealer options.

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Register for the popular holiday craft workshop

at Shawangunk!Saturday, December 6, 13, or 20thChoice of balsam wreath, kissing ball,

swag, or centerpiece.Register for 1 hour between 9 -12.

These are popular holiday crafts using fresh, fragrant balsam from the Shawa-ngunk Preserve. They are attractive in any space and add heavenly fragrance

and natural decoration to your holidays. Call 826-7405 to register.

Black Cat CaféMon-Thurs 11-3Fri-Sun 8-3195 Main St. (518) 284-2575

Cobbler & Co.Mon-Sun 10-6189 Main St., Sharon Springs(518) 284-2067

www.blackcat-ny.comwww.cobblerandcompany.com

Shop Sharon Springs, NYOrder your

delicious fruitcakes

andsugar plums!

We offer an ever-changing array of gifts for you, your family, your friends, your

home and your garden and all of your entertaining needs.

Little Falls Fuel CompanyFuel Oil • Kerosene • DieselMention MV Living

and save 5¢ a gallon when you fill your tank!

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CALL (315) 823-8822 24 Hour emergency services • HEAP customers welcome

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Eat Good, Feel Good

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Free Range Eggs • Organic Juices • Real Fruit SmoothiesGluten Free Substitutes • Organic Gourmet Coffees

Cafe UcopiaINSIDE PETER’S CORNUCOPIA

38 New Hartford Shopping Center, New Hartford (315) 724-4998 Monday - Saturday 9-4, Sundays 11-3

Saturday, December 13 • 3pm–7pm

Farmersmuseum.orgVisit our website for more details:

5775 Rt. 80 Cooperstown, NY

Experience the landscape of the museum illuminated by hundreds of candles!

,

Detail from “Bottoms Up” by Clinton artist Sharon Burke on display this month as part of her show

“Impessions” at the Artful Lodger in Clinton

Group Show of Members’ WorkHoliday Show & SaleThrough December 22, 2014

Cooperstown Art Association22 Main Street, Cooperstown, NY (607) 547-9777 www.cooperstownart.com

Holiday MarketOpen HouseSaturday, December 6, 10am-7pm

Cherry Branch Gallery25 Main Street, Cherry Valley(607) 264-9530 www.cherrybranchgallery.com

Totems of Life & Abstract Perfectionism, Paintings of Maria Rizzo and John LoyThrough December 21, 2014

Earlville Opera House18 East Main Street, Earlville, NY (315) 691-3550 www.earlvilleoperahouse.comwww.mvcc.edu/gallery

Winslow Homer: The Nature and Rhythm of LifeThrough January 4, 2015Works spanning Homer’s career.

Arkell Museum2 Erie Boulevard, Canajoharie, NY(518) 673-2314 www.arkellmuseum.org

Nature’s Treasures: The Art of Pamela Underhill Karaz Through December 2014

Adirondack Art & Picture Framing8211 State Rte 12, Barneveld, NY (315) 896-3934 www.adirondackart.com

Impressions: Watercolorsby Sharon Burke December 18-March 7, 2015

The Artful Lodger Gallery7 East Park Row, Clinton, NY (315) 853-3672 www.artfullodger.net

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A primitive mix of new and old purposeful clutter, handmades

including wreaths, dolls, ornies, grubby prims,

cabinets, framed prints, bird houses, finds, signs, seasonal wares & one of

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Tue - Sat: 10-5, Sun: 11-4

- Dining Room Open: Fri - Sat 4-9pm and in our Lounge Full Menu Available! - Open for Lunch -Tavern Menu

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decemberGAllery Guide

Mary P. MurphyWatercolor & OilsDecember 4-30, 2014Artist Reception: Thursday, Dec. 4, 6-8pm

Kirkland Town Library55 1/2 College Street, Clinton, NY(315) 853- 2038 www.kirklandtownlibrary.org

Untamed Spirits and Wild Companions: Animals in American Indian ArtThrough December 31, 2014

Fenimore Art Museum5798 State Highway 80, Cooperstown, NY (607) 547-1400 www.fenimoreartmuseum.org

The Photography of Bill RyallThrough December 31, 2014

Fusion Art Gallery8584 Turin Rd, Rome(315) 338-5712 www.photoshoppeofrome.com

The works of Richard BarlowThrough December 12, 2014Richard Barlow is Professor of Art at Hartwick College. His work has been exhibited nationally.

Juergensen GalleryInformation Technology building, MVCC Campus1101 Sherman Drive Utica, NYwww.mvcc.edu/gallery

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FenimoreArtMuseum.org

5798 Route 80Cooperstown

New York

OPENSSEPT.18Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, 1936

All works are from the collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg.This exhibition was organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions.

Dorothea Lange’s AmericaSEPT. 18-DEC. 31

2014-15 SeasonPresenting World-Class Music, Theater, & Dance!

Box Office information and tickets(315) 859-4331

www.hamilton.edu/college/performingarts

Hamilton College Jazz EnsembleDecember 9 at 7:30pmThe Jazz Ensemble concludes its se-mester with an evening of new works and jazz standards. Free admission

Nutcracker Ballet with Utica DanceSaturday, Dec.13, 2pm and 7:30 pm Sunday, Dec. 14, 2pm and 7:30pmHamilton College Orchestra provides live musical accompaniment for the evening performances. Tickets and information at:www.uticadance.com

CLINTON COLLISION

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Gift Shoppe!Gift Cards!

Christmas Trees!Wreaths & Kissing BallsFresh or Silk Christmas Arrangements

NEW! Visit our Baker’s Corner!Donuts, Half Moons, Cookies, Pies, Muffins! (Bakery open Sat & Sun)

Fairy Gardens!Your Hometown

Florist!

Having an art opening? Let us know. Email: [email protected]

Student Art ShowDecember 6-19, 2014Opening Reception: Sat., December 6, 2-4pm

MV Center for the Arts401 Canal Place, Little Falls, NY(315) 823-0808 www.mohawkvalleyarts.org

Holiday Art “Garage” SaleDecember 6 & 7 , 10am-5pmArt for under $100. A selection of art will remain through December 31st

The Other Side2011 Genesee St. Utica, NYwww.theothersideutica.org

In Company with Angels: Seven Rediscovered Tiffany WindowsThrough January 4, 2015

Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute310 Genesee Street, Utica, NY (315) 797-0000 www.mwpai.org

Adirondack Regional Textile Artists’ Alliance: On and Off the WallThrough January 4, 2015The exhibition features over 30 works in contemporary textiles by artists who explore, encourage, and exhibit fiber as art.

View3273 Route 28, Old Forge, NY (315) 369-6411 www.viewarts.org

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Featuring Rome artist & “Bob the Squirrel” creator, Frank Page!Catch Bob every day in the Rome Sentinel or at www.BobtheSquirrel.com

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This month, as a major proponent of local music and the bands that write their own, I’d like to talk about some recently-released great original local music. Central New York has a long history of awesome bands and very talent-ed musicians. Everybody knows names like Bonamassa, Al Schnier and the guys in moe, as well as Fran Cosmo, who sang for Boston for years. Then there are the guys like Paul Angerosa of The Frogs and Vinnie and The Butchers,who nevermade it as big but influ-enced many CNY musicians. Let’s talk about some of today’s groups who have recently released albums. Item 6 is a great four-piece band fronted by Deb that released “Hit and Run,” a great post-punk effort led by the opening track, “Not another Love Song.” Another great band with an EP is After Earth; listen to “The Hench-men.” AE is hard and heavy and sounds radio-ready. It has opened for some big names; you should check them out. Bryan Howell and the Standalones also are high energy roots rockers whoevokeraw‘50srock’n’rollwitha‘90sedgeandflair.Thisgroupre-leased “Welcome to the World,” which has garnered international attention. I can’t write about local releases without mentioning the band Wicked. Wow, talk about over-the-top rockers who bring glam back in a big way.

They released a double album live LP on white vinyl. It has everything you remember from the ‘70s: a full gatefold with tons of photos on the inside. It also boasts a hand-painted cover by renowned local artist Stephen Fletcher, and the inner sleeves have photos and lyrics, too. Tony Touris also has a great new disc called “Halle-lujah.” It’s straight-up melodic rock from a CNY veteran guitarist. Also look for the just released “Blood Brothers.” Look, too, for Antonio “Loyalty” Harris. Wow! This Listen to Genesee Joe live on 92.7FM, The DRIVE.

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GENESEE JOE’S LIVE & LOCAL:

NEW Local MUSICguy is hip hop and it is as good as anything I’ve heard. He’s just cool and quick with a great production. Check out the song “Man I Just Got Paid.” One guy who supports local music more than anyone is Mark “Mega-nomics” Flagg. His collection and love of local bands is enor-mous. I had to get his input on some of these releases. Here’s Mega-nomics take: “...Into Shadow. “Unkown Darkness.” It keeps you through the whole disc. Really raw, emotional twist. A solid metal force cradled by powerful lyrics. 9 Ball. “DNA.” Energetic, alternative, groovy. Takes you for a fast ride, melodic grooves and funky beats. Falling From One. “Unconstricted.” A father, son, and friend team. Hard-driven heavy rock, emotional, spiritual and inspired. Josh Moriarity Band. “Called To Liberty.” Dedicated to serving God. A very uplifting, awesome sound and inspirational lyrics...” Thanks, Mark, for all you do for local music. Also, check out releases from these bands: Dave Snedicker, Rick Short Band, JohnKeller,StreetRockMafia, JSchnitt,MasonsRevolt,EthanHarris, Max Scialdone, Jeremie Petrie, Justin Parker, Elephant in the Room, The Overnighters, Blind Owl Band, Rusty Doves and The Blarney Rebel Band. Of course, I must mention the local musician all-star cast on the Kel-ly’s Christmas Charity CD series produced and recorded locally by Kelly Yacco. All of these groups are on Facebook or ReverbNation. Check out Off Cen-ter Records in Utica and Re-Imagine Records in New Hartford for the local selection. I’m sure I have omitted many releases, and if I did, I apologize. We have a wealth of talent and a new wave of great CNY bands. Don’t sell yourself short. Please, I implore you, check out local original music. You won’t be sorry.

See page 16 to download FREE

local music!

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Alpaca ProductsHillcrest Alpaca, Sauquoit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Paca Gardens, Little Falls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Animal SanctuarySpring Farm CARES, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

AntiquesBack of the Barn, Remsen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Bittersweet Pines, Westmoreland . . . . . . . . . 76Black Cat Antiques, Earlville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Foothills Mercantile, Barneveld . . . . . . . . . . 74Fort Plain Antiques, Fort Plain . . . . . . . . . . . 5FLittle Falls Antique Center, Little Falls . . . . . . 37Mohawk Antiques Mall, Mohawk . . . . . . . . . 43Newport Marketplace, Newport . . . . . . . . . . 34Picker’s Dynasty, Ilion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18The Potting Shed Antiques, Whitesboro . . . . . 48Treasures Lost & Found, New Hartford . . . . . 47Vernon Variety Shoppes, Vernon . . . . . . . . . 38Vintage Furnishings & Collectibles, Utica . . . 47Weeden’s Mini Mall, Blossvale . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Westmoreland Antiques Ctr., Westmoreland . . . . 27The White House, Holland Patent . . . . . . . . . . 17

Art and Picture FramingAdirondack Art and Frame, Barneveld . . . . . 46Evergreen Gallery, Hamilton . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Fusion Art Gallery, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Fynmore Studios, New Hartford/Boonville . . 45

Art GalleriesFenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown . . . . . . 72

Auto DealershipsSteet Ponte Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Automotive Repair Clinton Collision, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Stockhauser’s Auto & Marine Service, Prospect . . 51

Awards & EngravingSpeedy Awards, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Bakeries & Pastry ShopsBazan Bakery, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Caruso’s Pastry Shoppe, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Florentine Pastry Shop, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . 60Heidelberg Baking Company, Herkimer . . . . . 52Remsen Country Bakery, Remsen . . . . . . . . . . 55Star Bakery, Whitesboro and Utica . . . . . . . . . 45

BanksBank of Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Bike ShopsDick’s Wheel Shop, Herkimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Boat Repair Stockhauser’s Auto & Marine Service, Prospect . . . 51

Bonsai Plants and SuppliesAt Last Pottery & Plants, Poland . . . . . . . . . . 10

BooksBerry Hill Book Shop, Deansboro . . . . . . . . . . 47Life Discovery, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Cabinets and KitchensCustom Woodcraft, Munnsville . . . . . . . . . . . 65Knotty By Nature, Bridgewater . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Camping and Hiking SupplyPlan B, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

CateringA Movable Feast, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . 23DiCastro’s Too, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Dominick’s Deli & Catering, Herkimer . . . . . 50Kikko’s Bistro and Wine Bar, Rome . . . . . . . . 24Knuckleheads Brewhouse, Westmoreland . . . 78Maria’s Pasta Shop, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Papa Joe’s, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Rosa’s Trattoria, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

CheeseJake’s Gouda Cheese, Deansboro . . . . . . . . . . 34

Jewett’s Cheese House, Earlville . . . . . . . . . . 26Three Village Cheese, Newport . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Christmas TreesGeorge’s Nursery & Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Massoud’s Tree Farm, Sauquoit . . . . . . . . . . 21 North Star Orchards, Westmoreland . . . . . . 60

Cider MillsDyn’s Cider Mill, Richfield Springs . . . . . . . . 22Fly Creek Cider Mill, Fly Creek . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Cleaning SuppliesNorwex with Nicole, All-Natural Products . . . 67

ClothingForever Leather, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Krizia Martin, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Paca Gardens, Little Falls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37The Village Crossing, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Coffee ShopsLocavore, Frankfort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Tramontane Cafe, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Utica Brews, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Comic Book StoresRavenswood Comics, New Hartford . . . . . . . 18

ConsignmentThe Queen’s Closet, Yorkville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Treasures Lost & Found, New Hartford . . . . . 47The Village Basement, New Hartford . . . . . . . 58

DelisKountry Kupboard, Madison . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Diners Liz’s Mohawk Diner, Mohawk . . . . . . . . . . 10That Little Place on Main, Little Falls . . . . . 19Village Diner, Barneveld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Wendy’s Diner, Cassville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

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Dry CleanersM & M Cleaners, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Estate SalesAttic Addicts, Yorkville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7The Potting Shed Antiques, Whitesboro . . . . 48

Events, Entertainment, & Open HousesAt Last Pottery & Plants, Poland, Dec. 6 & 7 . . . 10Candlelight Eve, Farmers’ Museum, Dec. 13 . . . 70Hamilton College Performing Arts, Clinton . . . 72Hamilton Hearth, Village of Hamilton . . . . 80Potting Shed Antiques, Whitesboro, Dec. 6 . . 48Santa at Sangertown, New Hartford . . . . . . . 8The Stanley, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Farm EquipmentClinton Tractor, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Farm Produce and Meats Freedom Farm Market, Vernon . . . . . . . 77Locavore, Frankfort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40North Star Orchards, Westmoreland . . . . . . 60Redmond’s Red Deer Farm, Holland Patent . . . . 20Stoltzfus Family Dairy, Vernon Center . . . . . . 60Sunnybrook Farm, Deansboro . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Twin Orchards, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Financial Services Turnbull Insurance, New Hartford . . . . . . . . 11Van Meter & Van Meter, Little Falls . . . . . . . . 58

Food & Grocery/Convenience Stores Avico Spice, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17B & F Milk Center, Whitesboro. . . . . . . . . . . 26The Country Store, Dolgeville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Deansboro Superette, Deansboro . . . . . . . . . . 14Meelan’s Market, Clark Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Mohawk Village Market, Mohawk . . . . . . . . .12North Star Orchards, Westmoreland . . . . . . . 60Reilly’s Dairy, Inc., Sauquoit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

FlooringEnjem’s Carpet, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Pohlig’s Hardware, Little Falls . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

FloristsClinton Florist, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Buttercup Florist, Barneveld . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Michael’s Greenhouse, Sauquoit . . . . . . . . . . 73Village Floral, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Funeral ServicesNunn & McGrath, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Furniture Adirondack Furniture, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Country Emporium, Whitesboro . . . . . . . . . . 30John Froass & Son, Inc., Sherrill . . . . . . . . . 32Ironwood Furniture, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Jeff ’s Amish Furniture, Jordanville . . . . . . . . . . 46

Furniture MakersCustom Woodcraft, Munnsville . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Garden Centers and GreenhousesGeorge’s Nursery & Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Michael’s Greenhouse, Sauquoit . . . . . . . . . 73Massoud’s Tree Farm, Sauquoit . . . . . . . . . . . 21 River Road Greenhouses, Marcy . . . . . 19Szarek Greenhouses, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Gift Shop sArtisans’ Corner, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Between Us Sisters, Munnsville . . . . . . . . . . . 71Cobbler and Company, Sharon Springs . . . . . 70Country Connections, Boonville . . . . . . . . . . 48DiBella’s, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Dyn’s Cider Mill, Richfield Springs . . . . . . . . 22Evergreen Galley, Hamilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Fusion Art Gallery, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Krizia Martin, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Life Discovery, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Little Falls Antique Center, Little Falls . . . . . . 37Mohawk Valley Ctr. for the Arts, Little Falls . . 37The Museum Shop at MWPAI, Utica . . . . 62Newport Marketplace, Newport . . . . . . . . . . 34Oneida Cmty. Mansion House, Oneida . . . . 22Paca Gardens, Little Falls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Pathway of Pearls, Schuyler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Remington Country Store, Ilion . . . . . . . . . 34Sangertown Square, New Hartford . . . . . . . 8Signature 81, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Shoppes at the Finish Line, Utica . . . . . . . . 22Sticks n Stones, Waterville . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Zinn Brilliant Ornaments, Cooperstown . . . . 8

Golf and RecreationTwin Ponds Golf & Country Club, NY Mills . . 60

Guitar ShopsUtica Classic Guitars, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Hardware/Farm & HomeEarley Farm and Hardware, Inc., Madison . . . 61Holland Patent Farmers Co-op . . . . . . . . . . 31Lincoln Davies, Sauquoit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Morgan’s Hardware, Waterville . . . . . . . . . . . 50Pohlig’s Hardware, Little Falls . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Turner Lumber, Barneveld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Health and FitnessFitness Farmacy, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . 64

Heating Oil Little Falls Fuel, Little Falls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Hobby ShopsAdirondack Motorbooks, Holland Patent . . . 39Locomotion Hobby, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Hot Air Balloon TripsRoyalty Ballooning, Munnsville . . . . . . . . . . 10

Independent LivingAcacia Village, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

InsuranceTurnbull Insurance, New Hartford . . . . . . . . 11

Iron Work - Architectural & OrnamentalRaulli’s Iron Works, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

JewelryClinton Jewelers, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Fall Hill Bead & Gem, Little Falls . . . . . . . . . . 67

LightingMills Electrical Supply, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Liquor Stores and WineClinton Wine and Spirits, Clinton . . . . . . . . . 58

Freedom Farm Market

M-F: 9-5:30 Sat & Sun: 9-4 (315) 829-4880 4826 State Rt. 5, Vernon

Fresh cut Christmas trees, hand-made wreaths and swags.

Gift shop featuring poinsettias, candles, mugs, giftware, home

decor, pottery, soaps, maple syrup, jams, jellies, fairy garden items & more! Gift certificates available.

Lotto Liquors, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Seneca Liquor, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Trenton Station Liquor & Wine, Barneveld . . . 24

Maple SyrupBen & Judy’s Sugarhouse, West Edmeston . . . . 10Shaw’s Maple Products, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . 43

Media1420AM The Fox WNRS, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . 131450 WKAL, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1792.7 The Drive WXUR, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Clinton Courier, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Rural Star, Holland Patent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Weekly Adirondack, Old Forge . . . . . . . . . . . . 45FOX33/WUTR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Monuments Yorkville Memorials, Yorkville . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

MuseumsFarmer’s Museum, Cooperstown . . . . . . . . . 70Fountain Elms, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Goodsell Museum, Old Forge . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Oneida Cmty. Mansion House, Oneida . . . 22Remington Arms Museum, Ilion . . . . . . . . . 34View, Old Forge, Quilts Unl. thru Dec. 7 . . . . . 42

Natural Food Stores Brenda’s Natural Foods, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . 26Cooperstown Naturals, Cooperstown . . . . . . 14Peter’s Cornucopia, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . 8Sunflower Naturals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Tom’s Natural Foods, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Pet ServicesDeb’s Dog D-Tails, Vernon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Not Just Poodles Pet Salon, Whitesboro . . . 13

Pet ShopsWild Things, New York Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

PharmaciesGarro Drugs, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

PhotographyFusion Art/The Photo Shoppe, Rome . . . . . 49

PizzeriasDiCastro’s Brick Oven, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Primo Pizzeria, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Primitives Between Us Sisters, Munnsville . . . . . . . . . . . 71Butternut Barn, Richfield Springs . . . . . . . . . 65

Quilt and Yarn Shops Tiger Lily Quilt Co, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Two Ewes, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Record StoresOff-Center Records, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7ReImagine Records, New Hartford . . . . . . . . 5

Restaurants and CafésAcross the Row Bistro, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . 39Ann St. Deli, Little Falls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Black Cat, Sharon Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Cafe Ucopia, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Copper Moose Ale House, Little Falls . . . . . . 18Delta Lake Inn, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13DiCastro’s Brick Oven, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Dominick’s Deli, Herkimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Fitness Farmacy, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . 64Georgio’s, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Heidelberg Baking Co., Herkimer . . . . . . . . 52Hotel Solsville, Solsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Karam’s Middle East Bakery, NY Mills . . . . 47The Knight Spot, Frankfort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Knuckleheads Brewhouse, Westmoreland . . 78Michael T’s, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . 30Mitsuba Hibachi, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . 32Ohio Tavern, Cold Brook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Papa Joe’s Restaurant, New Hartford . . . . . . 30Phoenician Restaurant, New Hartford . . . . . 19Piccolo Cafe, Little Falls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Rosa’s Trattoria, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Sammy & Annie Foods, Utica . . . . . . . . . . . . 10The Sandwich Chef, Little Falls . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Spaghetti Kettle, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Recreational Vehicles CJ Motor Sports, Boonville . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Seamstress & Tailors Libbey’s Sew Blessed, Sherrill . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Shoes Holland Patent Farmers Co-op . . . . . . . . . . . 31Karaz Shoes, New Hartford . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Ski Resorts McCauley Mountain Ski Center, Old Forge . . . 39Snow Ridge Ski Resort, Turin . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Small Engine Repair Stiefvater Outdoor Power, New Hartford . . . 69Stockhauser’s Auto & Marine Service, Prospect . . 51

Soap Cranberry Ridge Goat Milk Soap . . . . . . . . . 25

Solar Panels Great Brook Solar, New Berlin . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Support Groups Obsessive Compulsive, Utica, Mon: 6:30pm . . . 21 Towing Services Clinton Collision, Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Trailers, Custom Blizzard Manufacturing, Inc., Boonville . . . . 13

Travel Agencies The Cruise Wizards, Whitesboro . . . . . . . . 52

Websites Utica Rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Weddings and BanquetsDiCastro’s Too, Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Twin Ponds Golf & Country Club, NY Mills . . . 60

Wellness Centers Pathway of Pearls, Schuyler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Time for Me Day Spa & Wellness Ctr., Clinton . . 31

WindowsRA Dudrak, Holland Patent . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Wine Bars and Ale Houses Copper Moose Ale House, Little Falls . . . . . . . 18Kikko’s Bistro and Wine Bar, Rome . . . . . . . . 24

KnuckleheadsBREW HOUSE

Serving lunch and dinner 7 days a week. Open til 2am7362 East Main Street, Westmoreland (315) 853-1351

www.knucklheadsbrewhouse.com

Homestyle American Fare From Wings to Prime Rib!Check out our daily specials including Friday fish fry and Saturday wood smoked prime rib!Happy hour every day 4-7pm featuring craft beers and a full bar.

www.cjmotorsportsonline.com

8711 Industrial Drive Boonville • 942-4756

• Skidoo Snowmobiles & Gear • BRP Products • Red Wing Boots• Husqvarna Products • Kawasaki Mules and ATVS • Yamaha & Honda Generators and Pumps• Toy Chainsaws • Toy Leaf Blowers • Arctiva Gear and More!

Stop in today and see why it’s so easy to do business with Steet-Ponte!

Steet-Ponte Chevrolet3036 State Route 28

Herkimer, NY 13350 (315) 866-5080

Steet-Ponte Ford Lincoln Mazda5074 Commercial Drive

Yorkville, NY 13495 (315) 736-3381

Steet-Ponte Volkswagen5046 Commercial Drive

Yorkville, NY 13495 (315) 736-8291

Steet Toyota Scion4991 Commercial Drive

Yorkville, NY 13495 (315) 736-8241

www.steetponteautogroup.com

Steet-Pontea u t o g r o u p

Relax and Embrace the Hamilton Experience!

Shop, Dine, Gather during the Holiday Season with Family and Friends

Boutiques Burst with Holiday Specials!

Late Night Shopping Bonus -the perfect time to select the perfect gift. Dec 19-Shops open until 8pm

Light Refreshments Available

thisishamiltonny.com

Hamilton’s Hearth Home for the Holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of the year Wagon Rides Visits With Santa

Holiday Movies & Concerts

Evergreen Gallery, Steph, Colgate Bookstore Maxwells, Broad Street Gallery and more!

Photo by John Hubbard

Relax and Embrace the Hamilton Experience!

Shop, Dine, Gather during the Holiday Season with Family and Friends

Boutiques Burst with Holiday Specials!

Late Night Shopping Bonus -the perfect time to select the perfect gift. Dec 19-Shops open until 8pm

Light Refreshments Available

thisishamiltonny.com

Hamilton’s Hearth Home for the Holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of the year Wagon Rides Visits With Santa


Evergreen Gallery, Steph, Colgate Bookstore Maxwells, Broad Street Gallery and more!

Photo by John Hubbard

Hamilton for the Holidays

~ Two Exquisite Locations ~

1 Payne Street, Hamiltonwww.colgateinn.com

315.824.2300

4480 E. Lake Rd, Hamiltonwww.thehamiltoninn.com

315.824.1245

The Colgate Inn and Hamilton Inn ~ two unqiue and beautiful locations in Hamilton for your holiday gathering. Both properties offer a variety of menus to

choose from, that can be customized for any size group. Offsite catering is also available for

your home holiday party. • Cocktail Parties• Buffets• Plated Dinners• Station Buffets• Guest Rooms &

Suites(315) 824-2300

[email protected]

~ IMAgINATION

introducing

3 Utica Street, Hamilton, NY www.colgatebookstore.com

STaTIONour new specialty toy store!

GamesUnique Specialty Toys

PuzzlesCrafts

Children’s Books

Hamilton’s Hearth

Home for the Holidays!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Wagon Rides • Visits With Santa


mvlmagazineissue15december2014

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