After finishing what I thought would be the final draft of this week’s column, I ran to Woodstock for a quick errand and a never-quick stop at Yankee Bookshop. While browsing, I overheard a woman who was purchasing a book say her name, and my ears perked up. Just as she was about to leave, I stopped her—Pat Mattson—and introduced myself. Hers is a name I know because she once owned the house I now live in.
She knew my name from this column. We shared what we love about my home on Jenne Road. I told her that we had to remove the big ash tree by the driveway because it was dropping twigs, branches, and whole limbs on a regular basis. I shared with her that I had my first leaf-peeper experience of the season.
A couple stopped across from our house on a rainy day and ventured down the road. The man had a big camera, the woman a smartphone. On this grey day, they spent a lot of time snapping photos. I’m sure their shots captured the mistiness and mood of that damp and dreary day. If only they hadn’t parked right in front of my neighbor’s driveway.
So begins this year’s installment of tourist tales. I wonder what I’ll see over the next three weeks or so.
Nice to meet you, Pat! Now, back to how I had initially started my column.
Two weeks ago, I mentioned the small world story that involved Jim Hasson and my wonderful neighbor in Callicoon Center, NY, June Donohue.
June, like Jim, is a font of information. If we got to talking about local or Catskill history or some story that happened to her in the past, she would email me or drop by some relevant newspaper article from years ago. Some things haven’t changed.
This week, June sent me a link to a page 8 of the September 10, 1942 edition of the Sullivan County Record. As with The Vermont Standard, this regional paper had columns for the different towns and villages it served. These columns acted, as did many of the time, as the Facebook of the day (thank you for that apt analogy, Esther Allen).
The page June sent was itself a bit of a small word story. Halfway through the Callicoon Center column, there is mention that Mrs. H. Schumacher threw a party for children in town, one of them being June. Then, the final paragraph reads “David VanBergen and Jimmy Hasson returned to their homes at Elizabeth yesterday. They did farm work on the farms of Edward Hahn and Harold Krantz this summer.”
June wants to get in touch with Jim to send him photos. I will see what I can do to facilitate that. However, I feel like I’ll pull myself out of the loop and will no longer be privy to these wonderful small world stories.
When Esther gave me that great Facebook analogy, she also commented as she was paging through the October Informer that it was a busy month. Indeed! Over the past few weeks, I mentioned several things that are happening in the first fourteen days of the month. They include First Friday at the Hall Art Foundation tomorrow, October 5; the Annual Spring Brook Farm Open House on Saturday, October 6, from 10am to 3pm; the Fire Prevention Fair at the Reading Fire Station on Saturday, October 13, from 11am to 2pm; and the Leaf Peeper Breakfast on Sunday, October 14, from 9am to 11am, at the Reading Elementary School. One thing I forgot to mention—and like leaf peeping, it’s quite seasonal—is your chance to get a flu shot. As a bonus, you can get this annual bit of protection without having to travel very far.
On Thursday, October 11, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm, all you have to do is get yourself to Town Hall for your shot. The Seasonal Flu Clinic is put on by the Visiting Nurse & Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire and is open to adults 18 and older. If you are covered by Medicare Part B, please bring your card so the VNH can bill Medicare directly. If you aren’t covered by Medicare Part B, the cost is $25.
If you are unavailable on October 11, there is still time to get your flu shot. You can find other dates and locations by visiting vnhcare.org or by calling 888-300-8853.
Looking back briefly, the Reading Recreation Commission would like to thank everyone who came to the Puddledock Park Parties during August and September. We played lawn games, enjoyed the music of Still Hill and Matt and Miles von Unwerth. We made art with the help of Lisa Kaija. We made S’mores. Most of all, we took some time out of our schedules to hang out with our friends and make new ones.
And finally, last week, the Vermont Municipal Clerk’s and Treasurer’s Association held its 82nd Annual Conference in Colchester. The purpose of the association is to foster and encourage a higher degree of professionalism among Vermont’s town clerks and treasurers.
At this year’s conference our own Town Clerk/Treasurer, Calista Brennan, received her certification as both CVC (Certified Vermont Clerk) and CVT (Certified Vermont Treasurer). Calista joins over 100 other associates that hold a certification from VMCTA.
Calista's devotion to her job is evident. Working to achieve these certifications is further proof of that. Congratulations, Calista, and thank you for all you do!
Happy Birthday to Ben Blanchard (October 4), Matt von Unwerth (October 9), and Bill Hunt (October 10).
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