3rd Annual Sullivan Striders Rail Trail Race

We were blessed with perfect racing weather on Sunday for the 3rd Annual Sullivan Striders Race/Walk on the Town of Fallsburg Rails to Trails. The deluge started AFTER everyone went home & the electronic timing devices were removed. There were 84 participants who completed the race by crossing the finish line.

The winner of the 4 Mile Race was a 39 year old neighbor from Wurtsboro, NY, Raymond Revell, who finished with a time of 23:44.3. That's an impressive average pace of 5.56 Minutes per mile!  Even more inspiring was William Rosenberg, a 71 year old runner from Wallkill, NY, who finished the race in just under 35 minutes.  Please visit Race Results for the full listing of all runner & walker stats.  

Janet Gula and Alexandra Lalieu

There was also great support from several of our Main Street Mountaindale businesses.  Janet Gula of Radiant Yoga of Mountaindale led a pre-race stretch to help everyone prepare their muscles. Alexandra Lalieu of  Upstate Karate of Mountaindale strongly encouraged her students to participate in full karate uniform so that there were 16 students & their families involved in the activity. Joan Collins, Woodridge Village Board Member and Kiwanian, was the Grand Marshall and started everyone on the race. The Mountaindale Fire Company permitted the Firehouse to serve as the registration base, and the Mountaindale Action Commitee assisted the Striders in hosting and providing refreshments. As usual, everyone was greeted by our delightful former Legislady, Leni Binder. Although she no longer holds public office, she is still a very active community volunteer. Speaking of volunteers, the Mountaindale Ambulance Squad stood ready to help anyone in need, and there was great support from Woodridge Kiwanis and the Village of Woodridge who are both important members of the Town of Fallsburg Rail Trail Committee.

It was also nice to see the runners supporting each other.  When one runner mentioned she was disappointed that she hadn't improved her run time of 43 minutes since last year, veteran runner Brian Cavanaugh suggested she do some upper body strength training to overcome her plateau. The morning ended nicely with the awarding of beautiful plants as prizes from the Manza Family Farm. Maryann and Tom Manza deserve a huge round of applause for all of their hard work in coordinating this significant fundraiser for the Rail Trail. You can find out how to join the Sullivan Striders running club at http://www.sullivanstriders.org/. Click here for more Race Day photos.

Birding by Ear

Edward Frampton photo

You can tell it's May in Mountaindale because the hummingbird feeders have begun to go up along Main Street. The little shimmering green Ruby Throated Hummingbirds began finding them immediately. All are encouraged to take a stroll along Main Street to watch their amazing antics. It's the best entertainment 1/4 cup of sugar can buy! It gets especially exciting as the young begin hatching & fledging and start visiting our feeders en masse during the summer months.

Sometimes, the first indication you might have that a tiny hummingbird is nearby is that you hear them. You might hear a buzzing, humming sound - hence, the name. Or you you might hear them chirping as they come in for a landing or fuss with each other for control of their favorite feeder perch.

This 'listening' for bird sounds is known as Birding by Ear. It has been especially useful this past week when the bleak, drizzly mornings have made it more difficult to spot our feathered friends in the neighborhood. Mountaindale offers a lovely quiet serenity that allows us to put the hustle and bustle of everyday life on pause and just stop and LISTEN to the nature sounds around us. If you learn what a cardinal sounds like, it might alert you to where you might look to be treated to a bit of scarlet up high on a tree limb. You might hear a Phoebe saying his own name. Nowadays there are fun Bird Call Identificiation Apps to help. Another great resource is the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which can also help you learn to memorize certain songs and calls as you build up your mental library. Please come to see and hear the wide variety of birds on Main Street, in the Sandburg Creek RiverWalk Park and on the Rails to Trails.

Main Street Matters

There are a lot of things going on with our Main Street Mountaindale neighbors that are worth sharing:

Photo by Vi Carpio, talented wife of
featured artist, Virgelio "Billy" Carpio

With the weather turning warmer, Uccelli Restaurant guests will be able to enjoy dining al fresco at the outdoor seating in front of the restaurant. Plans are underway to build a large deck before the summer for additional outdoor dining. Chef Robert is also busy creating an all new Lunch Menu that he will begin serving on April 24th. He will resume Sunday Brunch with a new menu and new daily hours. Please visit the Uccelli Restaurant site for updates this month.

We have been glad to welcome Ahleana back to Main Street with her Tuesday evening Bellydancing classes in 62 Main Street. The new time is 7 to 8:15PM. I have heard that her students are getting a very enjoyable workout while learning an exciting, exotic art form. Please call 845-436-8945 for more details about weekly classes. The suggested attire is comfortable, loose clothing and fun hip scarves may be purchased before class.

Alexandra Lalieu of Upstate Karate of Mountaindale and several of her advanced students will spend the day at the Sullivan County Community College tomorrow to participate in the 3rd Annual Health & Wellness Fair. They will be providing information and demonstrations of Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan, the Korean martial art that they have studied at 81 Main Street for the past 8 years. Congratulations are in order for all of the champions of this karate school who attended the Mid Hudson Regional Tournament at the New York Military Academy last week and came back with loads of trophies and medals. Next, they will be attending the Soo Bahk Do National Festival in Cherry Hill, NJ in June.

The Look Up Cafe added a colorful banner on their railing to help you look up to find this charming place for breakfast and lunch at 6 Main Street. Speaking of banners, the Mountaindale Community Development Project will soon be installing all new banners along Main Street in Mountaindale. The new, larger banners and bracket hardware were purchased with a portion of the funding awarded by Sullivan Renaissance for our efforts to enhance the gateway to the Rails to Trails last summer.

Mountaindale...Where Are We Going? How Do We Get There?

In Sunday's paper, front page, was an article about the declining population of our area in these turbulent financial times. They gave various reasons, chief among them being lack of jobs (opportunity), rising gas prices making commuting more expensive, and declining property values making other counties closer into New York city more appealing for various reasons, including a shorter commute. Obviously, such a trend downward is disturbing for the small towns and hamlets that dot Sullivan County, would suggest harder times are not only upon us, but threatening to get worse. A vicious downward spiral as our population base dwindles, with it our ability to meet our own obligations as a community...fewer people means the rest of us have to pick up an ever increasing amount of responsibility, have to pay higher taxes, and at some point our government has to accept the fact that they have to learn to live with less, which in turn means the cutting of services we have gotten used to.

So the question becomes, where are we going as a community here in Mountaindale, and in a larger sense, the Town of Fallsburg and Sullivan County, and how are we going to get there? What can we do to make lemons into lemonade, what can we do too position ourselves for better tomorrows, rather than accepting a fate that is unacceptable for all of us? Before we answer that question, perhaps it is best to first look backwards, look at our history, the roller coaster ride that has been our county for a very long time, the good times rolling in for a period, then vanishing as hard times once again come knocking on our door. There seeming to be a lack of a long range plan to bring economic stability and growth to our community, a plan that would eliminate the roller coaster ride that for almost 200 years has been Sullivan county's history.

Are there lessons to be learned from our past? In that ancient history, in the naming of our county...which was named after a general that was just passing through, can we find clues to a sustainable future rooted in shared long term goals aimed at making our county a place to come to, rather than a place to pass through along the way to somewhere else? Looking at the infighting that transpired in choosing Monticello as our county seat back in the early 1800's, looking at how that infighting flared back up when in 1844 a fire destroyed much of Monticello, one could posture that a big part of our problems are perhaps self created, our own inability to get along and work towards common goals hurting our county's forward growth. Even in our voting for public officials we remain divided, the county flip flopping between the two parties, as sometimes we find ourselves governed by Democrats, at other times governed by Republicans depending on how the wind is blowing in any given election year.

According to the 2000 Census, the county's per capita income was under $19,000 and over 16 percent of our citizens were living at or below the poverty level. Surely almost 200 years since our county court house was built (1814), we can do better than that, can come up with a plan to bring prosperity to the citizens that choose to call Sullivan County home? Does our county have a master plan for building a sustainable, viable economy for its citizens, or instead are we shooting from the hip, jumping on whatever happens to come traveling down the road in our direction, the latest being the false promises of jobs and riches if we allow the Natural Gas industry to come in and use Hydraulic Fracturing to extract the natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale that runs underneath the 997 square miles of land that makes up our geographical footprint.

One thing seems apparent...to prosper from future development, you have to be prepared for it, have to make plans today to leverage what you have to position yourself for that future. Here in Mountaindale NY, we are sitting at such a crossroads, have the opportunity today to leverage what we have to position ourselves for tomorrow. The general consensus in our small hamlet is that we are a growing business and arts community, and that is a good visioning statement, a concise sentence that clearly states where we want to go...question is, how do we get there, and what assets do we have in our community to get us to where we want to be, what can we leverage to bring people here to live, work and recreate?

We have some significant assets as a community. First, we are only eight miles from what is fast becoming a major Interstate as Route 17 goes through a transition to becoming a major interstate highway. We have a entrance to the "Rails to Trails", and if negotiations now underway are successful, Mountaindale is going to be the anchor of a major biking/hiking corridor that will run from our little hamlet over to Liberty, and for those challenging themselves, back again. Just outside of town, we have a beautiful public park complete with swimming pool, and campsites that can be rented by the day, or for the entire summer season. We also have a beautiful downtown area, with many of the buildings already renovated and ready for occupants.

These significant community assets have the potential to bring people into our community, but once they are here, what do we have to offer them, what services and goods can we offer that would see them spending more time and more money in our small hamlet? What can we do as a community to leverage our assets and resources in bringing some much needed economic renewal to our area? What can we do to attract to our community the stores and businesses needed to make us a destination, rather than a place people pass through on their way from point A to point B? What can we offer potential businesses, what can we say to convince them that locating here in our hamlet is a good gamble on the future?

Finding the answers we need requires community consensus, and consensus can only occur if we have open dialogue that involves all those citizens who are stakeholders, who will be impacted (either negatively or positively) by the course set as we steer toward the future. Building that road to a prosperous future needs consensus, but it needs more than that...what are each of us as individuals, and as a collective group willing to do to get us where we want to go? It is easy to say, "We want a convenience store in our hamlet", but what are each of us willing to contribute toward that goal becoming a reality, and if we convince a business person to open up such a store, what are we each willing to do to see them successful in that venture?

Life it is said does not exist in a vacuum...it is postured here that economic renewal and revitalization also does not exist in a vacuum, and that our road to the future lays in learning how to partner with other communities to get to where we want to go. As example, look at our "Rails to Trails" and the future potential it holds if a 18.1 mile continuous corridor from Mountaindale to Liberty becomes a reality...wouldn't it make sense to see our two communities partner together to work on the development of this shared asset? Working together, pooling our efforts and our resources would make sense, and it might also make it easier to find the necessary working capital to build infrastructure today as we prepare for tomorrow. What about all the communities in-between these two points...can we find a way to create a working group to develop this very valuable asset in a way that brings benefits to every community along the route, a win win for every town and hamlet along the way?

Success, be it big or small does not just happen, success does not come find you, but instead you have to go out and find it, make it happen. Success takes planning, hard work, and dedication to the goals needing accomplished to make it happen. Mountaindale and to a large extent Sullivan county finds itself at a crossroads, and we need to decide where we are going, and how we are going to get there. It is suggested here, that our small hamlet should consider a series of public meetings, consider holding another visioning workshop to answer these two simple questions, to lay out a road map that spells out where we are going, and how we plan to get there...the future we leave our children depends on it. Let us follow the advice of Chevy Chase who in Caddy Shack as Ty Webb gave the following sage advice, "See your future, be your future". Let us as a community see our future, and take the necessary steps to attain it.

Mountaindale Scores BIG WIN in Sullivan Renaissance Judging

In big breaking news, Mountaindale has scored a big win in this year's Sullivan Renaissance judging, bringing home Second Place with our 2011 Rails to Trails gateway project, and with that win, a grant of seven thousand dollars. To everyone who helped (we had over 50 volunteers involved in this year's project), congratulations to you all. Your hard work and dedication to community service has paid off in a big way, and has provided the Mountaindale Community Development Project funding to implement new community improvement projects, and improve on some of those (like our hanging basket program) already begun.

We are looking into having some kind of a Thank You dinner here in our hamlet, so if any of you have some thoughts on this, please contact Barb at (845) 434-4747 or Sherwood at 693-4513 with your ideas. Maybe a pot luck dinner? Music? We, as a community, have worked hard for a big part of the spring and summer on our new "Train Garden" in our hamlet's section of the Rails to Trails and other improvements in our community, and we should celebrate our success. While discussing plans for the future, holding a hamlet-wide celebration dinner, in say September, seems like a good jumping off point as we set our collective eyes on tomorrow.

There are so many people to thank for this victory, almost too many to thank in one post. There is Steve Vegliante and all the employees of the Town of Fallsburg who lent us a hand in so much of the heavy lifting. Three Girl Scout troops participated, gave of their time and their talents this year; and almost every business in our hamlet participated with donations of time or money. Upstate Karate and Alexandra's students were such a big help, and Janet's students from Radiant Yoga gave of their time maintaining the hummingbird garden as well as taking up a collection to donate to our cause, and strongly supporting our Art Raffle. Marty Weiner was a rock, always there giving encouragement, and sourcing materials we needed in the building of our train. Raymon helped in our welding, played a major role in making the painting of buildings on Main Street; and the list goes on and on, the circle widening out as businesses and individuals from the larger circle that is Sullivan County stepped in, offered their help and resources in making our Train Garden what it is today...A heart felt thank you to each and every one of you, and we hope all of you can attend our celebration dinner.

In closing, would like to say a special "Thank You" to Erna Hutchinson, Cathy Farris and the Mountaindale Action Committee. Their involvements and actions as related to our project this year have taught me that a small group of dedicated volunteer citizens working together for a common goal can overcome any obstacles, adversities and problems and in the end bring something beautiful to our small hamlet. So thank you for inspiring all of us this year to come together as a team, thank you for inspiring us to redouble our efforts...the MAC's actions this year truly unified us behind the goal of seeing our dream of a Train Garden became a award winning reality, and looking at the fruits of our labors, it is a beautiful train, a beautiful garden.

A Special Thanks To All My Volunteers and Those Who Have Offered Us Encouragement As We Built a Train

Years from now when I look back on this summer, it will be remembered as the summer that I, along with a plethora of volunteers built a train in our small hamlet of Mountaindale. The task that many thought would not happen is rapidly coming to a close. The project on our little section of the Rails to Trails coming to an end as our volunteers, my summer intern, Aaron Schmitt, and I put the finishing touches on the sculptural interpretation of the old O&W steam locomotive number 33 that crashed here back in 1904.

Hundreds of hours have been poured into this project, and countless volunteers have given of themselves, their time, and their assets to make it possible. There were days that seemed too long until someone would come along the trail walking, biking or on a segway to say hello, and offer us a kind word of encouragement. I remember the day we took the forklift and brought the first section of the train up onto the trail, remember the day we welded together four old 55 gallon drums over beside Raymon's studio, and recall that Saturday when Barb Schmitt and I went over to the Manza Family Farm to pick out our plants. Those and so many other memories will stay with me.

As the project came together, and our efforts started seeing a dream come into reality, rehab materials, lumber, drums, screws and found parts starting to resemble a train, plants going into the dirt, people started showing up to help out and lend a hand...especially children, a whole flock of them that would stop by each evening around 5:30 wanting to know what we were doing on this particular day, and what they could do to be a part of it all. Somehow, just at the crucial moment, things we needed, or needed done all just fell into place, someone stepping up to provide just what it was we needed at that precise moment in time. Our little train was not the singular effort of one person, one group, but a collaboration of some of the most wonderful people I have ever had the privilege to work with.

Sitting here with my morning coffee, I realize my days on the trail are realistically now measured in hours, not weeks and days, the time when you could find me on the trail almost any time of the day seven days a week all but over. Those days have been hard days, but happy ones, and ones that will be missed. So, to all those who gave of themselves and their time, to all those who volunteered, to all those that made a hard task so much easier with your kind words and compliments, I offer a heart felt Thank You, and want all of you to know that our 2011 Renaissance Project, our train garden stands as a testament to all of you, a tribute to what Community is truly all about.

Rails to Trails Sullivan Renaissance Time Capsule...Contribute Items

Early this year I attended the Sullivan Renaissance Winter Conference, and one of many things that stuck with me, is the fact that Sullivan Renaissance has seen it's way through ten successful years of beautification projects, is now in its eleventh year. Quite a bit of history involved in a decade of public beautification projects.

As our own project here in Mountaindale is rapidly reaching a point of completion an idea has germinated in the minds of those involved in the project...what if we took our small storage area of the train now sitting proudly in it's siding, and turn it into a time capsule to be open up ten years from now as the Sullivan Renaissance begins its 21 year of service to our community here in Sullivan County. A poll of those involved in the project including our volunteers shows a great deal of support for this idea, so we are going to go ahead with it.

If you have a small item you would like to have placed into this time capsule, please contact Sherwood Martinelli at (845) 693-4513 or Barb at (845) 434-4747. You can also drop items off at 51 Main Street, Mountaindale NY. Please drop off all items no later than July 31, 2011. The capsule will be closed and placed into the train on August 1st, 2011 and opened again on August first, 2021!

Take a Ride On The O&W Railway With Woodridge Segway Tours!

The Mountaindale/Woodridge Rails to Trails is a beautiful stretch of pathway available for public use every day of the year...though winter traversing at times can be rather difficult. During the summer months, there is a unique opportunity available to those of us who live in the area, and who visit here. Stop by Mountaindale's entrance to the Rails to Trails, and you are most likely to see small groups of people circling around the parking lot of our Train Station/Visitor's Center on Segways before they make their way back to their starting point in Woodridge.

These tours are offered by Woodridge Segway Tours, and are a very fun, unique way in which to tour the Woodridge/Mountaindale Rails to Trails corridor. You can make your reservations today by calling (800) 979-3370. This is a ride you will not soon forget...beautiful scenery, a fun four mile plus ride, and doing it all on a Segway!

Benefits of taking a Segway Authorized Tour

• Tour operators have the latest Segway product information and training



• Tours follow Segway recommended safety guidelines promoting a smooth and safe experience



• Smaller guide-to-glider ratio enables more personal attention



• Tours are pedestrian-friendly and conform to all local regulations

Rails To Trails Project Making Great Strides Forward

First, a reminder...don't forget to put this upcoming Sunday, July 17th 2011 on your calendar! The Sullivan Striders are hosting the Second Annual Rails to Trails Run and Walk here in Mountaindale, and we hope all our readers will join them in the walk or run, with the proceeds benefiting the Rails to Trails corridor, the money being used for maintenance and improvements.

For all of our summer visitors (waving to all my friends from Skyway), want to let you know you can rent bikes from the Cinder Track Bike Shop in Mountaindale. Charlie is a great guy, and his rental bikes ARE TOP OF THE LINE! He also has a full service repair department, and can tell you from first hand experience that he does wonderful work...he tuned up both of my bikes this year, and they have never pedaled better.

It's been awhile since I have done a update on Mountaindale Community Development Project's Sullivan Renaissance project, so let's jump right into it.

Yesterday we had a volunteer work day, and it was a huge success with lots of work getting done on the trail, and around town as we race to put things in pretty good shape for all the guests we are expecting on the trail this upcoming Sunday. People young and old showed up at various times throughout the day to lend us a hand on various projects, and when we put our tools away at around seven in the evening, you could see the bounty of everyone's efforts. *A special thanks to Eric Lynch, a fellow camper at Skyway and a New York City Fire Fighter who showed up and worked on the difficult task of figuring out how to attach certain additions to our train. We also want to thank Master Instructor Alexandra Th. Lalieu and her Upstate Karate students for all the help they provided yesterday in the task of spreading yards and yards of mulch...their discipline and ability to stay focused were very apparent and appreciated.

A check list of sorts...

1. We have already put out ten hanging baskets on Main Street to compliment the flowers boxes. Hanging baskets are a experiment in progress as we learn what does best hanging seven feet up in the air...some plants do a lot better than others, and all the baskets require a lot more watering than the flower boxes do.

2. Thanks to some of our local Girl Scouts, who were in attendance yesterday, we were able to complete a new flower bed on the side of our community Mountaindale Art Center located at 58 Main Street. The girls were fast learners, and as always, their help invaluable as we move through our projects this year. Cannot wait to get the mulch down this morning so that this item can be crossed off our to do list as completed.

3. The BASIC TRAIN is now officially up on the trail in the old O&W siding across from the old lumber yard.

4. We HAVE WATER! A very special THANK YOU to Steve Vegliante, Will Illing, the Water Department, and the entire Town of Fallsburg government for making this happen. We appreciate all the help we are receiving in doing some of the heavy lifting that needs to be done, and water was a crucial component! *Another special thanks goes out to Allen Frishman for his work on the trail this past week.

4. The basic framework for our Litter Control station is in, and with luck that part of our project will be completed and in use just in time for the Second Annual Rails to Trails Run and Walk on July 17th.

5. The workout station areas have been completely weeded (Aaron Schmitt, our summer intern can be thanked for this) and re-mulched...we are hoping to start repainting and staining this week at some point.

6. One of our O&W Railway relics is now surrounded by a beautiful new flower bed, and we have brought in some beautiful stones that beautify the area, while at the same time make it harder for all terrain vehicles (which are NOT allowed on the trail) to access/exit the trail from our Mountaindale entrance.

As of right now, we are hoping to be doing a MAJOR PLANTING on Tuesday afternoon evening, so if you are looking to volunteer, you can call Sherwood at 845 346-6523 (cell), or just show up with a shovel or trowel. Again, thanks to our many volunteers...you are the force that makes community improvement and beautification possible.

Mountaindale Renaissance Project Moving Foward

Despite some disappointing, even childish local politics, our 2011 Renaissance Project is slowly moving forward, despite the efforts of some to derail our plans to build a sculptural interpretation of a train just inside the "Rails to Trails" corridor entrance. Wish someone could explain to me why all the in fighting is necessary, why all the various assorted factions in town cannot set aside their differences, and pitch in for the common good of the community...isn't that what this is all supposed to be about? Is it all about moving our small hamlet forward, or is it about who gets their name in the paper, who gets credit for what? If a flowering plant needs dead headed, and you are walking by, why not JUST DO IT, instead of thinking to yourselves, "It's not MY FLOWER BOX!" If a flower box needs repaired and planted, why not step forward as a volunteer, instead of stirring turds and trying to claim ownership of it?

I'm new to Mountaindale, and want to spend my time and efforts trying to make it a better place in which to live, want to work with any one that will work with me in trying to bring new businesses and citizens to our community. I'm stubborn, but I am giving, and willing to WORK WITH ANY ONE and EVERYONE...so please, can we set aside old animosities and grudges, and get on with the truly important tasks at hand?

On to more positive news about the Renaissance Project.

1. We are hoping to have water access to our site area by the end of this week (June 10th). Good thing with this heat wave we are experiencing.

2. Thanks to the generous donation of a local citizens (who chooses to remain nameless), last Saturday saw us bring in a great deal of rehab lumber...we are currently cleaning the nails out of this in preparation for building. This fits in with our overall GREEN THEME for the project, which includes creative re-use of materials whenever possible. This also saves our budget for use in other areas of the project. For those wondering, we could REALLY USE A) some treated 2x12's, B) Some four inch decking screws (guessing about ten pounds), and another sheet or two of plywood at the moment. Also, anyone have some rebar we could cut into three foot pieces?

3. Thanks to the generous support of our Renaissance Project, we have had another member of our community, Marty Weiner step up big time...he is in the process of lining up ten 55 gallon drums that we need for the project. Wondering if anyone out there has some 8, 10 and 12 inch diameter pipe (three foot sections) laying around we could requisition for our steam stacks on the Locomotive? We would also LOVE LOVE LOVE finding an old bell.

4. We are trying to tracking down FOUR old wagon wheels of identical size that we can use as the back wheels of this project...anyone have leads on this item?

5. We have gotten much of the site area clean up done, and our intern for this year Aaron Schmitt seems very enthusiastic about the project...speaking of interns, as Committee Chair, I have to get more adept at the paperwork end of this project.

6. The first steps of the installation project are slated to begin later this week, so if you see us in the Rails to Trails area working, stop by and say hello.

Look for a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT about our July Fund Raiser soon...It will be a really fun evening of wine, food and music!

Should Sullivan County Black Top Our Small Community Bike Paths?

Someone passed along an interesting article that was found on the Smithsonian Web Site which started wheels churning and it is that process of thinking that sees the question posed, "Should Sullivan County find the money to black top, and thus monetize the wonderful gift that is our bike trails, our very own Rails to Trails Corridor." Is this another avenue or piece of the puzzle in the task of moving us forward in our economic renewal and revitalization that is taking hold here?

Imagine if you will a quiet little hamlet that once upon a time had been a bustling, even thriving community. See this community with its rich history falling upon hard times, the population dwindling down to almost nothing compared to what it once had been (wondering how large of a population Mountaindale had that summer in 1970 when we ALMOST played host to a second Woodstock style event?). Buildings boarded up, many of them in a sad state of affairs. It would be easy to walk away, call it quits and let that small little hamlet waste away into history, the memory of its very existence gone as its former residents and their stories disappeared to news dreams and new destinations. This tale of a dying town, a dying hamlet could be told about any number of communities in Sullivan county, but in this case, the story is about the small community of Lanesboro, Minnesota that was struggling to survive...then something happened.

That something, the proverbial seed of renewal and rebirth was the black topping of their own bike path, and the tourist trade (in the form of biking enthusiasts young and old) that has brought an economic renewal and revitalization to this quite bucolic hamlet. This town now plays host to numerous successful Bed and Breakfast places of slumber, restaurants, Art Gallery, Art Center and various shops. In short, it has returned itself to vibrancy and prosparity.

On a summer weekend (thanks in part [partially] to nearby campgrounds) it is not unusual to see this small community's population grow to over 5000. Granted, their total trail is some 60 miles in length, but our own trail here in Sullivan County is growing by leaps and bounds, and much of the needed component parts to our own renewal already seem to be in place. We have numerous campgrounds in the area including Yogi Bear and Skyway that play host to literally hundreds of camping families each year. Summer sees literally thousands of part timers sweeping off front porches, moving into their summer homes and cabins. Many of our buildings here in Mountaindale have already been restored, and our base line population is similar to that of Lanesboro...last Census has us at 520 citizens. We have three beautiful seasons, each offering a completely unique set of opportunities to biking enthusiasts and tourists alike.

So, the question is posed...is it time we put more energy into what could be Sullivan County's crown jewel, should we seriously look to find the volunteers, means, money to expand and blacktop this under developed and under utilized piece of public infrastructure?

Looking for Kindred Spirits and Community Volunteers

Hello Readers...sharing this article from the Mountaindale Sullivan Renaissance Project 2011 Blog...our hamlet is looking for volunteers as we seek to build new bridges, perhaps mend some old broken ones, and work towards furthering bonds, building community as we plan our 2011 Sullivan Renaissance project. Let hear your voices.

A proposal For 2011 Project To Consider...

Mountaindale and our surrounding area have a rich and vibrant history, and a part of that fabric that tells the tale of the ups and down of both Mountaindale, and its surrounding countryside includes a significant tie to the railroad industry dating clear back into the 1800's when construction was begun in the late 1860's, with the railroad open for business in 1873...today, some of those once active train routes that carried people, and coal are now a part of the "Rails to Trails" program that is supported by many groups, organizations and individuals including the Sullivan Renaissance. It just so happens that Mountaindale is blessed with an entrance point to these wonderful paths that provide walkers, runners and biking enthusiasts a wonderful place in which to exercise while taking in some of the scenic beauty that abounds here in Sullivan County, and the greater Hudson River Valley.

As an artist, I have always been excited at the cycle of life as great things come to life, thrive, decline, and eventually get absorbed back into the natural landscape as Mother Nature reclaims what is hers. Talk to old timers in the area, and you can hear wonderful tales of coal trains heading down the Red Hill grade, and crossing the Little Falls trestle just east of Mountaindale, and for those of us who love to walk and/or hike, there are signs everywhere it seems of the once great iron steeds that used to move our nations commerce. Those signs are fading, railroad ties rotting and becoming soil from which new flora and fauna sprout, grow and flourish. Streams are slowly eroding away the bridge abutments that used to support track that was long ago taken up and moved away.

Looking at this, my artistic mind mulling over this history, I wondered what it would be like to reenact in some small way this rich vibrant history...recreate and relive Mountaindale's historical ties to the rail industry. As I was pondering this, I found out talking to some of the locals that just inside (maybe 100 yards) our hamlet's portion of the "Rails to Trails" segment are the remnants of a siding station...a space/place where they would park rail cars. (Sure some of our local railroad buffs can correct me if my lingo is not quite accurate?)

My initial thoughts were to spruce up and clean up the entrance to "Rails to Trails", then create a nice landscaping statement at that spot...which as a side note is still on the table, but this to me seemed more like the starting point of a great project, rather than an ending point, so I put some more thought into it.

One of my loves of life is photography, more specifically, I love photographing old barns and homes as they slowly give away their exteriors exposing their delicate skeletal interiors, the sunlight filtered down through trees dancing along its spine as the roof slowly, season after season, collapses in on itself as Mother Nature reclaims the land that was and is always hers.

It was odd...at Saturdays Sullivan Renaissance Winter Conference an idea started jelling in my mind...what if we could clear away and spruce up that old siding, landscape it...more specifically, what if we were to take advantage of Mother Nature's bounty, collect saplings, branches and vines from the surrounding woodland of our area, and use those raw materials to build a reasonable facsimile of one of those old gallant steeds, landscape around it, plant bugle vine, morning glories and other vine type plants around this locomotive, returning it to it's perch once again a part of our present returned magically from the past.

Sitting there listening to the speakers I began drawing a very primitive sketch of this idea...after the presentation of awards, I went to my first seminar...Design 1, and one of the first things the presenter talked about was the importance of a projects bones. That is when it hit me...such a garden sculpture would be born, rise from the ground, take shape, the vines twining in and around creating a stunning reminder of our once great railroading history...then, over a period of some years (maybe 5-8) this art work, like the trains would slowly decline, eventually collapse into the ground, returning back to Mother Nature what is hers, and in doing so, reenact that same great history which has been lived by the trains that used to whistle through the night as they passed through our community.

So, in a nut shell, I am proposing we clear off that old siding, clean up the area surrounding it, plant two or three flowering ornamental trees, bring in some large stones, create the illusion of the train coming down the tracks from out of the woods, bursting into sight as travelers on our portion of "Rails to Trails" happen upon it at the start of their journey. This would be the significant project of a two phase/two element grant application.

Right now, looking to find other kindred souls that are supportive of this proposal, looking to find people willing (as it were) to buy into the program to breath this vision into reality through the generous donation of their time, talents, goods, services, and even money. Sullivan Renaissance graciously awards $1500 grants for community beautification, and these projects could never happen without their generous financial support, and the tremendous support to our community given by their staff when we have questions and seek advice. That said, it is amazing how fast funds can vanish when buying and moving a few large stones