Most Powerful Woman in Music

ICM's Marsha Vlasic (left) with Julie Greenwald of
Atlantic Records Group (Photo: Arnold Turner)

I heard some stunning news yesterday - the happy kind.  I learned that Wurtsboro native, Julie Greenwald, was again named Billboard's "most powerful woman in music." I've known several talented members of the Greenwald family, who are our neighbors in Wurtsboro, but I only knew of them being skilled in either business or in their Law practices.

In reading several articles on Billboard.biz, I discovered that Ms Greenwald has made a highly respected name for herself in the music industry with Atlantic Records Group. Billboard honors such achievements at their annual Women in Music Awards. We have all shared the pride in the meteoric rise of our other local music celebrity, Gavin DeGraw of South Fallsburg.  Learning about Julie Greenwald's accomplishments was all new to me. She topped the female executives list for the third consecutive year as Atlantic Records Group co-chairman/COO.

The Women in Music 2012 event was a huge gala, held at Capitale in New York. A highlight of the evening was recognition of the "Woman of the Year," Katy Perry.  In her acceptance speech on Friday she told the crowded audience, "I am not a feminist, but I do believe in the strength of women. . . I don't really like to call myself a role model for my fans. I hope that I am an inspiration for them, especially young women. My mantra, especially for the 'Part Of Me' film, was: If you believe in yourself, you can be anything."  Both Katy Perry and Julie Greenwald are living proof of this philosophy.  We congratulate Ms Greenwald and the entire Greenwald family.

#GivingTuesday

I'm guessing that I'm not the only one who is sick to tears of hearing about Black Friday & Cyber Monday. This is why I was especially thrilled today to hear about a very new movement that seems to sincerely capture the spirit of this giving season. Today is #Giving Tuesday. The founding partners, which include great organizations like our good friends at the 92nd Street Y, are encouraging all to "Get out the Give." If you visit the site at www.givingtuesday.org you will find a lot of large corporations and organizations who are already on board with a variety of ways to help your contributions go farther, as well as an Ideas page with creative gestures we can all make within our own communities. This can include simple acts like bringing a non-perishable item to a local food pantry; or a baked treat to a public servant like our police, firefighters or ambulance volunteers; or visit a senior center to spend some time brightening the residents' day.  

After days of excessive focus on shopping, doorbusters and mega sales, I find this launch of #GivingTuesday to be a very welcome change. The site also shows ways to maintain the spirit of giving beyond just the day.  We can remember those who are less fortunate for the rest of the month as well as throughout the year. This becomes even more imperative during difficult economic times. We all have something to give. If you don't have discretionary income, there might still be gently used items and clothing in your home, and always time to give of yourself. The Mountaindale Community Development Project is always looking for volunteers who might like to help out in Mountaindale. Many other Sullivan County organizations can also use a hand. On this #GivingTuesday, how will You give back?

Welcome Back!

Glorious Fall by Rachel

Somehow, the past couple of months have positively flown by in a complete blur. I apologize for not having an opportunity to post for a while. I wanted to keep this site out of the election ruckus, but then got incredibly busy with all kinds of things going on in Mountaindale, Hurricane Sandy, wonderful new business developments, and all the community groups I support. I want to thank the many, many readers who still checked in regularly and went back to re-read some of the older postings that are archived on this site.

Some interesting things have been occurring locally.  We congratulate Chef Robert Uccelli of Uccelli Restaurant for reaching a one year anniversary in Mountaindale a few weeks ago. This is an important milestone for a Sullivan County restaurant. We also see a lot of growth in Mountain Charm Market Cafe on the corner, which is filling a big need we had in our community. Please stop in for coffee or lunch if you haven't already done so. Classes have resumed with Janet Gula of Radiant Yoga of Mountaindale. Upstate Karate of Mountaindale enjoyed a few very busy events. Studio owner, Alexandra Lalieu was recently promoted to 5th Dan Master level and celebrated by hosting the annual fall Region 2 Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Testing. It was held at the Fallsburg High School and brought between 100 and 200 visitors to the Town of Fallsburg last month. Upstate Karate also held a Buddy Week and it was wonderful to see so many friends and parents participating in classes all week. For anyone who comes to town to visit Evadne Gianinni at HospitalityGreen, she can be found in their new location at 58 Main Street in Mountaindale.

Lastly, please stay tuned for news from Louisa Pabon of Verde & Co, our local sofrito verde manufacturer. She is hoping to re-open the cafe and offer a special pre-order menu, with both single serving and family sized take out portions. I am also trying to convince her to offer some evening cooking classes for some of her special cuisine. The items would include delicious sofrito and might instruct in dishes like empanadas, eggrolls and soups. Please let me know if this would be of interest to you - 845-434-4747, so I can encourage her to schedule this sooner.

I hope you are enjoying the glorious autumn landscape above and to the right by Rachel. She is currently taking a Photography class at the Fallsburg High School with Pam Garritt. Ms Garritt is the wonderful teacher who previously helped Mountaindale build the flower planter boxes as part of a Technology Ed student class assignment. With Rachel's enthusiasm and assistance, we will be updating the photos on the blog for the season.

Heavy Metal Comedy

David Brodsky of MyGoodEye music visuals

Whoever knew death metal could be so funny? A group of us found out on Main Street in Mountaindale on Sunday as we pushed the limit on every vaudville type gag we could think of during the video shoot for the popular heavy metal band, Revocation. The production company in charge of this project was our good friends at MyGoodEye. David Brodsky and his talented crew have been coming to Mountaindale to shoot music videos in a number of our buildings for quite a few years now. It's always a treat when they come and wonderful to see some of the award winning videos after they are finished and released to the public.


Patiently awaiting their cue, already in make up

When they come, they usually bring their own professional team for lighting, sound, make up, and extras. However, this particular project required some mature extras who could look like audience members at a musical performance in the day room of a nursing home.  The plot of the video is that it is the future and the adorable guys of Revocation never stopped rocking and they are now doing a reunion show while in their eighties.  Allison Woest, the producer gave me an exciting task.  She told me I could invite some of my friends to be extras on the nursing home set. I was pretty thrilled because my friends include Carol Montana, editor of the Catskill Chronicle, and the actress/producer who brought "A Coupla White Chicks" to this same venue in Mountaindale a few years ago. My other friends include seasoned actors who are members of the Sullivan County Dramatic Workshop like Ellen Pavloff, Tom DelFavero & Richard Topper. Several other local pals rounded out our little cast. Everyone were great sports and participated in fun bits like playing air guitar with their canes, flirting with the "senior citizen" band, and Rich Topper was willing to do multiple takes as a dirty old man who grabs his young, pretty nurse's behind. Poor guy! All of our little stunts were so funny, it was hard to keep a straight face.  We can hardly wait for SCION to release this video next month. I will update the link on this site when it does. ROCK ON!

October Update - And heeeeere's the video

Hummingbird Happiness

Ed Frampton Hummingbird Photo

In the next few months, our area will have a number of visitors known as Leaf Peepers who come to see the spectacular colors of autumn as our trees prepare for winter. However, those who visit Mountaindale now will be in for a very special treat. Our resident ruby throated hummingbirds LOVE their neighborhood, with the numerous hummingbird feeders on Main Street and hummingbird attracting flowers in town,

This month, the 'hummingbird ballet' will particularly delight our Hummingbird Hailers because the immature babies that hatched this summer are now able to seek their own food, and are doing it in droves. Certain feeders in town are especially popular and it's possible to see several feeding simultaneously while others are chirping, hovering and jockeying for position. A deliveryman who was visiting Eddie's Mountaindale Inn was quite impressed recently and remarked that Mountaindale seems to have more hummingbirds than he sees anywhere else on his Mid Hudson route. The other day at Upstate Karate of Mountaindale, a child exclaimed, "I see hummingbirds!" His mother replied, "Yes, Dear," in that mommy way. So I explained that her child REALLY was seeing hummingbirds so they sat for a bit on the karate school porch to watch the acrobatic antics.

Now that our community has a new business, Mountain Charm Market Cafe & Deli, you can now pick up a delicious cup of steaming coffee or tea, and even a sandwich while you relax and watch the non-stop entertainment provided all day by these ruby throated jewels. The cafe also offers free WiFi to customers so you can even enjoy nature outside while you work comfortably on your laptop. We hope to see you in town to enjoy our wonderful hummingbirds before they start their big trip down South in early October. Then you can come back and enjoy our fall foliage,

Shlemiels & Shlimazels

Paramount's "Dinner for Schmucks"

I was recently trying to explain the Yiddish meaning of the words Shlemiels & Shlimazels to a non-Jewish friend. He wasn't familiar with the expressions so I guess Laverne & Shirley must not be any of the reruns he watches. The terms could be explained by the recent movie, "Dinner for Schmucks," in which Steve Carell does an amazing job of portraying a lovable Shlemiel with Paul Rudd as the unfortunate Shlimazel whose life is irrevocably changed by their chance meeting.

The comedic value of Shlemiels & Shlimazels will be further explored on Wednesday, August 29, at 7:30PM at the Ethelbert Crawford Public Library at 393 Broadway in Monticello. They will host a special evening lecture by Ruth Adler, entitled "Faces of Jewish Humor: The Saga of the Shlemiel and the Shlimazel."

Humor has served as an effective tool for addressing adverse circumstances. Jewish writers have availed themselves of it in good measure. The shlemiel and the shlimazel - the clumsy oaf and the hapless fool - have been favorite prototypes of Jewish humor. The three famed classicists of Yiddish literature, Mendele, Sholem Aleichem, and Peretz, have made extensive use of these prototypes to pinpoint human foibles, sometimes with empathy and compassion, at other times, with a satiric edge.

In this presentation, we will describe the travails of the shlemiel and the shlimazel as they have been depicted in the writings of the three major East-European writers, and also explore their appearance in earlier periods. In our journey, we are sure to detect echoes of the shlemiel and the shlimazel in contemporary society, and perhaps learn to laugh at our own foibles as we go about our mundane activities.

This lecture is free and open to the public and sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities, a state-affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is free and opens to the public. For more information call the library at 845-794-4660.

Support Trails Funding

The O&W Rails to Trails linear park is a very valuable recreational asset for Mountaindale, Woodridge and the Town of Fallsburg. We are a Healthy Trails, Healthy People community, who has received funding and support from Parks & Trails New York. We have been advised that future funding may be in jeopardy unless we help to secure New York State’s federal funding for trails and bicycling and walking.  The new federal transportation bill allows New York State to opt out completely from the Recreational Trails Program as well as transfer half of the funds that can and should be used for trails, complete streets, and other bicycle-pedestrian infrastructure that supports active transportation to road building. 

Please join with scores of other organizations and local governments across the state by signing the letter below, asking Governor Cuomo to:

a.      Continue the popular Recreational Trails program – a program that has pumped more than $19 million into our economy, aided 280 motorized and nonmotorized trail projects, and leveraged $12 million since the program began in 1993.

b.      Preserve all eligible funding for trails and active transportation funding and not transfer any to road building

c.      Make existing, unspent Transportation Enhancement dollars available immediately to communities for another round of grant applications. 

We must make ourselves heard by August 15.  September first is the deadline for the Governor to decide the future of the Recreational Trails program. 

It takes two clicks

1.      Read the letter
2.      Sign on   (I just did)

Thank you for standing up for trails and active transportation!

Garden Club Tour

Shawangunk Garden Club at Railway Station

Many green thumbs were united today as members of the Shawangunk Garden Club visited Mountaindale today for a tour of the numerous beautiful plantings around our community. The tour was hosted by members of the Mountaindale Action Committee and the Mountaindale Community Development Project (MCDP) and coordinated by neighbor, Susan Cioffi. Susan has been an area resident for several decades and was looking forward to proudly sharing her town with her friends.



Hummingbird Feeders, Hanging Baskets &
Planter Boxes on Main Street



We began bright and early at the Mountaindale Railway Station for a closer look at the beautiful landscaping outside and the unique historical photographs inside, We then walked over to the Hummingbird Garden to see the hummingbirds, butterflies and swallows flying acrobatically overhead. The tour continued as a leisurely stroll down Post Hill Road and Main Street to admire our train themed new banners and colorful planters, planted by local girl scouts & karate school families, as well as the rock garden maintained by Hospitality Green. We continued on to the Firehouse to admire the lovely flower garden that the Mountaindale Action Committee planted along the inner courtyard of the building, which leads to stairs to the gateway to the O&W Rails to Trails.

We admired a few more of their berm gardens and then headed to their other flower gardens at Quiat Road and Hatt Road. Everyone was given one of the new Town of Fallsburg O&W Rail Trail brochures to get a better understanding of how these locations fit into the original railway track line. At Quiat Road, our guests enjoyed seeing the historical Signal House and  one of the newly installed interpretive signs. A total of 4 interpretive signs were designed by the O&W Rails to Trails Committee and paid for in part, by a grant from Parks & Trails NY. A lot of the labor for the sign installation was an in kind donation from Bugsy Bennett, but more on that in the future.

The club members enjoyed a delicious lunch at Uccelli Restaurant. We all had a wonderful time together. The best part was learning from each other as many gardening tips were shared. If I can speak for the Action Committee members, I think it's also very gratifying to have new visitors express their appreciation for all that is done to make Mountaindale one of the more attractive communities around. The Shawangunk Garden Club invited everyone to a public reception for their Photo Flower Show on Saturday, August 18th from noon to 3PM in the Gallery of the Ellenville Public Library at 40 Center Street in Ellenville. All are welcome.

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.

9th Annual Francis Currey Day

This Saturday marks the 9th Annual Francis Currey Day at Morningside Park in Hurleyville, New York. Currey Day is a wonderful local free fun day for the whole family. It includes musical performances by favorites like David & Julie Bloch and the wonderful Rausch Brothers band.  There will also be dancing, games, rides, displays, food vendors and a spectacular Fireworks display at dusk. I always especially enjoy the raising of the ginormous flag.

However, let us not lose sight that the purpose of this gala event is to honor our home grown hero, Francis Currey, the winner of the prestigious Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor during a particularly difficult battle during WW II.  This is our nation’s highest military award. Here is a brief summary of his heroic act from NY State Senator John Bonacic's site:

An automatic rifleman with Company K, 120th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division, Sergeant Currey, only 19 years old at the time, and his platoon of 30 men were assigned to defend the small Belgian town of Malmedy with little more than small arms. Facing a column of German tanks intent on flanking his battalion, Currey repeatedly braved enemy fire to inflict heavy losses on the enemy, rescue five American soldiers that had been pinned down, and thwarted the enemy advance.

The event is sponsored by the Town of Fallsburg, Thunder 102 radio and Party Master, Perry Gip. On a personal note, I must commend Perry & his crew for the fabulous Olympic Gold themed decorations they did for the recent Graduation Ceremonies at Fallsburg High School. For more information, please call the Town of Fallsburg at 845-434-8810 or Morningside Park at 845-434-5877

Main Street Banners & Flowers

The design committee of the Mountaindale Community Development Project worked over the winter to develop a new set of banners for our Main Streets.  They were funded with our Phase II Sullivan Renaissance Award from last summer. We were all so delighted when the banner delivery arrived. But then it rained, sometimes torentially, every day and then it was brutally hot, which made climbing a ladder to install them on the telephone poles around town an unpleasant task. Luckily, today's balmy weather was just perfect! Our new banners are a wonderful addition to our charming street and will be greeting all the summer visitors to Mountaindale this season.

Our interesting recent weather also created some challenges for the volunteers who worked on our flower box enhancement project this year. The original design of our Main Street flower boxes came to us from the Technology Education classes of the Fallsburg High School. They look terrific but had a flaw in practical application in the scope that we use since there are nearly 30 of them around town. A lot of water would leak out of the side slats, which was inefficient from both a water conservation and volunteer labor standpoint. A portion of our Renaissance winnings also went toward refurbishing the planters as well as enriching the soil with a precise mix recommended by the knowledgeable staff at EarthBox.

With a lot of support from local Girl Scouts of Troops 401, 580, 234 and 738, as well as students and parents of Upstate Karate of Mountaindale, we got the planters planted and out on the streets earlier this month. The Girl Scouts will continue to assist during the summer with watering tasks as well as working in the Communty Garden behind 51 Main Street and Radiant Yoga of Mountaindale. The Scouts are hoping to be able to grow enough vegetables to be able to donate some to people in need in the community. They will also have a small herb garden in an EarthBox planter that we purchased.

Yoga Students Lisa & Greg lending a hand

We are very fortunate for the support from the Scouts, Karate families and Yoga students who helped with other tasks to keep Mountaindale looking beautifully in bloom. They helped with maintenance of the Hummingbird Garden. It needed a lot of weeding and trimming after the winter. We are lucky to have Janet Gula in town as she is also the owner of My Secret Gardener and was the original designer of the Hummingbird Garden. I have also noticed how wonderful our Rock Garden at 37 Main Street looks next door to HospitalityGreen, thanks to all of the extra TLC that Evadne Giannini has been giving it.

I guess what I am saying is, "It takes a village" to keep our hamlet looking so great!  Thanks to everyone who participates in this effort!

Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law

I was glued to CNN around 10AM to catch today's historic Supreme Court rulings. The decision largely supported President Obama's health care overhaul, in a mixed ruling that Court observers were rushing to analyze.

The decision was a striking victory for the President and Congressional Democrats, with a majority of the court, including the conservative Chief Justice, John G. Roberts Jr., affirming the central legislative pillar of Mr. Obama's term. It will be very interesting to see what political rhetoric & spin stems from this event between now and November.

Annual Monticello Fireworks Display

Virgelio Carpio photograph

For the past 43 years, the Monticello Raceway has offered our community one of the most amazing Fireworks Shows in Sullivan County and this year will be no exception.  On Wednesday, July 4th the Raceway will stage its 44th Annual Fireworks Extravaganza after the last race. That night, the first post will be at 5:30 PM. “The fireworks will be presented approximately 20 minutes after the racing program ends on July 4th,” said Shawn Wiles, the Raceway’s Assistant General Manager. “And since there is free admission to the entire facility it’s a great opportunity to come and see the fireworks close-up on the tracks apron where the best view is afforded.”

Along with the live racing program that evening, the Mighty M also offers simulcast wagering on both harness and thoroughbred races from tracks around the country and at some harness facilities in Canada.

Story courtesy of John Manzi

Tick Alert!

I noticed that I have been having numerous conversations lately with a variety of different people about ticks.  TICKS - just the very word makes me feel a tickly sensation on my legs! I have heard tick stories this week from birders, gardeners, appraisers, Rail Trail hikers, dog walkers, and seen them on nice little clean kids. These blood sucking creatures are nowhere as appealing as Robert Pattinson and a most unwelcome guest. An increase in the tick population is probably the result of a mild winter and the unusual weather this spring. You run the risk of one of these insects hitching a ride on you or your pet any time you are in the grass, especially if the grass is a bit high. If they can remain undetected, they will bite the host and bury their head/mouthparts in the skin so that they can begin feeding on the blood.  Undisturbed, they will become engorged and resemble a plump grey green bean with 8 tiny legs.

How can you avoid all this? Inspection is critical any time you have been in the grass. Check your legs and clothing and wear light socks when possible. It is important to apply a strong bug repellent, designed for ticks, although I have heard stories of bites despite the spray. Ticks are parasites with a fairly thick shell or carapace, which makes it difficult to kill them easily. If you find one already feeding, it is critical to resist the temptation to yank it off as you might just rip the body away from the head which can remain embedded in the skin and cause an infection. Most ticks do not carry diseases, and here is a good link for a procedure on How to Remove a Tick. There are also different kinds of ticks so it is beneficial to identify whether the tick you have found is a Dog Tick, or a Deer Tick, known for carrying Lyme Disease. A bullseye shaped rash is often an indication of a Deer Tick bite.  Flu-like symptoms and joint & muscle pain might indicate that further medical attention should be sought immediately.

Going Postal for Girl Scouts

New Forever Stamp

 I recently discovered that there is going to be a special stamp issued to honor the 100th year anniversary of Girl Scouts with a Celebrate Scouting Forever Stamp. It will be issued by the US Postal Service on June 9th for public purchase. As a 'Forever' stamp it will always be good for USPS First Class postage to mail letters weighing one ounce or less no matter what the postal rate.

Our local Stamp Club, the Sullivan County Philatelic Society, will be hosting a special Stamp & Coin Show at the Ted Stroeble Recreation Center on Jefferson Street  in Monticello from 10AM - 4PM on Sunday, June 10th.  Those of you who are stamp collectors or interested in learning more about this popular hobby may wish to stop in to see what is on display.  Admission is free and you will be able to meet a variety of stamp and coin collectors in this, the club's 40th annual show. The show will also feature door prizes, hourly prize drawings, and will be honoring Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts of America.