Archive » December 2014 » Columns

Many of the Old Men of the Mountain left the hills of snow on Tuesday, Dec. 16, and made it to the Home Front Café in Altamont. What a difference a few miles and 1,500 feet make in the type weather that the OFs traverse. Not one of the weather people even mentioned Knox, Berne, (maybe Berne once or twice) South Berne, or East Berne and the last two really got nailed with the amount of snow that was dumped on these localities.

Getting to the Home Front, which is at the foot of Altamont hill in Altamont (duh), the OFs went from 20 to 24 inches of snow to practically nothing in a distance of two miles. The other point is that this snow has hung around, and for days now the trees are still laden with snow — a winter wonderland (yeah right).

The OFs assumed the cameras were clicking especially on Saturday when there were about five hours of sun. These same weather people were showing sun and warmer temps, and the OFs are wondering where did that happen, maybe Hawaii.

The OFs haven’t seen much sun lately, and, without the sun, just like old snapping turtles, the OFs are growing moss on their backs.

Short days

There was a brief discussion on the shortest day between sunrise and sunset

This scribe had to check this one out and found it goes minute by minute and is based from Boston for use in the Farmers’ Almanac and it started on Dec. 17 to 26 the to give 9 hours and 2 minutes of daylight for those days; however, sunrise and sunset times vary a tad.

Anyway, we are in the shortest period of daylight hours for 2014. Whoopee.

Experts on doctors

There also was some talk on the age of your doctor. The OFs are now of an age where they can officially be declared experts on types of doctors.

Some of the information comes from self experience, and some for firsthand experience of friends and relatives. Like all experts who expound on this or that, the one item the OFs agree on is: The only thing the expert is an expert on is saying that he or she is an expert.

Some of the OFs think going to a doctor that has considerable gray in his hair — if it is a she doctor, that is hard to tell because they, like many ladies, die their hair — indicates the doctor has seen many cases and probably has seen before whatever the OF is there with.

Whereas a young doctor has less experience and that wart on your nose may stump him, but the older may have had one himself. But the other OFs maintained that the younger doctor may be more up on the new techniques, procedures, and medications.

One OF said he was a little biased: Give me experience over youth any day.

There was a basic school of thought that was on karma. Some OFs said they didn’t care if the doctor wasn’t old enough to shave, or had hair growing out of his ears like me; as long as the doctor and patient got along and could communicate, that was all that the OFs cared about.

Then there was that OG, again, who wanted to start a collection of the distaff side who commented that, as long as the doctor had a pretty receptionist and good-looking nurses, the doctor was good enough for him even if he was a quack. This OF said at least the doctor had good judgment.

Chat on charity

This is the season that many organizations introduce their campaigns for charitable giving. Most seem needy and worthwhile and the OFs struggle at times because the ads and programs make them want to give to them all.

That is a trick of good marketing, or a good advertising agency. These businesses do well in inducing the OFs at times to purchase things the OFs don’t want, or need, and will probably never use. These people are good at what they do, especially going to college for four or six years to learn how do to it.

Most of the OFs do what they can for the charities they are familiar with — some with animals, some for the heart, some for the Salvation Army, some for kidney, some for the Rescue Mission, and others like the Nature Conservancy, volunteer fire companies, civic organizations that affect the local community.

Not only do the OFs do this with money, but also time.  Even though many well-intentioned charitable organizations tug at the OFs’ purse strings, the OFs say: Pick one and stick with it. They also add that dropping something in the Salvation Army bucket doesn’t hurt, and every little bit helps.

The OFs say: Take a lesson from the cable company — jack the bill up a couple bucks at a time and it is not really noticed, but do that with two million people and it is four million dollars.

One OF say he contributes thousands of dollars a year to quite a group of not-for-profit organizations. They are called New York State, the federal government, the town, and the county — and he has nothing to say about it. After contributing to these charitable organizations, he has nothing left for the others.

The OFs noticed that, as the OFs in this group become older, the OFs are requiring more and more medical care, for themselves and their families. This is to be expected and, as one or more of a family becomes incapacitated, this places a lot of stress on the other members of the family.

The OFs have covered this before and there is tons or stress and anxiety placed on the caregivers and the caregiver needs as much support as the one requiring the care. This is where churches, friends, and groups like the OMOTM can fill a really important niche in people’s lives.  (A scribe comment snuck in here.)

The OFs who made it to the Home Front Café in Altamont, which is not a charitable organization, were; Dave Williams, Steve Kelly, Roger Chapman, Roger Shafer, George Washburn, Robie Osterman, Mace Porter, Jack Norray, John Rossmann, Lou Schenck, Chuck Alesio, Frank Pauli, Harold Guest, Mark Traver, Jim Heiser, Otis Lawyer, Glenn Patterson, Gerry Chartier, Harold Grippen, Gill Zabel, Elwood Vanderbilt, Ted Willsey, Jim Rissacher, Bill Krause, and me.

With the beginning of the New Year 2015 in the thriving town of Guilderland, it is appropriate to look back on the early years of the town's history for new residents and students.  Long before Guilderland was a town, bands of Mohawk Indians camped and lived along the Normanskill River.

On Feb. 10, 1803, a petition was filed by Nicholas V. Mynderse with the New York State Assembly asking for 58.67 square miles of land to be separated from the town of Watervliet.  That land was owned by Dutch Patroon Stephen VanRensselaer and called VanRensselaer Manor.

The petition was passed by the State Assembly and emerged from the State Senate 10 days later; it declared that the town was to be hamed in honor of the patroon whose homeland in the Netherlands was the province of Gelderland. The Dutch influence remained in Guilderland for many years and still stands with the Dutch barns built by early settlers.

When Guilderland was organized, Thomas Jefferson was president, the Union flag had 15 stars and 15 stripes, the Louisiana Purchase was the first territorial expansion in the new nation, and Lewis and Clark had begun their Northwest Expedition.

Nicholas Mynderse, who had come from the Netherlands, was elected supervisor of the new own of Guilderland.  His family owned many acres of land on the Albany-Schoharie Road, now called Route 146.  The historic house and tavern he built then still stands in Guilderland Center, and is used today by the Guilderland Historical Society and other community groups.

Captain Jacob Van Aernam was called an outstanding patriot during the American Revolution, and Colonel Abraham Wemple was noted for his command of a regiment reported to have been at the Battle of Saratoga.  Descendants with their surnames still live in Guilderland today.

The old Schoharie Road was improved, headed west, and it became the Great Western Turnpike in 1799.  Agriculture replaced forests in Guilderland while turnpikes and railroads cut through countryside.

New farms and small businesses flourished along the turnpike, and the growing township of Guilderland began a school district in 1813.

Guilderland has two main water streams, the Normanskill and the Hungerkill. Water power from these streams enabled industrial complex to begin and thrive. A glass factory, a grist mill, a saw mill, and textile and woolen mills were powered by these turbulent waters.

In 1954, Guilderland's one- and two-room schoolhouses were consolidated, and new large buildings were erected.  Flying over a new town hall, built in 1972, Guilderland's flag boasts an heraldic coat-of-arms of the Province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.

When the town celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2003, its Dutch heritage was acknowledged with a meeting at the Appel Inn where the Town's first meeting was held on April 3, 1803. Parades, historic meetings, and gatherings continued throughout the year.

A group of 11 town residents traveled to Holland to visit  the small village of Nijkerk in the province of Gelderland.  That Hanseatic town became a famous commercial center after the fall of the Roman Empire. It was also the birthplace of Killean VanRensselaer, Stephen VanRenselaer's ancestor, whose land grants by the Dutch West India Company in 1630 served as the basis for today's Guilderland. This was the homeland of the original settlers along the Normanskill or Norman's Creek.

Nijkerk's Mayor Vries welcomed the delegates from Guilderland in his handsome conference room and spoke of our communal ancestors. We were given a guided tour of his town and then arranged for the group to visit Putten, and the still-working farm of the VanRensselaers.

The farmhouse was immaculate. We walked in the back entrance, through an attached barn, between two rows of cows in stalls.  A fireplace and two windows kept the caretaker warm as he could watch a cow giving birth.

A touch of our own Guilderland history enveloped us as we left the VanRensselaer farm in Putten, Gelderland across the Atlantic.  (The complete story of that bicentennial visit is in my book, From The Historian's Desk, on pages 112 to 115.)

Today, Guilderland is a thriving town of 35,000 residents.  Its eastern border encompasses the New York State University at Albany campus, two large shopping centers, growing business complexes and housing developments.  A large school district educates students. New housing developments and businesses are starting to be built at the western end of Guilderland near the town hall.

Watching this development and writing of it has been educational and inspiring. Residents seeking additional information about Guilderland's history or local books on the subject may call me, the town historian at 356-1980, ext. 1050. 

During the holidays, many homeowners drag out festive lights and decorations to create vivid landscapes bursting with color. In my neighborhood, there is one house that is always outstanding — lights on all sides and levels, wrapping all the windows, including part of the roof and even some of the landscaping.

One time, about 20 years ago, I met the homeowner at one of our sorely missed neighborhood block parties. Just to make conversation I asked him how he did such a wonderful job lighting his house each year.

"Oh," he replied, "you want to know the family secrets!"

Er, no, I was just interested in the Christmas lights. Believe it or not, he wouldn't tell me a thing.

Well, I've been doing holiday lighting myself now for so long I've decided to share my own "secrets," if you will. A big part of getting in the holiday/Christmas spirit is seeing all the nicely lit houses, so in the hope of sharing some of the joy, here we go:

— 1. Holiday lights are discounted so much after the new year, sometimes up to 90 percent, that it makes absolutely no sense to buy them at any other time. Just go into your favorite home center or drug store after the holidays are over and stock up for next year.

— 2. The old-style glass lights have a limit to how many strands you can plug in series. The new style LED (light-emitting diode) lights are much more power efficient, so you can create much longer runs. Just follow the instructions (always a good idea with any device).

— 3. If you're lucky, you have a lot of exterior electrical boxes. If you don't, you can always have some good weatherproof ones installed. The other option is to use outdoor-rated extension cords. Make sure the cords are outdoor rated, and be sure to install them in such a way that no one can trip over them. I like to wrap the exposed connections in plastic and duct tape as an extra safety precaution as well.

— 4. There are all kinds of gutter clips to attach strings of lights to your house. These are also on deep discount after the holidays, so that's when to buy them. I've had to modify some styles of these for particular applications, which is easy to do with side-cutting pliers. Be sure to wear eye protection when you snip the plastic, as the cut-off piece shoots all over the place.

— 5. If you need to use an indoor outlet that's OK, just run it out the window and don't pinch it too hard. Use some kind of insulator to keep drafts out of the small window opening.

— 6. At some point, you'll probably wind up on a ladder. I can't stress this enough: Be very, very careful any time you're on a ladder. I had one collapse under me, which led to rotator-cuff surgery, no fun at all. Just put "ladder+safety" into any Internet search engine — you'll be glad you did.

— 7. How many lights should you put up? Some folks have so many they could land a 747; others have many fewer, maybe only a candle in the window, but it's done so tastefully it works. Here is where I'm at a big disadvantage, as I have no artistic sensibility at all. I just put up enough lights to where I know the kids will be satisfied. Works for me.

— 8. Using timers makes controlling when the lights come on and off easy. Outside-rated timers are insulated for safety, so always use these outdoors. I like mine to come on when it first gets dark and stay on until at least midnight.

— 9. I do all the work in setting up and putting away the lights myself, but, if you can get any help, be sure to take advantage of it. It's easy to damage dangling strings of lights, and you can always use a third hand.

— 10. Strings of lights lead a hard life. They make a tool that injects a brief voltage spike into the string. This will often bring some bulbs back to life. But light strings are wearable items that should be replaced over time. Since the discounts after the holidays are so great, regular replacement is a good thing to do.

— 11. Storing used strings of lights is difficult — you'll never get them back in the box they came in. You can get plastic cord wraps from the home center, or you can wrap them around a tube of some sort and then hang them. If you just toss them in a box, you'll have a nasty mess next year. Anything is better than that.

— 12. To light trees, they make long poles to help you get the strings up there. Again, just make sure no one can trip on the extension cord when you run it back to the house.

— 13. Replacing your porch or garage light bulbs with colored bulbs is an easy way to add a little color with not a lot of work.

— 14. It costs money to really do up your house big time (lights, time, electricity), so it's up to you how much you want to get into it. If you really want a house that folks flock to see from miles away, you're going to pay for it (as well as almost surely annoy your neighbors) so make sure that's really what you want to do.

— 15. I try to put my lights up as soon after Thanksgiving as possible, since it's so much work, you might as well enjoy them for as long as you can. Here's an entrepreneurial thought: removable siding that hides the lights underneath, so all you have to do is pull a few panels each year and you're done! If you start a business based on this, please remember me when Wall Street issues your IPO (initial public offering).

One of my favorite holiday pastimes was always driving around Brooklyn and Howard Beach marveling at what dedicated homeowners who are really into outdoor lighting can do. You'd often see parades of cars driving by slowly and ogling the gala displays.

We'd always park and walk around the block to look up-close. Aside from miles of dazzling lights, there were also many kinds of large stationary sleighs and reindeer, some of them movable.

Many homes even pipe Christmas music outside for your enjoyment as well.

The best one, I think, is on a corner in Brooklyn. This guy replaces his garage doors with Plexiglas, and, inside the garage, there is a very large diorama with model railroad-type structures and scenery. He has all kinds of exquisitely detailed scenes that you really need to see to believe — the attention to detail is stunning.

It is simply lovely, and I always would drop a couple of bucks in the slot to help support him. It was worth it because it was so very, very beautiful. I hope he's still doing it.

So there are my holiday lighting "family secrets." Now go hang some lights.