Archive » August 2021 » Columns

by John R. Williams

What happened in history on Aug. 17? Not much except for those born on Aug. 17, but on Augu. 17, 2021, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Your Way Café in Schoharie; that does make that date a momentous occasion.

After the normal greetings, the OFs began talking about the problems in Afghanistan, which shows they do keep up with current events. After much talk, the chit-chat faded out and resolved nothing.

In some major developments, there are as many opinions as there are OMOTM. Sometimes the rights and wrongs are so obvious that most of the OFs are in agreement; however, there are a few times (whether right or wrong) these debates follow basically along political lines.

This Afghanistan issue is just sad; it has been going on for centuries with elected leaders, or believers of Muhammad, or anyone who wants his name in the news. What a mess.

 

Cracking up

Quite often, in normal conversation, people make a statement that either breaks everyone up, or causes a collective moan. The people making the statements have no idea what they have said that caused such a reaction and they have a perplexed look on their faces, expressing complete lack of understanding of what just happened.

Sometimes, amid all the chatter going on at a table with about 18 guys sitting to eat, those speaking wonder if anybody is listening or are they just uttering sounds into the mix of words already mouthed across the table.

This will show that, while speaking, the OFs are listening as well, a trait that comes with raising kids in large families and getting old. Males and females have this ability when they hit their sixties or so.

So the story now is that one OF was on vacation and had shut his shop down for the month and was planning on taking his boat and having a few days cruising on the beautiful waters of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River.

He was telling the OFs about his pending trip and that now, after hearing the weather report for the week, he was not going to take his boat.

Then a discussion followed on how beautiful that area was and how clear the river was. The OFs started getting a history lesson on the region, with the naming of towns in that area, and how the water for the St. Lawrence comes from the Great Lakes.

One OF said that, when a drop of water falls in the Great Lakes, it takes 500 years for that drop of water to reach the river. A few other OFs said the river at one point is five miles wide, and mentioned information about Indian outposts, and the waterfalls.

The OF with the boat said he was friends with the people at the boat museum on the river and even docks his boat there.

After all this discussion on the Thousand Islands, and all that can be done there, the OF making the trip said, “I don’t care. I still don’t like getting my boat wet!”

At which point the whole restaurant broke up, because not many of them heard the discussion about the weather about a half-hour earlier.

 

Easy rider?

Then another OMOTM used his cell phone for show and tell. This scribe saw the picture as the OF was passing it around and commented that he saw that on television.

The OF said that the American Legion Riders in Altamont were asked if they could scrounge up 11 motorcycles to ferry the cheerleaders for the 2021 champions of the National Arena League, the Albany Empire indoor football team, around the field.

They managed to obtain the required motorcycles and drivers to do this ugly (?) chore, and the OF was one of these drivers. The picture was of the OMOTM with the very pretty cheerleader on the back of his machine.

The OF said this was not as easy as it looked like on his cell phone. Of course many of the OFs said there was a distraction on the back of the bike that might have had something to do with it, but the OF insisted the artificial turf was very slippery for the bikes to drive on.

Many of the drivers, when they first approached the turf, almost had the bikes slip out from under them so they drove very slowly.

The scribe noticed on television some of the drivers had their feet down, and the OF said, “Yes, it was not the easiest ride going around the arena.”

Not only did they have the distraction on the back of the bike, but one underneath as well. It was a very nice picture though; the scribe also noticed that some of the OFs hung onto the phone longer than others.

The Old Men of the Mountain who showed up at the Your Way Café in Schoharie (some came on their bikes and it rained a tad while the OMOTM were in the café) were: Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Miner Stevens, Rick LaGrange, Joe Rack, Otis Lawyer, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Marty Herzog, Pete Whitbeck, Jake Herzog, Russ Pokorny, Gerry Chartier, Bob Donnelly, Dave Hodgetts, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Elwood Vanderbilt, and me.

Post date: 
August 26, 2021

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by Jesse S. Sommer

— Photo from Jesse S. Sommer

Vestiges of the “Big Box Wars” and the late aught’s Battle for Bender Melon. 

Curse you, Mark King.

Curse you and your Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy.

Curse you for safeguarding so many of New Scotland’s rural and agrarian traditions, and for ensuring that our Town lives up to its moniker as the “Jewel of Albany County.”  

Curse you, Alan Kowlowitz and Dennis Sullivan, for so diligently preserving New Scotland’s rich historical legacy, and you too, Melissa Hale-Spencer, for so faithfully recording in these pages the life and times of every New Scot.

And, while we’re at it, curse all you municipal officials whose comprehensive plans and commercial districts and zoning schemas have conspired to make our hometown something worth fighting for.

A pox on these pillars of the New Scottish identity for having secured a cultural inheritance that’s now incumbent on all of us to preserve and pass on to the generations yet to come. No one asked these relentless busybodies to make our community so special, nor to foist onto our shoulders the solemn burden of defending a way of life against the pressures of modernization and economic exploitation.

So curse you, I say. Thanks to you people, there are countless shows on Netflix I’ll never get to watch, since remaining vigilant in the face of never-ending efforts to pave over our fields and forests is so time-consuming. You guys are jerks.

But what’s done is done. And now that these graying local boomers have gone and opened Pandora’s nostalgic toybox, I guess the first order of business is to figure out what questions should inform our vote in the upcoming town board elections on Nov. 2.

After all, the arrival of the 2020 United States Census data compels serious contemplation. Among other eyebrow-raising data points was the revelation that New York City now accounts for 44 percent of our state’s entire population, after having registered a completely unanticipated increase of 629,000 people since 2010. Well, good for y’all; stay there. There’s nothing to see up here.

Yet the encroaching horde isn’t relegated to downstate. To our north in Saratoga County, towns like Malta, Halfmoon, and Ballston have registered population increases anywhere from 16 to 21 percent in just the last 10 years. Meanwhile, Albany County grew by over 3 percent this past decade, a rate which itself was outpaced by New Scotland’s growth of more than 5 percent (to a total of 9,096 residents). As The Enterprise reported last week, “no other municipality in Albany County saw a bigger jump in its population rate than New Scotland.”

I welcome this influx of an additional 448 inhabitants. In expanding the tax base, patronizing the local business community, and augmenting our neighborhood’s creative energies, these new New Scots have injected vibrancy into a hometown they can now rightly claim as their own. There’s a whole slew of commercial opportunities and quality-of-life upgrades that our new neighbors make possible; their presence powerfully argues for New Scotland’s open-armed reception of those who would follow in their wake.

But it’s also true that what draws people to New Scotland is precisely what could be lost if population expansion continues unrestrained. And in the short-term, as new trappings of luxury enterprise arise to cater to this larger civic community, New Scotland’s appeal will further surge.

So to my mind, there’s only one compound question that matters for our town board candidates — from it, all other inquiries derive.  *Ahem*:

Should there be a practical limit on New Scotland’s total population and, if so, what should it be? 

Is it the current 10,000 residents? Should it be 20,000? 50,000? Or should New Scotland’s population growth be entirely unconstrained, its hamlets buried beneath an onslaught of cul-de-sacs and memorialized merely as the branding of massive new residential complexes, sporting names like “Clarksville Commons,” “Unionville Apartments,” “Tarrytown Meadows,” and “Feura Bushes"?

A question derivative to the one about population is whether the town board candidates are prepared to utilize the authorities at their disposal to strategically influence our municipality’s size, relying on a mix of development restrictions, zoning regulations, and a campaign to incentivize conservation easements.

To those who would argue that the right of property alienation should be unfettered, unimpeded, and unlimited, I’ll just say this: I hear you, I acknowledge the merits of your perspective, I unconditionally reject it, I extend you my sympathies for having chosen to purchase property in New Scotland when Bethlehem clearly would’ve been a better fit, and I’ll spare us both further lip service, since our positions are deeply-held and philosophically irreconcilable. And I really do need to get back to Netflix.

To those who would argue that logistical hurdles or the town’s natural peculiarities — e.g., lack of municipal water — will inherently prevent significant population growth, I say: “Hold my beer.” Where there’s money to be made, there will always be communities and ecosystems to destroy. Let’s not forget how close we came to the installation of Stewart’s Shops petroleum tanks in the Vly Creek floodplain across the street from an elementary school.

What’s therefore required is the continuation of a proactive and deliberate regulatory regime that channels expansion, construction, and new arrivals in a manner consistent with what makes New Scotland so, well, New Scottish.

Worried that New Scotland Town Supervisor Doug LaGrange wouldn’t give me the exact pull-quote I needed for this column, I elected not to call him for comment. Instead, readers, let’s together conjure a reality wherein, last week — I don’t know, say, on Monday — Supervisor LaGrange courageously strode to the flagpole outside Town Hall and delivered a rousing address wherein he declared, “The town of New Scotland is closed for further development.” Everybody take a second; have we all joined in that shared experience? OK, let’s proceed.

Last Monday, New Scotland Town Supervisor Doug LaGrange courageously strode to the flagpole outside Town Hall to declare that New Scotland was closed for further development. It was a truly audacious pronouncement. I, for one, was shocked.

This so-called “LaGrange Doctrine” has already become a cornerstone of New Scottish domestic policy, antagonizing would-be developers and the capitals of Europe alike. Supervisor LaGrange reportedly remains unperturbed in the face of criticism. “I am a servant loyal not only to my neighbors’ interests,” LaGrange told me by phone, “but also to the interests of those who came before us and those who will one day take our place.”

(Um, yeah, so I forgot about that part. We now also all have to jointly experience a reality wherein I called up Supervisor LaGrange and he said, “I am a servant loyal not only to my neighbors’ interests, but also to the interests of those who came before us and those who will one day take our place.” Which more-or-less sounds like something he’d say, right? Take a second. Got it? Keep reading.)

I readily acknowledge the deeply deleterious impact of restrictions on New Scotland’s residential growth, to wit, housing scarcity. Already, home values in New Scotland are skyrocketing; limits to development will only accelerate this trend. Absent tactical intervention, New Scotland risks someday becoming an elite enclave of smug granola-crunching capitalists and effete self-congratulatory professionals who import the fruits of the very family farms that can no longer afford to operate in town.

But in that case, maybe the solution is to build “up” and not “out.” Maybe the essential question isn’t one of limiting New Scotland’s population, but rather one of fortifying our undeveloped acreage.

After all, I’d love to live on a revitalized east side of Voorheesville’s South Main Street, wherein residents of adjacent four-story multi-unit apartment buildings, row houses, or condos live above first floors inhabited by dry cleaners, hardware shops, convenience stores, and existing staples like Star + Splendor, Purity Hair Design, and Gio Culinary Studio. A neighborhood in the vein of Albany’s Center Square would still afford access to a Blue Ribbon school district without the attendant lateral sprawl that too often devours what would’ve otherwise been picturesque upstate towns.

So perhaps the LaGrange Doctrine requires a bit of reinterpretation. I mean, who does that blowhard think he is, anyway? (OK, I’ll fix it: Now pretend I rang Supervisor LaGrange and he clarified that what he meant to convey is that New Scotland is closed to any further development that results in the destruction or clearing of existing open space, wetlands, and forests. Everybody good? Sheesh, constructing “alternate facts” is way harder than it looks on cable news.)

This reconstituted LaGrange Doctrine should now assist New Scotland’s town, planning, and zoning boards evaluate the application to construct six two-story buildings about a quarter-mile down from Town Hall on New Scotland Road. Yes, the proposed 72 units of affordable housing might offer New Scotland more of the socioeconomic diversity it increasingly lacks, but does it incorporate a due commitment to open space? Irrespective of how this particular matter is resolved, town officials must reconcile ambiguities in the applicable hamlet zoning law with an eye towards the preservation of New Scotland’s bucolic sensibilities. Because once gone, they’re gone for good.

Illustratively, there’s still time to express your thoughts on what to do with the historic Bender Melon Farm, which was saved for posterity by the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy in 2020. (Visit https://arcg.is/aOHDK to learn more.) And I have no doubt that veterans of the “Big Box Wars” greeted news of the Bender Melon Farm’s acquisition with assured self-satisfaction, having thus firmly consolidated the gains of their 2008 uprising. Yet their achievement has counterintuitively created a back-country paradise that’s now even more inviting to those who would capitalize on New Scotland’s character at its very expense.

So what’ll it be, candidates? In 2050, will New Scotland look like Delmar? Like Clifton Park? Or will it look like New Scotland? And if the latter, what is your plan to shepherd the woodland hometown of today to the one of mid-century?

There’s a reason that New Scotland has long been known as the “jewel of Albany County.” On November 2, 2021, vote for the candidates who will unreservedly pledge to ensure that our jewel shines as brightly tomorrow as it does today — thanks very much to the efforts of those cursed aging boomers who seem to fundamentally misapprehend the concept of retirement.

Editor’s note: Jesse Sommer’s father serves on the New Scotland Zoning Board of Appeals.

Post date: 
August 26, 2021

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by Mary Ellen Johnson

The LaSalette Seminary’s whole new look after the 1925 remodeling makes it difficult to believe that it is the same building as the Kushaqua and Helderberg Inn. However, it was one and the same.

This is the second and final part telling the saga of the Kushaqua. The first part, “The Kushaqua: Colonel Church’s ‘mammoth hostelry’ rises on the shoulder of the Helderbergs,” was published on July 26, 2021.
 
Following Dr. F.J.H. Merrill’s decision in 1902 to lease his summer home, the Kushaqua reverted to its original function as a country resort hotel. H.B. Smith took over, investing in extensive renovations to update the building, renaming it the Helderberg Inn. His venture proved a failure with the inn going into receivership.

A large ad appeared in The Enterprise, announcing “Receiver’s Sale March 24, 1904” to be held in front of Albany City Hall. Parcel No. 2 was “the beautiful hotel property known as the Helderberg Inn situated at Altamont.”

Also listed were parcels 3 to 7, land and farms associated with the hotel. The following day at the inn itself, “all personal property contained in and about the hotel” was to be included at auction.

F.H. Peterson next attempted to make the hotel profitable, but after two years it was again a financial failure.

The affluent summer colony members who owned “cottages” in the hotel’s vicinity had grown increasingly nervous about the fate of the inn. A brief article appeared in The Enterprise on Oct. 7, 1907, announcing the sale of the hotel and surrounding land to a syndicate composed of eight men owning property nearby, including J.B. Thacher.

The Enterprise noted that their purchase came after “learning that it was to be sold, determined to become owners that the conduct of the hotel should be to their liking.” Perhaps it was to the relief of Altamont villagers as well, seeing as the article concluded, “The transfer of this property to these people is an assurance that it will be conducted as a high class hostelry.”

Rapidly, the automobile had become the favored form for transportation among affluent Americans, making the steep original road from the village to the hotel a challenge for early cars. Within a year after the syndicate’s hotel purchase, a new road with a grade of less than 7 percent was opened, which “fills a long felt want,” built through the efforts of syndicate member and Albany businessman Gardner C. Leonard.

The Helderberg Inn syndicate footed the bill. A year later, the state highway commissioners were entertained at dinner at the inn by syndicate members during which they discussed a proposed route for a state road from the village. By October, a survey had been made for the proposed road with a good grade that avoided sharp turns, finally completed in 1911.

A 25-page booklet or prospectus, undated but probably from 1914, gave a detailed description of the facility. Available for guests were 55 guest rooms, featuring hot and cold running water with modern plumbing in private or semi-private bathrooms.

The inn was warmed by steam heat and, as soon as electric lines were strung out to Altamont, the hotel was completely wired. Ample telephone facilities were provided. Fresh flowers from the hotel greenhouse were always placed throughout the public rooms.

Hotel guests had access to dining rooms, lounging rooms, a ballroom, a sun parlor, and the piazza. Indoors, energetic vacationers could bowl in the inn’s alley; play billiards, ping pong, or a game called bolero; or climb to the observation tower.

Sedentary folks could enjoy reading a book or magazine from the hotel’s 2,000-volume library or relax in front of one of the inn’s many fireplaces. Additional outdoor activities such as horseback riding, tennis, and camping were added over the years.

Meals and service were described in the brochure as “perfect.” Food was “delicate and delicious,” carefully served. There was no bar, but vintages in the cellar were available by request, seeking to please both temperance folks and tipplers alike.

Service was available day and night from servants “selected with care.” Each day, afternoon tea was served, weather permitting on the piazza or in the walled garden. Guests were assured that there was “all white service throughout,” reflecting the intense prejudice of the day.

During the years that the syndicate owned the inn, it was renovated and updated as a series of managers attempted to develop a profitable resort. There were always a number of long-term vacationers, but hardly enough to fill 55 rooms.

It had become increasingly common for Albanians to drive out for only the day or weekend. Hops, dances held each Saturday evening, and tea “dansants,” dances held at Saturday tea time, were fads in that era.

Many who had driven out remained for dinner and then danced the evening away to an orchestra at the hop, often remaining overnight. It became a destination for auto or driving parties who appreciated the “bountiful supply of well cooked food for their Saturday and Sunday outings.”

Catered banquets or luncheons, sometimes mentioned in The Enterprise, provided an additional source of income. The Altamont High School Alumni Association June banquet was held there several years, while a luncheon for 70 ladies, members of the Eastern New York Branch of Collegiate Alumnae Association took place one summer. The University Club of Albany came out one Saturday, played a pick-up game of baseball, staying on for a banquet and dancing.

 

Briefly, a golf club

As years went by, the resort hotel business, proving to be a losing proposition, resulted in the formation in October 1914 of the Helderberg Golf Club Inc. Gardner C. Leonard, whose summer home “Hardscrabble Farm” adjoined the hotel property, had designed a prospectus, describing the advantages of the hotel, grounds and plans for a golf course and winter spots.

Obviously the syndicate members hoped this would be a financial way forward. Local Rotary Club members were being approached by Leonard, who urged them to buy $100 bonds in the operation, automatically giving the membership in what was characterized as a “model golf club” by its promoters

The Albany Evening Journal, when describing the proposed golf club, noted the owners had purchased it “some time ago to maintain the character of the neighborhood.”

The spring of 1915 brought word that the Helderberg Golf Club was being “thoroughly overhauled with extensive alterations and improvements to the club building as well as the grounds” where a nine-hole golf course was constructed. When the club shut down for the season that year, “a most satisfactory season” was reported.

The club reopened in 1916, but there were very few references to it in The Enterprise and it can’t be determined if it operated in the summer of 1917. In December 1917, the property was again on the auction block, this time selling at a huge loss considering all the money that the syndicate had invested in maintenance and upgrades in the years since they had acquired it.

The $100 bondholders would have lost as well. The purchaser was Frank A. Ramsey, representing Ramsey and Co., real estate brokers of Albany, who paid $9,100 for a property valued at $100,000.

 

Convent of Mercy

It soon became apparent the new owner was the Catholic Diocese of Albany, which planned to use the former hotel as a summer residence for the Sisters of Mercy, nuns who did a tremendous amount of work in the diocese. The old Kushaqua now became known as the Convent of Mercy.

By 1918, the United States was deeply involved in World War I. As casualties began to mount, places of respite were needed where wounded and gassed soldiers could heal and recuperate.

Albany Bishop Thomas Cusack wrote directly to President Woodrow Wilson, offering him the property for these men, giving Wilson a description of the building and grounds.

The government had requested use of hospitals and summer resorts for these men, but nothing came of Cusack’s offer due to its location being far removed from coastal ports, making it too difficult to transport these seriously affected men to the site. Perhaps after gaining possession of the property, Bishop Cusack had now begun to realize just what the diocese had taken on.

The bishop’s prayers were answered when, in 1921, Rev. Simon Forestier, acting for the Missionaries of Our Lady of LaSalette, purchased the property from the Diocese of Albany with the plan that the property be used to train seminarians studying for the priesthood.

Four years later, the structure had been renovated, looking nothing like the original hotel building. For over 20 years, the building acted as a seminary, junior college, and novitiate for this order.

Early on the morning of Oct. 25, 1946, as the seminarians, resident priests, and lay brothers were eating breakfast in the first-floor dining room, the smell of smoke became obvious. A fire, which seemed to have begun in the attic, began raging, spreading rapidly throughout the old wooden building

Fire apparatus quickly rolled in from Altamont, Guilderland Center, and the Army depot. Two trucks were sent out from the Albany City Fire Department.

Even with the arrival of the firemen, within an hour the seminary was consumed by a blaze driven by high winds. Flames were reported to have shot up several hundred feet in the air. Inadequate water supplies simply could not quell the out-of-control blaze in the huge wooden structure.

Fortunately, because all the residents had been downstairs at breakfast when the fire broke out, there were no injuries, but a valuable library was destroyed and all personal property was lost.

The LaSalette Fathers immediately began to rebuild on the site and, in 1953, opened the current building that stands there today. It was used as a seminary until 1979, when the lack of men wishing to enter the priesthood led to a change in the use of the building.

For a time, it was known as LaSalette Christian Life Center and Shrine. But, in 1984, the LaSalette order sold the building and land on the west side of Route 156. Father Peter G. Young began to use it as a treatment center for alcoholics who had been convicted of nonviolent offenses, which operated there for many years.

In 1886, one of Colonel Walter S. Church’s original ads for the Kushaqua emphasized his resort’s healthy location and its role as a recuperative resting place. Twenty-eight years later, Gardner C. Leonard continued to emphasize the proposed golf club’s invigorating, healthy location with dry bracing air.

Today the Peter G. Young Health and Wellness Center continues this long tradition of seeking health there, begun 135 years ago.

 

Post date: 
August 19, 2021

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by John R. Williams

It is something to develop any system and have it last since around 50 B.C., and the Old Men of the Mountain, along with many others, are using this system right now because on Tuesday, Aug. 10, the OMOTM met at Mrs. K’s Restaurant in Middleburgh. (This system is the calendar.)

It was a nice day, uneventful, no floods or natural disasters to contend with as the OFs made it to Mrs. K’s.

It is strange how the weather can have such an effect on the best-laid plans. The OMOTM in the last two years have planned one gathering a year and both times the weather has been very nice.

The OMOTM were discussing how weather can cause a planned event to fail or succeed.

The OFs were talking about the Middleburgh days, and now that the Sunshine Fair is going on in Cobleskill, and the Altamont Fair is coming up, and the upcoming Schoharie Village garage sale, one OF said, “Of these towns, or villages, whoever is planning such an event has to consider how much the weather will affect them.”

Many of the OFs have been on the planning end of such events, or are part of an event planned by others, like fire departments, churches, and schools. Then, on the day of the event, it pours! How discouraging.

As one OF commented, “The next day the sun shines bright.”

Then another OF said, “You guys are all talking about fun things to do. What about listening to the weather report and it sounds so good and some farmer cuts down 100 acres of hay, and it rains all night, and until noon the next day! Happy farming!”

 

Sandman fails

Another topic that came up and was talked about on Tuesday was somewhat unusual because this topic has never been discussed. The scribe can’t remember any discussion on this subject at our breakfasts. The topic: sleeping.

One OF, almost immediately upon sitting down, leaned back in his chair with a long stretch and deep yawn and then announced he did not sleep well last night. The OFs to his right and left said the same thing; they did not sleep well and were tired.

A few others in that area of the table said the same thing. It was a hard night to sleep, and they, too, were tired.

A couple of OFs also said they were tired when they went to bed so they should have fallen right to sleep. What was in the air, Monday night and early Tuesday morning? Did the sandman fail to get up?

It is not that all the OMOTM don’t have air-conditioners, and have to put up with fans, but was Monday night that bad? It is a good thing most, if not all, of the OFs are retired. Suppose they were all truck drivers and the regular drivers met this crowd on the road.

 

Sticky wicket

Ah, sooner or later the discussion would get around to Governor Andrew Cuomo and his resignation. Most of the OGs thought his handling of COVID-19 was pretty good except for that nursing home situation.

Within this group, we are all eligible for that trip. The statement, “Be good to your kids because they get to choose your nursing home” is worth mentioning. The OFs supposed, “Well, maybe they do.”

Anyway, most of the OFs thought we should let the governor finish out his term, but there should always be three or four other people in the room regardless of what Governor Cuomo says.

Another OF said, “This circumstance is a trait of overseas behavior. Look at the French, the Italians (especially the Italians) and those in the Mideast — they are huggers and kissers, right down to their goats.”

What a sticky wicket we have now. COVID is kicking in again. What a mess. This scribe hoped the chatter didn’t get too far into politics and it didn’t; however, it did get into a little of the social side of it and then faded out.

 

Pondering prices

Then the OFs started talking about the price of everything. The OFs thought some of it was price-gouging because the suppliers can get away with it, and other price hikes were just supply and demand.

One OF asked, “Where did all the workers go?”

Another OF replied, “Why work when the government pays you pretty well to stay home?”

A couple of OFs were car shopping; talk about aggressive! One OF said they wanted to take his truck right out from under him, making all kinds of offers.

Another OF said they did take his vehicle in their clutches, and brought around a used one that looked and drove like brand new. The OF said he couldn’t pass that one up.

One OF said he gets many phone calls to trade his vehicle in or outright sell the thing. This OF is beginning to be on a first-name basis with the dealers.

It is changing so fast that some of the OFs said they don’t believe it is all due to the pandemic. The OFs are confused. How can a piece of plywood go from $10 to $13 a sheet just a few months ago to $80 or $90 for that same sheet of plywood today?

The grumbling Old Men of the Mountain grumbled about a lot of things at Mrs. K’s Restaurant in Middleburgh from hugging, to masks, to prices skyrocketing, and those OMOTM who will keep their hands in their pockets to stay out of trouble, were: Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Rick LaGrange, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Ken Parks, Joe Rack, Otis Lawyer, Pete Whitbeck, Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Ed Goff, Russ Pokorny, Gerry Chartier, Bob Donnelly, Dave Hodgetts, Jake Herzog, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Herb Bahrmann, and me.

Post date: 
August 19, 2021

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by John R. Williams

The Old Men of the Mountain have been meeting. However, this scribe picked up some bug that hit like a ton of bricks.

What it is (or was) is unknown. As the doctor said, “You are weird, John.”

This scribe was hit with such pain that, if a jealous lover shot the scribe, the scribe would have replied, “Thank you.”

July 31 is the first day that the scribe has felt like doing anything, and that is not much. (Enough of that.)

The Old Men of the Mountain met on Tuesday, July 20, at the Your Way Café in Schoharie. There is a hint the OMOTM are the OMOTM: Most of what is discussed is old or, if it is current, it is the health of each OF or the health of those the OFs know, but then there is the unusual event of health that happens.

One of the OFs going through a tough time is having chemo treatments. At his last treatment (and the day the Your Way Café was scheduled for the OMOTM breakfast), who was sitting in the chair next to the OF? None other than the owner of the Your Way Café, also having a chemo treatment.

This cancer thing is getting to be a regular club because there seems to be so much of it around. Age does not even seem to matter.

 

Stubborn eagle

One OF called this scribe to report an event that happened to a carload of OFs on their way to the July 20 breakfast at the Your Way Café. This group of OFs travels Route 443 to get to the restaurant and on this route there are some bridges along the way.

The OF who called reported that, as they exited a turn and approached one of the bridges, there in the middle of the bridge “sat” a full-grown eagle. It just sat there and looked at the car approaching.

The driver assumed that it would take off so it wouldn’t get hit, but it didn’t. The eagle just sat there.

The driver said he had to swerve into the oncoming lane to avoid hitting the eagle. Still, the eagle did not move.

The OFs said it did not appear to be hurt or anything like that, nor could the OF see if it was protecting a kill. The driver said he wasn’t going that fast (that can be attested to because he is not that type of driver) but he was going fast enough so that the whole scene could not be absorbed by those in the car.

The driver also commented that, as in military training, if a vehicle were coming, there would have been a cloud of feathers flying around not attached to a bird because he would have hit the eagle instead of having a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle.

In our area, eagles are becoming more common than hawks, or at least appear to be. Reports of OFs spotting these kestrels flying around and paying them a visit right in many of the OFs backyards is becoming routine.

 

Moving mosaic

The OFs look at each other many times a day and see a person but really not a face. In groups such as the OMOTM, it is a phenomenon that faces disappear and it becomes just words and conversations, fingers pointing along at times with show and tell.

Nothing noticeable, only when the OF first appears, and then when the OF leaves. This scribe has noticed this even in large family gatherings.

This scribe is beginning to understand now why some people wear such garish outfits and makeup, particularly the distaff side so they will stand out and be noticed. Soon enough though those dressed lavishly will just become part of the moving mosaic, filling up space in the room.

One time, the OFs discussed this odd topic. As the breakfast goes on, it is just a melting pot of flesh-colored faces with words coming out of the hole in the center.

One OF carried it a step further when he thought even what the OFs are wearing seems to melt into some kind of crazy quilt. This happens even if it is a $2,000 dress, or a $50 pair of bibs.

So it is not what the OFs look like or how they are dressed but what the OFs say that is important.

Those Old Men of the Mountain who were able to make the breakfasts at the restaurants have whereabouts that can be accounted for (if any misbehaving went on, it wasn’t these OFs, at least not on Tuesday mornings the 20th and the 27th of July).

On the July 20, the OFs were at the Your Way Café and they were: Robie Osterman, Mark Traver, Marty Herzog, Bill Lichliter, Roger Schafer, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Jack Norray, Herb Bahrmann, Lou Schenck, Elwood Vanderbilt, Rich Vanderbilt, Bob Donnelly, Bob Fink with guest Josh Hundley, Pete Whitbeck, Joe Rack, Duncan Bellinger, Rick LaGrange, Jake Herzog, and not me.

The OFs accounted for on Tuesday morning, July 27, were at the Chuck Wagon Diner; the rest of the time they are fair game for the police, bill collectors, ex-wives, kids returning home, or whoever is after them, and they were:  Miner Stevens, George Washburn, Glenn Patterson, Marty Herzog, Bill Lichliter, Roger Schafer, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Jack Norray, Lou Schenck, Russ Pokorny, Gerry Chartier, Paul Whitbeck, Rich Vanderbilt, Bob Donnelly, Pete Whitbeck, Joe Rack, Rick LaGrange, Jake Herzog, Dave Hodgetts, and again not me.

Post date: 
August 5, 2021

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by Hyun Ah Michelle Yoon

Naps can give us the boost of energy we need to power through a long day. While there have been plenty of studies that support the benefits of napping, as with all things, napping should be done in moderation.

In this column, we’ll explore the “ideal” nap as well as the benefits and the drawbacks of napping. When describing the “ideal” nap, it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact time of day it should be done and precisely what length it should be.

An “ideal” nap can be influenced by a variety of factors including age, time of day, a person’s sleep need, quality of sleep the person gets regularly, whether a person is an early bird or a night owl, and the person’s normal sleep-wake cycle.

However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has narrowed it down for us. The CDC recommends either shorter 15- to 30-minute naps or longer one-hour to one-hour-and-a-half naps to improve daytime wakefulness.

Longer naps are more recommended for people who have long work shifts or experience inconsistent sleep. Shorter naps are recommended for the general population. According to the National Institute on Aging, these naps should occur in the early afternoon for a person to experience the full benefits of a nap.

Studies have shown that short naps (30 minutes or less) in the afternoon not only help us feel more awake but also actually improve our ability to perform and learn. Napping in adults can boost logical reasoning abilities and reaction time, studies show.

It also has been shown to improve mood and help people feel like they’re performing better even if there’s no change in their actual performance. If you’d like to reap the full benefits of a nap, studies have shown it’s best to drink a caffeinated beverage afterwards to further increase subjective feelings of wakefulness and help improve performance.

Other studies have shown that short naps, less than 30 minutes, during the day are associated with lower rates of metabolic and cardiovascular disorders and may protect people from certain health conditions.

It is important to note that some studies have found that napping excessively has been associated with certain medical conditions. However, it has not been proven whether this is due to napping or if the tendency to nap longer is a result of these conditions.

A major downside of napping, especially for longer periods of time, 30 minutes or more, is sleep inertia. Sleep inertia occurs right after we wake up and is characterized as a person having decreased performance, wakefulness, and increased inclination to go back to sleep.

Because of this, it’s recommended to take some time to “wake up” after a long nap before returning to any rigorous or attention-sensitive tasks. The National Institute of Aging also recommends avoiding napping in the late afternoon or evening because it can interfere with sleeping at an appropriate time at night.

Naps aren’t as simple as we may have thought they were. A variety of factors influence whether we have a “good” nap.

However, in general, much evidence supports shorter 15- to 30-minute naps in the early afternoon having a beneficial effect on our physical and mental health. It’s important to highlight that, as great as naps may be to temporarily improve cognitive function and our alertness, naps can never replace a good night’s sleep.

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Community Caregivers Inc. is a not-for-profit organization that provides nonmedical services, including transportation and caregiver support, at no charge to residents of Guilderland, Bethlehem, Altamont, New Scotland, Berne, Knox, and the city of Albany through a strong volunteer pool of dedicated individuals with a desire to assist their neighbors. Its funding is derived in part from the Albany County Department for Aging, the New York State Office for the Aging, and the United Administration on Aging. Community Caregivers also provides services by phone in Rensselaer County to reduce isolation and make referrals for other needed services.

Editor’s note: Hyun Ah Michelle Yoon is a Community Caregivers’ student volunteer, slated to graduate from Albany Medical College in 2024.

Post date: 
August 5, 2021

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by Frank L. Palmeri

— Photo from Frank L. Palmeri

Jackson, Frank L. Palmeri’s grandson, “gets so thrilled about everything,” he says.

“Never have children, only grandchildren.” — Gore Vidal

Due to the pandemic slowly getting under control — thank God for those vaccines — I’ve been able to see my 2-year-old grandson Jackson more and more lately. Seeing him on video chat during the long lost COVID year was better than nothing, but actually being able to hold him and play with him again has been like a breath of fresh air. I feel alive again.

Whenever I see him, if the weather is nice, I prefer for us to play in the backyard. Being outside getting dirty is what little boys — and even big boys known as grandfathers — are meant to do. What’s funny is, whenever Jackson goes from one thing to the next, like from the dirt pile to the wading pool, he always runs. When I told this to my daughter, she said: “He doesn’t have any time to waste!” Think about that for a moment.

Here’s a 2-year-old boy who is so thrilled to be outside with his grandfather running and jumping and playing around that he has no choice but to run excitedly between things. He has so much energy and gets so thrilled about everything. A bug, an errant ball, or a stick of wood can totally captivate him. When was the last time you were that excited? The last time for me was probably when I walked my daughter down the aisle at her wedding. Good thing I didn’t run then!

We can really learn a lot from Jackson, especially during these chaotic days of COVID, “fake news,” climate change, etc. For example, the other day he was peeling a banana. He came upon a brown spot in the banana, so he picked it off and gave it to me. He’s smart enough to know that it’s OK to give the brown spot in your banana to your grandfather. No one had to tell him that’s what grandfathers are for. I like that.

In this country we get up early, get to the office or the job site, and bust our tails until closing time. Not Jackson. He is full of energy all the time, yet at 1 p.m. he goes down for a nap. He doesn’t chug a Red Bull or down two cups of strong black coffee to keep going all day like many of us do. He knows there’s a time for play and a time for rest. Good for him. At two he already has more wisdom than many of us.

Jackson has a few favorite TV shows, like “Thomas the Tank Engine,” the classic British kids show, and “Stinky and Dirty,” about two best friends, one a garbage truck and one an excavator. But that’s about all the TV he watches. He’s outside whenever he can be, or playing with his trucks and trains, or reading a book. Limiting TV time — thanks, Mom and Dad — is a great way to get kids to do real-world things that they’ll enjoy and remember for a long time.

Like me, Jackson is a voracious reader. He probably has a hundred books. I never had that many, but I made up for it by reading cereal boxes and things like that. His parents don’t take a daily newspaper, though. How is he supposed to read the comics? I’ll have to figure that one out for him, I guess. But Jackson will often just grab a book off the shelf, plop himself in your lap, and expect you to read it to him. Nothing better than that. In fact, it’s an absolute joy.

Jackson, even at 2, has an amazing vocabulary. My daughter and son-in-law have done a great job of reading to him and interacting with him in many different ways. The other day, we were sitting at the kitchen table and he just blurted out, “Are you kidding me?” and laughed his head off. I thought that was great. Kids really do say the darndest things. Many times he will just randomly tell you “I love you,” often accompanied by a big hug. If that doesn’t melt your heart, nothing will.

Sometimes Jackson will drop what he’s doing, yell out, “Let’s run!” and then just take off. I’ve seen him do endless loops between the living room and kitchen that would make your head spin. So much pure joy and energy. My thing when I was his age — yes, I really can remember that far back — was jumping up and down in my crib, over and over and over, to the point where my parents had to move me to a bed because they thought I’d jump out of the crib and kill myself. All I can say is, and I’m sure Jackson would corroborate, is it’s just a lot of fun and exciting to be an energetic little boy with a whole big world to explore.

There was a time during the height of the pandemic when we were allowed to see Jackson only outside, and had to maintain a six-foot distance. Of course that was awkward but it was better than nothing. At one point, Jackson told his mom he wanted Grandma and Grandpa to come inside the house to play. He knew something was wrong, poor guy.

Once, he was trying to get up onto a hammock. He looked at me with those big eyes and said “Grandpa, help!” Don’t tell my daughter, but I reached out and helped him up. I know it was wrong and I’ll probably get yelled at but what can you do.

To see the circle of life continue as you interact with your grandkids is a supreme pleasure for sure. I even said to my daughter that I wish Jackson could stay age 2 forever. Of course, I’m not the one changing diapers, so there’s that I know, but still. Enjoy your grandkids if you are lucky enough to have them.

P.S. Just when I though “America’s Mayor” had completely lost his mind, I found this gem from Rudy Giuliani: “What children need the most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, and lessons in life.”

Thanks, Rudy. At least we agree on one thing.

Post date: 
August 5, 2021

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