FEURA BUSH – "Vly Creek Boys will shine tonight"" are the words that the Vly Creek Quartet will sing as it enchants those who venture out for this year’s Plum Fest festivities Saturday in Feura Bush.

The annual festival – named because the town of New Scotland is plum in the middle of Albany County – celebrates a different hamlet in town each year. Sponsored by the town and the New Scotland Historical Association, the Feura Bush Plum Fest will feature games, food, music, sales, hikes, a parade, a health clinic, and historic tours.

The Vly Creek Boys will provide the traditional harmonies of a barbershop quartet.

John Griffen has been singing with the quartet for five or six years, he told The Enterprise. He said it all began when the Voorheesville school started a musical cabaret . Ken George, a guidance counselor at the school, who has since retired, wanted to give the cabaret an "all ages" feel, Griffen said.

This is how the Vly Creek Boys started up.
Griffen is the only member who has been singing with the boys since the start. George "wimped out; he says he can’t sing the high notes," Griffen said.
The group now consists of Griffen, Bob Andrews, William Morrison, and Laura "Larry" Minnock. "Larry" now sings the high notes, Griffen said.
"We wear black pants with white socks with them rolled up in case the creek rises," he quipped.

The group will be performing from 11 a.m. until noon Saturday. They will start in the park and end up at the church.
"If we see a crowd, that’s where we’ll go" Unless they can run faster than we can," Griffen joked.
The group plays classic tunes, and Griffen said, "The newest thing we got is probably a 1920 copyright."
"We have a ball doing it," he concluded.

Creble House

The Creble House will be recognized as a local landmark at the Plum Fest activites on Saturday.

The house was built in 1901 by Francis Creble. When Creble retired in 1899, he and his wife, Sarah Callahan Creble, bought the property where the house still stands, across from thee Houghtaling’s Market. They hired some builders from Altamont who worked on the construction of the house over the next two years. Creble spent $13,000 on the construction, which at the time was a large sum of money.

John Heere, of South Bethlehem, moved to the Creble House with his family in 1939. Heere grew up there with his brother and sister, and his parents and grandparents.
"My brother and sister, we three grew up there with a great feeling of contentment," he said.
"It’s a big house," he said. There are approximately 15 rooms.

His parents, William and Willhelmina, were in the painting and decorating business, and were very proud of the house, he said.

They moved out in 1971.

Heere said he was invited to the house by the current owners, Mary Anne Barry and Paul Hauschen, a few months ago.
"I was very hesitant going over; I thought it would be very different," he told The Enterprise. But, he said, to his surprise, it has been kept very close to how he remembers it from his childhood.
"It’s one of a kind," he said.

Fun for kids

This year’s Plum Fest will offer many activities for children to enjoy.

Mr. Bouncety Bounce will be located in the Feura Bush Park to bring smiles and laughter to the faces of children who hop on.

There will also be kite-flying, kick ball, games and a petting zoo located at the park.

Also, there will be a parade for kids in the afternoon.

The section of Route 32 at Western Avenue and New Scotland Avenue will be closed during the parade, which will start at 3:45 p.m. and run until about 4:15 p.m.

Julie Nooney, who has organized the parade, encourages kids to come and walk or ride their bikes, scooters, or wagons along with the Onesquethaw Fire Company in the parade.
The parade will journey "around the Mathias Place, Orchard Street, New Scotland Avenue loop, concluding at the Town Park," Nooney said.
Nooney said that she will be decorating and setting up in the town park beginning at 3:15 p.m. "We’ll line up and wait for the fire truck," she said. That is the signal to start the parade.

Everyone is invited to participate, she said; just show up at the town park. Participants will receive a surprise at the end of the parade, she said.

Health clinic

A new addition at this year’s Plum Fest is a health clinic.

It will be located in the pavilion at the park.

Susan Kidder, New Scotland’s senior liaison, has organized the events at the clinic. She has lined up quite a few providers who will hand out information on various health issues, she said.

Hospice will be there with two masseuses for anyone who needs a little muscle relaxation, she said.
Kidder said the location for the clinic is great because all the children’s activities are also located in the park. "While the kids are playing in the park, mom and dad can get info on how to keep themselves and their families healthy," she said.

Besides informing people on how to keep healthy, Four Corners Pharmacy will have representatives available to take blood pressures.

Kidder will also have a sign-up list for the Feura Bush Plum Fest Blood Drive.
Unfortunately, the local Red Cross does not have a mobile unit. "They haven’t had a bus in 10 years," she said.

Therefore, the blood drive will be held at the New Scotland Town Hall on Route 85 Sept. 29 from 1 to 7 p.m., she said.
"Two reds are better than one," Kidder said, is a new program encouraging larger blood donations. It takes about 10 minutes longer than a normal draw, and draws two units as opposed to one, she said.

This doubles the amount of red blood cells, and donors give every 112 days instead of 56 days, Kidder explained.

For more information on the blood drive, contact Kidder at Town Hall, 439-9038, or call the supervisor’s office at 439-4889.