To the Editor:

I’m excited to welcome all the newcomers to the town of New Scotland. Over the past few years, there have been scores of new additions to our community, and development around Hilton Road promises many fresh faces in the months to come.

On behalf of the many New Scots who’ve been in this area for generations, let me be among the first to say we’re happy to have you. Join us in falling in love with this cozy little neighborhood!

It’s hard to integrate into a community with so many entrenched relationships, especially when we’ve lived and loved one another since our first bus ride off to kindergarten. But by entering our fold, your children will experience the same neighborly support that we count among our blessings.

I first met my husband back in grade school. It took me a while to realize he was the one I wanted to grow old with but, since we married back in 2011, I’ve never looked back. I’m proud to have entered a family that has tended to the fields of Lime Kiln Farm for five generations now (over 100 years!).

It’s a legacy we renew time and again by working alongside our neighbors. For example, Lime Kiln Farm proudly grows the grain you’ll taste next year when the local craft whiskey company finally brings its bottles to market after half a decade.

The owner of New Scotland Spirits and my husband weren’t just classmates; they also shared the same bus route (Route 6!) as it snaked its way to school every morning. When they got older, they drove each other to school when they invariably lost their driving privileges due to all sorts of mischief they’d better not discuss with my children!

My kids have joined those of at least 12 of my former schoolmates in the same halls I used to wander between classes. It’s been that way for decades. Together, we can ensure it will be that way for years to come.

At a time when our country feels more divided than ever, it’s reassuring that, despite our differences and disagreements, New Scotland will forever keep us secure in the bond of family.

That is, of course, if we make that our priority.

On Friday, Oct. 15, the candidates for New Scotland Town Board will appear at a live forum hosted by this newspaper to discuss their platforms. I’ll be looking for those candidates who commit to being stewards of a small town, and who will work to preserve family farming for another hundred years.

Maintaining the intimacy of our town is important. We’re lucky to have that shared sense of purpose. I always enjoy trips to neighboring towns in Albany County, but New Scotland is different. It’s special. Its history is the common thread that entwines us all.

My children work the same fields their father works, as did his father before him, and his father before him, and his father before him! New Scotland is a land of opportunity for those who capitalize on its chief resource: community.

You new arrivals are a part of that community now, so get out there and explore. And shop local!  

Check out Gracie’s Kitchen and Windowbox Café. Tour Indian Ladder Farms and the Altamont Vineyard & Winery. Dive into Jaycees Pizza, Pizza by Dominick, and Brick House Pizza. Sample the wares at Wren and Rail (when it reopens next season), Emma Cleary’s, and Our Family’s Harvest.  

New Scotland is home to dental and veterinary clinics, woodworkers, auto mechanics, a hair salon, a butcher, a full-service athletic gym, a wonderful library, and the good people at Corner Gateway Printing and Shipping.

It’s only a matter of time before someone reopens the Tastee Treat, and spend an afternoon at the newly-reopened New Scotland Historical Association so you can understand all the hubbub about Smitty’s.

I’m most excited about the potential of the Hilton Barn, which town officials worked diligently to preserve at little expense to the taxpayer by finding funds from state and county resources. Situated on the Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail and right next to the Bender Melon Farm, this community treasure promises to be a true local resource. I commend the town board for preserving the Hilton Barn as a staple of New Scotland’s colorful history.

At Friday’s forum and during these final two weeks of campaigning, I ask the candidates for town board to describe their view of New Scotland and their plan to preserve it. And thanks to the contenders and incumbents alike as they campaign to be our hometown’s public servants.

That’s the great thing about New Scotland — we may be Republicans, we may be Democrats, but first and foremost we’re neighbors.

Rebecca Miller

New Scotland