On Tuesday, Nov. 8, another gorgeous day, the Old Men of the Mountains met at the Chuck Wagon Diner, on Route 20 in Princetown.
The election weather was going to be nice, at least in our part of the country. This should make for a good turnout. Some of the OFs had already voted before the breakfast and others were going to vote right after.
One OF was working the polls, so another OF ordered a breakfast sandwich and delivered it to the one at the polls. Even though he was “working” at the polls, should we consider him an absentee at the breakfast? The rules will have to be checked for this.
The OFs had a good discussion on weight and weight control at the breakfast table and, looking at some of the breakfasts ordered, it must be that, for some of the OFs, it is only the one meal for the day.
It was discussed that even people who do not have diabetes could consider following the diabetes diet. Those OFs who do eat that way say it is a very bland diet, with no salt and many food items not allowed, especially sweets and many types of bread. What fun is there in that?
One OF thought that eating is for health and sustenance and not supposed to be fun. Say what!
At our age, for many of the OFs, eating is the only fun we have left. Sex is out, hiking is out, driving fast (if driving at all) is out, skydiving is really gone, scuba diving — forget that, but the OFs can still raise a knife and fork.
Summer stretches on
Some of the OFs are still mowing their lawns because the grass is still growing. One OF reported that the bees are even now working what flowers that are still around, and lady bugs are all over the place, at least up on the Hill.
One OF reported that, while sitting at the kitchen table, the lady bugs would seem to drop out of nowhere. He exclaimed, “It is particularly frustrating when they fall in my coffee cup while I am still drinking it.
Another OF mentioned that he was getting ready to shave and reached for the soap and it moved. The OF said he snapped his hand back and said to himself, “What the heck is that?” There were three live lady bugs trapped in the soap and those bugs were really ticked off.
These bugs are portrayed as cute little things (and they are) with their red wings with the black dots, but these suckers can bite.
How best to teach kids
The OFs do not remember dunce caps, but they do remember being put on a stool in the corner in school if and when they acted up. The OFs don’t know if they do that today or not.
One OF remembered a teacher in Schoharie who was a former United States Marine and then went on to become a teacher, and it was a good idea not to fool around in his class. This teacher had his own idea of the dunce cap and that was to have the one misbehaving stand in the front of the class with his or her arms outstretched until they felt like they were going to fall off.
This ex-Marine was a good teacher; the kids knew and understood what was going to be on a test, and this Marine was not afraid to hand out “A’s”
One OF said that the kids today get awards even when they lose. The OFs don’t quite understand that.
One OF said, “If you are in something to win, why bother when you are going to get an award even if you don’t try?”
Another OF said he did not think that was really the gist of it; this OF thought it was the perception of self-esteem that some kids are never going to be winners but should be rewarded for effort and at least trying their best. In their minds, this will make them a winner of sorts.
An OF said he can see this in some situations but not all. Some other OFs agreed but they did not elucidate as to what the differences were — sports, art, music, academics — or who was participating.
One OF liked the idea of having the smart kids in a smart class where they could be challenged. This OF thought the schools are dumbing down to the lowest common denominator. This is why we are being left behind by other countries.
This OF said he was in the slow class, and turned out alright, and had more fun in school than the egg heads. Another OF summed it up by saying that the ones running the show want to throw everyone in the same basket; however, people are different and there should be many baskets, but all baskets should be the same. Somehow this scribe understands that.
Bygone models
The OFs talked about the cars they have had and the names of some are really weird. Some of them they just rode in because they never could afford them — just like today.
The Duesenberg, Hudson, White, Whippet, Reo (truck), Studebaker, Packard, Willys, Nash, Hupmobile, Vauxhall, the Brewster with its bat-wing fenders and heart-shaped grill. Stanley Steamer, Franklin, Jack Benny’s Maxwell, Checker the yellow cab, the little Bantam, Auburn, the Kaiser with its double-arched windshield — these are just a few the OFs came up with and now these vehicles are no longer made.
Some the OFs could describe but could not come up with the names. Then there was the Tucker but that is another story. Probably those reading this can come up with some that are not listed. The OFs were not talking about the companies still manufacturing cars, like Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and the like.
Those OFs who motored to the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princeton Tuesday morning, in cars with names just as strange only with names in languages from all over the world, were: Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Roger Chapman, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Wayne Gaul, Ted Feurer, Roger Shafer, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Gerry Irwin, Glenn Patterson, (the OFs wish him good luck on his hip replacement,) Mark Traver, Jack Norray, Otis Lawyer, Mace Porter, Andy Tinning, Elwood Vanderbilt, Jim Rissacher, Marty Herzog, Gerry Chartier, Mike Willsey, Ted Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
When there are things to do and people to see on a repeat basis, the day that these activities are to to take place seems to roll around so quickly, the week seems to have only three days. So it is with Tuesdays.
The Old Men of the Mountain met Tuesday, the first day of November, at the Duanesburg Diner in Duanesburg. Wasn’t yesterday Tuesday? The day pops up much faster than a Thursday.
In a previous column, an OF mentioned the Army Air Corps. Another OF said it should have been the Army Air Force.
This information sent this scribe to the net to check it out. Like anything with government involvement, it became very convoluted. The OFs were each half right.
It was the United States Army Air Corps. from 1926 to 1941.* (That asterisk is where the confusion lies.) The Air Corps was discontinued on March 9, 1942 but in paperwork only it continued to exist as a branch of the Army (similar to the infantry, quartermaster, or artillery) until the reorganization act of 1947.
It took two years to complete the transfer of all military and civilian personnel to the Department of Defense and be called just the Air Force. So it became the USAF on June 22, 1949.
The semantics of this type of information is what makes discussions and arguments go on forever, both sides using their points and refusing to budge. As said, both are right, and both are wrong.
However, the patch was changed from the three-bladed propeller, to the wings and star in March 1942, which would help the argument of the U.S. Air Force being used while it was still a division of the Army until 1949. During the limbo period of 1942 to 1949, it was called the USAAF: United States Army Air Force. And, in 1949, the “Army” was dropped. Now you know the rest of the story.
Figuring inflation
The OFs tried to compute the price of inflation and what many items cost today. Many OFs mentioned what they paid for their first homes in the early forties and middle fifties and what the same house would go for today.
The OFs also included vehicles, and some items of clothing. Then, of course, there was the price of having a baby in the late forties, and early fifties and what it costs today. Within this topic, education and medicine were mentioned.
To the OFs, the current price of many products and services seems to far exceed the rate of inflation. Somehow we need a good reporter in the paper to scope this out and write an article in simple terms that the OFs can understand. Along with this, it was suggested large jumps in pay could be justified.
Growing up with bullies
The OFs took on the subject of bullying. Many of the OFs (this scribe included) said they had to contend with bullies and it was part of growing up,
And, as far as the conversation went, the OFs dealt with it, some with help and some by themselves. Only a few had to deal with gang bullying of a sort that was hard.
Is this something that has really gotten out of hand and with the advent of the internet a more serious threat? The OFs did not have to deal with that.
They met the bullying head on; if it was the physical kind, it would be similar to Ralphie in “A Christmas Story.” The mental type is a harder battle to win; the OFs thought this was the type you really needed help on.
The OFs also thought many of those who were bullied turned out better later on in life because of the experience than the one doing the bullying. The OFs could not remember anyone with physical or mental handicaps being bullied, but as one OF said: Back then, they were mostly in institutions and not out in harm’s way.
One OF said that the OFs had to remember we were in small schools, with small classes, and anyone who started out bullying only had to do it a couple of times and they were well taken care of and wouldn’t even think of continuing on with the practice.
Sharing fears
Along with this was another topic which came up later but is related because it is a problem the OFs deal with and work their way through — phobias.
The OFs talked about some of the phobias they have like claustrophobia, and acrophobia, and whatever name they attach to the phobia of bridges.
One OF mentioned that, when he drives over a bridge, his hands grip the wheel so tight that, if he were much stronger, he would crush the steering wheel. The OF said he looks straight ahead and is sure he does not blink. Some bridges he even slows down a bit before starting across.
Fear of flying was another one, and an OF said that this was more common than people think. Another OF added that he hates closed-in, tight places and thought that this might add to the fear of flying; it is not the flying but being closed in that the OF said was his problem.
All these OFs, though scared silly, did fly, and did drive over bridges. The OFs also talked about their fear (and this scribe began to get the feeling it was more a dislike than actual fear) of snakes, bats, and spiders. On the Hill, these critters are a part of the landscape and most who live there learned to cope with them.
Those OFs who made it to the Duanesburg Diner in Duanesburg and ate well even though they had to drive off a bridge to get there were: Robie Osterman, Miner Stevens, Roger Chapman, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Bill Lichliter, Roger Shafer (who is going to be playing and singing at Mrs. K’s on the 17th of this month), Harold Guest, John Rossmann, Jack Norray (who again brought flags for the Duanesburg Diner), Wayne Gaul, Mace Porter, Glenn Patterson, Otis Lawyer, Mark Traver, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Elwood Vanderbilt, Richard Vanderbilt, Mike Willsey, Gerry Chartier, Ted Willsey, Jim Rissacher, Henry Whipple, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
On this Tuesday morning, it was reported again that around 6:30 to 7 a.m. the wildlife was very active and out running around. No time to be late for work and scurrying down the highway because our friendly critters are out there scurrying too. It may be the weather, because it was a tad chilly on Oct. 25 and the wildlife likes this weather so they become a little perkier.
Tuesday morning, an OF used a statement that the OF must have read from one of these cute signs that are on a lot of refrigerator doors, or hung in many restaurants, because a perfect time came in one of the discussions where the OF could use this little ditty: “If I thought you were right, that would make both of us wrong.”
That is another witticism that can be stored is some gray cell to use at the appropriate time in a discussion, particularly one on politics.
The OFs seemed in a nostalgic frame of mind. They went back in time (the 1940s and ’50s) to when Schenectady was a completely different city. Some mentioned how much the city has changed physically on State Street and Erie Boulevard.
One OF mentioned that it now looks a lot like what they did in Oneonta years ago, with landscaping and benches and lighting. The OFs said it is still not the old Schenectady when the Carl Co., Wallace Armer, Woolworth, and Grants were in full bloom and in business in the city.
The OFs remembered getting your change from vacuum tubes that ran around the store. One OF thought Wallace Armer had the tube run around on a trolley system. The Carl Co. had an elevator with an elevator operator.
The OFs also remember people walking all over the city, especially State Street, Erie Boulevard, and Broadway. There were many active stores from the Van Curler Hotel, up the hill all the way to the park. Going to Schenectady was more fun than going to Albany.
Bad ads
Again, the OFs discussed the political ads on TV. They are so nauseating.
With the ads running continuously and saying nothing, the OFs think both major parties want us not to vote because they think a low turnout will favor them; therefore, they run these vile ads to get the populace so fed up they stay home.
Whoop!
A fellow stopped in the restaurant not to eat but to get directions. Whoop!
Asking directions from this group, which requires four guys in a car each Tuesday morning just to be sure to find the restaurant where the breakfast is going to be, is one big mistake. But the OFs were nice and only let three or four OFs give the lost soul directions.
The directions sounded correct to this scribe and this scribe knows a little bit about the village so it made sense. The OFs hope the gentleman finds Bridge Street.
One OF said, “Did you ever think, when giving directions in a case like this to a complete stranger, that you might be giving directions to somebody who does not have the best intent on doing whatever he is going to do when he gets to where he is going?”
No, was the collective answer.
Droning on
Drones were another topic of discussion. These new toys are becoming more than toys.
One OF said that some youngsters are making platforms with the drones under them and flying them by standing on the platform. The OF said that these daredevils now are going as high as 50 to 60 feet in the air, and maneuvering them by leaning on them one way or the other and leaning forward to go faster. Then they seem to be using the radio controls to hover and go up and down.
Some of the OFs said, if they were younger, this looks like it would be fun. Some OFs did not know if these were truly drones, or an improvement on the boards that were used awhile back, using fans and Venturi tubes to direct the flow. (Giovanni Battista Venturi (1746–1822), was an Italian physicist. The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section — or choke — of a pipe. So says Google).
Who knows, maybe this is how we will be visiting our friends and neighbors in the future. “That is until something else comes along,” an OF said.
One OF thought they can only be used in good weather, it can’t be raining, or too windy. That is right for reasonable people, but kids think they are never going to die or get hurt and when these things become popular the kids will use them in a snow storm.
Blind spots
Apparently there was an accident in front of the Carrot Barn, which is only a few miles down the road toward Route 7 from the Your Way Café and it brought up a pretty good discussion on how many blind spots there are on the roadways. The OFs started listing some that are really bad.
One was the intersection on Route 443, where county Route 1 (Switzkill Road) crosses 443 just west of the Berne town park. Vehicles heading east on 443 and coming over the little knoll by the cemetery have to be particularly leery when approaching this intersection. When vehicles crossing 443 at this intersection, the sight distance to the top of that rise — the OFs guess — is only about 100 feet or so.
Another bad spot is from the optical illusion on Beebe Road in the town of Knox. Beebe Road appears to continue without a road crossing it. Route 146 (which is the main road) has an intersection where Beebe road crosses, and to strangers driving Beebe it appears like 146 isn’t even there until the driver is upon it and sees the stop sign.
One OF remarked, “If he even sees the stop sign!”
The optical illusion, this OF thinks, relaxes the driver enough not to even expect road or sign.
The OFs talked about many other risky areas, especially driveways that enter the road at dangerous locations.
Driving is a challenge: animals that can’t read, bikes that play car and ride in the middle of the road, dead limbs that can fall out of tree at anytime, drivers texting who don’t even notice what lane they are in, and then the OFs with their legs that don’t work and only one eye— they are all out there. It is pure luck anybody gets to where they are going.
The Old Men of the Mountain who accepted the challenge of driving, drove to the Your Way Café in Schoharie and these OFs were: Miner Stevens, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Roger Shafer, Wayne Gaul, Lou Schenck, Sonny Mercer, Ray Kennedy, Roger Chapman, Don Wood, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Greg Hawk, John Jasniewski, Ted Feurer, Jim Rissacher, Marty Herzog, Elwood Vanderbilt, Mike Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
It was an unbelievable Tuesday morning on Oct. 18. Some of the Old Men of the Mountain were at the Country Café in Schoharie in shorts and sandals. All were in short sleeves later on as some came with jackets but removed them when it became really warm as the morning wore on.
Global warming was dismissed because, the OFs said, we have been here before (meaning the temperature) but wearing shorts and sandals in the Northeast in the middle of October?
Some of the OFs said they are stocking up on ammunition, and some are upgrading their guns. These are OFs who are hunters, and a few are avid hunters. The OFs feel that this sport will be taken away along with many of our other freedoms as time goes on.
“But,” one OF said, “how long do you expect to live? Why are you even worrying about it? The revolution has already started — get me off this planet. I don’t want to go through all the hassle of learning Chinese or Arabic.”
Greetings
A few of the OFs come up with clever ways of answering greetings of the day with salutations that are really funny. A couple of weeks ago, one was reported as the greeting.
This week the retort was in reply to a greeting. The reply was, “Oh I am better now, but I have been worse.”
That sums it up in a nutshell for the OFs — we are better now but we have been worse.
Respect for our flag
Thanks to one OMOTM, the OMOTM are handing out six American flags in small wooden stands to all the restaurants the OMOTM visit. The restaurants can use them in their table settings, or they can give them to other people who visit their restaurant, or they can take the flags home for themselves.
The OMOTM not only appreciate and respect the flag, but also all the restaurants that put up with us on Tuesday mornings.
No aid to hearing
Over and over again the OFs discuss hearing aids; some wear them to the breakfast but have to turn them off. It seems that virtually none of them work in these situations.
It makes no difference if the hearing aids come from Wal-Mart, or a real high-class hearing-aid place where a hearing aid is no larger than a quarter and can cost thousands of dollars. To the OFs, neither one works any better than the other.
One OF who has nerve deafness, and it has impaired his hearing since he was a kid, said that, when he was inducted into the Army, they gave him a hearing test. The nerve deafness, of course, showed up but that did not deter the military from conscripting the OF.
The OF said, “And where did they put me? They trained me and made me a radio operator!”
To which the other OFs said, “Radio operator? A deaf guy as a radio operator?”
“Yep,” the OF said. “It was a good thing that deafness is all that it was; if I had bad vision, they probably would have put me in the Army Air Corps as a pilot.” (Scribe’s note, you can tell our ages by our use of the term Army Air Corps, the forerunner of the Air Force.)
No why required
Some of the OFs attend auctions, or go to flea markets. Many of the items that go up for sale at auctions or are on tables at flea markets, the OFs use on a routine basis at home. Tuesday morning, the OFs talked about some of the acquisitions they have recently purchased.
“Why,” some of the OFs inquired, “do you buy all this old junk?”
Like many things in life, why the OFs do this or that does not have much of a rationale — the OFs just do it. To the OFs, it doesn’t require a why.
Where are the bugs?
The OFs were commenting on the lack of bugs this year, and the lack of hornets. A few stink bugs, a few lady bugs, no earwigs; ants are still around but seemed normal.
Maybe it is our location; maybe other areas are inundated with bugs but for the Hilltowns and surrounding areas not much. This is at least by observations of the OFs, and we all know how that goes since the vision or hearing of this group could be greatly improved upon.
“However,” one OF said, “maybe my glasses are thick, but I know when I get stung, or bit, and that has not happened this year.”
Another OF mentioned that the honey bees seem to be more prevalent than the last couple of years, thank goodness. The OF said that, on his walks, the white and blue pearly everlastings were humming with bees.
One OF offered the suggestion that it might be because of the mild winter. These bugs kept waking up, and then got put back into the deep freeze so frequently that they had no time to reproduce, and, when or if they did, the young froze before they could develop.
But, then again, that is just a guess; what do I know? Only that we need bugs if we are going to have birds to help pollination.
Pirate ship in dry dock
Briefly mentioned were pirates and pirates’ ships, due to the interest of one OF. The OFs were not concerned about treasures or treasure maps, just the pirates, and their ship, and maybe the “plank.”
The ship has reached a point in construction and has apparently stopped. This may be that the interest of Captain Jack has waned, or the “Black Pearl” is lying on the bottom of the sea cavorting with the “Little Mermaid” and not bringing in any plunder.
Either way the OFs’ pirate ship still sits in dry dock.
The crew for the pirate ship showed up this morning at the Country Café in Schoharie and they were: Miner Stevens, Bill Lichliter, Harold Guest, Roger Chapman, George Washburn, Robie Osterman, Chuck Aelesio, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Otis Lawyer, Richard Frank, Roger Shafer, Ted Feurer, Wayne Gaul, Sonny Mercer, Ray Kennedy, Lou Schenck, Mace Porter, Jack Norray, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Marty Herzog, Jim Rissacher, Warren Willsey, Mike Willsey, Gerry Chartier, Elwood Vanderbilt, Randy Foretuin, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
The breakfast for the Old Men of the Mountain was held Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the restaurant called Mrs. K’s in Middleburgh.
Many of the OFs like going to Mrs. K’s because the proprietor was a classmate of some and she is like a female counterpart to the OFs. She still rises early in the morning, works hard, and is the same age as many OFs. Since she’s known many of the OFs from when they were still in knickers, she takes no snot from any of them.
The OFs were talking about their annual flu shots, which most of them get. It was being bantered around that a few of the OFs have heard that older people should get their flu shots later this year.
None of the OFs who were talking about this knew the reason why. The OFs offering the advice of taking the shot later because of this information had no takers.
The OFs said, for the most part, the shot works for them, and they have not had the flu, so they were going to take the shot when they always take the shot, or when their doctors advise them to, not when some OF tells them it is time.
Evacuating to France
Hurricane Matthew was a topic that kept creeping into the conversations. Almost all the OFs knew of someone who was in the way of this nasty weather.
One OF has a friend who lives near Hilton Head, South Carolina. So out of concern the OF emailed this friend to see how he was doing. The OF said he received a reply in a couple of hours that he was OK and in France.
The OF said his friend’s message was they were given plenty of advanced notice and then a mandatory evacuation was issued, so they evacuated to France, and that is where the OF’s friend was at that time of the emails.
One OF said, “Well now, that is what I call an evacuation escape route.”
While the people along the coast are having all those awful weather conditions, we in the Hilltowns are having a gorgeous fall. The OFs can imagine the destruction because of what our area went through with Irene, only Matthew came in on a much larger scale.
Some of the OFs have homes in the affected areas and they are up here with all the other OFs at breakfast. Those OFs have checked with friends and all reported that their homes are fine. This is good news to all the OFs.
Being prepared
All this prompted another conversation on how prepared the OFs are in case some really bad catastrophe comes along like the time the whole East Coast was without power. The OFs mentioned that they are more prepared now than they were then with generators (the whole house type) and the smaller portable ones.
They have food in cans and mom’s type canning to last for quite awhile. Many of the OFs have prepared like this for years because that was the way they were brought up.
One OF mentioned that, if you were the sort who took your family camping (and the OF said he meant tent camping, not these motor homes that are like houses on wheels), you were used to cooking on the campfire or a Coleman stove, and having mantle lanterns (which were the source of light for this type of camping) and knew about self preservation.
Even backpacking, carrying everything you were going to need for days on your back, was another way to learn the same thing.
“Now,” one OF said, “if the girls can’t power up their hair dryer and the guys can’t access the latest football game, they are lost.”
Like zombies
The OF also touched on gated communities, and senior living where there are so many rules all the people can do is sit around and play hand and foot. (Yes, Martha, this is a real card game that amuses many retirees.)
They are like zombies trapped in their own little community. One OF was checking into some of these communities and found that one of the rules involved the number of cars, boats, trailers, etc., that an OF was allowed to have.
Furthermore, he could not cut his own grass; it would be done by the yard crew, for which there was a charge. The grandkids could not stay overnight.
The OF said these rules went on and on; it was worse than being in jail. Definitely not for him — he would rather live in a normal area and take his chances with the occasional burglar.
“Hey,” one OF said, “you might catch him in an attempted burglary and he might turn out to be a neat guy. I bet the crook could show you a better way around town that would be a lot more fun than some old geezer on his three-wheel bike.”
(This scribe chuckled to himself listening to these conversations knowing that the people talking were older geezers than the old geezer they were talking about. It is all in the mind.)
One OF mentioned coming to the breakfast as a rider in a car where the driving OF announced audibly to the car ahead of him, “Come on, you old goat, get a move on,” and the driver of the car the OF was riding in was 84 years old. It is, as has been stated, all in the mind.
This rider was riding in a car headed to Mrs. K’s Restaurant in Middleburgh where they were going to meet with the other OFs, and they were: John Rossmann, Bill Lichliter, Harold Guest, Richard Frank, Chuck Aelesio, Glenn Patterson, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Mark Traver, Jim Heiser, Sonny Mercer, Roger Shafer, Otis Lawyer, Lou Schenck, (welcome back), Mace Porter, Don Wood, Jack Norray, Jim Rissacher, Marty Herzog, Bob Fink, Bob Benninger, Jess Vadney, Richard Vanderbilt, Elwood Vanderbilt, Gerry Chartier, Mike Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
What’s in a seal? The Old Men of Mountain tell the story behind the horse in Schoharie County’s seal.
As the Old Men of the Mountain traveled over the hill to the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh some were wondering how the tour buses handle the lack of color that the tours have been scheduled for in our area. The OFs say they are still keeping up with mowing the grass, a few trees have changed, and the white pines are still hanging onto to their needles.
On Tuesday, Oct. 4, with all the leaves that remained on the trees, the OFs remembered the October snow storm of Oct. 4, 1987 when a freak snowstorm fell with leaves still on the trees and the trees came crashing down.
One OF reported he was in the hospital having his gallbladder removed (this was when they cut you from stem to stern to remove the diseased bladder, and this OF has the scar to prove it) when the snows came. The OFs said that his doctor had a huge tree come down against his home and one across his driveway.
The doctor could not get his car out and borrowed a neighbor’s chainsaw to cut his way through the trees so he could get to the hospital. The doctor had a heart attack in the process and passed away. The follow-up and the rest of his care, the OF said, was by doctors he didn’t know or had anything to do with the operation. They must have done OK because the OF said he is still here.
That snowstorm some mess, but it doesn’t look like it is going to happen this year at least on Oct. 4 because, by the time this hits the paper, the 4th will have come and gone.
A real whopper
The case of “the one that got away” from the State Police in Schoharie was talked about. It was commented that the Troopers and the police departments had better be careful in handling these farm girls — these girls seem to be able to escape on a regular basis.
One OF mentioned it is no wonder the girl in Schoharie slipped her handcuffs off since the pictures of her on the news seemed to indicate she is no bigger than a mite, and the OFs think that the cuffs might not go small enough to really fit the young lady.
Another OF opined she went from a rinky-dink type of crime to a real whopper. And finally one OF said she must be real stupid, or real frightened, to pull a stunt like that.
Dry season
The OFs mentioned that the area really needs rain — a good rain! Many of the creeks are just dribbles of water. It’s hard to imagine from what the Fox Creek and the Schoharie Creek look like now, that we had a flood — Tropical Storm Irene — of such magnitude five years ago.
One OF said, even though it is dry, he sees farmers still out cutting hay, probably their third cutting. A second OF mentioned some farmers were out cutting the day before the breakfast; this is nice looking hay.
County seal
A few weeks ago, this column had a section in it about history, and part of the history of Schoharie County is contained in the county seal. The seal is of a horse. The OFs talked about this at that time but no one could quite come up with all the facts.
At Tuesday morning’s breakfast an OF brought in a book on the history of Schoharie and this accounting was in that book with names of who owned the horse and how it came about. The following is a paraphrase of the story.
This horse is very important to early settlers of the valley and the Hilltowns. At that time, after the grain was harvested, it had to be taken to Schenectady to be ground into flour and this was the job of the women, to haul these sacks of grain to the mill and return with the flour.
It wasn’t only flour but other staples that were required by the community that was transported in this fashion and by the women. If only they had a horse to haul the loads, it would be easier and they could do more.
One day on the way to the mill, they spotted a horse for sale and mentioned it when they returned home. The horse was more expensive than they thought they could afford but with what money they could round up, they went to inquire about purchasing it anyway.
The owner of the horse pulled a switcheroo and brought out an old nag instead of the stallion they first saw. The owner was bargained down to what money they had brought with them and he told them it was still a good horse.
On the way home, the women weren’t sure the horse would make it back, but it did. The next morning, when they went to check on the horse, they found it had given birth to a spry, perky foal. Now they had two horses, and in a year the foal would be big and strong.
Some looked on it as a miracle and said they were being taken care of by a greater being. This event became the seal of Schoharie County.
Condolences
The Old Men of the Mountain would like to offer their condolences to the family of Paul Giebitz with the passing away of Paul in a tractor accident. Our thoughts and prayers go with them as Paul joins the other OMOTM at the table in the clouds.
Those OFs who will take this kind of weather right up until spring so they can make it to restaurants like the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh were: Miner Stevens, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Dave Williams, Roger Chapman, Robie Osterman, Harold Guest, Sonny Mercer, Ray Kennedy, Don Wood, Ray Gaul, Jack Norray, Mace Porter, Bob Benninger, Bob Fink, Marty Herzog, Jim Rissacher, Bob Giebitz, Ted Willsey, Duane Wagonbaugh, Roger Shafer, Gerry Chartier, Mike Willsey, Elwood Vanderbilt, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
Some Old Men of the Mountain still can’t find their way through these hills, and wander all over the place. Some blame it on the signs on county roads not marking north, south, east, or west on their route numbers. If you are not paying attention when driving, it is easy to miss things.
Some of the OFs can’t talk or chew gum while they are operating a motor vehicle. The OFs, when doing these normal functions, are apt to turn left instead of right, or drive past a turn they know they should take, then wonder why they are where the heck they are.
On Tuesday morning, Sept. 27, on the way to Kim’s West Winds Diner, some OFs headed over the hill in the dark of early morning and in some pockets of fog they drove around in circles twice in the hills where many of the OFs have lived for 70 or 80 years and they have even hiked some of the areas they were wandering around in. The OFs tempered this with how beautiful a morning it was and a great day for a ride anyway.
Leaving leaves
Some of the OFs who summer in warmer climes are beginning to leave and some have already flown. So far this year, the summer and early beginning of fall have been one of the better times, although it has been a little on the dry side. One OF who is leaving said that it is a good idea to close the place down now because a cold snap can come when least expected — then it is hurry-up-time to shut things down.
This OF would rather leave when it is still nice and take his time in buttoning up the place. Look at all the beautiful fall scenery the OF will be missing by abandoning the ship so early.
He said he has seen enough fall colors in his lifetime and raked enough leaves and it does not break his heart to leave. (This scribe just typed that sentence and looked at leaves, and leaves. Boy, the English language to newcomers must offer a challenge. There is no connection between the two words spelled exactly the same way.) Some of the travelers to Florida commented that the state is getting so crowded it may break off and sink.
Polling the OMOTM on the presidential debates
In a question about the debates, not the debaters, just the debates, it was found by the respondents and those at the breakfast that the OFs may be a microcosm of the nation with about a 60/40 split, with the 60 not bothering to watch and the 40 really interested, watching either 80- to 90-percent of the debate or all of the way through.
For the most part, all the OFs vote, for whatever that is worth. Many of the OFs already have their minds made up, and have trouble with all the political ads that bombard the airwaves around election time each year. Many OFs are confused with the logic of wasting money to run these ads.
One OF said he can understand why some people take a gun and shoot out the TV. He comes darn close to it when four and five of these ads follow one another on the screen.
A few other OFs mute the ads when they start and that includes all of them even the ones from Raymour & Flannigan, and Huge. They do click the sound back on occasionally if the ads from Geico, or the ads with the duck are sandwiched between a series of political ads.
When pranks were fun
The OFs have delved into this topic before and it generally sticks its head out around Halloween. The mischief the OFs took part in when they were young about this time of year would land them in jail today.
The pranks when verbalized were harmless and funny. Some of the pranks took a considerable amount of time to plan and execute. None of the OFs considered any of these pranks vicious or mean. The general populace expected, for the most part, many of the pranks and people even prepared for them as if they, too, were part of the game. Today it seems that some pranks go over the top, which spoils it for everyone else.
The OFs remembered good ole fashioned “hornings.” When a young couple married, a horning was planned by friends and neighbors.
The young couple had no idea when this was going to happen but, through the advice of their parents, they made preparations for it. Being young, broke, and newly married, the couple generally had help from their parents in putting in a good stock of beer, cheese, and crackers, and pepperoni for when it happened.
The day of reckoning of a horning was kept a secret better than any surprise party. When the day came, and the midnight hour rang, all cane broke lose — shotguns fired in the air, horns blasted, old large sawmill circular saw blades suspended on steel bars beat with hammers, torches lit, and the friends and neighbors marched around the house — then the party began.
The party generally broke up by the time for milking and the farmers had to get to the cows. That was usually about 4 or 4:30 in the morning. Try doing that today! Every cop and trooper in the surrounding area would be there shutting that thing down. Gee, it’s no fun anymore.
Thin skins
Then the OFs started talking about a much more serious topic and that was: Why does a banana skin get thinner as the banana becomes older? Where does it go? The banana actually becomes softer and smaller.
One OF suggested the banana skin loses air. He thought the skin, when new, is full of air and the air escapes and the solids fill in the voids.
What happens to the rest of the banana was a question asked. It is like a balloon, one OF thought, and, as when the air leaks out of a balloon, it becomes smaller and squishy. Hey, could be.
The OFs who made it to Kim’s West Wind Diner in Preston Hollow to escape the political ads were: Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Miner Stevens, Roger Chapman, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Marty Herzog, Pete Whitbeck, Bill Bartholomew, Dave Williams, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Glenn Traver, Karl Remmers, Bob Snyder, Don Wood, Sonny Mercer, Ray Kennedy, Otis Lawyer, Bob Benac, Don Gates, Jim Rissacher, Duane Wagonbaugh, Ted Willsey, Rich Donnelly, Jessie Vadney, Elwood Vanderbilt, Gerry Chartier, Mike Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
It’s Tuesday morning — time to shake off the covers, sit on the edge of the bed, wiggle the toes and feet, squeeze the hands, and if everything works head out to the breakfast with the Old Men of the Mountain.
On Tuesday, Sept. 20, breakfast was at the Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville. Many of the OMOTM got an early start because there was dense fog all around. However, as the OFs drove up the hill to Rensselaerville, they drove out of the fog (just like Brigadoon) and at the Hilltown Café the sun was shining.
This was great way to start the day, only there was no young lady picking flowers along the path as in Brigadoon, but there was a young lady flipping pancakes in a small kitchen, in a neat café that would fill the bill. On a morning such as this, there is stiff competition between enjoying the scent of moist-laden flowers in the morning, as opposed to the satisfying aroma of bacon and eggs on the grill.
Tales of roots
The OFs discussed many topics on Tuesday morning; one was the origin of the horse as the seal for Schoharie County. This is an interesting tale; along with this, the OFs discussed the origin of the Plank Road turnpike, another interesting tale.
The OFs talked more history that is not really taught in the early years of formal schooling. They talked about the Isle of Shoals and how the English and French were using those waters for fishing and trading with the Indians years before the Pilgrims set foot at Plymouth Rock. This explains why the first Native American to greet the settlers strolled right into camp speaking English and knew many of the habits of the Pilgrims.
Much of what is taught in school, the OFs are finding out, is just a smattering of what really goes on; primarily it is to pique the interest of us (when we were students) in many things such as science, history, art, music, and much more.
The OFs thought that, when each individual wanted to know more of what interested him, he had some inkling of how to go about finding it, and where to go to retrieve this information. American history is one subject that anyone can get into and go deeper into areas such as naval history, political history, medicine, etc.
As mentioned in last week’s report, certain organizations cover specific interest, like the American Revolution, the Civil War, and artists’ and writers’ groups and clubs. There is much that goes on that keeps the mind active right up to being OFs. Most schools offer continuing education, and many of these classes are filled with the OFs that occupy the chairs at the breakfasts.
Hearty harvest
The OFs reported that the produce from their gardens this year is great, especially with some plants. The corn this year seems to drip with sugar.
One OF reported his peppers are as big as soccer balls. That may be a stretch, but even close makes the peppers quite large. Some said their tomato plants have so many tomatoes that the plant is red, not red and green. The OFs mentioned that this is a little odd because it has been so dry.
Bionic men
The OFs have another of our group out for a few weeks for some bionic work — this OF is having a knee replaced. My goodness, if the OMOTM wanted to travel somewhere by plane as a group it would take them forever to get past the metal detectors.
Past relations
As part of the normal conversation of the OFs, it is typical of them to bring up their parents, aunts and uncles. These people were sucking in oxygen many, many years ago.
One OF mentioned that his uncle worked on the cog railway that brought people from New York City up the mountain to the Catskill Mountain House in Palenville. The Otis Elevating Railway started operation in August 1892, and the OF said his uncle worked for this railway for 40 years.
Birthday boy
The OFs today had the celebration of Elwood Vanderbilt’s 89th birthday, so another muffin with a candle and another birthday song was sung on a Tuesday morning.
Condolences
The OFs also have to offer their condolences to the family of Joe Loubier, one of the snowbird OFs from Woodstock, who passed away recently. Our thoughts and prayers go with both Joe, and Elwood, only on different levels.
All the OFs that have passed away are becoming more in number than the OFs wandering around down here on our dot in the universe. Those OFs amassed in heaven must be having a ball if they are continuing the Tuesday morning gatherings on rotating clouds in that same heaven. The OFs that trod this planet wonder if Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John is acting as a scribe and writing a column for the “Heavenly Gazette.”
Those OFs on this side of the sod, and able to get to the Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville were: Miner Stevens, Robie Osterman, Pete Whitbeck, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Harold Guest, John Rossmann, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Otis Lawyer, Dave Williams, Bill Bartholomew, Bob Benac, Gary Bates, Don Wood, Sonny Mercer, Richard Frank, Chuck Aelesio, Jack Norray, Mace Porter, Gerry Irwin, Duane Wagonbaugh, Rich Donnelly, Ted Willsey, Elwood Vanderbilt, Ray Kennedy, Gerry Chartier, Mike Willsey, Jim Rissacher, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
The Old Men of the Mountain are going to get used to this weather to the point where the snowbirds might not fly. On Tuesday, Sept. 13, it was the type of day where whatever you wanted to do — go do it.
One thing the OFs wanted to do was use the time to go to the breakfast at the Home Front Café in Altamont. It is good the OMOTM carpool. At many of the establishments the OFs frequent, 30 to 35 cars just wouldn’t fit in the parking lots.
To bring the reader up to date, the 1932 Studebaker has been sold. Once that thing hit the market it was like putting peanut butter in a rat trap for old-car enthusiasts; many buyers were attracted to the bait.
One would have to live on the Hill to hear of the place called “Skunk’s Misery,” and it is a real place. The old-timers on the Hill know where it is.
For those just riding around, maybe on the Hilltown Artisan tour, it is where (and this is no joke) Pleasant Valley Road meets Route 156. It is hard to figure out how “Skunk’s Misery,” and Pleasant Valley go together but that is where it is.
There is even a seasonal business there at Christmastime. It’s a Christmas-tree farm where people can go and cut down their own tree for Christmas. This business actually lists its location as “Skunk’s Misery.”
The trees on this farm are getting a tad on the large side right now. They have been at this location for years; however, who knows about the coming year. Some of the OFs who have purchased their Christmas trees at “Skunks Misery” say they still smell like fresh-cut pine when the OFs get them home.
Keeping up with technology
The OFs have covered this topic many times — technology and how fast it is developing — and to the OFs the development is so fast that, by the time they get the latest item out of the store, it is already out of date, and is not the latest item.
The OFs wondered how the purchasing agents for large stores keep up. How do they handle the sales people who are trying to sell them a product that is going to be outdated the next day?
Does the Purchasing agent buy 100,000 and his stores only sell 50,000 before the new ones are out? Or, does the purchasing agent purchase 50,000 on a hunch and new ones are not made and the purchasing agent is stuck having his stores run out? What a dilemma.
As one OF put it, you ask the customer what his needs are and just stick to that — forget the rest. A couple of the OFs said they still have a few appliances that are analog, especially microwaves. Some OFs said they have microwaves still running that are 25 to 30 years old and are analog.
When the grandkids come and go to warm something up or use the microwave, they just stand there and look at it. There is no keyboard with numbers. Both waves have just a round dial, a button to open the door, and an off and on switch. That is it, and the kids can’t run it because all it has is this on and off switch, with a round dial timer that actually points to minutes.
These older microwaves are big enough to get a small turkey in as compared to most of the newer one, which are just large enough to get a couple of cups of soup in the wave to warm them up. The older waves would cook a meal.
Re-creating battles
It was found out at Tuesday morning’s breakfast that some of the OFs are Revolutionary and Civil War re-enactors. What prompted this was a flyer that the proprietor (or thinks he is) of the Home Front placed on the table for the OFs to peruse on the History Fair going on at the Old Stone Fort in Schoharie on Oct. 1 and 2.
The OFs remembered this as Old Stone Fort Days, and it was free. At the Old Stone Fort days (which were held about the same time as the History Fair is now), there were many times more re-enactors than were in the original battle. In looking at the OFs at the table, it looked like many of these OFs could have been in the original battle, at least as drummer boys if not militia.
All this discussion on the Revolution brought up the name of Timothy Murphy, a Revolutionary War marksman who was a major contributor to the victory in the battle at Bemis Heights in Saratoga. In four shots, under orders from Benedict Arnold to bring down General Simon Fraser who was rallying the British troops for an assault on the Americans, Timothy Murphy not only took care of the general, but also the chief aide-de-camp to General Burgoyne, Sir Francis Clark. This action by Murphy put the whole British assault is complete disarray.
Murphy fought in the battle of the Middlefort in Schoharie County and is buried in the “Upper Cemetery” in Middleburgh. There is a bronze “bas-relief” of him as a marker in the cemetery. The OFs talked quite a bit about the Revolutionary and Civil Wars as re-enactors, and the OFs learned more about American history of these periods than they ever did in school.
Those OFs who were re-enactors of America’s earlier battles, on her own soil and the rest of the OFs were at the Home Front Café (and what a place to discuss the re-enacting) in Altamont and all together they were: Pete Whitbeck, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Harold Guest, Marty Herzog, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Bob Benac, Joe Ketzer, Andy Tinning, Dave Williams, Bill Bartholomew, Rich Donnelly, Duane Wagonbaugh, Bob Lassome, Jim Rissacher, Gerry Irwin, Mace Porter, Jack Norray, Henry Whipple, Warren Willsey, Mike Willsey, Elwood Vanderbilt, Richard Vanderbilt, Daniel Mctoggard, Mark Traver, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
Here we are into September: The kids are back in school; the school buses are picking up the little darlings; and on Tuesday, Sept. 6, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown.
The OMOTM need a school bus of their own to gather the OFs up for their trips to the restaurants. The kids and grandkids of the OFs would be out there with their cameras on the first day the OF bus made its rounds to pick up the OFs.
They would have to get pictures of them getting on the bus with their canes, or having the little lady pushing them up the stairs onto the bus so the OF could get on. It would be so sweet; there would be tears in the eyes of the grandkids as they watched Grandpa board the bus.
An OF came in Tuesday morning with a great greeting; he placed his hand on the shoulder of an OF already at a table and said, “Good morning, who ya mad at today?” Great.
OFs are tough
Many of the OFs not only use hearing aids, and have false teeth but they also wear glasses. Misplacing teeth and hearing aids is tough to do but misplacing glasses is rather easy, especially for the OFs. The OFs were talking about how many pairs of glasses they have had to replace because they were lost.
One OF said the trouble in losing his glasses is because he can’t see to find them once they are gone. Many of the OFs said they have dollar-store reading glasses that seem to work fine, and for only a buck they are able to have pairs all over the house.
One OF said when his prescription changes he has a couple of pairs made and put in the cheapest frames the eye doctor has. One pair he places where he knows he can find them and then, when another pair is lost in the house, he goes and gets those so he can locate the other.
Another OF said he tried using the glasses with a chain attached to them that goes around his neck. This does not work, the OF said, because, when he is working and doesn’t need the glasses, they are always in the way when he bends over, or because the glasses hang right where he holds stuff to his chest to carry. The OF said he has crushed more glasses than he has lost.
Another OF said he has his glasses made with those foldable frames and, when he takes them off, he just folds them up and put them in his pocket and for him it works great. The OF hasn’t lost a pair since.
As this scribe added, this is just one more problem that adds truth to the statement, “You gotta be tough to be old”; along with the aches and pains, the OFs can’t hear and they can’t see.
Remembering silo work
The OFs remarked that, no matter which way you travel in our area, the Schoharie Valley, the Mohawk Valley, the Hoosick River Valley, the Hudson River Valley, or even into Vermont and beyond, all you see is corn. Acres and acres of corn.
It seems that even gentlemen farmers with just 10 acres have these acres planted to corn. This is corn for ethanol or so the OFs have been told. It is not cow corn for silage (although some may be).
One OF noted that he sees these acres of corn growing all over but he doesn’t see any cows. When the OFs were farming, the garden had a few rows of sweet corn and the fields had the corn for the silo. Some OFs remember eating the cow corn especially when it was not quite ready — it was not bad. If you put enough butter and salt on it when it was a little older ,it still wasn’t bad.
Most of the OFs who farmed remember filling silo and it was a fun time. Farmers got together and they filled each other’s silo, and generally there was a large spread afterwards. These spreads were like church potluck dinners; all the ladies brought the best of what they made. How it worked out the farmers did not quite know because seldom were there any duplicates.
Actually, silo work could be very dangerous. Some farmers were known to pass out when working in the silo because of the gases formed and limited air space in the silo. Back in the day, safety guards on spinning equipment were few and far between, if any at all, and, in filling a silo, there were lots of belts flapping, flywheels whirring, PTOs (power takeoffs) spinning, choppers chopping, blowers blowing, and nary a guard.
Not a place for kids, but they were there — not toddlers — because, when the OFs were on the farm, if you were 8 or 9 years old, you were out there and had better be earning your keep.
An OF mentioned that, back on the farm, it was nothing to see a young lad who was 10 or 12 years old repairing an old (at that time it wasn’t so old) hit-and-miss one-cylinder engine. Today, as another OF mentioned, he still looks for the even younger kid to come fix his stupid phone, computer, or TV. Times they are a-changing — both the people and their paraphernalia.
Farm tales and smells
The OFs continued with their old farm tales on how things used to be done and in some cases may still be done the same way. Raising turkeys for Thanksgiving was one of these memories.
None of the OFs said they did this anymore because it is cheaper to get a turkey all ready to go at the store than it is to try and raise them. What did they do, you may ask?
Well, for one thing, after the turkey met the chopping block, it was hung in the shed for a few days. This made the bird much easier to pluck and clean.
One OF said that his father would cover the birds with grain sacks to keep the flies off them. However, dunking the turkey or even chickens in hot water to start the plucking was the worst smell on the farm.
Much of farm life had its own particular aroma, most of which is not bad. Today they have added one that is a winner. An OF said he can’t stand the smell of the new way of seasoning manure before it is spread on the fields — that is a rank odor, the OF opined.
One OF spoke up, “Do you guys have to bring all that up now? We are eating here ya know.”
To which another OF added, “Suck it up. I once ate my lunch at the bottom of the septic tank we were cleaning because I didn’t want to climb out and get all cleaned up to go eat and then have to climb back down to finish the job.” Ugh!
This scribe would like to say that last part was made up, but the scribe knows for a fact it wasn’t.
Those OFs who were able to live through farming in the early years and make it to the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown, where the smell of breakfast is not bad at all, and the OFs just sit there and get waited on, were: Miner Stevens, Roger Chapman, Bill Lichliter, Henry Witt, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, John Rossmann, Art Frament, Bob Benac, Jack Benac, Joe Ketzer, Roger Shafer, Low Schenck, Jack Norray (who was serenaded and received a muffin with a candle for making it to 82 today), Mace Porter, Wayne Gaul, Andy Tinning, Bob Lassome, Duane Wagonbaugh, Rich Donnelly, Don Chase, Gary Bates, Jim Rissacher, Marty Herzog, Pastor Jay Francis, Richard Vanderbilt, Elwood Vanderbilt, Jess Vadney, Bob Benninger, Bob Fink, Harold Grippen, and me.