from here to me

Amsler's Ice House Castleton N.Y. 12033

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

One of the problems one can come up against when researching various history topics is you run out of time. All the people that remember ice houses as a going concern are long gone. People that even remember where such shells were located have declined greatly as well. Such is the case with Amsler's Ice House located off Ransom Avenue in my hometown of Castleton N.Y. So with what I know from brief interviews and personal observation this is what I know. Amler's Ice house was located off Ransom Avenue next to the land bought for the Castleton Union School , now the Castleton Elementary School. It was a smaller ice house and served the uptown section of Castleton above the Hudson River area. It was built inside of a hill which gave it a sunken appearance. The Amsler family had a small store across the street from the ice house. It had 2 doors one facing Ransom Avenue the other a side entrance. As a kid we hung around the old barn looking structure , as remembered by various people inside were collapsed old pallet type structures. The earth inside had a dusky chalk type feel , probably from old saw dust used as a basic form of insulation for the ice. It was torn down in the late 60's or early 70's because it was considered by the Town Fathers to not only be a danger from collapse but rather ugly. As old barn type structures built from that era it was not easily wrecked. Once down it provided more room for the phone company bld expansion which was located directly in back of that piece of property. It is now a landscaped piece if property where one would not guess an ice house once stood. The Ransom Avenue school driveway runs next to where it was. Families like the Amsler's and the Hudson's made a good living from this piece of old technology. General Electric's first refrigerator was built circa 1911. Ice slowly lost it's hold on kitchens across America and as well memories of Ice Men making deliveries from these old structures.My thanks to Beverly Ingalls of Clifton Park and Checker Block of Schodack Landing N.Y. for their memories.

Hai Karate: A Visit With The Past

2012-01-24T07:37:00.000-08:00

When one does a blog which often concerns itself with the past I have sometimes been given suggestions or various items which people think might make an interesting topic. These range from an interesting looking rock that looks like a duck to a recent gift from my cousin , a bottle of old Hai Karate aftershave { pronounced High Karate} discovered in a discard box in her garage. Yes this icon from youthful memory. This aftershave was made from appx the late 60's to early 80's. Made by as it says on the bottle , the Leeming Division of Pfizer Corporation zip code 10017. Yes the same people that brought us Viagra brought us this green liquid. Most likely some that used this aftershave back then use Viagra now.It's that old. Anyway I have not yet opened it , so that is what I am going to do now. Be right back................still holding.............................................................BLAU...............OK , what to say? I did not like it for one. A base tone of aluminum with some citrus is how I best can describe it. It is quite possible that the age of this aftershave has altered the experience , circa late 60's bottle after all according to my cousin. The question also arises , did I once smell like this. Yes , I received a bottle for Christmas in 1969. Memories have come flooding back. My last High School Christmas in my hometown , the 60's ending , a wedding attended in March of 1970 which I had no memory of until just now. High School graduation has just come to mind and an old high school flame as well as Donna Blasch my college sweet heart . This budget aftershave bought by my parents probably in a drug store in or near Castleton NY has stirred a few memories. It also reminded me of my mother who hated the 60's and could not wait for them to be over and for her son to get a hair cut. One of her self improvement gifts this no doubt was. At least , I did not smell like Old Spice I remember was one of my reactions. Yet for some , this is probably an Icon from the past. I imagine Brut or Jade East is the closest hangovers from that era if you wish to indulge in memories induced by smell. As for this bottle , it is being donated to an animal league in the 11509 zip area that deals with the feral cat problem in our area. They have an ebay account that they use to fund their activities and have told me they welcome this gift that really sells well on ebay. Amazing! If you wish to indulge further you can Google the name and see some of the old commercials. But to those that might obtain this or another bottle I can only repeat the words of the commercial..........Hai Karate.......Be Careful How You Use It.

Collecting Tidbits Along The Moordener Kill

2012-01-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

I have been attempting to take advantage of the warmer late fall early winter weather. This has been extremely above average in temps and weather. So recently I was exploring along The Erie Canal near Canastoda NY and The Moordener Kill George in Castleton NY area. I managed to fall into both. Sometimes I fear that I am becoming somewhat of what Kurt Vonnegut remarked about himself in Slaughter House 5......"an old fart with his memories and his cigarettes." Anyway , did not find much this time out except junk. Discard from past lives . Even though archaeology thrives on left over stuff left behind to tell what was I spent much of my time picking up discard. An old stereo speaker circa late 80's early 90's. An old tire , glass beer bottles perhaps left by a careless fisherman , a busted cell phone and an old Stetson aftershave bottle as well as an old fishing reel as examples. Some of this stuff may well have come down from when Irene came thundering through last summer and caused ample flooding. So , my clean up of the gorge made a decent sized pile. I built a small fire along the rocky river bed shore to warm myself. No one was around so I enjoyed the peace and quiet as I set on a log. Because my wife Beth was over 140 miles away I sneaked a smoke. Ah. Anyway , nothing remarkable about what I had in front of me. The beer reflected modern trends , Coors Light , Sam Adams Cherry Wheat , Newcastle Brown Ale. The cell phone , a flip phone , large buttons pre -app type. Been here for a while. It is amazing how fast technology changes. The phone 10 to 12 yrs ago was state of the art the stereo speaker , appx three ft tall by one foot wide could once hold a multi watt signal. Now Bose can make a speaker one tenth the size with better fidelity. These tidbits do tell a tale. A need to get rid of junk , fast moving technology, careless discarding. But they don't belong in this beautiful gorge. I fed my last starter stick into my flames. Took some notes of some possible sites above the gorge for future exploration as I enjoy this area. My basic archaeology hobby is often being a collector of as I call them Tidbits. Small little items that serve as an evidence trail of where I and others have come from. You as well. So anyway I ended up trucking this stuff out of the gorge , into my car , and stopped by the dumpster at the back of Maple Hill High School. Sorry tax payers you footed the disposal fee. Soon I will be off on another project. Be seeing you.

Hudson Daniel Bader

2012-01-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

Born on January 4 , 2012 my third grandchild. , that's right his first name is Hudson. The same as a favorite blogger I know. All 8 pounds 9 ounces arrived yesterday at around 2:00 pm in Crouse Memorial in Syracuse NY. Anyway , Hudson you have arrived here in the USA at a rather angry time. We are a nation politically split and I must admit I wanted a better world for you to come into. Kinder , gentler as former President Bush once remarked. But you have alot going for you , good parents that really wanted you , proud family surrounding you and of course your long background. You are descended from English , Dutch , Irish , Slovak and German peoples. Just remember if you ever read this that you had people survive hundreds of years ago to help create the you of today. So take it and run with it. Use those talents all of my grandchildren I am sure possess. Oh and by the way.....Happiness is not over rated , so keep some of that in your life.

Original Casino Royale Soundtrack Album Found Circa 1967 Vintage

2011-12-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

Just got back from the Post Office sending out a find of mine. Yes , another Garage Sale special. The original Casino Royale soundtrack album. Let me try and explain. There are people who one could call audiophiles. They love sound from their audio equipment. Exotic tube amps , turntables , thousand dollar plus speakers adorn their homes. My Bose system on my computer they might well label as simply adequate.. I know a couple. Putting better speakers in my current Chevy for when I listen to jazz doesn't make it for these people. They can sometimes be obsessed purists. The unopened record I discovered in a pile of old 60's and 70's records was for some a true find. Again let me try and explain. The original Casino Royale movie was a comedy. It starred Woody Allen , Orson Wells , David Niven and of course Peter Sellers. If you ever see it one can quickly notice that it is a movie made to try and fit the 60's era. The attempt by older artists attempting to be relevant to the younger crowd was a bomb. Some critics found a deeper meaning to it all but not to a larger audience. The film score was by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It produced a low level hit by Herb Alpert with the Casino Royale theme. But buried in it was a soulful tune called The Look Of love. It was sung by Dusty Springfield then at the height of her career. At her death a few years ago Elton John said he felt she was the best white soul singer of the latter half of the 20th century. Now the secret of this album.....she re-recorded this song a couple of months later and that version is the one most have heard. According to some the superior version is on vinyl on this album. It has been described as more breathy etc etc. So a treasured oddity this recording has become for a few obsessed audiophiles. I sold it sight unseen , as is. Though unopened one can never be sure what conditions this album has endured. After all it has to be over 40 yrs old. But it seemed flat as a pancake and the cover was well preserved , a psychodelic artist drawing of a Bond girl. You can Google it. I will let John open it himself , examine the grooves and receive his full exotic pleasure from it all. He plans to play it for his long suffering wife on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas.

Hudson Hawk's Sangria

2011-12-13T12:52:00.000-08:00

OK , by request my sangria receipt. The first concept to remember is there are tons of receipts for sangria most quite good. don't shy away from an experiment or two. Secondly sangria has been used for centuries to make cheap wine tolerable. So , my advice is to not get hung up on an expensive vintage.I often use The Naked Grape variety or a red from Gallo....that's right Gallo. I don't buy a $ 25.00 bottle to throw in , I leave that for wine snobs. Third is to remember that aging helps taste. 6 hrs of aging your pitcher full in the fridge makes a real difference.

1. 2 bottles of red wine

2. half cup of brandy

3. One quarter cup triple sec

4. One cup orange juice

5. One and a half cups ginger ale

6. Half cup of sugar {optional}

7. Couple of pineapple slices cut up

8. One orange cut up peels and all

9. One apple cut up skins and all

10. Six to eight marachino cheery and pour a little juice from the bottle in as well

11. I drop a cinnamon stick in and let it set in the mixture for a couple of minutes , then remove.

12. Let sit for a few minutes then stir slightly and refrigerate. Stir again before serving.

Of course you can add other fruits like seedless grapes but don't go overboard , the wine is the most important part. If you try it I hope you enjoy.

New Simon Templar TV Movie On Long Delay

2011-11-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

Last April I blogged that James Purefoy had signed on to be the next Simon Templar known in fictional detective history as The Saint. Shooting in New Orleans was delayed from July untill October. Then delayed for an undetermined time. Trust me I have good sources on this one. Arguements over script and Purefoy as the main actor and what various groups wanted for an updated character. Money halted and that was the final straw that broke this latest attempt at a comeback for the once well known character. So as of this writing this project is at best months away from production. I write this considering that my last blog on this subject received a fairly large number of hits. So Saint fans as was stated in the back of many a Saint story......Beware The Sign Of The Saint .....He Will Be Back. At least we can only hope so...... Be Seeing You

Blaupunkt AM_FM_SW Radio Discovered

2011-11-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

In early November I spent a couple of days exploring a couple of potential sites for further archeology exploration in the Schodack NY area this spring. I also spent time in Columbia County in the Niverville area where I came across a garage sales three neighbors were putting on. I did a quick look , bought a small Ikea alarm clock still in it's wrapping . Then I spotted an automotive item. A relic from cars past I was familiar with. Selling for $ 2.00 a Blaupunkt VW car radio. Came out of a 1967 or 68 VW Karmen Ghia In remarkably good shape . I bought it. Later on in the week sold it to a repair and restoration shop in Oceanside area of Long Island. Made a $15.00 dollar profit. That's not this blog's point , however , I bought a memory. My early work years after my Vega died a rather painful death of meltdown on Interstate 90. I needed a car fast and obtained a Karmen Ghia at a reasonable price. Something to get me through till I could save up some real money. In those days I drove about 80 miles round trip to work and back. An unusual aspect of the car was the fact that the car radio had short wave reception capabilities. No one really pays attention to this part of the spectrum anymore but it was once quite active with various overseas and USA stations. Now just so you know I have a thing about the news. I have a mild addiction to the news. Growing up in a political family the news at dinner time was a big deal. One day I discovered the BBC on short wave. So part of my long morning commute became the news from London on the BBC world service. Most early mornings it came in quite well. This habit continues as I sometimes listen to BBC on my computer. Anyway , it is a minor memory but one that has a certain independence to it. A rusted semi sports car , yellow , air cooled engine , little in the way of heat driving off in the early morning with a British voice saying this is London.

Andy Rooney : Goodby From Albany New York

2011-11-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

Well.......Andy Rooney died last night. As I sip my morning coffee at my daughters home near Albany I do feel a sense of loss. Rooney came from Albany born January 14 , 1919. A few short months from the end of World War One. That is a long life. The thing is he seemed a man I knew though I didn't. The fact that he grew up and was nurtured near from where I grew up probably makes me feel the kinship. I hope they lower the flags to half staff for atleast a day in the city. But as I age and have gone in the last few years to more funerals that I care to count I feel older this morning because that World War Two generation that nurtured my generation has all most departed in total. There is a voice missing at the table this morning. A man I admired , read a couple of his books , listened to his commentaries. Now he is gone.

John Lennon's Tooth

2011-11-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Yes......on 11/05/11 a tooth purported to be a former tooth of John Lennon is going up for auction. It is up for auction at an auction house in Sweden. Speculation is it could fetch upwards of 15,000 dollars. This discolored tooth with cavities and all was the property of his former 60's era housekeeper. Being a potfinder archeologist of sorts I must say this fascinates me. I have sold a couple of finds over the years such as a ring found on AtlanticBeach on Long Island's south shore. But a tooth .....WHY ? Well .....various churches and religions have icons and purported body parts of saints. All sorts of claims are made for these items....being cured of a disease and the like by praying near them etc. To some , people of that era and other hangers on perhaps Lennon has taken on role of a modern type saint. I think that is atleast partially the answer. Something that brings back the vigor of youth and what it represented. Of course for some it might be a speculative investment. Lennon as a Rock & Roll saint appeals to me the most as an explanation. So it goes as society roles on.

Curse of The Mummy and ME

2011-10-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

Well I have had to curtail some of my searching and digging this fall despite the excellent weather. I have developed an unusual health problem. I have a wart on my vocal cord which they originally thought was cancer. It comes from an unusual virus. My specialist at the Eye & Ear Infirmary in Manhattan has a theory as to why I have come down with this. My archeology hobby. It is a fact that if archeologists open a new tomb in The Roman Empire arena or Egypt Mummy Tombs they let it air out for atleast 24hrs because of latent bacteria {germs}that may line the walls. Many have heard of the Curse of the Mummy from the opening of King Tuts tomb circa 1923. One of the heads of the expedition died soon after , some diggers may have become ill. It may have come from germs inside the tomb or maybe not. It has become a legend anyway. So my various digs in the Moordener Kill George or into an old farmers landfill in my hometown of Schodack NY may have taken a toll. Or perhaps opening up old boxes stored away for years and all that dust that comes when one opens them to see the contents. Last summer I opened an old moldy looking suitcase discovered in the 06037 area of Connecticut. I am quite certain it had not been opened since circa 1948 or 1949. After breaking open the locks and using a screw driver to pry open the long closed case I received a rush of old dust and musty odor in my face. For my trouble the contents inside were a balled up paper bag and an old grocery list with such items as 2 packs of Philip Morris Commander cigarettes and something called a Bermuda Onion.written on it. Oh well. So , I will not retire from being a "potfinder" archeologist as the professionals call us amateurs. But perhaps an ounce of prevention next time. I have some more places to explore . Indiana Jones never had these problems but I never had to fight Nazis either. Be Seeing You.

Searching for Stone Tools Along The Moordener Kill Schodack N. Y.

2011-10-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

This past summer some of my attention turned to the Moordener Kill stream in the Town of Schodack NY. I traveled along several parts of this ancient stream searching for the left overs from the past. I found two stone pieces that may have been ancient stone tools. One was a piece of stone appx 16 inches wide by 12 inches long. One end appears to have been chipped away to somewhat of a point. This might be used to hack away at a carcass of a larger animal like a dear or even going back further a mammoth. I brought the piece to an avid collector of such items and James agreed that it did appear to be a functional chipping for use. i also found a stone about 7 inches wide by seven long. An all most perfect wedge shape. No sign of chipping work the shape designed by nature. could have been used for a variety of purposes. The stone fits easily in the hand . These items were all found above the upper falls area near the Peters farm area. As has been shown in multiple histories this area was populated by Native American tribes. I believe streams like The Moordener Kill were often used as hunting trails or used for an access route to nearby springs and branch tribes. It no doubt was also fishing territory especially in the more shallow areas.

In Praise of Brooklyn Atleast The DeKalb Area Anyway

2011-10-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

I was 20 yrs of age when I first stepped onto the streets of Brooklyn New York coming up the subway steps. I was visiting a friend while I was in the Christmas break from college. He was a Pratt Institute student engaged in the study of architecture. Both coming from small towns he was a young man rapidly falling for the city he would make his home. I must say my first impression was not good. Still too much the country kid I was somewhat stunned by the activity around be. From Grand Central Station to mid-town Manhattan to the crush of rush hour in the subways. It was early January 1971 probably in the later stages of the { MAD MEN} era of the city. Brooklyn seemed dark and run down in that first impression. The better days seemed behind this area....Dodgers gone west years earlier , perhaps a certain post 60's weariness had set in. Whatever. I spent the next four days getting to know Pratt and the surrounding area. To me it felt somewhat angry and depressive and dark , a downward trend seemed apparent. This prelude now brings us to the same area only the year is 2011 on a warm early October Sunday not long ago. I was visiting the same said friend who made his home on DeKalb Avenue. Had dinner there with his family in his Brownstone. Afterwards , we took a drive in his new Prius , his 40 miles to the gallon new car. We drove around the area , there was activity galore all around the neighborhood. There was an outdoor October fest going on with long lines to get in , people in outdoor cafe's having dinner. People biking and walking and a young lady taking pictures with an old style box camera we engaged in conversation with. Some new buildings have been built in these past number of years since I first visited. A variety of people enjoying a beautiful fall evening. We also went past the new colosseum being built to house the now New Jersey Nets. Pro sports to return to the area. I was and am impressed. After our car ride over a glass of Applejack I complimented Ron on having faith to buy here so many yrs ago. It is a vibrant , comfortable , attractive place to hang your hat , to use an old phrase. Much different from my youthful first impression. Later on during my drive home that night I had a verse from the Bible come into my head. From Corinthians : Old things shall pass away. Behold all things are new.

Passing Through Kurt Vonnegut : Schenectady N. Y.

2011-10-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

I grew up living in the shadow of three small cities. Albany , Schenectady and Troy ,New York. Three well know writers , atleast to some spent time in these areas. Herman Melville author of Moby Dick lived for a couple of years near South Pearl Street in Albany. Andy Rooney of CBS Television grew up in Albany. For a short time Kurt Vonnegut , a prime author of my generation spent time in Schenectady. He worked for General Electric in the early 1950's during America's post war industrial empire years. A couple of Friday's ago I spent an over night in Schenectady. I was attending my nephews wedding. A highly staged affair that so many weddings now a days have become. It started at a large church across from Union college and ended up at the Glen Sanders Mansion across the Mohawk River from Schenectady and near the old GE complex. As the evening wore on and frankly perhaps one to many drinks and a noisy crowd I went out to sneak a cigarette. I am not supposed to smoke. Anyway as I set out on their large patio area with the outdoor fire place burning and the people around me openly speculating about the cost , my mind went back to Vonnegut. Schenectady and the Tri - Cities area figured often in his novels. Though he sometimes changed the names. Player Piano being the book he used Schenectady and GE in metaphor form the most. For a moment I guess I became unstuck in time. I went from my present moment back to the boom yrs. The years when the USA was the major manufacturing country in the world. We had won a major war....our cities were not bombed out shells of themselves. Once everything General Electric made they made in Schenectady. From refrigerators to light bulbs. Those were the yrs that Vonnegut worked here. These yrs here and during World War Two were some of the foundations of what he was and taught through his writing. I admit he was a major influence on my thought processes. I believe from Vonnegut I learned about the danger of consolidated power.......Of arrogance whether from an educated elite , or people who inherent their wealth and think they were the ones that earned it. From political pols who live multiple lives to religious fanatics who do the same to the engineer who wants humans to behave more like math equations. I explored many of these concepts in my high school and early college yrs from this author. Schenectady is no longer the city it was. As a matter of fact I would say it is a shell of it's former self. GE is still here but only the turbine generator area is active along with some R&D and administrative functions. Most of the people he knew are long dead. Many pine away for those yrs. I remember fondly my early married life living in the stockade section of Schenectady. But I was just passing through , like Vonnegut. I was aroused from my daydream in the late evening by a bird across the nearby canal calling out as the last of the sun set. It was not a sweet tune like ....Poo Too Weet....it was a crow. CAW CAW CAW...........

Lung Health in my Hometown of Castleton NY 12033

2011-09-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

In last weeks Science Digest there was a report from researchers in England. It essentially was looking at health problems associated with living deep within river valley's.. Especially lung function. It found in a nut shell that yes there were more lung and sinus problems with people living within river valleys , especially in the deeper parts of valleys. Well......that was no surprise to me. Doctor Austin was our local country doc. He graduated Med School in 1916 and soon came to Castleton to start his practice. He practiced actively untill circa 1970. His office was located on upper Main Street in Castleton. Very near the Hudson River. One diagnosis he would often make was what he called Hudson River Gutar. In other words , a heavier amount of gunk in his patience's lungs , even when showing no other obvious symptoms. He told me at one point it appeared to worsen after World War One. He speculated it was the post WWI usage of cigarettes , a habit picked up while our troops were in Europe. Before that point it was mainly pipes and cigars. As a matter of fact Austin smoked cigars even while examining patients. Those days are long gone. Other factors were easy to determine as well. Up untill the late fifties people burned coal in there homes for heat. The Niagra Mohawk power plant across the river burned coal untill their conversion to natural gas in the early 60's. We still were industrial with paper mills , concrete plants , and detergent factories and Breweries within a 10 mile radius of the Castleton / Schodack NY area. I have heard older residents report that the foggy days are not as thick as they once were. Fewer pea soupers as they say in New England. Obviously with all the particulate matter in the air back then it makes sense. But despite a cleaner environment I suspect that this study has merit. Whether a river valley in England or the Hudson Valley in New York all places have their risks.

Dreams while in the hospital recovery room

2011-09-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well , there I was last week being kept over night in the hospital after minor throat surgery. I woke up in a bad mood and was not doing well so I was being kept overnight. Around midnight I looked around the recovery room in a daze , addled from pain meds and other things. I fell back asleep. It was around then that I had an odd dream , not of some nightmare quality but of a moment during the summer of 1970. I am studied enough in biochem and know enough about such things as to know what this moment was now about. I had taken my English bike out of the back of the garage. Pumped up the tires , lubed the chain etc. I needed some exercise. I rode around my home town , past my recently graduated high school. , past the houses of school mates , past farms and fields. The evening was closing in , I headed for home. I was tired but actually glad to be out. Then something began to happen........something quiet and deep. As I rolled up Scott Avenue I felt an odd feeling for a young guy who too often played the angry young man role. I felt at a very total peace I know brain chemistry but we didn't know that at the time. I stopped and leaned against a light pole. We had not yet modernized our streets lights yet so the light was a bare bulb with a plate over the top of it. I stood there leaning against the pole , The rapidly setting sun was red in color , off in the distance someone was finishing up mowing their lawn. The light pole had an ivy like plant growing up towards the light. The field next to me buzzed with insects. All seemed beautiful , peaceful and the years of teenage angst melted away. Wow this seemed better than even shooting my mouth off for some political cause. Time had seemed to stop so like a jerk I lit a cigarette to move this along. A car passed ,a Dodge Dart convertible. Rare. The song playing on the car radio was Joanne by Mike Nesmith.. You can Google it. So I finished my smoke and biked back home. The stillness lingered for a while. I slept well that night. Unlike this night as the nurse aroused me from my memory dream to ask me if I could tell her my name and date of birth. By the way her name was Joanne.

U.S. Open Tennis : A Different Sporting Event

2011-09-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Well, my wife Beth and I were comped a couple of tickets to the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows at the Tennis Center. Next door The New York Mets were playing a night game. As we waited to go through security I realized that it would not take a Sherlock Holmes to figure out this was a different sporting event. As we entered the bld a lady in an evening gown was playing a harp. We wandered a bit. One thing that venue has is great bars. I was able to get a new drink from a knowledgeable bartender. A Carte Blanche , a drink developed for the new James Bond novel by Micheal Deaver. So as I sipped my drink feeling somewhat under dressed , and feeling all like a kid from farm country in upstate New York in the small town of Schodack. So , as I looked at myself in the bar mirror I uttered words of strength and what I always considered one of the great movie lines.. I said very quietly to myself.......Bond........James Bond. OK lets get to this event. We walked towards our seats , we passed two women , one playing a flute , the other doing an Isadora Duncan type of dance. Nice. Anyway I have been to many a Yankees , Mets Jets game. I have even been to a couple of professional MLS games and watch soccer from England occasionally. This crowd does not chant , do the wave , boo , yell , or generally get excited. What is allowed is a polite applause and not often. One hears the announcer request , "Quiet Please". We watched our match , ate some good food and let the evening play out. Upon occasion , one could hear the crowd from the nearby Mets game. Ah yes baseball. So I visited the land where there is no tailgating , or raucous behavior. No beer and a hotdog crowd here. It had it's nice moments don't get me wrong. But as we wandered back to our car , I realized that this was nice and interesting to be involved in. I am not a big tennis fan and was all ready thinking about the upcoming Jets game against Dallas.

Tropical Storm Irene Aftermath: A Different View Of Loss

2011-08-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

On my way back down to 11509 from the New York Capital Region , I traversed some of the flood damaged area. Towns like Windham NY in Columbia County essentially wiped out in flooding. People loosing so much ,loss of life being the greatest of course. But carefully let me sight a different sense of loss. History. A stretch of stone fence I have worked on near the Taconic Parkway was blown away by flood waters. An old stone foundation which I had discovered near there , washed away. Some older homes built in the early 1800's crushed by the torrent. We can loose many things in natural disasters. Our sense of history can also be carted off to become rubble. A well constructed stone fence circa early 1800's withstanding time , weather , the seasons , decades of gravity , mans desire to build over these areas. Washed away in a matter of a couple of hours of flash floods. Not human life , or great material possessions in many cases but a signature of the past disappears never to be duplicated. I thought it worth a mention.

Irene....Dodged a bullet

2011-08-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

In case any one is wondering.....dodged a bullet.......family ok.....house survived.........barely........ocean came up to door but not over. Going back home tomorrow. Stopping by home town.....some damage this far upstate.

Under Evacuation From Irene

2011-08-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

I live about 2,000 ft from the ocean , Irene is heading up the coast. I am under an evacuation order. My little bungalow is going to ride it out alone. Taking the grandkids to higher ground. Packed the car with essentials. Took one last look at the ocean. But you know what......my grand kids and wife etc mean more than material stuff. So even though it feels weird to look around one last time , maybe. Love & those one loves are what counts. Good to be reminded. BE SEEING YOU.

Mohammar Gaddifi : Down with The Despot

2011-08-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

I have a birthday coming up.....and this birthday I have an odd pleasure. I will still be around and the Despot of the North African desert country of Libya will not. Whatever rat hole he hides in it is a bunker without power. I first came across his name in my Government and current events class in the second week of my senior yr at Maple Hill High School. in 69. We briefly discussed his take over of the country of Libya by the then Col. Gaddafi. So as despots go he has hung around for a long time. Smoke now rises over his capital a good metaphor for his rule. He has been since my senior yr a shadow over the world. Whether the Lockerbie Pan Am bombing or his threats of oil reprisal this desert shadow stubbornly remained. But I think his worse crime has been his repression on the souls of his countryman. This kind of scar may last well into generations. So now atleast whatever may follow his rule he is done and the smoke will rise for days ahead. When I have my birthday dinner I am going to have steak and lobster. A glass or two of wine as I celebrate with my family. But you know one of my pleasures during dinner will be that I have in a real way out lived that son of a bitch.

My Hometown Main Street and it's Decline Part 2

2011-08-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

This past week talking with a few people I was told that I made my last blog a bit to sentimental. They are probably correct. One of the reason for the decline was behavioral and social as well so here are a few stories about my hometown area that may shed some light on what the times were like in that sixties that I remember....After the sun went down the area could have a slight "wild west feel". Bars operating in an era when drinking was not considered such a vice. Local Pols would buy a round or two during election time. But things could and did get out of hand. Fights on the main drag happened with some frequency , the local ambulance was called on numerable occasions to help repair the aftermath. Afterall , there was only a part time Castleton Police Force and at that time no Schodack Police Dept. One memory I have is circa 1967 , the Village Inn decided to have what was known then as Go Go dancers. They would dance on the tables etc. Bring in the crowd that might go to Kapps in the Hollow Rennselear. Anyway , this attracted the attention of a local motor cycle gang I believe called The Iron Horseman. For about a month that hot summer they made it a frequent hangout. Lots of fights , drugs , property damage. Our local cops were overwhelmed and frankly scared somewhat shitless. After the bar closed upwards of fifty to seventy bikes would travel up through town on their way to the encampment they had in nearby Nassau. Lots of Harley noise , babies awakened , along with houses full of people. People got rapidly angry. The then town Supervisor Dr. Richard Drumn's phone began to ring off the hook , calls to State Senators and Assemblymen. Mayhem in our streets, pressure mounted rapidly. So quiet meetings were held in the town hall with police and political officials. The then State Senator Douglas Hudson was there , frankly tired of being awakened at 2:30m am at his Green Avenue home by the roar of cycles. A coordinated strategy was agreed to. Forces gather , State Troopers with County Sheriffs hit the Village on a Wednesday night. A long caravan with lights on drove from the Trooper Barracks through town towards the village. Atleast 10 police cars in total lined the Main Street. A long line of bikes and police cars on essentially a midnight raid. Tickets handed out , searches made a couple of busts. The message sent. Soon the dancers gone , so were the gang.....peace semi restored. As the sixties rolled on a more angry attitude was taking over America. Castleton was no different. Drugs entered the lexicon of things to do......speed being the most destructive. In 1969 our local hoodlum Walter Cooper turned a warm mid October evening into a near riot. People were flying small American on their cars to show support for our troops. Walter , after being thrown out of a local bar decided to burn a car flag on Main Street. Tempers erupted. Fights broke out , people went after Walter in a booze filled rage. I will tell you this , I convinced a young man just back from Vietnam in August to keep the shot gun in his truck of his car. It was one of the truly most frightening moments of my life. Things were that bad in America back then , divided and angry. From rumors I heard the local cops picked up Walter a couple of streets away and drove him to his parents home where he hid out for a few days. But soon enough he and his small gang were back out selling drugs and the like untill his next bust. Have not seen Walter Cooper in many years , what became of him remains atleast to me a mystery. Anyway these examples of my hometown main drag may demonstrate some reasons for decline. People were all ready turning to other places for entertainment and drinking was beginning to loose it's charm with organizations like MADD soon to begin formation. After my friends and I left for Collage we soon found our hometown less inviting and like so many left for what we hoped were greener pastures.

My Home Town Main Street and it's Decline : Castleton NY

2011-08-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

Spent part of this weekend in Syracuse NY area , you hear alot of discussion up there of decline of the Central NY area. When in Troy later in the weekend one hears of attempts at revival of the downtown. I have seen my share of economic and social decline over say the last forty yr in the Northeast especially. But I have seen spots where cities and towns have revived. My hometown of Castleton NY has seen it's share of decline as well. Castleton and the Town of Schodack has many street names , Chestnut , Green Ave , Boltwood Maple Hill Road , Hudson Street. We also have a Main Street. It sits where Castleton began , next to The Hudson River and the railroad tracks. The town built up from this once central business district. Most villages had a small central business hub , some still do. Ours still exists but in a greatly declined way. The following is some of my memories of that area from when I was growing up. I'm sure I will miss some items but this should show what was , most every place I describe is now long gone. Standing as I did recently on the north end of Main Street I attempted in my mind to recreate this area some 40 to 45 yrs ago. There were 2 service station where one could get there cars fixed or get gas. Olsen's was there largest owned by Dennis Olsen and his father. They also owned the ABC bus service which ran a commuter run from Albany to Castleton twice a day. ABC stood for Albany Brookview Castleton. I believe it ran untill the early 1970's. Further down was Garafalo's bar and restarant. They had a pretty good pizza. One story I remember is the engineer that worked on the Thruway bridge in the fifties would eat dinner there 6 days a week. Mrs Howe was a waitress there and once told me that he would work on his equations over dinner , his table full of papers. Further down the street was the Castleton Pharmacy. It sold out to Rite Aid in the mid- seventies. It was closed up and business shifted to Schodack Plaza. A few steps down was Pat the Barber. Open Tuesday thru Saturday. I remember the place being packed the week before the opening of school for that back to school hair cut. Lots of comic books to read as well as Look and Life magazines. Next to that was Bakers Supermarket.. Groceries , beer etc. Not alot of variety but you really could do your weeks shopping there. Across the street was the Methodist Church. Was there from 1898 till sometime in the late 70's early 80's when it moved further into the center of Schodack. A few steps down was a dry goods store that morphed into the Castleton Model Railroad Club.The Prins insurance agency was there next to it and still is. Next down the west side of the street was the Masonic Hall. I believe it was called the Sunnyside Lodge. As is Masonic custom it was on the second floor when renting the premises. The news stand once called Killmers. magazines , books , newspapers , fountain service. I used to buy my Saint Mystery Magazines there as well as The Sunday New York Times. Past the boat yard street where the Castleton Boat Club was located was the Village Inn liquor store and bar. Still there I believe.Across from that was our Atlantic Service Station. The Post Office was next built during The Eisenhower Administration. Finally as you are leaving the village was The Village Hall and library. Just outside of the Village limits was Dr. Kilmoblot's medical Bld. The west side of the street was mainly business , the eastern side houses and apartments. 90 percent of what I have described is now all gone , never to return. Malls and chain stores , I90 Bypass being completed pulled people away. The town expanded east away from the Hudson River , people did their shopping in neighboring towns and malls. My home town Main Street died a slow death over about a 20 yr decline and as is with so many such places is a shell of it's former self. Post War America stopped very little to consider what was being lost. It just moved on.

Hudson Hawk"s 100th Blog

2011-07-26T06:13:00.000-07:00

So , it has come to this. According to my stats I have now reached my 100th blog. So with my morning coffee I set down to ......say what. I guess I will do what writer , director , producer Blake Edwards said when he accepted his honorary Academy Award in the mid nighties. He said"when I really began to think about this I finally had to simply say I need to thank everybody.' So I do as well. I have received over 4,000 hits in the past few yrs and have received occasional comments. People have allowed me to interview them about their memories. Some people have simply remained my friend. All important to me. A few people have allowed me to explore their property as well as their memories. My wife has given me encouragement , atleast some of the time as long as I don't bring home to much clutter as she calls it. I even have a small but steady group of readers who check in to see what is new. To all I say a simple thanks. Whether I write of an aeroplane landing in Castleton NY in 1911 or a set of sports car keys I discover at a garage sale I am somewhat amazed people read about it from me. I intend with some of the time left to me to do some more exploring and piecing together. NYT's writer Thomas Friedman recently said the future belongs to those with imagination. This will create our new economy in the future. The more I look into the past I have come to believe that I explore imagination as well. We stand on the imagination of the past. So wherever this blog takes me once again thanks, BE SEEING YOU.

Paul McCartney: As The Moon Rose Over Yankee Stadium 7/15/11

2011-07-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

Last night as a full orange colored moon came up over Yankee Stadium on a warm , humid night I saw Paul McCartney step out on stage. It was an all most perfect night for a concert. The older crowd of which I am a member and the younger crowd not fully aware of the total body of work of this era seemed mellow and responsive. A good night , everyone got their monies worth. The audience was of course reliving a part of their past. but there was one part of the past that was missing. No , not Lennon or Harrison. Bad sound. A member of the band you did not see was there at the start of the stadium design. The acoustic engineer. We have come so far.....we have forgotten the past. Good sound was not all ways so , in many ways the rarity. The famous first concert of The Beatles at Shea Stadium was essentially done with only the bands amps and speakers. So all the screams was in a real sense a blessing.....you didn't have to hear them play. Companies like BOSE have taken science and made it functional. Places like the Fillmore in NYC and Aerodrome in Schenectady NY began to set a standard in decent sound reproduction in the 60's. Slowly this has been brought into this , the larger arena. Thank God.and science because it made for a very good night last night.

Pissing on Maple hill High School: Schodack NY12033

2011-07-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

They say confession is good 4 the soul. So here is a story of minor confession. First weekend after graduation. Me and a friend whose identity I will leave blank.....................were going to pick up another friend. OK we both had a couple of beers. It was the first Saturday after. graduation. As we drove past our recently graduated high school one of us suggested we urinate on the school. So we pulled in back of the school and went to where the old Gym was located. It was after seven and no one was around. A few feet from a drinking fountain in back we let it rip. On this solemn occasion of minor rebellion for some reason we decided to sing our Alma Mater.
On the heights above the Hudson , famed in history seen , stands our noble Alma Mater , gracious and serene.
Castleton will keep they memory ever in it's heart , may they teachings guide us safely , though we're far apart.
We finished , started to laugh and went back to the truck. As we pulled out down the road we saw a Schodack police car. Call it teenage paranoia , or perhaps we somehow had not committed the perfect crime we hung a left and went in the opposite direction from where we were going. Took another right , headed towards Gould Apple Orchards. Low and behold as we looked back so did the police car. Oh shit. He was still far back , we speeded up. No doubt probably just on patrol but we wanted to get away. So we ended up pulling into the Eckert's driveway and pulled behind a tree. The police car passed. at a rather high rate of speed. Hhhmmm. better cover our trail. So we took a longer route around. After a couple of minutes we both started laughing. A cathartic laugh , a deep laugh that came from deep within us. We were graduates , to many memories and I assure you not all good. Free at last , free at last , thank God Almighty we are free at last. We pulled over & continued our laugh fest for a couple of minutes. Lets go pick up J. We had in a small way moved on. I know , how immature , stupid , etc. But we have both gone onto responsible adulthood , and most likely remember our farewell.

Moordener Kill Schodack NY

2011-07-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog from a hotel , the Best Western at Franklyn Square Inn in Troy New York. I have spent the last couple of days exploring the lower Moordener Kill in Schodack/Castleton New York area. Met a couple of fisherman and 4 kids swimming under the lower falls. School is out and the kids so far seemed to enjoy the summer. Even in the later 19th Century this was an area of recreation. I have found old nails and such I believe from when there were benches below the lower falls. People would use that area to cool off and enjoy the natural beauty. Trust me I find that area still quite attractive despite remainders of industrial use like the concrete pilings. On ebay I have purchased a postcard postmarked July of 1913. It shows the upper falls. Though written in pencil it was sent to a lark Street location in Albany. I can read a portion saying wonderful time , beautiful town. The falls were apparently a beauty spot of Schodack. I have read old letters telling of people taking their Sunday's after church in the gorge area reading newspapers and playing in the water etc. Probably the coolest part of the area to be in on a hot summer day. This went on even into the 1950's where people ice skated above the upper falls then known as The Dam. Also swimming in various parts of the stream. On Patrick Way there was a place known as The Grove. Picnic tables and places to cookout were there and many families and church groups reserved time . There was also a small store that sold soda and basics of that nature. Essentially an old fashioned swimming hole. Times have certainly changed especially since the suburban push began in the late 1950's , early 1960's within the village and town. We were going from a rural backwater to more a suburban culture very rapidly. This is why I have spent time on my last couple of trips , finding evidence of this past though much has been flushed to the Hudson river where it empties. So after a long day of this searching it is time for dinner and an early goodnight.

Neighborhood House Parties And Their Decline

2011-07-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

Being that the 4th of July is on a Monday this yr we are starting what we call a long holiday weekend.. The beach or visiting relatives , fire works , cookouts. Kids are on summer vacation. Weather looks overall good. Good times ahead. Now I don't want to make this out to be a remember the good old day's piece. God knows we hear that alot. But one thing I wish to write about before my tickets to the Mets game arrives is about a memory I have. House parties. In his book Bowling Alone Robert D. Putnam attempts to demonstrate how increasing fragmented our society is becoming. How we are becoming a less social society and participate less in civic affairs. I agree. A while back I came across an old Look magazine. One of the things I noticed was an advertisement for a charcoal grill. The caption stated excitement for your next House Party. Now there is a term you don't hear that much anymore. House Party. I am as you might guess in my fifties. I've got a long memory perhaps to long. But as a kid & teenager I do remember many more simple get togethers in local neighborhoods. Generally called House Parties , especially in the summer months. Invite some relatives , some neighbors , perhaps work associates. Fire up the grill , get a cooler full of beer and soda for the kids throw on the ice. If you had a pool the more fun. One could drive by the various newer housing developments in my hometown of 12033 in the early evening and see the garage door opened a few lawn chairs out lights on and people relaxing and talking.having maybe one to many beers or glasses of Sangria. What is my point here is our basic social beings were getting fed. Increasingly psych research shows us that for a greater feeling of social happiness we need these connections. I do believe we have less than we did. But for many the loner style so treasured in film and social lore is a myth. We need people , connection. Those House Parties provided connection , simple function that they were.Honestly many of the conversations at these events were not deep. Sometimes politics but more likely Moms talking about what department store like a Robert Hall had the best sales on school clothes for the fall or who had gotten engaged etc. OK , to much boozing back then.....to many cigarettes smoked......to much keeping up with The Jones , sure. That was America back then. Like today there was no lack of social critics. But somewhere we sunk into a deeper quiet than is in my opinion been healthy for us on a personal level or The Body Politic as we used to say. But frankly BSing on a summer evening or even a mid -February gathering in a living room had real benefit. Nothing terribly formal mind you but you stayed within a construct of a community. Felt a part of something bigger than you. Now off my Soap box. Enjoy the weekend.

JC Whitney Basic Car Air Conditioner Discovered

2011-06-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

JC Whitney was and is a mail order car parts company I believe based out of Chicago. Their catalog ordering kept many an old car going or improved. Ordered VW parts from them many yrs ago. At a Garage Sale near Baldwin NY I discovered for sale at $.50 a really unusual and odd Whitney product from the late 50's , early 60's. It was a car ice cube air conditioner. The ladies who were selling noticed my attention to the item. One came over and asked me what the heck it was. It had come from her Fathers garage who had passed away this past February. I explained what it was , how it worked. I explained that I actually knew a {red neck] who had one . She offered to give it to me.....I declined. This is how this most basic of air conditioners worked. Once mounted somewhere on dash board of your car and the direct current wire attached to a hotwire under the dash one would fill the tray container with ice cubes. Flick the switch and on would come the fan. The air would blow over the ice cooling it down and put cooler air into the car. It actually did work to some degree. Anyway , it came out as a novelty product when car air conditioning began to come into the market. In the 50's when air conditioning began to take over from fans or a shady porch it was an expensive item. But with increased traffic flow and more "traffic jams" it rapidly became a prized option. As we know today it is practically standard equipment on most cars. So , a short trip back to mail order automotive artifact time. Car stuff always fascinates me even this stuff.

Three Young Guys in a Bar

2011-06-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

I have just finished the book Fire and Rain. It was a look back at the year 1970 and what was happening in music and culture. Many things were beginning to change that year after the 1960's had marched through. I have been fascinated by this time period as well....have written some about that period. So many things were quickly passing , so much building. Unless you were there or sort of there it is hard to explain what currents were weaving through society at that moment. So I present this story as a micro look at that time , about midway through that year. One cannot be sure but I think it has the sort of personal history that may reflect the developing mood across a nation which was quite weary at that moment. It begins ....there are three young guys in a bar. They are at best nominal of any faith. But as many jokes go a Catholic a Jew and a Protestant. the bar is Garafalo's Bar in Castleton N.Y. 12033. Long now closed. It is mid July. They sit in a booth nursing their Budweiser beers. The door to the bar is open as it is humid. Something not allowed anymore because of health laws. A 1966 Ford Falcon with a loud exhaust passes by and then burns rubber at the stop light. These guys have known each other since early elementary school.. They are unusually quiet. The afterglow of High School Graduation has passed , all the graduation parties done , gifts received and congratulations given. Summer jobs are here. One remarks that after waiting for so long to graduate the feeling goes so quickly. We will not be going back....which we all agreed was a very good thing. I remarked that the past year was the only year I actually enjoyed for yrs. As a matter of fact I had returned home from another school and to be honest come back from a sort of private edge , my past year with a little help from my friends turned out to keep me focused and I was indeed changing toward a more adult outlook. Though I would not admit it at the time. College beckoned us all. We planned some adventures but we were indeed going to new places. Then one of us said........I am sick of the sixties.....the arguing .......the war.......protests .....riots........Jesus will things ever quiet down. We were quiet for a moment , Then we all agreed. We seemed to feel fatigue , a situational fatigue. We did not know it of course but people like Hendrix would soon be dead. Our high school era was really ending.. The Beatles had split in the spring. What had anchored us was leaving. We didn't say that of course more of a gut feeling. Society was turning , Kent State shootings were a watershed for many of us. We did not realize it but we were responding to our young national cultural mood. So were it seems many young people. College campus's were becoming rapidly more quiet , The Nixon Administration was in charge , Woodstock seemed a long ago event that night though it was less than a year before. It is not that we suddenly lost our wise ass adolescent edge but we were somehow looking at a bottom line. We were going to be something else. That night we began to talk about some of what we wanted to accomplish. College and careers. One of us was within two years of meeting his future wife which would have shook us to the core if we knew something like that. I bought a round , and we talked some more. A discussion of the future , the kind of discussion America was having it appears. By the next New Years we looked alot different from say the recent ball busting American year of 1968. I think our quiet thoughtful talk that night was happening all over.....reevaluation ........all most in a semi conscious way. America of that present a few short months after a new decade was rung in was moving as perhaps America does best quickly. We don't have as a people alot of patience. Not then and not now. This conversation stayed with me all these years. At Garaflo's that night we may have put a foot into our next life. As our society was as well. It was nice to do it with my friends.

Jim Morrison : You've Been Dead A Long Time

2011-06-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to my home town , I stopped by one of our local cemeteries. I promised my cousin I would stop by and "pay my respects" to a family friend who had recently passed away. By the way , I hate cemeteries and funerals as well. But a promise is a promise. After a short search , found it stood there for a couple of minutes. Thought about their life for a moment. As I was walking out I passed the grave of an old classmate which caused me a moments delay. I kept walking and then stopped. An odd artifact of sorts on the ground in front of me. Reached down , picked it up. An old Doors LP or as we called them a record. It was weather worn but the label could still be read. It was their first album I believe....the one that featured Light my Fire. Came out around 1967 I believe. The shorter version of light my fire became the big hit of that long ago summer. My first real kiss occurred that summer.....while that song played on the radio. East Hampton Connecticut in July of 1967 while on a visit to my aunt & uncle's home summer home. Amazing how a memory can be jogged out of ones mind. What this record was doing there , who knows. People do leave all sorts of things on graves for the dead. But of course it is a way to comfort ones self. Morrison would of course die in July of 1971....purported drug overdose. He is buried in a much different place than a small local cemetery in Schodack , NY. He was buried in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. My daughter while on a semesters study in Italy stopped by his grave while on a visit to the city of light. Believe it or not it is one of the top 10 most visited sites in Paris. Not forgotten after all these yrs. A best selling post card you can buy is Morrison's grave. Imagine that....Jim Morrison's grave up there with National attractions like the Eiffel Tower. A sustained memory , part talent , part illusion , part lost memory , like along ago lost kiss. I never saw The Doors play live except on the Sullivan Show. Owned their music. Part of a young life at the time. But the yrs have gone by , you have been dead a long time. I placed the album down on the ground where I found it and continued on my way out.

Schodack Valley Spring / Schodack N.Y. 12033

2011-06-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

I spent the last few days doing some research and collecting near and around The Moordenkill stream in and around the Castleton / Schodack township area. An interesting area which I have been itching to explore in more detail for quite a while. I received a good room deal at the Franklin Square Inn in Troy , NY so I had a good set of digs from which to set off from. Spent a long day in the Moordenkill Gorge , photos , some interesting rock finds which I may discuss at another time. On one of my passes along Schodack Valley road I passed a small abandoned dwelling. A few minutes later my memory was jogged. I went back took out the Vietnam Style Tomahawk I have in my bag and chopped away some trees of paradise. There it was , a once famous spring in this area. Old field notes would provide more history. This spring has been active for well over a century. Generally it has been referred to as the Schodack Valley Spring. Old interviews in the sixties and early seventies revealed that this was a well traveled road 70 plus yrs ago. When horses were still used for farming or teams of oxen it was stated to me that no animal would pass by this roadside spring without drinking their full. Many people would travel to it for drinking water as it was considered widely as a very sweet spring. It was even considered in a strange way to be a health drink. If one had a sick animal that wasn't eating well a pale of this water could be restorative. As the yrs passed it was used for many people as a good drinking water and was used in apple cider making. I have even talked with WWII vets who told me it was a sobbering up place when that generation finished up their night on the town so to speak. A couple of slurps of water , throw some on you face you felt more sobber already. Hence my last previous visit to this watering hole. Circa July or August in the yr 1970. I and a couple of friends stopped by for a late night drink and a cold splash on the face.That is an old memory. But remember young drinking was not as frowned upon as it is now by various parts of society. Anyway it appears that this spring going into an old barrel is not as nearly used at it once was. I can't vouch for it's purity but I did take a short drink and threw some water on my face and sunburned red neck. So far no ill effects. These sort of springs are neglected in many areas but were once where communities might form around with a reliable source of good healthy water. If I was going to start a business today I might buy that property and start a spring water company.....God knows how many spring waters are on the market but this might have been worth the risk capitol.

Walking the Fields of Carnage

2011-05-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last week with my Pal Marty Rumpole we traveled Civil War Battlefields of Gettysburg and Antietam. Quick stop off in Harper's Ferry. I did my major time at Gettysburg. Bike tour of the battlefield with a guide Walked Pickett's Charge. Absorbed the history from the Guide and he really knew his history. Little Round Top , Devils Den came fully alive with a good guide. What moved me the most was our early evening walk of the open field of the final charge of the battle. It has become known as Pickett's Charge. I walked it both ways from the Union lines and the high water mark to the statue of General Lee & back again. By the way a note the field is full of ticks so beware. In that walk through the muck and humidity of that field I became moved by the fact I was stepping on ground where dead men once lay. The carnage of over a mile in length with precious little cover. Essentially only a few fences. Under constant fire. War........what we have done & continue to do to one another. Marty and I grew quiet the further we walked. All the facts we knew , all the books read. That sometimes can not really tell the story. Sometimes a simple walk is a book within itself. After we finished I felt a sense of being alone as darkness was rapidly falling. Missed the wife I guess.

The Saint Will Be Back : James Purefoy As Templar

2011-04-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

I was informed last night by Feed Blitz that the actor James Purefoy has been once again selected to be the famous Simon Templar. He was scheduled to do the role a couple of yrs ago but they say complications intervened etc etc . So the filming is scheduled to begin apparently this July in New Orleans. As a minor league history guy why does this interest me , a TV movie of an old semi forgotten sleuth. Well first , I like old time detective fiction. Maltese Falcon , The Thin Man etc. My dog is named after Dashiell Hammet the author of many classics of the genre. But it occurred to me late last night perhaps something slightly more interesting is going on , at least to me. A new James Bond novel is due out next month by Jeffrey Deaver , a new Saint novel is being worked on by Burl Baer. James Bond movie # 23 is soon to start production and is due out in 11/12. Last and I hope not least it has been reported that Johnny Depp has signed on to do the next reincarnation of The Thin Man. The first Saint novel published in 1928 , Bond 1951 , The Thin Man 1932 I believe. All 3 authors long dead. So why do we as a segment of society keep going back to characters such as these ? I have actually given this topic some thought. Both in my career & life I have seen in people deal with all the changes that have been piled on in the last few yrs. As a matter of fact I myself am sick of phrases such as "you have got to embrace change". Bullshit ! I have had my share of change , liked some , dealt with some but I will embrace what I choose to embrace. These figures from the secret agent past perhaps shows us folks a figure who despite danger feels comfortable in their skin and continue to be as they are. They do as all ways give us escape. To give a strained metaphor they are our lighted lamp post in the night we can lean against , light a cigarette , take a breath and continue our walk down the troubled street ahead. I told you it was strained.

Amsler's Penny Candy Store Castleton N.Y. 12033

2011-04-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

I was up to the Albany N.Y. area this week finalizing travel plans to Gettysburg with my friend Marty the lawyer known affectionately as Rumpole to friend and foe alike. Anyway on the way back I could not resist a stop over in my hometown of Schodack. I wanted to take a look at a spot on the Moordeners Kill that I have a plan on doing some exploratory work this or next summer. It was Spring Break , kids were off from school so many younger kids were out and about in the town despite it being a rather chilly late April day. I remembered a recent conversation with a long time resident about our mutual school days and she mentioned Amslers store. Located on Ransom Street located in the Village. On one side of Ransom Avenue is essentially a couple of corner houses a Telephone Bld and the rest is parking lot & playing fields of Castleton Elementary School. The other side essentially houses , former Ray Funeral Home and Amsler's store were located on that side of the street. Ransom is a common looking street that most Americans would feel reasonably comfortable around. As of around 4 yrs ago the old bld still stood looking much like an old garage painted a mustard brown. This was a hub of many kids and teenagers lives from the 40's to appx the mid 60's. It was sort of an old basic general store , few basic groceries , beer , cigarettes , newspapers , penny candy. In the evenings a few locals might have a card game going on. I have been told basic philosophy was also dispensed by old man Amsler. But I can tell you , going there as a kid was in a real sense a right of passage. When you were deemed old enough to ride your bike to that place you had obtained a new stature. I remember going there with Steven Ennis with a dime between us and carefully selecting our candy stash. To be honest I also bought cigarettes for my Mom....Kool was her brand. There was a time there was no age limit for buying cigarettes. Kids bought their cigs there all the time. I believe it cost around a quarter a pack back then. Oddly one of my favorite candies back then still is in use in my home today. Atomic Fireballs. By the way back in those old days they were much hotter. I remember some kids essentially getting chemical type burns in there cheeks from over use. But this was our central meeting place as kids , in the summer we caught up on kid type news of who was doing what , count down to return to school and what teachers we faced in the next grade. This store was our version of our street corner , our facebook and or e-mail. Certain little rituals were created like finale soda of the summer. Steven Ennis and I became blood brothers in the back of Amsler's , a ritual many kids did involving cutting ones self and pressing the cuts together to join the blood. This was witnessed by 5 other kids with a certain solemness. Mr. Amsler died circa mid sixties and the store soon closed. It was missed.........since I was in town I drove past the site of where it was. A small garage storage type bld now sits where it once was. One would never know what a central place this once was. Anyway I soon was off to check out an old VW bug that was for sale on Maple Hill Rd. A Super Beetle as a matter of fact..........later in the early evening as I traveled towards home in 11509. That area is a nice area near the ocean but interestingly all most every house has a fence around it. Few know their neighbors well and frankly probably don't want to. The local coffee shop "The Korner Kitchen" is a friendly enough place but it is a quick in and; out type shop. Very little conversation. Nobody hanging out for long , so has gone our society.

Jefferson's Birthday Today 4/13/11

2011-04-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

We do not have Jefferson's Birthday Sales at Sears & Macy's. This day only gets a humble mention on line or on the back pages of The Times & will it be mentioned in our schools today ? Perhaps at Mr. Jefferson's School in Virginia. He was a man of contradictions , wisdom , words and he had the grace to die along with Adams on the 4 th of July. I think tonight I shall surprise my wife with some humble flowers. As a man who likes , collects and works in history I think it worthy of a moment in fast paced America. Be Seeing You.

Volvo P 1800 Keys Discovered

2011-04-12T07:41:00.000-07:00

It was the last Saturday of March , I had taken a quick day trip to the 06037 region of Southern New England , in other words Berlin , Connecticut. A quick visit to my Aunt & Uncle. While there near Webster Ridge area I discovered a Garage Sale. I stopped by because as a teenager I knew the couple who lived there. The husband now gone a couple of yrs and his widow thinning out her life as she prepares for her early 80's and probably selling her home. Her older daughter Susan was helping & after a few moments she remembered me. I have not seen her in over 35 yrs so I felt slightly honored. Anyway I looked around just to be polite. Suddenly in a bowl of odds & ends I spotted them. I walked over & picked them up. Of course , Paul once owned a Volvo P1800 sports car. It all came back to me , it was red , black interior. The car of Roger Moore when he played The Saint on television. Simon Templar's car. I held the keys in my hand , looked at them and his daughter commented "oh the Volvo , Dad's mid-life crisis car." Atleast that is what she and her Mom called it. He bought new in 1968 , sold it in 1984 after many good yrs of service , later sold in the late 80's to a College Student who racked it up on the Berlin Turnpike late at night just south of Hartford. Mores the pity. I consider these cars a work of art. So of course I had found my artifact for the day , purchased them for a nominal cost and was soon after a quick good by to Aunt & Uncle off for home in the late afternoon........On the way back home I once took them out of my pocket , felt their presence in my hand looked them over again. One of the definitions of man is that he can make and use tools. We don't often think of keys as tools often but they are. They are a gateway tool for doing other things. When it comes to car keys , a defining number of things. Memories came back of my friend Ron's brothers 1800. It was Safari Yellow. He would leave it at his parents house over many summer weekends. We would work on it , keep it going , of course use it. That is where I fell in love with this model. So did Kunicki. There was just something about it , it's rareness , it's handling , it looks. It also had odd little touches , a switch on the dash activated an electronic 5th gear as an example. One memory I have is a dark and stormy late summer night in 1970. We were returning from a club called The Barrel in Rensselaer , NY. He were heading over the old grooved iron bridge towards the suburb of East Greenbush. The bridge was slick , we went into a skid on the uneven grooves. For a moment Ron took his hands off the wheel and that is all it took , the car pulled itself from the skid. Both of us somewhat intoxicated broke into a dark laughter. Saved by engineering......anyways other car related memories came flooding back back but another time. After a couple of days I traveled over to one of my research sources , Chardonas the Locksmith in Island Park. Given enough time and sometimes a fee arrangement some research is done. He went into the computer and one of his blank key books. The ignition key serial # 214315 was madein the 60's era and was smaller than most American car keys. The smallest key was a glove compartment key. Stamped made in England and Union. I was not sure about this key but glove compartment keys were apparently much more common than today. The last key a trunk key similar but different from the ignition key. The Volvo key fob was of the older variety Volvo logo. My research payment was to have a key made , costing me a hefty $8.70. The 1800 hundred blank alone took 10 minutes to find. Anyway , was now sure they were genuine. So , I had a memory but not the car. As it so happened , I did not add this to as my wife calls it my pile of junk. What I call artifacts. In the Indiana Jones , movie the Last Crusade , Jones states of an artifact that he is trying to obtain "it belongs in a museum". Kunicki's birthday is in March and so a couple of days later he received an unusual gift. By the way he is used to getting unusual things from me in the mail from around the world. I suspect this was one of his favorites , as he has the ignition & glove compartment key on his current key chain. So they found a good home that has a certain appreciation for them. Automotive memories can be some of the best.

Reverberator Discovered/Schodack NY

2011-04-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Helping friend clean out their Mother's garage I discovered an odd piece of automotive and radio history. It was buried under old records & old Haynes repair manuals for VW Bugs and items such as that. It was odd enough to stop for a couple of minutes and look it over. At first I had to think exactly what it was and then it came to me from a memory of the mid-sixties. Essentially circa 1964 or 1965 It was labeled a reverberator and it was once a "Hip" sort of item to have installed in your car. What it was essentially did was to create an electronic echo chamber. It made your top forty radio station sound atleast in theory "better". As a matter of fact probably the main reason I have any memory at all of this craze is that my older brother had one installed in his car. A few days later I thought about the Reverberator. A few memories surfaced . This was a time when many cars had duel antennas which people thought would give better radio reception. They were wrong but it looked "cool" anyway. FM radio existed but not yet in heavy use and most cars sold did not yet have AM / FM radios , only AM. I do remember a few cars driven by a younger crowd driving by with radios blasting and hearing the echo sound. Weird. Anyway this echo chamber era was a real short one. Probably if my memory serves me maybe a year. People began to find them to be irritating , began to turn them off and they began to go off the market. Later sixties or early seventies garage sales began to have them up for sale {CHEAP}. So anyway.....that item is now discarded in an electronic recycle bin. Farewell to a short lost era.

Under the Gretchen Moon : Schodack N.Y.

2011-03-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

When I was in elementary school in the Castleton NY 12033 area there was an unfortunate women that lived near our elementary school with her family. Her name was Gretchen.......I will not reveal her last name. She was psychotic and delusional. Her claim to the town's fame was the local looney as many referred to her. Usually during the full moon , she would dress up in what would have been fashionable clothes in the 30's often with a beret and walk for miles all over the town of Schodack. Other times of the month she would act quite within normal bounds for an elderly woman in her 70's. I once had a conversation with her during one of her quiet times. She asked me about school and the recent weather ect. Normal. But those times when she became active became the stuff of legend in our small town. She would talk loudly to people that were not there , walk sometimes 10 to 15 miles from her home , often with an angry scowl on her face. I remember many times passing her in the night in our parents car as she walked by the side of the road. Needless to say she held an all most legendary position to the kids of the town. She was our Boogey man so to speak. Trust me you avoided her at those times. Legendary stories were told of her , how she became as she was. A nurse in WW1 that had a shell burst near her medical tent......left by a doctor/ lover leaving her to always search for him. Who knows? On occasion she would walk by a home of someone she had known during childhood and call out their name. Sometimes call them to come out and play. All this was tolerated by the citizens of Schodack. Her family in whatever dysfunctional manner they lived seemed to accept her for what she was and let her be her untreated self. One of my dark memories of her was on a late May night when I was a kid of around 10 or 11. I could not sleep as often happens in my adulthood. So I was looking out the window out at the sky & the moon. It was about 2:00 am in the morning. Off in the distance down the street I saw her shadow like figure walk under a dim street light. Silent and grim she walked the night....sending a chill down my spine. I suppose it had to eventually happen....she was struck by a car along route 9. She was not killed but suffered multiple fractures of leg and hip. She lived another 2yrs but never walked again. As the yrs went by her memory faded.....she died and was buried in her family plot I believe without a headstone. But the funny thing is ....she left a deep impression on my generation. I talked with a handful of people from that era in the town. All remember her and all have a story. A story more from their darker recesses. She left an odd mixture of fear & curiosity behind.

An Ode To My Wife Beth

2011-03-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

Last July I celebrated my 30th anniversary. My children rented out the Farmer Boy Diner in Schenectady and we had a large celebration. By the way that is where a young broke Human Service worker used to take his girlfriend for a late dinner. Anyway , being married to a mildly quirky guy with unusual hobbies like rally racing , archaelogy , history , rowing , old cars and attempts to create art is not easy. At my home in 11509 there is a pile of rocks and stones I have dragged home to examine to see if they were stone tools. My wife in frustration used them to create a rock garden. Often I view my life in terms of BC before Crounse her maiden name and AD after domination. Ha Ha . She does not find it funny as either. But I felt it only fair to give her a mention. To say thanks Hon , appreciate it. Could not have remained as whole without you.

Some of my source people

2011-03-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

I think it is time I printed a list of some of the people I remember through conversation or interview that have given me source material for this blog. History is sometimes just memory and many of these people are memory , many now gone.

Vivian Ingalls Teacher Maple Hill High School Schodack New York
Elmer Henniger Justice of the Peace Schodack
Lewis Hudson former Town of Schodack Supervisor
Eloise Hanreader
Ron Kunicki
Lillian Kunicki
Ted Kunicki
Willard Wright
Ruth Steele Teacher MHHS
Charles Harris Carpenter
Peter Stohl Teacher
George Andrews
Jack Ray Funeral Director
Betty Ann Crounse
Kenneth and Virgina Golden
Marion and Henry Peters
Benny Funk
Janet Abelseth
Tim Harris Teacher Baltimore Maryland.
Douglas Hudson NYS Senator
Ernest Hudson
Margaret Ward Teacher MHHS
Gerald Boule Teacher MHHS
Edgar Swartz
Ruth Speasky
Ruth M. Hudson Former Town Clerk Schodack NY 12033
Beverly Ingalls
Fletcher Thomas Former race car driver
Arnold Feldman Map Maker
Loretta Harris Author & Geneologist
Hope Long
Donna Blasch
Susan Walsh
John Connolly
Pauline Jennings
Arnold Bonwitt'
Dennis Olson
Jeffrey Hudson
My thanks to these people living & dead I know I have left some people out but will add to another list in the future.

Fish Kills on the Hudson Castleton NY 12033

2011-03-09T04:56:00.000-08:00

Reading in the New York Times today that there are enormous sardine mass deaths off the coast of California . Speculation is lack of oxygen as the fish crowded into the harbor. Millions of dead Sardines. I remember smaller fish kills along the Hudson River in my youth in my hometown of Castleton on Hudson New York 12033. As I have previously stated in other blogs that Castleton was noted for it's rate of high pollution. Once was sited in a 1967 NYT Magazine article as the biggest polluters in the Hudson River Valley. Between the Brown Company paper mill and the Anti-Corrosive small steel mill , the open sewers directly into the river and general dumping by garages and farm runoff into streams we had problems in this area. This toxic mix along with the general pollution of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers lead to fish mass killings. Especially at Castleton where it seemed many fish or waterfowl decided to give up so to speak. In I believe 1966 in June or July atleast plus 500 fish washed up on shore with the river tides. With plus 85 degree weather this made for unpleasant times for residents along the river . Many took vacation time to escape. In those times one could smell the river more than two miles away if the prevailing westerlies were blowing. On more than one occasion bulldozers were used to plow up the mass of dead fish and cart them off by dump truck to be buried. With modern pollution legislation this mass killing problem was eventually eliminated to a large extent within the Hudson Valley region. Making summers a more livable circumstance.

Duke Snyder and the Montreal Expos

2011-03-01T12:17:00.000-08:00

Well Duke Snyder passed away this past weekend. I barely remember when he played briefly for the Mets. So I don't recall him well as a player , what my memory of him is as an announcer for the Expos in the late 80's up to about the mid nineties. I lived in the Adk Mts back then and could get Canadian channels on cable. There was on CBC a limited number of English language broadcasts of Expos games. He did what some refer to as the color commentary. Noted for talking slowly and filling the air during some horrific seasons before the spectra of Major League baseball was given up in that city. With all I have read of The Duke these past couple of days I don't recall reading of his time in the booth. So for the record add this on to a great career.

Buick Opel Kadett Memo Uncovered

2011-02-28T07:26:00.000-08:00

Sometimes one does not have to dig into the earth to practice a rough form of Archeology , or dig into an old archive in a library to find an interesting piece of history. Such is the case with a couple of garage sales recently visited. I purchased a couple of diagrams / schematics of automobiles or as it says on one a werkzeichnung. They were of Opel cars , sold in the United States appx from 1965 to 1975. The incomplete memo was sent by GM to select dealers as apparently as a sales guide. Opel's were being imported from the Opel Company in Germany that General Motors had a share in ownership. As the memo stated " to directly compete with the Volkswagen market share." It appears this memo may have gone to dealers in larger college markets. This memo from the Syracuse , New York region. They wanted the college student market. Hence , the memo advised the younger salesmen show to the Kadett fleet off the the younger crowd. It was further suggested such sales points be used as the term "GERMAN ENGINEERING. " Just like the VW. Unlike the VW this brand of cars with a watercooled engine actually had heat in the winter. The small Kadett also possessed a much larger trunk than the VW Beetle , perfect for packing off to college. The memo than began to talk about the Rallye Sport model as a quality and economic alternative to the much more expensive sports car market when there were no more remaining pages. Having driven an old Kadett , I have a certain fond memory of them. Or perhaps more a memory of youth but anyway the Kadetts are hardly seen today except in a classic car show or two. One still sees a VW Bug laboring by on occasion and are remembered much more fondly by the general public almost as a symbol of the era. The Opel Kadett left long behind.

Dead Cow Washes onto Hudson River Shore Castleton NY 12033

2011-02-08T06:32:00.000-08:00

I recently read a story of a dead cow washing up on shore near Seattle WA. Discovered late last month by authorities who have been unable to discover previous owner. This story jogged my memory. It took me to the evening just before I fell asleep to remember the story of a similar incident in the Town of Schodack , near Castleton. I believe this story was told to me by a Malcolm Harris who lived in the Chatham NY area and was a crane operator who worked on the Castleton Thruway Bridge construction project. In the early months of the initial construction on the east shore of the Hudson in what is now the area of a shoreline NYS Park construction workers discovered a dead Holstine cow. It had washed up during the night on this late March morning. As the morning worn on a few locals made quiet inquires to local farmers , no one was missing a member of their herd. So what to do? Now a days the health dept would be called , animal control etc. The workers at the site just wanted to dispose of the dead cow. It was bloated and mangled and some speculated it may have been hit by a passing ship. So somewhere near where the concrete pillars that support the bridge structure are located , a pit was dug. Cleared brush and refuse from the site was gathered up and placed in the pit as well as the cow. Fuel was added and ignited. As the day wore on additional material was added along with additional fuel. It appears the fire smoldered well into late Friday afternoon when it was buried by bulldozer. So that is the story for what it is worth. A piece of odd history now told.

Oarsmen Eleven Rowing Club : Castleton NY 12033

2011-01-27T07:47:00.000-08:00

Castleton on Hudson New York 12033 is a small village located about five miles south of the State Capitol of Albany. In it's hay day , Castleton was a small but busy river port and train stop. Those days are long gone of course. At present there is a Castleton Boat Club located on the river. But at one point for a few yrs there was a rowing club that made it's nominal home in that town. The name was Oarsmen Eleven Rowing Club. So named because of the original 11 members. I was one of them. We did not row sculls but had a 16 ft ocean going life boat built in the 60's by the Boston Whaler company. Four could row one on the tiller. Sort of like rowing " The Eights ." By the way I had upon occasion rowed the eights in my junior yr of High School. Hence that is how I was drafted into our society , from past acquaintance. Hello Tim Matheson where you now might be. Anyway my first trek was what we hoped was to be our annual early morning float down. We started near Troy at about 4:45 am and traveled down the river starting in the dark. Perhaps we were trying to prove we were tough. But it was about 17 above zero and we were freezing our asses off. Though I must say Albany never looked better than in that early morning light. Still we were overjoyed to land in the Papscanee Island Preserve area get the boat out and get warm. We went out to breakfast at the East Greenbush Diner after the team was reassembled. We all agreed that of maiden voyage was fun but not to be an annual event. Jesus it was cold. By the way brandy did help. So the club pretty much was a late spring to mid fall affair. We stored the boat in back of 110 Scott Avenue and took turns on use. The club was in existence from 1994 untill 1999. A few new members were added along the way but as we went deeper into middle age interest became less. Plus our wives grew tired of it as well.The boat ended up in 06037 and last time I heard went next to Croton /Harmon N.Y. For a while the club rowed the river from below the Castleton Thruway Bridge to near the Port of Albany and back again. Oarsmen Eleven.

Hudson's Barbecue Sauce

2011-01-18T08:13:00.000-08:00

Well , I am not a great cook. My culinary experiments have sometimes met with disaster. However , I have obtained some success with my barbecue sauce I like grilling even in winter so I tend to stick with that. So here by request is my recipe for Hudson Hawk's Sauce.

One quarter cup butter
2 cans chopped tomatoes or puree
One quarter cup vinegar
One small to medium onion , finely chopped.
2 tsp. salt {you can use less for lower salt diet}
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp paprika
Pinch or two of ginger
2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 quarter tsp Tabasco or more according to taste.
1 tsp of black pepper {I prefer course ground}
1 and a half tsp of sugar
Mix ingredients well and simmer for 20 minutes. Use for chicken or beef or other favored meat. This recipe makes about enough for 5 pounds of meat or chicken. Have also used as a serving sauce. ENJOY.

History Is Not An Antidepressant

2011-01-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

So many times in difficult moments of our personnel or civic life you often hear people remark how they miss what America and their place in it was. In certain days people feel we were better or more civilized or whatever. We all probably fall victim to these emotions at some point. I myself as well . I have even been retrospective in this my occasional blog about my interactions and experiences of my life past. But the truth so often is not quite as we remember. I have a few fond memories of my hometown life in Schodack , NY 12033. Certain friends and events. But if after moments of thinking of past times with a reflective kindness my sense of historical reality always seems to intrude. We travel through a whirlwind of events , great and small. As someone is in a circle of the glow of life , someone else is miserable. For old school people as an example I might wish to see and discover how some are doing , there are many more people I wish to avoid on a permanent basis. As events this past weekend of the mass political shooting in Tucson AZ unfolded several times people commented what we have become and what better times there was. Bullshit. The sixties were a mass of conflict , assassination , riot , and past discrimination coming home to roost in our cities and of course the ongoing war in Vietnam. The drug problems we have now got a strong foothold in those days. The following decades had their less treasured moments of political strife and social pain. I have also seen improvement in the lives of people and institutions , more responsive to a broader range of the populace. Yes we are a culture more rude and violent on some scales. It is a mistake on the parts of historians or regular folk to avoid the true sense reality of what really was. History is not an antidepressant to be used as a reflective drug to calm or condemn. If it were a drug it would cause a complex reaction , not to be surprised all over again by what just happened.

The Politics of Snow Removal: Schodack New York

2011-01-03T06:22:00.000-08:00

As I write this in early 2011 the down state New York area has just dug out of a large snow storm. No one is at this moment quite sure why the streets were plowed so badly in the tri State area during and after this storm. Tax paying citizens in an uproar , mayors & the New Jersey Governor are in a scramble to explain. This will as well pass. I am an old enough old goat to remember in High School the February of 1969 NYC storm when Lindsay was mayor {when there was such a thing as a moderate Republican}. Plows got out late , the city in semi mayhem. I had attended a rowing event in the city shortly before and got out just in time. It all passed. So what does this have to do with the Town of Schodack , New York. Well , all political type people know or should know that these nature made events can effect political careers. How one administratively handles these moments can turn an election , nationally and on a local basis. In the mid 1920's a young Pol named Lewis V. Hudson was the newly elected Superintendent of Highways. He would later be county commissioner of roads. Schodack was if not the first , one of the first towns in New York State to run their snow plows 24 hrs a day during storms. This started circa 1926. A rural town with farmers needing to get produce to market , schools needing to be opened people needing to get to work in factories or get to a doctor. All these of concern. The innovation of 24 hr plowing was new and Schodack was doing it. Various logistic problems arose , such as getting gas to the trucks when there were few gas stations back then and none open 24hrs a day. In interviews later in his life Hudson talked about how he had to get in his own pickup truck late at night and deliver gas to the plows by gas can. Sometimes even at 2:00 am. Such was life in a small town back then. The point is schools were open more often , people got to work more safely and less babies were delivered in farm houses and got medical care quicker. Hudson as I may have mentioned in earlier blogs was in elected political office for over 40yrs. Hudson would partially give credit to 24 hr snow plowing as a major boost to his reelections. A simple lesson in administrative politics from a small town the streets got plowed voters remember.

Christmas 1970: Be Careful What You Pretend To Be

2010-12-21T07:28:00.001-08:00

Well , for me I had finished my first semester in college. As happens , the great return home. People returning for their first real back home time in months. I find this time an interesting psychological moment in ones life. One has transitioned away from home or high school , things have changed even though often to Mom & Dad your still their kid. You feel one must act differently now.....show your new self ....your new gestalt or whatever. And so it was with my hometown crowd. One of the things that fascinate me as a man that likes history and archaeology is how quickly our societies artifacts age in our American culture. I remember people discussing how our bedrooms looked different. Not quite the "cozy" place it once was. As for me I remember my desk I set at during my previous yrs at MHHS no longer appeared to fit like it did. Odd. I also noticed people I had known for yrs were assuming the new role. Kurt Vonnegut once said "Be careful what you pretend to be , because you are what you pretend to be". We were pretending to be a new something. Psychologist , teacher , architect , insurance salesman , sailor , minister.....college student etc etc. We had said our goodbyes & now attempting new hellos. We told our version of war stories , drank a few , talked about who is where and in some cases who had bombed out in their first version of freedom away from high school. I believe this is somewhat universal. As I write this , kids have returned home to a different world they must make a new reality of. OK enough of the shrink. Anyway I had returned to what was to be the final Christmas with my Father who would die the following September. The artifacts of my teen yrs began to be subtracted , new artifacts added. Some of what my wife calls my junk , personal & otherwise. Oh well. But I write this personal piece of history all most as a reminder of Vonnegut's quote because what I was pretending to be was in actuality what I was becoming. Perhaps this reminder of that long lost Christmas vacation should be chiseled into some of our public blds...................... PRETEND WELL.......................

From Darkness To Light To My Liberation: The Beatles

2010-12-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 30th anniversary of John Lennon being shot to death outside his apartment in NYC. So once again my mind tripped back to another era. Let me not dwell on the sadness but set a historical mood & moment. A historical centerpiece from which I believe much cultural & historical life was struck by a lightening in an early 60's soup which we still live with today. Kennedy was murdered November of 63. Much has been written of this time so for my purposes let me simply say a semi darkness fell over our nation. A sort of national mild to moderate political / social depression of sorts. Flags half staff , and so were many peoples emotions. Even as a preteen I felt it , relatives , teachers etc. A noticeable gloom. A national question perhaps was being asked "what were we"? Then a new music hit our conscious late that year and burst onto TV early the next yr. The Beatles hit our shores. For my generation at this time it was as if we just had taken in a full deep breath of cold fresh winter air. The The odd quirky early evening of our nation was for many atleast broken. My life for one was never the same for soon I as well as many began to have new perimeters in life. I myself now had the Beatles to add to 007 and I enjoyed this new rush. The beginnings of a less stiff secure life & into a vision of myself beyond Schodack NY my hometown. For this I remain still grateful , for I was on a road set by family that would not bring much satisfaction. This couple of months would be in a way all most spiritual , darkness but I could see . To my kids who read this, trust me, I was far from being alone in this. Some of what you liked most of your father was in small part born at this time. As Lennon once said Love & Peace are Eternal.

Old Farm Sign Uncovered/Schodack NY

2010-12-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

On a quick trip upstate a couple of months ago I uncovered an old farm advertisement sign buried in the Funk Rd area of Schodack Landing region. I used a metal detector to discover the item. After time sitting in my garage I got around to attempting to restore it enough to get an idea what it said. After some research and careful cleaning I believe it to read THIS IS AN IH FARM. The IH standing for International Harvester Company. The oddest part of my research found a copy of the sign on e-bay. It was on a fridge magnet sold out of Chino , California. I also discovered to my shock that there is an international refrigerator market centered in the US , England , Hong Kong , and Bangkok Thailand. They sell all sorts of stuff. Anyway back on topic. Many farms did and to some extent still do put up signs that advertise an aspect of their farming. Funk's Seed Corn , IH tractors , Agway as examples. The sign and equipment probably came from Benny Funk's farm equipment company near Chatham NY. The same family for which Funk Rd was named. This dealership supplied farmers in a 3 county area. He died just a few yrs ago shortly after selling off his large supply of old cars and equipment he had taken in trade etc. RIP. So a small piece of farm history from a rusted out old sign dug out of the ground and semi restored enough to tell a small story.

The Urge To Build

2010-11-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Historian Stephen Ambrose , who wrote among other books , Band of Brothers once stated that in his opinion that American servicemen upon returning from service in WWII wanted to build. Collectively they had witnessed and taken part in the mass destruction of great centers of the world. They now wished to build and rebuild their victorious nation. So we did. What went wanting from the years of the great depression , what visionaries thought needed. All seemed on the table. As an example , the Interstate Highway System , now named the Eisenhower Interstate System for the President that began the process. Eisenhower even put former General Lucius Clay in charge of securing the initial financing. We were serious. Bridges , highways , schools for baby boomer kids. A wide variety of infrastructure. Overall the voters supported these decisions and a sense of national pride became intertwined with a true sense of national purpose. They were not just building for themselves but for their children & grandchildren. New homes , businesses , universities. It even touched my hometown of Castleton/Schodack New York as citizens watched the Castleton Thruway Bridge rise from the western and eastern shores of the Hudson River. So....after this past recent midterm election I ended up asking myself . What happened? No talk of great projects , or aspirations. I heard alot of fear and retrenchment. Did not hear of infrastructure and the needs to do upkeep. Cancel tunnels and rebuliding projects. As a man who has a hobby of digging up the past I look now to ask what it says of our future with this current mind set. As nations such as China builds high speed rail , we rattle along on Amtrak. Graduation rates continue to decline way down from rates when I graduated forty yrs ago. All a sign of what I have finally concluded to be a stalemate. Frankly , at this moment I have come to the conclusion that the barbarians are not at the gate , they are inside and people like me are ones at the gate. We shall see in the upcoming 10 yrs or so who shall win this battle. I am not confident.

Thinking Wine of Past & Now

2010-10-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

We had a family dinner the other Sunday evening. Wine was served , a Riesling. This semi sweet wine is a favorite of wife & daughter in law. I usually maintain a selection of wine for various occasions. Received a wine fridge a couple of yrs ago so I have a place for storage. Talking about wine I admit is a slippery slope. Lets face it , wine can be a topic of snob appeal. I have run into a fair number in my life , wine snobs that is. So I am avoiding vintage & year discussions & leave that to others. My wine experience stems from my early yrs in the Town of Schodack NY in the 12033 zip area. The growing of grapes was a fairly common pursuit 40 plus yrs ago. My family had some grape vines as did many back yards in my hometown. Many farms in the area also grew grapes , the Swartz & Golden farms being examples. The majority of grapes were turned into jams & jelly back then. People grew grapes mainly for this purpose. Usually the hardy concord variety. We were not yet the wine consuming nation we would become. Beer & whiskey was the norm. Wine was something one might consume at a Thanksgiving Dinner. A rare if festive occasion. The Gallo family lets face it were what we thought about when it came to wine. I as well as my generation began to turn to wine in my opinion because of their marketing efforts. So what got me interested. Well James Bond for one thing. These movies were all most a cult event in the 60's. Bond , drinking the 57 whatever chilled properly. We were more open to something new if Bond did it. What was new was products like Ripple and Boone's Farm Apple and Zapple wines. Cheap & drinkable and local bars began to serve them. Especially Zapple , with it's higher alcohol content. My generation began to consume and would keep an open mind on this type of drinking. As for me one experience served as a milestone. The Connolly family of Shufelt Road. Mr. Connolly an amateur vintner had a small vineyard on his property and made his own wine. It was on a hill in the wooded area in back of his home. Slightly less than an acre it produced a Pinot type grape. Mr. Connolly created a Merlot type red. Sediment on the bottom of the bottle cause he did not believe in straining very much. I as well as a friend received a bottle as a gift. It was a deep red and dry. Oh yeah. It was consumed but it was not for amateurs. But these ventures into adult kind of wine were instructive , even to a 19 yr old. As yrs went by I developed a real taste for wine from these beginnings. I also in my various explorations of this part of the Hudson Valley region have been mildly surprised to discover grapes growing in the wild. Perhaps planted by birds or deer from droppings or wooded areas overtaking former farm land left vacated. These untended vines with a low production of grapes I have found in places such as the Papscanee Island preserve near the Hudson river off railroad right of ways in South Schodack and Schodack Landing areas. Recently I found a stingy clump in a wooded area of Graw Road near the Columbia County border. Perhaps some are from old grape vines grown 40 or 50 yrs ago in the area. One cutting I took from the Papscanee Preserve a couple of yrs ago appears from my research to be of the grape used to make Pinot Noir. Hope to return and see if it remains next summer. So , my blog on wine. Old tastes , old vines left behind new tastes such as wine from Schodacks Brookview Station winery owned by the Gould family. All part of this life I still live.

John Lennon 70th Birthday Today

2010-10-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

A sure sign that I myself am aging is that today would have been Lennon's 70th birthday. Has it been that long ago....must be. As a young teenager I as did millions of Americans watch the Beatles on the old Ed Sullivan Show. A couple of years ago I attended a taping of the Late Show with Letterman. It is done at the Ed Sullivan theater. I was mildly surprised to see that the theater was as small as it was. Seemed huge that night. The Beatles overall impact back then was huge. I once attempted to try and explain to my daughters musician boyfriend just how big an impact that week was. To music , culture , art , fashion , etc. The world seemed to change within a few short weeks. The change was most intense in the urban areas of course but even in small town Castleton NY where I grew up. You could sense things were not the same. We became a little more British or we thought we did. Our hair , clothes music tastes were moving in an exciting new direction , even if some were reluctant to go. My generation had discovered a different world beyond our borders. Overall we liked it. So among my Kyle Eastwood jazz cd's and Bach there remains my Beatles as my favorite R&R that I still pull out and enjoy well after 45 yrs. If there was a cultural DNA , Lennon would have his genetic template in their somewhere. Subtle but present , a wave still effected us to the present day. RIP , especially the peace part.

Brendan Micheal Hudson

2010-09-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

My new Grandson born on Sept 27 in the yr of our lord 2010 as they used to say. Do I wish you well in our angry , crazed world. To you as my previous Grandson I give you our family motto. Animo non Astutia. Modern translation....strength not deception. Your family history like all families has shown strength , moderation and endurance. You have a great great uncle that flew planes in World War 1 with the 72nd Aerosquadron . One great uncle won a bronze star during the Second World War as a medic. But we have had many simple relatives simply trying to make their way in the world. Go with strength in your life towards your future.

Lost Sounds of Schodack/Castleton

2010-09-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well there I was in Schodack area looking for the remnants of an old stone wall a long term resident of Maple Hill Road area had told me about. It was early August and hot , around 90 degrees. i searched the woodland areas of Maple Hill Rd and Carney Rd near the high school and Methodist church areas. An area that went through a transition from farm land to suburbs and school buildings. Areas around the Town of Schodack have retained some of their fences from the 17th & 18th centuries. Just travel along the Taconic Parkway to view a number of them. This town has not so to find a remnant of left over stone fencing would be of interest to an amateur archaeologist like me. "I know I lead an exciting life in my semi retirement." Anyway I searched the woods near Maple Hill School and followed it to the Carney Rd area. Backtracked several times. Did find 4 stones near one another but doubt that was the wall I was looking for. Not even would come to a standard of a cairn. I did this for the better part of 2 days. I assure you that there are a fair number of sites that do not pan out and this appeared to be one of those times. I exited a brush wooded area in back of the Methodist church. I set on a bench there and took my meds...I am a type 2 diabetic. I was beat and needed a rest. On their property is their old church bell that was relocated from the old church located on Main Street in Castleton. It was placed in a wishing well kind of structure. Looking at it as I rested I took out my geologist type hammer and gently tapped it. It rang with a deep resonance. I remembered hearing that sound as a kid growing up. It struck me as I thought about it that there are lost sounds that one can never really recover. How did ancient Rome sound in the early morning as it began another day of Empire. How did London sound in the times of Sherlock Holmes. We can sort of recreate it but not completely. So here are a few sounds of what the Town of Schodack sounded like a number of years ago. Some sounds are still there.

Trains: You can still hear the freight trains and Amtrak roll through town. Trains used to stop in Castleton untill the early 1960's. The train grinding to a halt , air breaks applied and it's loud hiss. The 11;20 PM from NYC is especially memorable to me cause you can hear that for miles in the quiet of the night.

Thruway Bridge: We have become used to copious amounts of air conditioning in America. But on a quiet night in summer you could hear trucks and some cars travel over the Castleton Thruway Bridge . When ones windows are open in the dead of night you can hear that distinctive humming.

Drag Racing: You can still hear that distinctive sound of what we used to call burning rubber or laying down rubber in the muscle car era. But to be honest not nearly as loud or as frequent as it once was. It seemed a right of passage to go from a standing start to 0 to 60 leaving that squeal of rapidly spinning tires under stress. As a matter of fact there was a measured quarter mile on Schodack Landing Road above 9j about a half mile from Golden Lane. The distance measured and start and stop lines painted across the road. This started circa 1961 and was still being done in the early 1970's. The line was repainted atleast 4x in that period. Yes I dragged there. Once I dragged a VW Bug in my mothers Opel Kadett. I won. Not alot of speed as you can imagine if you know those cars. It ended when Schodack got it's own police force. Shut down.

Fort Orange Paper Company Whistle: At 2 minutes to noon I believe it blew from the 20's untill close to closing of the mill. The siren on the Castleton Elementary School went off at noon. Busy people and students were alerted to the midday.

Ashby Park: The old park was of wooden construction , even the fence. They had an announcer booth built in back of home plate. They had a single loudspeaker used to announce the game. It was loud. The park was and still is located on top of the Brookview Rd hill. When conditions were still on a warm spring evening you could hear that game for miles. One could be in midtown Castleton 3 or more miles away and hear Steve Ennis or Danny Nolan were up to bat. This was of course intermittent but you could follow part of the game sometimes.

Sonic Booms: There are many people alive today that have never heard a sonic boon from a jet breaking the sound barrier. It was once quit common in the early days of the Cold War. It could rattle you windows. Depending on it's intensity it could shake you especially at night. It was also not uncommon to hear the low rumble of a blimp or a prop passenger liner from Albany Airport.

A School Bus: Les Vanderwall was one of School Bus drivers. On his rounds early in the morning he would beep his horn at certain houses to act as an alarm clock. I found out later he did this for about 23 households in the area. He died a couple of years ago in his 90's. I used to listen for that telltale beep,beep for many years untill my graduation. Considering I heard it for around 12 yrs I missed it.

Milkmen: Early in the morning the tinkle of bottles , the footsteps on the steps Now gone.

Church Bells: One still hears on Sunday or special days the sound of local churches ringing their bells to call the faithful to service. Not nearly as often as we once did. Less churches , the expense and people don't want to be awakened on a Sunday morning. Some churches used to ring The Tailors for the death of a member. I believe 9 for a man 7 for a woman as was the English custom. Sorry about that ladies.

School Bells: Some schools in the area had bells but I remember the loud buzzer telling students when they could enter school if you arrived early. This was stopped sometime in the 60's.

Well , these are some of my memories , ancient as they may now seem. The world seems sometimes so loud that we miss the smaller things as they pass us by. Including the sound of what our lives were as we hustled towards a faster future.

On The Back Steps Of Maple Hill High School

2010-08-31T06:26:00.000-07:00

Early this month I spent a rather frustrating couple of days in search of the remnants of an old stone fence.....more about that in my next blog. After a long first day I checked into the Franklin Square Inn Suites in Troy , showered , shaved and got a bite to eat. I took an arthrotech at dinner so as I drove back to Schodack I was beginning to feel less pain from my back and knee. I set for awhile on the back steps of my old high school. Still had an hour and a half of light or so. I took some notes down on the day. Then as I sipped my Dunkin Donuts coffee my mind went back to my school yrs. We never really escape history. A fair chunk of my history was here. I have written about my high school in a couple of blogs. High School can carry some good memories sometimes a scar or two. I don't really ever want to go back in time to relive particular events. I never really liked taking an overload of orders so I parted this place relieved. Yet one of my hobbies is archaeology and history. The crumbling back steps that led to the old gym locker rooms where I set gave me a good view of the soccer field. Memories flooded back on those steps , fellow students , teachers , bus drivers etc. My semi history. Many people in my life then are dead or shall we say gone to their rest. Parents , teachers , nosy neighbors.I read the school is a top school in the area. That is good they even have taken steps against bullies. School administrators like Mike Nagal probably are now discouraged from slamming the "more difficult elements " against lockers. Oh well such were the days that some yearn for. As for me ............ this former shy , class clown , what does he miss........? Well , Maple Hill at that time had a poor track record of dealing with what we now call dyslexia and ADHD and other difficulties of learning. It was dealt with by trac system segregation. Simply put "smartest" to the "dumbest" were separated and theoretically taught in "separate but equal" classes. This was educational bullshit of course as I was to later learn in my graduate level Ed Psych courses. Professor Jan Abelseth taught me well at SUNY Albany. So my career path was set by watching what was going on around me to people. Can't say I missed that but it was instructive to my future. I believe I miss......my senior year. I had returned from another school , that I spent my junior yr in , "no it was not a reform school" it was a Prep School. I was glad not to be wearing a jacket and tie to class for one thing. I hooked back up with kids I had known since early elementary school. I was way tired of Prep School snobs. Anyway, Ron Kunicki and John Connolly and I were to hook up and pal around alot that senior yr. I returned with a back injury and a couple of concussive incidents from soccer the previous year. Jesus I was glad to be away from sports. Ron & John helped me come back and settle in, which took awhile. Anyway , school is often a forced socialization situation but I was glad to be back in familiar surroundings. That is what I miss , the people. If you liked each other or was in the wrong click you still knew them in a small town. People you knew for a long time. Being away gave me an odd new appreciation. People in all their differences. So that is what I miss.......the sometimes awkward memory of that early year of mine. People. I smiled on those school steps thinking about some of those times. Not all of course , just some. Music , TV , Garage Rock , Ripple wine , Ron's brothers P1800 Volvo with the electronic 5th gear switch which we often borrowed , my senior yr Christmas , Lizzie my short term girlfriend and the feeling that life was opening up beyond a small town. Friends. I still know Ron , he lives in Brooklyn and is an architect , have not seen John in 20yrs , he went on to be a teacher. We only had one reunion , to be honest I don't think educational segregation led to an abundance of closeness with my class. So it goes. But I remember that senior year as somehow special......my final go around before setting off on courses really unknown. Coffee gone , nicorette gum chewed. Time to continue elsewhere , starting with a good nights sleep. I left the steps of that past to soon look for another more remote past of someone else. BE SEEING YOU.

Bobby Thomson: In The Viceroy Hall of Records

2010-08-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

Last night it was announced today, former home run hero of the New York Giants Bobby Thomson died. I was not around for the playoff winning homer against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951. Certainly heard the replay on baseball history shows. What I remember of Thomson when I was just a kid was commercials he did during the very early years of Mets games when they played in the old Polo grounds. It was sponsored by Viceroy cigarettes when those companies could still legally advertise on TV. It was titled Bobby Thomson : In The Viceroy Hall of Records. He would briefly discuss some aspect of the Mets or baseball in relation to some history of the game. Then he would hawk smokes. I think some of my enjoyment of history & baseball came from those little history moments. Certainly it was not from watching The Mets loose a multitude of games. So anyways here is to Bobby Thomson --- The Giants win the pennant ---The Giants win the pennant--- The Giants win the pennant. And thanks for the history.

Full Moon Over Schodack N.Y. 12162

2010-07-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

July 24,2010 I was returning from a quick drop off visit to Schenectady NY. Stopped for dinner in my hometown of Castleton/Schodack N.Y. It was a warm beautiful evening. The kind of time that summer memories form a lasting sort of presence in the minds of vacationing children off from school. I took a few extra minutes and walked around my old high school track at Maple Hill High School damp from a brief shower that cooled things down. The moon was coming out in the early evening as I took my walk. The moon was full. This constant in our lives , looking no different than when our grandparents looked up at it as they held hands. The same moon young men saw before they left home for a distant war. No different from the moon Henry Hudson navigated by as he explored the someday named river for him and by many historians accounts came ashore in a yet to be named Castleton to meet with native inhabitants. Yet it is different , it no longer beckons us as it once did. Through much of my childhood and adolescence the moon was our national science goal. NASA formed in the Eisenhower Administration held our young attention. Men in space and with President Kennedy men on the moon. The space race as we called it then. We were going to beat the Soviet Union to the moon. We watched the blastoffs on TV at school. Alan Shepard , John Glenn became national heroes as Charles Lindburgh was to a previous generation. To those of us that liked science this was a great time punctuated every month by a full moon we could look up at. We were a nation under one moon. Our resources and our pride going towards that goal of landing and exploring. We of course circumnavigated the moon in Christmas of 1968 and the following summer landed to an all most undivided national and world attention. We all probably looked up at the full moon that night if we could see it. That beckoning moon we could now touch. The science that so touched our school yrs had come become a new reality. A new phrase sprang up "if we can send a man to the moon why can't we do....." As I drove back on the Taconic Parkway that evening towards 11509 the moon of Schodack became the moon of Chatham and Hyde Park etc. One thing struck me.As that time of my youth has passed so has much of the energy of the space program. We are not as energized as we once were by exploration. Been there done that. I know we will not return to that familiar object in my lifetime. No moon base or radio telescope on the dark side of the moon. In a sense the moon over Schodack has become a relic of my past.

LI Jones & Peters Dairy bottles discovered Castleton NY 12033

2010-07-22T10:02:00.001-07:00

I have recently discovered 2 small milk bottles from Castleton / Schodack NY dairy's. LI Jones & Peters Dairy both labeled Castleton NY. Pre-zip code bottles. Peters dairy located on Brookview Rd and Jones located near Maple Hill Rd around the present day Maple Hill High School. The bottles held cream or were the single serving size bottles. I am actually old enough that I remember when one drank their school milk from such bottles. Discussing my recent finds with friends all agreed who remembered those milkmen days that milk tasted better in the glass bottles. The cartons never could match up in taste. The milk was of course fresher , right from the farm to the consumer in less than 24 hrs. Mrs Lillian Kunicki of the Schodack area told me of how she would leave the money for Jones on her kitchen table and Mr. Jones would come into the house early in the morning around 5:00 am put the milk in her refrigerator take the empties. Sometimes Mrs.K would leave little treats for Leslie on her kitchen table. Such were the days back then. A real family trust situation. Jones and Peters would often buy milk off of other farmers in the area when business was brisk. The farm of Lewis Hudson of Castleton & Ken Golden of Schodack Landing were 2 such farms that sold milk to these bottlers , especially to Jones. Jones left the milk business somewhere in the early to mid circa 1950's. The Peters family owned their farm holdings into the early 21st century. The days of the family farm have declined severely in the last half century in America. The town of Schodack NY has been no exception. Once dotting upstate New York were the farms , dairy, corn and other cash crops. Now there is but a few. One could not travel through the town without noticing the smell of manure. Schodack like many towns in the Capitol region of New York have become suburbs , channeling workers to the larger cities or suburban shopping malls. Such is the change 0f post World War II America.

Powder Ridge Music Festival 40 Year Anniversary

2010-07-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

On July 31 2010 marks the anniversary of a failed musical event. The Powder Ridge Music Festival at what I believe is the now defunct ski resort in Middlefield Connecticut 06455. I was there , along with my 2 High School buddies. Freshly graduated from being seniors & looking for some fun. We bought tickets but a court injunction shut it down. Well we and perhaps 30,000 others came anyway. This is not going to be a remember the glory days piece. I am going to tell a few stories of what I can recall. There are a few pieces on this event one can Google. This is more personal , hopefully shedding some light on the proceedings.

After hitching 2 rides from B1 on the NYS Thruway we got lucky. A red haired kid who lived in Orange Ct who was working in Albany NY was heading home for the weekend to visit his girl friend. He took us near the festival gave us his address and said he would give us a return trip on Sunday if we would share some gas money. We agreed and off we were to Powder Hill Road.

We walked up with our back packs on Powder Hill Road. We could hear the crowd noise. It sounded exciting , we quickened our pace. We arrived near the stage area and the singer Melonie was singing. She was the only name act that defied the court ban all weekend. We listened to her last 3 songs , the crowd roared and she walked off stage and exited to the back of the stage. She walked right by us. She signed a couple of autographs and seemed to disappear into the night.

For some unexplainable reason we decided to make camp by a tree in back of the stage area. I guess we did not plan to sleep much. Ron , John and Me began to party. That first night seemed friendly enough. We were keeping the 60's alive or what we thought of as the 60's. A mass of people were there. Rumors were about other acts like Richie Havens , Grand Funk Railroad and maybe Led Zeppelin would defy the courts & be showing up on Saturday. How could they resist a crowd this size. I met a couple from Flagstaff , Arizona who had it on {good authority} from his brother who worked for Capitol Records that Creedance Clearwater Revival was on their way from NYC that night. Of course that was all some wild speculation. None of it would in the end pan out.

I cannot be sure when exactly when we hit our sleeping bags , I think the late night rain helped quiet things down considerably. It was probably around 3:00 AM. The next morning the sky still darkened with clouds we awoke to a rather over weight young lady walking around yelling "does anybody got some downs." A living breathing strung out alarm clock. She was persistent and loud so I presume someone filled her request. But she did awaken hundreds as she wandered about acting as a new era town crier. As we were to discover all was not well.

First of all I had a blistering headache. With my consumption of that bottle of Balli Hai wine & whatever else{ you get my point} I was not in great shape. Many reports of this failed festival turning into a drug fest are true. But do you think anyone had thought to bring a bottle of simple aspirin. The humidity was all ready rising , temps were climbing to the upper 80's that day. Water helped but I went in search of some simple pain killer. As luck or basic planning would have it the Red Cross set up an aid station on top of the hill leading out. It was there I was donated some aspirin by a rather jovial gentleman who seemed to find this event very amusing. I consumed 4 pills and then I saw a vision. A Salvation Army truck was handing out coffee & donuts. I struggled over and waited in line. The Salvation Army lady handing out the coffee was a wisp of a woman. No more than five foot one inch tall. She looked terrified of the people before her. I was clumsy and spilled half of my coffee on the way to my mouth. She handed me another cup and put her hands around mine and aided me in getting it to my lips. I took at hot sip & hope I said thank you. As an aside I never forgot that act of kindness and a Christmas never has gone by without a trip to the kettle.

I found a roadside log to set on ate my breakfast and drank my coffee. The world was looking brighter. The sun had come out my friends had rejoined me we were once again ready but for what. As we reentered the stage area a Mister Frosty truck was supplying power to the stage. Dealers were setting up drug booths...that's right drug booths. No bands had showed up , music supplied by a loud speaker blaring music from a turntable Any rumors of bands arriving were unfounded. Some MC giving the occasional announcement. What that place lacked in entertainment it tried to make up for in drugs.

Saturday was a day of wandering , on foot and in peoples minds. Mingling chaos. Some people tried to open a store at the outskirts near the ski lift. I obtained 2 packs of Winston cigarettes there. Food was scarce. Overdoses common from all reports. About 2:00 pm that afternoon and why I remember that time I will never know it occurred to me that this was no Woodstock. That festival seems to be considered the Gold Standard for these events. Later that afternoon our friend John decided to climb a tree in nothing but his underwear. It took us and a few others to coax him down. He was blitzed. I had a small portable radio with me so I had contact with the outside world. Remember no cells phones. For news I turned to WDRC & WTIC.. It seemed that the National Guard was on duty in nearby New Haven in case of civil unrest. They were also planning to move out crowds if we stayed past Sunday. It seems we were on a deadline. Frankly most were too stoned to even contemplate civil unrest of any sort. This event was not getting any good press and only a few jug bands and local acts to entertain.

By late in the afternoon the crowd seemed listless , a bored stupor in many cases. John , Ron and I pooled together our food resources had a light dinner and shared food with others. Near our little encampment some older bikers who seemed inspired by Brando in the Wild Ones were giving rides to kids on their motorcycles up and down the little hill leading to Powder Ridge Road.I walked deep into the woods looking for a place to go to the bathroom. The 6 or 8 portable johns were beyond full. I walked past atleast 3 dozen people tripping away the day. Daylight was leaving all seemed tired. The drug booths were running out of drugs. Two Connecticut State Policeman in an old WWII style jeep came through on patrol. No problem. They were trying to spread the word to go home the next day. The older officer was really taking a grandfatherly tone as best he could.

The evening of Saturday was more reserved than the night before. The drug booths were packing up , there was a true sense that the end was near. We partied in an exhausted manner but there was still fun. more little groups formed among the crowd. Some friends were made , numbers exchanged etc. I had a conversation with a Saint Lawrence University professor about the current political climate. The pendulum was swinging he told me. This place is just an echo of what could have been. Though stoned he seemed oddly resigned. It is soon to be time to face the winter of the north back in Canton N.Y. I did think it "neat" that he spent time talking to a kid fresh out of high school. But then again he was there from Saturday morning on. I believe he taught math.

Around midnight some fireworks , Roman Candles etc were set off to more applause than deserved. I found a guy selling Ripple , a wine sold in a screw shaped bottle I presume so one could hold on to it when hammered. It was uncapped and therefore untampered with. Unusual that weekend. So for our final consumption of the event we shared a bottle of cheap red wine. It seemed like home if you can understand that. Three friends who had known each other from around second grade bidding farewell to our lost weekend. Everyone deserves one. Around 2:00 am an unsettled quiet overtook the place. Sleep was needed for the return trip.

We woke around 8:30. Generally speaking people looked stunned , tired and finished. We packed up washed up in a little pond nearby. Spotted some high school guys we knew as they were pulling out. We pulled out around 10:30. We were on our way to Orange Ct. We did not want to be late for our hoped for ride back to our version of civilization. One ride got us within walking distance. We found the house , we got our ride {thank God}. I can't remember the red haired kids name but we were grateful. He owned an Opel Rally Sport I believe it was called. A semi sports car of the day , made in Germany & imported by Buick. Comfortable enough for the 2 + hour trip. With one pit stop for gas and drinks we were deposited on exit B1 of the Thruway by 5:30. Gave him $20.00 which he was happy with. Connolly who I don't think ever picked up a check did not contribute. We walked past the toll booths to stares from the toll takers. Went to a nearby diner. Pits stop , bathroom & coffee and tried to make ourselves more presentable. Walked to Ron's house. Called home....yes I was fine etc etc etc. When I got home , a long hot shower. My mother washed my clothes like they were radioactive. She a Republican office holder was not thrilled with my escapade. Anyway , a steak on the grill and I hit the bed. I awoke at around noon the next day.

So it has been forty years......one still hears of Woodstock but never Powder Ridge. This event was one of those moments in my opinion that marked the end of an era. Those days of the 60's were over. The day the music at the festival died. My wife of 30 yrs will read this or one of my 4 kids will & one of them will probably say something like "what the hell were you thinking" A phrase I myself have used.

Forty Years After Graduation Maple Hill High School 12033

2010-06-28T07:59:00.002-07:00

Well it was forty yrs ago on a June 25th evening I and my class graduated from Maple Hill High School in the Castleton NY 12033 area. I casually observed the class of 2010 graduate. I was at a fair distance away , on a hill overlooking the soccer field. I had come of my most recent archaelogy project and was in a rough state of appearance. These ceremonies have changed remarkably little over the yrs. The quest speaker tries to give a moments sage advice. Parents and relations watch on with a mixture pride , anxiety and relief that their children have come this far. Many of the kids sitting in cap and gown wish to go and get to the beer at various graduation parties. How I remember. When I graduated , the audience was still populated with WWII veterans. People with memories of the great depression. No longer , now it's post 60's generation with a very different set of memories. The class of 70 graduated during the Vietnam war , this new class has far away conflicts some will personally face. I was struck how similar a feel it all had , with a few changes I could have been in those seats. A true Deja-Vu moment overtook me , all over again. Time to go , let this class go on to their lives.....hopefully some dreams fullfilled.

Sex and the City Brooklyn Apartment

2010-05-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

Not that many would care but my friends apartment on DeKalb Ave in Brooklyn was used in the last 2 Sex in the City movies. I have had beer on Amanda's patio when I have visited and seen how the apartment was changed for the movie. OK , so no big deal. Ron and Catherine Kunicki did make money for set rental. Probably the money is already safely at MIT for their daughters education. Next year she travels for a semester to Cambridge , England so they can only hope for a trilogy......... I guess. Anyway , visiting that semi set is the closest thing I will get to showbiz.

Conversations With Older Guys Schodack NY

2010-05-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

I have been in a nostalgic mood as of late , such is often the study of history and archaelogy. There are 2 men I would like to credit with being of a fatherly help in my youth. Henry Peters and Ted Kunicki both having lived in the Town of Schodack. Henry Peters my uncle , Ted Kunicki a father of a good long friend. Both men took the time to give me a piece of their mind at a crucial time in a then young life. I am going back 40 plus yrs ago. Peters , on a row boat on Lake Pocatapauge in East Hampton CT. We had a morning of fishing......we had time for a good long discussion. Everything from girls to college....war and peace. Where my life might go from my 16 yrs of life at that point to that eventual adulthood I heard so much about. I admit I kind of poured my heart out about my anxieties and preoccupations. He listened as Ted did....from a life interrupted by war and their own stresses of life. From a life lived . I recieved his perspective in his best man to man way as we used to call it. A few yrs later Ted Kunicki who I occasionally worked for in his home building company were traveling down Rt 9 in Schodack NY. I was driving him back from a house he was building. It was in the early evening. We stopped at a local bar , one of the Kunicki's mottos was "all beer is good , some beer is better than others but generally speaking beer is good. Mr. Kunicki came from Poland and been in the bld trades for many yrs. Like my uncle a veteran of WWII. My uncle Navy Air Corp , Ted Army in an intelligence unit. He could speak multiple languages. After beer #1 he decided to give me a talk. Once again a talk about life and my future in it. My father had been dead about a year. I think he decided I needed some fatherly advice. I had already finished my 1st year of college and I was on summer vacation and not all that self assured. He talked to me in his grumbing manner which was much kinder than it sounded. He told me about someday finding a good woman , settingly down , becoming a home owner. All that adult stuff I was not really wanting to pay much attention to. The kind of good woman I was looking for at that moment was not what he had in mind or for that matter my uncle's mind. Get yourself a good solid wife , one built for the long haul of life. On beer 3 , he admitted being an adult could be a pain in the ass. On beer 4 he told me he was glad I was his son's friend and he actually thought I had the stuff to make it....even though he would yell at me every 10 minutes on the job. It felt good , my Uncle and Ted a few yrs apart gave me a piece of themselves. Also , in a way gave me some confidence. Both men did not waste time and would not waste time if they thought it would fall on deaf ears. It did not , I own a home , have been married for 29 yrs , vote and do all those adult things. I admit that there are moments when I am sick of adulthood....but who doesn't. Ted Kunicki would die a couple of yrs later and I attended his wake. Mrs Kunicki still a resident of Schodack NY spends time between her sons and grandchildren in Atlanta and Brooklyn. My Uncle still living in Berlin , Ct with his wonderful wife my Aunt Marion. Thank you to both , perhaps I need to find someone who is willing to listen and have a conversation. Carry on a tradition.

Seeing George Wallace on NYS Capitol Steps

2010-05-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

It was my junior year of high school in that election year of 1968. I was for that one year in what we called aPrep School. For various reasons it was thought I was better off away from my hometown in a private school. My history teacher around October 10th 1968 was organizing a field trip. George Wallace was going to speak on the NYS Capitol Bld steps. To say the least he was controversial in that difficult year. Former Gov. from Alabama , Independent party candidate for President. My teacher felt a well rounded life needed a young mind to be exposed to all sides of an arguement. I had already made my young mind and it was not for Wallace. The anger in America was an ongoing open wound. I felt Wallace was exploiting this fear & anger and believed him to be a hatemonger. I went down with several of my schoolmates . Had to wear a suit as dress code was strict. We were not allowed to wear our blazer coats to point publicly to where we were from. What my biggest memory was from that day was not Wallace's angry contempt of the unfinished decade and pointy headed liberal policy's . In back of him was his guard , Alabama State Troopers. As Wallace was doing his version of a stem winder , a sunglassed somber guard reached in to his coat pocket pulled out a flask and belted down a drink and then put it back in his coat pocket and continued his southern sheriff glare at the audience. I turned to a fellow student from the south , Frank Mcilhenny one of the heirs to the Tabasco Sauce fortune. I said "Frank someday , somebody is going to shoot that red neck son of a bitch with security like his. Frank was to entranced by the moment to answer. But I was proved correct further down the road.

the Night King Was Assassinated Castleton NY 12033

2010-05-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

It was 4/4/68. dinner was over it was a fairly warm evening for that time of year. The news came over the TV that Martin Luther King had been shot and soon after that had died. 1968 was in the process of becoming a tough year . Assassination , riots , political unrest ect. I had to travel to the north end of my hometown to deliver some package to a Grace Davis near Boltwood Avenue. This area was located on the heights above the Hudson River. As I turned a corner near the Ennis home I could look out and see the distant Albany NY. About 4 miles away as the crow flies. I could see in what was left of the evening light a slight glow and a rising cloud of misty smoke rising . Buildings were burning , smoke was rising near what was to be named the Nelson Rockefeller Plaza. When I got out of the car in the still evening a faint sound of sirens might be heard if you listened carefully. The MLK riots were just beginning , America was on fire. This memory was rekindled as I have just begun to read the new book Hellhound on his Trail by Hampton Sides. A retelling of the assassination of MLK and the investigation and manhunt that followed.

Reference for first plane landing in ny

2010-04-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

A couple of yrs ago I wrote a blog about the first plane landing in Castleton NY. I based it on stories related from the Hudson Bros of Castleton. I have recently found an additional reference to that landing from the New York Times. Go to google , type in aeroplane in castleton and the article datelined August 24 1911 should come up.

First Earth Day 40 yrs Ago Today in Castleton NY 12033

2010-04-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

Today is the 40th Earth Day. Richard Nixon signed it into law the year before. The world was in somewhat more of an activist mood back then. Maple Hill High School canceled classes that day and we had seminars on the environment. Topics included Hudson River pollution , overpopulation , smog etc. In the afternoon the student body fanned out and picked up trash in and around the school area. Bottles , paper and an old car starter were picked up. The world was a much more smoggier , dirtier , more polluted place then. Castleton was cited in a NYT magazine article as the biggest polluter in the Hudson River Valley. Our paper plant put out tons of waste into the river then and the specialty metal factory Anti-Corrosive put out it's share of soot and river dumpings. Added to that was open sewer pipes leading to river. There was no unleaded gas back then so automotive pollution was much higher. By the way nobody much complained about smoking as so many people smoked that everywhere smelled like smoke. The world has changed from that first Earth Day. We are now used to the world smelling better and being cleaner. I will be dead 40yrs from now , and as always where will we be?

Castleton Elementary School Time Capsule 12033

2010-03-27T17:18:00.000-07:00

I had to make a quick trip to Albany from 11001. I did a quick side trip to Castleton NY. As I passed by the newly rebuilt CES I had a sudden memory. A time capsule was buried in the 1950's in the back playground area. It was placed there when the school had a tree planting to commerate Arbor Day. The entire old playground area has been removed and replaced by parking lots and driveways. The tree is gone and may have been for a number of years. The time capsule was buried under that tree. I have this sneaking suspicion the carefully planned capsule has been wiped out by the modern construction. Checking with other classmates we collectively remember it had the date and members of the class , teachers and administrators that planted it. History is fleeting quite often. A lost memory of an old school assembly to a new driveway.

Why My History Hobby

2010-03-12T08:44:00.000-08:00

I am shipping off for a vacation in Vegas ,yes , Vegas next week. I have to fly and I hate to fly. I also will see the Grand Canyon and ancient ruins of south west native populations of + 1000 yrs ago. When I get back I begin another season of occasional digging into the past. Why do I explore these less than ancient ruins like old farmers landfills to attempt to piece together rather small aspects of small town life and history. Well , I remember last July for instance , a hot day after a cool spring. I am sitting eating my lunch inside a clump of trees on a large rock. I am working on an old foundation of a long gone barn. I am finding all sorts of tidbits which I shall report on another occasion after more work. I realize to most people this is a bore. My own wife of 29 yrs finds it odd. But to me I am at peace , piecing together a part of the world that is not really cared about. My pondering as I eat lunch in solitude is in a sense meditative. I enjoy the peace as my wife enjoys the noise of a casino. Finally I in my semi-retired state have time to do this and I am , after all those years in the workforce helping to solve , train , understand all those people's problems in my career feel free. Enjoying my lunch on a warm summer day , reporting on what I have found or remembering a piece of history worth relating. I enjoy this peace , if it is exploring where the KKK met in Castleton or where the old Hilltop Tavern once stood on Rt9. Interviewing people on what they know , grasping what was and turning it around to better have an understanding of what was going on and solutions people came up with to go about their lives. This is my hobby. Of much importance , no. The interests I pursue are much more about me and my self satisfied peace. If you live in the 12033 region of New York or near 06037 in Connecticut maybe I will see you in the next 7 or 8 months doing some research. I'll be smiling.

Kate Smith's Good Luck Tomb in Lake Placid

2010-02-16T22:09:00.000-08:00

We are currently in the middle of The Olympics 2010 in Canada. For a number of yrs I lived in the Lake Placid area where the 1932 & 1980 winter games were held. Many Olympic athletes still come from or train in that region. I have met along the way a few of the athletes along the way. One story I have been told more than a couple of times is an odd good luck ritual involving the tomb of the late singer Kate Smith who lived much of her life in the Placid area. Kate Smith was a singer popular in the 30's 40's & 50's primarily. She had a radio show in the forties & a tv show in the fifties. Someone your grandparents would know well. She was best known for her rendition of God Bless America one hears at ballparks around the nation to this day. She was also a huge sports fan. Fordham football to Celtics basketball and she loved hockey. The Philadelphia Fliers Hockey Team used to have her sing to open games when The Broad Street Bullies were around. She was considered the good luck charm for the team , those that know flyer history know this well. She died circa 1986 and was interred at Saint Agnes Cemetary in her beloved Lake Placid. Somewhere along the way a ritual began in the intervening yrs where Olympic athletes or just some locals kids visit the tomb sometimes in the dead of night and touch her resting place & ask for Kate's blessing. Luge to hockey players to bobsledders have apparently made the trudge especially the women athletes. This applies not just to native Adk Mt people but others hopefuls looking for that edge. I have never been able to track down where or when or who began this occasional tradition but it has gone to Vancouver 2010 I am sure.

Lunch With A Friend

2010-02-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

This noon time I will be lunching with an old friend Ron Kunicki. Why am I writing this in a blog ? I have known this guy since 2nd grade. I am in my fifties as is he. Grew up in same hometown. Old friends are nice , we can speak in a short hand way that cuts to the quick on a variety of topics. Nine words work instead of twenty three. Ron has also seen me at perhaps close to my lowest point and remains a friend. Can't buy that. His Mom is still kicking and she accepts me for what I am. That is always a comfort , not playing role of whatever. Perhaps the best part of our friendship is that it frees me to push on with my other areas of life. We don't see each other often enough to get on each others nerves but often enough to center myself. From where I came....was.......went.......am going ......ect. Friendship with someone you have known for a long time keeps one honest about the life you really have come to. From that perspective the chance of going down one to many blind alleys is lessened. You bullshit yourself less often. Sometimes , that can bring some peace............really. To old friends.

Cairns so far discovered in Schodack region

2010-02-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

Late last fall while scouting out wooded area south of Green Avenue & Scott Avenue region of Castleton/Schodack I came upon a cairn. Essentially a man made pile of stones. Having traveled these woods as a kid I instantly remembered stumbling across this area before many yrs prior. In my estimation the cairn was originally constructed to be about three to three and a half feet tall. It has since had rocks fall or tumble off. The stones on the bottom appear of the flat variety with rounded smoother stones used from the base. Cairns are common throughout the world. Used for marking trails , gravesites in more ancient times and boundary markers to name a few more common uses. Sometimes a cairn is simply a stone pile left from over from farm field removal or from stone fence building. I found one such cairn in Dutchess County while investigating one of the many stone fence areas of that region a few yrs ago. I believe this particular cairn was a boundary line configuration. Nearby on another pass through the area many yrs ago I uncovered pieces of old brittle barb wire that ran for quite a distance. I contemplated deconstructing the cairn but decided to leave the original work in place as I should have. I doubt this is used as a marker anymore but leaving the original keeps the integrity of the setting. I estimate this cairn to be a minimum of 60yrs old. I have known of it's being in place for atleast 45 yrs. Boulders or trees were used often in yrs past. Some trees have surveyors spikes in them to show boundaries. these were common practices in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In England such places as the North York Moors have old concrete or carved stone structures some dating hundreds of yrs back. Probably in many cases boundary markers. One such edifice in North York is named Fat Betty { you can Google her}. I still have a photo of her I took yrs ago. As an afterthought there are two other small rock piles I have come across in Schodack region , one in wooded area of Maple Hill High School , another off Graw Rd. Both consist of appx 8 or so rocks. Their origin I don't at present have a speculation on. Perhaps debris collection.

Aerodrome Schenectady

2010-01-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

Of all my 60's memories , The Areodrome in Schenectady NY has a certain power. It was located at 1588 State Street and had some fantastic groups for the time. The Doors...3 Dog Night...Yardbirds ect. I have been told Hendrix played the venue. A man by the name of Jack Rubin was the major bankroller of the site but I remember a man named Terry Hooper was also involved. Hooper was an acquaintance of The Beatles and had a small....very small part in the movie A Hard Days Night which was for those that don't know the era was a Beatles movie. Hooper went on the two rock & roll staions WPTR & WTRY to advertise the opening in 1067 I believe. I soppose the venue could hold over 2000 people which was big by those days night club standards. I bought my first Rolling Stone magazine at one of the shops there. Those days it was much more a newspaper than a glossy. Yes they had little boutiques there. What I really remember was the SOUND SYSTEM. Trust me they advertised it at the time of opening as one of the top systems on the East Coast and it was. Truly SOTA for it's era. Most of it solid state but still some tube amplification and reproduction was originally installed. Made a difference. The stage had a high acoustic value when built but lost some value when later rebuilt & modified. I believe I traveled there around 10x in my highschool & early college yrs. It fell into some disrepair in the late 60's & early 70's and closed I believe in 72 or 73. Now torn down but I believe a popular music icon from that era bring some great music to the upstate area & my youth.

Christmas 1969: Schodack NY

2009-12-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

Thinking deep into the past recently at my daughters Christmas party I went back about 40 yrs to 1969. Vietnam war still raged though my brother was back from that conflict as of September of that year. He still carries burdens from that war. Midterm exams done.....the end of my high school yrs were within sight....trust me ....I was thrilled with that prospect. My sports era well over bad knee and back in place for my future. Played soccer in a senior league many yrs later but for only a short time. But generally speaking....I was happy to be done with sports and being on a bench. I was not a great athlete and frankly sick and tired of hearing crap about how it prepared you for that unknown future. So here I was at my final High School Christmas vacation. One more winter slog to go...one more spring and group of final exams. I guess I am saying I was in a place of peace within. I was generally happy or perhaps just worn down from the era of the 60's. My perception was that people were in a hurry to get over that decade....the sooner the better. From counter culture to the moon landing , mass protest,civil rights , a rising tide of consevative politics made for a blur that Christmas. People were kind of looking over the horizon......I was not. I was out with friends for we were now mobil going to places like the Areodrome on Central Avenue to Albany and movies ect. By the way , thank you Elizabeth . Did I mention beer....the legal drinking age was 18 and I was 18 so Schlitz and I there as well. My buds Ron & John were close by. We all knew there were dark clouds on the horizon , war , college aging parents but there was that taste of new freedom and a promise of something more. Oh and by the way , I had my first glass of serious wine not the Ripple or Boones farm variety. A glass of Pinot Noir , at my aunts house for Christmas Dinner. I felt so adult for a moment. I took a long walk in the woods with Liz. The 60's may be close to over but I finally felt I was beginning. For Christmas day a watch......socks and underwear....always got that from my Mother....an aftershave popular at the time called Hai Karate and various other clothes ect,. New Years was fun and something we had heard about from our science teacher Unix Time started. My friends and I were probably way to serious at times that yr with Vietnam and the like hanging over our lives but that may have been my favorite Christmas not so much for what was but might be ahead. Not so much about me but what a young heart might be beyond the then me.

Opening of Castleton Thruway Bridge Schodack NY

2009-10-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

It was, according to records May 26,1959 that was the official opening of the Castleton Thruway Bridge. This bridge was at the time considered one of the crown jewels of the NYS Thruway System. Deemed a big enough event to have an opening ceremony with the then Governor Nelson Rockefeller in attendance. I have to admit that though a small kid I was in attendance. So this blog is from personal memory. The thruway was blocked off for this section of highway. A grandstand had been built on the side of the highway heading west. The weather a sunny warm day. A beautiful day for a bridge opening. The crowd was appx 250+ in attendance. This was a huge day for the small town of Schodack N.Y. The local high school Maple Hill High School , sent their band. Many politians were in attendance including the then Town Supervisor Lewis Hudson who gave the introductory speech for the Governor. After three or four speeches the ribbon cutting occurred. It was a blue ribbon stretched accross the entire 4 lanes of the highway. The news cameras snapped pictures , the ribbon was cut. Later people took pieces of the ribbon for a personal memory. Rockefeller dove into the crowd and shook hands with the invited guests etc. He still had Presidential ambitions at that point in his career so he was really pressing the flesh. Often saying "hi how are ya." After a period of about 20 minutes the NYS Troopers began to line up cars for exit. Everyone got to drive over the bridge that day in a loop ending on the eastern lane . The last toll free ride for the bridge. Later on that day the span was open to regular thruway users. Many years later I asked Lewis Hudson why the bridge was named for the village Castleton which is a few miles from the bridge. He said he was told that it was felt people would not be able to pronounce Schodack so hence the current name.

Schodack NY Fitzgerald Bros Ale

2009-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

I returned for a brief time to a previous dig. A former private farmers landfill near Graw Rd area of the Town of Schodack NY 12165 appx zip code area. The only item of interest from my 3 hr dig was an old bottle / can opener. Heavily rusted and unreadable in found state. After the use of Coke and a rust remover I was able to get enough rust and grunge off the bottle opener to get a reading of the engraved label. It read Fitzgerald Beer and Ale Troy NY. Fitzgerald's was one of the many local beer breweries common in America in the 19th and 20th Century that often disappeared after the 40's. From what I have been told they made 2 or 3 different brews. One of which was a Half & Half. This was a half beer , half ale combination. Before the advent of the pop top can and the easy off bottle cap these were a common kitchen tool. They opened your bottles or cut holes in the top of a can with the triangle shaped end.

Hooverville : Schodack / Castleton NY 12033

2009-07-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

Parts of 2008 and time this yr 2009 have been spent looking for a remnant of the dark days of the Great Depression , a Hooverville. This was essentially an encampment of unemployed people and families in the especially early yrs of The Depression named for President Hoover. They were essentially homeless living off the land or occasional found work. I have been told in interviews done in college that the Town of Schodack near Castleton had a small one as well. The location was somewhere north of Castleton near the Hudson River south of the city of Rennsslear NY. near the railway tracks. I searched primarily the Papscanee Island Preserve. With metal detector and digging equipment in hand I went over a large area off the paths used by hikers. After much searching , finding bottle caps , old broken beer bottles , an old car or boat steering wheel , old railroad ties , railroad spikes all bent up , one metal dog collar and part of an old row boat oar assembly , I can honestly say I did not find any definitive evidence of the Hooverville. I did find outside of the Schodack Town Limits a couple of very rusted nails and old insulators used for electrical fences about 1 foot down. The Hoovervilles of this era were temporary and made to be able to be vacated on a moments notice. These were not popular places. They were frowned upon as few municipalities welcomed these people. Often raided by police from what I have been told. I believe some churches in the area attempted to help , The St. Paul's Methodist Church then located on Main Street in Castleton sent some food on a couple of occasions I gleaned from interviews. There were perhaps as many as 75 people there at perhaps it's height of population. The jobless and homeless often went through the town looking for work in that era. Route 9J was a fairly heavily used road from the greater NY area in those days. Rt 9&20 on the eastern side of the town often saw people walking or hitchiking through looking for work The then Superintendant of Highways Lewis Hudson would often allow people to sleep in the Town Highway Garage in the early 30's so they would not have to sleep outside in the open weather. Not a popular decision among some of the voters but there were few social services available then in that era. So after many muddy visits especially this year I can only use the couple of old interviews as evidence of it's existance. Long gone , temporary shelter from economic distress , a port in a 20th Century storm.

Ocean to Ice Age In My Hometown Schodack NY

2009-07-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in my rambling attempts at archaeology & history I sometimes forget my lessons in geology. My lessons in the truly ancient. My hometown south of Albany has been covered by oceans & by glaciers as have been many places. The rounded pebbles I find 3 ft down on a dig glacier made , ravines cut not simply by water erosion but by ancient forces through millions of uncounted yrs. Once an ocean bottom now random hills and dells. Spring floods flowed over the Hudson River Valley for thousands of yrs unabated by man. Places such as Newcomb NY fed our area parts of themselves. Leftovers from slow moving events over millions of yrs. Molding discarding , shaping , leveling.............and it continues......................

Hilltop Tavern: Town of Schodack NY 12033

2009-05-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

Periodically I have stopped by Rt. 9 close to the Albany entrance ramp to I90 in the Town of Schodack NY. About one half mile from the Columbia County border. It was in this vicinity that once stood an old Road House type bar. The Hilltop Tavern located at the crest of an incline on Rt9. Minor digging and search with a metal detector has only turned up a couple of old rusty nails. The Hilltop was bought by the State of New York on EminentDomain when the final leg of the I90 interchange was being constructed for the entrance ramp. No basement remnants were found and I presume the entire structure was raised during ramp construction. This occurred circa early 1970's. This was an old style local bar on a once fairly busy highway. The original owner I remember was named Katie. A women from the bootleg era it was often said she kept her money in jewels for safety as did not trust banks. Later on in the 60's the Finn family took it over. The business was expanded to sell Pizza. A very good pizza for the time and place. Today , there is a very different beer market than that era. Many local beers such as Fitzgeralds of Troy , NY or Doblers beer brewed in Albany were bought out or went out of business. The national chains such as Schlitz or Budweiser had taken over. The most local beer was Genny brewed in Central NY. As we can observe with local brew pubs and small breweries such as the Brooklyn brewery in NYC times have seemed to have gone back to earlier years. Hilltop served only Genny beer and Genny Cream Ale. I believe no hard alcohol was there. Their claim to fame was their beer cooloing system. Refrigeration in the basement and then the beer was pumped up stairs by a hand suction pump at the bar. The beer would go through a series of coils that were packed in ice. This created a truly ice cold beer which gave the rather cheap Gennesse truly a richer taste. The best I ever drank. The bar also had a bowling machine people used and I have been told an occasional poker game was held on the premises. Generally speaking this was a locals bar. Local rules. Women were not encouraged to sit at the bar there was a table where the ladies would sit. Local people with names like Golden , Kunicki , Van Deusan etc frequented the place. It felt in a sense like home for the locals. You talked, discussed issues from the Vietnam War to how the lack of rain was affecting crops. Everyone knew your name. This rather ramshackle looking bar in need of a paint job was a major connecting point for South Schodack area people. Part of the fabric of small town life , that has slipped away as we sped up the pace of life in this country.

Town of Schodack NY Natural Gas Exploration

2009-04-20T07:33:00.000-07:00

The exploration for natural gas in the United States in the last 30 yrs has been a fairly successful enterprise. The southern tier of NY has found several fields of gas now under use. In the late 1970's the southern area of Schodack had an exploratory well in the Graw Road area. The general area of the 12123 zip code. This area is near major highways and the NYS Thruway. It is also rather isolated on a small secondary road. It is barely a two car road. So , there was easy access of equipment by highway with relative isolation. The spot of the drilling is now overgrown , judged mainly by the newness of growth as compaired to the surrounding area. The woodlot is in back of the 26-28 Graw Rd area. Apparently , it was not a successful exploration as nothing came of it some 30 plus yrs later.

Graw Rd Stream Revisited

2009-03-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

In my last blog I have described How I have been finding stream pebbles in the Graw Road area of Schodack N.Y. The zip area somewhat in the 12123 region. Further research and discussion with people in the area has informed me of a stream that was activeuntill appx the mid 1960's. It ran through the farms and hills of that area. Graw Rd as a consequence was often in a washed out condition. In he 1920's the then Supt. of Highways Lewis Hudson built a culvert across Graw Rd to channel the stream into the near by wet land. This was done at appx 28 Graw Rd. The stream ran as an all year stream with the Spring the heavest time of water supply. It was a reliable enough source of water that a wooden Barrel was sunk into the ground next to the road and was used to water teams of horses. Farmers used horse or ox power well into the 1940's and even early 1950's. The Town would on a regular basis rent horse teams from local farmers to use in the building of bridges or do road grading on the then numerous dirt roads. This watering area was used by local farmers and road crews atleast into the 1940's. The stream finally dried up in appx 1960's. There was a deep 5 yr drought in the early 60's. Many water sources dried up or were used more extensively. The stream dried up as well as the wet land which has been taken oven by woodland. It never returned. The barrel eventually collapsed or was removed. I believe, however, that on my most recent visit I located the original placement across from 28 Graw Rd.

Ancient Stream Beds in Schodack NY Area

2009-03-13T09:25:00.001-07:00

On some of my past digs in the southern Rensselaer County area I have come across a couple of places with what appears to be of the smooth stream bed variety stones. Such is the case recently on Graw Road area. Even though this area has been farmed and developed over the last two and one half centuries and many of the rocks removed for stone walls or disposal. I have unearthed several oval smooth smaller rocks that appear to be the kind one finds along steam beds or rivers. Even from heights there is not a decernable indentation of stream bed activity that I can detect. There was at the end of the last glacier period appx 13,000 to 14,000 yrs ago many streams created and faltered. The slope of the Hudson River Valley would tend to pull streams in an east to west flow from the eastern side of the valley. Perhaps a stream or 2 may have been formed from springs reaching the surface that have ceased to flow. Don't know. I hope in the future to explore this area with time and permission to a fuller extent.

Spring Valley Dairy:South Schodack N.Y.

2009-03-04T07:54:00.000-08:00

In a recent blog I wrote about local soda companies in the Schodack/Castleton N.Y. area. From my digs last summer I also uncover a couple of broken milk bottles. The writing in both quart bottles was seriously worn. But with magnification and careful cleaning I could ascertain the words South Schodack and the name Spring and the letters Va. Quite recently I came across a complete bottle. It was from the Spring Valley Dairy of South Schodack New York. There were also telephone numbers - PE2-7420 and PE2-7597. On the other side of the bottle reads Drink Chocolate Milk with a picture of a young lady in period 40's or 50's clothing on a picnic blanket reading a book and having lunch. So some additional research has followed. The Spring Valley Dairy was owned and operated by the Swartz Family. A family still in the Schodack area. There was a time when milk was delivered to ones home by milk men early in the morning. Up untill circa 1965 this was how the majority residence in many towns and cities got their milk. Most homes had a milk box on their porch or steps. Your bill was left weekly and money was left in the box for the milk man. There were atleast 4 companies working in Schodack area. Golden Farms and Peters Dairy were two examples. The telephone numbers are representive of the Pershing exchange. Telephones were much more localized back then and the first 2 letters put you into your local district. The exchange system ended by the late 50's early 60's so I judge the bottles to probably be of 1950's vintage. Perhaps 1940's but from the picture of the young lady I would judge 50's era bottle.

Schodack: First Radio Reciever in Town

2009-02-16T07:10:00.000-08:00

What does one do when one of your hobbies is archaeology and it's the dead of winter. The ground is frozen and damn it is cold up north. Well there are always musty basements or researching past pieces from previous digs or on this one occasion a dining room in 06037. A recent visit to my aunt & uncle home uncovered an interesting piece from media past. It was a punch bowl from around circa 1910 and not an expensive one , however , it could be classified as a family keepsake. Let me explain. The time is circa March April 1921. Two major radio stations had been established in the east. KDKA Pittsburg & WGY Schenectady. Radio was in it's infancy. There were not really what we would call a real radio on the market. What you had was a crystal radio. Aroll of wire attached to a crystal that you would drag a small wire across the crystal & pick up radio signal & hear the station over earphones. The set was attached to a long wire antenna located outside of your building or home. People had apparently been building these sets for years. The 2 industrial giants of the day Westinghouse & General Electric in sharp competition began to experiment with radio for the general public. Malcolm Harris of South Schodack Rd may have the been the first or one of the first to build a set and begin listening in Schodack. The Harris family which eventually had 13 kids lived in a house about a quarter of a mile from the Columbia County line. Malcomb , sent for the kit from a catalog with extra earnings from construction work. So , radio , news , farm reports , sports. The radio supplied it all without electicity because the radio used power from the actual radio signal itself. The farm itself as almost all farms of that era did not yet have electical power. With alot of kids and neighbors wishing to hear this new wonder the earphones were difficult. The solution from an article in the newspaper. You placed the earphones in a large bowl , like a punch bowl such as my Aunts heirloom. Then by leaning in close the sound would be amplified as in a megaphone. It was simple but somewhat effective. This was that punchbowl. A memory from radio's past and a quick story related to me on a family visit.

Fall Out Shelter : Cold War Underworld

2009-02-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

There is a current series on History Channel entitled Cities of the Underworld. In that series they explore what is under the surface of cities and country side. Last week as I traveled south on Columbia County Route 66 I was going to have my smaller version. I had managed an invitation to see a piece of the cold war. A home fallout shelter. My uncle was a carpenter , he had done work on the house several yrs ago. Through a mutual acquaintance I had after a number of months arranged an invitation to see this piece of history. I promised to keep the exact location private. The owners would rather not have their names and location mentioned in a blog. So be it. So about 11:00 am on a cold Thursday morning in February I arrived at my hosts home in Dutchess County. The owner greeted me as he came out of his garage , a large 4 car brick structure. We walked around the back of the garage to a small shed type building built into a dirt mound. At the back of the shed was a heavy wooden door with a tin front. the door led to wooden stairs. The owner said that the wooden stairs replaced the older stone steps. 5 steps down , left turn. A common bedroom door which my guide unlocked. This door was put in several yrs ago and was not part of the original construction. Down 3 steps to a large wooden platform. There before me was the final door. I will call it a bulk head door , metal door with a turning wheel in the center. It looked like the doors you see in submarine movies from WWII. With some small effort I turned the wheel , opened the door with a slight creekiness. switched on the light , now placed on the outside of the door. Two steps down and I was there. Not quite in the Cold War. It was as I had been previously told no longer an active shelter as the original intention. The ceiling was high....about 9 ft 6 inches tall. Poured concrete floor , drain in the center of the floor. It looked essentually like a basement of that era with a higher ceiling. It was now a combination wine cellar , store room etc. The one remaining left over from the original was a small safe that was open empty and unlocked. It was not a combination safe but was opened by a large brass type key. The current owner said that some valuables and articles such as birth certificates was stored there. Also stored there was a couple of hand guns and ammo. The safe not longer could be locked or once locked might not be able to reopen through age and disuse. In the south east corner was an old wire stapled to the ceiling beam that went into the ceiling. Below was what I realized from my old radio days was a grounding rod. I believe this is where the radio was to be used....the wire was an antenna of some sorts and the grounding rod would help protect the radio from elecrical discharge from lightening etc. The rod was imbedded in the concrete floor. The owner then directed my attention to the center of the western wall. He moved a wooden crate so I could get a good look at the floor. I turned on my flashlight. There imbedded in the concrete of the floor by 2 bolts and the concrete itself was the most curious item. A traditional Masonic Symbol with the G for God in the center. The previous owner was a Freemason. Exactly why he placed this apparently brass disc of about 4 inches in diameter in that location is not known. I speculate it was perhaps a symbol of belief or of fondness for his brotherhood. A statement of this is what I am for an uncertain future if this was ever needed for the original purpose. I discovered my host was himself at one time a freemason. The tour contained 2 more items. A new vent had been placed in the wall into the heated garage to keep the temp more stable for the wine storage. It was about 18 degrees outside but was rather comfortable with my coat on itside the shelter. The other patch was for the old filtered ventilation system. The vent lead to a small shaft to the surface where I was told there was a cone shaped outlet. Air was pumped down by a hand crank air pump. With my tour over I was invited to lunch after a quick tour of his garage and a look at his 1968 mercedes automobile that belonged to his father. The lunch was healthy , low fat cream cheese with sprouts on whole wheat bread his wife made up for us. The coffee on a cold day was good as well. Over lunch we discussed some of the background history. The house was bought by Susan's grandfather in the 1950's. He had been a lawyer and served in WWII as a legal liason to the British Forces stationed in London. He had the shelter built between May - July of 1960. He felt that Richard Nixon might not be elected President and feared the worse if John F. Kennedy was elected. He felt he could travel from his NYC home to his summer/ weekend gitaway home if war was imminate. His wife I was told was not a big fan this project. Without Eisenhower who he had known the world was likely to go to hell in a hand basket. The house was later sold after his death in 1970. The current owners bought it back in the family in the early nineties as a semi retirement , summer gitaway home. After they bought the property , they took the then empty space converted it to storage and a place for family wine storage. John also told me of a nearby outhouse built in the same time period made of brick. I guess they could not be sure of plumbing facilities after the bomb. After lunch I said my thank you's and goodby. As I traveled back towards home that afternoon I came to a more full understanding of archeology. It helps us uncover past culture , knowledge , community etc. It also often looks at fear , the walls to keep an enemy or other culture out. Roads built to ease the transportation of armies. The fear in the darkest of days of the cold war was real. Duck and cover drills in schools , fear of the Communist menace as it was often called drove people in some cases underground. In this new century we we still have our fears and our politics sometimes reflect that fear. In reality few home shelters were built. The population seemed to slowly ease into a nervous acceptance or change of official policy towards other nations. Now the shelter from past has become the wine cellar of the present. So it goes.

schodack local beverage companies

2009-01-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

On my dig into local farmers landfills last summer I found several pieces of broken bottle glass. Putting together the pieces I discovered an interesting couple of local beverages bottles. Koppins & Blenwell Beverages. Also found local bottle caps from these beverages. Grape , cola , vichy water as examples. The labels were both embossed on bottles , not paper labels. Many of the bottles were a dark green color. Both soda containers had the name Castleton NY on them one Blenwell bottle had the 12033 zip code which I surmise showed this company survived longer. In interviewing a couple of older residents I uncovered the name George Andrews who was a major distributor and home deliver of these beverages. His store room was in back of his home on Scott Avenue in 12033. The Blenwell bottle say that the vichy is made with pure spring water. The small plant for Blenwell was located I believe on winding Schodack Valley Road. That makes sense because there are several springs in that part of the town which feeds the Moorenda Kill. These and other local labels in many parts of country have disappeared. The major companies like Coke overwhelmed the small marketers and tastes changed as well. Tastes such as Black Cherry and Birch Beer lost to mass appeal. Non returnable bottles may have also have been a factor which show up above the line where these bottles were dug.

Sunday Night

2009-01-26T06:23:00.000-08:00

The quiet of a Sunday night. Every night seems to have it's own psychology....it's own feel. I was out to mail a couple of letters yesterday evening which was a Sunday. Cold , overcast....and that anticipation of ....whatever. Church , heavy television viewing , the highest of the week. The preparation for the week ahead. Organized people get set , mothers check wardrobes , football players hit the line , and an almost numbing quiet settles over the country. I believe this to somewhat international...even in relatively secular England ....subdued Sunday. Readers of this blog may very well know what I mean....from Castleton NY to Berlin Ct . Ocala Fl to London GB that almost quiet it's to quiet feel. Perhaps it is a free floating anxiety. Many yrs ago I dealt with a professional couple......both medical doctors. Their young son , had school anxiety issues. She once referred to Sunday evening & night as the quiet scream. The week ahead overwhelmed . The mother would eventually take 14 months off from practice to deal with the problems. By the way the story ends well but Sunday retains a certain dread that has been hard for them to shake. Sunday evening is the sound of distant guns.....the rattle of early morning coffee cups for reluctant workers , the background hiss of modern industrial radiation being turned up.

You Are # 6 The Prisoner Returns

2009-01-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

Last night I met an employee from AMC Cable Network. Bridget and I discussed the new show coming out The Prisoner. Actually it is a remake from the 1960's cult classic of the same name. Oddly the day my new Grandson was born was the day Patrick McGoohan the creator and actor in the series died. He was 80. The show was what we then called a summer replacement show on the CBS television network. It ran for 2 or 3 summers so different it was. Only 17 episodes were made. It concerned a man placed in a place called The Village. A prison for former intelligence workers. The essential theme was we will take care of you here , you must give up your individuality and fork over the INFORMATION they wanted. Everyone was assigned a number , Mcgoohan's character was assigned #6. This series was a revolution in a revolutionary time. Even to a kid from the small town of Schodack NY. 12033. My main friends Ron and John were fans as well. We would joke about how our High School , Maple Hill was similar. You know, it was. We were all assigned a number, our academic group number. It was more of an expectation number. The higher your group the better your chance at success or so was thought by the powers that be back then. I can't tell you how oppressive a place Maple Hill High School was back then. Many students from that era I have talked to have remarked as much. What you were was molded. Some might say warped. Numbers. So when this new version comes on cable I may get flashbacks to a time and place that forced a rebellion. It really did effect me in my later career as I was never as happy a jailor for omrdd in NYS service as they would have perferred. To end with a quote from that original series: I will not be pushed , filed , stamped , indexed , briefed , debriefed or numbered.....I am a free man. Now I feel so much better having said this.

Robert Jeffrey Hudson

2009-01-15T07:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my first Grandchild was born. 9 pounds 10 ounces , 20 and one half inches long. As a person that often looks at the past I find myself wondering of his future. If I can do anything for him it is to show him his ancestors. You have a family that goes back to the 1600's in this country. We have come from people who were everything from farmers to mechanics , ministers , people in the political world , solders , sailors , mailmen , teachers , carpenters , car salesmen , human service people , rebels , moms & dads. Your family survived war , illness , poverty , depressions , crop ruining weather , bad schools , early death and a lack of dreams. Yet they survived to bring you forth into this new world. Many were happy........and if they could would wish you well. You come from strong stock.......as do many. Take that Robert and run with it........don't look back to often. Forward.

Past Presidents Passing

2009-01-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

Last week all remaining Presidents of the USA gathered together in the Oval Office for the photo op with our soon to be new President B. Obama. They wished him well & success. It triggered a memory from the past. Circa Early January 1972. Cold with no snow in my Hometown of Castleton/Schodack N.Y.. Pres. Johnson had died on the heels of President Truman. There was a custom back then at the State Capitol for a twenty one gun salute at sundown for I believe five days following the death of a President. The cannons located on the front lawn of the Capitol Bld. boomed out their tribute. The sound traveled down the hudson river valley and could be heard in Castleton. I heard the echoing sound rumble as I got out of my car to visit home for the weekend. I was a college student at the time. I must say I had my differences with LBJ when he was the President but now I felt an odd passing of time. My uncle came out of the house and commented that Nixon stood alone.......we had no X Presidents left. Watching the X's on TV this week was oddly comforting. I like having some former Presidents around. Perhaps it was that cold January day......my discomfort over being pinned down on career decisions.....or just to this end we all must come. Whatever the reason is....... it is best not to go through our political discourse in isolation. Goes for life as well.

Schodack NY Kunicki Pond

2008-12-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

I like the mystery of discovering the past by piecing together what is left behind. Such is my status as a "Pot Finder" archeologist. Sometimes it is the geography of an area that also leaves behind clues. Such is the case of an all most lost location , Kunicki Pond. This pond was located on an older town map circa late 50's early 60's. It is located off Graw Rd on the southern part of the town near the Columbia County border. It seems to have disappeared during the intervening yrs. No one has heard of the pond and I have not seen it on more recent maps, can't find it on Google mapping. What happaned to it ?
If one travels this rather isolated road there are hay fields , old barn foundations and a few homes. The road itself is about a mile and a half long and ends with the connecting Dingman Road. The road travels up a hill and at the top of the hill is a house set off near a wooded ridgeline hill . This house was built by a Theodore "Ted" Kunicki where an older home once stood. The remainders of the Kunicki family is where I gain the information that began to solve the puzzle. The land was purchased from a Mr. Payne during the fifties. The original home on that property and the newer one was built over a spring. The excess water was channeled down the hill by a clay pipe. Mr. Payne desired what was called in older days a swimming hole for his kids etc. He had a pond dug out at the bottom of the ridgeline. It was not created for cattle though was used by deer and other animals and have seen reports of a higher deer population in that area. I explored this area and found what I would describe as remnants of a larger pond. I found pieces of clay pipe and old nails with my metal detector. The pond area has over the yrs filled in. Leaves , dirt , much less water has caused only a slight wet land area to survive.
So when the map maker named the pond area he named it after the owners of the property at the time. Oddly Graw Rd was known by locals as Kunicki Rd. How it ended up with the name Graw I do not know. Mrs Lillian Kunicki a former Town of Schodack official still lives on Graw Rd on property further up the road. Ted Kunicki was a successful Housing Developer in the area.

Farmers Landfills in Schodack NY 12033

2008-10-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

This past summer I have excavated 4 landfill type areas in the Town of Schodack N.Y.. Following are a summation of my findings and various thoughts I have on them. Schodack NY was a small industrial and farming community located in the southern region of Rennselear County bordered by the Hudson River to the Columbia County to the south the foothills of the Berkshires to the east. There is still some farming and small time manufacturing. What it has become since the 1960's is much more of a suburb of the Albany & Troy areas. What it was in previous days was a fairly sleepy semi isolated small town.
It was not an uncommon part of farming or rural living in past days before large waste disposal companies and Town landfills for people to create their own. Using their own property in a secluded section to dispose of no longer useful items. Getting permission to search such areas of property now is of course not easy. Who wants a dump discovered on their land. Anger or strange looks are not uncommon. I managed by hook and crook to gain some entrance to areas. I shall not reveal exact locations.

1. Funk Road Area
2. Graw Road Area
3. Green Avenue Area
4. South Schodack Area near Columbia County Border

First of all old tires , Atlas , Firestone , Montgomery Ward etc. Large old tractor tires were not uncommon. They always are at the top of a landfill or dump. The lack of tread shows that they were used as long as was possible. A favorite find was old junked cars. I came upon an old Nash from circa 1956. severely rusted body and frame in the Green ave site. In another was 3 old Ramblers used as parts cars. At the Rambler site was also an old IH truck circa 1958. The odometer read 267,000 on the IH truck. IH stands for international harvester. Buried on the Rambler site found by metal detector was an old tractor engine. I am told by property owner that engine was from a Furguson tractor circa 1953. My digging revealed many fascinating items , atleast to me. Many old Montgomery Ward items such as 1 gallon oil cans , tools , kitchen items . washing machines etc. This is not surprising. In Menands , NY there was a large 3 or 4 story bld that was all a Montgomery Ward Department store. This was a mega store for the time and served a large geographic area. This brand name usually meant that I had dug to the early fifties or sixties. Now glass items were usually broken , one metal and glass item I discovered puzzled me. After searching and asking I believe was an old sediment bowl used in cars and tractors before the wide use of gas filtration devices, It tended to allow sediment in gasoline to settle in bottom of bowl before it reached the carberator. It would be cleaned out often. I believe it also allowed for air to mix with the fuel as well. I found 3 toys one remnant was a toy blimp which I believe I can date to atleast the 1940's. In the Graw road area I found several old gears most likely from old farm equipment. Remnants of an old hay combine lay nearby so the gears may have come from that type of equipment.
My major conclusion is simple. This was a frugal life lead by these people. Items were used for as long as they could be or were broken beyond repair. Occasionally , items became obsolete such as an old wringer washing machine circa 1930's. I have reason to believe it was used well into the 1950's. Tire tread was at the minimum in many tires found. People fixed what was broken when possible , hence , the use of parts cars for instance. Use old cars to keep one car going. This was not a disposable community for the most part. Through good times and bad one was careful of money spent and what one had.

Beer Archeology Schlitz and other brands

2008-08-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

Having done many a dig and finding a wide variety of stuff over the years it dawned on me recently that I have struck more than a few old beer cans and bottles. Bud , Genny , Iron City . Miller etc. It can making dating an area a little easier because I essentially know when the light beer trend began....gabblingers was I believe the first lite beer circa 1968. A beer that was once popular can disappear rather rapidly as taste change. One example is Ballentine Beer and Ale. Once popular in the 40's 50's etc then disappeared from the landfill record circa 1963 or so. Another such an item is Schlitz....known to many from that era as the beer that made Milwaukee famous. Established in 1849 it was perhaps the most popular beer in America for appx 50 yrs. I have found remnants of Schlitz beer cans and bottles going atleast into the 40's. Found perhaps the most Schlitz than any other. I even remember the decline and fall of the Schlitz Empire. It began around circa 1972. The company for some bizarre production reason changed their brewing method perhaps to produce more, cheaper is an often quoted reason. That along with a bungled ad campaign sent Schlitz tumbling.....people left in droves. One of the icon products of the 20th Century ended up being sold off and production ceased somewhere in the mid to late 70's I believe. I have noticed this rapid end in the landfill record. Bud & Miller became even more of a mainstay. Then I noticed early 80's a change of trend....Lowenbrau , Molson , Heineken became a a cast off item. The beginning of the small designer beers were on their way.
As sort of post script I can report that Pabst who owns the Schlitz name is making an attempt to restart that old label. Just to demonstrate how quickly things can become lost in time that had to piece the formula together from old brewery notes and interviews with retired brew masters. It is mainly restarting in the midwest but is brewed in the eastern half of the nation. You can buy it in the 11001 area code. Sometimes the senses can be a form of archeology as well. Recently had one......Brought back memories.....the taste that ancestors knew and enjoyed going back to the 19th Century. Revived from the ashes and landfills and the memories of old brew masters from the past.

Maple Hill High School 1970 ...The Great Soccer Challenge

2008-08-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

As I look out over many a playing field the single biggest change since my playing days is simply the fact that females so often dominate the softball and soccer fields of today. It was of course not always so....there was a time when women 's sports were down the list......Men's basketball , soccer baseball , football followed by anything men wanted to do was the norm. The ladies had field hockey within the school.....but little of that.
On a recent trip I stopped by MHHS. As I walked the track my mind traveled back to the school back then. It has not changed that much. The field hockey goals are gone , the ball diamond looks slightly overgrown. The soccer field looks much the same , of course there is now a track around the edge. There was in the senior class a movement to give women a more prominate role in activities. A great plot was hatched in the sports area. The senior girls vs the senior boys in a Thursday afternoon game with the school invited. After much cajoling the match was set. The mens captain was one Ronald P. Kunicki.......womens captain Elizabeth Eckert who's father at the time was on the school board , which was a great help in the OK being given for this game. I was the goalie.
Much of the school turned out.....classes let out early.....a fairly good size event for that time. I wish I could tell you a great sports upset story but alas men 8 women 0. They held us well into the second quarter even a couple of shots on goal but eventually the men won.
The point was however made that spring afternoon. Sports on the High School and College level were soon about to change. All of my three daughters played soccer in High School. School budgets formed along new laws and guidelines. But there was that moment when many yrs ago a game was played to send a signal that things would not stay the same for much longer.

Blimps Along the Hudson with Jets and Sonic Booms

2008-07-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

The other day I heard a low rumble off in the distance. Looked up and spotted The Goodyear Blimp passing nearby. Their hanger is located in Long Island. It is much more of a unique sight than it used to be. Blimps regularly patrolled the Hudson River channel into the early 60's. Stationed out of Albany and I believe Lakehurst NJ. On a quiet day you could hear their low engine rumble as they slowly passes by. The Navy I am told used their blimps to patrol for Subs in the fifties in the Atlantic region. Living in Schodack area the opportunity to see blimps was common. It was part of life to be along flight paths from Albany County Airport. Propeller aircraft from TWA , PanAm , Mohawk Airlines flying the river route to NY and Philly etc. The planes flew lower in those days and it was easy to spot their logos on the tail wind. It was also not uncommon to see low flying military aircraft B52's etc fly directly over the village of Castleton and parts of Schodack. Showing the tax payers what they payed for. As a child I remember this well , the Communist scare was alive and well then. Bomb drills in elementary school , fallout shelters ect, A sound my children have never heard I believe is a sonic boom. Trust me , not an uncommon sound back then. When the sound barrier is passed in a rapid speed the boom can be heard for hundreds of miles in many cases. You could be in class and a sudden boom with window shaking was an accepted part of life then. The rapid move from the propeller to the jet engine was rapidly underway......from a blimp on patrol to Atomic bombers. You could see it all if you looked up from my home town back then.

This is London

2008-06-24T10:01:00.001-07:00

My recent trip to G.B. was enjoyable....saw some of the usual sites...Windsor Castle ....Big Ben ... Abbey Road...Hyde Park etc. My most enjoyable time was spent in the House Of Common and Lords. My Daughters friend was doing an internship there so we got a personal tour. Commons is only about the size of 3 and one half American living rooms Looks much bigger on TV. Local elections were being held in G.B. the next day...Labor was about to take a bath and they looked liked the rainy English weather. There are three pubs in the basement of the bld so many were half in the bag at 11:20 when I met acouple of M.P.'s.
The one thing that struck me the most was how much of London I knew from fiction.....James Bond drove by this park Simon Templar had a violent encounter on that corner of this street. Odd how much one may steeped in history how some things stay with you.
The weather sucked....rain chilly....no wonder my English ancestors left....a warm decent day is a rarity. My fathers side left a place called Rise England in the early 1820's. To my disappointment I discovered there is very little left there...no quaint little village type stuff. Just tracs of farm land.Guess we left in time. Oh well.
BE SEEING YOU.

Hard Cider Making In The Schodack NY Region

2008-05-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

My most recent archeology type of digging has found The Hawk looking into old farmers dumps. It was common practice for centuries to have a family landfill on ones property. I plan to write about more of my findings this fall. The pieces of one artifact I have discovered appears to have been the remnants of an old hand crank cider press.
Cider making on a small scale was common for much of the history of this country. The tools and knowledge were common throughout Europe. Hard cider drinks are still served in Pubs in England...enjoyed them on my recent visit.
Apple orchards still dot the Hudson River Valley. Many small farms had a few apple trees on them and the older varieties such as the pippen were quite durable to our weather changes. Now the need for excape from the drudges of life are as old as man. A hard cider fermented could sometimes provide such relief. This was common practice and as moonshine is of the southern regions of America cider was to us.
The remnants of the press was uncovered in Columbia County but these often hand made devices were from what I have been able to ascertain quite common. I know of atleast 3 cider makers now deceased from the Schodack NY region. All brewed their ciders during prohabition in the 1920's & early 30's. Apparently a common practice back then was what can be referred to as in the ground fermenting. Make the cider in late summer early fall put in proper container such as an earthen jug , bury in ground atleast 1.5 feet and allow to simmer. Dig up when the ground is cold and test and enjoy. As can be guessed , the in the ground method also provided for refrigeration.
The Schodack landing area was a hotbed for such activity. Alcohol Tobacco and firearms agents
did go after such activity. Small scale selling of product was not uncommon. As a matter of fact , one of my ancestors was busted for such activity circa 1931.

1968 Schodack N.Y.

2008-05-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

The Town of Schodack is a small town south of Albany N.Y. on the opposite side of the river from the Capitol. As the crow flies it is about 5 0r so miles south. It has been a town often gone through or bypassed on the way to somewhere else. A small village of Castleton is by the river and a rural suburban composition is the rest of the town. If the reader has read my other blogs you can say history passed through as well. Did not stay long. 1968 was a tramatic year for the country , riots , political unrest , counter culture movement , war. The changes that would effect the nation would touch Schodack as well. I wanted to stop by 1968 in that sleepy town and what was Schodack of the time atleast some impressions.
Schodack was alot dirtier then. As sited by State Study and a 1967 NYT magazine article the biggest pollutors in the Hudson River Valley per capita. Paper Mill from the Fort Orange Paper Company and the Anti Corrosive metal plant poured tons of industrial waste into the river. Open sewer pipes to the river were common. Farming runoff was still common. Large fish kills were not uncommon , 100+ fish could wash up on shore in or near Castleton , making life less pleasant.
You never quite forget that dead fish smell. The environmental movement was just beginning , the first Earth Day was 2 yrs away.
Schodack was less suburban than now , farming was still a common occupation. The smell of manure , common. Outhouses were more common than one might think , I could count atleast 23 that I knew were in use. The Chatham Farmers Coop still in business. The buying and selling of cattle was not uncommon in Schodack.
Our one semi rock star was long since gone....Buddy Randell was a temporary resident of Castleton and was married there. The group was called The Knickerbockers...they were known as making songs that sounded very much like the Beatles. It was said he often used notary public services instead of copyrights. L. V. Hudson often was his notary.
The town was affected by the 60's , it had angry elements....the town voted overwhelmingly for Richard Milhouse Nixon for President. Law & Order was a common phrase heard back then. Of course the 60's had reached the hamlet of Schodack...Drugs , drinking , political unrest amongst the younger residents. From talks with people , many of the young looked forward to leaving and coming back rarely if at all. Not uncommon for small towns , even today.
Several young men left for Vietnam , some came back to resume a quiet life some never quite were whole again. Arguements among families concerning the war was common. It split people apart as it did the nation.
The sleepy little town moved on as all places do , it some ways it is a better place. For me more a place of archeology...left behind memories.