In this issue:
50th Annual Stockade
Villagers’ Outdoor Art
Show
Also on the
weekend of the Art Show
Featured
Dutch home on 2001 Walkabout
STOCKADE
ASSOCIATION Board Minutes
Rules
Regarding Schenectady Historic Commission
50th
Annual Stockade Villagers’ Outdoor Art Show
Sat, September 8, 11-5
At the 50th Annual Stockade Villagers’ Outdoor Art Show on Saturday, September 8, special recognition will be given to the founders of the Art Show with the Nicholas J. Colangelo and Ernest A. R. Cohen Awards. Also, The Oak Room Artists will be presenting an award honoring two very active artists and neighbors: James Qilliland and George Weinheimer. AM four of the honorees were artists and members of the Board. Nick Colangelo is the only surviving original artist and founder.
Matt Weinheimer, son of George and Barbara Weinheimer, Is continuing the family tradition of designing and making our banner hanging over the Indian and updating our flyer. George designed the original banner and always did the updates on our flyers, which were designed by John Waltrous in 1966.
The Villagers’ Outdoor Art Show is a juried show. Exhibits of fine art work by artists from near and far will be on display for visitors to the Stockade. Many people will gather on the streets and sidewalks of the Stockade for the day. It is a happening in our neighborhood -e time to enjoy the day, meeting old friends and perhaps buying some fine art.
The Stockade Is a unique and special place of which we are proud.
Stockade residents are encouraged to make their property attractive, to share
their sidewalks with the artists and to welcome the visiting public with the
friendliness that we all experience here every day. The open, friendly atmosphere
of the art show makes It a welcoming venue every year.
50 consecutive years of hosting this art show Is a real accomplishment by our
neighborhood and its residents.
Some streets will be dosed to traffic and cars must be off these
streets by 9:00 AM. (Look for our flyers on your cars and “no parking” signs on
Friday.)
Matt Volks is the
General Chairman of the Art Show and President of the Board of Directors. The
Board of the Art Show encourages neighborhood participation and asks for your
help. Hosts/Hostesses are needed for two-hour shifts -call Joanne Hawkey to volunteer. People are
needed in the Judging Circle - call Meredith Anker. Help is needed to set up and take down the show -call Deb or Matt
Volks (381-6322) or contact Bill Delaney. Committees: Judges - Vivian d’Estienne; Judging Circle - Meredith Anker, Theresa Smith, John BuelI; Registration- Mike DellaRocco,
Donna Hunt, Emily Klotz, Connie Colangelo; Prizes - Al Strack; Racks and
Security - Bill Delaney, Jim Klotz, Mall Volks; Publicity - Karen B. Johnson
and Diane DeMeo; Treasurer - Larry Schmitt; General -Peter Polachek. Lisa Alexander, Man Weinheimer; Museum Reception - Randy Roberts.
- Connie Co/angelo
Also on the weekend of the Art Show:
Friends of the Gardens of St. Georges Church
will again participate in its “Gathering on the Green” at the Stockade
Villagers’ Art Show on Sat., Sept. 8 from ii AM to 4 PM. A homemade and
bountiful lunch will be offered in the Great Hall along with the sought alter
variety of breads, pastries, jams. jellies, preserves,
sauces, sprays of dried flowers and other surprises.
The Church will be opened to the public during the hours of the Art Show. One may learn of its past history from 1735 to the present and get a glimpse of our future plans. The Memorial Garden - to the south of the Church office Cramer House - has been landscaped with plantings of perennials, bushes, trees to invite visitors and Stockade residents to stroll and browse among the various memorials and remembrances that have been given.
“Fall Art Experience” - Experience and Creative Design will be open
to the public, Sunday, Sept. 9th, 12-5 PM with a gallery of very innovative
wall art, free standing mobiles and floral wall pieces.
St. George Greek Festival Liberty &
Clinton Streets Sept.
8/9. II AM-11 PM
“Ancient Herbs and Their Modern Usage” Speaker: Geofp
Farrall, Sat, Sept. 8 1:30 PM Refreshments 2:00 PM Program Historical Society,
32 Washington Avenue.
Mabee Farm Festival, Sun., Sept. 9, 1-5 PM,
$6/person, $4 children; Dutch Stew, refreshments for a small fee; tours of the
historic buildings and Dutch barn; old time music; demonstrations by
blacksmith. Broomcorn maker, quilts; spinner, creweler; exhibits of the Mabee
family quilts & fabrics; restored Revolutionary War weapons. Call Historical Society for reservations.
374-0263.
Cluster Family Festival 2001 St. John the Evangelist Church parking lot
and St. John the Evangelist School, Sponsored by the Cluster Churches of Holy
Cross. St. John the Evangelist and St. Mary’s, Fri., Sept., 21,6-lI PM; Sat, Sept. 22,2-Il PM; and Sun., Sept. 23, 2-9 PM
Second Annual Multicultural Welcome Reception
Featuring Music From the Islands: Trinidad and Tobago Steel Trio, Thins., Sept. 27, II AM, SCCC, Van Curler Room, Elston Hall.
Free and open to public.
Johnny Appleseed’s Birthday
meet author/illustrator Will Moses who will sign his new picture book, Johnny
Appleseed. Sat., September 29. 1 - 2:30 PM. Open Door Bookstore, 128
Jay Street 346-2719.
Walkabout 2001 “Goes Dutch”
Saturday, Sept. 29 1O~5
A Dutch theme colors the fall Walkabout this year with a trolley ride to the oldest house in the Mohawk Valley, The Mabee House; The Horlepiep Dutch Dancers in authentic Dutch dress; Wayne Harvey highlighting Dutch architecture with walking tours; and Katy and Fred Kindls wonderful Dutch gem at 14 North Church (see page 4).
Besides tours of the interiors of 18th and 19th century homes and historic churches there will be carriage rides through our charming streets with historic commentary; a Dutch exhibit at the Historical Society with complimentary tea and cookies; and murals depicting Schenectady’s history at the Hudson River Bank and Trust Co. Music Is all day: bagpipers; neighbor Elio Matarazzo with his Irish band. Curragh, at Lawrence and Sylvia Briber’s trio, In Good Company, starting with old time
harmonies.
Tickets are $16. They can be purchased at Arthur’s Market (everyday, 7AM -9 PM) The Schenectady County Historical Society (M-F, I - 5 PM and Sat., 9 AM-1 PM) and Perreca’s Bakery, 33 North Jay St. (M - F, 5:30 And - 5:30 PM. Sat., 5AM - 4:30 PM).
Join the fun by selling tickets, being a docent, etc.. and get a reduced ticket price. Call Anne Bernat.
See you there!
Featured Dutch home on 2001 Walkabout
14 North Church Street
According to Dr. Susan J. Staffa, author of a forthcoming book, Schenecta4’ Genesis: How a Dutch Colonial Village Became An American City Ca. 1661-1800, the northwest portion of the house at 14 North Church in Schenectady appears or Colonel Romer’s map of 1698. The first owner of the lot was Jans Janse Jonckers (Von Rotterdam) a Norwegian who came to the area in a Dutch West India Co. ship, “The Statin,” in about 1665/1668. He became first owner of the property at about that time, a year or two after the land was surveyed and the village laid out, and built his house on it.
Subsequent owners were Teunis Gartense; Hendrick Brouwer (who added an extension to the east); James Rosa. who made extensive renovations converting the house to its present Georgian style by raising the roof and rotating it 90 degrees to create a full two-story house and added the south wing.
The present owners. Fred and Katy Kindl, added the present kitchen to the rear of the house in 1970.
The house features a Dutch canopy fireplace, original door latches, floor, beams, secret hiding places, and, like so many houses in Holland, the block and tackle outside of the top floor window for hauling furniture into the house.
The strip of new sidewalks and brick
work at 225,
227, 229. and 231 Union Street? Leaves left
impressions in the wet concrete. Nice decoration for fall! We do need new
sidewalks here.
The new painting of
the store at Arthur’s? Bruce Jordan says he likes it - It reminds him of
American Primitive. The story is that a couple from Syracuse bought it at a
garage sale for $10. Wondering just where Arthur’s Market was they searched the
Internet and drove here to present the painting to him. A must see item.
Did you Know:
Longtime, well-liked Don Clough from
the “Old” Van Dyck is now manager of the “New” Van Dyck?
Michaela French, of Front Street has a
new novel published. “Connections” takes us, with original photos, to the now
nearly forgotten countryside of pre WWI England through the 70’s. An elderly
woman reminisces Through three generations of family
guilt, control and past experiences. Hazel’s search for the meaning of her
perplexing secret and the remembering bring her to a longed for serenity The book has been available at the Open Door or check
XLIBRIS.COM for details
Matthew’s Garden
Matthew A. Volks, Jr. has been spreading his seeds throughout the Stockade. Matthew thinks that Morning Glories are an asset to anyone’s home and has therefore taken it upon himself to have Morning Glories growing along the sidewalks, around poles and on fences. His “garden” can be seen on North Ferry Street at the fronts and sides of the buildings. He has also spread his seeds on Front Street.
Greed by William Mcswain
The rage of It ever grows
It races along its destructive path,
Hell’s eternal and awful wrath.
With the lack of desire to stop it,
It continues
A select few volunteered to fight it,
But these saints are too few,
Fighting only with hoses of their word.
The more it grows the less it can be stopped.
The more it gains the more it wants,
The colors of green and red are mixed Into one.
The saints crumble one by one,
Their brave battle is still remembered but not followed
They clean out their ashes with a shovel
But the battle still continues.
The intensity of it grows,
The hellish monster scorches the land
From ocean to ocean,
From the beginning it could have not been stopped,
The monster was too
strong
William McSwain, 15,
is a young writer in the Stockade and has had this poem published in “Celebrate
Young Poets Speak Out”
STOCKADE ASSOCIATION
Bob Biter, Recording
Secretary
Association Board Meeting
Report
The Board of the
Association met twice during the summer on June 5 and July 12. The next meeting
will be Tuesday, September 4, before the general meeting on Thursday.
September 13. At both meetings the Board discussed its own role, and worked to
develop a list of projects that would benefit the Stockade. All residents are
invited to share their ideas with any Board member. Board members are listed
to the left of this column.
Jim Schmitt joined
the group in July, to discuss the Gillette House, which the County has
purchased and is examining for best uses. He is also searching for support to
compete the Gateway project from the Gateway itself to the railroad bridge.
At its June meeting
the group dealt with several topics:
The idea of a boat landing.
where visiting pleasure boats could tie up; the East
Front St. neighborhood would like to have one in their area, and our Board
approved the idea and location.
The Stockade Sidewalk Sale did better than
last year. Because of problems with sale items donated for the Association
table. (what to do with the ones that don’t sell) the
committee plans to switch to baked goods next year.(Unsold items, if any, won’t
be a problem!)
The Park Cleanup on May 19 was a great
success.
The Art Show judging will be held within the
fence around the Indian, as it has been for years.
The finances of the Association were
discussed. We will work to develop a budget for the Association, and urge all
requests for money, like the $500 for
flowers around the Indian approved at the general meeting, be presented ahead
of time for thoughtful action.
In July the Board
discussed safety and security issues at length, noting that flowers had been
stolen from a number of front stoops. The idea of a neighborhood watch” was
discussed again, and may be brought up at the general meeting. Joe urged
everyone -Board members and residents alike - to report any criminal acts to
the police immediately, even illegally parked cars. He is also meeting with town officials to discuss
the traffic patterns in the Stockade, and noted that the idea of a bike path,
which the Association has previously approved for a year’s trial, is being
discussed actively.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Bob Briber
New Bench in the Park
Those of you who walk in Riverside Park may have noticed a new addition, a stone bench just inside the Washington Avenue entrance. This bench with Its bronze plate was given in memory of Barbara Benson Edwards, a long time Front Street resident, who died in April 1997. This gift to the Stockade Garden Group was from Barbara’s co-volunteers at the Wednesday Aids Luncheons in Albany, as well as many friends in the Stockade. You will see that Snuffy. Barbara’s dog, is also named on the plate. If you didn’t know Barbara you may remember the lady walking her white Peekapoo in the Park. The bench was installed on bluestone slabs by Mark Fisher and Tim Lewinski of Green Care Landscape Services. Mark and Tim donated their time and materials in loving memory of their friend and client.
The Walks To Remember by Mlchaela French
This year I have
walked around the Stockade almost every day since early spring (hoping to
become mobile againi), and I have to comment on the pleasure It gave me. I
would walk up one street, along another, go down by the river, watch the spring
trees turning into abundant foliage, and every walk was a new one.
I would like to
thank all the people who cared enough to plant tubs and window boxes to make
our community a delight to see. Each week there would be new flowers to enjoy,
and the area around Lawrence was exceptionally well cared for, as was the path
leading from Washington Avenue onto Riverside Park. My appreciation
to all of you who kept the Stockade in such excellent condition.
Yet, there was sometimes
litter from an ignorant person, and the occasional non-scooping dog walker. but those occasions were rare compared with the pleasure I
experienced.
Each time I would
think I must find a way to let people know how much their efforts have meant to
me,” and only now am I writing this to The
Spy. Thank you, many times over, good neighbors.
Let Bush Pay For Our Bushes!!
We all received that
letter from our favorite Federal agency, the IRS, with the happy news that
Uncle Sam would send us a little refund from our 2000 taxes. Now this Is free money from heaven nobody figured on in their 2001
budget. So why not donate that little refund for the completion of the Stockade
Gateway which will extend the planting along Erie Boulevard from Union Street
to the railroad overpass?
Please make your tax
deductible check payable to the Schenectady Heritage Foundation -Gateway and
send to:
Schenectady Heritage
Foundation
P.0 Box 1173
Schenectady, New
York 12301-1173
Beautiful New Trees
Surely you all noticed the new flowering trees last spring an Front Street, Church Street, and at the circle. A joint effort of the Stockade Garden Group, the Heritage Foundation, the Gateway Project and Re-Tree Schenectady made the planting of these twelve trees possible. This was the first phase of a planned three-year project with future plantings in the fall and spring. If you would like a tree in front of your house, please call Susanna Sherwood.
The volunteers for the first planting were: Debbie Lambeth Shirley Burns, and Jason Nemic (Stockade residents), Mark Fisher and Tim Lewinski of Green Care Landscape Services, and Stan Hickok of The Heritage Foundation. None of this would have been possible without the vision of Mr. Hickok. Stan is not a resident of the Stockade which makes his keen Interest and involvement all the more impressive. The Garden Group and the tree planting committee, Barbara Sauer, Shirley Burris and Jean Delgado especially appreciate his leadership and initiative. We look forward to working with him on future tree plantings.
STOCKADE STOPPER
For each issue of
The Spy we choose seine unique detail in the Stockade, ask you to guess where it is, and then give the answer In the following issue with Interesting commentary by Jim Schmitt, AlA.
Can you guess what
this is?
Rules Regarding Schenectady Historic Commission
According to the Zoning Ordinance for the City, any work done that can be seen from the public right of way must go before the Historic District Commission for review. This includes landscaping, painting (even if the paint is the same color as the existing paint), and any other construction or repairs done on the property. If anyone is unsure if the work they plan to do on their property qualifies for Historic Commission review, they can call the Department of Development at 362-5147 and ask for Christine Slovak who will be happy to answer any questions.
Tidings
We welcome our new
neighbors;
Councilman Mike Petta
and his new wife, Beth on North Church Street.
Dennis O’Connor and
Cynthia Lamb on Washington Avenue.
Elinore Schumacher on
Washington Avenue.
Ellen Berry on
Washington Ave.
Terry Kraham on North
Ferry Street.
Congratulations to:
Pete Polachek &
Sue Rhodes who married in June in Las Vagas.
Emily Curtis and Jim Klotz married May
12 in Virginia and are living on Front St.
Eli Taub of 105 N. Ferry Street, who
has been appointed as Schenectady County Family Court Judge and the recipient
of the humanitarian award from the Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Council of
Schenectady County Eli and his wife, Nancy are long-time residents of the
Stockade with their lovely gardens, and cat, Leroy
Over the summer several residents passed away:
After a long illness,
Max Mordecai of Green Street.
John J. Culkin, Sr., of Front Street,
deacon in the parishes of Holy Cross, St. Mary’s, and St. John the Evangelist.
After a long illness,
Lee Whitney of Green Street, retired Schenectady County employee.
Mrs. Virginia Marro
of Green Street, longtime resident of the Stockade with family also on Green
Street.
We extend our deepest sympathies to their families.