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Things to do in Greater Cooperstown
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Thursday June 10, 2021
► Beekeeping /pg. 3
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B-2 Summer Dreams
Thursday June 10, 2021
Local favorite band, Hanzolo, wowed Albany audiences in 2019 PearlPalooza music festival.
Oneonta’s Neahwa Park. Call 607432-6326 for tickets. • Do you write poetry, or are you in Otsego County writing a book? Come out and meet a few local authors, amateur and published. Hear what others are doing, share your work and make some new friends. At 6 p.m, Friday, June 11 at the Springfield Library, 129 County Route 29A in Springfield. Call 315-858-5802 or visit libraries.4cls. org/springfield/adult-programs for information. • Come explore the Cherry Valley area to find ceramic shrooms hidden by ceramacist Rita Seiko Payne. The njoy a performance by the Game of Shrooms is an annual event local rock and roll band held since 2019 to celebrate the spirit Hanzolo, performing live for of unexpected surprises. Artists around this week’s Fire Pit Friday. So grab the world create and hide their mushyour friends, a blanket or chair (or room-themed art in public two), and come enjoy the lively spaces and post clues to their things tunes out by the bonfire, from whereabouts on social me7 to 10 p.m., Friday, June 11, at dia. In Cherry Valley all day to do! Brewery Ommegang, 656 CounSaturday, June 12. Find info ty Rte 33, in the town of Middleat www.facebook.com/-cherfield. Call 607-280-2900 or visit ryvalleyartworks/. www.ommegang.com/concerts• events for more information. Come enjoy a delicious • chicken dinner and bake sale The Oneonta Community to support a local church. The Concert Band returns with their dinner is presented by Brooks’ first outdoor concert of the BBQ and will include half season. They will be performing Larissa Ryan a chicken, roasted potatoes, patriotic tunes like the ‘Battle coleslaw, a roll with butter Hymn of the Republic,’ A Coloand a brownie for dessert, all for $10. nial Rhapsody’ and others, to celebrate Chicken halves are also available for $8. Flag Day. Bring blankets, chairs and Take-out only. Reservations required. whatever else you need to be comfort- Church of Christ Uniting at 22 Church able while you listen. The event will St. in Richfield Springs from 4 to 6 p.m., be held at the pavilion in Wilber Park Saturday, June 12. Call 315-858-2357. in Oneonta. Visit www.facebook. com/oneontacommunity-concertband for more information. ►ON THE COVER • Support Oneonta’s local baseball Richard Lercari checks one of team for a home game against the his beehives in Cherry Valley. Saugerties Stallions at 7 p.m., ThursPhoto by Kevin Limiti day, June 10, at Damaschke Field in
what’s fun
Serving you for over 70 years! Online Restaurant Curbside Delivery Catering Gift Shop Sauce Production
Thank you for your patronage! www.brooksbbq.com 607-432-1782 5560 NY Rte 7 Oneonta
BEST BETS Hanzolo to play at Fire Pit Friday, Flag Day Concert, Art Trails
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Thursday June 10, 2021
Summer Dreams B-3
Kevin Limiti
Richard Lercari, of Straight from the Hive, is ready to suit up for beekeeping work Tuesday, June 9, in Cherry Valley.
Beekeeping becomes big upstate activity, hobby By KEVIN LIMITI The sound of bees humming is audible all around at the Straight from the Hive bee farm where a number of hives are literally buzzing with activity. Richard Lercari, the beekeeper who runs Straight from the Hive, is very much a bee person. He has a bee hat and wears bee socks and speaks about his interest in bees. “I’m totally fascinated by bees,” Lercari said. “I can spend all day just watching the entrance to the hive.” Lercari used smoke in order to make the bees think about abandoning the hive, which makes it easier to check the combs. The potential of a thunderstorm that day, he said, also makes them more likely to be placid because they can sense weather. He said the bees won’t sting unless they feel threatened by somebody taking a swipe at one of them. Dressed in his heavy bee suit on a hot morning, Tuesday, June 8, Lercari is checking each individual hive component for the queen. He goes through each individual panel until he finds her and points out the white dot on the bee marking her out. The panels are covered with bees and there are close to a hundred in that hive alone.
But Lercari said that bees will safely coexist with him until he has to start extracting honeycombs. “They are not pets and they have only one thing in mind: survival of the colony,” Lercari said. He says that he checks the hives frequently to see if the queen is laying eggs and how much of the brood, the male bees, have hatched. “You’re supposed to talk to the bees. You’re supposed to confide in them about important parts of your life,” Lercari said, saying that doing so was a beekeeping tradition. Lercari said he got started beekeeping because he got interested in using honeycomb for cooking. “It wasn’t that big of a stretch to go from cooking food to making honeycomb,” Lercari said. He says that he came up with a mini frame for harvesting honeycomb, has an Amish family produce the wood wear, and sells them mostly to people in Manhattan. Lercari stands out because he is more interested in producing honeycomb and creamed honey rather than regular raw honey. From Suffolk County, Long Island originally, Lercari used to be a chef who worked at Italian restaurants in Manhattan but got interested in making honeycomb See BEES, Page B4
B-4 Summer Dreams
Thursday June 10, 2021
Most keepers focus on honey, but some prefer honeycombs BEES/Continued from Page B3 as a part of cooking. “Most people think of honeycomb as fresh and straight off the hive,” Lercari said. However, he stumbled upon a new way of using honeycomb. What he discovered when serving a salad with honeycomb in it to a few chefs in 2009, he found that all of them preferred aged honeycomb to the fresh kind. “That set me off on a whole journey. How long do you age the comb for?” Lercari said. “The unique bit about it is you can literally cut a little cube out if it. The honeycomb presents a stratifying of flavor so you don’t just get sweet in every Kevin Limiti bite … it opens worlds. Not that Lercari said he has about 30 colonies of bees at his they don’t exist, but it’s the road business, in two locations, with as many as 20,000 bees less travelled.” in each colony.
A big part of Lercari’s interest in honey is the texture of creamed honey. Straight from the Hive has honeycombs flavored with wild flower, turmeric, ginger, rosemary and Ceylon cinnamon. Lercari said he also used beeswax to make products such as wood rub and candles. He is also thinking of showcasing New York Bee Wellness, whose goal it is to educate beekeepers and others on honey bee disease with the goal of maintaining honey bee population in the area. This will be Lercari’s first summer at the Cooperstown Market and he says he is “very excited.” Go to www.straightfromthehive.net to find out more information about Lercari’s sweet honey business.
Fenimore announces Young at Art winners
Run, Rabbi, Run
The three top prizes for Fenimore Art Museum’s Young at Art regional youth art contest were awarded Saturday, June 5, during a ceremony at the Museum. The Grand Prize was given to Makenzie Sayers, a senior at Mount Markham, for her painting, “Our Community.” “Our Community was created in May. It was a time in New York when few left their homes and the positive cases seemed to be getting closer to home,” Sayers said. “The shelf with jars illustrates the hoarding of non-perishable food items. The jars themselves represent the feeling of being trapped and lonely in isolation. Each jar tells a different story.” Prize categories at the ceremony also included “Best Representation of the Theme,” awarded to Sara Hendley, a sophomore at Oneonta, for her digital painting, “Community at Home,” and “Outstanding Work,” awarded to Taylor Bushardt, a junior at Central Valley, for her work titled “What’s On My Mind.”
Michael Forster Rothbart
Rabbi Meir Rubashkin, co-director of Chabad of Oneonta, runs with his three-year-old son in May in Neahwa Park.
Thursday June 10, 2021
Summer Dreams B-5
Staff Picks
Our best bets for local dining Larissa Ryan Business Manager
Tara Barnwell, Publisher
Doubleday Café Stop in a convenient and delicious favorite right on Main Street in Cooperstown. Doubleday Café is a spacious restaurant with a wide selection of foods. I stopped there recently to try something new and landed on the fried chickpea croquettes on pita bread. I wasn’t too sure how to go about eating it at first but I settled on cutting it up with the knife and combining as much as I could on a piece of pita. And there was a lot beside the chickpea croquette. This sandwich (it’s in the sandwich section) came with chopped lettuce (of course), feta cheese, red onions, tomato, chopped cucumber and kalamata olives—fun fact: these olives are named after Kalamata City on the Peloponnesian peninsula—making a delicious acidy Greek salad atop the wonderfully starchy pita. Doubleday Cafe 93 Main Street, Cooperstown 607-547-5468 doubledaycafe.com
Sloan’s I’m like an old dog when it comes to places I like to go and things I like to eat! Sloan’s has always been one of my favorite lunch places in Oneonta. You either need to be really hungry or plan on leftovers for dinner. My absolute favorite sandwich is the brisket.They slow cook it. then slice it really thin and pile it on a toasted bun. Almost the best part of the sandwich is the horseradish cream sauce; I always ask for extra. Housecut fries come with all of the sandwiches too. My friend that I go with, another old dog, usually gets the beef on weck; the shaved roast beef is on a delicious, fresh kimmelweck roll and, again, comes with horseradish sauce. The pickles are very unusual and very delicious as well. Sloan’s is committed to serving local meats and produce, and many things are made from scratch. Don’t be in a rush when you go, just sit back and enjoy! Sloan’s NY Grill 337 Chestnut Street, Oneonta 607-267-4779 sloansnygrill.com
Central New York’s Best Gastropub! 5418 State Highway • 28 Cooperstown 607-282-4525
Greg Klein, Editor
Visit Doubleday Café on Main Street Cooperstown for a convenient sit-down meal in the heart of town.
Brooks’ House of BBQ This week I will point out the obvious restaurant favorite, Brooks’ House of BBQ, in the town of Oneonta on State Route 7. In non-COVID years, there is always a line to get into Brooks’. The food has always been worth the wait for my family. We always take our visitors to Brooks’. Brooks’ chicken has become iconic in central New York. Group wanting to hold fundraisers know they can put Brooks’ BBQ chicken fundraiser on a sign and the customers will come. The chicken pit at the iconic Springfield Fourth of July Parade is a sight unto itself, and a nice smell, too. Part of the fun of eating at Brooks’ is the history. There are many pictures and other information about the history of the restaurant. Of course, the food is great, too. I like their ribs and pulled pork sandwiches… you can’t go wrong with a sampler either. If you go on Father’s Day, it is possible you will see us there. Brooks BBQ 5560 NY-7, Oneonta 607-432-1782 brooksbbq.com See REVIEWS, Page B6
Authentic Italian Food!
5438 State Hwy 28 • Cooperstown 607-282-4031• boccaosteria.com
new york pizzeria
Brick Oven Pizza! 75 Chestnut Street Cooperstown 607-547-2930 126 Main Street Richfield Springs 315-858-0405
B-6 Summer Dreams
Thursday June 10, 2021
Dining: From spicy curry to duck cassis, there’s something for everyone REVIEWS/Continued from B5
Kevin Limiti, Reporter
Simply Thai There’s nothing quite like a spicy curry, and Simply Thai in Oneonta on Main Street is perfect for that. If you’re looking for a hearty meal, with bounds of flavor and spice, order a massaman curry. It’s made with coconut milk, potatoes, carrot, peanuts and onions. I ordered mine with beef but you can also get it with chicken, shrimp, tofu and more. I had a lot of fun eating it while mixing rice inside the curry for maximum enjoyment. Definitely a bit higher on the spice level so you’ve been forewarned. I also ordered a Thai iced tea which was very sweet if you’re into that kind of thing. Simply Thai 139 Main Street, Oneonta 607-441-5200 simplythaioneonta.com/
Kathleen Peters Graphic Designer La Toscana There are frequently some new and interesting specials at La Toscana in Cooperstown (there’s one in Oneonta, too) but we usually skip the specials and stick with the regular menu.
We’ve never had a boring entree here, and the house wine is always just perfect. They pour a nice glass of the house wines, and husband thought the house reisling was an excellent accompaniment to his meal. Most recently, he had the duck cassis with garlic mash and some veg, and I had the grilled shrimp and scallops with angel hair pasta and the house red. The portions are large enough that I always take some pasta home for a second meal. Sorry guys, no room for dessert, but the cannolis are our favorites if you’re in the mood. La Toscana 64 Main Street, Cooperstown 607-547-2100 toscanaofcooperstown.com
what’s fun in OtsegO COunty _________
►Thursday, June 10
come together for the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture where they will present and discuss a variety of topics concerning the game of baseball and how it relates to our culture and in OtsegO COunty society. Registration required for Zoom meetings. Cost, $50/non-member. Presented by The Baseball Hall of Fame and SUNY Oneonta. Call 607547-7200. CONSERVATION – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Join the Otsego County Conservation Association to pull invasive European frog bit from pond neighboring Otsego Lake. Be prepared for wading in shallow water/deep mud to protect local waters. Registration required. At Clarke Pond in Springfield. Call 607-547-4488. BLOOD DRIVE – 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Donate blood, help save up to three lives. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 107 Balmoral Dr. in West Oneonta. Call 800-733-2767. BLOOD DRIVE – 1 to 6 p.m. Donate blood, help save up to three lives. Quality Inn at 5206 State Route 23 in Oneonta. Call 800-733-2767. SEASON OPENING – 4 to 6 p.m. See new works and projects by Lilian Voorhees and James Herman on display in the main gallery. Will also be launching the ‘High Alert Artists Speak Out’ series. Show is through July 8. The Art Garage at Beaver Meadow Road near Cooperstown. Call 607-547-5327. AUTHOR MEETUP – 6 p.m. Local authors are invited to come meet other authors, share your writing and build your community. Springfield Library, 129 County Route 29A in Springfield. Call 315858-5802. FIRE PIT FRIDAYS – 7 to 10 p.m. Get out and enjoy a fun night around the fire with friends, drinks and music. This week features Hanzolo, a local alternative funk band. At Brewery Ommegang at 656 County Route 33, Middlefield. Call 607-280-2900.
►Saturday, June 12
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SAXALICIOUS – 1:30 p.m. Live music by saxophone quintet presented by the Cooperstown Senior Community Center, brick building behind St. Mary’s Church at 31 Elm St. in Cooperstown. Go to coopseniorcenter@gmail.com. VOICES OF THE GAME – 2 p.m., longtime baseball writer, executive, and TV producer Marty Appel will discuss his career with the hall of fame, from his work with the Yankees to his time in the Commissioner’s office. Free, registration for Zoom meeting required. Presented by The Baseball Hall of Fame. 607547-7200. FOOD PANTRY – 3:30 p.m. until the food is gone. Drive thru pantry for Cherry ValleySpringfield, Richfield Springs, and Sharon Springs residents in economic distress. Please do not arrive before 3 p.m., to allow for school dismissal. Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School at 597 county Route 54 in Cherry Valley. 607-264-3265. NEW YORK HISTORY – 6:30 p.m. Learn about the culture and music from when the Erie Canal connected Buffalo to New York City in video ‘Where Did the Songs Go? The Musical Legacy of the Historic Erie Canal, Part 1.’ Part 2 will debut June 17. Presented by the Arkell Museum, Canajoharie. Call 518-673-2314 ext. 113. WORD THURSDAY – 7 p.m. Enjoy open mic by local writers followed by presentation by featured poets Margot Farrington and Richard Jeffrey Newman. Presented by Bright Hill Press in Treadwell. Call 607-829-5055. HOME GAME – 7 p.m. Local baseball team Oneonta Outlaws vs. Saugerties Stallions at Damaschke Field in Oneonta. Call 607-432-6326.
►Friday, June 11 SYMPOSIUM – 9 a.m. Academics and Researchers
what’s fun
GAME OF SHROOMS – All Day. Participate in world wide event where artists hide mushrooms for intrepid seekers to find. In Cherry Valley, ceramicist Rita Seiko Payne will be hiding 20 ceramic mushrooms. Check out her instagram for clues to the hiding spots. Get out and see what you find. Cherry Valley. Call 607-2643080 or visit www.facebook. com/cherryvalleyartworks. BLOOD DRIVE – 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donate blood, help save up to three lives. Burlington Flats Baptist Church at 101 Arnold Road in Burlington Flats. Call 800-733-2767. SYMPOSIUM – 9 a.m. Academics and Researchers come together for the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture. See Friday listing. ART TRAIL – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Explore the trails where professional and student artists of the Butternut Valley are showing their works. Reservations and masks required. Schoolhouse State Forest in New Lisbon. Call 917-3640478 or visit www.butternutvalleyalliance.org. HIKE WITH PRIDE – 1 p.m. Join the Otsego Pride Alliance for fun hike. RSVP required. Headwaters Trails, Stamford. 607-386 1508 or visit www. facebook.com/otsegopride/. SONGBIRD SESSIONS – 2 to 3 p.m. Bring out the whole family to listen to the Hartwick Jazz Trio jazzify the songs we all know and love. Free, reservation required. Donations welcome. West Kortright Center at 49 West Kortright Church Road in East Meredith. Call 607-278-5454. CHICKEN DINNER – 4 to 6 p.m. Support local church at delicious take-out only Brooks’ BBQ chicken dinner and bake sale. Full dinner of chicken half, coleslaw, potatoes, brownie and a roll, for $10. Masks required. Church of Christ Uniting at 22 Church St. in Richfield Springs.
Thursday June 10, 2021
Summer Dreams B-7
THE DOG CHARMER
On the Trail of Art
Making a crate into a den
Hi Tom, I have a 15-week-old mini aussie doodle whom I adopted at 13 weeks. The first two weeks were fairly smooth until he developed what seems like a sudden fear of his crate. He won’t go in at bedtime he cries and screams like it’s the end of the world (he has a soft bed, puppy chew toys, a snuggle puppy in the crate, I’ve added a t-shirt with my scent, covered the crate with a blanket, and tried playing soothing music). Nothing seems to help even though his crate is next to my bed. Any suggestions to help him TOM get over his fear of what should be SHELBY one of the happiest places on earth? Thank you! Anjali & Pharaoh Dear Anjali, You’re absolutely right, his crate should be one of the “happiest places on earth!” The crate should represent a den to accommodate a dog’s den instinct. It will be the first place for him to develop holding power to avoid soiling his den. The expression “dirty dog” comes from a dog that soils his den and still lies in it. Dogs can be made dirty by careless owners, but few dogs do this on their own. It’s not worth the effort to try to figure out what turned his 15-week mind off to the crate. It’s already a done deal. The thing to do now is change his attitude. If he’s still being fed three times a day, please give him two of his meals in the crate. First with the crate door open and the bowl right at the entrance to the crate. Then feed with the bowl just inside the crate with Pharaoh standing outside but leaning in to eat.
With success building on success you’re moving the bowl further into the crate until he’s enjoying his meal fully inside his den. Crate door stays open while eating unless he’s ok with it closed at this point. If the only time on planet earth he gets pieces of chicken or steak is when little pieces are thrown into the crate, it’s likely to give him a more positive attitude toward being there. If possible, make the crate floor the most comfortable spot in the room. The doodle in him will appreciate it! The moment you see him go in there on his own, I suggest you exclaim how overwhelmed you are with gratitude and love by giving him some of those “special” treats (in the crate of course). Give him vocabulary by saying, “Go to your house,” or whatever you choose. Then toss some of those special treats in and watch him charge inside. Whenever you close the door to confine him, the moment after the door closes a special treat gets tossed into each of the four sides of the crate and you walk away. The toy ball that dispenses treats (not meat) as it gets knocked around is ideal for confinement, plus a good chew toy. Socializing him to the real world will vastly increase his confidence with everything, and this crate fear blip should become just that, a past blip. Good luck and please keep me abreast of your progress. Dog Charmer Cooperstown author will be answering pet owners questions on training their dogs. E-mail your questions to dogsrshelby@msn.com.
Featuring 100 student artists’ work from GilbertsvilleMount Upton & Morris Central Schools • Professional artists from the Butternut Valley • Artist demonstrations All “happening” in our Gallery in the Forest on the recently completed nature trail. Please wear appropriate footwear and your mask. Social distancing is expected. Reservations Required at www.ButternutValleyAlliance.org or call 607-263-5421
Summer
Dreams
Advertise what you’ve got going on in Summer Dreams! Call 607-547-6103 for details!
B-8 Summer Dreams
Thursday June 10, 2021