The best source for local news from Marbletown, Rochester & Rosendale
Published the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month | Vol. 27, Issue 3
February 4, 2022 | 75 cents
Accessory Dwelling Law passed Vly-Atwood Fire District will dissolve Brooke Stelzer BSP Reporter The Marbletown Town Board meeting was held via Zoom and Facebook Live on Tuesday, Feb. 1. Five board members were present, including Rich Parete, chairman and town supervisor, along with Ken Davenport, Daisy Foote, Don LaFera and Tim Hunt. Four resolutions were presented,
and all carried, 5-0. Resolution 28 is the Accessory Dwelling Law. The law was amended by making the minimal rental term 90 days, up from the previous 30 days. An amendment was also made that states any apartments created within a subdivision should be affordable units and remain affordable for 10 years. A third amendment was made stating that accessory apartments are allowed in all
districts, with the exception of light and industrial business districts. The full law can be viewed on the town’s website. Dale Robbins led a short presentation on behalf of the Preservation Society and Investment Commission, a new commission that will identify and purchase land to preserve and protect the character of the town and its environmental ecosystems and habitats. The seven-member commis-
sion is funded by a previously approved proposition that allows for borrowing up to $2 million toward land acquisition. “Open space is a big part of Marbletown’s history,” said Robbins, “and we have magnificent views of the ridge and the mountains and open fields along the
See Marbletown, page 15
Wickie Wackie memories
Lift spirits, give a 'puppygram' this Valentine's Day Page 20
The Wickie Wackie Club, with bridge over the Coxing Kill, painted from memory by John Novi.
RVHS Shoe Drive for a good cause Page 8
Old times on Clove Valley Road, Part I: the Wickie Wackie Ann Belmont BSP Reporter
Valentine's story: How a Gander friendship grew Page 16
It might be difficult to imagine bucolic Clove Valley Road, winding down through Minnewaska forests into a wide-open valley with breathtaking views of the mountain cliffs to the south, as a place with a thriving nightlife scene. Yet once upon a time in the ’50s and ’60s, there was an establishment on the road called the Wickie Wackie Club. According to one who remembers, John Novi, it was a unique place created by a most memorable person, Violet “Viola” Ferguson, who owned it with her husband, Pat. One of its unique aspects was that, along with the Peg Leg Bates Country Club in Kerhonkson, it was
a Black-owned resort business in an era when that was rare indeed. The property the Fergusons acquired on Clove Valley Road had once been a farm; a barn dating from the early 1800s still stood on the property. This structure was renovated and repurposed into a nightclub. Novi, owner and chef of the famed Depuy Canal House restaurant in High Falls from the 1970s until 2011, grew up in a house at the top of Cherry Hill Road about a mile and a half from the Wickie Wackie. He described the interior: “A big room with couches around the fireplace, a bar, a bandstand, and a big, big dining room ... they had rooms upstairs for New York guests and the band … and heaven knows what else!” he added mischievously. The
club was open only on Friday and Saturday. Novi thinks the Fergusons also had a club in Harlem, which they ran during the week, coming up to Clove Valley Road every weekend. “On Fridays I would get home from school and open the windows of my room and listen to the music.” As soon as he could, he would get dressed up in a jacket and tie – the WW had a strict dress code – and drive over to meet friends there. “I was a kid … I loved dancing … the place was always packed.” The clientele, Novi remembered, included a lot of young Mohonk Mountain House staff who would
See Wickie Wackie, page 9