The Rambler - Winter 2023

HotSeatInterviewWithMr.Fink

by Lilah Groff and Izzy Doran

MF:Anythingbyfatboyslim

R:Howareyousopatientwithkids?

MF:I'mnot That'soneofmyNewYear's resolutions

R:Who’syourfavoriteDisneyprince?

MF:Kristoffbecausehe’sfunny.

R:Who’syourfavoriteDisneyprincess?

MF:Belle,becauseshe’sagreatstudent,she likestoread.

continued on page 2

Highlights

● ReadaboutMr.FinkinthelatestHotSeat Interview

● Checkoutfeaturearticles:

○ G.Wilikers,p.2

○ Bijou,p.3

Check out Lilah’s and Izzy’s Hot Seat Interview with Mr. Fink! To find out what Mr. Fink would do if he won the lottery, who his favorite soccer team is, or if pineapple belongs on pizza, keep reading!

Rambler:Whatwouldyoudoifyoufounda penguininthefreezer?

MrFink:Iwouldchecktoseeifit'sok Because youknow,penguinslikecoldweather Youcan't justassumeit'sfrozen

R:Ifyoucouldspendadayanywhereinthe world,wherewouldyougo?

MF:IwouldgobacktoSitka,Alaska

R:What’syourfavoritesong?

○ KMA, p.5

○ KatonahCrossword,p.6

○ ReadingRoom,p.7

○ Editor’sPage,p.8

PlusthefirsteverPublicationsPizzaTour!

Logo by Lilah Groff The Katonah Issue

PhotobyLilahGroff

PizzaTour Stop: LaFamiliain Katonah!

Photo by Dr Metz

HotSeatInterview

byLilahGroffandIzzyDoran

continued from page 1

R:Whatcamefirst,thechickenortheegg?

MF:Theeggdid.

R:Ifyoudiedandcamebackasananimal, whatanimalwoulditbe?

MF:Adog.BecauseIthinkI’mloyalanddogs areloyal.

R:Doyoupreferwarmorcold?

MF:Idon'tprefereither.Ilikeall4seasons.

R:Whatwouldyoudoifyouwonthelottery?

MF:Iwouldtrytobegenerous.Iwouldalso buytripletaxfreemunicipalbonds.

R:Whatfontsdoyouuseonyourquizzes?

MF:It’seitherCalibriorTimesNewRoman.

R:Whatotherjobshaveyoudone?

MF:Alot Ididinternetadvertising,Iwasa stockbroker,Ididavolunteerprogramfora yearinAlaska,andIworkedinadrugand alcoholtreatmentcenter

R:Howtallareyou?

MF:Iam6feettall

R:Ifyoucouldchangeyournamewhat woulditbe?

MF:Ilikemyname Idon’twanttochangeit Doespineapplebelongonpizza?

MF:No Idon’twanttooffendanyone,butI thinkit'sgross

Ifyoucouldliveinanyotherplacewhere woulditbe?

MF:IwouldliketoliveinCapeCodandfishall day”

What’syourfavoriteshoebrand?

MF:Hokaismyfavoriteshoebrand. IfyoucouldmakeaHollywoodmovie,what woulditbeabout?

MF:Iwouldmakemyselfasafailedsuperhero anditwouldbecalled Ordinary Man.Welldon't weallwanttodosomethinggreatbutintheend, wemightfindoutwe’rejustordinary?

R:What'syourfavoritesoccerteam?

MF:IliketheUSnationalteams.

The End; Thank you Mr Fink!

G.Wilikers

by Jack Campagna

YoumayhaveheardofthesayingG. Willikers,buthaveyoueverbeentothetoy store?G.WillikersislocatedinKatonahandwe hadthechancetovisitwiththeowner,Meghan McGrathBazaaronJanuary5th.G.Willikers wasonceacommonlyused phrasethatmeans astonishmentordelight,whichisexactlylikethe toystore!Sobesuretovisit,becauseyouwill notbedisappointed!

Rambler,Jack:Canyoushareabitabout whyyoudecidedtostartyourbusiness,who isinvolved,howlonghaveyoubeenin businessandwhyKatonah?

MeghanMcGrathBazaar:Okay,soin Katonahwe havebee openfor almost1 yearsbu mymom hasaG

Willikers

Saratoga Springs, NewYor She'sbee open30

years,soshehelpedmestartthisstore Jayismy managerandshehasbeenheresinceweopened andIhavefourotheremployees Whenmykids Riley,whoisincollege,andDylanarearound theywillworkaswell Myotherdaughter Claire,who'selevenyearsold,willcomeinand takevideosforinstagramandshealsodoesthe

Photo by Dr. Metz

register.MymomalsohasanotherG.Willikers storeoutsideAlbanythat'sbeenopen15years. Thestorenamewasthoughtofbymombecause thephrasewasanoldfashionedwayofsaying ‘ohwow’!Shethoughtitwascuteandwechose toopenastoreinKatonahbecausewemoved outofNewYorkcitytoraiseourfamily Wejust thoughtKatonahwasagreatlittletown!

Rambler,Jack:Whatcanyoushareaboutyour store?Whyisyourstoreunique?

MMB:Iwouldsayweareuniquebecauseofall thedifferentplaceswesourcetoysfrom;wetry tosellEuropeantoysandselltoysthatare eco-friendly Thisisimportanttome Honestly, learningfrommymomandherexperienceinthe businessisgreatbecauseshehasbeenaroundso longthatsheknowswhatworks;whatgamesare good,whichgamessell,andshehasareally goodeye Thepeoplewhoworkherearesuper knowledgeableandweareuniqueinthatwetry tohavegoodcustomerservice.Weremember people'snames,sohopefullywecreateanice feelingwhenyoucometothestore!

Rambler,Jack:Whatistheprocessyouhadto gothroughtostartyourbusiness?

MMB:Becausetherewasalreadyapre-existing business,aG.Willikerswasalreadyopen,the processwasalittlesimplerforme.Wehadto findaspacethatwouldbegood.Welookedata fewdifferentspacesuntilwefoundthislocation. Then,findinggoodpeopletohelpandwork, alongwithcreatingthespaceintowhatwe wantedwasnext.Orderingtheinventorythatwe wantedwaskey.Whenyoustartastoreyou havetohaverelationshipswithvendorsand oftentimesthereisarequiredminimumthatyou havetobuy.Saythedolls,Ican'tjustgoand purchase15dolls Ihavetoopenanaccount withthecompanyandbuy$10,000worthof dolls ThegreatthingwasthatmyMomalready hadherbusinesssoshehadarelationshipwith thevendorsanditwasveryeasyforus to piggybackoffthataccount,soitwasalittlebit easierforustogetstarted

Rambler,Jack:Whatisacustomerfavoriteand whatisyourfavoriteitem?

MMB:Sothisreallydependsonthekidandit dependsontheage,butIwouldsayBriotrains aresuperpopularandareaclassic Theyhave beenaroundforaverylongtimeandtheyarein myopinionthebesttrainswecanbuy

Rambler,Jack:Whatadvicewouldyougiveto youngentrepreneursorpeoplewhomightwant tostarttheirownbusiness?

MMB:Well,ifyouwanttodosomethingbadly enough,putyourmindtoit!Ihadlittlekids whenweopenedthisstore Idon'tthinkIhada lotofextratimeandenergytodosomethingbut Iwasdetermined Surroundyourselfwithgood peoplewhichIthinkissomethingthatcanmake anythingdoable

Ifyouwouldliketolearnmoreabout thetoystorevisit: https://wwwgwillikerstoyscom/

TheRamblerteamthanksMegan McGrathBazaarfortakingthetimetomeetwith usduringtheirbusydayandforprovidingus withinformationabouttheawesomestore

Groff

YoucannotgointoKatonahwithout visitingthejewelrystoreBijou!Fromtheir14k yellowgoldearringstothedazzlingrings,this jewelrystoreisoneyouwon’twanttomiss.We interviewedtheownerofthislovelybusiness, Casey,tofindoutanswerstoallthequestions youmayhavebeenasking.

Rambler,Lilah:Whyandwhendidyoudecide tobecomeajeweler?

Casey:IbecameajewelerafterIgraduatedhigh school.Kindofalongstory,butIdidn'twantto gotoatraditionalcollege,itjustwasn’tforme. SoIwasabletogointoatradeschoolprogram, graduatedattheageof20,andthenIgotmy firstjobthefollowingyearafter.SoI’vebeen

Bijou by Lilah

Photo by Dr Metz

workingwithjewelryeversince2000.Asto whythough,Idon'tknow.Ilikeshinythings, theyarekindoffascinating!

Rambler,Lilah:Whattypeofgoldismost popular?

C:RightnowIwouldsayyellowgold Within thatcategorywouldbe14kyellowgold

Rambler,Lilah:Doyouindividuallypickout whatjewelrygetsdisplayedandsold?

C:Ido Ipersonallychoosealmosteverythingin thestore Idoconsultwiththeotheremployees hereaboutcertaincollectionsandcertainlines butingeneral,it’smainlymyself

Rambler,Lilah:Whatqualitiesdoyoulookfor inapieceofjewelry?

C:Wearability,accessibility,craftsmanship,and reallystyle IlookatpiecesandItrytothinkof aclientwhowouldpurchasethemandthenbase decisionsfromthat;howmanyotherpeople couldwearthis,orhowmanywoulditlook goodon?Mybuyingisbuiltoffofthatthought process.

Rambler,Lilah:Howlonghaveyoubeenin business?

C:We’vehadthestorehereinKatonahfor10 yearsinJune,butI’vebeeninthisbusinessfor 23yearsasofFebruary1st.

Rambler,Lilah:Whydidyoudecidetostart yourbusiness?

C:IgrewupinBedford.Iworkedin Connecticutforaverylongperiodoftime.I cametoKatonahnotonlyformyownstore,I workedforsomebodyelseandthenthe opportunitycameupformetohavemyown store.Ireallywantedtosolidifymypersonal tasteandstyleforthecommunity.IfeltthatI couldbringadifferenteyeandadifferentlook tomyclientsandtothecommunityitself

Rambler,Lilah:Whatwasyourgoalwhen startingyourownbusiness?

C:Tomakebeautifulthingsandseethemon people Therewasnomotive Itwasn’tabout money,itwasmoreaboutbeauty,craftsmanship, anddoingwhatIlove Aslongasitpaidmy salaryandmybills,that'sallthatwasimportant tome

Rambler,Lilah:Howdoyouadviseacustomer whenfindingtherightpieceofjewelryfor them?

C:Itdependsonwhattheirneedsare If somebody’slookingforanengagementringit’s

allaboutgoingthroughtheimportanceofwhat makesadiamondvaluable.Whenitcomestoa pieceofjewelrythatistobejusttobewornona dailybasis,orevenforagift,it’stakinginto considerationeachperson’spersonalstyleand wearabilityfactor

Rambler,Lilah:Whodesignsthewindow displays?

C:Thatwouldbeme!

Rambler,Lilah:Isbeingapartofthejewelry marketdifficultwhencompetingagainstlarger companies?

C:Inpreviousjobs/storesyes,hereno Katonah hasthisverysupportivecommunitywhichis alsooneofthereasonswhyIwantedtobehere Peopleappreciatetheartistry,theyappreciatethe personaltouch,theyappreciatethecurative selection,andthat’swhatseparatesusfromthe bigboxstores Wehavelowermargins,wedon’t haveashighcostsforrentsormarketing,soit allowsustoreallycurateabeautifulspace.That makesusverydifferentfromotherpeopleand otherbigboxretailers.

Rambler,Lilah:Doyouofferanyotherservice besidessellingjewelry?

C:Wedojewelryrepair,wedowatchrepair,we docustomdesignedpieces,andwedostyling services.

Rambler,Lilah:Doestheartworkchange?

C:Theartworkchanges.WhenIbuiltoutthe spaceIwantedittobekindofashowcasenot onlyforjewelrybutalsobyfillingthewallswith artbylocalartistsaswell.Soalltheartislocal, donebylocalartists.Thebigpieceupfrontisa littletricky,it’sonlyswitchedtwiceinthe10 yearperiodbecauseit’salargescalework.The painteddeerheadisnewforholiday,he’smy favorite!Heneedsaname,hekindofwatches overus It’sjustlikeourlittlegoodluckcharm, ourlittle spirit animal, ourlittle! Andthen every onceina whileI doa showcase oflocal artistsinourwindowaswell,becausethe

productthatwesellissosmallit'salittletricky tocurateagiantwindowsoyouneedabig dramaticpiecetodrawyoureyetowardit It’s notliketraditionaljewelrystores,wherethey havetheselittlewindows,foryoutoaccess,but it’salsothereasonwhyIwantedthisspace The naturallightissowonderfulduringtheday

Thankyou Caseyfor answeringour questions!

celebratedits50thanniversaryanditisaspecial placeforthetownofKatonah.

AccordingtoMargaretAdasko,the museum’sCuratorofEducation,themuseumis a“non-collectingartmuseum,meaningthatwe don'towntheartwork,wedon'thavea collection Mostbigmuseumsthatyoumight thinkofhavetheirowncollectionsandtheyare alwaysexhibitingtheworkthattheyown But becausewedon'townourowncollectionswe havechangingexhibitions”Ms Adaskogoeson toexplainthat“usuallywehaveaboutthree mainexhibitionseveryyearandthenthefourth oneistheYoungArtistexhibition,featuring highschoolstudents Theartworkrangesintime periods,differenttechniquesandstyles,and differentculturesaroundtheworld”Ofthe exhibitions,Adaskostatesthat“someare curatedbyourstaff,somebyanoutsidecurator andsomearetravelingexhibitions.

OnJanuary19ththeRamblerteam decidedtointerviewtheKatonahMuseumof Art.Youmayhaveheardofit,itisrightdown thestreetfromHarvey.Continuereadingto learnallaboutthehistoryofthemuseum,the exhibits,andevenaboutwhathappenedtothe museumduringtheCovidpandemic

TheKatonahGallerywasfoundedin 1954anditsfirstpresidentwasIngeBrouard Brown In1969theKatonahGallerybecamethe KatonahMuseumofArt Themuseumalso providedmorespace,morearteducation activities,andagreatervarietyofpublic programs Schoolsvisitthemuseum'slearning center,aswellasthepublic TheMuseum

MA:Itisstilltraumatictothinkofthatmoment becauseinMarchof2020wewerepreparingfor thisamazingexhibition.TheartistwasBisa Butler.Shedidtheselife-sizequiltportraitsand inthelearningcenter,wewerepreparingtohave thisartistTijayMohammeddoaninstallation WewereduetoopentheseexhibitsonMarch 18thandweshutdownonFriday,March13thso thatwholeweekpriorwewerepreparingforthe opening Itwasreallyreallyshockingtous As soonastheshutdownhappenedwequickly transferredtodoingonlinethings;theeducation andworkshopsweremovedtovideoandvirtual talksweregiven Weendedupre-openingthe weekof July20th-26th Luckilytheshowthat wehadpreparedtoopeninmarchthe(Bisa Butlershow)wasabletohappenandwewere abletokeepitthroughoutthesummer,sopeople cametothemuseuminpersonanditwasoneof

Photos by Dr Metz

KatonahArtMuseum by Izzy Doran

Photo by Dr. Metz

Photo by Dr Metz Rambler,Izzy:Howdidcovidaffectyour business?

ourmostwellseenshows.

Rambler,Izzy:Canyoutellmealittlebitabout thelearningexperienceatthemuseum?

MA:Thelearningcenterisadropinsortof galleryandartmakingspace It'susedforschool groups,soifyouweretocomeasaclassyou wouldhaveasortofhands-onactivityaspartof yourtour Whenit'snotbeingusedbyschools it'sopentothepublic,againitisadropin,sowe alwayshaveanactivityorafewactivitiesthat youcandoonyourown Wealsotrytohavea varietyofexhibitionsinthelearningcenter So inanyyearwecouldhaveawholedifferent bunchofthingsavailable WhatNaomi LeiseroffandIdoishelpmakeallofthat

accessibletothepublicthroughthelearning center.

Ifyouwouldliketolearnmoreabout themuseumvisit https://wwwkatonahmuseumorg/ Themuseum isrightdownthestreetand thelearningcenter providesagreatexperienceforkidsand families

TheRamblerteamthanksMargaret AdaskoandNaomiLeiserofffortakingthetime tomeetwithusduringtheirbusydayandfor providinguswithinformationaboutthe awesomemuseum

by Jack Campagna

KatonahCrossword

TheReadingRoom

by Sunflower Burk

Rambler,Sunflower:Whatistheprocessyou hadtogothroughtostartyourbusiness?

G:Goodness Somanythings,andwehave changedalotinthepast10yearstoo Youhave togetaconcept Pickadesignanddecidehowit shouldlook Thenyouhavetopickwhattosell, howtosellit,howmuchtosellitforetc Forthe kitchenwehadtofindmenuitems Wehadto test,taste,andpricethemtoo!

Rambler,Sunflower:Whatisacustomer favorite?Hottestsellingitem?Whatisyour favoriteitem?

Ifyoulikecoffeeandifyoulikebooks,you

Rambler,Sunflower:Whydidyoudecideto startyourbusiness?Whoisinvolvedand/or worksinyourstoryasidefromyou?Howlong haveyoubeeninbusiness?Whydidyoupick thatname?WhyKatonah?

Gretchen:Weboughtthebookstorefrom anotherwomanweknowwhenshewasreadyto move.Oursonhadworkedatthebookstoreand wejustwantedtomakesureourtownhada goodbookstore.Welovebooks.Weadded coffeeandfoodbecausemyhusbandloves cookingandfoodbusinesses. MyhusbandPete, andI(Gretchen),workatthestoreandwehirea bigteamofpeopletobethechefsandcoffee baristasandbooksellers.Wehaverun businesseslikethisoneforover10years.We loveKatonah!It’ssocuteandwalkable.We pickedthenamebecausethebuildingwas actuallytheoriginallibraryinKatonahfrom 1850,anditwasactuallycalledTheReading Room,sowelovedtheideaofusingthatname again

Rambler,Sunflower:Whatcanyoushareabout yourstore?Whyisyourstoreunique?

G:Ourstoreisuniquebecauseithas everything!Weareabookstoreandcoffeeshop Wesellbooksandgifts,andartsuppliesand toys,butwealsohaveafullcoffeeshopwith breakfastandlunchitemsmadeinourown kitchen

G:Customerfavoritefood:Avocadotoast! Customerfavoriteartsupply:BeamWatercolor Paints Customerbookstorefavorite:allthe graphicnovels!FavoriteCustomertreat:Soft serveicecreamandmilkshakes

Rambler,Sunflower:Whatadvicewouldyou givetoyoungentrepreneursorpeoplewho mightwanttostarttheirownbusiness?

G:Havepatience!Everythingtakeslongerthan youthink.Andeverythingcostsmoretoo.You havetobereallyreadytoworkhard-andbeing thebossdoesn’tmeanyoudon’thavetoclean thefloorortakeoutthegarbage.Especiallyin thebeginning;youhavetodoitall!

Photo by Google Images

shouldvisitTheReadingRoom,alocalshopcloseto theKatonahtrainstation.Thelocationisperfectfor grabbingacoffeeforyournexttrainride!Sunflower hadtheopportunitytospeakwiththeowner, Gretchen, aboutthestore

KatonahCrosswordAnswerKey

RamblerStaffandEditor’sNote

by Lilah Groff

Editor’sNote

DearReader,

Thistermhasbeenacrazyone!Everyonedidanamazingjobinterviewingandcomingupwithcleverquestions fortheKatonahstoreswevisited Despitebeingasmallteamthisterm,weallworkedhardandcontributedinto makingthispossible.Thankyoutoallthebusinessownersthatwerewillingtobeinterviewedforthispaperandof course,thankyoutotheRamblerteam

WewentalloverKatonahfromtheartmuseum,toretailbusinesses,topizzastores,butregardlessofwherewe wentitwasapleasurespendingtimewitheveryoneontheteam,includingMrs AandDr Metz Westartedeachfield tripwithlunch,whichwasalwayspizza.Thereare3mainplacesinKatonahwhereyoucangetPizza;Amoré,Pizza Station,andLaFamilia Dr Metzhadthesuggestiontomakethisour“publicationspizzatour”anddoawriteupon eachoftherestaurants.Wealltookthisintoconsiderationanddecidedtowriteaboutourownmostsuggestedplaceto grabpizza,seebelowfordetails!

Special thanks to all the teachers, staff, and students for your flexibility with the schedule as we visited stores in Katonah for the interviews! Thank you to Mr. Knauer, Dr. Byrne, Dr. Metz, and Mrs. Lombardi!

Jack’sPizzaReview:

Izzy’sPizzaReview:

Lilah’sPizzaReview:

PizzaStationisapizzeriain Katonahnottoofarfromthe trainstation.Thepizzatastes amazingandtherearealotof optionstochoosefrom.Also, theatmosphereisfriendly!Visit https://wwworderpizzastationc om/toseeforyourselfallthe varietyofpizzathisterrific restauranthas!

Whileourteamwas interviewingotheramazing placesinKatonah,wedecided toeatlunchatAmorePizzeria

Itisadeliciouspizzaplacein town. Onereasonwhyitisso goodisbecausetheyhaveso manydifferentoptionsandnot justpizza Themargaritaslice ismyfavorite! Visit https://amorekatonah.com/to seemoreabouttheAmore pizzeria.ThankyouAmore!

LaFamilia.Whenwewalkedinwe choseatableandorderedpizzaand drinks Whilewewerethere,wegot greetedbyanunexpectedguestMr. Durkin,parentofOliviaDurkin‘21 andLucyDurkin‘23!Wechoseall differenttypesofpizzafromtheir widevariety,suchasCaesarsalad pizza,mypersonalfavorite Order fromtheirwebsite

https://wwwlafamiliapizzapastakatona h.com!

Thankyou,Frankand LaFamilia!

Photo by Google Images

Photo by Mrs. A Forourlastfieldtripwestoppedat