New Laundromat Opens in Dolgeville

There’s a brand new, shiny laundromat located on 1 Gibson Street in Dolgeville. John Perkins is the owner of the Dolgeville Laundromat, and along with his business partner, Sam Licari, they are excited to be open and operating in town.

John grew up in Dolgeville. He still owns the family farm and also owns a construction company in Connecticut, where he works part of the week. John is invested in his hometown of Dolgeville. Five years ago, he purchased the car wash on Main Street and updated it.

The laundromat seemed like another great service the community needed. “We’ve been here in this community my whole life, and I thought maybe doing a brand new laundromat would be nice.”

He chose to renovate a space located on Gibson Street, which used to be a laundromat many years ago. It seemed like the perfect spot. John says, “It took about six months to get the space renovated and to order the equipment and

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machines” used in the laundromat. Leasing the space and working with the owner of the building has been great, and he is happy to be able to offer a clean and safe laundry environment for the community.

With large windows, the space is well-lit, making it instantly inviting and comfortable. Filled with new state-ofthe-art machines and accessorized with a folding counter and carts, it is clean and modern. There is also a television, seating, and vending machines to pass the time while you wait for your laundry cycle. The space also includes a clean and tidy restroom.

The laundromat offers eight washers (6 front loading; 2 top loading) and ten dryers. The self-serve washer and dryer machines are coinoperated, and there is, of course, a change machine handy.

John offers a laundry service as well, and a sign-up sheet for the wash, dry, and fold service is available in the laundromat for anyone interested. He is hoping as more people hear about the service that, it will be as popular as it is in neighboring communities. “The laundromat in Little Falls offers this, and they do very well,” John adds.

Recently opened, John is optimistic that having a new laundromat in town will be useful to the community and will be a big hit now that it is open. The comments online from the community are filled with excitement and thankfulness that there is a beautiful new laundromat in town. John says that if the business does well, he may think about expanding in the future.

The Dolgeville Laundromat is open daily from 7 am to 7 pm. You can find them on Facebook for more information and updates.

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A Noble Goal

Noelle Miller of the MillerPlonka Funeral Home in Dolgeville takes great pride in helping families at one of the most difficult times in their lives. Being a woman in a male-dominated and very demanding job, both emotionally and physically, takes strength, character, and the support of family, which Noelle has in abundance.

Finding Her Purpose

As a young girl, Noelle attended the funeral of a close family member. “When I got to see her, I knew she had been sick and had lost all her hair and everything, but she did not look like herself at all.” From this experience, she was concerned and asked her mother, “Who takes care of people after they pass away?” Her mother, Marcia, told her about Funeral Directors and what they do. At that moment, Noelle decided she would own a funeral home in Dolgeville so she could properly take care of those who passed away.

When it came time to think about college, Noelle applied to SUNY Canton’s Funeral Director program as well as four other schools. She was excited to be accepted into the Mortuary Science program at SUNY Canton, and while both her parents were supportive, her father, Nick Miller, was wary of her jumping into the program directly from High School at 17. She decided to attend Oneonta for Communications Studies, and after graduation, she headed to SUNY Canton for her Mortuary Science education.

At the top of her class, she was offered a few residency jobs. She took one at a funeral home based on her professor’s recommendation, where she would get the most experience. She was the main embalmer and learned from her mentor who she is still friends with. “I learned a lot.” She credits her high level of professionalism to the fact that she learned from one of the top funeral homes in the area.

At one point after her residency, Noelle was working for ten funeral homes in the area, as her skills and training were in high demand. She did this for about 13 years, she explains, “Mostly working funerals, filling in or covering when they were away because they had to have a licensed funeral director on site.“ Being a female Funeral thing to be a part of, and I’m proud to be a member.

There are over 2,100 Elks Lodges in the United States today, and over 1 million members. Forks: The local impact here in Little Falls

Current #42 Exalted Ruler (the official title of Lodge President) Tom Overman leads with the principle, “Charity is the cornerstone for all we do.”

Recently, Leading Knight (Lodge VP) Mark Regan took the lead on writing three successful grant proposals, which were awarded to Little Falls Elks Lodge #42 from a grant by the Elks National Foundation in support of two other local organizations. It was Mark’s friend Dr. Sean Gallagher who grew up in Little Falls and is a Past Exalted Ruler of the Falmouth, Massachusetts Lodge #2380, that urged him to apply for the grant.

The Elks gave $4,000 to the Little Falls Food Pantry (hence the fork) through the Youth and Family Center. When you donate $1.00 to the food pantry, that gives them $4.00 of buying power. The donation equates to $16,000 the Food Pantry will use to support children, families, and Veterans experiencing challenges with food insecurity right here in Little Falls. Across town, another $4,000 from the Elks was given to the Little Falls Public Library Literacy Program. This helps our library continue to further its impactful programming and resources provided to individuals, families, and children of Little Falls to promote literacy, learning, and knowledge.

The monies Little Falls Elks were awarded were made possible by the Elks National Foundation. $2,000 from the Gratitude Grant and $2,000 from the Spotlight Grant were allocated to the LF Public Library. The entire $4,000 given to the LF Food Pantry was made possible by the Beacon Grant.

In addition to the two grants mentioned above, our Elks supports many other organizations in our community and provides scholarships to local students, donations of support to youth activities like the Hoop Shoot, and support of patriotic activities like Flag Day and Veteran’s Day.

These are just a few examples of how much the Little Falls Elks Lodge does in the spirit of charity. The Elks have been guilty of what I like to call the “modesty branding challenge.” What I mean by that is that the Elks, like so many organizations, do so much here in Little Falls, and they tend to do it so quietly, which is a nice thing. The other side of organizational modesty is that incorrect common perceptions can form, such as the Elks is ‘just a social club.’

In fact, their goal is to be an inclusive community venue, and you’ve probably been there for something. The Elk’s beautiful and historic Victorian building hosts baby showers, weddings, parties, celebrations of life, American Red Cross Blood Drives, Scout meetings, Rotary meetings, fundraisers, school music performances, comedy acts, drag shows, local musicians, and so much more.

The Little Falls Elks lodge, like many nonprofits in town, is far from perfect and has had its share of struggles to stay afloat. While a staggering number of similar organizations have come and gone in Little Falls in the past 137 years, Lodge #42 continues to be resilient today. This can be attributed to the dedication and commitment of volunteerism from our impactful local leaders who serve as Exalted Ruler, lodge officers, trustees, and all manner of member volunteers over the years.

One of my favorite quotes from the member initiation ritual is, “The faults of our members, we write upon the sands.”

Mark Regan, the upcoming Exalted Ruler, said, “None of us are perfect, and we all make mistakes. When charity is forefront, it’s something we can all get behind to further develop comradery, pride, and community.”

The trustees and lodge leaders continue to hold the lodge in trust for those who come after them and are committed to a longterm vision that can see the lodge supporting our community for another 137 years. Their vision includes community, collaboration, and continuing the tradition of charity. Overman says, “The biggest focus of our charitable activity is to provide and maintain a venue for all manner of community gatherings.”

Loneliness and isolation continue to be a problem in our nation, exacerbated by the pandemic. Joining a group or organization can give you a sense of belonging, comradery, and the joy of being a part of something bigger than yourself. Anyone can and is encouraged to join our local Elks Lodge by filling out an application. Or simply come enjoy the lodge as a community resource.

From Corks to Forks, the Elks Lodge #42 continues to impact Little Falls.

City of Little Falls

February 3, 2023

Community Presentation, Documentary Storytelling, Rock City Centre, 7 pm - 8:30 pm. Free and open to the public. Make reservations at creativeoutpost.org/ events

February 7, 2023

Traffic Committee Meeting - 6:00 pm in the Mayor’s conference room at City Hall.

February 7, 2023

Common Council Meeting - Bills 6:30 pm, Regular Session 7:00 pm in the Common Council Chambers in City Hall.

February 8, 2023

Police and Fire Board Meeting - Bills 9:30 am and Regular Session

CALENDAR OF EVENTS - FEBRUARY

10:00 am in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

February 13, 2023

Planning Board Meeting - 6:30 pm in the Mayor’s conference room at City Hall.

February 16, 2023

Tourism Committee Meeting - 8:30 am in the Mayor’s conference room at City Hall.

February 27, 2023

Board of Public Works Meeting - Bills 6:30 pm and Regular Session 7:00 pm in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

Little Falls Public Library

February 4, 2023

Knitting & Crochet 11 am. Afternoon family movie 1 pm.

February 6, 2023

Creative writing for teens 5-6 pm. Railroad group 5-7 pm.

February 7, 2023

Kids popup Valentine’s Day craft 3:30-4:30 pm. Teen art night 6-7 pm.

February 8, 2023

Flash fiction 6 pm.

February 9, 2023

Cookbook club, soup & the fixings 5:30 pm.

February 10, 2023 Afternoon movie 1 pm.

February 11, 2023

Knitting & crochet 11 am. Leatherstocking spinners 1-3 pm.

February 13, 2023

Creative writing for teens 5-6 pm.

February 14, 2023

All day Valentine’s Day scavenger hunt.

February 15, 2023

Toddler craft 10 am. Flash fiction 6 pm.

February 17, 2023

Bracelet class with

Sharon 3-4:45 pm.

February 18, 2023

Knitting & crochet 11 am.

February 20, 2023

Closed Presidents’ Day

February 21, 2023

Dream workshop 5:30 pm.

February 22, 2023

Flash fiction 6 pm.

February 23, 2023

Teen advisory board info meeting 5:30 pm.

February 25, 2023

Knitting & crochet 11 am.

February 27, 2023

Creative writing for teens

5-6 pm. Book club 5:30 pm.

February 28, 2023

Laurie’s make & take 3:30-5:30 pm.

Little Falls Elks

February 3, 2023

Friday Night Dinner 5 - 8 pm. Reservations & takeouts, 315-823-2371.

February 10, 2023

Friday Night Dinner 5 - 8 pm. Reservations & takeouts, 315-823-2371.

February 16, 2023

Broadway Comedy Night - Eddie Rose and Friends

February 17, 2023

Friday Night Dinner 5 - 8 pm. Reservations & takeouts, 315-823-2371.

February 24, 2023

Friday Night Dinner 5 - 8 pm. Reservations & takeouts, 315-823-2371.

Dolgeville

February 7, 2023

Brownfield Opportunity area nomination study, final public meeting, 6:00 pm, Bassett Health Center in the Community Room. Can’t make the public meeting, but still interested in providing feedback? Stop by Stewart’s Shops, 97 N Main St between 2:304:30 pm to meet with the project team.

February 26, 2023

Friends of the Library are hosting a Sunday Salon, “Attracting Pollinators,” with speaker Jacque Devlin on Sunday, February 26, 2023, at 2:00 pm. Held at the Dolgeville Manheim Public Library, 24 North Main St, Dolgeville, NY.

Cheesemaking in Oneida County

Just North of Rome, at the site of the current New York State Fish Hatchery, the modern cheese industry was born in 1851.

Jesse Williams was a successful farmer and cheese maker but believed by working together as cooperative dairies, farmers could maximize their profits. This led him to start the first cheese factory in the United States, a move that revolutionized agriculture not only locally, but across the nation. Patrick Reynolds, Director of Public Programs at the Oneida County History Center will discuss the origin of the Cheese Factory System.

Jesse Williams was born in Rome in 1798 and like his father became a farmer. Although there was considerable cheese making going on in New York, its market value suffered from inconsistency. Jesse objected to the quality as well as the lack of uniformity in size. To address these issues, he invented machinery and equipment that guaranteed high quality cheese made in uniform sizes. 1851 marked the first year he combined

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