Mohawk Valley Express Volume 3 Number 3 March 2023

Little Falls Resident writes music for Nina Simone:

By Dave Warner

Little Falls has always been known for having some of the most unique and interesting people, and Stephanie Sheppard is one of them. Fifty-two years ago, she and her brother wrote six songs for the legendary Nina Simone to perform. Unfortunately, Simone died before any of them were recorded. Longtail Films, out of England, made a documentary

The Lost Album

about the lost music and found just the perfect performer to bring them to light.

In the film, superstar Emeli Sande sets out on an emotional journey to bring to life that set of songs written for Nina Simone but never performed. Forgotten for all these years, these songs are beautiful and illuminate Nina Simone’s world. They are messages from the past.

The film has never been shown in the United States. But, on March 18th at Rock City Centre at 6 pm, you’ll get to watch the movie, hear from the film’s creators in England with a prerecorded interview, and then get Stephanie’s perspective as she fills in the details about being at the center of such an important historical work.

After that, there will be wine, cheese, and live

music with Oscar Stivala and his Jazz Trio. Oscar has created an 18×24 oil on canvas painting of Nina Simone to be auctioned off at the event

to raise money for The Creative Outpost.

Sheppard started writing

Please See NINA Page 3

Connecting the Dots: The Artist and The Astronaut

By Katie Drake

On this journey through life, we are fortunate to meet folks along the way who are unique and special in some way. The connections we feel and form with certain people can have a profound effect.

That’s precisely what happened to Bill Muench. Bill is an energetic modern Renaissance

man living with his family in Manchester, Vermont. He has spent the last 32 years at Burr & Burton Academy teaching high school students English, Psychology, and, most recently Cinematography, while coaching basketball. Sixteen years ago, he connected with two people who deeply impacted him.

Bill was inspired to do something important

because of that connection, and he’s coming to Little Falls in a few weeks to share that with our community.

Pat and Jerry Carr met Bill Muench and his wife Barb in Manchester and quickly became friends. The Muench’s became fond of Jerry and Pat and found each of them and their story fascinating.

Please See DOTS Page 6

Photo submitted - Friends Jerry Carr, Pat Musick Carr, and Bill Muench.

Photo by Dave Warner - Stephanie Sheppard strums a bit on her guitar.

Deborah Kaufman Announces Bid for Mayor

Story & Photo by Carol Vogel

Deborah Kaufman was raised in Little Falls and has fond memories of the community she grew up in. For the past 15 years, she has been involved in initiatives that connect and give back to her hometown. Now, after careful consideration, she’s running for Mayor. “I’m excited! Little Falls is such a unique place, and having been all over the world and living in

the south for most of my career, you don’t find little towns like this anymore that have this quality of life.”

Why have you decided to run for Mayor?

“Well, I have been thinking about it for a few years. When the Mayor’s first term was up, he was not going to run, and at that moment in time, I thought, ‘there’s really

no one else stepping up.’” When the Mayor decided to continue on with another term, she tabled those ideas and kept pressing along with what she was doing.

With the 2023 election coming up, she began seriously thinking about running again. “I looked around, and I saw things that have been declining for a number of years. It goes way back, and

nothing seems to have changed to any great extent.”

Her husband, Dave, urged her to speak with a female politician who could give her some perspective on running for office since Little Falls has never had a female Mayor before. Elise Stefanik was speaking at a September 11th Commemoration at the Fire Department in Herkimer, and she spoke with Deborah for a few moments after the ceremony. “She was such a delight and was so supportive. It made me realize that I can do this, and I should do this.”

What do you bring to the table?

Her background includes over 35 years in executive-level positions, with 22 of those years self-employed, running her own businesses. Heading up multiple private companies as well as a public company in domestic and international business climates gives her unique insight. “There are opportunities to grow revenue, and a business background gives you a different perspective,” she stated.

Her resume includes writing business plans and grants that help communities and start-up companies raise money. Her local work includes raising approximately $2 million for the Youth and Family Center capital campaign and the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant to the city. She is also the only NYS Registered Professional

Fund Raiser within a 75-mile radius of Little Falls.

She enjoys a challenge. “Even though Little Falls is a very small city compared to others who had won the DRI Grant previously, and we had been told we ‘didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell’ of getting it…” she pushed ahead. “Game on!” Deborah laughs. “Dave and I wrote the downtown revitalization grant that was awarded for $10 million to the city, and I thought, I really want to be part of the solution.”

The grant was about reconnecting, rebuilding, and growing the city again. Working over 19 months, Deborah and Dave put together a successful grant proposal package. “Getting the DRI grant for the city will help, but we also know it is just a stepping stone. It would allow us to leverage that to go after additional grants and to really start moving forward on some of the things we need desperately.”

“I have a deep appreciation for what businesses do, and when I look at our small businesses downtown, I realize there is so much we could be doing to help support them, so they are more sustainable. Trying to open a business in this climate it’s really tough for people,” Deborah explains. “When you really start working with people, there are ways to collaborate and to share ideas and as a group to really achieve a whole lot more.”

songs when she was twelve. “I became an actress at that age and was performing in offBroadway plays in the City.”

From there, she continued with her acting career. “I was a cardcarrying professional actress.”

Sheppard’s Granny got her a steel-stringed guitar at a pawn shop when she was twelve, and she played that for three years before being able to afford a Goya guitar. “I wanted a Martin because everybody had one, but I couldn’t afford it. My mother said if you’re going to get this Goya, then you’ll study properly. So I studied classical guitar.”

She had to write an essay to go to the Interlochen Arts Academy, and at the time was playing Cello, guitar, and recorder and studying dance, theater, and voice. “Very famous people went to Interlochen. There were maybe one hundred of us that first year for freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years. It was rough because it was the first year of the school being open, and we were all floundering.”

“We heard every day that we were America’s gifted youth. When you’re fourteen or fifteen and being brainwashed like

that, you’re fearful of making a mistake. But, I got to play at Lincoln Center, Music Academy in Chicago. I got to do lots of things, and it was great.”

Sheppard graduated in 1965. “It was really hard, but I wasn’t writing my own words (to the music) at that point because I had so much going on.”

She spent the next several years in Bermuda involved in theater, dance, and music, returning to NYC in 1968.

“I did Jean Brodi on Broadway for a year. After that, I went back to Bermuda and was writing songs.”

Her brother said he had written all these poems and asked her if she wanted to write music for them. “He was a poet major at BU and a Latin Major. His poetry was very esoteric, so I said yes.”

“I wrote a bunch of songs for his poetry, maybe as many as fourteen of them.”

At about that time, she met someone who knew Andy Stroud, who was Nina Simone’s husband.

“She was doing ‘Hair’ at the time, and I had just finished Brodie.”

Sheppard was invited to meet him at a studio in

Brooklyn. He told her to bring her guitar and some songs. “We’re looking for music,” he said.

When she got there, he asked her to sing some of the songs for him. “As I was singing, Nina Simone walked in with her two bodyguards.”

Stroud introduced her, and he said, “I think these songs would be perfect for you, and we’re going to sign her. She looked right at me and said OK.. that’s great, bye. She was there for like two minutes. Andy said, OK, you’re in.”

He sent the contracts to her, and they signed to produce six songs for him. About a month later, she got a call from him saying that he and Nina were getting divorced and that she didn’t live in the United States anymore, and they couldn’t do anything with the songs.”

“By that time, my brother had moved to England. I went back to Bermuda and told him about the situation. Andy didn’t do anything else with our music, so the rights to the music came back to my brother and me,” she stated.

Sheppard had also tried to get Essex in London to produce her songs, but that didn’t work, so she said, “I’ve had it,” and moved to London. “I put

all the music I’d written in an envelope, put it in a drawer, and said, screw it.”

“Fast forward to two years ago, when I first moved to Little Falls. My brother had just died, and my nephew Patrick, his younger child, who is a brilliant musician, came over to this country for a wedding. I said Pat, I

have all the music that your dad and I wrote together.”

“He said, what are you talking about? I told him we wrote music for Nina Simone, and he said what?”

Her brother had never told his son that he wrote

Please See NINA Page 11

Photo Submitted - Stephanie Sheppard with her guitar in the 70s.

City of Little Falls

March 3, 2023

Mean Girls - High School

Version, 7-9 pm, Little Falls High School.

March 4, 2023

Mean Girls - High School

Version, 7-9 pm, Little Falls High School.

March 7, 2023

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

March 8, 2023

Police and Fire Board Meeting - Bills 9:30 am and Regular Session 10:00 am in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

March 9, 2023

Golf Commission

CALENDAR OF EVENTS - MARCH

Meeting, 8:00 am in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

March 9, 2023

Community Blood Drive, Holy Family Parrish Gym, 1-6 pm.

March 15, 2023

Urban Renal Agency Meeting - 8:15 am in the Mayor’s conference room at City Hall.

March 16, 2023

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

March 16, 2023

Lasagna Dinner, Little Falls Emmanuel

Episcopal Church, 4-7 pm or sold out.

March 18, 2023

Community Presentation,

film screening, music and more. Nina Simone: The Lost Album with, Rock City Centre, 6 pm - 10 pm. Free and open to the public. Make reservations at creativeoutpost.org/ events

March 20, 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

March 1, 2023

Toddler Craft 10 am. Flash Fiction 6 pm.

March 2, 2023

Tweens & Teens Bracelet Class 3-4:45 pm.

March 3, 2023

Playdate 10 am.

March 4, 2023

Knitting & Crochet 11 am, Death Cafe 1 pm.

March 6, 2023

Railroad group 5-7 pm, Teen Creative Writing 5-6 pm.

March 7, 2023

Laurie’s Make & Take 3:30-5:30 pm.

March 8, 2023

Flash Fiction 6 pm.

March 9, 2023

Cookbook Club 5:30 pm: Breakfast for Dinner.

March 10, 2023

Playdate 10 am, Oscars Movie Nominees

Marathon.

March 11, 2023

Knitting & Crochet 11 am.

March 13, 2023

Teen Creative Writing 5-6 pm.

March 14, 2023

Teen Art Night 5:30-6:30 pm.

March 15, 2023

Toddler Craft 10 am, Flash Fiction 6 pm.

March 16, 2023

Teen Advisory Board Meeting 5:30 pm.

March 17, 2023

Playdate 10 am.

March 18, 2023

Knitting & Crochet 11 am, American Revolution Class 12:30-2 pm.

March 20, 2023

Teen Creative Writing 5-6 pm.

March 21, 2023

Kids Spring Craft for kids 6-10 @ 4:15 pm.

March 22, 2023

Flash Fiction 6 pm.

March 24, 2023

Playdate 10 am, Sharon’s Bracelet Class 3-4:45 pm.

March 25, 2023

Knitting & Crochet 11 am, American Revolution Class 12:30-2 pm.

March 27, 2023

Teen Creative Writing 5-6 pm, Book Club 6 pm.

March 28, 2023

Dream Workshop 5:30 pm.

March 29, 2023

Toddler Craft 10 am, Flash Fiction 6 pm.

March 31, 2023

Playdate 10 am.

Dolgeville

March 2, 2023

Regular Meeting

Dolgeville Forward at the George Ward Memorial Library, 6:30 pm.

March 9, 2023

Meeting and greet for Dolgeville’s new Chief of Police Matthew Wright from 6-9 pm at the Dolgeville Fire Station, refreshments will be served.

Salisbury

Fish Fry every Friday during Lent. Eat in or take out from 4:30 - 7 pm at the Salisbury Fire Station.

March is National Irish American Heritage Month

March is National Irish American Heritage Month, and the Irish Cultural Center of the Mohawk Valley is celebrating in a big way. In addition to regular weekly events at the ICCMV, the Program and Events committee is proud to announce the following programs.

Derek Warfield & the Young Wolfe Tones-On Thursday, March 2nd

Derek Warfield & the Young Wolfe Tones will kick off National Irish American Heritage month at the ICCMV! Although this band has been together since 2008, front man Derek Warfield has been singing the songs

of Irish history, freedom and tradition for more than 50 years! Derek and the Young Wolfe Tones will reprise many old songs of rebellion, freedom-fighters, and independence. This band played at the General Post Office in Dublin on April 16, 2016 at 12

Please See IRISH

What issues are most important to you?

“We have to strengthen the security and the safety of the community. It’s one of the top things people are concerned about,” Deborah says. “Financially, we need to assess our situation and be able to right the ship, so we are going forward in a sustainable way.” She says it’s important to uncover innovative ways to bring in more money to the city in order to continue to provide essential services (police, fire, ambulance, trash, roadways, etc.) without sacrificing others. “We need to be able to project out and build momentum from not only what we are doing today but move forward in a

IRISH From Page 4

noon--exactly 100 years after Padraig Pierce stood there, reading Ireland’s Declaration of Independence! You will not want to miss this historic, traditional, and moving group at the Irish Cultural Center in Utica!

Debunking Irish Myths-

On Wednesday, March 8th at 7.00pm Mark Sisti will engage his audience by letting them know the truth about familiar Irish beliefs. He will discuss things such at the fact that St. Patrick did not drive the snakes from Ireland, that the shamrock is not the national symbol of Ireland, and that green is not Ireland’s national color. Come learn more about the truths of all things Irish.

Randal Bays MultiInstrumental Workshop and Concert-On Friday,

secure and sustainable way for the future.”

“When you don’t have jobs, it’s really hard for people to stay. Our unemployment is 7.5 %. We have a 31% poverty rate, so we have fewer people buying homes and paying taxes, and we lose population.” Her research also found “57% of the kids in our schools are getting the subsidized lunch program because of low income. Because of that poverty, 55% of those will not go to college.” Deborah mentions that Little Falls has a lot of good things going for it educationally, but we need to provide students with additional training opportunities and jobs here in the community. College is

March 10th at 2.00pm and 7.00pm Craobh

Dugan O’Looney will host musician Randal Bays from Seattle. WA. In the afternoon, Randal will teach a multi-instrumental class applicable to melody instruments such as fiddles, flutes, whistles, banjos, mandolins, and other instruments typically found at an Irish music session. The workshop will be in a comfortable and fun environment! Come, learn some new trad Irish tunes!

That evening, Randal, an Irish-style fiddler and guitarist who brings power and passion to the old tradition, will perform at the ICCMV. He’s well known on both sides of the Atlantic for his fiery fiddling and his devotion

Please See IRISH Page 8

not the only path forward, and tradespeople are desperately needed in the area.

“We really have got to get busy. It requires a lot of effort. It requires a full-time Mayor, which I intend to be. It requires different thinking and collaborating, bringing people in that can help - both on the public side and on the private side.”

“I have the vision that we should be the beacon of hope for a lot of people, not only our own people. We’re the only city in Herkimer County. People should be looking to us to have an answer and to see what they can do with their community.”

Why Now?

“As time has gone on, I’ve realized that you can do just so much from the outside. And the time now, for me, is there’s more to be done. I can do more. It’s time, and I am going to do what I can.”

Deborah mentions the waterfront, the scenery, and the culture of Little Falls as a whole. “It’s charming! We have a hospital, a movie theater, a bakery, a butcher shop, a grocery store, great restaurants, and shops, and we have amazing city services. We really have a lot of things here to work with.” Her optimism and excitement are palpable. “The people are very welcoming – you don’t get that everywhere.”

“I am looking at

Little Falls as a safe, prosperous, vibrant, and inclusive community. My perspective about why now? I feel like enough is enough. How long are we going to wait to fix this? The time is now. Let’s do it on our watch. Not just for today but so that the town has the vibrancy we grew up with long into the future.”

To learn more about Deborah Kaufman and her platform please visit her website at: www. kaufmanformayor.com or meet with her at Bonita’s Sandwich Shop on March 6th and 13th from 1:30 pm until 4 pm each day or at Paca Gardens on March 24th from 2-5 pm.

If you would like to see your story in the Mohawk Valley Express - email it to news@ mylittlefalls.com

Jerry Carr served as a marine fighter pilot, flying intelligence missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was one of 19 people chosen from over 6,000 applications to work for NASA on the second group of astronauts. He was a spacecraft communicator (Cap Com) and was named Commander of the longest space flight to date in Skylab 4. On Christmas Day in 1973, he got his turn and made one of history’s first and longest spacewalks.

Pat Musick is a civil

rights activist, having spent much time at Cornell University in the 1960s. When Vietnam and Civil Rights protests began, she turned to art to understand it all and became an accomplished environmental artist. Her large and small, indoor and outdoor sculptures and works on paper are featured in over 100 public and private collections, including more than 50 museums and public spaces in the US. She has an MA and Ph.D. from Cornell University and has authored four books.

Apple founder Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

Later in life, Musick taught art and psychology at the University of Houston when she met Jerry at a small church in Webster, Texas. They fell in love and married, and the dots began to connect.

In 2016, the Muench’s were invited to Bentonville, Arkansas, to celebrate Pat’s 90th Birthday and visit her commissioned installation of “A Place Where They Cried.”

This important outdoor work is a 6’x65’x8’ stone sculpture that sits along a walking trail on the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art grounds. It represents the Native Indian people who traveled through Arkansas as part of the Trail of Tears, a forced migration in the early 1800s, where 4,000 died.

Traveling to Arkansas, experiencing the sculpture, and celebrating his friend Pat, moved Bill Muench. He said, “Someone should make a documentary about Pat and Jerry.” Bill’s wife, Barb, told Bill it should be him.

He decided that it would be him. Muench embarked on a 6-year journey to learn about Pat and Jerry’s lives. He wanted the world to know

about these two uniquely amazing people and their unlikely love story as they participated in some of the most historic moments in human history.

Muench gathered six hours of interview footage with Jerry about his stories and experiences, six hours of footage of Pat on hers, and six hours of interviews of the couple about their life together.

Bill says, “I treated it like a phone call, Pat here, and Jerry in space leading their separate lives: life on the ground, and life up there. As each story was told, I hunted down different people to interview to create alternate viewpoints. I’d jump in my car and make it happen. It was all about connecting the dots.”

That led Bill to travel nationwide to interview people from NASA, Cornell, and even the Nixon administration, to name a few. His film is filled with never before seen footage of the early space pioneers, includes important events in American history, and how Pat and Jerry combined talents to render some of the most enduring art installations in America.

Muench says the title was obvious to him and aptly titled his film, ‘The Artist and The Astronaut.’ He then enlisted the help of a talented musician and Central New York legend in his own right, Todd Hobin.

Back in 1979, Bill was a

fan of Hobin and would often go out to watch him play. Hobin even performed at Bill’s prom in 1980. Thirty years later, Bill reached out to him to ask if he could include one of Todd’s songs in the film. Hobin said yes, and after watching it, asked Bill if he could take a crack at scoring the film. A friendship began. The Artist and the Astronaut score is all original music by Todd Hobin.

The Artist and the Astronaut is quickly gaining attention in film circles. It was the Official Selection of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival in 2022 and won the esteemed Spirit of Independents Award. In 2023 it was named an official selection of the Madrid Indie Film Festival and an official selection of the Omaha Film Festival.

Next month, the local company Daneli Partners is hosting a public premier of The Artist and the Astronaut here in Little Falls at Valley Cinemas on Saturday, April 1st, at 7:30 pm, which will benefit the Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts. Tickets for the film are limited and will include a cocktail hour to meet Bill Muench and Todd Hobin and a Q & A to follow the premier.

You can purchase tickets as soon as they are released, the second week of March, at the Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts, at Valley Cinemas, and online.

DOTS From Page 1

Little Falls native Justus D. Barnes: pioneer movie actor and milkman

One of the most obscure yet famous people ever to be depicted on a United States postage stamp is early motion picture actor Justus D. Barnes.

He was the second of four sons born to Orin P. and Hannah Barnes. His father was a tinsmith and Civil War veteran and his mother was an immigrant from Ireland.

In the early years of the movie industry, actors were considered incidental to movie production and were not credited by name. The first film thespian to gain a personal identity and fame was Florence Lawrence (1886-1938), who was credited simply as the biograph girl in her early films for that studio.

The early practice of anonymity for actors coupled with the fact that a high percentage of early films are lost makes compiling a complete list of Barnes’ films highly problematic.

The first film role for Barnes that we know of is also by far his most famous. In the Edison Manufacturing Co.’s The Great Train Robbery (1903), he has a close-up in the closing scene of the movie in which he points his pistol at the audience

and fires.

This is the scene depicted on the stamp commemorating the birth of the motion picture industry in the Celebrate the Century 1900s pane of 15 (Scott 3182).Barnes is not identified by name on the stamp. The inscription on the back of the stamp states: “ ‘The Great Train Robbery,’ directed by Edwin S. Porter in 1903, was one of the first commercially successful story films. The box-office hit became part of the Western genre.”

Although he almost certainly appeared in more films for Edison, Barnes’ next known credit was in a film by the Thanhouser Co. (latter known as the Thanhouser Film Corp.) in 1910. The Thanhouser phase of his film career is the best documented, with credits known in more than 80 films produced between 1910 and 1917.

In the days before Hollywood, most of the film industry was based in New York: Thanhouser in New Rochelle and Edison in Manhattan and the Bronx after beginning production in West Orange, New Jersey.

Barnes likely got his foot in the door as a movie

actor because he lived where the movies were being made.

Barnes is also depicted on a Mali 150-franc stamp (Scot 723a) from a set commemorating the centenary of the motion picture industry. On this stamp his name is given as “George Barnes.” I used to think this was a design error, but now I know that the actor used both names.

For unknown reasons, he was billed as George Barnes in at least 10 Thanhouser films produced between 1910 and 1917. Because actors were not billed, the original release of The Great Train Robbery, either name could be considered correct.

Acting then didn’t pay near as well as it does today. The 1920 census, the first after the end of his film career, finds Barnes working as a domestic servant in Brutus, New York.

On the 1930 census he was employed as a milkman in Brutus, New York. Barnes is buried in the Weedsport Rural Cemetery in Cayuga County, New York.

SENIOR MEALS FOR MARCH

To reserve a meal, call the Herkimer County Office for the Aging at least one business day in advance, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 315-867-1204 or 315-867-1634. If you will not be home for meals, call 315867-1204 at least a day in advance. All sites are handicapped accessible.

Mar 01 - Sloppy Joes, O’Brien potatoes, Pacific blend vegetable, pie.

Mar 02 - Omelet, hash browns, sausage, muffin, fruit cup.

Mar 03 - Cheese lasagna, Italian blend vegetables, garlic roll, birthday cake.

Mar 06 - Tangy meatloaf, au gratin potatoes, red cabbage, pears.

Mar 07 - Pulled pork kon a bun, baked beans, California blend vegetables, ice cream.

Mar 08 - Chicken and biscuits, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, brownie.

Mar 09 - Macaroni and cheese, stewd tomatoes and zucchini, green beans, pudding.

Mar 10 - Tuna noodle casserole, peas, broccolli, cookie.

Mar 13 - Chicken florentine, noodles, spinach, tropical fruit.

Mar 14 - Cheesy ham and rice casserole, beets, cauliflower, pudding parfait.

Mar 15 - Hamburger with peppers and onions, O’Brien potatoes, peas, Jell-0.

Mar 16 - Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Corned beef dinner with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, soda bread, Shamrock cookie.

Mar 17 - Stuffed shells, Italian blend vegetables, lima beans, garlic roll, orange.

Mar 20 - Spanish rice, corn, green beans, peaches.

Mar 21 - Baked chicken in cream sauce, mashed potatoes, broccoli, fruit cocktail.

Mar 22 - Ziti with meatballs, tossed salad, Brussel sprouts, cookie.

Mar 23 - Wild rice and chicken casserole, warm three-bean salad, red cabbage, pudding.

Mar 24 - Lemon butter fish, seasoned noodles, spinach, Mandarin oranges.

Mar 27 - Beef stew with potatoes and carrots, green beans, biscuit, pineapple.

Mar 28 - Sweet and sour chicken, noodles, Japanese blend vegetables, banana.

Mar 29 - Hamburger cabbage casserole, corn, lima beans, yogurt.

Mar 30 - Ham with mustard sauce, scalloped potatoes, peas and carrots, ice cream.

Mar 31 - Vegetable lasagna, Italian blend vegetables, tossed salad, brownie.

All meals are served with 8 ounces of milk, a slice of bread, and margarine. Desserts have no concentrated sweets. The suggested donation is $3. Mail donations to Herkimer County OFA, 109 Mary St., Suite 2501, Herkimer, NY

to the traditional style of playing. He has a special love for the fiddle traditions of Counties Clare and Galway, where he’s spent many a night playing tunes with the masters of that intricate music. Come, relax and enjoy Randal’s great music!

Arise & Go in Concert-On Wednesday, March 15th at 7.00pm, the ICCMV welcomes Arise & Go, a superb trio with roots in New Brunswick, Ithaca and Utica. With Ellie Goud-Roddy on fiddle, Tim Ball on Guitar and Utica-native Michael Roddy on uillean pipes and whistles, Arise & Go will get your hands clapping and your toes tapping to their vibrant collection of the dance music of Ireland, Scotland and Atlantic Canada. Blending pipes, whistles, fiddle, and guitar, the group’s varied musical backgrounds combine to produce a sound which is both grounded in tradition and uniquely fresh and driving. From intimate house concerts to festival stages, Arise & Go has been hailed for their “precision and energy”. You will not want to miss this evening of great traditional music!

Máire Ni Chathasaigh &

Chris Newman - Irish Harp & Guitar Duo-On Friday, March 24th at 7.00pm, Máire and Chris will offer an evening of great music with one of Ireland’s most influential harpists and her guitar virtuoso partner. Chris and Máire have performed at over 175 folk, Celtic, arts, harp and guitar festivals in Europe, the USA, Australia, and Asia. They have performed almost two thousand concerts in venues large and small. And the ICCMV is proud to welcome them to Utica, NY!! Be sure not to miss this concert of traditional tunes of Ireland played by Máire Ni Chathasaigh on Irish harp and Chris Newman on guitar!

The Irish Cultural Center of the Mohawk Valley welcomes everyone to our programs and events. For all the information on each event, please see our Facebook page (“Irish Cultural Center of the Mohawk Valley”), our website (iccmv.org) or find these events on Eventbrite.com. If you have any questions on any of the programs, please email irishccmv@ gmail.com or call 315733-4228 Ext 6. We look forward to seeing you at the ICCMV in March!

ATTENTION

Senior Citizens 55+

Year round janitorial/landscaping position available immediately in the Herkimer area. Vacation/Holidays paid!

Great work environment!

For more info and an application call GreenThumb Environmental Beautification Inc. at 518-435-2471 or Trish at 518-883-4390

IRISH From Page 5

Community Co-Op says ‘Goodbye’ to one of the founders

By Dave Warner

After almost 50 years with the Community Co-Op, Mary DeLuca has decided that it’s time to start the next chapter of her life, so employees, friends, and customers sent her off with a toast on Friday afternoon, her last day at work.

Tony DeLuca talked about the early days and said, “The Co-Op grew to a point where we could afford a secondstory storefront above the bar on Main Street.” At that time, there was a payphone that everyone used, and the rent was about $60 a month.

“It was a joyful experience when you opened the door and saw that the shelves were filled with things you normally had to travel to Syracuse to get,” he said.

DeLuca said that they grew out of that and went to Doc Pianna’s building on Garden St, and then after a few years of success there, the church called. “They said we’re mothballing the church, and we’d like to provide something to the community that is within our mission. We don’t want to sell it to a corporate entity, and we don’t want it to be destroyed.”

DeLuca continued, “They gave us a great deal, and we came in and built this place. Mary’s been a part of that from the beginning. We were able to parlay a lot in order to make this thing work.”

Mary said, “I was in a

food-buying co-op in college, and so I knew how that worked, and I had a supplier that we could use here, so the concept kind of came from that.”

She said there were a lot of people in Little Falls that were interested in seeing it happen.

When asked about her fondest memory, she said, “This might be it, right here.”

“This hasn’t been an easy decision for me to make. But I’m looking forward to doing some other things, and the time is right, and Robyn (Safford) is the right person to take my place. It’s all good.”

She plans to spend more time with her grandson and family and travel. “I have lots of projects I haven’t had time to do. I used to make my own bread and do some sewing projects. There are a lot of things I’d like to do.”

Through its partnership with the Food Pantry, the Co-Op serves a wide range of individuals. Tony DeLuca said, “That’s part of the whole picture. Having natural goods here at a reasonable price. Those experiencing food insecurity can go to the Food Pantry and

get served whatever we have there.”

He said that it works the other way as well. People who come into the Food Pantry with food allergies can be sent to the Co-Op. “It’s a synergistic service,” he stated.

Photo by Dave Warner - Mary DeLuca poses with some of her friends, co-workers, and shoppers during her retirement party.

As hockey season heads into the home stretch for 2022-23, fans in Central New York have a lot to be excited for. Six of the area’s college hockey programs are still playing in their respective postseason tournaments and the two American Hockey League teams that call the region home are neck in neck in the North Division standings as the Utica Comets and Syracuse Crunch continue to battle each other for a chance to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

College and professional hockey are not the only levels of the game represented in the Mohawk Valley. The Girl’s High School hockey season reached its conclusion on February 18th at the Nexus Center in Utica, and the Clinton Warriors skated away with the NYS Championship. It is the school’s second state title since 2020.

Here’s a look at where each of the professional and college hockey teams in Central New York stands through the end of February. Please note, all statistics, records, and current statuses are as of February 27th.

American Hockey League

Utica Comets

Record: 25-20-5-2, 57 points - 3rd in the North Division.

Goal Differential: -3.

Goals Per Game: 2.98.

Goals Against Per Game: 3.04.

Head Coach; Kevin Dineen.

The Comets struggled in February, going 3-60-1 and falling from second place in the North Division at the start of the month to third place where they currently are. On the bright side, they are currently on a two-game winning streak that snapped a four-game losing streak. On February 26th, their NHL parent club the New Jersey Devils sent defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk and forward Andreas Johnsson to the San Jose Sharks as part of the Timo Meier trade. With the trade deadline looming in both the NHL and AHL, more moves could be on the way.

For the Utica Comets’ remaining schedule and ticketing information, visit https://uticacomets.com.

Syracuse Crunch

Record: 25-19-4-3, 57 points - 2nd place in the North Division.

Goal Differential: +13.

Goals Per Game: 3.47.

Goals Against Per Game: 3.22.

Head Coach: Ben Groulx.

The Syracuse Crunch played eleven games in February. They started the month by defeating the Comets 4-3 in a shootout but then proceeded to lose five straight games. They got back on track in the last half of the month, however, as they won four

of their last five games. Their NHL parent team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, has yet to make a trade that significantly impacts the Crunch heading into the trade deadline.

For the Syracuse Crunch’s remaining schedule and ticketing information, visit https:// syracusecrunch.com.

College - Division I

#3 Colgate Raiders Women’s Hockey

Record: 30-5-2 (overall), 18-3-1 (ECAC).

Goal Differential: +87. Goals Per Game: 4.0. Goals Against Per Game: 1.7.

Head Coach: Greg Fargo.

The Colgate Raiders (ranked third in the nation and the second seed in the ECAC) began their ECAC Tournament play on February 24th with a best-of-three openinground series as the Class of 1965 Arena against the seventhseeded Princeton Tigers. The Tigers shocked the Raiders in game one, defeating them 3-2. They nearly pulled off the sweep the next day, but Raiders Captain Danielle Serdachny scored a thirdperiod goal to give her team a 3-2 victory evening the series. The winner takes all game three was another close one, but Kalty Kaltounková scored a third-period goal to give Colgate a 2-1 win in not only the game but the series.

Colgate now moves on to the ECAC Tournament Semifinals, where they will face the third-seed Quinnipiac Bobcats and Clinton native Mia Lopata. That game is a one-game playoff that will

Colgate Raiders Men’s Hockey

Record: 14-15-5 (overall), 8-5-4 (ECAC).

Goal Differential: +8.

Goals Per game: 2.8.

Goals Against Per Game: 2.6.

Head Coach: Don Vaughan.

The Raiders closed out their regular season on February 25th and will enter the ECAC Tournament as the fifth seed. As the fifth seed, they will host the twelveseed Dartmouth at the Class of 1965 Arena on Friday, March 3rd in a one-game openinground playoff game. If they defeat Dartmouth, they will advance to the best of three games Quarterfinals round.

Syracuse Orange Women’s Hockey

Record: 10-24-2 (overall), 6-10-1 (CHA).

Goal Differential: -34.

Goals Per Game: 2.2.

Goals Against Per Game: 3.2

Head Coach: Britni Smith.

The Orange played the MercyhurstiLakers

in the best-of-three Semifinal series of the College Hockey America Tournament on February 24th and 25th. The thirdseeded Orange dropped the first two games to the Lakers and were eliminated from the tournament. The losses ended Syracuse’s season.

College - Division III

#1 Utica Pioneers Men’s Hockey Record: 24-2-1 (overall), 20-0-0 (UCHC).

Goal Differential: +107.

Goals Per Game: 5.8.

Goals Against Per Game: 1.8.

Head Coach: Gary Heenan.

The Pioneers are the number-one team in Division III and the number-one seed in the UCHC postseason tournament. They began their tournament play on February 22nd by defeating the Arcadia Knights 5-2 at the Adirondack Bank Center. The win against Arcadia advanced them to the Semifinals which took place in Utica on February 25th against the Manhattanville Valiants. In that game, the Pioneers dismantled the Valiants 11-0 and advanced to the UCHC

Photo credit: Scott Kinville - Colgate Raiders Women’s Hockey. take place on March 3rd in New Haven, Connecticut.

HOCKEY From Page 10

Championship game which they will play at the Adirondack Bank Center on March 4th against the second-seed Nazareth Golden Flyers.

#12 Utica Pioneers

Women’s Hockey

Record: 22-2-3 (overall), 17-1-2 (UCHC).

Goal Differential: +108.

Goals Per Game: 4.9.

Goals Against Per Game: 0.9.

Head Coach: Dave Clausen.

The twelfth-ranked Pioneers entered the UCHC Tournament as the conference’s number two seed and opened their Tournament schedule on February 22nd by defeating Lebanon Valley 4-0 at the Nexus Center. The win over Lebanon Valley advanced the Pioneers to the Semifinals, where they hosted the Manhattanville Valiants on February 25th and dominated the Valiants in a 7-1 win. They will now travel to Rochester to face the number one seed and thirteenthranked Nazareth Golden Flyers on March 4th for the UCHC Tournament Championship game.

#6 Hamilton College Continentals Women’s Hockey

Record: 19-4-2 (overall), 12-3-1 (NESCAC).

Goal Differential: +39.

Goals Per Game: 2.7.

Goals Against Per Game:

1.2.

Head Coach: Emily McNamara.

The sixth-ranked Hamilton College Continentals Women’s Team is the number two seed in the NESCAC Postseason Tournament. They opened their tournament on February 25th at Sage Rink where they defeated the seventh seed Williams Ephs 3-1. They will now play the third seed Colby Mules in the Semifinals on March 3rd at Sage Rink. The Continentals defeated the Mules in both games they played this season by scores of 1-0 and 3-0 respectively.

Hamilton College Continentals Men’s Hockey

Record: 13-10-2 (overall), 11-5-2 (NESCAC).

Goal Differential: +10.

Goals Per Game: 2.7.

Goals Against Per Game: 2.3.

Head Coach Rob Haberbusch.

The fourth-seeded Continentals hosted the fifth-seed Colby Mules in a one-game NESCAC Tournament Quarterfinals matchup on February 25th at Sage Rink. The Continentals lost a heartbreaker dropping a 3-2 decision in overtime to the Mules. With the loss, the Continentals were eliminated from the NESCAC Tournament.

NINA From Page 3

music. “His wife didn’t know anything. Nobody knew,” she said.

Sheppard asked if he’d like her to send the package over because he was now the musician in the family. “I sent him everything. All the sheet music, and I also sent him a song of mine. When Patrick went home, he started talking to his mate Sam and told him that his dad had written all this music.”

At the time, Sam was studying film and wanted to do movies. “He was working for Longtail

Films and told Pat this would make a great documentary.”

Sam then pitched it to his boss, and the rest is history. “The film took two years from the idea to the filming this past November,” stated Sheppard.

“That’s how the movie came about,” she said.

If you’d like to watch the trailer for the film, register for the free event, or purchase raffle tickets, please visit creativeoutpost.org/ events/.

The film will also be livestreamed, but you must register for a unique viewing link.

TO BRING THOSE SONGS TO LIFE

JOIN US FOR WINE, CHEESE AND MUSIC IN A FUN-FILLED EVENING OF HISTORY

STIVALA AND HIS JAZZ TRIO

FIFTY-TWO

YEARS AGO EIGHT SONGS WERE WRITTEN FOR THE LEGENDARY NINA SIMONE TO PERFORM UNFORTUNATELY, SIMONE DIED BEFORE ANY OF THEM WERE RECORDED A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE LOST MUSIC WAS MADE WITH LITTLE FALLS RESIDENT STEPHANIE SHEPPARD IN THE FILM SUPERSTAR EMELI SANDE SETS OUT ON AN EMOTIONAL JOURNEY