More than 330 banners up on poles in St Johnsville, Dolgeville is next

By Dave Warner

The Village of St Johnsville is close to completing the installation of over 330 Hometown Heroes banners on poles. The idea came from Julie

Rider Erno in October of last year when she made a post on Facebook talking about the program.

“I only expected to get maybe 50 to fill Main St, and the response has been amazing,” she stated.

Erno continued, “I have driven thru numerous villages and towns where these Military Banners are displayed and thought what an honor it must be for these communities to have these banners displaying their hometown servicemen and women, so I reached out to the program administrator, and with a group effort the details were all worked out.”

She provided details in the post about how community members could participate and where they could fill out the forms to do so. She intended for the banners to be displayed between Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Months later, the campaign has been an enormous success, with the remaining banners all ready to be installed.

Erno stated, “We were so close to using almost every single utility pole in the Village (and approximately one mile to the East and West of the Village) that we decided to keep going until we used them all.”

They expect to hang approximately 100+ banners within the next couple of weeks and will have them all up for the beautiful Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony that the American Legion members work hard to put together each year for the community.

Judy Sinner said, “Simply amazing! I have always been proud to be from St.Johnsville, but the hanging of these beautiful banners makes me feel like I ‘won the jackpot,’ all because my parents chose to settle here back in the 30s. Thank you to all who have truly put St. Johnsville on the map!”

Beth Kramer stated, “The only thought that came to my mind was God did bless StJ with amazing heroes.”

The campaign has spurred other communities to take action, and in a recent Facebook post, Mary Puznowski, Mayor of the Village of Dolgeville, stated, “A group has been formed to organize the Dolgeville Military Banner Program to salute our local Veterans, current or former. You may have seen them in other communities. Recently St Johnsville has honored its Vets, and if you’ve driven through, you will have seen the village decked out with over 300 banners!”

The banners in Dolgeville will be displayed yearround, and the cost will be $225. A picture of your veteran is front and center with their name, military branch, and years served. Wartime soldiers will have what war they served during. A picture in a military uniform is needed.

Application forms are available for pick up at:

Big M Village of Dolgveille Offices

Town of Manheim Office

Dawn’s Dawgs

For more information, you may contact:

Sam Licari, 315-8673931, Slicari@twcny. rr.com

Carmen Licari, 518-7276024, Cal44@mail.com can be repurposed into something beautiful. You can’t compare the modern technology of today’s newly made furniture with how things were done in the days of old. They just do not make things the way they used to.

Julie Rider-Erno, 518225-3872, ernojulie@ gmail.com.

The company that is responsible for creating the banners is now meeting with interested individuals in Fort Plain, so yet another Mohawk Valley community may be honoring their Veterans in this fashion soon.

Furniture today is mostly pressed board with veneers, made shabbily and not for the long haul. I love pieces that can be passed down from generation to generation. The creative process soothes my soul, allows me to take a breath, focus on the task at hand, and shuts out the noise from a normally chaotic life.

During the past three years, I spent time and energy redoing a beautiful old building, the former Asteroga House on Burwell Street in Little Falls, into an Airbnb boutique hotel. I loved the creative process that unfolded during a time that affected our lives and put us all to the test. That was the birth of Redefined Alchemy LLC….REDEFINED: to define again or differently ALCHEMY: a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination.

Not only was the building undergoing a transformation so was I after losing a career I’d had for just about 40 years.

Redefined Alchemy LLC and Redefined Alchemy

Home was born from a desire to create more than just wonderful spaces for people to stay. I want to create furniture and more. To take discarded or rejected items and use quality materials, imagination, and simple techniques to re-imagine them as items that can be treasured in a unique home setting. Like yours.

Because I find such joy in creating, I want to share this with anyone who wants to learn. I believe everyone is creative at their core, and I want to encourage you to look with new eyes at what’s around you and imagine ways to change and beautify your surroundings because it’s fun. Because it’s empowering. Because it’s good for the soul and the planet to RE-USE and RE-imagine and, of course, to Redefine. To know the value of good stuff and breathe life into what’s old and dusty. To create from simple materials. To create from your very own hands.

I use Wise Owl Chalk paint on my treasures and feature it in Redefined Alchemy Home. The reason I chose Wise Owl Paint is to Redefine my found treasures…. Wise Owl Paint is made in the

USA and is a womanowned and run company. Its focus is on creating something beneficial to the environment and making the earth a better place.

Wise Owl Paint is made from scratch. Many furniture paints are made using box-store latex paint with minerals added. This poses health risks regarding inhaling crystalline silicates but also affects performance. Paint made from scratch has the minerals and chalk added in the beginning and is “part of the grind,” so they are fully incorporated into the paint. This greatly increases the paint’s lifespan and ensures the minerals won’t settle at the bottom of the can, affecting adhesion. You will also experience a much smoother selfleveling finish because of this.

Wise Owl Paint stays very connected to both customers and retailers alike. Karen Chouinard, the owner, is an Environmental Scientist, and it’s important to her that she truly “walk the talk” when innovating the safest products that will not negatively impact our environment.

Wise Owl Paint remains grassroots and plans to stay that way to help ensure hands-on quality control & safety.

Quality is of the utmost importance to the creators of Wise Owl paint and products. They choose quality over profit, which is why I chose to carry their line and use it on the furniture pieces that I Redefine.

Wise Owl Chalk Synthesis is zero VOC, and Wise Owl One Hour Enamel paint is very low VOC. Volatile organic compounds are off-gassed into our environment and your home; compromising your health or the environment is not something we would ever consider.

Wise Owl Paint is

Please See HOME Page 6

City of Little Falls

May 2, 2023

Common Council Meeting - Auditing of the bills: 6:30 p.m. Regular Meeting: 7:00 p.m.

May 3, 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.

May 4, 2023

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

May 4, 2023

Harbor Commission Meeting 9:00 am in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

May 9, 2023

CALENDAR OF EVENTS - MAY

Recreation Committee Meeting 6:00 pm in the Mayor’s Conference room in City Hall.

May 17, 2023

Golf Commission Meeting - 8:00 am at the Little Falls Municipal Golf Course.

May 20, 2023

Holy Family Parish Garage Sale Event. Multiple family donations, 637 East John St behind academy apartments, 9-6

May 21, 2023

Holy Family Parish Garage Sale Event 10-1.

May 22, 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

May 5, 2023

Playdate 10am. Sharon’s bracelet class 3-4:45 pm.

May 6, 2023

Munson summer exhibit presentation 1 pm. Knitting & Crochet 11 am.

May 8, 2023

Teen creative writing 5 - 6 pm.

May 9, 2023

Laurie’s make & take 3:30-5:30 pm.

May 10, 2023

Toddler time 10 & 11:15 am. Flash fiction 5:30 pm.

May 11, 2023

20s & 30s club. Game night 5:30-7 pm.

May 12, 2023

Playdate 10 am.

May 13, 2023

Knitting & crochet 11 am. Death cafe 1 pm.

May 15, 2023

Teen creative writing 5-6 pm.

May 17, 2023

Toddler time 10 & 11:15 am. Flash fiction 5:30 pm.

May 19, 2023

Playdate 10 am.

May 20, 2023

Knitting & crochet 11 am. Book talk on ‘Hot Topic’ 12:30 pm. Kids craft 1 pm.

May 22, 2023

Teen creative writing 5-6 pm. Book Club “The Alice Network’ 5:30 pm.

May 24, 2023

Toddler time 10 & 11:15 am.

May 26, 2023

Playdate 10 am.

May 27, 2023

Knitting & crochet 11 am.

Lunch at the LibraryMexican food 1 pm.

May 29, 2023

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:10am-7pm

Closed for Memorial Day

May 30, 2023

Dream workshop 5:45 pm.

May 31, 2023

Toddler time 10 & 11:15 am. Flash fiction 5:30 pm.

Little Falls Elks

May 5, 2023

Normal Dinner with Cinco de Mayo specials - 5PM start time

May 12, 2023

Last Dinner for the season - 5PM start time.

May 13, 2023

Paint n Sip 7 pm. All paint supplies and 2 drinks included. $45. Proceeds to benefit Little Falls Cub Scouts.

May 20, 2023

The Powerhouse Rock Festival. Doors open at Noon, FREE to the public. Bring a canned good for donation.

Dolgeville

May 4, 2023

Dolgeville Forward regular meetingThursday 6:30 PM, George Ward Memorial Library.

May 4, 2023

National day of prayer service 7 pm in front of Dolgeville Village Hall, 41 N Main St. Sponsored by Dolgeville Ministerium. Bring lawn chairs if you wish.

May 20, 2023

Dolgeville Farmers’ Market - Saturday, 9 AM - 1 PM, Plowe Park

May 20, 2023

Please See EVENTS Page 5

EVENTS From Page 4

Village-Wide Clean Up and Beautification Weekend - Saturday, May 20th and Sunday, May 21st (Check the Dolgeville Facebook Page for specific dates/ times for volunteer opportunities.)

May 27, 2023

Dolgeville Farmers’ Market - Saturday, 9 AM - 1 PM, Plowe Park

May 29, 2023

Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony - Monday, 9:30 AM - Parade

Begins on Main Street, Ceremony in Veterans’ Park on Elm Street following the parade.

Stone Arabia

May 5, 2023

Music will ring from the old rafters at Trinity Lutheran Church, a historic church built in 1792 in Stone Arabia. The church located on Rt 10N in Palatine Bridge will host an Organ Variety Concert on Friday, May 5th at 7 pm.

This year’s exciting program theme is “Nostalgia” and will feature classical music, upbeat music, selections from Broadway musicals Show Boat, Momma Mia, and Brigadoon, use of the original organ hand pump by award winning organist Helen Maksymicz, and much more.

Area musicians are Rev. Mark Fowler, Helen Maksymicz, Martha Regelmann, Irena Garin, Connie Chamberlain, Sidney Chase, Vicente Nunrez, Norma Bowley, Parker Shults, Orion Pratt, and Paul and Jeannette Kling. Refreshments and free will donation.