GOING PLACES WITH RICHARD WIESE
Sparta NJ Renaissance Festival
September 7-8, 14-15, 21-22 Sparta, NJ spartarenfaire.com
Sussex County Day September 15
Sussex County Fairgrounds Augusta, NJ sussexcountychamber.org
Annual Oktoberfest
September 21-22
Mountain Creek Vernon, NJ mountaincreek.com
Jack O’Lantern Experience September 20 –November 3
Skylands Stadium Augusta, NJ skylandsstadium.com
Wild West City Stanhope, NJ wildwestcity.com
EXPERIENCE
Publisher & Editor
Amy Bridge publisher@milfordjournal.com
Richard Wiese takes a time out with a friend in Australia.
courtesy of Richard Wiese
Graphic Design
Maureen Taylor
Susan Mednick susanmed2@optonline.net
The
Journalists
Julia Schmitt Healy • Bob Chernow
Associate Editor
B’Ann Bowman
Advertising Team
Amy Bridge amy@milfordjournal.com
Kimberly Hess kimberlyhess212@gmail.com
Marianna P. Knowles • Lisa K. Winkler
Jane Primerano • Eric Francis
The tri-state upper Delaware River highlands and valleys are a place of rare beauty…
Seeing the region and living in it almost aren’t enough. Such beauty should be captured on canvas or film so that one can truly appreciate it, glimpse it in the quiet of an art gallery or museum, or between the pages of a poetry book or literary sketch.
The Journal Group’s mission is to capture these momentary snapshots of beauty graphically and through the written word. We celebrate our area and the uniqueness of the people who live and work in the tri-state region. From Pike to Wayne and Monroe to Lackawanna Counties in Pennsylvania, upriver to Sullivan County and on to Orange County in New York, and to the headwaters of the Wallkill River and
Mission
Editorial Readers Robert Bowman Amy Smith
David Dangler dangler908@yahoo.com
The Poet Paulette Calasibetta
along Warren and Sussex Counties’ rolling hills in New Jersey, with quaint, historic towns and hamlets at the center, the Journal Group opens its doors to our communities, businesses and organizations, to serve as a communicative journal of all that we have to offer for those who live here and for those who love to visit us, too.
Publication Information
The Journal Group publishes The Journal ten times a year and distributes it in eight counties in PA, NJ and NY. We assume no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. Contents may not be reproduced in any form without prior written permission. We reserve the right to refuse to print advertisements that we deem inappropriate. All rights reserved.
GOING PLACES WITH RICHARD WIESE
Explorer
Photo
From the Heart to the Kitchen
Working the farm is not easy work. It takes total dedication to the lifestyle and also to the end goal, which is, as the saying goes, “feed the belly, feed the soul.”
Understanding that our farmers nurture our spirit through their food gives eating local a new meaning.
We’re so lucky to live in an area that’s abundant with freshly grown fruit and vegetables. Have you been to a pick-your-own-fruit field or stopped at a farmers market or roadside stand to pick up some ears of local corn, heirloom tomatoes, or freshly grown herbs?
We have dairy farms that make cheese and bottle milk; apiaries that raise honeybees; entrepreneurs making cheese, jam, yogurt, and hot sauce (to name a few); and, of course, farm to table chefs and bakers. You may be surprised by what this area yields. Now, we can add artisan grains to the list.
Speaking of local agriculture, this is the state fair time of year. Consider attending our local fairs; they’re a nod to
days of yore, with a modern twist. State fairs have been around since the NY State Fair, held in Syracuse in 1841, which was founded to promote agriculture through livestock competition. They have since evolved to include much more, and their popularity continues with each new generation.
We have two fairs in our area, both held from August 2nd to August 10th. At the fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ, visit the Snook Agricultural Museum to see a collection of antique farming tools and interactive displays or stop in the Rare Heritage Breeds Education Center to see some mighty cute animals. There’s an opportunity to see and understand what and how our farmers produce and maybe even meet some of them. In Honesdale, PA, you can watch an old-fashioned Tractor Pull at the Wayne County Fair or participate in the 4-H Fun Day.
As you drive down our country roads, keep in mind that country life is all about planting seeds and growing roots.
Mourning Doves in Nature
Hear the soft coo-cooing that faithful love imparts, mourning doves, sharing their beating hearts.
On lofty eaves, build nests of winter pine and twigs, Keeping their eggs close to their breasts.
Oval shaped, snowy white, they hatch and come alive; A brood grows and will survive.
Plump bodies speckled in gray and black; Take flight with fanned out tails that reveal a fringe of white.
The warm summer is nearing its end, Mourning Doves and Fledglings Together, will ascend; blue skies headed for the border of Mexico.
- Paulette Calasibetta
Around the Towns Summer
August 2nd–10th
10 a.m.–10 p.m.
Red Rooster Wine & Beer Garden. New Jersey State Fairgrounds, Augusta, NJ. Open daily at the fair. Music nightly and karaoke contest. Fundraising tent for capital improvements. Info: sussexcountyfairgrounds.org.
10 a.m.–11 p.m.
Wayne County Fair. Honesdale, PA. Rides, animals, food, shows. Info: 570.253.2942, waynecountyfair.com.
Weekdays Noon–10 p.m.
Weekends 10 a.m.–10 p.m.
New Jersey State Fair & Sussex County Farm & Horse Show. New Jersey State Fairgrounds, Augusta, NJ. Info: 973.948.5500, www.sussex countyfairgrounds.org.
August 3rd
Saturday 4–6 p.m.
Picasso Was Right. Krause Recital Hall, Narrowsburg, NY. Showcases work of young local artists, ages 2–14. Hosted by Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, Barryville Arts Association, & Sunshine Hall Free Library. Free. Refreshments. Info: barryvilleareaarts.org.
6 p.m.
Wildflower Music Concert Series. DorflingerSuydam Wildlife Sanctuary, White Mills, PA. Outdoor festival. $13–$26. Also August 10th & 17th. Info: 570.253.5500, www. dorflinger.org.
August 3rd–4th
Saturday 7 p.m. Sunday 2 p.m.
Two Operas by Gian Carlo Menotti. Delaware Valley Opera Center, Lake Huntington, NY. The Telephone and The Old Maid and the Thief, presented by the Delaware Valley Opera. $35. Also August 10th & 11th. Info: 845.887.3083, delawarevalleyopera.org.
August 6th
Tuesday 6–9 p.m.
Black Dirt Feast. Social Island, Goshen, NY. $150. Features dishes by award-winning local chefs. Hosted by the Pine Island Chamber of Commerce. Benefits local food pantries, beautification, scholarships. Info: 845.258.1469, www.pineislandny.com
August 9th
Friday 6 p.m.
August 10th
Saturday 11:30 a.m.
Bike Ride. Warbasse Junction, NJ. Hosted by the Paulinskill Valley Trail Committee. Info: paul_rottmann@hotmail.com, www. trailLink.com.
1–4 p.m.
Edible & Medicinal Plant Walk. Van Scott Nature Reserve, Beach Lake, PA. With Heather Houskeeper, the Botanical Hiker. $10–$15. Hosted by the Delaware Highlands Conservancy. Info: 570.226.3164, www.delawarehighlands.org.
6–9 p.m.
Farm to Plate Dinner & Auction. Watres Lodge, Lacawac Sanctuary, Lake Ariel, PA. Live music, locally sourced menu. Benefits Lacawac mission to preserve the environment. $95. Info: 570.689.9494, www.lacawac.org.
August 11th
Sunday 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Bagel Festival. Broadway, Monticello, NY. Food, music, crafts, car show. Hosted by Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce. Info: 845.791.4200, thebagelfestival.org.
2 p.m.
Birds of Prey. Delaware Township Municipal Building, Dingmans Ferry, PA. Presentation by Bill Streeter, Raptor Center. Free. Donations accepted. Info: dfhistotical1735@gmail. com, dingmansferryhistoricalsociety.org.
2 p.m.
Music in the Park: The Joe Ferry Experience. Ann Street Park, Milford, PA. Presented by Milford Borough Parks and Recreation. Info: Facebook: Music in Milford PA.
3–6 p.m.
Ice Cream Social and Free Summer Concert. Grey Towers, Milford, PA. Celebrate Gifford Pinchot’s birthday and enjoy music by the Chamberlain Brass. Hosted by Kindred Spirits Arts Programs and Grey Towers Heritage Association. Info: 570.296.9630, www. greytowers.org.
August 13th
Tuesday 8 p.m.
Sunset Concert Series: Evening of Chamber Music. Sunset Concert Pavilion, Livingston Manor, NY. $10–$35. Presented by the Shandelee Music Festival. Info & other dates: 845.439.3277, shandelee.org
August 16th–18th
25th Anniversary Reunion Party. Landing at Matamoras, Matamoras, PA. Celebrate upcoming Silver Anniversary of Black Bear Film Festival. $65. Buffet dinner, cash bar. Info: blackbearfilm.com.
Friday-Sunday
A Weekend with a Difference. Kadampa Meditation Center, Glen Spey, NY. Drama, art
& outdoor games. Experience periods of silence and contemplation. Great for families with children, ages 5-11. $60. Info: 845.856.9000, www.kadampany.org.
August 17th
Saturday 10 a.m.
Tannersville Cranberry Bog Preserve. Pocono Township, PA. Hike with the Kettle Creek Environmental Education Center staff. Hosted by Brodhead Watershed Association. Info: 570.839.1120, brodheadwatershed.org.
5:30 p.m.
Tradition and Passion: Carlos Arturo Bedoya. Grey Towers, Milford, PA. Classical guitarist with cellist Yosif Feigleson. $25. Hosted by Kindred Spirits Arts Programs. Info: www. kindredspiritsarts.org.
6–8 p.m.
Farm to Table Dinner. PEEC, Dingmans Ferry, PA. Features local produce. $45. Info: 570.828.2319, peec.org.
August 18th
Sunday 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
Car Show. Frankford Township, NJ. Benefits Father John’s Animal House. Hosted by Frankford Township Clean Communities & Lost in Time Car Club. Info: 973.948.5566, www.frankfordtownship.org.
August 21st
Wednesday 6–9 p.m.
Farm to Table Epicurious Dinner. The Barn at Perona Farms, Andover, NJ. $350. Supports the Patriots Path Council, Boy Scouts of America. Info: 973.765.9322, ppcbsa.org.
August 23rd–25th
Friday–Sunday
Wally Lake Fest. Lake Wallenpaupack, Hawley, PA. Sailboat rides, bike ride, crafts, music, beer fest & more. Info: 570.226.3191, www.northernpoconos.org.
August 24th
Saturday 11 a.m.–9 p.m.
Fuller Moon Arts Festival. Mountain Lake Park, Warwick, NY. Interactive art displays, live music, dance performances, artisans’ market, farm-to-table food. $15/adults, $10/ children 6–18 & seniors. Presented by Wickham Works and the Warwick Center for the Performing Arts. Info: www.fullermoon artsfest.com.
2–4 p.m.
Artful Bears Debut. Community House, Milford, PA. Free. Meet the bears; enjoy music. Bears will be on display around Milford, August 24th–October 15th. Info: 570.832.4858, www.blackbearfilm.com/art ful-bears.
2–8 p.m.
Tractor Parade. Fire House, Sandyston Township, NJ. Great food. Bring your lawn chairs. Benefits Sandyston Township Volunteer Fire Department. Info: 973.948.3520, sandystontownship.com.
5 p.m.
Boots, Bourbon, Barbeque! Richards Building, Sussex County Fairgrounds, Augusta, NJ. Farm to fair dinner, live music, auctions, wagon rides & more. $75. Benefits improvements in the outdoor entertainment area. Info: 973.948.5500, www.sussexcountyfair grounds.org.
August 24th–25th
Saturday–Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Pocono State Craft Festival. Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm, Stroudsburg, PA. Adults/$6, under 12/free. Fine arts & crafts, demonstrations, music. Info: 570.992.6161, www.quietvalley.org.
August 25th
Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Sweet Corn Festival. New Hampton, NY. Corn maze, petting zoo, music & more. $10/ car load. Presented by Kiwanis Club of Minisink Valley, Info: www.ocsweetcorn.com.
2 p.m.
Saving Our Pollinators and Monarch Butterflies. Foster Armstrong House, Montague, NJ. Hosted by M.A.R.C.H.. Info: 973.293.3106, Facebook: Montague Assoc. for the Restoration of Community History.
2:00–3:30 p.m.
Camp Woodland and Catskill Folk Music. Time and the Valleys Museum, Grahamsville, NY. A program featuring the story of the preservation efforts of Camp Woodland and live music based on songs collected in the Catskills. Info: 845.985.7700, www.time andthevalleysmuseum.org.
4–6 p.m.
Opera! Pike! Park! Ann Street Park, Milford, PA. Performances by Academy of Vocal Arts. Free general admission. Presented by Milford Borough’s Parks and Recreation Committee. Info: pikeopera.com, Facebook: Pike Opera.
August 29th
Thursday 1–7 p.m.
Pint for a Pint: Blood Drive. Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Sparta, NJ. Give blood and get a free beverage from a participating venue. Info: 800.933.BLOOD, nybc. org/pint.
August 31st
Saturday 9–10 a.m.
Flower Workshop. Willow Wisp Organic Farm, Damascus, PA. Growing & arranging cut flowers. $45. Hosted by Farm Arts Collective. Info: 570.798.9530, www.farm artscollective.org.
September 1st
Sunday 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
OCLive! Hudson Sports Complex, Warwick, NY. Art festival. Artists booths, makers market, live music, food trucks & more. Presented by the Orange County NY Arts Council. Info: 845.202.0140, ocartscouncil.org.
Pub Style Food • Budget Friendly Online Ordering Available Dine In or Take Out
HOURS Mon-Fri: Noon-9pm Sat: 9am-9pm • Sun: 9am-8pm
Breakfast Served 9am-12pm Saturdays & Sundays!
Doordash Delivery Daily: 3pm-8pm
Route 206 • Byram, NJ
Namibia.
Photos courtesy of Richard Wiese
Born to Explore Richard Wiese
He’s placed satellite collars on jaguars, he’s climbed Mount Kilimanjaro eighteen times, he’s skied cross-country to the North Pole, he was the youngest-ever president of the Explorers Club and, well, it goes on and the list is dizzying!
So, “Where in the World is Richard Wiese?” In September, he’ll be in Milford, Pennsylvania.
Among the headliners coming to the 2024 Milford Readers and Writers Festival, Richard Wiese is one of the more unusual. His book, Born to Explore: How to Be a Backyard Adventurer, was published in 2009, and, although it looks like there might be a reprint coming out at some point, most of his work has been in non-print media: television, videos, public lectures, and appearances at conferences— all of which are rich in narrative.
Born in Long Island, New York, Wiese attended St. Anthony’s High School in Smithtown. At age 11, his father, a pilot for Pan Am, took him to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Clearly, that was a seminal experience that helped inform his lifelong love of adventure and exploration.
Wiese notes, “We got free travel back in the day. So I was taken places. As a pilot, my father knew celestial navigation. He knew weather. I just picked things up. Like a ring around the moon means rain.”
While a teenager, he worked on a project creating the first artificial reef in the Long Island Sound. “I learned to scuba dive and got this opportunity through a friend of my older sister,” he says. “I had great parents and good circumstances.”
Wiese went to college at Brown University, majoring in geology and biology, and, subsequently, fell into a variety of jobs after being spotted on campus by a talent scout. He had small parts in two feature films—one starring Brooke Shields. He modeled and was in commercials. He even appeared in some skits on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s. “A confluence of things,” as he describes it.
In late June, I spoke to Wiese, who told me he “moved upstream from NYC to Connecticut to have children, many years ago.” He had just returned from the Azores, where he had attended the Annual Global Exploration Summit, which he helped found along with the nation of Portugal. According to Wikipedia, the summit is considered to be the “Davos of Exploration.” He tells me he has met incredible people there from all over the world and that the Azores are so beautiful, “And they’re only four and a half hours from Newark Airport. People don’t realize how close they are.”
I ask him about his experiences with the Explorers Club. “Well,” he replies, “you really feel the history of the place when you step inside. So many great explorers from the early 1900s on.” Amundsen. Peary. All the greats. He then confides, though, “it’s a bit like herding cats—there are so many strong personalities involved, male and female!”
While president, Wiese founded the Explorers Club 50, which recognizes fifty people each year who are changing the world.
“EC50 was designed to give recognition to explorers or scientists who are doing great work but who are not necessarily known figures, yet,” Wiese explains. “We wanted to paint a picture of the great diversity of exploration while giving a voice to explorers who may not have access or the opportunity to have their work recognized or message amplified.”
In 2024, the group includes ecologists, geologists, curators, conservators, biologists, archeologists, and even a herpetologist. The awardees are working with climate change and ecological issues, as well as helping support diversity, cutting-edge science and advances, and ideas for assuring the future of our planet. He observes, “When you do things, you need to think about the idea of nobility of purpose. ‘Do well by doing good,’ as Benjamin Franklin said.”
His television series, Born to Explore with Richard Wiese, premiered in 2011, and through 2016, it aired on Saturday mornings on ABC. In 2017, Born to Explore debuted on American Public Television stations nationwide. The show has been nominated for numerous Emmys and has won for Outstanding Children’s Series, Single Camera Photography, and Sound Mixing.
The series has taken Wiese and his crew to locations all over the globe including Uganda, Morocco (one of his favorite places, he says), Namibia, Cyprus, Hawaii, India, Iceland, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Chile, and even New York City. “Not everyone can travel. So, shows like these can help bridge the cultural gaps.”
More recently, he has teamed up with Yankee Magazine and has been doing episodes of Weekends with Yankee
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for PBS. “I often explore local places. There’s definitely a ‘hidden New England.’ Mount Washington. Shelburne, Vermont. Lake Champlain is like Lake Como—just beautiful.”
Does he have hobbies? “Fishing. Canoeing. Hiking with my dog.” He mentions an app he uses called Alltrails. “You can find hiking trails wherever you are.”
As a traveler myself, I want to know what he thinks is bad about travel these days. He mentions two things. “Quick Travel. You don’t get to know a place unless you are there for a time.” And then he introduces me to a concept I haven’t heard of before: Anticipointment. “It’s when you have expectations but…it’s crowded, people are taking selfies, you can’t absorb what you’re looking at. Like going to see the Mona Lisa. You can’t really see it.”
I ask where he still wants to travel. His reply: “Greenland. I want to see Southern China more. I’d like to get to the inner Amazon. Egypt. I’d like to go on a submarine in the Long Island Sound.” (Who knew it’s 200–300 feet deep? I didn’t.)
Currently, he tells me he’s going to be involved in a Schooner Race in Maine…Then he’s the president of Monaco’s Super Yacht Innovation Awards, and I guess that involves going there, and, yes, it’s that Monaco and, yes, he is a friend of Prince Albert! There are other irons in the fire: jurying a yacht competition, being invited to a U.S. Postal Service dedication, he knows not why.
I suggest he write an autobiography…Clearly, I’m not the first to come up with that idea. No “yes” or “no” is forthcoming.
According to Wiese, “There’s so much for us to learn and experience. The world is like a diverse tapestry of different colors, textures and threads of science, nature, and things to explore. I think there is much joy in the world. To some extent, happiness is a choice. Character is not defined by how you stand on a summit waving a flag, but defined on how you pull yourself out of a crevice. The real joy of exploration is sharing the experience and knowing that you may have made someone’s life better.”
And he’d likely have all the equipment needed to do so in his backpack.
Richard Wiese’s presentation at the 2024 Milford Readers and Writers Festival is at the Milford Theater, Saturday, September 14th, 3:45–5:00 p.m. For more information about Wiese, visit Instagram @richardwiese.
Julia Schmitt Healy is an artist, art professor, and occasional writer, living and working in Port Jervis, New York. Her art is represented by Western Exhibitions in Chicago (westernex hibitions.com), and you can view her work at Juliahealy.com.
INTERESTING FACTS
l In 2003, People Magazine named Richard Wiese one of the year’s “Hottest Bachelors.”
l In his book, Born to Explore: How to Be a Backyard Adventurer, he has how-tos on such things as How to Build an Igloo, Making an Altoids Survival Kit, Building a Six-Hour Canoe, Making a Simple Thermometer, and 30 or 40 other fun projects.
l Wiese once surprised his neighbors in Connecticut by making piles of snow in his yard…in the summer!
l The Boy Scouts named a camp after him, and at the National Jamboree, he relates that he got a bad case of chiggers on his bottom. The treatment is to paint nail polish on the burrowed chiggers, and there he was, having someone help him accomplish this task while they were wearing a Richard Wiese Camp t-shirt.
l Wiese happened to be on Mt. Everest on the 10th Anniversary of the death of Rob Hall, whose 1997 ordeal was described in the book, Into Thin Air. At 16,000 feet, he and a friend broke off from the group to visit a Tea House and happened to meet a 10-year-old boy, who was with his mom to visit “Daddy’s grave.” He turned out to be Hall’s son, who was still in utero when his dad died.
l Explorers Club members’ firsts include: first to the North Pole (Peary and Henson), first to the South Pole (Amundsen), first to the summit of Mt. Everest (Hillary and Norgay), first to the deepest point in the ocean (Walsh and Piccard), and first to the surface of the moon (Armstrong and Aldrin).
Photos courtesy of Ruth Perretti
Reviving the Local Grain Belt, Organically Marksboro Mills
C appy’s was iconic.
Anyone driving through Marksboro on Route 94 in Frelinghuysen Township, Warren County, NJ, knew H. G. Rydell Farm Equipment, but they knew it as Cappy’s, Harold Rydell’s nickname.
Over the past year, they are getting to know Marksboro Mills.
Many farmers in this old farming community needed Rydell’s years of experience and incredible collection of spare equipment parts, but now traditional farmers are taking advantage of a completely different service provided in the same building by River Valley Community Grains.
It is here, inside Marksboro Mills, that grain millers Lenny Bussanich, Laurence Mahmarian, and Michael Hozer were glad to move from a shared space in the Red Barn Kitchen Incubator, a small barn located in Long Valley, NJ, to Marksboro’s 4,500-square-foot space with several outbuildings.
Cappy’s family no longer owns the property, having sold it to neighbor Ruth Perretti in 2020. She owns and operates Ruthie’s Farm, across the way, on the Paulinskill River side of Route 94. Perretti’s parents owned 40 acres on the river and knew the Rydells. Her mother had a book inscribed to her by Cappy’s brother, Charlie, who was mayor of Frelinghuysen Township for 36 years.
As a former restaurant owner in Montclair, NJ, Ruth Perretti was inspired to incorporate her love of food with her love of the area into her idea to start a small-batch processing service for grain farmers. So, after much research, Marksboro Mills was created. The vision was to start a communal working space and agricultural hub by providing space and resources for local millers and makers to revive the legacy of the local grain belt.
“I wanted to give back to the community, to help restore this place, this natural world of healthy fields and beautiful water that has been so important to my life. I envisioned an old world, where small, close relationships among grower, miller, and baker were essential,” Ruth
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noted. “As a professional baker, I yearned for the superior quality and taste that is had from local grains. I started the mill as a model, an example. We should have multiple mills like this. At one time, the northern New Jersey area was replete with grist mills that ran on stream power. It was the largest exporter of flour.”
Perretti had been coming to her parents’ property since the 1970s, and in the ’90s, while she was working in fashion and design in New York City, Marksboro became her second home. This led her to build a deeper connection with the community and connect with the land.
Perretti’s father introduced her to programs at the former learning center that was operated by Genesis Farm in Blairstown. Sr. Miriam MacGillis, the Dominican nun whose vision for sustainable agriculture had created Genesis, was very involved in the Musconetcong River Valley Restoration Project. According to Len Bussanich, Sr. Miriam was one of the earliest to see promise for more grain production.
River Valley Community Grains, as well as the Foodshed Alliance, was already affiliated with OGRIN, the Organic Growers Research and Sharing Network, as a part of
the Restoration Project, which has a goal of restoring the great basin between the Delaware and Hudson Rivers, traversed by several major streams including the South Branch and the Pequest.
Sr. Miriam introduced Perretti to the millers of River Valley Community Grains, who became her inspiration for opening a full-time mill.“I was inspired by the millers’ commitment to restoring the local grain belt and wanted to build an infrastructure to help them succeed,” Ruth explained. “I agreed to supply my fields for River Valley to grow grains in a chemical-free environment. In doing so, we had to switch our own farm’s practices.”
In 2017, the River Valley millers introduced Perretti to organic farmer and farming consultant Elizabeth Dyck, OGRIN’s founder, who concentrates on training farmers in the NY, NJ, and PA area. “Elizabeth is the foremost agronomist and an expert on artisanal grains,” Ruth said. “I attended several of her talks and met with her for individual training sessions. She worked directly with my late farm manager, Tom Bennett, and came to meet with the millers to discuss procedures and resources.”
Ruth followed Dyck’s practices and built resiliency into
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Amy Bridge
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her soil. It took one and a half years for their first crop, winter wheat, to come up. “We now have absolutely beautiful, productive fields.”
“On July 10th,” she continued, “the partners held a Grains Field Day, sponsored by the Food Shed Alliance. We invited established grain growers to speak with those interested in starting a business. This is not just about growing crops. We shared knowledge about the science behind growing, the machinery needed, and the importance of rotating crops, which maintains the health of the soil by adding nutrients. We have a relationship with our growers; it’s integral to give them guidance and knowledge.”
Ruth explained that when a common commodity feed farmer switches to natural growing grain, it does not involve purchasing new equipment.
Today, the regional wheat milled at Marksboro Mills comes from a number of farms in New Jersey, including Ruthie’s Farm; Genesis Farm; Cold Brook Farm in Oldwick; Kimball’s Farm in White Township; and two in Pennsylvania, Small Valley in Halifax and 20/20 Farms in Munsee. A few new growers are joining this year. All farms are identified on the grain’s product packaging and are retailed at the mill.
The New American Stone Mill, a 48-inch mill, which was set up at Marksboro, is capable of stone grinding and sifting spring and winter wheat, as well as many other grains, such as rye, oats, buckwheat, corn, and barley. It’s the first to be used in New Jersey.
“We pour the grain through the hopper on top and gravity pulls it down into the stone mill; the moving stone then begins the grinding process,” Bussanich explained. “This mill has been a game changer for us. The flour is much finer than we were able to get it before, when we were using the tabletop mill. It also allows us to have the sifting capabilities to make all-purpose flour and a 00 flour that is great for pasta and pizza making. This has been a milestone for us; we can now mill at a higher production rate.”
Among the lesser-known grains, einkorn can be processed there. It is the most primitive wheat used today and can be harvested in the wild or as cultivated wheat. Containing more proteins and antioxidants than modern wheat, it is used in sourdough breads, cakes, and cookies. The mill produces and sells a pancake mix and three types of granola. The pancake mix uses einkorn, and the granola is a mixture of grains.
Spelt is higher in gluten than many other wheats and is preferred for its unique flavor. It can be used in bread, flatbread, pancakes, and quick breads. Emmer, also known as farro, is another grain that can be used like standard
Top: Ruth Perretti at the Frenchette Bakery, NYC.
Bottom: Eric Kaplan, Ruth’s husband, shows pizza made with artisan grains.
wheatberries in salads, soups, and grain bowls.
Marksboro Mills has sourced dried beans from upstate New York. Perretti and her grower John Bennett planted black beans for the first time this summer, which she is very excited about. Black beans are an extremely important rotation crop, and they now finally have the capability to grow them. The mill currently retails organic pinto beans, red kidney beans, and black beans.
Miller Bussanich explained he had wanted to jump start the local food economy for years but didn’t know where to start. He found Amy Halloran’s 2015 book The New Breadbasket: How the New Crop of Grain Growers, Plant Breeders, Millers, Maltsters, Bakers, Brewers and Local Food Activists are Redefining Our Daily Loaf, which tells stories of how bread and beer are once again building communities, even though most bread still comes from factory bakeries. The book posits that modern changes in farming and processing could be the real reason grains have become suspect in popular nutrition.
He then realized he would have to prove there was a market for artisanal and heritage grains. He and his partners have been successful so far, and the popularity of their products has exceeded his expectations. They have had no issue connecting artisan bakers to their products, as they are the only specialized mill in New Jersey. Before River Valley, Ruth said, artisan bakers needed to order artisan grains from specialized mills further north in the Northeast, as well as in Oregon and Washington state.
As the interest in heritage grains grows, the millers have built a consumer base at a number of farmers markets in the area. Word keeps spreading among environmentally conscious chefs, bakers, and retailers.
Perretti tells the story of going into Frenchette Bakery at the Whitney Museum of American Art in Manhattan and realizing that their head baker buys his flour from River Valley Community Grains. It was grown in her field and milled in Marksboro Mill. It must be a bit like seeing your baby spreading wings and embracing life as an independent adult. For Perretti, it was a moment to reflect, to be proud and sentimental, knowing that she’s literally sowed the seeds for future generations.
Because of the size of the new mill and its outbuildings, the partners have envisioned other uses. They would like to provide agro-education, and a kitchen was recently installed that is now available for incubator cooking classes and demonstrations. Artisan flours and fresh breads are available from Tuesdays to Saturdays. As it goes, up in the country, just look for the sign out front.
For more information about Marksboro Mills or to see a calendar of local events, visit www.marksboromills.com
• Cook the grains as you would brown rice (2:1 water to grain ratio).
• Rinse the grain first under running water. Then put the grain and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat, tightly cover, and simmer until the grain has reached the desired texture.
• If you like grains to be a bit crunchy, approximate cooking times (after bringing to a boil) would be 15–20 minutes for einkorn and 30–40 minutes for emmer, spelt, barley, rye, and wheat. If you soak the grain for several hours before cooking, times will be reduced.
• Cooked whole grains are excellent as side dishes or in salads, soups, and casseroles.
Blueberry Buckwheat Bundt Cake
Dry Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup brown sugar (I think dark is best for appearance)
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt (I use ¼ tsp.)
½ tsp orange zest, optional
Artisan Grain Recipes (from Elizabeth Dyck)
Cooked Grains (Works with wheat, einkorn, emmer, spelt, rye, barley.)
Wet Ingredients
2 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
6 tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup honey
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries (previously frozen, thawed blueberries work well.)
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a standard-size bundt pan and set aside.
• Combine (or sift together) the flours, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder (and orange zest if using).
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the buttermilk, butter, hon ey, and vanilla, whisking to mix well. (The butter and honey may harden a bit when added to the cold buttermilk, but vigorous whisking takes care of this—or set out the eggs and buttermilk to warm up before starting the recipe).
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to just combine. Do not overmix.
• Pour 1/3 of the batter into the bundt cake, top with ½ the blueberries. Pour in another 1/3 of the batter and top with remaining blueberries. Then add the remaining batter.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake rises and pulls away from the edges of the pan, usually 30–40 minutes. (Insert a thin knife or toothpick to test for doneness.)
• Cool for 10–15 minutes before upending on a wire rack. The cake often tastes best after 24 or more hours.
Schooling Generations
In this, the twenty-first century, we are experiencing an exciting period in our country’s history. These are the times to stand up and support our young women with all the knowledge of history that we possess and can share.
The Hemlock Farms Women’s Club in Lords Valley, PA, is an organization that has taken the initiative to do just that. The six women that make up the board, and on which I am proud to serve, are from all walks of life and have come together to promote women’s education through the Dorisann Mooring Scholarship.
For the past six years, we have presented this scholarship to young women residents in our community who choose to attend an institute of higher education. Among our applicants, we have seen a future chef, an opera singer, a student studying digital communications, and a criminal investigator, not to mention teachers, therapists, and so on.
How did we get to this point, and do young people take this for granted? Do they know that there was a time when women were not allowed to own property or even apply for a credit card in the United States?
On the local level, in the early twentieth century, Cornelia Bryce Pinchot, wife of two-time Pennsylvania gover-
nor Gifford Pinchot, was a modern woman who wished to maintain her role as a wife and mother while having a career, and she did that as an active participant in her husband’s political and conservation endeavors. While living at Grey Towers in Milford, PA, Cornelia was an important suffragist and role model. She had warned her husband that women wanted more than “hot air and generalities.” She served as secretary to the Pennsylvania Women’s Suffrage Association and later became active in the League of Women Voters.
The fight was hard, and women were granted the right to vote by the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution on August 18th, 1920. Yes, it’s hard to believe women in America were not allowed to vote until 1920 after decades of being ignored or voted down by Congress.
In 1848, at the beginning of the fight for women’s rights, a group of supporters had organized the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. This event created the original platform of the women’s movement as we know it, making it known that women wanted to be treated as individuals and have the same guaranteed rights that were extended to men.
In 1871, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony
Continued on next page
submitted a petition to Congress in support of women’s rights, including the right to be heard on the floor of the congressional chamber.
Circa 1953 with World War II over and the Korean war nearing its end, America was in an era of prosperity, and the future was looking bright. In 1969 when I entered the workplace as a secretary, the positions of secretary, receptionist, nurse, or teacher were all that were traditionally available to women. Throughout history, women artists and writers were rarely taken seriously; they were characterized as indulging in hobbies. Many had to assume a male name or even dress as a male to be accepted.
In my graduating class of over four hundred students, I can remember only one woman who became a lawyer and one who became a doctor. If we look at the graduating classes of 2024, the numbers would be hugely different. History has taught us that women are no longer restricted in their career choices.
The Equal Rights Amendment, designating sex-based discrimination as an illegal event, was not passed by Congress until 1972, and even then, it was never ratified or made legally binding, so the amendment did not become part of the Constitution. Was this the end of it all? Absolutely not. In fact, you could say the fight was just beginning.
In 1972 Ms. magazine was founded by Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes to provide feminist news and information. Suzanne Braun Levine, local resident and the magazine’s first editor, shared some insight into
the movement. “Feminism is based on achieving a threepart goal—social, political, and economic equality between men and women. Suffrage had been a major accomplishment in the second.”
She continued, “There has also been a lot of progress in the area of social/societal equity although economically, women still earn less than men on average, seventy-nine cents to every dollar. But there are many more women in positions of power, and they are, therefore, players in the business world. During the 17 years I edited Ms. magazine, our basic message to women was, ‘You are not crazy, and you are not alone.’
“At that time, women were doubting many of their feelings and were ashamed of being angry or desperate. We tried to encourage women to tell each other the truth about their lives and in so doing reassure each other. The stories we ran were a form of that truth-telling. We also realized that to share experiences, we needed new words to describe what women wanted to talk about. That’s how phrases such as sexual harassment, battered women, and date rape entered the language.”
The world has witnessed the accomplishments of notable women. Not only are women being encouraged, but they are succeeding and reaching new heights in just about every field out there. We have seen young women joining the military where they have attained high ranking positions and joining police forces, where they have done the same. We’ve seen them become sports trainers and seen the rise of women’s sports teams that easily keep pace with their male counterparts.
2020 March for Women in San Francisco
“My favorite example is women’s basketball,” says Braun Levine. “When I was in high school, we had to play halfcourt (girls didn’t have the stamina, it was assumed). This year women’s basketball drew bigger crowds than men’s, and a woman beat a man’s record.”
Women have evolved into positions of opportunity. We now accept that women have served and currently are serving on the Supreme Court; women work in medicine, science, research, and law, in space endeavors, as astronauts and engineers, as corporate CEOs, and in the arts, all areas traditionally occupied by men.
Fast forward to 2024, feminism looks vastly different today than it did generations ago. Most recently the movement began to proactively include people who have, until now, been left out of mainstream feminist movements, including women of color, as well as gender diverse people.
For the first time ever, a woman holds the office of vice president of the United States. Currently we see twenty-five females in the U.S. Senate, and one hundred twenty-six in the House of Representatives. There are four women justices out of the nine Supreme Court justices. This current trend began with the appointment of Sandra Day O’Connor to the bench in 1981. After Ruth Bader
Ginsberg’s appointment in 1993, we would not see another female justice until Sonia Sotomayor’s appointment in 2009.
Working with the Dorisann Mooring Scholarship program has shown that the young women entering college these days are bright, hard-working, well-rounded, and extremely eager to take on this 21st century world in new and challenging careers, and they are making great inroads. To those of us who came before, this is exciting to see. While homemakers, teachers, and nurses will always be the backbone of our society, now, even these positions are not limited to “women only.” I think it is appropriate to say that when we look at this year’s college graduates, we are looking at our country’s future, one filled with exciting possibilities.
As forerunners to today’s young women, we, the elders (both female and male) must nurture, teach, and offer universal encouragement, whether through financial aid or simply offering the benefit of our experiences and knowledge so that future generations will know no boundaries, know no restrictions. These young women will be a beacon for the future of not only our country, but across the globe.
Most definitely, “You’ve come a long way, baby.”
by
Photos
Titilayo Ayangade
Vienna by Day and Night Tesla Quartet at Grey Towers
Having agreed to form a string quartet, violinist Ross Snyder and three Juilliard colleagues searched for a name for the group.
“We wanted something less traditional. Most classical ensembles are named for a famous composer, or a location, or a musical phrase. We wanted a more contemporary name and landed on Tesla, after the inventor Nikola Tesla,” Snyder says in an interview.
While the other three original members have changed a couple times since the group’s founding in 2008, the mission of theTesla Quartet remains resolute.
“Tesla did experimental work harnessing the earth’s natural forces into electricity, transmitting wirelessly. We feel that in our performances as a quartet, we tap into a shared emotional power, transmitting to the audience,” notes Snyder.
Indeed, the Tesla Quartet’s website features this quote from the Serbian-American inventor and engineer: “Though free to think and act, we are held together, like the stars in the firmament, with ties inseparable. These ties cannot be seen, but we can feel them.”
The Tesla Quartet will perform Saturday, September 14th, at 5:30 p.m. at the Grey Towers Historical Site under the outdoor tent pavilion, presented by Kindred Spirits Arts Program. From contemporary works to established masterpieces, the quartet’s repertoire continually expands. Now in its 16th season, it performs regularly across North America and Europe, including a debut at New York’s Lincoln Center, a return to London’s Wigmore Hall, and performances at Stanford University’s Bing Concert Hall, as winners of the prestigious John Lad Prize.
The group also has toured in Brazil, China, and South Korea and participated in many festivals in Canada, Hungary, and Germany.
In 2018, the Tesla Quartet released its debut album, Haydn, Ravel, Stravinsky, on the Orchid Classics label. The group released its second disc on the Orchid Classics label in October 2019, Joy & Desolation, a collaboration with clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein, featuring quintets by Mozart, Finzi, John Corigliano, and Carolina Heredia.
Ross Snyder
Ross Snyder, one of the original founders and its first violinist, plays first and second violin positions with the
Pittsburgh Symphony when he’s not traveling with the Tesla Quartet. From Pittsburgh originally, Snyder says he has played violin since he was three years old.
His parents sang in a church choir and nurtured his early interest in violin. At age ten, he joined various youth orchestras in the city. At age twelve, he began studying chamber music with members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and at age sixteen, he and three of his friends formed the Callisto String Quartet. For three years, the CSQ performed outreach concerts at various venues in Pittsburgh.
Snyder holds an undergraduate degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and graduate degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Juilliard School.
When he’s not playing violin, Snyder watches soccer and movies, reads, and does the New York Times crossword puzzle. He also arranges music for the quartet, sometimes just little encores, but sometimes larger works to add some variety and novelty to the regular quartet programming. His violin is an Italian, made by Ioannis Apostolou in Brescia in 2018.
In addition to Snyder, the Tesla Quartet includes Michelle Lie (violin), Edwin Kaplan (viola), and Austin Fisher (cello). The New York City based quartet works together as much as possible, though all supplement their incomes with other engagements and private coaching.
Michelle Yeunhae Lie
Michelle Lie, the group’s second violinist, was born in Munich, Germany, and raised in South Korea. Her musical education in violin started at the age of fourteen with the influence of her vocalist father.
“Violin is a tool to express and communicate who you are, and it’s a wonderful media. I owe a great deal to my father who inspired me every single step through my musical journey. I started violin late, some might consider, but music has been present in my life from day one,” she says.
Lie, who is known for her in-depth musical projects, holds a Doctor of Music Degree in 2013 from Indiana University, a BM from Dankook University in South Korea, a MM from the New England Conservatory, and Performance Studies Certificate from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
She joined the Tesla Quartet in 2011 and has won numerous prizes at international competitions since 2000. Lie has held positions as a teaching artist at El Sistema Lehigh Valley in Allentown, PA, an Associate Violin Performance Instructor at Indiana University, and an Artist-in-Residence at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada. She plays an instrument of unknown European origin, most likely dating from the early 1700s.
“The best thing about the string quartet is the repertoire,” she says. “Orchestra music is great and grand, but quartet music is intimate and delicate. I cherish most the tight-working relationship I have with my colleagues. You can’t get such experience anywhere else, I think.”
When not playing violin or teaching, Lie is raising her 17-month-old son who loves to sing and dance when she practices violin.
Edwin Kaplan
Born in New York City into a musical family, violist Edwin Kaplan says chamber music has always been in his blood.
“There’s something magical about the unspoken connection you have with someone when you are making music
with them. In many ways that is the most satisfying aspect of being in a quartet for me,” he says.
Kaplan joined the Tesla Quartet in 2013 and also plays with cellist Titilayo Ayangade in the group Duo Kayo. The pair commissions new works and is committed to challenging traditional thinking about the classical music genre.
He has played concerts all over North America, Europe, and Asia, including at Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Tanglewood Music Center. He has participated in numerous premieres and is an advocate for music education. Through his work with the Tesla Quartet, he conducts outreach programs at primary and high schools, and he offers master classes at universities across North America.
Edwin Kaplan holds a Doctor of Musical Arts, a Master of Music, and an Artist Diploma from the Yale University School of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles. His viola was made by the American maker Andrius Faruolo in 2006.
Cellist
Fisher joined the Tesla Quarter in 2023.
Austin Fisher
Austin
h Ross Snyder
h Michelle Yeunhae Lie
“As the newest member of the quartet, it’s been a wonderful and fascinating journey, uniting my own musical experience and sensibilities with the quartet’s established sense of style, interpretation, and sound. It’s been a great fit, and we have the utmost respect for each other and the music, which I think shows in our interpretations and performances,” Fisher comments.
Fisher is a versatile chamber musician, orchestral player, and soloist. He was a grant recipient from the Solti Foundation to attend IMS Prussia Cove. Recent festival appearances include the Strings Music Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, and Pacific Music Festival.
Before joining the Tesla Quartet, Austin worked in business development at the contract management software company, Ironclad, which was co-founded by fellow cellist, Cai GoGwilt, and is now making great strides in the development of AI for business contracts and contract law.
Fisher graduated from the Eastman School of Music before receiving his master’s degree from Northwestern University. His primary teachers are Steven Doane and Hans Jensen. As a teacher, he maintains a private studio and is on the cello faculty at Opportunity Music Project
in NYC, a full-scholarship program providing private lessons and instruments to students in need.
Now residing in New York City, Fisher loves to play basketball, watch tennis, take long walks, read in the park, and try all the great food NYC has to offer. He plays on an 1830 French cello made by François Caussin.
Tickets for the Tesla Quartet performance on September 14th are $25 and can be purchased at the door or in advance through the Kindred Spirits website (kindredspiritsarts.org) or at Eventbrite.com. Space is limited, please buy tickets early.
Kindred Spirits is in its 23rd year. For a complete schedule of events visit the website. Email kindredspir@yahoo.com or call 570.390.8699 to learn more about supporting KSAP. Donations and volunteers are much appreciated.
Lisa K. Winkler divides her time between Milford, PA, and Summit, NJ. She’s a former newspaper reporter and publicschool teacher. She writes personal histories, plays, poetry, and is in the midst of a historical fiction novel. Winkler serves as the press relations volunteer for Kindred Spirits Arts Programs.
h Edwin Kaplan
h Austin Fisher
tel 973-579-2224
tel 973-579-2224 fax 973-300-4145
27 Route 94, Lafayette, NJ 07848
27 Route 94, Lafayette, NJ 07848
27 Route 94, Lafayette, NJ 07848
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Photos courtesy of Glenn Kreisberg
Overlook Mountain
Ancient Cultural Stone Landscapes
Woodstock evokes memories of hippies, love, mud, and the outdoor music festival held in 1969 on Max Yasgur’s farm, which is actually located in the town of Bethel, in Sullivan County, NY, forty miles southwest of Woodstock. While attendees may have shared a common spirit and celebrated in altered states of consciousness, it is unlikely that they knew about the ancient cultural stone landscapes of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains.
Hundreds of mysterious Native American stone structures of unknown origin and purpose are found throughout the countryside. Carefully constructed stone walls shaped like snakes, boulders oriented in cardinal directions, and stone mounds and structures aligned with the solstices suggest that these are more than just piles of stones. These cultural stone landscapes may have served ceremonial or spiritual purposes, connecting the earth to the sky above and the underworld below.
Recently, I participated in a guided hike with Glenn Kreisberg, author of Spirits in Stone and co-founder of Overlook Mountain Center, which stewards the land and is dedicated to preserving its ceremonial stone landscapes. Kreisberg recounts how the Overlook Mountain Center was able to preserve the local stone structures by purchasing 38 acres that had previously been approved for a 20lot housing development.
Since the last ice age ended more than 10,000 years ago, several different cultural footprints have been imprinted on Overlook Mountain. Kreisberg refers to this as a serial use area, where different cultures use the land for different purposes at different times.
Native Americans used the area as autumnal hunting camps for catching game and tanning hides, activities which had a spiritual nature in addition to pure survival. There is evidence that colonial Dutch and French settlers tried to mine gold, silver, and iron. The mountain was later denuded and stripped of giant 8-feet-in-diameter hemlock trees for the timber industry.
We walked the old quarry road to the California quarry where Irish quarrymen mined bluestone, which was hauled by sleds and carriages to Kingston and then shipped to New York City. There the wealthy would display large slabs in front of their mansions as status symbols of wealth, the larger the bluestone slab, the greater the status.
As we continued on our hike, Kreisberg pointed out two groundwater springs and several ancient stone landscapes
on the southeast corner of Overlook Mountain: two snake effigy walls up to 100 feet long, six large stone cairns up to 100 feet in length, and many smaller stone cairns measuring up to 10 feet long. A cairn is a manmade stone structure built for a purpose, such as a trail marker, location of an event, to honor a burial site, or to mark a sacred site.
What is the meaning of the serpent walls and cairns? Are they just physical markers or do they have a spiritual connection?
One area contains 13 stone mounds in a row that may represent the number of lunar cycles in a year. The central mound is designed differently with vertical stones and may have been an altar. In the Algonquin Munsee dialect, these features are known as manitou achsinal or spirit stones. Indeed, on our visit, there were two offerings including a bowl nearby.
According to Kreisberg, Native Americans have a three-dimensional view of the universe that considers the sky, the earth, and the underworld. Their belief system is geared toward balance and harmony between humans and the natural world, with all things working together and no extremes.
Understanding the annual repeating patterns in the night sky was of critical importance to ancient cultures as a way to tell time. The solstice and equinox events, phases of the moon, or the appearance of certain constellations were signals and clocks for when to plant crops, when to hunt game, or when to relocate camp. The Native American relationship with the sky was spiritual and contributed to survival.
Kreisberg’s curiosity led him to plot the spatial location and distribution of the serpent walls and cairns. After much analysis, he discovered that his map was an almost exact mirror image of the constellation Draco (the dragon or serpent). In Algonquin speaking dialects, snakes may represent evil and darkness, or the energy of life and regeneration.
Might the arrangement of rocks including the altar represent the spiritual transfer of the soul to the underworld? Is it coincidental that according to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, Overlook Mountain has the highest population of timber rattlesnakes of any place in New York? It certainly appears that the two serpent effigy walls, the rock configuration in the pattern of the Draco constellation, and the presumed historic presence of rattlesnakes at this location suggest the cultural and/or spiritual significance of serpents.
Two recent springhouses built in the 1930s still exist on the site, which indicates that the underlying rocks are permeable and water was extracted. Considering that water represented the underworld to many Native Americans, is this another indicator that this site was considered sacred?
Some might think that the stone walls and serpent effigies are merely colonial property boundaries, historic farm fences, or livestock pens. However, those structures would likely be just piles of rocks without special construction techniques or orientation. In fact, some of these walls point to primary north, south, east, and west directions or are aligned to astronomical phenomena such as winter or summer solstice sunrise and sunset directions, equinoxes, or moonrise.
Also noteworthy is that early property deeds of this area from King George of England show “ancient stone monuments,” which means that these Native American structures must have existed before colonial settlement.
Many mysterious stone chambers with entrances aligned to the winter solstice sunrise have been discovered in nearby Putnam County. They may have been colonial root cellars or livestock pens. However, root cellars require ventilation, and these structures have no additional ventilation. They also have very short entryways that would have made it difficult for farmers to enter and exit the structure on an ongoing basis. While Native Americans today have not claimed their origin, these stone structures
BOULDER BITS
l The Overlook Mountain petroforms, or purposeful arrangement of rocks that may represent animals, humans, or geometric shapes, are primarily constructed of native bluestone graywacke, which is a sandstone containing considerable finer clay and silt particles. Some of the structures also contain a small number of white quartzite conglomerate boulders, which include quartz and other reddish-brown rocks containing red ochre hematite. Quartz has piezoelectric properties such as producing light when struck, and hematite can be magnetic. Is it purely coincidence that these rocks were used or do these electro-magnetic properties have any special significance?
l How were the large boulders moved? Large boulders in the northeast may have eroded from local bedrock or been transported long distances by glaciers from any of the four recent ice ages, the last of which ended approximately 11,000 years ago.
l Boulders at this site are native and not considered large in comparison to other ceremonial sites. Very large boulders may have been moved with a series of levers shaped from large trees and fulcrums and then sliding the boulders on log rollers to their destination.
may have been built by another historic culture and later repurposed by colonial settlers as root cellars.
Age dating of an Overlook Mountain stone structure, using the optically stimulated luminescence method (OSL), yielded a date of sometime between 1350 and1650. In simple terms, OSL is a method that determines when quartz and feldspar minerals within the rock were last exposed to the sun, or when the rocks were buried, meaning when the structure was built. As with many age dating methods, OSL does not yield a precise date and there are potential sources of error, which contributes to more uncertainty about the timing and origin of the site.
Confirming the spiritual nature of the site, Chief Vincent Mann of the Ramapo Munsee Lenape Turtle Clan conducted a winter solstice ceremony at the site in December 2019 and has subsequently performed other prayers and offerings there.
Overlook Mountain was recognized as a sacred site by the Iroquois Confederacy at the Council of Onandaga in 1979. Some states recognize ceremonial stone landscapes as artifacts and afford them protection while other states do not. In spite of the evidence pointing to Native American culture and ceremony, Kreisberg states that today, many of these structures are still considered colonial con-
structions and are not attributed to Native Americans, who “deserve that their memory, culture, and spirit be recognized and preserved.”
There are still many questions to be answered, and, to this end, more study is needed. One of Kreisberg’s greatest challenges is “to bring science to bear and determine what these structures are and when they were built.” In the meantime, his hope is that “these ceremonial stone landscapes be recognized as the cultural resources that they are.”
For future research, Kreisberg hopes to apply “archaeoacoustics,” where sound is considered as playing a role in certain ceremonial sites. Chanting or singing can lead to an altered state of consciousness as a pathway to communication with the spiritual world.
Perhaps the hippies at Woodstock were on to something.
Spirits in Stone by Glenn Kreisberg is available for purchase at amazon.com. For more information, visit www.over lookmountain.org.
Bob Chernow is a geologist who recently retired from teaching and enjoys gardening and spending time outdoors in Swartswood Lake, NJ.
Aries (March 20-April 19) – What is the underlying nature of any agreement you have with another person where they have control over you? Through the Pluto in Capricorn years (starting in 2008), this was an ongoing issue. There are times when you feel like you’re getting on top of it, and yet the matter persists. Your astrology is offering a clue. If you are analyzing the role of any person from your past, and you get a sense of what they did to you, and then you feel guilty, you’re onto something.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) – Some ideas defy expression, and usually those are the most important to get into words. The question of your solar chart is, “What happens when you try?” Specifically, when you want to say something seemingly unspeakable, how soon do you encounter guilt? This is the potential barrier that stands against truth — a veil of wrongness or embarrassment that is really the resentment against being silenced. To get free from this, it’s necessary to violate the code of silence and speak up when you have something to say.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) – You may feel pressure building, of the kind that says, “This is your last chance.” Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, though practicing a little carpe diem never hurt anyone: seize the day, and gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Jupiter in your sign squaring retrograde Saturn can come with a feeling of urgency. There is a fine line between honoring that and being a slave to the fear of death. The antithesis to the fear is making the choice to do what you can while you can.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) – You may have the sense that people feel unusually strongly about you these days, which may make you uncomfortable. You don’t need intense opinions coming at you in your ordinary day-to-day activities, or from your circle of friends. Fortunately, you are in possession of something rare to find in our era, which is social graces. The delicate message of your chart is to make sure you don’t avoid certain kinds of people just because they might test you.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) – To have what you want, it will help if you identify what you don’t want. The most significant matter of your chart is your inner environment and awareness of your mental and emotional situation. Every day, your relationship to existence changes a little; and every morning I suggest you check in with what it is. Your relationship to yourself evolves and changes — as steady as your outer personality may be, your inner weather is in constant flux.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) – A long phase of your life is melting into a new one right in these very weeks and months. Yet the change may be so gradual that you’re not quite noticing. A space is opening up where you have available many possibilities that you may have never considered, or that only vaguely occurred to you. These may seem like slim or dim possibilities, though they will seem more real as you focus on them and draw yourself closer to them.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) – One theme of the next few weeks is you holding space for others in social situations. You will be free to have a good time — with a purpose, and that purpose does not really involve you or your needs. Rather, you may find yourself in places where your presence allows things to happen that might otherwise be difficult or impossible. You will be performing a vital service for your immediate society, and learn some rather unusual lessons in the process.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) – One emotional state I associate with your sign is playing hide and seek with how you feel. However, now certain commitments to yourself have come due — especially the promise you made about not disregarding your instincts, needs and opinions. You would serve yourself better by acting on your feelings or at least speaking up or even just saying to yourself out loud what you really want. You will LOVE speaking up more.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) – What drives you to the decisions you make? As forward-thinking as Sagittarius is said to be — think of the one-pointed arrow of will, expertly aimed at your goal — your thoughts seem to be mired in the past. This might seem to be your own personal past, though it’s more like the concerns of previous generations percolating up through your mind. The biggest favor you can do yourself is to be in the present moment right now and ask yourself what your life is about.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) – For a sign allegedly driven by logic and structure, it’s often difficult for you to get a handle on your feelings. Or perhaps said better, it can take you a long time — and by then, you’re figuring out your decisions and actions in the past, rather than making the best decisions for yourself now. However, you’re in a good moment to get a handle on certain matters of personal and family history.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) – Pluto in your sign will be providing you with a sense of meaning and purpose: a point of orientation amidst the chaos of society. You must use this well, and allow it to guide you into yourself — toward that elusive thing known as the soul. The easiest way to think of this is as a learning process that drives your relationship to yourself. Take the gifts given to you by Prime Source and use them to weave, grow, develop and gradually inhabit a world of your own creation.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) – You’re in an unusual position to use your creativity to earn money. This is a rare state of being, and while it will take some work, the actual necessary ingredient is the willingness to dare. I reckon you will have that in abundance, though as usual you’re probably worried about taking things too far. The influence of Saturn in your sign is providing a reliable boundary for you — a sense of conscience and also a reminder of your limitations. These are the very limits you want to transcend.
Dr. Sherri Talbot-Valerio
