Upstate Life Winter Edition 2017

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VOLUME 11

Stand By Your Mall A community united pulls together as one

Take Part in Annual Ice Harvest

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ISSUE 1 Upstate Life Magazine, winner, New York State Associated Press Association First-Place Award for Specialty Publications, is published by: The Daily Star, P.O. Box 250, 102 Chestnut Street Oneonta, New York 13820 © 2017 - All rights reserved.

Publisher Fred Scheller

A yearly tradition at Hanford Mills

Editor Joanne Arbogast

Cooking with Collins

Graphic Designer Tracy Bender

Make a pot of Blue Ribbon Butternut N’ Brisket Chili

Hoop Dreams

Advertising Manager Michele Neighbour

Local girl’s next step toward the sport she loves

Interested in advertising in Upstate Life Magazine?

Call toll-free, 1-800-721-1000, ext. 235

The Coming of a Long Winter

We invite you to e-mail your comments to: upstatelifeeditor@thedailystar.com

Family Day Trips

Come In Out of the Cold Hobart Book Village is home to the Winter Respite Series

Ride the Snowy Wave Skiing in the Catskills this winter

Recipes of the Stars Our own Daily Star staff members share their favorite recipes

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Winter 2017

On the cover

Cover Story

Stand By Your Mall

By Joanne Arbogast

W

hat’s here isn’t there, and what’s there isn’t here.

Or is it?

While a community divided may dwell on its points of separation, a community united pulls together as one. Luisa Montanti is convinced that what’s on one side of Oneonta is no better or worse than what’s on the other and that working toward the same big goal beats working for numerous smaller ones.

That goal is the success of local businesses, big and small, one and all. When businesses thrive, she says, everyone in the community benefits.

So she strongly urges residents to “Shop Local, Support Local.” She does this from her tiny office in the Southside Mall where she oversees all operations in her position as general manager.

Montanti is no newcomer making career-savvy corporate statements to pull in business. She is a die-hard, long-time Oneonta resident and the future of this community’s wellbeing as a whole is her passion.

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Honesty is key The mall opened its doors in 1981. Just seven years later, the Oneonta-born Montanti was on the scene, as a parttime associate working at the mall’s anchor store, JCPenney.

During the next 10 years, during which time she took many business courses at SUNY Oneonta while in the JCPenney Management Degree Program, and rose to assistant manager.

Working at JCPenney “helped guide me” toward a love of business. It was there she learned the importance of relationship building and that “if you don’t have the right product and excellent customer service, you won’t make it.”

If the mall doesn’t have want you are looking for, she hopes you head downtown and vice versa. Just stay local, she urges. “Honesty,” she says, “will bring customers back.”

Putting those lessons to work, she ventured out to run her own business then returned to the mall for a position at OfficeMax, which she held for seven years. “I was on good terms with the manager (of the mall)” and when that position opened Montanti jumped on board.

Car show at the Mall.

Just stay local, she urges.

Honesty,” she says, “will bring customers back.

“

Our local Veterans.

”

“I’m always up for a good challenge,” says Montanti, now 48. While committed to help the mall prosper, she also wanted it to be a place people would support.

And, she says, “I am loving it.”

Staying involved She rarely sits still and she doesn’t want to. For one thing, she wants to do an even better job of promoting the area, not just the mall. In addition to handling mall operations, she sits on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations. “My community involvement has absolutely helped me in this job,” she says. She may be petite but “I am big on volunteering. There are just so many wonderful people in this community and they care so much, and give so much of their heart.”

She just can’t help but “take care of anything that comes my way,” she says with a smile.

It’s true, she admits, she has a hard time saying no to any organization asking for her involvement. “I am big on community partnerships,” she says, “and we have worked hard to develop amazing relationships with SUNY Oneonta, Hartwick College, Job Corp, Fidelis Care, Bassett Healthcare, AO Fox Hospital, Oneonta Transit, Foothills Performing Arts Center, Otsego County

Chamber, the YMCA, and Catskill Area Hospice & Palliative Care.”

‘Not going anywhere’

Otsego counties’ future growth. “I was a member of the committee to help in the beginning stages of the development of the what Otsego is formulating for the current Food Innovations District and the Downtown Revitalization project.”

“Nothing means more to me than Oneonta,” she says. “I’m not going anywhere else. And I want my kids to stay here.” Two of them are in college and one still in high school. Montanti believes a prosperous, united and supportive community is the best way to make that happen.

What’s ahead in the near future for the mall? Some exciting changes and additions, Montanti says, but declined revealing any details. You’ll just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, there is nowhere Montanti would rather be than supporting the Oneonta shops, from mall to Main Street – the same shopping hub where she’d rather see you as well. +

The latest group she has joined is Destination Oneonta (visit www. destinationoneonta.com). She’s been on its board of directors since June 2012 and was its treasurer January 2013 through December 2015. She’s also an Events Committee member for Destination Oneonta where she’s volunteered at events such as Fab Fridays, Christmas Tree Lighting and has organized the holiday parade for Downtown Oneonta since 2012.

“My mission of working toward the overall growth of the Oneonta’s economic development is a huge part of what I do,” Montanti says. She was a key factor of the major expansion of the Southside Mall since 2011 and has been actively involved in helping small businesses as well as large corporations to grow their roots on Oneonta. She has also been an active member in the Oneonta Alliance Group since the initial date Dick Miller originated the group.

A member of this group is the Otsego Now and Montanti has also assisted with special projects Otsego Now has initiated The Southside Mall is located on Route 23 in Oneonta. In addition to help to a nine-screen cinema (607-432-1600), shops include TJ Maxx, Oneonta JCPenney, Bath & Body Works, Dick’s, FYE, Payless Shoes, Petco and and Game Stop.

Transport buses from various pick-up points run to and from the mall every half hour.

For more information: www.shopsouthsidemall.com or call (607) 432-4401.

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If you go

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A hub for fundraisers

On board to help

Striving to understand the needs of Oneonta, the Southside Mall provides a venue designed with the local community in mind. The mall also supports local businesses and giving back to the town and city of Oneonta. It has donated thousands of dollars to help the community grow and flourish.

Community-related events the mall has organized in the past include a Health & Wellness Fair, bridal shows, Prom-A-Palooza (a school fundraiser giving away more than $5,000 to local schools for their after-prom parties), home shows and antique car shows.

More than 50 local organizations make use of the mall in the way of bake sales, raffles and various other fundraisers.

For more information on this year’s events visit www.shopsouthsidemall. com.

Overseeing the Southside Mall keeps General Manager Luisa Montani busy but that’s hardly all she does. Here’s a recap of what she’s been involved in during the past few years: • Board of directors for Foothills Performing Arts Center 9/20116/2016 • Board president for Foothills Performing Arts Center 10/20146/2016. She’s assisted with numerous fundraising events for the center such as the Annual Bridal Expo for Foothills, the Taste of Foothills and the Shamrock Swing.

• Committee member since 2011 and co-chair since 2014 for the Hospice Epicurean Food & Wine Tasting fundraiser.

• Worked in collaboration with SUNY Oneonta Fashion Society to organize the “Dress for Success’’ event since 2013.

• Hosted, sponsored and helped to organize the National CANSTRUCTION event sponsored

by SUNY Oneonta, raising awareness and food donation for food pantries and needs of the local community.

• Support the local Farmers Market in sponsorship of events.

• In support of the efforts of Noel Clinton, former Bassett community resource for women’s needs, the mall hosted the fashion show for the Love the Life You Live campaign for women.

Destination Oneonta and Southside Mall at Hartwick Welcome Student Day.

Students welcome

Every year, the Southside Mall accepts interns from Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta to get valuable hands-on business experience working in the mall. Some have even come back to work fulltime after graduation. One of those recent graduates, Taimoor Qazi, is now the mall’s social media and marketing director.

“Tai has revamped our website” and is in charge of its increasingly popular blog, said General Manager Luisa Montanti. “It’s more interactive and we have more than 2,600 likes on our Facebook page.”

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Take part in annual

ICE HARVEST

By Cheryl Petersen

From Howes Cave, Jason Gagnon and his 3-year-old daughter Eleanor hoist an ice block out of Mill Pond in 2015.

T

Photos by Cheryl Petersen

SUNY Delhi student Caitlin Jones carves ice at Hanford Mills Ice Harvest Festival in 2015.

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o experience first-hand the historical phenomenon of ice harvesting, Hanford Mills Museum, in East Meredith, Delaware County, hosts an annual Ice Harvest Festival to which everyone is invited. Activities begin this year at 10 a.m. on Feb. 4.

Family friendly activities are held both outdoors and indoors.

Outdoors, visitors can watch the SUNY Delhi Hospitality Center Ice Team sculpt ice, using chainsaws, chisels and torches. Indoors, hot soup and chili is served.

Hanford Mills Interpretation Coordinator Brendan Pronteau said, “We’ve met the challenge of entertaining 1,000-plus people here every year for the event and always work to give our guests the best experience possible.​” Finance Manager ​Beth Rafter, added, “A total of 1,270 folks were on-site for Ice Harvest last year, 2016.”

On the grounds, more than a dozen buildings dating to the 1800s, can be toured. In the main house, the wood-fired stove is used to make biscuits or rolls, shared with the public for a taste of the past.

While strolling the antiquated site, whiffs of roasting peanuts will tantalize the nose. The aroma leads to a 1920s-era Royal Roaster that churns out 25 pounds of warm peanuts every half hour.

Blacksmithing demonstrations occur in the old-time blacksmith’s shed. Trained volunteers show how, in the late 1900s, horseshoes and metal repairs were made by using hot fire. Visitors can learn about anvils, swages and tongs while watching how things were done before contemporary welders and electricity became the norm.

Visitors can see the evolution of energy production at Hanford Mills. They will watch a water wheel in motion, as water was used as a first source of energy. Water is released from Mill Pond. The water flows onto a massive, original water wheel and sets it in motion, making a loud rumbling noise. The motion generates energy used to operate the saw mill.

Steam-generated energy came next in the line of progress.

Steam producing machines are put into action during the festival.

As the saw mills begin buzzing, boards are cut to be used to make cheese barrels or milk crates.

A horse-drawn sleigh ride also continues throughout the day.

Liz Callahan, director, said, “New this year, the Ice Harvest Festival will include the culmination of the auction of a painting donated by artist Werner Rentsch. Information and online bidding is under way through the museum’s website (www.hanfordmills. org/auctions/?ult_auc_ id=4878).”

The key delight, however, is getting involved in ice harvesting.

Before the invention of freezers, ice harvesting was big business. The ice was stored until the long hot days of summer kicked in. Then ice was sold and shipped to New York City to be used for refrigeration.

If Hanford’s Mills Pond is frozen on Feb. 4, you can stride out on the pond to ply old-fashioned ice saws and breaking bars to cut 80-pound ice blocks. You can then use grapple hooks to hoist the blocks of ice on a sled to make their way to the

ice shed.

The ice shed holds about 200 ice blocks. In between each block and on top and the sides, sawdust is sprinkled to insulate the ice. It will stay cold and hard until late summer.

On the July 4 weekend, Hanford Mills uses the ice to make homemade ice-cream for another glorious public event. But don’t miss how it all began. Come to the Feb. 4 Ice Harvest Festival in East Meredith. +

Hanford Mills Museum volunteer Harry Maison scoots a block of ice out of Mills Pond last year.

IF YOU GO: Visitors can take part in this traditional ice harvest, just as communities did a century ago. Features include ice carving by the SUNY Delhi Hospitality Center Ice Team, ice fishing with Trout Unlimited, horse-drawn sleigh rides, a snowman village, hot soup buffet, food trucks, blacksmithing and cooking demonstrations, and exhibits by local businesses and farmers.

Admission: Age 12 and under free, adults and teens $9, seniors, $7.

Hanford Mills Museum is located at 51 County Route 12 (51 Doonans Corners), East Meredith, NY 13757. The museum is at the intersection of Delaware County Routes 10 and 12, just 10 miles east of Oneonta, 30 miles south of Cooperstown and 15 miles north of Delhi.

For more information: www.hanfordmills.org, email info@hanfordmills.org, call (607) 278-5744

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COOKING with COLLINS

By Allison Collins

A warming bowl of Blue Ribbon Butternut N’ Brisket Chili topped with shredded sharp cheddar, sliced scallions and sour cream.

Photo by Allison Collins

M

y husband (we met, appropriately enough, serving food at Oneonta’s Farmhouse Restaurant) has long been an active member of the Unadilla Rotary Club. As such, each time there is a club event involving food (and there are many), I get a request to “throw something together,” usually with the expectation that it will be memorably tasty. This chili, though it’s undergone several iterations over the four or so years I’ve been making it for the club’s annual Autumn Fest, is just that: thrown together, haphazardly at best.

The first incarnation was made meatless on the morning of the Unadilla Autumn Fest and, ankles wrapped in toddlers, I darted around the kitchen tossing just about anything in.

There was coffee left from breakfast — in it went; maple syrup left out on the counter from pancakes — in it went.

Over the years the “recipe” has undergone some

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Winter 2017

refinement, including the addition of meat and what I consider the “wow factor,” butternut squash. To me, the use of the squash inherently invokes autumn and all its peachgold coziness. That, and it’s unexpected; it adds an element of surprise and shape and color to chili, which I think can sometimes more closely resemble sloppy Joes than a harvest medley.

Despite the humble, kitchen-sink nature of this chili’s beginnings, it has consistently won top Autumn Fest honors, being declared the first-ever winner of both the people’s choice and judges’ choice in 2015 and people’s choice in 2014 and ’16.

Though conceived of and most often executed, by me anyway, in the tangerine blush of early fall, this chili is hearty and rustic enough to hit the spot on any cold day and long after the leaves have left their branches.

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Blue Ribbon Butternut N’ Brisket Chili Ingredients (meat): 3 lb. brisket/chuck or round roast Seasoning: 1 tsp. each of kosher salt and pepper ½ - 1 tsp.cumin 1 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. paprika 1 tsp. garlic powder ½ tsp. red pepper flakes ¼ to ½ tsp. cayenne pepper 1/2—3/4 cup prepared coffee, *divided Extra virgin olive oil Equipment: Crockpot or comparable slow-cooking Dutch oven After slow-cooking for hours, the beef is cooled, shredded and readied for later incorporation into the chili.

Just-added cubed butternut squash. The squash sets itself apart from other, more expected chili ingredients.

Rinsed mixed beans. “I like to dump them into the same strainer and rinse everything at once. Rinsing removes unnecessary starchiness from the beans,” says Collins.

Photos by Allison Collins

Steps: Combine all dried spices in a small bowl.

Slather the meat with extra virgin olive oil and dust liberally with seasoning blend. Place in the crockpot, pour in ¼ c. prepared coffee and cook on medium-low for 6 to 8 hours.

When meat is tender and falling apart, remove from crockpot, cool slightly in a large dish or bowl, then shred with a pair of forks. Put flaked meat aside and drain off fat and excess liquid from crockpot.

This step can be done a few days in advance; simply store the shredded meat in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to mix into the chili.

(Clean crockpot in preparation of chili-making.)

Ingredients (chili): 1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 yellow onion, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 Mexi-bell pepper, diced (if in season and available; if not, simply omit) 1-2 roughly chopped chipotle pepper (found in a can, in adobo sauce) Chicken stock (amount will vary depending on desired consistency, but have at least 16 oz. on hand) 8 oz. can Mexican diced tomatoes with chilies 8 oz. favorite chunky salsa 2 15 oz. cans of chili beans in sauce 1 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, rinsed 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed 1 15 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed ¼ c. real maple syrup ¼ c. barbecue sauce of choice (I like Dinosaur BBQ’s “Sensuous Slathering Sauce”) 2-3 tbsp. kasundi (optional) Remaining ¼- ½ c. prepared coffee Kosher salt and pepper 14

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3 c. cubed and peeled butternut squash 2-3 tbsp. spreadable Habanero cheese (I like Cabot) 1 ½ c. frozen corn Several chopped fresh tomatoes Garnishes (optional): Sour cream Fresh chopped cilantro Chopped scallions Queso fresco, crumbled Shredded sharp cheddar cheese Steps: In a large saucepot or deep frying pan, sauté the diced onion in olive oil over medium to high heat until the onion starts to sweat, about 7 minutes.

Add in the diced pepper mix and season all with salt and pepper. At this stage, add in the roughly chopped chipotle pepper(s), still with some adobo sauce.

When the pepper mixture is tender, add in the cubed butternut squash; stir to combine. Add more oil as needed to ensure nothing sticks to the pan. Splash on about ½ c. of chicken broth to give the veggies a bit more room to move. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, allowing the squash to soften slightly, and re-season with a further sprinkling of salt and pepper.

At this stage, transfer the veggie mixture into the cleaned, dried vessel of your crockpot, setting the heat to one of the lower options. (6-8 hours on mine.)

To this, add the cans of rinsed black beans, garbanzo beans and pinto beans. Also incorporate the two cans of red chili beans in the sauce; do not rinse these. Add in the can of Mexican diced tomatoes and chilies, with the liquid, along with a cup of your favorite chunky salsa. Stir everything to distribute evenly.

To the crockpot, add the remaining ¼ - ½ cup of prepared coffee, real maple syrup and barbeque sauce of choice. Dinosaur BBQ Sensuous Slathering Sauce works especially well here because it imparts a bit of smokiness, which picks up on the warm flavor of the chipotle peppers.

At the same time, the coffee adds depth and the maple syrup gives a nice background sweetness.

Allow chili to cook for 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

After about 5 hours in the crockpot, return the shredded beef to the crockpot and mix to incorporate.

About 30 minutes before serving, Winter 2017

stir in the Cabot Habanero Cheddar Cheese Spread. This will give to the chili an overall creaminess and some added heat. At the same time, throw in fresh chopped tomatoes and the frozen corn. Stir to combine.

Serve warm and garnish with your choice of shredded sharp cheddar or crumbled queso fresco or just lots of cooling sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.

is an ingredient to be careful with, though, because if used too heavy-handedly the smoky notes will overpower the other ingredients. Depending on the size of the chilies, one to two roughly chopped, with the adobo sauce on, should be just right.

Chipotle peppers can be found in the Mexican food section and, for mere cents, add an overall richness to the flavor of this chili.

TIPS:

• If you can’t find kasundi, don’t worry.

Kasundi is a lovely, slow-cooked tomatobased condiment of Indian origin that melds together notes of cumin, chili, coriander and mustard seed. It has been described as unctuous and “ketchup with a lot more going on.” I first came across a bottle in a little specialty food shop in Vermont. If available, it would be in the Indian food section of a grocery store; if not, try adding a few dashes of the aforementioned spices to 2-3 tbsp. of regular old ketchup and incorporate as you would the kasundi.

• Save yourself a step. Make extra coffee in the morning, about a cup more than you would, and simply reserve (with the pot turned off to avoid an awful burned coffee taste) for later.

• Allow the meat to rest twice: Let it sit, still in the package, on the counter for a bit before rubbing with spices and placing in the crockpot. With the refrigerator chill off of it, the meat will soak in the spice rub better. Let meat rest again after removing from the crockpot and before shredding.

This will give the meat a chance to redistribute its natural juices.

• True brisket can be hard to find. If scarce or too expensive, there are other beef cuts that act similarly to brisket. Look for large tri-tip portions, sirloin butt or top cap. Or, ask your local butcher for guidance to get a well-marbled, shreddable cut.

• If you’re pressed for time, or if you simply dread the forearm workout that is peeling and seeding a butternut squash, spring for the pre-peeled and pre-diced variety, just be sure to compare the per-pound price to make sure the cost of convenience isn’t outrageous and try to ensure none of the squash cubes are soft or slimy. Note: one medium-small butternut squash, about 2 pounds, will yield roughly 3 cups once peeled and cubed.

• The addition of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce early on in the recipe lends to the whole a nice, subtle smokiness. This

•

ANTIQUES

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ABOUT THE COOK Allison Collins, of Unadilla, is a selfproclaimed bona fide foodie. During college, she traveled extensively overseas and while home held weekly food feasts for members of SUNY Oneonta’s Slam Poetry Association who assured her she had “culinary prowess.” Before that, she undertook elaborate Sunday night dinners for family, friends and neighbors. An accomplished and enthusiastic home cook, she has a willingness to try new things, a

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• Don’t skip the spreadable habanero cheddar cheese. Incorporated into the chili in the eleventh hour, it adds a nice background creaminess to the chili texture that I’ve yet to duplicate with any other ingredient. If habanero is too much heat for you, try finding a similar, less spicy spreadable cheese. I use Cabot. +

Photo by Anna Ritchey

Allison Collins’ daughters Bo (front, left) and Livvy Collins (front, right) with Collins and her husband John at the sixth annual Unadilla Rotary Autumn Fest in 2015. This chili cook-off win marked the first time in the festival’s history that the people and judges were unanimous in their favorite. yen for healthfulness and vibrant color and, importantly, hours logged watching the Food Network. “It’s relatively safe to say that I love me some food. And good food at that,” she says. “My mother teases that I am picky to the point of snobbishness, food elitism, but that’s not it: I will try most anything. I just want each eating opportunity to be well-spent; you might even say, savored.” Send comments to her at alliedcollins@frontier.com

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Winter 2017 | 15

Hoop Dreams

“

By Sierra Sangetti-Daniels

Andes, N.Y., is best described as a small town. Its central school holds less than 200 students. Basketball player. Mariah Anne Ruff was one of them.

Her journey started on a small basketball court in that very small school. Now a junior at Division 1 St. Bonaventure University, she’s considering her options of taking another big step forward in her sport. “I haven’t really told anybody this, but I’ve been thinking about going overseas and playing professionally,” she says.

Other post-graduation plans include entering the forensics field or becoming a New York state trooper.

Since first grade, Ruff was entrenched in sports, particularly basketball. It was then that her father, David Ruff, former coach of the Andes varsity boys’ team, began to take her to practices. “She was always dribbling and shooting on the side lines,” he says.

Though only 6, she jumped in on drills with the 15- to 18-year-old varsity boys.

“By the time she was in fourth grade the girls’ varsity coach said she was better than anyone on the team,” her father says.

“We always knew from a young age that she had a gift from God.” Ruff played varsity basketball player at Andes when only in the 7th and 8th grades. In those two years, she totaled 511 points. But one downfall of Andes was the limited competition she was exposed to. “You thought you were pretty good in your little area, but when you went to a bigger area you realized the other talent and how much harder you had to work,” she says.

Still, she has a strong work ethic. “She gets it from our families,” her father says.

“We both grew up on farms and the work ethic was installed in our kids at a young age.”

Goal prompts move During a tournament in 8th grade hosted at Siena College in Albany, Ruff realized if she wanted to pursue her D1 dreams, she would have to compete at a higher level than D-size Andes. She remembers the Siena coach explaining 16

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Mariah Anne Ruff takes the floor as a Bonnie in 2015.

that Division 1 coaches wouldn’t find her numbers impressive due to the limited competition at that size of school. “So that’s how the move to Oneonta all started,” she says.

It was the best option — Oneonta was a B-size school and only an hour drive from the family’s hometown. Although moving to Oneonta was a big change for the small town Ruff family, they decided it was a doable financial decision if the move meant Ruff could earn a NCAA division 1 full athletic scholarship for basketball.

“The money they put into moving would be the same thing as paying for four years of college,” Ruff says.

The move proved a success. Entering Oneonta Senior High School as a freshman, Ruff earned and kept a starting spot on the competitive team all four years and became a 1,000-point scorer in NYS Section IV as a sophomore. Additionally, throughout her journey as an Oneonta Lady Jacket, Ruff was presented numerous awards acknowledging her outstanding performance on the court and in the classroom.

During Ruff ’s four years at OHS she

Winter 2017

was named The Daily Star Player of the Year for three seasons in a row, the 2013 High School Athlete of the Year by WBNG Channel 12 Action News, and was a National Honor Society Member from November 2012 to June 2014.

She was named MVP of the Anthony C. Drago Tip-Off tournament twice, named one of the top best 50 players of the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY) and was an AllConference All-Star of the Southern Tier Athletic Conference all four years at OHS. She was also named the 2013-14 Miss New York Basketball by the BCANY. Her hard work and success at Oneonta granted her lots of publicity. In November 2013, Ruff signed her St. Bonaventure letter of intent granting her a full Division 1 athletic scholarship.

So far, she has reached all the goals she set for herself. “It makes me feel good, I guess,” she says bashfully.

Success continues as a Bonnie Ruff received the rising star female athlete at the 2015-16 Bonnies Awards dinner and was named the A10 player of the week, an award given out by the conference, multiple times.

Her future in basketball depends on her overall health. “I have to see how my body holds up,” she says. “If I can’t play to my potential it gets frustrating for me.”

She also needs to consider what would be best overall. “I have to think about the experiences I want to experience and the things I want to do after college.”

A former teammate plays professionally in Greece, so Ruff has a good idea of what the option of playing overseas might be like. In addition, she explains, during the final four of the NCAA, scouts are there and that’s when you find an agent who then does all the communication for you.

“Your agent tries to find you places to play and then you pick where you want to go,” she says.

However, everything will remain open until she finishes playing in the NCAA. “You can’t talk to agents while still being a player because it violates NCAA code,” she says.

By the time she was in fourth grade the girls’ varsity coach said she was better than anyone on the team,” her father says. “We always knew from a young age that she had a gift from God.

”

Sights set on strong finish Elizabeth Austin, 20, an elementary education major at St. Bonaventure, is Ruff ’s roommate and best friend. “I really like how selfless Mar (Mariah) is. She puts so many people ahead of herself, especially her teammates.”

Austin remembers the time Mariah found out the set of coaches who recruited her was being transferred to another school. “Once the word got around to each and every one of her teammates, they all started calling Mar,” Austin says adding that because Ruff ’s coaching staff left, all of the girls were given an opportunity to transfer elsewhere. With Ruff ’s ability, positive attitude and high GPA, as a sophomore she could have transferred to a school that stood another chance in the NCAA tournament.

“I asked Mar multiple times if she would consider transferring, she has great potential in basketball and she could have transferred to a more wellknown school,” Austin says. “But Mar put herself aside and did what was best for her team. I admire her for that.”

As Ruff prepares to finish the second half of her junior year, she says her goals are to finish strong and do the best they can with the remainder of their season.

Next year, Ruff will finish her last season as a collegiate athlete and a Bonnie. “I want to have a great year and make it back to the post-season tournament,” she says.

“Life would have been much different if I didn’t have basketball,” Ruff reflects. “I probably would’ve just went to a SUNY school after high school and lived a normal life, you know?”

Contributed Photos

Ruff defends against Bucknell University during a home game in 2016.

Ruff celebrates after a win for Oneonta in 2013.

Ruff squares up as Bucknell prepares to double team during a home game in 2016.

UPSTATE LIFE magazine

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Winter 2017 | 17

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UPSTATE LIFE magazine

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Winter 2017 | 19

Family Day Trips

The coming of a long winter

By Robert and Johanna Titus

C

ooperstown’s Otsego Lake is one of our region’s most scenic locations. Travel to Lake Front Park, just at the south end of the lake, and look north. It’s pretty. The lake extends 8 or 9 miles to the north. At the far end lies the fabled “Sleeping Lion.” That’s a hill shaped like the silhouette of a sleeping – well – lion! The lake is narrow, less than a mile across. Left and right, scan the

hills on either side, and you will notice they are just plain steep.

They rise out of the waters of the lake and tower over them.

And, all that steepness carries underwater too. Otsego Lake is deep; its bottom slopes hundreds of feet down.

It’s so easy for people to just look at and enjoy such scenery, but we are different.

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Winter 2017

and SUNY Dutchess. But, for years we have been writing about the geological history of the Catskills and Hudson Valley. Perhaps you have read us in Kaatskill Life magazine, or maybe you have read one of our books about our region’s geology. Now, we are happy to join Upstate Life as regular writers, and we hope you will enjoy our articles – right here.

We love to look at scenery as nice as what you see at Otsego

Lake, but we see things others don’t. When we visit Lake Front Park and gaze to the north, we become time travelers; we journey many thousands of years into the past. We’ll do that right now and bring you along.

It is perhaps 15.000 years ago and it is mid-summer. We are the mind’s eyes. We can travel back through time and now we are looking north from Lake Front. The region is so different.

There is an Otsego Lake, but it is

“

When we visit Lake Front Park and gaze to the north, we become time travelers; we journey many thousands of years into the past. We’ll do that right now and bring you along.

”

so much smaller and lower than the modern equivalent. There should be a green forest all around us; after all, it is summer and this is long before the area was settled by people who cut down trees. But, there is not a living tree anywhere. There is a forest, but it is all dead. We see nothing but bare trunks, almost all are spruce and pines.

The ground below is littered with dead branches and limbs. It is a day without wind so the silence is deafening. All the birds and insects have left. Without living trees there is no place for them here. Without wind, there is no noise at all.

What on earth has happened? What killed the trees and drove away all the noise makers? We look north and there we see a hint. Left and right of the Sleeping Lion we

see some things we never saw before. They are strange masses of something, located adjacent to both sides of the lion. In the early morning they are purple. As the sun rises they become green and then yellow. At noon they are a brilliant diamond white. In the afternoon the colors are reversed. What are they? They are too far away to tell.

We are the mind’s eyes; we can lift up and travel north. As we approach the Sleeping Lion our image focuses. We see a glacier. It fills the valley as it extends up the valley, far to the north. As it has approached the Lion, it has split into two streams which have been circling around the hill. These are the things we have been watching.

We are the mind’s eyes. We ascend high into the sky and look north. Now we can see that our glacier is extending all the way back to the Mohawk Valley. It is the branch of a much larger glacier which fills that valley. Beyond the Mohawk there is a great ice sheet which blankets North America all the way back to Labrador.

Now we have found the solutions to all our puzzles. We have been watching the onset of a great and final advance of the ice, a last great chapter in what has long

been called the Ice Age. As the glaciers have approached, our forests have died. We see what is happening. We, the mind’s eyes, hover in the air and we look south again.

Centuries pass by and now we see that a stream of ice is slowly making its way south, down the Susquehanna Valley.

As long as the climate stays cold, it will continue to advance. It will maintain itself as a stream of ice that will fill the Susquehanna Valley right to its top. On its way toward modern-day Cooperstown, it will scour out the deep lake basin and the steep hills of today’s Otsego Lake. The ice will continue south, past Cooperstown, and past Milford. It will overrun Oneonta and advance past Unadilla. Did you know about all this? We will be visiting this glacier many times in future issues. It’s important. This was our Ice Age. We will be writing about other geological issues as well. There are great stories in our region’s bedrock as well.

This our geological heritage. You need to know these things!

Contact the authors at randjtitus@prodigy. com. Learn more; join their facebook page “The Catskill Geologist,” or read their blog “thecatskillgeologist.com.” +

If you go To get to Lake Front Park, visit Cooperstown and take Main Street to the end of Pioneer Street and park. The park is open during daylight hours. In season you can take a boat tour of Otsego Lake on the Glimmerglass Queen tour boat. You can go to Glimmerglass Park, at the north end of the lake, and climb the Sleeping Lion (aka Mt. Wellington) on the Orange Trail.

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Winter 2017 | 21

Come in out of the cold

By Cheryl Petersen

H

obart Book Village is home to the Winter Respite Series, a string of lectures open to the public during February, March and April. Experts speak on subjects that enlighten and fortify; that keep the heart and mind warm and active in the middle of winter.

Now in its 13th season, each of the respite series take place on Sundays at 3 p.m. and last about an hour followed by refreshments and conversation. There is no fee to attend.

Two of the lectures will be hosted at Adams’ Antiquarian Shop, 602 Main St., Hobart, while the March 19th lecture will be held at the Hobart Community Center, 80 Cornell Ave., Hobart.

Topics cover geology, local history and the Catskills. “I might make an earthquake cake for the geology talk,” said Diane Adams, coowner with William Adams of the Antiquarian Book Shop.

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The book shop is one of six in the Book Village. Along Main Street, tome lovers can find: Adams’ Antiquarian Book Shop, Blenheim Hill Book Shop: Mysteries and More, Liberty Rock Bookstore, Creative Corner, and Butternut Valley Bookshop. Shop owners work together closely to provide thought provoking activities and a high volume of multifarious reading material. Winter hours are weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and holiday Mondays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The April Respite lecture, titled, “Catskill Peaks and Trails,” reveals hiking possibilities in our own extended backyards – in the

Winter 2017

Catskills. Speakers Carol and Dave White will highlight the Catskills as accessible, enjoyable and fascinating.

Carol might also mention that, back in the day, she had smoked for 33 years. “I started climbing the 46 High Peaks 16 months after giving up smoking,” she said. “In those 16 months, I walked nearly daily for 2.6 miles over a hill by our house. I began cross-country skiing to stay in shape all winter. So, for our first climb to 5,344-foot Mount Marcy, New York’s highest mountain, I was in good shape, but no doubt my lung capacity was not optimal.”

She continued to follow a chart to follow to stay on her non-smoking program. It was a matter of not overdoing it, until her lung capacity increased. “The chart outlines in wonderful detail all the ways our body repairs itself when given a

Diana Adams in her bookstore located in Hobart’s Book Village.

chance,” Carol said, who became hooked on hiking along with her husband.

Although the Whites hike extensively in the Adirondacks, Ithaca gorges, and New England, the Catskill peaks are near and dear to their hearts.

In 1994, the Whites became winter members of the Catskill 3500 Club and are two of the 2,700 members who have climbed to the summit of all 35 peaks exceeding 3,500 feet in the Catskills. “Thirteen of the hikes are trail-less,” Carol added.

Carol is the 3500 Club’s conservation chairman. “I deal with keeping our forests and streams pristine, contributing to management plans for the region, and dealing with serious invasive species like the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, which can decimate a hemlock tree in just years,” she said. “Entire forests south of New York State are nearly

?

Photos by Cheryl Petersen

What is a Book Village?

The idea of a book village or book town was born in 1961 in rural Wales in a small nearly forgotten town, called Hay-on-Wye. Richard Booth, an entrepreneur, bought several town buildings and turned them into bookstores.

Today more than 30 independent booksellers sell secondhand and antiquarian books, prints and other works on paper to thousands of readers and collectors who flood into this small town.

In 2005, Don Dales, local entrepreneur and musician, established the only book village east of the Mississippi in historical Hobart. Today, there are six bookstores in the village with more than 20 other established booksellers within a 50-mile radius making the Hobart Book Village a not-to-be-missed destination for book lovers everywhere.

Set in the Northern Catskills, Hobart continues to be an agricultural community. It is also becoming known as a center for the book arts, hosting businesses that print, publish and restore books.

The Book Village hosts cultural events regularly, including art shows, authors’ readings, a Private Book Seller Day, and the Winter Respite Lecture Series.

Two huge semi-annual sales on the weekends of Memorial Day and Thanksgiving draw hundreds of local residents, vacationers, and collectors to the village.

Source: www.hobartbookvillage.com. For more information email hobartbookvillages@gmail.com.

Located on NY State Route 10, the Hobart Book Village of the Catskills is an eclectic center of 6 bookshops, each with a unique atmosphere as generalist and specialist subject shops, focusing on used, new, and antiquarian books, art, prints, postcards, crafts, local and global publishers. If you love books, you will love us!

www.hobartbookvillage.com

THE BOOK VILLAGE IS THE HOME TO THE FESTIVAL OF WOMEN WRITERS HELD ANNUALLY THE WEEKEND AFTER LABOR DAY. www.hobartfestivalofwomenwriters.com.

UPSTATE LIFE magazine

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Winter 2017 | 23

“

Don Dales, Bill and Diana Adams, Amy Morris and Bobbi Goldman inside Adams’ Antiquarian Book Store in Hobart.

We offer a slide presentation, ‘Peaks and Trails of the Catskill Park,’ to illustrate the rugged beauty of its high peaks and Catskill reservoirs, ponds, streams, waterfalls, trails and reminders of bygone years.

”

bare of shady majestic hemlock groves; we do not want that to happen here! People are trained to observe infestations, and another insect that feeds only on the woolly adelgid is deployed to wipe it out.”

A regular at giving lectures, Carol said, “We offer a slide presentation, ‘Peaks and Trails of the Catskill Park,’ to illustrate the rugged beauty of its high peaks and Catskill reservoirs, ponds, streams, waterfalls, trails and reminders of bygone years.”

The Whites also have become hiking guidebook authors for the Catskill Park and authors of other publications.

The March speaker, James Meagley, is also an author and will speak on Hobart history. He grew up in Hobart and has researched more than a century of the town’s history.

February speakers and authors Johanna and Robert Titus will lecture about the great geological history hidden in the region’s rocks and landscapes. They share stories of continental collisions, lost mountain ranges and primitive fossil creatures in an ancient sea. Johanna and Robert Titus are also writing a regular column on local geology in Upstate New York. Look inside this issue for their first column. + 24

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Winter 2017

IF YOU GO A great community learning series, the Winter Respite lectures will only be canceled due to bad weather. Call (607) 538-9080 for reservations and more information.

February 12, 2017: Speakers Johanna and Robert Titus: “The Catskills, a Geological Guide,” Adams’ Antiquarian Bookshop, 602 Main St., Hobart.

March 19, 2017: Speaker Jim Meagley: “More Hobart History,” Hobart Community Center, 80 Cornell Ave., Hobart April 23, 2017: Speakers Carol & Dave White: “Catskill Peaks and Trails,” Adams’ Antiquarian Bookshop

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njoying the natural resource of snow, skiers and snowboarders travel to the nearest Catskill slopes: Plattekill, Belleayre, Hunter and Windham Ski Centers. Each site provides a variety of services to beginners and pros alike.

It’s curious to compare today’s modern skiing with bygone days. For centuries, skis were used for winter hunting and traveling.

Then skiing became a racing sport in the 1900s.

The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown reported in “The Bridge” publication that “The 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid ignited a passion for skiing among New Yorkers, and the Catskills quickly got on board.” (#21, December 2014 issue). People of all backgrounds began discovering the entertainment and challenge of snow skiing.

To accommodate this discovery, the hotels and lodging resorts got on board first by adding rope tows in nearby cleared woods and offering skiing to customers.

Motors were taken from trucks and put at the bottom of a hill with a rope attached.

The rope would circle up and down the hill.

Skiers would grab hold of the rope and go to the top to ski down.

As popularity grew, ski centers dedicated solely to skiing were designed. Slopes were cleared of trees and “runs” were made in the hills, suited to different skill levels of skiers.

According to The Bridge, “In 1946 the Davenport family and partner C. Lincoln Christensen went big and built Highmount Ski Center. New York State followed with Belleayre in 1950, after getting voter approval to build it in the ‘Forever Wild’ Catskill Forest Preserve. Their success encouraged many others to ride the snowy wave.”

?

By Cheryl Petersen

Ride the Snowy Wave UPSTATE LIFE magazine

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Winter 2017 | 27

Contributed Photos

Princeton Ski Bowl was located on Bearpen Mountain on the Prattsville side.

No Name Ski Area lodge, before closing in early 1970s.

By the 1960s, more than a dozen comfortable and capable of hauling ski centers dotted the Catskill region. skiers to higher elevations.

But why are there only four ski centers Snowmakers were added. Water was today? piped to the hills and For one thing, “as sprayed out nozzles more people became to top off the snow interested in skiing, during low snow years. the ski centers became Machines called snow more sophisticated,” groomers were built, said George Quinn, to prepare the snow of Boiceville, author for the best skiing of book “Skiing in the conditions.

Catskill Region.” Quinn At the ski lodges, began skiing mid-1950s rental ski and and remembers, “I’d put snowboards were made on my wooden skies available. Restaurants and leather boots and and ski shops were go skiing.” added.

The evolution of The increased snow skiing continued sophistication added Contributed to gain momentum. costs and caused a An older brochure from Scotch “By the 1970s, major decline in the number Valley Ski Center in Stamford. changes had occurred of smaller ski areas in the ski industry,” that couldn’t compete. said Quinn, “in comfort, structure Quinn’s book showcases the up-andand safety.” Equipment included down transitions with 200 historic ski better made skies, safety bindings and pictures and captions. helmets.

“One resort at the end of the Denver T-bars were attached to the ropes Vega Valley began as Roxbury Ski Area, for better “grabbing.” Chairlifts were changed to the Big Bear Ski Area, and installed and became quicker, more then ended in the early 1970s, literally

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Winter 2017

SKI PLATTEKILL Save while buying tickets and packages online at www.Plattekill.com Season ski pass: $685 Day ski pass: $63 for age 13 and older, $48 age 8-12, age 7 and younger ski free.

Complete ski and snowboard package rentals: $37 Private and group lessons are offered along with packages that include lessons and rentals.

?

Plattekill Ski Center snowmakers and snow groomer.

called the No Name Ski Area,” said Quinn.

Of the four ski centers, Hunter and Windham are in Greene County. Belleayre is in Ulster and Delaware counties.

Plattekill is in Delaware County, near Roxbury.

Plattekill Mountain Ski Center, owned since 1993 by Danielle and Lazslo Vajtay, has 38 trails and four lifts. “Natural snow is preferred, but 75 percent of the slopes have snowmakers,” Danielle Vajtay said.

In 2014, Plattekill installed a moving carpet. “It’s made getting up the hill easier for snowboarders and learners,” Vajtay said. “They simply stand on a moving carpet that takes them to the top.”

Ski instruction is available at all ski centers, given by trained skiers. All centers also have emergency services.

Skiers can come for half a day or all day. All days of the week, slopes are open somewhere in the Catskills. Food and ski shops keep the skiers on the slopes. “Plattekill offers a full cafeteria, a bistro and after skiing dinners,” Vajtay said.

On the websites of each ski center, snow conditions and weather information are posted.

Blessed with a winter that is the longest season of the year, this family-inclusive, active, sport of skiing is doable in the Catskills. +

D

anielle and Laszlo Vajtay have two children, 15-year old Nicholas and 14-year old Matthew Vajtay. “We are the family ski center,” said Danielle. “The boys help look out for the business and have always been active in the Center.”

Nicholas and Matthew both ski, rather than snowboard.

They are on the Roxbury School Ski team. “Nicholas prefers racing and Matthew is geared toward the Terrain Park aspect of skiing,” said Danielle.

Contributed Photos

UPSTATE LIFE magazine

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Winter 2017 | 29

of the

s t ars Elijah’s Brownies

Submitted by Elijah Brown

2 eggs 1 cup brown sugar ed) 1/2 cup butter (1 stick, soften or oil 1 tsp vanilla 1/3 cup DARK cocoa powder

1/2 cup flour 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp baking powder 1/8 cup of espresso coffee (1 ounce)

er, sugar, vanilla, salt, coffee, Grease an 8x8 pan. Stir together the butt gently fold in the Flour and baking eggs and cocoa until well blended. Then e in a 350 degree oven for about powder until the flour is all absorbed. Bak 25 minutes.

Submitted by Joanne Arbogast

2 lbs. beef cubes 1-2 green peppers, cut in slices 2-3 carrots, cut in chunks 2 onions, quar tered 2-3 stalks celery, cu t in

Joanne’s Five-Hour Stew

chunks 3-4 potatoes, quar tered V-8 juice (you will need at least 2 1/2 cups) Minute Tapioca Salt and pepper

Place beef cubes in bottom of large casserole pot and add sal t and pepper then layer on top:

Green peppers Carrots

Onions Celery

Potatoes

Sprinkle 3 TBL Minute Tapioca over top then add 2 1/2 cups of V-8 juice and some more black pepper. Cover and cook at 250 degrees for five hou rs. Then take cover off and let it cook another 15 min utes or so to brown/thicken up the top.

Notes: The amount of veggies used is up to you and the size of your casserole dish. You may want more potatoes, less cel ery, depending on your tastes. I tend to let this cook quite awhile after taking off the lid because we prefer the top a litt le crusty. If you like more punch, use the spicy V-8.

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Winter 2017

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