Upstate Life - Summer 2022

KE T’S

!

TA - I E ON EE FR

SUMMER 2022

Cookin’ with Collins: Brownie Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Gilbertsville Couple finds Recipe for Success

Presenting the Past: Coventry Group Resurrects Historic Series

Cool Fun in the Sun:

AND MORE!

Upstate Life Magazine, Winner, New York State Associated Press Association First-Place Award for Specialty Publications, is published by: The Daily Star, 102 Chestnut St., Oneonta, NY 13820 © 2022 - All rights reserved.

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EDITOR’S CORNER Part of the work of this magazine is to showcase life upstate throughout the year – what’s on offer, where to visit, what to make using some of the region’s many resources. And while the area really does have year-round appeal, I feel like summer is when it shines. So much of what makes the upstate region desirable happens in the summer months.

Summer is when time moves more slowly (we hope) and when nostalgia and merry-making rule the day. Days are longer, the light lingers, everything plumps up. In mulling this editor’s corner, I came across “August” by Alex Dimitrov, a New York City-based writer. This is an excerpt, but it conjures, I think, some of what makes summer so visceral and so special: Almost possible: to believe these days will change more than us but the past too.

Which is blue and without end.

A long drive toward a remembered place.

A secret left on a beach. Underwater where the voices of summer are tones of speech, requiring less of the mind. The familiar creaks in the old floorboards. Glasses left out in the storm.

On the cover

This edition highlights just a sliver of summer’s bounty: where to go for a scenic climb or eagle-spotting and where to buy superlative baked goods on a Saturday drive (the rustic country sourdough at Five Kids Bakehouse is something else); it offers a look into Oneonta’s retail past as well as when and where to hear unique historic presentations; and it suggests a “cool” way to tie-dye as well as an at-home twist on one of summer’s best-loved treats. So, relax, read on and enjoy these lazy days.

Allison Collins

ALLISON COLLINS

Eighteen-month-old Eames Stimson, of Lagrangeville, New York, plays at her grandparents’ Franklin property during a July visit.

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| UPSTATE LIFE MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022

SUMMER 2022

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Contents

VOLUME 16

|

ISSUE 4

Community Cultural Center: 6 Sidney’s “We’re Just Getting Started”

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Gilbertsville Couple finds Recipe for Success

16 Ice Tie-Dyeing Made Easy Cool Fun in the Sun:

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18 Presenting the Past: Coventry Group 22 Resurrects Historic Series Golden Eagles in Otsego and Delaware County

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Cookin’ with Collins: Brownie Ice-Cream Sandwiches Business Directory

31 Meet the Locals 22 4

| UPSTATE LIFE MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022

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Sidney’s Community Cultural Center:

“We’re Just Getting Started”

BY CHRYSTAL SAVAGE

I

n November 2020, the First Congregational Church in Sidney was resurrected as the Community Cultural Center. The historic 200-plus-year-old building at 1 Bridge St. in the Delaware County village operated as a church from 1839 through late 2019.

Executive Director Pat Cristelli was one of roughly a dozen people to spearhead the conversion, after the congregation dissolved due to dwindling membership and funds.

Since reopening, Cristelli said, the church-turned-venue has hosted eclectic events.

“It has been a long, slow process, but we are constantly expanding our events and offerings to the community,” she said.

“There has been a lot of waiting with COVID, preparation of events and finalizing of paperwork to get to this point, but we are really happy with where we are and optimistic about the future.”

Something for Everyone

Sidney’s Community Cultural Center is at 1 Bridge St.

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| UPSTATE LIFE MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022

Featured CCC events have included plays, cabarets, band performances and more. Cristelli said varied offerings are yielding diverse attendees.

“Our comedy events probably get the biggest turnout, with the most diversity in terms of demographic and distance travelled,” Cristelli said. “We’ve had everyone from teenagers to seniors attend, from just down the road and as far as 30 minutes away.”

Julie VanBuren is pictured at an acrylic pouring class hosted by the CCC.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

VICKI HAMILTON | PIXABAY.COM

Unadilla resident Anna Ritchey shows a finished painting after a paint-and-sip at the Community Cultural Center.

The Community Cultural Center presents a gallery art show.

The center also has free and paid classes open to the community, offers space for rent for functions and presents a mix of children-focused activities.

Cristelli said folks are appreciating all that’s on offer.

“The response from the community has been great,” she said.

“We’re excited to continue bringing people together.”

Looking Forward In addition to an ever-expanding list of events, the center has also undergone extensive renovations, including lighting, seating and accessibility, with a recently added second handicapped accessible bathroom that includes a baby changing station, too.

Cristelli noted that continuing to improve the space will hopefully aid continued community engagement and, as a result, the center’s long-term success.

“At the end of the day, we depend on community attendance,” she said, “so it’s important that people know we’re here and what we do and that we’re constantly making improvements.

“A friend telling a friend about us is huge,” Cristelli continued.

“We’re always open to ideas and suggestions, as well as to opportunities to get involved and volunteer. While the center is quiet in the summer, we are working hard to put together many event opportunities in the fall.”

For more information, reach the Community Cultural Center at 607-604-4584 or cccsacegroup@gmail.com. Also, find “Community Cultural Center” on Facebook, where, Cristelli said, “people can like and follow to support our mission, but also keep up with what upcoming events are in the wings.” +

A friend telling a friend about us is huge. We’re always open to ideas and suggestions, as well as to opportunities to get involved and volunteer. While the center is quiet in the summer, we are working hard to put together many event opportunities in the fall.”

CCC Events Coming this Fall: Comedy Nights Concerts Children’s events Paint and Sips Tai Chi classes Find “Community Cultural Center” on Facebook for dates and times SUMMER 2022 | UPSTATE LIFE MAGAZINE | 7

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Writers Wanted Upstate Life Magazine, The Daily Star’s premier glossy publication, is in need of creative, energetic freelance writers to cover lifestyle stories of interest in our four-county coverage area. If interested, contact Allison Collins, editor, at alliedcollins@frontier.com

Gilbertsville Couple finds

Recipe for Success

BY ALLISON COLLINS

T

here’s more than bread on the rise at Gilbertsville’s Five Kids Bakehouse.

Heather and Cole Covington launched the 5 Commercial St. bakery, the brick-and-mortar iteration of Heather’s Artisans Breads and Candies, in 2021. The latter, Heather noted, began as a wholesale business in their kitchen in 2017.

“The space was coming available, because the general store (previously at 5 Commercial St.) closed at the onset of the pandemic,” Heather, 40, said. “We had been thinking about it for a while and it seemed like the perfect opportunity and the Gilbertsville Village Improvement Society (which owns the building) was all for it.”

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Five Kids Bakehouse is at 5 Commercial St., Gilbertsville.

The Covingtons said their five children, 7 through 15, with a set of triplets in the middle, inspired not only the bakery’s name, but its inception.

“I was just thinking, ‘What can I do from home with the five kids for some extra money?’ and it kind of grew from there,” Heather said.

“I was baking bread and one of the owners from the general store, I gave her a loaf, and she said, ‘You can totally sell this,’ so that’s how it all started.”

“The GVIS basically got the space ready for us and it just so happened that we knew we had outgrown our house, but I also knew I didn’t want to drive anywhere, because of the kids,” she continued, noting that she grew up in the area and that the family lives “right around the corner.” “So, we jumped on it, because it was the right time and it was the right place and, with all of our existing customers, I knew it would work.”

When business shifted from home to downtown, the Covingtons noted, Cole, 43, left a career in employee recruitment to manage the bakery and front-end operations.

“I worked in staffing for 15 years,” he said. “(Now), I do the stuff Heather doesn’t like to do, like numbers and that sort of thing. There’s something new every day, so there’s a challenge every day, be it finding ingredients or ingredient costs. It helps that we’re so close that we can come back and forth; if it was a half hour away, we literally couldn’t do it, because of the baking process. Heather is exceptional at what she does with baking and getting stuff to the counter.

She’s the creative one and I’m the one that tries to make it work. I used to be a bartender, so doing this – the front of the house and making drinks – is not super hard for me, though it does get super busy, but the other stuff is the hard part: finding ingredients, figuring out how to make the numbers work and not gouging people with the prices.”

I was just thinking, ‘What can I do from home with the five kids for some extra money?’ and it kind of grew from there. I was baking bread and one of the owners from the general store, I gave her a loaf, and she said, ‘You can totally sell this,’ so that’s how it all started.”

Good Eats What began with bread has grown to include savory and sweet artisanal pastries, cookies, tarts and more. Heather said she previously had “just restaurant work” as a culinary background.

“For the bread process, all my breads are sourdoughs,” she said. “People think of sourdough as a flavor, but it’s not, it’s a process. It’s fermented and I don’t use yeast – it’s a long process and it takes a couple days to make it and I’m still using my original starter that I created in 2010, so it’s been around for a long time. It’s just kind of evolved over time, through trial and error until I like where it’s at, and it’s the same with the croissants and all the pastries. I just taught myself.”

Cole and Heather Covington stand in their Gilbertsville bakery in this June photo.

SUMMER 2022 | UPSTATE LIFE MAGAZINE | 11

From top left, clockwise: Raspberry-topped meringues are among the sweet treats found at Five Kids Bakehouse.

Cronuts, the Covingtons said, are among their most popular confections. Though not a cake decorator, Heather Covington said, she will occasionally make a cake such as this July confection, adorned with gold-dusted berries and edible flowers. Sugar-dusted croissants and other artisanal pastries fill the counter at Five Kids Bakehouse.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

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Customers, the Covingtons said, can count on everything being fresh and, when possible, baked with local ingredients.

“Our whole business model is based on having no waste,” Cole said. “We’re not going to sell a day-old fruit danish, because it’s not going to taste how it should. If someone comes at noon and it’s gone, they should’ve gotten here earlier. Every day, we’re trying to predict what we need for tomorrow, and we’ve been really good with that for the first year and that keeps our ingredient costs low. That way, we don’t have exorbitant prices, but we do have to really guess, every day.”

“I make enough so that I think every single thing is going to sell that day,” Heather echoed. “Nothing is day-old or ever on the counter for two days. Generally, I try to have at least one to three gluten-free items every day. And my whole grain flours are organic, but for regular flour, I use King Arthur. I do try to buy stuff that’s organic – most of the nuts I use are organic – and

all my eggs are from a local farmer here in Gilbertsville. If I can get local ramps, I’ll use them for as long as I possibly can, so anything growing right here, I’m going to buy as much as I can and use it for as long as I can, so I try to cook seasonally.”

Something for Everyone Customers, the Covingtons said, are eating it up.

“The cronuts, almond croissants, chocolate croissants, the fruit danish, savory danish – those are our top sellers,” Heather said.

“I like making new things and I get excited when I come up with something new.”

“There are people that come in just for the cookies, too,” Cole said, noting the pistachio-cardamom cookies are a customer favorite.

The Covingtons said, like them, customers are spurred by their commitment to quality and creativity.

“The cronuts, almond croissants, chocolate croissants, the fruit danish, savory danish – those are our top sellers. I like making new things and I get excited when I come up with something new.”

Heather Covington smiles while bagging her popular pistachiocardamom cookies in the Five Kids Bakehouse kitchen in this June photo.

PHOTOS BY ALLISON COLLINS

“(The response) has been overwhelmingly positive,” Heather said, with Cole calling the response “way bigger than we could’ve imagined.”

“We have some local Gilbertsville people, but it’s really diverse,” Cole said. “People’s willingness to drive 45 minutes to buy bread and pastries … is crazy. I had no idea we’d have so many regular customers that would drive from Cooperstown or Greene, and we have people that drive from Binghamton, regularly.

“It’s a mix,” he continued. “There’s definitely the older crowd that appreciates this more because they haven’t found it or had it in quite a while, or they moved up here years ago and, all of a sudden, find pastries and say, ‘I used to have this when I lived wherever.’ And then you see a younger crowd and it turns people on to things they’ve never had, so there’s a lot of education that we do, too.”

“It’s the bread they remember from their childhood; the rye from Brooklyn,” Heather said.

“Food definitely takes people back and brings back such strong feelings for people, which is fun to see,” Cole said.

Proof Positive Heather and Cole said they hope to grow their repertoire alongside their client base.

“There’s potential for wholesale expansion for certain items and … we could expand into shipping more things, like cookies and granola and some breads,” he said. “We do a little bit of that, but I think that’s something we could do more of.”

“We’re always adding new things and new seasonal (items),” Heather said. “And we’re going to try to get back into the Wednesday meal (available by pre-order).”

While bakery ownership is no piece of cake, the Covingtons said, they’re still sweet on it. “(The hardest part) is just keeping up with it,” Cole said. “It gets so busy, and the supply chain shortage has been really, really hard to get around, and trying to keep up with the rising costs is tough. But I could not go back to sitting at a desk.”

“I honestly can’t picture myself doing anything else,” Heather said. “And I love the fact that our kids can be here and can learn something. I feel like they have, like they understand that they can make money, and I definitely appreciate that. They see what it means to work hard and to know how to work. They help; some will run the register in the morning before school, some like to help in the back, they help clean, they’ll label bags and they can make simple syrup.

“I’m up at 1 a.m. just to be able to get everything done; 4 is sleeping in for me,” she continued, noting that she’s in bed by 6 p.m. “But it’s rewarding, and it truly does make me happy, even though I’m so exhausted all the time. Everyone loves it, and just seeing how happy people are when they come in and how much people love it, that means something.”

Five Kids Bakehouse is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and closed Monday. For more information, call 607-445-4023, visit 5kidsbakehouse.com or find “Five Kids Bakehouse” on Facebook. +

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Cool Fun in the Sun:

Ice Tie-Dyeing Made Easy A

s temperatures rise, folks look for fun in the sun without incurring a huge expense.

Ice-dyeing is a cool craft (literally) that anyone can do with friends or family, without spending a lot of money or time.

Online sources suggest that ice dying grew from a need to color fabrics during winter months.

According to bather.com, quilters developed the technique in Asia, with garments dating to the late 17th century. Since then, the phenomenon has been used for practical and recreational purposes in the world of fabric dyeing.

Required materials: • Ice in quantity, as needed, for items to be dyed • Cotton-based fabric items • Powdered tie-dye in various colors* • Screen for drainage • Large container to catch liquids *Note: Some powdered tie-dye requires soda ash, salt or other ingredients to activate.

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Recommended materials: • Gloves • Face mask • Eye protection Process: (it is recommended to do this project outside): • Begin by placing container on a flat surface.

• Cover container with screen.

• Place item to be dyed on top of the screen; roll, fold or pinch the material if a particular design or effect is desired.

• Cover item with ice cubes as desired.

• Sprinkle colors as desired.

• Let sit for recommended time, based on your specific dye.

• Rinse and wash the garment as recommended, until the water runs clear.

• Follow dye directions for proper disposal.

Have fun wearing your cool creation! +

BY CHRYSTAL SAVAGE

PHOTOS BY CHRYSTAL SAVAGE

Grady Matusick, of Treadwell, models a finished shirt, dyed using the ice tie-dyeing method.

ICE SPLASH VECTOR CREATED BY MACROVECTOR | FREEPIK.COM

People mistake young bald eagles for golden eagles all the time.

Golden eagles are staying high up and out of sight. they prefer heavily forested areas, preferably with high hills and cliffs.”

Golden Eagles in Otsego and Delaware County

BY CAITLIN OGDEN

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B

irds of prey, soaring in the sky over upstate communities, are a wonderfully common sight in our region. Whether it is a group of turkey vultures thermaling in lazy loops over a hot parking lot, a red tail hawk sitting on a wire, an osprey nesting on a highway platform or America’s mascot – the bald eagle - flying overhead and confusing everyone with its natural high-pitched chirp, we have a lot of birds that call Otsego and Delaware County home.

A big factor for our bird population is our location in what is called the Atlantic Flyway. A flyway is a north-south running location utilized by birds for their spring and fall migrations.

There are four flyways in the country: the Atlantic Flyway, the Mississippi Flyway, the Central Flyway and the Pacific Flyway.

Flyways not only follow routes with good aeronautical conditions, but also extend through areas with access to food, water and shelter. Birds fly much like how humans plan their travel, factoring for good restaurants and motel rooms.

Golden Skies Most people think of eagles as large brown birds with bright white heads and yellow feet. The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States, narrowly beating out the turkey for that title in 1782. However, fewer people are familiar with its slightly larger cousin, the golden eagle, which also is a frequent flyer to our area. It’s harder to identify, often being confused with juvenile bald eagles or vultures. It’s also significantly more reclusive, says Thomas Salo, board member of the Delaware-Otsego chapter of the Audubon Society, DOAS, and HawkWatch co-chairman, golden eagle research coordinator.

“People mistake young bald eagles for golden eagles all the time,” Salo said. “Golden eagles are staying high up and out of sight.” Salo noted that they prefer heavily forested areas, preferably with high hills and cliffs.

Golden eagle sightings in Otsego and Delaware counties, as well as in surrounding areas, have become more common, but Salo said that is likely more to do with more people knowing when and where to look than changes in population.

“Going back many years, to the 1970s, golden eagles began being observed migrating along the Franklin Mountain area in southern Oneonta,” Salo said. This coincided with a bump in public interest in large raptors and other birds, thanks, in part, to Rachael Carson’s “Silent Spring,” published in 1962. Carson, scientists and the public were becoming aware that America’s symbol, the bald eagle, had been pushed to near extinction by hunting, trapping and exposure to the harmful – and now banned – pesticide, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT. “Scientists believe that golden eagles did not suffer as much from DDT poisoning as the bald eagle, simply because they have a different diet, preferring upland game and relying less on scavenging carrion like the bald eagle,” Salo said. However,

he noted, they did suffer a dip in population, which stabilized through the 1990s due to decreased pressures from humans.

Tracking Transit In 1989, Andrew Mason, at times been president, vice president and conservation chair with DOAS, began experimenting with observing birds along Franklin Mountain, founding HawkWatch. Franklin Mountain rapidly became recognized as one of the premier places in the Northeast to observe golden eagles, especially in the fall and spring, when they are migrating between their summer breeding grounds in Quebec and their winter home in the Appalachians.

Since they began observing the birds, Salo said, they have averaged 149 birds annually. But in 2018, they set a record with 323 birds observed, all flying one way, and recorded 148 birds in a single day, marking the single-day record east of the Mississippi, Salo said.

“In 2018, the weather conditions in Quebec were awful, with a drought all summer and then early winter weather,” he said.

“This likely caused a big early push in migration across the population in Canada.”

What helped, too, he said, was ideal observation weather.

“Our organization is all volunteer-run,” Salo said, “and the more people we have counting on a given day, the more we can record. We also know what weather conditions will bring the eagles close to the ridge. The wind direction must be perpendicular to the ridge and blowing just right. Less than 10 miles per hour, and they don’t get enough lift. More than 20 to 25 miles per hour, the wind is too strong to travel along the ridge.”

When volunteers see that they will have a good observation day during the right time of year, he noted, they can be ready for the birds – binoculars, pad and pencil in hand.

Watching the eagles fly by twice a year is not the full extent of DOAS’ research with this species of raptor. In the 1990s, when golden eagle populations were rebounding and the birds were appearing in the area more frequently, Salo said, “no one knew what they were doing or where they were going.”

Franklin Mountain rapidly became recognized as one of the premier places in the Northeast to observe golden eagles, especially in the fall and spring, when they are migrating between their summer breeding grounds in Quebec and their winter home in the Appalachians.

SUMMER 2022 | UPSTATE LIFE MAGAZINE | 19

They will eat from gut piles and they can come to harm from it.” After the loss of that early bird, the team began collecting blood samples from other caught birds, discovering that they all had some level of lead poisoning from ingesting lead bullet fragments.

Caught on Camera Salo said he was approached by his friend Todd Katzner in the early 2000s to help Katzner set up wildlife camera traps baited with roadkill deer. “When the camera traps were picking up the birds in January, we realized that, while many golden eagles pass us by on the flyway, we had them overwintering in Delaware and some in Otsego County, as well. It appeared they liked the high elevation and steep terrain.”

The project eventually evolved, and Department of Environmental Conservation scientists joined in, seeking to briefly capture the eagles at the traps, outfit them with GPS trackers and release them. DEC-licensed trapper Scott Van Arsdale joined Salo, Katzner and other volunteers. Salo describes the set-up as “blinds, like you would use for any hunting, near the camera trap with a remote-controlled net.” The net would be deployed, the tracker placed on the bird and the bird released.

Using this technique, the team successfully captured and tracked eight birds.

“We tracked them up into Canada, with some of the devices lasting for five years,” Salo said. “Some birds spent their time in the interior of Canada, some near the water. One female bird spent her time on the Hudson Strait, which is located south of Baffin Island, as far as she could go and stayed on the shore for six to eight weeks.” The team lost track of her after that, Salo noted, and fear that she was feeding on scavenged food from the beach and on sea birds, leading to high contamination levels, which may have ended her life.

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Contamination levels from food along the shore aren’t the only food-source threat facing golden eagles. Early in the trap-andrelease program, a male eagle the team had tagged disappeared quite quickly after being tagged. Using the GPS location information, the team looked for him, eventually finding the deceased bird near the remains of a deer that had been shot and dressed.

“They will eat from gut piles,” Salo said, “and they can come to harm from it.” After the loss of that early bird, the team began collecting blood samples from other caught birds, discovering that they all had some level of lead poisoning from ingesting lead bullet fragments. These experiences are one reason DOAS advocates for the use of non-lead ammunition when hunting.

Golden eagles still face pressures from humans, from habitat encroachment and loss to impacts from energy-producing wind turbines and ingestion of environmental contaminants. But, sources said, it is encouraging to see such stable and reliable numbers of birds passing over us every year, with some even choosing to stay.

As the warmth of summer fades to fall, grab a pair of binoculars, check the weather forecast and head to Franklin Mountain to enjoy an almost guaranteed sighting (if the wind is right) of this elusive king of eastern-American raptors. Just look for the tell-tale white feathers, this time under the wings, not on the head.

For more information, visit doas.us.

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PRESENTING THE PAST: Coventry Group Resurrects Historic Series

T

Top: Series attendees are pictured awaiting the May 31 presentation, the first in the series this year.

Bottom: John Kessler, a member of the board of directors with the museum, is seen readying the space for the season’s first presentation in late May.

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| UPSTATE LIFE MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022

he Coventry Museum Association is rediscovering its roots.

The museum, housed in the one-room District 2 schoolhouse, relaunched its monthly presentation series in May. Presentations take place at 6 p.m. on the last Tuesday of the month, through October.

Museum director and preservation expert Kurt Riegel said resurrecting the series underscores the association’s mission.

“We are like a historical society, so we have a museum and offer a lot of different events and activities throughout the year,” he said. “This is kind of new; we used to have presentations years ago, but the museum dwindled a little bit and then COVID came and everything got worse, so we’re bringing it back.”

The series, Riegel said, “highlights local history by having various guest speakers talking about local historic events.”

“For June, we (had) Chuck D’Imperio give a talk about little-known statues, monuments and memorials around all of New York State,” he said. “For July, we’ll talk about the Underground Railroad and how they used quilts as signals for people.

The August 30 talk is by a local person, Sharon Donahe, (with the topic to be determined); September will be a veteran of the Vietnam War (discussing) the first Vietnam War casualty from Chenango County; and October will be the history of barns.”

Riegel noted that he led May’s presentation, which showcased the history of the Coventry Schoolhouse. The 1852 building, he said, has operated as a museum since 1976.

Historic Happenings Planning for the series began in April, Riegel said.

We brought (the presentations) back because we wanted to grow our organization by advocating for the museum, to hopefully bring in some new members. And, if you’re going to get new members and new people involved, you have to have things going on. They don’t want to go to board meetings, they want to go to an event.”

From top: The Coventry Town Museum is housed in the one-room District 2 schoolhouse, pictured. A restored, handpainted sign identifies the Coventry Town Museum. Museum member Benjamin Elijah is seen painting the museum’s restored sign in this June 2020 photo.

Regina, a volunteer with the museum, works on windows in this May photo.

Kurt Riegel, museum director, is seen restoring the schoolhouse’s windows in this May photo.

“I just reached out to several of the people I know from the area that do a lot of guest-speaking on local history and are good public speakers,” he said. “I asked if they were interested and what they’d be interested in (presenting), so they kind of picked the topics.”

Patrons, Riegel said, have welcomed the series’ return. “(The May presentation) went wonderfully and we had a great turnout,” he said, estimating 50 attendees. “It was a full house and there was not a single chair left; we had to go get more chairs.”

Though series attendees have represented an older demographic, Riegel noted, offering the presentations and other events is part of boosting and diversifying attendance.

“We’ve done a lot of events already this year that were not presentations and they get a younger crowd,” he said, noting historical hikes, a window restoration workshop and cemetery cleanups. “We’re getting a draw. We’ve had people coming from Binghamton, Norwich and Hamilton, so there are people coming from quite a distance. Before COVID, the crowds were not as big, so it’s kind of a newfound thing. So far, everybody seems very happy and it seems like a really good response.

“We brought (the presentations) back because we wanted to grow our organization by advocating for the museum, to hopefully bring in some new members,” Riegel continued. “And, if you’re going to get new members and new people involved, you have to have things going on. They don’t want to go to board meetings, they want to go to an event.”

Coventry Museum Association, Riegel noted, includes an elected board of directors and trustees along with roughly 40 members.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Our mission – all of our missions – is just to foster and show pride in the history of these towns and showcase that town’s history. (Historical museums) are the archives of the town and have everything stored so, if someone wants to learn about a historical event, an individual or anything, they can go to the museum and all the information and records will be there.”

Looking Ahead Presentations, Riegel said, are offered free to the public.

“There’s no charge and it’s not a fundraiser, just an advocacy, an awareness,” he said. “We do do fundraising, though. We sell various books and we just got awarded a grant … that will go toward painting our schoolhouse this summer.

We’ve done a lot of work to the building in the last three years: we jacked up and replaced the front sills, painted the interior foyer and replaced one of the windows with more period-appropriate window sashes.”

Riegel said he’s hopeful for the future, while remaining committed to preserving the past.

“Our mission – all of our missions – is just to foster and show pride in the history of these towns and showcase that town’s history,” he said. “(Historical museums) are the archives of the town and have everything stored so, if someone wants to learn about a historical event, an individual or anything, they can go to the museum and all the information and records will be there.

“My vision for the museum association is to continue to grow and … do various types of events every year and keep continuing to restore the actual building and become more of a community-based organization that focuses on the community overall,” Riegel continued. “We have plans of doing bigger events … and we’d love to do an annual big event. Coventry is a pretty small town, and there’s not a lot going on, so we want to continue to grow and grow.”

For more information on the series, find “Coventry NY History” on Facebook or contact Riegel at riegelkurt@gmail.com to subscribe to the quarterly Coventry Museum Association newsletter. +

Mediumship and Psychic Readings Classes & Workshops Intuitive Life-Coaching Mentorship, Home Parties Readings via phone, zoom or In-Person

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The Franklin Railroad and Community Museum

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572 Main Street Franklin, NY 13775 607-829-2692 • johncampbell8@gmail.com Hours Open: Last Sunday of Each Month, 1:00pm to 4:00pm or by Appointment Call 607-829-5890 or 607-829-2692 Admission: Free Handicapped Accessible

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Juried History Center with the Gilboa Museum

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122 Stryker Rd. • Gilboa, NY 12076 Call Kristen Wyckoff at 607-437-7132 kristen.wyckoff@yahoo.com • gilboafossils.org

Brownie Ice-Cream Sandwiches

BY ALLISON COLLINS

S

ummer is the season of ice cream. Not that I don’t eat plenty of it year-round, but summer is when it becomes a staple. And the only thing better than ice cream is ice cream sandwiched between layers of chocolate.

The origin of the ice-cream sandwich is melty. But, according to thefolly.org, National Ice-Cream Sandwich Day is Aug. 2 (get ready!) and the confection was introduced on New York City streets for one penny in the late 1800s. A call for recipes and recreations followed, the site states, in newspapers around the country, creating a national food trend.

In “Six Things You Might Not Know About Ice Cream Sandwiches,” written in 2019 to mark the treat’s 120th-anniversary, mentalfloss.com notes that, according to “The Boston Globe,” the “earliest versions of (ice-cream sandwiches) were called hokey pokeys” and were “just ice cream held together with two pieces of paper.” And, the site states, an 1899 “New York Mail” article said: “There are ham sandwiches and salmon sandwiches and cheese sandwiches and several other kinds of sandwiches, but the latest is the ice-cream sandwich.”

In its heyday, the ice-cream sandwich became so popular, the site states, that it bridged culinary class gaps: “Because the sandwiches were sold on the street, they catered more toward working-class individuals. However, the deliciousness of the treat quickly caught on and became a hit with Wall Street workers. On August 19, 1899 the ‘New York Sun’ ran a story about the phenomenon, stating: ‘The brokers themselves got to buying ice cream sandwiches and eating them in democratic fashion side by side on the sidewalk with the messengers and the office boys.”

Cookin’ WITH RACOOL STUDIO | FREEPIK.COM

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| UPSTATE LIFE MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022

Collins

Wrap sandwiches in wax or parchment paper before freezing. I recommend double wrapping with foil, too.

While sources agree that it originated in America, the ice-cream sandwich has iterations around the world. Iran’s bastani-e noonie, mentalfloss. com notes, uses saffron and rosewater ice cream between two wafers and is dipped in pistachios, while Vietnamese street vendors sell ice cream between slices of actual bread, topped with crushed peanuts.

By using brownies instead of the traditional shortbread-style cookie (though early versions often used sponge cake), this recipe puts a homemade twist on the classic. Sandwiching the ice cream between layers of brownie gives the finished treat a welcome fudginess and, because they’re DIY, any flavor of ice cream can be used.

That combination of familiar and customizable makes these ice-cream sandwiches great for summer parties, cookouts or simply sweet snacking.

BROWNIE ICE-CREAM SANDWICHES Ingredients: 1 c. (1 stick) melted butter 1 ½ c. granulated sugar 1 c. packed light brown sugar 4 eggs, room temperature 2 tbsp. vegetable or olive oil 3 tsp. vanilla extract 1 ½ c. flour 1 c. baking cocoa powder ½ tsp. salt Approx. 1.5 quarts of ice cream of choice

Directions:

1

2

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Lightly spray two small cookie sheets or two 13x9 pans with cooking oil and line with parchment paper. Be sure to leave about four inches of excess parchment paper hanging off the long sides of the pans.

Combine melted butter with sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium until well blended.

Add in eggs, one at a time. Mix well.

Add oil and vanilla and mix again.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder and salt.

With the mixer on low, add dry ingredients in intervals.

Mix until combined. Batter will be dark and thick.

Pour half the batter into each pan and spread into a thin layer. An inset spatula works well here and, because the batter is thick, it might be helpful to wet the blade of the inset spatula before spreading.

Give the pans a tap to remove any air bubbles and level out the batter.

PHOTOS BY ALLISON COLLINS

3

4

Tip:

 To save time, use boxed brownie mix and follow package directions. One box will make about eight sandwiches, so double or triple according to desired yield.

5

6

7 28

Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the surface of the brownies is crackled.

Remove from oven and cool, in the pans, for about 10 minutes.

Keeping the brownies in their parchment paper, remove from pans and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Once cool, peel the parchment paper from only one sheet of brownies.

Thaw ice cream for about 10 minutes, until easily spreadable.

Place the layer of brownies still on parchment paper back in the pan, using the overhanging parchment paper like a sling for the brownies.

Top bottom layer of brownies with ice cream and spread evenly.

Carefully invert the remaining layer of brownies (the one without parchment paper) onto the ice cream.

Cover with plastic wrap or foil and freeze for at least six hours or overnight.

When ready, remove pan from the freezer and thaw for five to 10 minutes. Use the parchment paper to lift the solid brownie-ice cream mixture from the pan and slice with a sharp knife into rectangles. Again here, wetting the knife might prove helpful.

Serve sandwiches, or wrap individually in plastic wrap, wax paper or both and store in the freezer for up to one month.

When ready to eat, just thaw for about five minutes.

Yield: 16 sandwiches + 1. Ready the ingredients for the brownies, or prepare a boxed brownie mix. 2. Beat butter and sugars together until smooth.

3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. 4. Use a butter knife or inset spatula to carefully spread batter into a thin layer. Dampen the knife blade if needed.

5. It’s important to leave enough excess parchment paper hanging over the sides of the pan, because this will act as a sling for lifting the frozen block out before slicing. 6.

When ready to assemble, allow ice cream to thaw before spreading. 7. Scoop ice cream onto bottom layer of the brownies. This is the layer that will keep its parchment paper.

8. Smooth thawed ice cream into an even layer. 9. Part of the fun of making your own ice-cream sandwiches is getting to use your favorite flavors for filling.

| UPSTATE LIFE MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022

8

9

Finished sandwiches have fudgy brownie ‘bread’ layers.

Do you love to cook, bake, re-invent recipes or create new ones to make them healthier? Submit your recipes for a chance to be featured in upcoming editions of Upstate Life Magazine.

Email recipes to creativeservices@thedailystar.com Please include: 4 Your name 4 Town in which you reside 4 Phone number 4 Recipe name 4 Recipe origin 4 Ingredients 4 Directions 4 A high resolution photo of the finished product (optional)

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SUMMER 2022 | UPSTATE LIFE MAGAZINE | 31

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