Upstate Life Fall Edition 2017

KE T’S

!

TA - I E ON EE FR

F A L L 2017

Get ready to be

floored!

Carpeting a family affair

Thrifty Finds

Autumn attire at bargain prices

Bigger is better The art of growing giant pumpkins

AND MORE!

An ice age autumn at Olana Geology day trip

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FALL 2017

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VOLUME 11

Get ready to be floored!

Carpeting is a family affair

Rising above the ashes United Methodist Church in Milford rebuilds after fire

Cooking with Collins

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ISSUE 4

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

Fall into comfort food

Editor Joanne Arbogast

Bigger is better

Graphic Designer Tracy Bender

The art of growing giant pumpkins

NY Books: Charting a course to Cuba Nelson DeMille’s latest novel

Hang on!

Michael Stolzer’s work of art

Father Christmas

Advertising Manager Valerie Secor Interested in advertising in Upstate Life Magazine?

Call toll-free, 1-800-721-1000, ext. 222 We invite you to e-mail your comments to: upstatelifeeditor@thedailystar.com

On the cover

From there to here

An ice age autumn at Olana Geology day trip

Thrifty Finds Autumn attire at bargain prices

Remington Hoppe 4

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Fall 2017

Photo by Blue Water Studio - Jessica Guenther

CHERRY VALLEY Dedicated to remembering the past

Blue Bee CAFE

CORRECTION In an article which appeared in the Spring 2017 issue, “Dedicated to Remembering the Past” about the Cherry Valley Historical Association and museum’s digitalization project, the following names provided by CVHA were misspelled: Oskar Webster, Brian DeBoyace, Marijke Kroon and Arianna Breese-Kelsey. We regret the error.

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Cover Story

Get ready to be floored!

F

By Joanne Arbogast

For decades, Stephen Huffman has kept his eyes focused down. It’s a good thing because his knowledge and experience in knowing what’s under foot has let him set his sight on new heights.

On his birthday in May 2015, Huffman, 46, with his son, Tanner, opened CarpetsPlus COLORTILE, “America’s Floor Store,” at 55 S. Main St., Oneonta. The achievement was the culmination of not only years of hard work in the flooring business but a determination to provide “world class customer

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Fall 2017

service, honesty and integrity” – something, he found, was sorely lacking in the industry.

Tanner, 24, completed his first installation for CarpetsPlus three days after the store opened, “on his birthday,” his father notes. Tanner is now the owner and CEO of the company, Huffman says, seated at his sales desk in the spacious storeroom, answering phones that rarely stop ringing.

Huffman started in the business in 1992. In 1999, he worked in the warehouse of a local flooring store where he Photos by Blue Water Studio - Jessica Guenther

In order to sell with honesty and integrity, you must surround yourself with people who do the same.

Stephen Huffman

learned how to bind carpets and get jobs ready for the installers. “I was younger, so this job wasn’t very exciting,” he says. The manager there must have taken notice. “An opportunity came up for me when the manager asked me if I would like to help out an installer whose helper couldn’t work that day.

“I took this opportunity … and loved it.”

Even after all these years, the memory of that defining moment remains crystal clear for Huffman. “My boss for that day was Gary ‘Pete’ Christman. He took me on full time and to this day, I tell people he was the best boss I ever had. He taught me how to install a number of different types of floors and how to take care of the customer.”

Part of that customer care included meticulous clean-up afterward, contacting people after a job was done to make sure there were no problems, and to keep the company in mind for any future projects. It was that kind of attention that

consistently resulted in ever-increasing work. Together, Christman and Huffman became in-demand from prior customers, who also passed along recommendations about them to potential customers. For the next few years, Huffman continued to work with Christman, learning and absorbing as much knowledge about the business as he could from his mentor.

Stepping away But change was in the wind. Huffman moved to Albany and became a cook for a large chain of steakhouses.

In time, he moved into a management position but “the grind was tough in the restaurant business” and when a totally different sort of opportunity presented itself – delivery for a new Home Depot in town – he decided to change course once again.

He took the job and was very successful, at one time owning up to six delivery contracts and managing 12 employees. But by that time, “I was getting older and appliances were getting heavier, which wore on my body,” he says.

One day he happened to be in the flooring store where he had previously worked and inquired about any job openings in sales. “There was,” he says, “and I excelled in selling, taking what I had learned from Pete about taking care of customers.”

Customer comes first The job provided Huffman with a nice living and even Tanner came on board, working with a few installers and quickly learning the craft. “It’s not often a helper excels to become a lead mechanic but Tanner did just that,” Huffman says of his son’s ability. But things weren’t all smooth and in time, Huffman and the store parted ways, which he now views as a blessing in disguise.

Drawing from all the valuable and varied experience he had gained from selling and installing flooring to running restaurants and managing deliveries, Huffman knew top quality customer service was the key to success. “In order to sell with honesty and integrity, you must surround yourself with people who do the same,” he says. And that’s exactly what he ultimately wanted to do.

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No job too small Among the many big projects the store has handled is the new gymnasium at Oneonta Job Corps and the floors of the 93 rooms of the new hotel located behind Buffalo Wild Wings on the southside. Last year, they did the new flooring for Interskate 88 – replacing carpeting that had been there for 38 years.

But even if you have one small bathroom that requires a new look, Stephen Huffman, manager, and his team want to help you find the new floor you desire. “We’re not selling junk,” he promises. “What we sell is quality, and it’s in your price range.”

Christmas is coming … what better gift to give to that hard-to-get-for person in your life who wants new flooring than a gift certificate from CarpetsPlus.

Commercial and residential products and installation are offered throughout Oneonta and the surrounding area.

Helping fuel that desire were inspiring words of wisdom and values Huffman remembered his grandfather sharing. “My grandfather owned Welch Livestock Market in Edmeston, N.Y. Whenever possible, he paid cash on delivery (COD). He had close to a multi-million-dollara-year business in his heyday,” he says.

He looks around his storeroom and smiles. “We take pride in being a completely debt-free company.” And, he adds, “we only get flooring in here that we get excited about.” If he’s excited, he knows his customers will be too.

Honesty, integrity rule

Melissa Huffman and Michael Baldwin

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CarpetsPlus COLORTILE is a family affair. With six years of experience under his belt, Tanner is not only the owner but the installer and oversees “everything that goes into a customer’s home” while Huffman handles residential and commercial sales. Tanner’s mom, Melissa Huffman, handles customer service. Also on the team is Mike Baldwin, who has more than 43 years experience in floor covering and sales.

The combination is working.

“Tanner is new school, with internet sites to grow our business. I am old school, talking to people face-to-face, and Melissa is very good with customer service, helping people find the perfect choices for their projects,” Huffman says.

There’s not much down time. “Tanner works very hard, installing every day of the week. At one point, he had only two days off in a six-week span. Adding another installer (bringing the total to three) was inevitable but scary at the same time,” Huffman says, explaining that it’s not easy “to trust someone else to take care of our customers the way Tanner has.

We are a small, tight group.” +

If you go: What: CarpetsPlus COLORTILE Where: 55 S. Main St., Oneonta, NY 13820 Contact: (607) 353-7433; oneontaflooring.net; Carpetsplusoneonta @hotmail.com

Option galore The CarpetsPlus COLORTILE held a second grand opening Sept. 16 and in preparation for the event, the showroom was even more transformed into a home renovator’s candy store.

Want to know what a carpet or tile will look like? Look down – the items they sell have been installed throughout. “If something is discontinued, we’ll pull it up,” says Stephen Huffman, manager.

If you can’t find what you want to cover your floor here, or in its massive carpet remnant room, it probably doesn’t exist. From vinyl plank

to ledger panel to waterproof carpet, the options are too many to count. For those leaning toward sustainable living products, the store offers natural bamboo and cork

by US Floors. according to a brochure, “no trees are cut down to harvest the bark and cork trees produce new cork for re-harvest every nine years making cork a sustainable, environmentally-friendly and rapidly renewable resource.”

They have increased their tile offerings and recently added selections of blinds as well as custom cabinets and counters available in quartz, marble and 100 different slabs of granite.

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Inspiration

Rising above the

ashes Story and Photos By Paula J. Cochran

O

The congregation faced its first devastating fire in the late 1920s. Upon rebuilding, the members placed a time capsule behind this cornerstone. The stone, and the contents of the capsule, are all dated 1929.

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On March 12, a raging night fire left the United Methodist Church in Milford in ruins. In July, Gerald E. Althiser Jr., 20, of Springfield was arrested for setting the church on fire.

Despite the devastation, the congregation remained intact.

Just three months later, after the charred remains of the church had been cleared away, a special celebration was held at the site.

“Out of the greatest challenges come the greatest blessings,” The Rev. Sylvia Barrett said during the Fathers Day gathering.

“This tragic event in the history of our church has brought us closer together as a congregation and ignited a deep commitment to looking to the future; to the next generation of church-goers.”

Despite the loss of a building, that day Barrett said the general feeling of the congregation was one of optimism.

“The response from the community and from the whole

of the United States has been overwhelming,” Barrett said. “We have had letters of support, donations, texts, emails and cards from so many different congregations and denominations, and from individuals who have had connections with the church in the past. Even total strangers have taken the time to send letters of support and donations.”

New York State Senator James Seward, a member of the congregation since 1975, was in attendance at the June gathering.

“Within the community, we have a renewed spirit of appreciating for the church,” he said. “From the ashes, not only will a new building emerge, but a renewed spirit in God and in the people of our community.”

Seward, who serves as treasurer of trustee accounts for the congregation, said donations from a few dollars to thousands have come in from every corner of the country.

Not all lost Though the loss was initially devastating, Barrett found the disaster reminded the church, its members and the community what’s most important: “No one was injured,” she said. “The stained-glass windows, the focal point of our sanctuary, were all salvaged as was the bell (which dates back to 1856), altar, altar cross and other important items.

We have all we need to move forward. We had a service to say goodbye to our building, thanking God for all the opportunities over the years to bring people to know Jesus Christ, and giving the site back to God.” The congregation found a temporary home two doors away, at the old Presbyterian church which serves as the community Cultural Center in Milford.

In addition to financial gifts – and the gift of renewed faith – the church got an unexpected gift from members past. During

demolition, a time capsule dated 1929 was discovered in the ruins.

‘Faith in action’ The church was destroyed by fire nearly a century ago and rebuilt. Church members hid the capsule behind the foundation stone.

On June 19, Barrett opened the copper box. Within was a copy of the church’s history, a crisp 1929 one-dollar bill, a copy of the Gospels of St. John and an issue of the church’s former newspaper, The Christian Advocate.

“We had a congregational survey and it was unanimous in the decision to move forward and rebuild,” Barrett said. “We have moved from the season of prayer to the season of discernment and have been concentrating on God’s will for the next chapter in our lives. We believe it is God’s will that we rebuild.”

Though their building didn’t survive, their motto, “faith in action,” continues to sustain them.

The Rev. Sylvia Barrett joins the congregation in the opening of the time capsule on Father’s Day.

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An Aug. 1, 1929 copy of The Christian Advocate, a weekly newspaper published in New York City by the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Started in 1826, it became the largest circulating weekly in America with more than 30,000 subscribers and an estimated 150,000 readers. Publication ceased in 1959.

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The community and the congregation have rallied, and we will emerge, from the ashes, even stronger.

Senator Jim Seward

The time capsule, which appears to be made of copper, was sealed and set into this corner stone upon during the 1929 rebuilding of the Milford United Methodist Church.

“The community and the congregation have rallied,” Seward said in June, “and we will emerge, from the ashes, even stronger.”

Still work to be done Just months after the devastating loss, the church found a new home to settle into.

“We are purchasing a small country store which is situated right next to the Milford cemetery, and so a perfect location to be near to our original site,” Barrett said. “The original site has now been totally cleared, and re-seeded, and is looking at peace. We will be concentrating our efforts on building a new Sanctuary in front of the store, thus completing our new church building footprint.”

Thirty architects in upstate New York have been invited to submit plans for the new church.

“Our plan is to be fully operational

by Thanksgiving 2018,” the pastor said.

In the meantime, the country store will serve as the congregation’s place of worship then continue to serve the congregation as a Fellowship Hall. Bar-

WITH

The stained-glass windows and the old church bell were salvaged. The congregation hopes to enjoy them again when the new building is constructed.

A pocket-sized copy of the Gospel of St. John.

God

Matthew 19:26

rett said the Food Pantry and Suzie’s Closet (which provides free clothing), which were operating out of the original church, “are now housed at our very own brand-new Community Center for Milford. The Legion members very generously donated their building, and it is in the process of being renovated, due to the generosity of local individuals and well-wishers. So we have another location also, to be used now for community events and as a meeting place for support groups.”

Donations continue to arrive for the Milford UMC Relief Fund.

“We are so very thankful to all the support and prayers we have received from individuals, families, sister congregations, and other denominations in the area, and indeed country-wide.

Through this difficult time we have learned so much about what is important. The church is the people. Our church building will be built and we will begin a brand new chapter for faith in this area.

“We have been truly blessed throughout this difficult time, and know that with God, all things are indeed possible.”

ALL THINGS ARE

Possible UPSTATE LIFE magazine

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Fall 2017 | 15

Food

COOKING with COLLINS wellloved recipe.

I love fall. I love the crisp scent carried on eddies of upstate breeze; I love the thickness of autumn sunlight on trees that seems almost too vibrant to be real; I love the coziness that creeps into evenings; I love the renewal of order the school year brings, even while feeling hectic. And, though half the time I could care less about any onfield action, I love the feel of football sidelines in fall.

But I especially love the food in fall – the way so much of what gets harvested matches the hues on the hills – titian pumpkins, golden butternuts, ruby-red apples and the last sunyellowed ears of corn.

To me, this butternut squash soup epitomizes fall flavor, right alongside apple pie and roasted pumpkin seeds.

It can stand alone as a light, rustic autumn supper with a quick salad, or makes a great starter or side for fancier fall feasts.

I was trying to describe the flavor of vanilla chai tea once to someone and, upon tasting it, she likened the tea to a “hug in a cup.” This soup is like that –

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Fall

into comfort food

comforting, velvety, warm-you-to-thebone.

It wasn’t until I dug out the hard copy of the recipe (I’ve made this so many times I mostly just eyeball it), that I realized I’ve been making this steadily since 2009. The paper is worn flannel-soft and freckled with food stains – telltale signs of a

In the intervening years, I’ve shared this soup with friends who’ve gone on to make it a staple at their Thanksgiving tables; I’ve brought it to potlucks and school functions and back again by popular demand; and I’ve made it countless times for my own family. Even my choosy, sugar-loving, carb-craving 8-year-old enjoys it.

This soup, modified from a Paula Deen recipe, freezes and re-heats well, is easy and inexpensive to make (butternut squashes are super cheap and, stored at room temperature, keep far longer than most veggies), requires a few, simple ingredients and, importantly, tastes amazing.

I recommend topping it with a dollop of sour cream and some fresh parsley, though roasted hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, a spoon of plain Greek yogurt or plain old salt and pepper are great, too. My favorite accompaniment to this soup is a tossed spinach salad with a little balsamic vinaigrette and lots of seeds, sliced almonds, bleu cheese crumbles, dried cranberries and, because it’s fall, slivers of tart apple.

By Allison Collins

Be sure to cut the ends off the squash before peeling, the better to balance your butternut.

This recipe relies on simple, easy-to-find, grown-in-the-ground ingredients. Gather them up before starting to cook to keep things simple and at-hand.

Use a strong-handled tablespoon for scooping the seeds from the belly of the squash.

Photos by Allison Collins

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP Equipment: Traditional or immersion blender, or food processor Large, heavy-bottomed pot Ingredients: 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and roughly cubed 1 white or yellow onion, chopped 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped 3-5 tbsp. butter (divided) 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (divided) 5-6 c. chicken broth Coarse kosher salt or sea salt Fresh black pepper Dash cayenne pepper (optional, but it lends a nice, lingering heat to the soup) ½ c. heavy cream Sour cream for garnish (optional) Prep time: Roughly 15 minutes Inactive prep/cooking time: About an hour Yield: about 8 servings (though this recipes doubles really well!)

Reserve your butternut squash seeds for planting next spring. See “Tips” for advice on how to do this.

Directions: Melt about 3 tbsp. of butter with 1 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. I like to use butter and olive oil because the butter adds flavor, but the oil has a higher heat tolerance so will keep the melting butter from browning or burning.

Add chopped squash, onion and carrots into melted butter/ oil and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent and everything begins to soften.

If you find the sautéing veggies seem a little dry or don’t move around the pot well, add extra butter/olive oil now.

Season with salt and pepper.

Pour in 5 c. chicken broth, turn heat down to medium-low and allow to simmer until squash is very tender. (You can let this go for a good 45 to 60 minutes here.)

Add last cup of chicken broth if desired.

Using an immersion blender (preferred), or, working in batches with a traditional countertop blender of food processor, puree stock-veg mixture until smooth.

Turn off heat and return soup to pot (if removed).

Whisk in cream.

Re-season with additional salt and pepper, to taste, and add cayenne, if using.

Serve warm, garnish as preference dictates and enjoy!

After peeling and seeding, rough-chop your butternut squash into cubes, but don’t worry too much about uniformity.

A good, coarse sea salt is a kitchen favorite.

Once you’ve got your veggies sautéing, season well with salt and pepper and adjust to taste as you go.

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This soup is pretty low maintenance and, once at the simmer stage, can be left alone for a while. Go, help with homework, clear up the dishes, dash off a few emails, but don’t forget to give it the occasional stir.

Whether using an immersion blender, traditional blender or a food processor, puree until the soup reaches a creamy consistency throughout.

The minute my Bo saw that this soup was back in rotation for the fall season, she got excited.

Everyone I know who has tried this soup – even kids! – loves it.

Serve warm, with a dollop of sour cream and fresh parsley (shown), or find your own way to finish off this fall comfort food.

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Tips:  To reserve your butternut squash seeds, discard all fibrous strings and lay seeds on a paper towel in a dry, cool place for three to seven days, then tuck the dried seeds into an envelope, label and reserve for springtime.  Before you go to peel your squash, cut the top and bottom off to give yourself a flat “foot” to stand it on and peel vertically from the top down.  If you’re in a hurry, buy the butternut squash pre-peeled and cubed. Or, if you plan to make this during the week but have a little time to spare over the weekend, peel and cube your squash ahead of time and keep the prepped veg in a sealed container in the fridge until ready to use. You could even do this for the carrot and onion, too, and have the whole thing ready to go.  Don’t be fussy about cutting the veggies all one size or shape – they’re getting blended anyway.  Save your vegetable scraps (carrot peels and nubs, squash peels and onion skins) as you go and freeze in a sealed bag or container for later use in a homemade vegetable or chicken stock. I do this and then, anytime I roast a chicken, I keep the carcass, cover it with water, salt, pepper, a bay leaf or two and any reserved peelings I have stored, let it all boil for a good while, strain off and save or freeze the liquid for an extra-flavorful future soup base.  To make this vegetarian, just swap out vegetable broth for the chicken broth. To make it vegan, omit butter (or use vegan butter) in favor of more olive oil and use ½ cup of coconut cream (the kind in a can) instead of cream. +

ABOUT THE COOK Allison Collins, of Unadilla, is a self-proclaimed 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 Sunday night dinners for family, friends and neighbors.

An accomplished and enthusiastic home cook, she has a willingness to try new things, a yen for healthfulness and vibrant color and many hours logged watching the Food Network. “It’s relatively safe to say that I love me some food. And good food at that,” says Collins. “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 or follow her on Instagram at @yakillinmecollins.

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Fall 2017 | 19

Gardening

Bigger is better

C

The art of growing giant pumpkins

Come autumn, venturing out to the pumpkin patch to find that just-the-right-size squash is nothing unusual. Most of us stick to pumpkins only big enough to wrap arms around. But for some area pumpkin enthusiasts, thoughts of late October begin in early April and pumpkin growing is no small matter.

Local growers of jumbo pumpkins spend most of spring and summer painstakingly tending their prize produce – prepping soil, fertilizing by hand, tenting to protect from too much sun and the risk of rupture – all in an effort to arrive at autumn’s peak with the biggest, baddest pumpkin.

Tyler Oliver, director of the Norwich Pumpkin Festival, said the two-day event has become Chenango County’s go-to

Contributed Photo

Early in the pumpkin-growing season, organizers of the Norwich Pumpkin Festival collaborated with Cornell Cooperative Extension to offer a growing workshop, complete with seedling starters, shown.

venue for growers to bring their Goliaths.

“We’re looking at anywhere from eight to 10 (entries),” said Oliver, adding, “We get a variety of different sizes, starting from 100 pounds.” The Norwich Pumpkin Festival record, Oliver said, is held by a 1,200-pound heavyweight from 2016’s contest. The world record stands at 2,624.2 pounds.

Though Oliver said the festival awards ribbons and prize money for that year’s biggest pumpkins, he considers “the glory aspect” to be what keeps competitors coming back.

For Mt. Upton resident Tony Beers, who has a couple top-tier finishes at the Norwich fest to his credit, growing gargantuan pumpkins is as much about fun with family as it is the culminating competition.

“I’m not doing it for the money,” said Beers, adding, “I’m doing it for the fun and because it’s a puzzle we haven’t solved yet.”

Beers grows with children, Delaney, 14, and Wyatt, 11.

Noting that the three of them started growing in 2012 after attending the Cooperstown Pumpkin Festival, Beers said, “That’s what really got me going. I didn’t think the (pumpkins) could be real.” Beers said their first effort, at 149 pounds, “wasn’t anything impressive.”

Delaney and Wyatt’s first-place winner from 2016, and the Beers’ biggest pumpkin yet, weighed in at 565 pounds and required the help of seven men to hoist it, in a makeshift cargo net carrier, onto the bed of a trailer.

Now, Beers said, “I always want to be around 500 pounds.

That’s the goal.”

about by increased summertime moisture as chief among this season’s hurdles.

Beers’ most promising pumpkin in 2017 is also his most perplexing – it grew upside-down, blossom end pointing skyward and vine growing into the ground.

Estimating the pumpkin at around 400 pounds and 120 inches in diameter in late August, Beers said, “I’ve never had one do that before” and added, “I’ve been having to under-mine it like a woodchuck, (to) try and keep the pressure off the vine.”

Beers said he starts with 20 to 30 seedlings indoors in early April, with the hope of getting the five or so heartiest plants in the ground come May. Extolling the help he gets from Delaney, Wyatt and his dad, Stan Beers especially, Beers said, “It’s a lot of time.”

Sharing seeds, stories Discussing seed varieties, of which there are many, all named for the originating grower, Beers said he prefers Dill’s Atlantic Giant. Beers learned of the variety through the Maine Pumpkin Growing Organization, or MEPGO, of which he is member.

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Contributed Photo

Mt. Upton grower of giant pumpkins, Tony Beers, sits with his most promising pumpkin of the 2017 season in late August.

Weather factors in The exceptionally wet 2017 summer, however, proved tricky for pumpkin growers, said Beers. He remarked, “This year’s been terrible. Everything tries to kill a pumpkin.” Beers said he counts excessive weeds, diseases and bugs brought

Photo by Allison Collins

Mt. Upton resident Tony Beers (center) sits with fellow pumpkin-growing enthusiasts, daughter, Delaney (left), and son, Wyatt (right), in their pumpkin patch in late August of this year.

That’s what really got me going. I didn’t think the (pumpkins) could be real.

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Mason Lent, pictured, was the one of the many area children to whom Beers gifted his noncompetitive pumpkins in the past.

This year, Beers said he ordered his seeds through a Pennsylvania-based growers’ group. “There are more (groups) than you’d think. There are tons of (online) forums you can get on,” he said.

In fact, Beers said the best advice he has for prospective growers is to join a growers’ association or forum.

Part of the fun of the process, said Beers, is including friends, family and community members – virtual or real-life – along the way. “I send seeds to people and they send seeds to us,” said Beers. “Anything you get into, you’re always trying to get other people into it too. And I really like having a lot of pumpkins to give away to kids.” Beers said he will give away “whatever anyone thinks they can carry,” excepting his prospective prize-winners.

After the Norwich fest, Beers sometimes attempts to carve his giant pumpkins, though he said, at 14 inches thick, the shells require a jab saw just to penetrate.

In the future, Beers and his children said they will definitely continue their pumpkin-growing pursuit. “I’m just seeing if one day I can actually achieve a 1,000-pound pumpkin,” Beers said, adding wistfully, “500 pounds is supposed to be easy.”

For others, such as Worcester resident and lawyer Marvin Parshall, Sr., pumpkin growing is strictly a pastime.

Asked which seed variety he favors, Parshall chuckled and said, “Oh, I just throw a few giant seeds in a horse manure pile,” and called the couple hundred-pounders he’s produced in the past “nothing amazing or unusual. I just do it for a little something to do for fun.”

Noting that he does not enter contests “or anything like that,” Parshall said his pumpkins are reserved for decorating the stoop of his Main Street, Worcester law office, Parshall & West.

“It’s sort of humorous and no big deal,” he said. “I do it a little bit as a hobby.”

Like Beers, Parshall said part of what keeps growing fun is the delight neighborhood kids take in the outsized results. “I do like to give some pumpkins away to local kids.”

To learn more about the Norwich Pumpkin Festival, visit norwichpumpkinfestival.com or find the fest on Facebook. This year will mark the festival’s 19th iteration and it is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 27 and 28. Weigh-in is Friday night. +

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Contributed Photos

Tony Beers said it typically takes seven men and a cargo net turned pumpkin carrier to load the squash onto the bed of a trailer for transport.

Once safely at events such as the Norwich Pumpkin Festival, pictured in 2016, giant pumpkins rely on the aid of skid-steer loaders or forklifts to get around.

Though something of a jack-olantern artist with average-size pumpkins, Tony Beers said he can only crudely carve his giants, shown, with the help of a jab saw. Even then, he said, the shells are 14 inches thick.

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Book Review

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Charting a

course to Cuba

N

Nelson DeMille, one of New York’s most popular authors, is on the bookshelves again with his latest novel, “The Cuban Affair,” released Sept. 19.

With more than 50 millions books in print and author of 15 New York Times bestsellers, DeMille has a knack for creating believable characters who find themselves in almost unbelievable circumstances.

In “The Cuban Affair,” the reader is introduced to Daniel Graham “Mac” MacCormick, a 35-year-old Army veteran turned Key West charter boat captain who finds himself headed for Cuba in October 2015 on a mysterious and potentially dangerous mission. The trip could wind up with him bringing home a fortune, or never coming home at all.

DeMille went to Cuba in late 2015 and left there armed with a story.

“Because I visited the country when I did, I’m confident that what you read in ‘The Cuban Affair’ is not only factually accurate but also representative of the emotions and thinking of the characters who are caught up in this historical and critical period in Cuba-American relations,” DeMille writes in his introduction.

Get ready to lose yourself in 430 pages of history, suspense, romance and gunfire.

In a recent email interview, the author took time out of his busy book-promoting schedule to share a few insights on how he turns trips into page-turners … and where he might be headed for next.

Q: Why Cuba?

A: Cuba and the “Cuban Thaw” was

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By Joanne Arbogast

was much in the news back in 2015 when I was looking for an idea for a new book. Novelists can’t chase the headlines because it can take two years from a book’s conception to its publication, but I guessed that Cuba would stay in the news, and it has. So I guessed right.

Q: When you visited, was it for pleasure or did you plan to take notes?

A: Going to Cuba for pleasure is an oxymoron. Like going to Vietnam, which I did in 1997 before writing “Up Country.” But I always wanted to see what was going on in Castro’s Cuba and “The Cuban Affair” gave me a reason to stop putting the trip off. Also, it was fully tax deductible as a research trip.

Q: Since the book takes place in Key West and Cuba and the water in between, did it just make sense to make the main character a sailor?

A: It seems an obvious choice when you read the book. But my character of Mac MacCormick went through a lot of possible jobs before I decided he was an Army vet who served in Afghanistan, got his head messed up, and came to Key West to chill before deciding to become a charter fishing boat captain. After that, the plot started to take shape.

Q: How much fishing/ocean boating do you do? You had friends who know boats make sure you stayed accurate but it sure sounds like you know the ropes.

A: I’ve spent most of my life on Long Island (New York) surrounded by water and by boaters and fishermen. My father and my uncles took me fishing and crabbing since I was about 5. Later in life, I was fortunate to have friends who owned cabin cruisers and sailboats, and I was always a good passenger and sometimes a good crewman. I picked up my skills of power boating and sailing mostly though osmosis and trial and error. I never actually wanted to own a BOAT – Break Out Another Thousand – but this summer my wife bought a 25-foot Chris Craft. Now I have to write another book.

Q: Mac is 35. You aren’t. Can’t that make dialogue a little tricky? For instance, he talks about the Cuban Missile Crisis but makes the point that it happened before he was born. Good catch.

A: Good question. Most of my main characters in past novels were approximately my age. Then I and they got older, and my editor and agents politely suggested that I should create a new character that is not eligible for Social Security. This was a challenge, but I have a son who is about Mac’s age, so I hung around with him and his friends for a while and got into the head of a guy in his mid-thirties, including the so-called music they listen to and the way they speak. Also how they think and talk about the opposite sex. I think I got it right.

Q: Deeper down, Mac says he likes listening to Jay Z for morale boosting. Are you a Jay Z fan or is that just reminding readers you are keeping in character?

A: See question/answer above.

Q: There’s a twist and it has to do with 17 missing American POWs in Vietnam. You were in Vietnam. Is there a connection?

A: I don’t want to give away the plot or the ending, but, yes, my service in Vietnam led me toward this plot device and this twist at the end. This is based partly on rumor, and Internet conspiracy theory stuff. But there seems to be a grain of truth in the possibility that American POWs from Vietnam wound up in Cuba. Mac’s sidekick, Jack Colby, is a Vietnam vet, and I created him to reinforce certain historical elements of the book – the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War, and the issue of MIAs – Missing in Action from Vietnam.

Q: Where are you going on your next big trip?

A: Every few books I take a break from adventure travel for research and set my book closer to home. My new one will be set on Long Island and New York City. It’s not a John Corey book, but it will more likely be a cross between a Corey book and “The Gold Coast.” All I need now is a plot, a main character, a supporting cast, and a strong beginning, middle and end.

Wish me luck. +

About the author: Nelson Richard DeMille was born in New York City on August 23, 1943, to Huron and Antonia (Panzera) DeMille, then moved with his parents to Long Island. He graduated from Elmont Memorial High School, where he played football and ran track.

DeMille spent three years at Hofstra University, then joined the Army where he attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a Lieutenant in the United States Army (1966-69). He saw action in Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader with the First Cavalry Division and was decorated with the Air Medal, Bronze Star, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

After his discharge, DeMille returned to Hofstra University where he received his bachelor’s degree in political science and history. He has three children, Lauren, Alexander and James, and he and his wife reside on Long Island.

DeMille’s first major novel was “By the Rivers of Babylon,” published in 1978, and is still in print as are all his succeeding novels. He is a member of American Mensa, The Authors Guild, and is past president of the Mystery Writers of America. He is also a member of International Thriller Writers and was chosen as ThrillerMaster of the Year 2015. He holds three honorary doctorates: Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University, Doctor of Literature from Long Island University, and Doctor of Humane Letters from Dowling College.

DeMille is also the author of “Cathedral,” “The Talbot Odyssey,” “Word of Honor,” “The Charm School,” “The Gold Coast,” “The General’s Daughter,” “Spencerville,” “Plum Island,” “The Lion’s Game,” “Up Country,” “Night Fall,” “Wild Fire,” “The Gate House,” “The Lion,” “The Panther,” “The Quest” and “Radiant Angel.” He also coauthored “Mayday” with Thomas Block and has contributed short stories to anthologies, and book reviews and articles to magazines and newspapers.

Source: nelsondemille.net UPSTATE LIFE magazine

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The Hanging Man, on the roof of the Michael Stolzer Fine Art Gallery, 97 Main St., Oneonta.

Hang on!

Story and photos by Paula J. Cochran

T

The big blue sign out front reads “Oneonta Student Housing.” High above the sign, hangs a man, holding on to the rooftop by nothing but his fingertips.

This is not a frat house of some sort and the hanging man is not a prank. A sign there reads “Michael Stolzer Fine Art” and the hanging man, who has no real title, is, in fact, a work of art – a sculpture made from fiberglass reinforced polyester on a steel frame.

“I created him sometime back, when the future didn’t look so good to me,” Stolzer explained. “It’s an expression of some part of myself, it’s fear and horror, but letting go is never an option.”

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Often referred to as the hanging man, or the naked guy on the roof, the sculpture has been hanging around for quite some time. After its creation, the hanging man spent around 10 years hanging out at the Anthony Brunelli Galley in Binghamton. Four years ago, Stolzer purchased the building (known as the old VFW) and brought hanging man back to hang out at his newlycreated fine art gallery.

Within the red brick walls is an office for student rentals and the rest is a fine art gallery where Stolzer and local artists show off their work with scheduled exhibitions.

In addition to sculpture, Stolzer

paints and produces experimental photography (which includes works like creating a photograph without a camera).

As a student he focused on figurative sculpture to develop disciple and to gain enough respect with his correct work to begin breaking a few rules.

“I break rules by abiding by the rules,” he said. “If you equate art to a science lab, you may be producing the perfect quality of penicillin, but you’re not discovering anything new. Art has a responsibility to expand the body of knowledge rather than only do what works or what’s been done forever.”

Michael Stolzer with a bust of his mother, behind him a piece of experimental photography, and to the right, another life-size sculpture.

Art, he explained, needs to find variation, new insights and discoveries. “’There is nothing new under the sun’ is almost correct,” he says of the philosophy.

For him, that view may be as simple as someone looking at a piece of work and saying “Aha!” “An aha moment is a wonderful feeling,” Stolzer said.

The hanging man offers passers by an aha moment.

When asked what kept the hanging man from falling, Stolzer laughed and said simply, “he’s got a good grip.”

In art, as in life, some things are better left to the viewer’s imagination.

For information on upcoming shows and events check www.facebook.com/Michael-Stolzer-Fine-Art. +

If you equate art to a science lab, you may be producing the perfect quality of penicillin, but you’re not discovering anything new. Art has a responsibility to expand the body of knowledge rather than only do what works or what’s been done forever.

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People

From There to Here

By Allison Collins

I

If you were to find yourself in conversation with Worcester resident Charles “Chuck” Joseph, he might talk about creating an energyefficient home complete with indoor, retrofitted greenhouse; or he might tell you about his career developing ultraviolet light-detecting instruments for NASA; or he could delve into subtle topics such as supermassive black holes and the evolution of galaxies.

What Joseph, a former professor at the University of Wisconsin, Princeton and Rutgers, likely won’t mention is his hobby – occasionally, subtly moonlighting as Santa Claus. Joseph, who, even while sipping Diet Mountain Dew in a checkered shirt manages a striking resemblance to the big guy, said it wasn’t until the late ’90s that he first donned his

I get a kick out of kids … and watch(ing) their eyes light up.

Father

trademark red coat and hat.

“People have been saying it since 1990 or 1992,” he said, adding, “I’d be shopping for Christmas presents and the lady next to me would look at me and say, ‘You know, you look just like Santa Claus!’” Chuckling (I didn’t check under the table to see if his belly resembled a bowl full of jelly), Joseph said, “That was about the time my hair and beard turned white.”

It wasn’t until 1998, during his 17-year tenure at Rutgers in New Jersey, that Joseph said he bought the red coat, trimmed in black, and accompanying red hat that distinguish him as Mr. Claus.

“Basically, I decided to buy a red hunting coat … and, because I’m balding, I decided when it was cold enough to wear a coat, I’d wear a Santa hat,” said Joseph.

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A move north But, true to his doppelganger in the North Pole, Joseph craved more snow (and coat-wearing opportunities) than the moderate New Jersey winters could deliver.

“I need snow by the beginning of November,” said Joseph. “New Jersey weather is so mild there’s no appreciable amount of snow before Christmas.”

After finding his Worcester property online around 2013 and retiring to upstate New York, where early snows are almost always a promise, Joseph said he’s made appearing as a kind of commonplace Santa a yearly tradition.

Where you won’t find him is stationed in a mall or at organized holiday events because, he said, his Santa-ing is “just circumstance and happenstance.”

“About a week before Christmas, for a few hours one day, I’ll go down Main Street (Worcester) and hand out candy canes from a red velvet bag I made,” he said. “I also carry sugar-free candy canes for diabetics.” Not to be diminished by the Scrooges among us, Joseph said, “If I get a bah humbug response, I throw out lumps of black chocolate coal.”

Fondly unspooling tales of weighing in with mysterious, jolly insight on overheard conversations, giving the odd wink-and-a-nod in retail shopping aisles and eliciting double takes in restaurants and highway rest stops, Joseph said he relishes the giggles and exclamations of “Ma! Ma! Is that the

REAL Santa?” left in his wake.

“That’s always been the goal – to be suggestive of the real thing and put you in mind of (Santa Claus),” said Joseph, who carries Santa business cards on his person at all times, the better to bewilder and bemuse.

“I get a kick out of kids … and watch(ing) their eyes light up,” said Joseph.

Though it’s not only wee ones who appreciate the droll smiles and merry eyes, as he noted, “Adults usually like it … and, as a rule, little old ladies at the beauty salon quite like it.”

That would be Chris’ Beauty Salon in Worcester. Joseph “has the jolly jolly spirit all year long and always has a special story,” Chris Althiser, salon owner, said. She added that even on Veterans Day, Joseph thanks every local vet, including National Guard members, for serving. “He remembers every one.

He’s a patient, kind man, as we all would expect Santa to be.

“I am very pleased to say I cut Santa’s hair,” she added. He’s “never in a hurry, always waiting for another person to go first. Christmas is every day of the year and that’s how our Worcester Decatur Chucky Santa lives his life.”

Asked how long he will continue spreading just a smattering of holiday magic, Joseph, equal parts jovial and curmudgeonly (think Santa of the Rankin Bass Productions’ classic 1964 “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”), answered, “Oh, till I’m a shut-in I guess, or until my kids put me in the funny farm.” +

Contributed Photo

Charles Joseph, aka Worcester’s own Santa Claus, said people have been pointing out his resemblance to Father Christmas since the early ’90s.

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Geology Day Trip

An ice age autumn at Olana Story and Photo By Robert and Johanna Titus

H

Have you ever been to Olana?

That’s the mansion owned by famed artist Frederic Church. It’s on the east side of the Hudson River, just south of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Church was the most successful artist of the Hudson River School of Art. That was America’s first formal artistic movement.

Its painters focused on landscapes; they “discovered” the beauty of the Catskills and Hudson Valley during the

Contact the authors at randjtitus@ prodigy.net. Join their facebook page “The Catskill Geologist.” Visit their blog thecatskillgeologist.com.

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middle 19th century. Back then our mountains were still in a wilderness state. Their forest ecologies had been largely undisturbed, and that presented landscape painters something they had never seen before.

Landscape art had its origins in Europe, but that continent was fundamentally different from North America. Europe had been settled for thousands of years and, even in its

forests, it had a park-like look and, more importantly, a park-like feel. Not so the Catskills; here was something vaguely frightening about the forests here. Our forests were wild brambles, dense and hard to navigate. You went into them and never really knew if you would get out. Then, there were the deep gorges: Kaaterskill and Plattekill Cloves being the most majestic. And there were the high mountain peaks, with

wilderness slopes all the ways to their tops. The artists came to describe these wilderness landscapes with the word “sublime.”

All in all, our region presented landscape artists with fabulous scenery and they set about painting it. Their goal was to capture the spirit of all this.

This art caught on and scores of fine artists made successful careers in the Catskills.

Most geologists are more than a little fond of the Hudson River School.

Few of us paint, but all of us feel the same about landscape. We look at their paintings and our hearts beat as one with theirs.

Thomas Cole, who lived in the Village of Catskill, is the widely acknowledged founder of the movement, but his onetime student, Frederic Church, was the best of them all. He made a great career in art and became a wealthy man for it. Church was able to commission a great house, a palace really, on 250 acres of land high atop a hill that overlooked a wide expanse of the Hudson Valley. This was “Olana” and Church moved his family into it in 1872.

Church died in 1900, but Olana remained in the Church family for decades. They kept Olana much as it had been during Church’s life. But in 1967 it was to be sold, along with all of

its furnishings. Fortunately it was saved and became a New York state park. We recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of this historic preservation.

Now the house and grounds are open to the public and you should visit. When we were there last we stood outside of the south porch and gazed into the valley below. It was at the height of the leaf season and the color was breathtaking. But we saw it as it had been during two moments of its ice age past. These were anything but colorful views. Instead, we were to see two most somber views from Olana.

Our first mind’s eye journey took us back about 15,000 years. There was,

View of Hudson Valley from Olana during last year’s autumn leaf season.

If you go: To get to Olana from Oneonta, take Route 23 all the way to the east side of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Head south about a mile on Route 9G. Watch for left turn sign to Olana’s entrance. The Mansion is all the way to the top of the hill.

UPSTATE LIFE magazine

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Fall 2017 | 35

of course, no Olana then but the hill was much as it is today. Our visit had brought us to a time late in the Ice Age. Spread out before us was the Hudson Valley glacier. It filled much of the valley.

The ice lay below us, but our eyes sought out an image from far across the valley. We could see that the ice was scraping up against the eastern front of the Catskills. It was gouging large masses of rock loose.

We were witnessing the formation of what is called “the wall of Manitou,” perhaps the most picturesque part of the Catskills. The wall, today, is a 10mile long, straight-as-an-arrow ledge of rock that forms the eastern edge of the Catskills. We were looking at its late Ice Age origins.

We shifted our gaze to the south and there we saw that a tongue of ice had peeled off of the main glacier and was advancing up Kaaterskill Clove. Ice is different from water. Ice can be pushed

from behind and that allows it to move uphill.

We closed our eyes momentarily and when we opened them, we had traveled about a millennium through time. Now the climate had warmed up considerably, and the Hudson Valley glacier had been retreating. We looked down and saw that the glacier had backed away from the Wall of Manitou, and it was only filling up the northern half of the valley. South of the ice there was a very sizable lake. It has a name; it is called Glacial Lake Albany. As the glacier had melted back to the north, volumes of meltwater had filled in the valley behind.

Again, we looked to the south and we saw that, there, all the ice had melted and that had vacated Kaaterskill Clove.

Instead of ice we saw an enormous torrent of whitewater cascading down that canyon. Somewhere, off to the west, a lot of ice was still melting. Those

currents were powerful and erosive. We were watching Kaaterskill Clove being deepened and widened to its current dimensions. Eventually Hudson River School artists would come and paint this.

Our visit to Olana had taken us on two mind’s eye journeys through time.

Frederic Church must have spent a lot of time looking down the valley as we had, but it’s not likely that he could have seen what we did. Frederic Church must have had a keen appreciation for landscape.

We know that he had an amateur’s interest in geology and was more than just a little aware of Ice Age history. But we reckoned that we were able to see the Hudson Valley in ways he could not even imagine. We had witnessed the glaciers actually sculpt the Catskills into what they are today.

You can do the same if you visit Olana. Bring this article along. +

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Lifestyles

Autumn attire at

bargain prices Thrifty Finds

By Sierra Sangetti-Daniels

The phrase, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure” has always sat well with me.

Whether it be an old desk sitting on someone’s lawn with the ever-appealing “FREE” sign on it, a neighbor’s hand-me-down purse that managed to stick around since the ’80s, or $5 sweaters best categorized as your grand-dad’s clothes, recycling items always appears to be not only convenient, but outwardly unique.

Particularly thrift shop attire.

For me it never was never about how shiny the shoes were, or what designer’s name was printed on the tag inside denim, or even about the style everyone inevitably “had to have.” It was, however, always about the character the item held.

Even today, any chance I get I’m thrilled to find my next eccentric piece. And what better a time than fall to go searching for something new?

According to the fashion gurus from Vogue, fall is all about welcoming the new: new colors (red), new designs (couch floral), and new staple pieces (necklaces, jackets and shoes).

Unfortunately, for us “wannabe fashionistas,” these looks often come with an eye-widening, purse-snatching price.

But, if you have the patience and the passion, thrifting can allow you the runway inspired looks for a price all can afford.

Here are my top three fall finds that embrace this season’s fashions: Last February, the Fall 2017 Marc Jacobs Collection came out with exciting news -- statement necklaces are back! Whether pendants or indie jewelry, the addition of a stand-out necklace will amp up your outfit this autumn.

I found this wooden piece for $5 from a local favorites, Shakedown Street on Main Street in Oneonta.

For a stylish and sophisticated look, add a blazer to any easy-wearing separates. For an even more polished look, pair your blazer with skinny jeans. I found a Zara blazer for just $4.99 from Salvation Army in Oneonta.

WhoWhatWear.com reported ladylike pumps are another runway fall 2017 trend that has made a welcoming comeback. I found these bright blue pumps at the Oneonta Salvation Army for only $3.99!

Although thrifting can often be overwhelming, it offers a great medium for keeping up with trends while simultaneously paying the bills.

Additionally, it guarantees individuality, particularly in small-town upstate living.

So, this fall whether you’re heading to a conference for work, the farm for apple picking or your fiancé’s family’s house for Thanksgiving, these fall fashion trends can be achieved and if you’re dedicated, for a fraction of the price. +

Photos by Sierra Sangetti-Daniels

UPSTATE LIFE magazine

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Fall 2017 | 37

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