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On the cover
eDitor’s Corner
A couple falls back, I bought a package of mixed bulbs: daffodils and tulips. It can be hard, in that season, to trust in the promise of spring. Hard to believe such ugly, nubbly, onion-skinned lumps will hunker and store sugars and emerge as something so far from their start, and so much more beautiful.
I forgot to plant them. Left them sitting on a shelf in the kitchen for months, until they got too warm and too humid. The thing I love about spring flowers – daffodils, especially – is their tenacity, their indifference to snow and cold and hardship; they just push up bravely, no matter, and bob their frilly little heads like affirmation. But I’d squandered that and, over the months and the undesirable kitchen conditions, their thin skins fell away and the bulbs moldered. I was mad at myself. I simply hadn’t found time to plant them, but how could I not have had time?
(In my defense, we were putting in a geothermal system at the time and the yard was a disaster zone, so some of the initial planting delay was down to the giant ditches criss-crossing the space I had slated for them. I digress.)
I planted them anyway, mold and all. They weren’t that moldy, but they weren’t that healthy, either. I was told it was a futile effort, and did it anyway, digging a whole new bed for them under my livingroom window. I want to have a green thumb and don’t, but I keep at it, and there is something to be said for stubbornness in the plant world.
Many times, in response to my laments about landscaping efforts, my scientist husband has said, “But nature wants to grow.” What he is really saying is, Trust the process. That’s something I’m working on.
And wouldn’t you know, as I write this in mid-March, after our (first?) fool’s spring, there are signs of life under my living-room window that look an awful lot like tulip leaves.
Probably they won’t all grow. I don’t see how they could, given their start. But some is better than none. And my husband is right: every living thing, vegetable or not, wants growth.
I hope this season finds you pushing up through your own layers of stagnant dirt, defying whatever small odds.
Pathfinder residents Alexis Padilla, left, and Theresa Clark hug after getting splashed with color at Splash Path 2024.
Sweet Treat
BY LEIGH INFIELD
Visiting Maple Sugar Shacks of the Catskills
The sap is running – a sure sign that spring is in the air. As the days get longer and the weather warmer, maple trees in the Catskills, dormant during the winter months, begin a process that seems almost magical. Sap drips from holes drilled in the trees’ bark and is collected into metal buckets or modern systems of tubing, laced from tree to tree. Gravity delivers sap from these tubes directly to a sugar shack or sugar house.
There’s not much nicer than a stack of pancakes drenched in maple syrup to kickstart the day. Maple syrup not only enhances some of our favorite comfort foods, it has become a go-to ingredient for dishes sweet and savory.
The Catskills region is a major producer of maple products, contributing to the state’s annual average of $20 million in product sales and maple-related tourism. The state’s flag even sports a maple leaf. With the first hint of spring, sugar houses get ready to process sap into varied products – from pure maple syrup to such specialties as maple popcorn, candies, mustard, vinegars and teas and coffee.
Though an outing to a sugar house is a great opportunity to see maple makers at work, most producers have online stores, too.
Typically, sugar houses are located on family-run farms, where the art of producing maple syrup has been passed down.
tapping in to tradition
Jo Ann Kaufman, of Kaufman Farms & Catskill Mountain Maple in Delancey, comes from a long line of maple producers. Her family has been making maple syrup for more than 200 years. She still has her greatgrandmother’s diaries from the 1800s, in which she records the day’s maple sugar production. Her husband, Tom, learned to make maple syrup when he was 12, and hasn’t stopped since. When the couple built their first sugar house, they incorporated an old arch from the sap house built by Ann’s great-grandfather. Today, visitors to their new sugarhouse will see gleaming stainless steel and highefficiency evaporators for processing the syrup.
affair,’ they said, noting they come from a long line of maple sugar makers. | lEIgh
Tom and JoAnn Kaufman work together at Catskill Mountain Maple & Kaufman Farms. ‘It’s a family
from left, JoAnn Kaufman is pictured in the sugar house, where large drums of pure maple syrup are ready for delivery. Pure maple syrup is pictured in decorative glass bottles for sale at Catskill Mountain Maple. Tom Kaufman inspects his maple trees in early spring. The network of blue tubing delivers sap from the trees directly to his sugar house. |
lEIgh INFIElD
While the Kaufmans devote 60 of their 140 acres to maple sugar production, they now offer beef from their 40 Hereford cows, honey from their honey bees and their full line of maple products in their store. JoAnn is known for her award-winning, 100% maple candy.
“Our business is definitely a family affair,” Tom, who, in addition to making maple syrup, designs the logos for product labels and sugar making equipment, said. His design work includes the Zap Tap antimicrobial sap spout widely used today.
The Kaufmans hold an open house in May for long-time customers. Locals and visitors are invited, as well. The date will be announced in May online, or call 607-746-6215. Also call that number to schedule a visit to the 65 Charlie Wood Road farm, just off county Route 2 in Delancey. Also, visit catskillmountainmaple.com.
Delancey is home, too, to Dar-View Maple, where six generations of the Darling family have been making maple syrup for more than two centuries. Their farmstead, on Fall Clove Road off county Route 2, still has the vintage buckets used long ago to collect sap hanging from trees on the front lawn.
Today, brothers Brad and Charlie run the maple sugar business, following in the footsteps of their parents and grandfather, Papa Bob Darling, who taught them the ins and outs of making maple syrup as small boys.
“You could say that we were born with a passion for making maple syrup,” Brad said. “It’s in our DNA.”
A hardworking dairy farmer who would find time in the spring to make maple syrup, Papa Darling was credited with being very knowledgeable about many things in life and enjoyed sharing his skill and wisdom with his grandchildren.
“He was always there to help and guide us,” Brad said. Growing up, the boys thought of the sap house as “a second home,” said Charlie.
“I remember getting off of the school bus and racing straight to the sap house to help,” Brad said. “I’d help out by collecting sap from the large maple trees on our front lawn with my little bucket.”
Visitors to Dar-View Maple can sample products and take a free farm tour, often including a demonstration on how maple syrup is made. Call ahead at 607-435-1657. Their farm stand, at 2813 Fall Clove Road, Andes, is open seven days a week, and offers homegrown beef, chicken, pork, eggs and maple products. Or visit darviewmaple.com.
You could say that we were born with a passion for making maple syrup. It’s in our DNA.”
– Brad Darling
Dar-View Maple still has the vintage buckets used for collecting sap. Below: Brothers Brad and Charlie Darling are pictured in their sugar shack at Dar-View Maple farm. | CONTRIBUTED
family, farm, fun
The welcome mat is always out at Buck Hill Farm, where visitors are made to feel like family. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, guests can sit down and order a hearty breakfast, prepared in the farm’s sap house kitchen. Buck Hill owners, Sharon and Jeff Collins, said their guests aren’t just going out to breakfast, they are coming over for breakfast. They also find that their popular weekend breakfasts are a “yummy” way of introducing local folks and visitors to the farm’s maple sugar business.
The couple purchased the farm on Fuller Road in Jefferson from Joan’s parents, Charles and Lynn Buck. Sharon’s parents had years of experience as dairy farmers and maple sugar producers when they discovered Buck Hill Farm, purchasing it in 1978 with the thought of passing its management to one of their children.
As a teenager, Sharon observed how her parents grew the business, driving regularly to New York City, where they were one of the first vendors to sell maple products at the Greenmarket in Union Square. They kept an important list of customers and businesses.
“I remember my mom’s excitement when she discovered that another of the fine restaurants in New York City was serving our syrup, and that a customer in far-off Japan ordered our product,” Sharon said. Jeff and Sharon purchased the farm in 1993 when their son, Sam, was born.
“The farm’s atmosphere must have had a deep impact on the newborn, as we have been unable to get him out of the sugarhouse ever since,” Sharon said, laughing. Sam and his sister, Charlotte, have joined in helping their parents, with Charlotte working as marketing and product manager, while Sam is a syrup producer, also handling the livestock and land. Buck Hill Farm has an on-premise and online store, where you can purchase their pure maple syrup and maple products, along with such novelties as a 500-piece maple puzzle. Their product line includes specialties such as maple-pickled eggs, pickled beets, maple vinegar with dill, sweet-and-sour maple cabbage and more. The farm store is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily.
“We love having visitors,” Sharon said. “Whether folks visit our farm or stop in for breakfast, we strive to make them feel welcome and at home.”
Learn more about Buck Hill Farm, 185 Fuller Rd., Jefferson, by calling 607-652-7980 or visiting buckhillfarm.com. Also, check out their cookbook, Pancakes Make People Happy. +
visitors and locals to the farm. | CONTRIBUTED
left: Buck hill Farm produces a variety of maple products, from pure maple sugar in glass leaf bottles and jugs to such specialties as the vinegar pictured here. above: Buck hill Farm’s popular weekend breakfasts draw
more maple
DELAWARE COUNTY
Brookside maple & farm: 2544 county Route 2, Delancey, 607-746-6618, brooksidemapleandfarm. com. Brothers Matthew and Micah are the third generation to run Brookside’s maple sugar business. They built the first section of their sap house while still in their teens. off road maple: 195 Pomeroy Road, Franklin, 607-829-2424, offroadmaple.com.
Owned and operated by the Jordan family for generations, starting with grandfather, “Pa,” who began making maple syrup for their farm when there was a sugar shortage during World War II. grandson, Jason Jordan, and his family carry on this tradition.
shaver-hill maple farm: 450 Shaver Road, harpersfield, 607-652-6792, shaverhillfarm.com.
Alvin and Alice Shaver purchased the farm as newlyweds in 1912 and, years later, sold it to their son, gaylord Shaver. In 1984, Dennis and Barbara hill purchased the farm and created the name Shaver-hill Farm. Dennis, along with sons, Dwayne and David, operate the maple syrup farm full time.
SULLIVAN COUNTY
Catskill mountain sugarhouse: 227 glade hill Road, grahamsville, 845-985-7815, catskillmountainsugarhouse.com. The gariglianos run this family business and can trace their roots back to the 19th century. Over the years, the family has acquired 800 acres, expanding their pure maple producing capacity.
ULSTER COUNTY
tree Juice maple syrup: 59 Rider hollow Road, Arkville, 845-245-8975, treejuicemaplesyrup.com.
The roughly 8,000 maple trees on the farm’s rolling hills are tapped by Jake Fairbairn, Ryan Annetts and Rae Brundage, who resurrected the family’s sugar shack in 2012.
SCHOHARIE COUNTY
maple hill syrup farms llC: 107 C. Crapser Road, Cobleskill, 518-234-4858, maplehillsyrup.com. Six generations have been making syrup at Maple hill Syrup Farms. Victor Putnam, owner, is inventor of the small-diameter, stainless steel, tree-friendly spiles.
weddings, rehearsal dinners, anniversaries, bir thdays, graduations, spor ts banquets, corporate events, training seminars and much more, the Brooks’ Roost Banquet Room and Conference Center is the per fect place for you and your guests!
skincare with something to
Delhi native Kristina Strain is beefing up the beauty world.
The Gilbertsville resident launched Badgerface Beauty Supply in 2014, but opened the business’ brick-and-mortar space, 122 Marion Ave., Gilbertsville, in April 2023.
Badgerface Beauty Supply offers swear-y, all-natural skincare products free of the usual offenders, including B.S. Strain said what began as a side hustle quickly grew into quality skin and beauty products, minus the pandering.
“I thought, well, a badger face is the face you make when you’re being disrespected - by haters, by the megacorporate skincare industry who wants to sell you FLAW CREAM, and most of all, by the patriarchy,” badgerfacebeautysupply.com states. “Thus Badgerface Beauty Supply was born.”
In a 2020 Daily Star interview, Strain, a former freelance writer, expanded: “Everything is all-natural. The main thing that we avoid is anything petroleum-derived. So, we’re not using mineral oil or petroleum jelly or anything like that. A lot of fragrance oils have a petrochemical added called propylene glycol and it’s no good. Everything is made using natural extracts and if there is fragrance, it’s from essential oils; if there is color, it comes from mineral mica or a natural root, like turmeric.
“We put a lot of care and thought into our products,” she continued, “but really, it’s about the brand, and the brand is raising awareness for women’s issues and pointing out that most beauty companies are in the insecurities-mining
BY ALLISON COLLINS
business. The ‘be yourself’ message is really core. The swearing, that’s just a facet of the idea that it’s OK to decide some things aren’t worth worrying about. Women, especially, deal with a ton of pressure to look, behave and even smell a certain way. It’s OK to decide those rules are bunk and ignore them.”
Growth in Gilbertsville
Launching the retail space, Strain said, dovetailed with an influx of interest in the Otsego County hamlet she calls home.
“Gilbertsville had this point in 2020, when the general store was closing and the pandemic trend was of remote-work people coming up from downstate and discovering this valley as a place with a relatively low cost of living and a great quality of life,” she said. “Then the trend that we feared was going to continue and doom us actually turned right around, starting in 2021, with (Five Kids Bakehouse) opening.
“Suddenly, we were kind of a destination, especially on weekends,” Strain continued. “So, we would see people going by and we thought, ‘Gee, what do we have to lose?’ Diversification is always a good idea and, historically, we’d always been solely e-commerce. And a lot of the platforms that supported us and were very successful in the early days, like Etsy, have declined.
We don’t get a ton of foot traffic, but a lot of people who come in say, ‘I didn’t know you were here,’ and they’re excited.”
Strain noted that the decision to curate a retail space was cemented, thanks to Gilbertsville’s inaugural Hullabaloo.
Strain prepares a gift box of her Badgerface Beauty Supply products. Below: Ard measures ingredients for the company’s solid shampoo bars.
“One of our newer local residents, Tracie Martinetti, spearheaded this idea of a village-wide craft fair/makers’ fair, called Hullabaloo,” she said. “She did the first one in the spring of ’23, and it was two consecutive Sundays and it poured cats and dogs but, holy cow, people came out, they came out of the woodwork. Between those two days, we did $2,000 in sales, and that’s obviously not a typical day, but a lot of people discovered us from that, so it felt like, ‘Let’s give the people what they want.’ So, it was the Hullabaloo and the bakery and it was like, ‘Let’s see what we got.’ It was a strategic decision.”
And the closer to home she’s developed Badgerface, Strain said, the heartier the support.
“When I started, I almost had this (fear about) … if word gets out, my neighbors are going to look at me sideways,” she said. “But I pick up litter, I pay my taxes and I happen to swear like a trucker. People love it; they love this brand, and they’re so excited to discover something fun and real that tells it like it is. So, that’s been really refreshing and one of those times when people surprise you, in a good way.”
Since then, Strain said, her team has grown alongside the space.
“I hired (Katie Ard) full time in 2023, and she is a natural with people in a way I am not,” she said. “The first Hullabaloo was about two months after I hired her, and I was blown away by how sales-y she was, without seeming sales-y, and it’s been an absolute delight watching her grow in this role. People come in to see me, but also to see Katie, because she’s made her own community here. It’s a two-person team.”
Keeping it real
This year, Strain said, goals include upping products and foot traffic.
“It still feels like we’re the best-kept secret of the Butternut Valley,” she said. “We’re not exactly a household name, and we’re a niche product. At the end of the day, it’s not like we sell coffee, but it’s definitely grown. We’ve been asking ourselves, ‘How do we get more people in the door?’ because people see ‘beauty supply’ and don’t have a concrete idea of what that is. You don’t expect there to be natural deodorant on the shelves; you’re probably expecting more makeup, and we don’t do makeup. Once people come in the door, they realize, ‘Oh, you have men’s products’ or, ‘This is cool, it isn’t just lipstick’ – not that there’s anything wrong with lipstick.
We’re shaking self-care loose from its pretentious roots and making it accessible for everyone – and we’re doing it with realness and honesty, not air-brushed perfection.
Perfection? That’s a burden none of us need. Embrace self-care that’s about YOU.”
– Badgerface Beauty Supply
“But in terms of new stuff, the biggest thing is, in 2023, we shifted to plasticfree packaging,” Strain continued. “I did a customer survey of our existing base ordering online and, by and large, people said, ‘Hey, it’s time for you to go plasticfree.’ We have compostable packaging now, for about a third of our products, and recyclable packaging for the rest.”
Strain credited that survey with helping her hone in on Badgerface’s quality, while upholding its mission.
“It woke us up, doing that survey, to the kinds of products people are excited about, and it surprised us,” she said. “We have a strong novelty gift component – (with
products such as) a sugar scrub called Boss Bitch – and it’s not real sophisticated chemistry to make that product, but what we started to realize is, it’s the products that do have the real, sophisticated chemistry that people are excited about.
“A sugar scrub will only get you so far; it’s really our shampoo bars that are winning that loyalty of, ‘Wow, this smells great, it lathers great, it’s plastic-free, it gets rid of any buildup from conventional products and it’s shine-boosting,’” Strain continued. “So, that’s really been steering us: how do we make products that deliver on many levels, not just one or two?”
Continued on Page 11
Kristina Strain, founder of Badgerface Beauty Supply, stands with Katie Ard in her 122 Marion Ave., Gilbertsville shop.
What’s next: Badgerface’s fierce future
The Badgerface brand, founder Kristina Strain said, will remain rooted in community even as it evolves.
“The horizon is, I want to grow the in-person stuff, but I also have to be realistic about where the ceiling probably is with that,” Strain said. “Our potential in terms of improvement is very tied to gilbertsville.
“I’m following it wherever it points,” she continued. “If a brewery opens up across the street, hey, we’ve got opportunity, but if it doesn’t, we’re happy with where we’re at, and it’s fun; it’s fun to interact with people, face-to-face. you can drive home a point in person in a way that you just can’t online, and you see people’s reactions and you see them say, ‘Wow! you make everything right here?’ so it can be an opportunity to be transparent in a way I didn’t expect to really enjoy, and I do. you can really deliver a memory, or a memorable experience, in person.”
While Strain said she expects her online presence to shift, too, the priority remains growth of a truer nature.
“There’s a lot of potential I thought I was capitalizing on these past 10 years, but I barely knew the first thing about e-commerce, because I didn’t have to,” she said. “I could lean on platforms that did all the work for me, so it’s a very different game and a harder game, but the thing I always say is, the thing about being a small business owner is, you’re always learning. If you don’t have a passion for that learning, you’re doing the wrong thing.
“Even when the chips are down – especially when the chips are down – I’m so excited to be gaining skills, and maybe some humility, too,” Strain continued. “There’s so much to learn, and I love being able to chart my own way forward.”
Clockwise from top left, Badgerface’s men’s line, Strain said, is a lesser-known, but highly developable, set of products. Badgerface Beauty Supply’s ‘Rub Me the Right Way’ edible massage oil comes in several flavors. Badgerface Beauty Supply beeswax lip balm is available in a rainbow of all-natural flavors. Badgerface ‘F-Bomb’ bath bombs were one of Strain’s first products. Strain said her recently launched solid, natural deodorant line, ‘Stank Pits,’ is among her bestselling items. Badgerface Beauty Supply is among several new brick-and-mortar sites revitalizing downtown gilbertsville.
PhOTOS By AllISON COllINS
Continued from Page 9
The result: functional, everyday items that work, alongside the foulmouthed, fun fare.
“We brought out our natural deodorant, Stank Pits, and it has been such a homerun,” Strain said. “Our local and online customers love it, and Katie and I love it. It’s in a compostable tube and we have four different scents.
“We’ve really leaned in more to the personal care products,” she continued. “If you create something that’s super effective, you’re going to get that loyalty and, when people run out, they reach for you again, versus your Boss Bitch sugar scrub, where somebody is going to buy it for their best friend’s birthday or baby shower, but probably isn’t going to be your everyday choice.”
And for spring, Strain noted, Badgerface has a new, earth-friendly product.
“Hand in hand with the shampoo bars that we brought out, we’ve been asked by so many people, a lot of them local, to do conditioner bars,” she said. “We (had) a launch date of April 16, and they’re going to be a solid product and customers can get them packaging free. That’s coming, and we’re also freshening up our lines, generally – dropping things that haven’t been performing and revamping stuff that has more opportunity, like our men’s products, but the conditioner bar launch is what we’re really excited about.”
Strain said, as she’s evolved, she’s “tried very hard to stay true” to Badgerface’s founding tenets.
“It’s the voice of the brand that sort of makes it a fact that, the truer I am, the more people are going to stick around or follow,” she said. “I’ve built this thing on this foundation of being very real and very down to earth. If I changed that, (customers) are not dumb –they’d leave; they are smart and they’re here for this, this mission and these values, and it’s less and less common to find a brand that really sticks to that.”
Badgerface is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, visit badgerfacebeautysupply.com, email info@badgerfacebeautysupply.com, find “Badgerface Beauty Supply” on Facebook or follow @badgerfacebeauty on Instagram. +
Strain mixes ingredients on the production side of her 122 Marion Ave., gilbertsville site.
Twelfth Annual Promises Colorful Fun at Pathfinder Village Splash Path
BY MONICA CALZOLARI
Pathfinder Village’s Twelfth Annual Splash Path 5K and Fun Walk is set for Saturday, May 17. It is a scenic, flat 5K route with a non-toxic color station to kick off the run/walk.
“Splash Path is a lively, inclusive event that celebrates community,” said Splash Path Chair, Monica Clark. “We welcome businesses, families, groups, teams – walkers and runners of all ages and abilities.”
Roughly 400 runners and walkers are expected to participate. Most Pathfinder Village residents opt to walk, not run, for 3.1 miles or 5 kilometers the day of the event. There is a post-race festival with live music, food trucks, craft and vendor exhibits and a ticket auction.
Twelve years ago, Clark was just beginning her running career. She and her sister were training for a marathon at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. “I wanted to do a color run,” she said, “but there was no color run close by.”
That’s how Splash Path was born. Pathfinder Village has been its home since the inaugural walk/run was held onsite.
After participating in her first Splash Path 5k, Clark said, “I got hooked. I have been working here ever since, for the past 11 years.” Today, Clark is manager of fund development and people engagement and chairs the Splash Path event.
Pathfinder Village, in Edmeston, is a community where people who have Down syndrome and other intellectual and developmental disabilities live, learn and work. Splash Path fundraises for Pathfinder’s vocational programs and the Pathfinder Produce Mobile Market.
Splash Path has raised nearly $240,000 over the past decade, Clark said. Three micro-businesses provide employment opportunities to Pathfinder residents. There is a Pathfinder Bakery on site, Pathfinder Produce and the Mobile Market.
“What started as a simple idea from a passionate employee has now become a beloved event that brings together people from all walks of life, celebrating the ‘can-do spirit’ of our communities,” CEO Karen Knavel said.
This year marks Ross Bromley’s 40th as a resident of Pathfinder Village. here he is shown at Splash Path 2024.
from the residents
Every year, resident Linda McCord has the job of choosing the color of Splash Path T-shirts. For 2025, McCord chose black shirts with pink writing.
McCord works at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Pathfinder Village provides the transportation for her to travel from Edmeston to Cooperstown. Her favorite pastime is going to Broadway shows in New York City. She loves the “Sound of Music” and “Phantom of the Opera.” She is from Ridgewood, New Jersey, where her elderly parents still live.
Resident Todd Wratten is originally from Milford. He is excited that his sister, Jenna Wratten, will join him on May 17 for Splash Path.
“I like all the vendors that come to Splash Path,” Wratten said.
from top: Pathfinder resident Coreen Donohue enjoys a victory walk with her parents at Splash Path in May 2024. Splash Path attracts about 400 runners and walkers every year from all age groups. here young runners enjoy a color explosion at the start of the 5K. Staff member Nancy Olsen, center, is surrounded by Pathfinder residents.
Front row, from left: Joe Kirshoff, Barbara Cohen, Nancy Olsen, Adam Frederickson, Nancy gordon, Ashley Dhanraj. In the second row is Ross Bromley, who a resident of Pathfinder Village for 40 years.
“
Splash Path is a lively, inclusive event that celebrates community. We welcome businesses, families, groups, teams –walkers and runners of all ages and abilities.”
– Monica Clark
PhOTOS CONTRIBUTED
Splash Path attracts 20 to 30 vendors annually. There are food trucks selling wood-fired pizza, coffee and burgers. Live music provides a festive atmosphere. Some of the area’s best-loved food trucks, including All the Perks, The Pizza Genie and the Good Day Mobile Cafe, participate, Clark said.
Wratten works at the Community Cupboard of Edmeston and Pathfinder Produce. The local food pantry combats food insecurity by providing access to nutritious foods and fresh produce. Pathfinder Village started this market in 2013. The Edmeston area is a USDA-designated food desert community without a grocery store.
Pathfinder Village resident Nick Campbell works for the Pathfinder Produce Mobile Market. He knocks on the doors of people in the community who cannot get to the Community Cupboard food pantry and delivers their food.
Campbell is from Danbury, Connecticut. His favorite thing about Splash Path is “all the new products,” such as the craft and vendor exhibits and ticket auction.
Two hundred businesses, from Utica to Hamilton, donate items to the annual auction, Clark said. the farmstead market and
Community Center
This year’s fundraising goal is $35,000. Proceeds from Splash Path will help fund Pathfinder Village’s most ambitious project yet:
The Farmstead Market and Community Center.
Pathfinder Village acquired The Farmstead in 1987 through a generous gift from the Clark Family. Unused for several years, Pathfinder’s vision is to breathe new life into The Farmstead, creating a retail market and public community space with vocational training and jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The Farmstead is scheduled to be built by June 2026, Clark said. The plan is for it to be open six days a week. The facility requires a $6 million investment and will offer the entire region a greatly needed grocery store.
The Farmstead will also serve as a place where residents and visitors can experience rural life through a year-round market, and community gatherings that celebrate the area’s heritage. It will provide meaningful employment, hands-on training and community space, with cooking classes, open-mic nights and classroom space. Designed as a sustainable, LEED Silver-certified building, the restored farmstead will be the new home for Pathfinder Produce.
The Farmstead Market and Community Center will also feature local farm products, goods created by area artisans and specialty items created by businesses owned by entrepreneurs in the disabilities community. +
A variety of vendors and food trucks from the community join in the fun of Splash Path every year, creating a festival-like atmosphere.
What started as a simple idea from a passionate employee has now become a beloved event that brings together people from all walks of life, celebrating the ‘can-do spirit’ of our communities.”
– Karen Knavel
sponsors
Splash Path is sponsored by businesses and community partners, which keeps registration fees affordable. Major sponsors include Brown & Brown of New york, Directive IT, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, as well as NyCM Insurance, Otsego County, ABM Fire Equipment and other community-minded local businesses.
Splash Path is a rain-or-shine event. All participants must sign waivers. No dogs or bicycles are permitted on the route.
For more information, visit pathfindervillage.org/splash-path-5k. Splash Path participants may register online at Race Roster: raceroster.com/events/2025/102105/splash-path-2025
Registration fees: Children 5 and under are $5; youths (6-18) are $10; adults (19+) are $25; and the family rate (three to six people) is $50.
Early registration goes through May 6.
Registration opens at 8:30 a.m.
Craft and vendor booths open at 9 a.m.
Kick-off ZUMBA Dance Party is at 9:30 a.m.
Color burst starts at 10 a.m.
Pathfinder residents Nick Campbell, linda McCord and Todd Wratten help prepare goodies bags for Splash Path annually. McCord also chooses the color of the shirts. Monica Clark, right, chairs the event, in its 12th year. | MONICA CAlZOlARI
For the last eight years, we have tried to feature local artists at one of our five concerts each year.”
– Dan Butterman
Home to the Area’s Oldest Concert Association :
BY MONICA CALZOLARI
Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Mendelssohn are classical music legends. Oneonta Concert Association has been bringing world-class performances of their music to the area for 96 years, making it the oldest association of its kind in Oneonta.
The association began in 1928, when representatives from New York City’s Community Concerts visited Oneonta to discuss plans to bring quality concerts to communities across the United States. The first concert was on Feb. 13, 1929. Hundreds of acclaimed programs have followed.
Oneonta Concert Association is a nonprofit organization, and volunteers on its board of directors organize five concerts annually: two in the fall and three each spring. OCA will conclude its 96th season May 16.
Dan Butterman has been president of its board of directors for the past year, but been involved for nearly a decade.
“For the last eight years, we have tried to feature local artists at one of our five concerts each year,” he said. Historically, OCA has featured classical music, though has recently expanded to highlight jazz, tango, blues and folk music.
OCA programs are made possible largely by funding through the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Five Star Subaru is the lead sponsor for the 2024-‘25 season. Rotary International, SUNY Oneonta, Future for Oneonta Foundation, New York Central Mutual Insurance and many individual donors also sponsor.
Castalia string Quartet
Butterman welcomed the Castalia String Quartet of the Catskills to the stage at the First United Methodist Church of Oneonta on March 9. This quartet was formed in 2019 by Uli Speth (violin I), Debrah Devine (violin II), Amy Tompkins (viola) and Ruth Berry (cello).
Three of the four members of this quartet are local. Devine is from Mount Vision, Tompkins from Cherry Valley and Berry lives in her hometown of Hamilton, after living and working in Georgia for many years. She teaches cello at Colgate University and previously taught at Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta.
The fourth member of the quartet, violinist Uli Speth, was born and raised in Europe, though lives in West Chester and visits the area often. “For six summers, I played at the Glimmerglass Opera,” he said, noting that he has known cellist, Ruth Berry, the longest, since 2000.
Berry performs summers with the Glimmerglass Festival Orchestra and has since 1986. She is also a founding member of the Fenimore String Quartet. Tompkins serves as the associate director of development for the Glimmerglass Festival.
Devine has been teaching violin and viola in upstate New York for 17 years. She has been the conductor of the Preparatory Orchestra of the Little Delaware Youth Ensemble in Oneonta since 2016. Speth is music director there.
oCa youth involvement
Featuring a young artist at the beginning of each concert has become a tradition with the Oneonta Concert Association. On March 9, Audrey Johnson, a junior from Greene High School, played two pieces by German composer and musician Johann Sebastian Bach. Tim Horne accompanied her flute solo on piano.
Castalia String Quartet’s performance on March 9 featured four movements by Ludwig van Beethoven from his famous Opus 50 No. 3. Speth said, “A string quartet is a very special formation. It’s a very unique thing.”
Continued on Page 19
from left, Rayna gellert is considered one of the best old-time fiddlers in the world. She met Kieran Kane, a country singer, at a bluegrass festival in San Francisco. Oneonta Concert Association featured trombonist Paul Blake serves as artist-in-residence at hartwick College, where he teaches trombone. young artist Jenna Czarnecki of laurens Central School will play trumpet as a soloist on May, 16 preceding the Pedro giraudo Quartet.
the Caliber of musicians oCa attracts
Violinist Uli Speth studied at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Mozart. Salzburg is considered a mecca for classical music. Speth came to the United States to earn his Master of Music degree from the Mannes College of Music, a music conservatory in New york City.
he said he remained in America he said because he found good jobs right away and said, “I love NyC and all it has to offer.”
For more than 20 years, Speth was first violinist of the DillerQuaile String Quartet in residence at the Diller-Quaile School of Music in New york. With this group, he played concerts throughout the U.S. Speth spent decades performing with New york City Opera at lincoln Center, something he called “a wonderful, rich experience.”
Speth teaches violin and chamber music at the College of New Jersey, a public liberal arts college with 7,000 students. he also conducts the orchestra there. Since 2005, he has been concertmaster of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra. he has performed with numerous internationally known musicians, including Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli and many others.
As a cellist, Ruth Berry, attributes her rewarding journey largely to the opportunities offered by Colgate University. She was a member of the Colgate Orchestra during her youth.
Berry studied cello at Boston University and received the Edwin E. Stein Award for Excellence in the Arts. She earned her graduate degree from Cornell University in musicology, analytical techniques and performance practice.
She gives recitals of popular classics with multiple ensembles and designs entertaining educational programs
for various chamber ensembles. She founded the musician collective, In Praise of Music
Debrah Devine studied violin performance at SUNy Fredonia and CUNy Brooklyn College. She can be found on stage with many regional orchestras and performing organizations, including the Binghamton Philharmonic and the Catskill Symphony, as principal second violin.
Amy Tompkins has performed with Albany Pro Musica, Binghamton Philharmonic, Catskill Symphony, glens Falls Symphony Orchestra, Saratoga Voices and Tri-Cities Opera. Tompkins is a founding member of the Castalia Quartet and principal viola for the newly formed Fenimore Chamber Orchestra in Cooperstown. She performs with the Upper Catskill String Quartet and Fenimore String Quartet. She hails from Idaho and received her master’s degree in arts administration from Indiana University, another master’s degree of music in viola Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a bachelor’s of music from Boise State University.
above: Three members of the Castalia String Quartet are local. From left, Uli Speth, of West Chester, is joined by Debrah Devine on violin, Amy Tompkins on viola and Ruth Berry on cello, from Mount Vision, Cherry Valley and hamilton. right: OCA showcases one young artist per concert. Audrey Johnson, a junior at greene high School, played Bach on flute earlier this year, with Tim horne on piano. | MONICA CAlZOlARI
Continued from Page 17
Community
appreciation
During the intermission, Elaine Downing of Oneonta said, “For years and years, the concerts were at night. I am glad this is an afternoon concert. The church is beautiful and you can see the light come through the beautiful (stained-glass) windows.”
Downing has been a member of the Oneonta Concert Association for 50 years. She buys an annual subscription.
“We have the best price in town. With our annual subscription, you pay less than $20 per concert,” Butterman said. “You can’t beat that deal anywhere to hear world-class musicians.”
Anne Wallace enjoyed the concert by Castalia String Quartet, noting that she served on the OCA board for several years in the early 2000s.
“The acoustics inside the church are wonderful,” she said, of the First United Methodist Church at 66 Chestnut St.
The second half of the program included a variety of styles of classical music by four different composers. Castalia String Quartet played two pieces by two living, women composers.
“Jessie Montgomery is a wonderful
composer,” Speth said. “She’s a young artist, 40 years old, born and raised in New York City. Word has it that she likes peace and quiet when she composes and can be found up in the Catskills.”
The quartet played “Strum” by Montgomery, who was born in 1981. “It is really fun to play and really fun to listen to,” Speth said.
The quartet also played a piece by Aleksandra Vrebalov, a Serbian composer born in 1970. Vrebalov immigrated to the United States to study music and lives in the USA now. Her piece, titled, “Pannonia Boundless” is about her “ache for freedom,” Speth said, and her war-torn country, the former Yugoslavia.
Dolores Rothwell, 93, is well-known in upstate music scene.
“I have been interested in music all my life,” Rothwell, former director of the Long Island Classical Guitar Society, said, noting that she met Harry Chapin while serving on the Huntington Arts Council there.
“My favorite piece today was Duke Ellington,” she said. “When I lived in Reston, Virginia, I met Duke Ellington at the Kennedy Center. He was so handsome.”
For more information or tickets, visit oneontaconcertassociation.org. +
more music this spring & Beyond
David Snyder is a young pianist and composer raised in rural North Dakota, now based in los Angeles. he appeared on America’s got Talent in 2023. Below, latin grammy Award-winner Pedro giraudo is a passionate ambassador of his Argentine heritage, bringing a fresh perspective to the tango. The Pedro giraudo Quartet will perform May 16.
At 7:30 p.m. on May 16, OCA will present Latin Grammy Award-winning bassist and composer, Pedro Giraudo, considered among the most compelling tango artists today. According to the program description, “The Pedro Giraud Tango Quartet will bring the beauty and passion of tango into the world of chamber music.
The quartet’s fervent and virtuosic musical style takes elements from Argentine tango, European classical music and American Jazz. The performers combine their deep respect for their roots and rich musical past with the lushness and beauty that characterizes this genre.”
friday, may 16, 7:30 p.m. Pedro Giraudo and The Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet
Coming in september: David Snyder, a young pianist and composer who appeared on America’s Got Talent in 2023 and opened for renowned artists, such as Snoop Dogg.
Coming in october: Kieran Kane, a country singer, collaborator and songwriter, and Rayna Gellert, a folk singer, songwriter and prodigious fiddler. The musical couple will play guitar, banjo and fiddle.
PhOTOS
rosemary Gladstar’s medicinal herbs
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, I am not trying to start a new trend of Christmas in April. I am referring to the time of year to start planning ideas for the garden. There are a lot of great gardening books out there, but this one is a personal favorite. Rosemary Gladstar is an herbal genius. In her book, readers learn that not only do herbs smell good and help flavor our food, but most can have a positive impact on our physical and mental health. As an added bonus, certain herbs are also effective at keeping some of those pesky summer insects at bay. Gladstar’s passion and knowledge of herbs is undeniable. The book is extremely well organized and easy to follow, with information and tips about a number of useful herbs. The pictures are vibrant and engaging. She presents her information in a helpful way, without insulting modern medicine. Don’t have space for a garden? She has wisdom for that too, as a lot of herbs can be grown in containers. She also teaches about herbs that don’t always require planting, but may already be growing in your lawn and garden, getting pulled and tossed without thought. (Wait until you hear all about dandelions; each part of this misjudged “weed” is edible and beneficial. Not just for the bees!)
Along with its wealth of knowledge on how to grow, harvest and use the herbs, the book contains more than 100 of Gladstar’s favorite recipes. Learn how to make your own tinctures, fire cider, teas, rubs, salves, soups and more. She does not claim herbs are a cure-all, but if you are interested in natural ways to help boost your immune system, alleviate cold and allergy symptoms, relieve minor aches and pains, increase your energy levels or unwind and relax, Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs is a worthy guide.
“I hope you enjoy reading Bookmarked with Ash.”
Ashley Weeden
Bookmarked with Ash
the things We leave unfinished
by rebecca yarros
This novel is an emotional dual-timeline romance that is so consuming it is impossible to put down. Yarros masterfully blends a historical and contemporary love story, complete with heartbreak, hope and survival. The contemporary storyline follows Georgia Stanton, recently divorced, who inherited her late grandmother’s literary legacy. Most importantly, this includes an unfinished manuscript. To complete the manuscript and publish the book, Georgia collaborates with Noah Harrison, another well-known author, who has a different idea on how the story should end.
The manuscript, combined with some old letters, tells the story of Scarlett (Georgia’s grandmother) and her beautiful yet tragic romance during World War II in Britain. While serving in the Royal Air Force, along with her sister Constance, Scarlett meets and falls in love with an American Pilot, Jameson. Scarlett and Jameson fight to stay alive and together, while constantly facing the fear of separation, bombings and death. Meanwhile, in the present, Georgia experiences her own battles with heartbreak and loss. Georgia and Noah’s relationship blooms, despite their personal struggles and differences of opinion. As their feelings for each other grow, Noah continuously attempts to gain Georgia’s trust and convince her to give the story the happy ending it deserves, rather than the true and devastating reality Georgia is convinced her grandmother would have wanted written.
Yarros has a gift for leaving her readers deeply heartbroken, while simultaneously filling the soul with warmth and comfort. The two timelines weave together flawlessly, each chapter more compelling than the last. Both past and present stories explore the deep impact of love, loss and resilience. Whether you enjoy a timeless historical love story, a contemporary romance or crave a book that will break your heart and then put it back together, this heart-wrenching story elicits feelings that linger long after the last page.
ImagebyFreepik
Buggin’ out:
the Business of Battling Beetles
By Joanne arBoGast
Bugs in the house bug me, but what is particularly disliked inside is, oddly enough, right as rain outside.
Take spiders. They seem out of place indoors and killing them – old wives warn – brings bad luck. A kinder reaction is to catch and release them in the wild, where they belong.
Better yet, let your house spiders loose in the garden. They have a big appetite for the very bugs you don’t want there.
Another unwanted visitor in the house is the ladybug. Specifically, the Asian lady beetle. I didn’t know there was a difference between the inside and the outside ones until Carol C., of Richmondville corrected me. When temperatures cool, these buggers are the ones you’ll find crawling on your walls.
Spiders I’ll spare, but there’s been no mercy for these beetles, which I used to pinch on the spot. I’ve learned that’s not the best way to combat them. They release a foul-smelling yellow liquid that leaves a stain when crushed.
In the garden, however, true ladybugs are welcome. They feast on aphids, insect eggs, mites and mealybugs.
Spiders and ladybugs are just two critters that have redeeming qualities when in the right place at the right time. But there are many more that aren’t worth keeping around at all, and plenty of them will be showing up soon. They are already preparing to crawl to the surface after their long winter’s nap and they are very, very hungry.
Beetle Juice
Pesticides aren’t always the answer. Good old hand-to-hand combat against bugs may be unpleasant, but is also gratifying, with instant results. My index finger and thumb are particularly deadly against the worst invader of all, the Japanese beetle. I go after them with even more vigor than I did lady beetles.
Hibernating beetle grubs pupate in the warming underground before breaking through as adults. They can show up as early as May, and can stick around through August, with their nonstop eating, mating and laying of eggs.
You’ll know when they’ve arrived. Leaves will begin looking “skeletonized,” with the soft parts around the leaf veins chewed away.
top: ladybugs are useless inside but, in the garden, they are welcome visitors. The marking on the head of this home invader indicates it is an Asian beetle. Japanese beetles, such as this one pictured in a peach tree, love fruit trees. right: Beetlejuice, AKA a cup of floating Japanese beetle bodies, is pictured in this undated photo.
PhOTOS By JOANNE ARBOgAST
There is nothing that eradicates them. The best you can do is mount a defense and minimize the damage.
Beetle traps bait them with artificial pheromones, and they work well. But the reason they work is the same reason not to rely solely on them: They invite beetles far and wide to come to them – to your yard – and that can backfire. Yes, the traps will capture a good many, but those that aren’t trapped will, since you invited them, end up enjoying your fruit trees, ornamental grasses, gardens and more.
Let the traps be a barometer of how much beetle traffic you get. Don’t place them in your garden, but rather at the far end of your yard, and clean them out every couple of days.
Pinching them is another defensive strategy, but it’s kind of nasty. A less distasteful course of action, effective against Japanese and Asian beetles, is to drown them by nudging them off the wall or plant leaves into a waiting jar or can of water.
Most recommend using hot water and adding some dish soap, but even cold, plain water does the trick. I know, because I leave jars of “beetle juice,” containing varying amounts of floating bug corpses, in the garden for days before dumping them. Just tuck them out of sight among the vegetation.
The beetles are apparently unable to climb out so, once they go in, they are goners.
Sometimes I will hunt for them several times a day. They are easiest to flick off plants later in the afternoon, when they are sluggish from eating all day.
They must have keen eyesight. I believe most see me coming and will either fly off or drop off a leaf as I’m reaching for them. Which reminds me of another bothersome bug with sharp eyes –the asparagus beetle. As I near, they actually circle around to the other side of an asparagus fern. Nonetheless, they are also subject to ending up in a jar. +
In general, Joanne Arbogast, of Worcester, follows a “live and let live” philosophy – except when it comes to Japanese and Asian beetles.
spider trap
Here’s the best way to trap an unwanted spider inside, assuming it’s on a flat surface like a wall. Slowly lower a glass over it. Slide a piece of paper gently between the rim of the glass and the wall. When the spider slips to the bottom of the glass, turn it upright holding the paper firmly over the top of the glass and shake it free outside.
lady Bug or Beetle?
Ladybugs and Asian lady beetles look similar, but there are key differences. Asian lady beetles are slightly larger than ladybugs. All ladybugs are bright red with black spots, while the color of Asian lady beetles varies from red to orange. Ladybugs have a round or oval shape. Asian lady beetles are usually a little longer and the head, or snout, is more pointed. The easiest way to tell them apart is the head. Ladybugs have mostly black heads with small white markings that sometimes resemble cheeks. These are found only on the sides of their heads. Most Asian lady beetles have a small, dark marking shaped like an M or W on the whiteish area behind the head. This marking varies in size and shape, but is always present.
Source: davesgarden.com
Japanese beetles are pictured chewing on the author’s ornamental grasses.
BYALLISONCOLLINS
Whipped Ricotta & Roasted Strawberry
Whipped ricotta has been trending among foodies for a while now, and for good reason. I like a recipe to feel easy and accessible, but still elevated. No reason you can’t be fancy right at home, but I’m not interested in 40-ingredient recipes or food bloggers that tell you a recipe takes “just 20 minutes!” to make when it’s more like an hour and 20. This recipe, though, is elegant without being excessive.
I kept coming across enough beautiful plates of buttery sourdough smeared with light, fluffy whipped ricotta under produce sweet or savory that I had to try it. And that’s another thing: it is so versatile. Though this recipe uses sweet, al-
most jammy roasted strawberries (though not too sweet, thanks to the balsamic vinegar) and the vanilla-honey combo in the ricotta gives it a luscious, round flavor, whipped ricotta is just as comfy done with marinated tomatoes or other herby veggies. This toast comes together quickly enough that you could make it for a light weekend breakfast or it would be a lovely addition to a springtime brunch. As I made it – in late February – it was so cheery to work with the bright berries and basil. It looked (and tasted) like the coming sunshine.
Cookin’ Collins WITH this toast makes for an elegant-but-easy breakfast.
4 slices sourdough or similar sturdy, crusty bread
Handful fresh basil leaves or thyme (optional)
1 -2 tbsp. butter
Extra honey (optional)
Strawberries:
Roughly 2 c. fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. honey
Pinch of kosher salt
Whipped Ricotta:
1 c. full-fat ricotta
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cover cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Gently toss sliced strawberries with the vinegar, honey and salt, then spread evenly on prepared pan.
Roast strawberries for 20 to 25 minutes, until soft and bubby and slightly caramelized at the edges. Let cool.
While strawberries are roasting, use a whisk or hand mixer to combine the whipped ricotta ingredients. Set aside.
Melt better on a griddle or frying pan over medium heat and toast sourdough slices until golden brown.
Assemble the toast by spreading each slice generously with whipped ricotta. Top with roasted strawberries and a light sprinkling of either chopped basil or thyme. Drizzle with extra honey, if desired, and a pinch of good, flaky salt. Serve warm. +
the
in an even layer on a parchment-lined pan before roasting. Berries are pictured before roasting. 4. The
gets whipped with honey and vanilla. 5. It doesn’t have to be sourdough in this recipe, but it should be a bread that holds up well to toasting and toppings. 6. Once roasted,
The sourdough toast gets topped with whipped ricotta, roasted berries and a sprinkling of fresh basil. I like to add an extra drizzle of honey to the assembled toast and a pinch of flaky salt.
1. Fresh strawberries give the whipped ricotta toast a tart-sweet topping. Use a nice, crusty bread for this toast. I’m partial to the rustic country sourdough, pictured, from Five Kids Bakehouse in gilbertsville. The balsamic vinegar tossed with the strawberries lends the roasted berries a nice, deep tartness and stops them from being too sweet. 2. Sliced strawberries are tossed with honey and balsamic vinegar. 3. Spread
berries
ricotta
berries are soft and jammy.
PhOTOS By AllISON COllINS
Academic Cooperstown
in the
20th Century
Cooperstown, for many, is a destination: for baseball, for lovely lakeside scenery, to relax or dine or even conduct county business, as it is the county seat.
But for academics? While Cooperstown may have a fine public school system, one doesn’t immediately think of the village as an academic hub in the 21st century. But it once was, and the “classrooms” were in some unlikely places and the “pupils” sometimes not young children.
opportunity ‘Knox’
Financial relief can sometimes necessitate organizations to seek other uses for their buildings when the primary tenant is not using it. That’s what happened in 1920, when there came a second use for the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown. It was autumn when the Knox School for Girls came to town, after the Otesaga had closed for the season. And it apparently hadn’t been a stellar season for tourism that year. The Knox School, however, had outgrown its original sites in the lower Hudson Valley and the invitation to move here was accepted.
The Knox School began in 1904 in Briarcliff Manor, by Mary
Alice Knox, previously the head of the prestigious Emma Willard School in Troy. Miss Knox passed away in 1911, and her successor moved the school to Brookside Park, in Tarrytown-on-Hudson, after fire destroyed the building in Briarcliff Manor. The move to Cooperstown became a perfect fit, as the academic year began after the close of the hotel season, and the school year ended just before tourists returned to Cooperstown.
The Walls Talk
BY MARK SIMONSON
By the first week in October 1920, students and their families began arriving by car and train. At the opening, 162 students were registered from 18 states and Canada. There were 38 members on the faculty, and another 50 house employees. Needless to say, the Otesaga was a busy place the other nine months it wasn’t used as a hotel. Edward Severin Clark had built the Otesaga back in 1909.
A student catalogue for the former AT&T Data Communications Training School in Cooperstown. The Otesaga Hotel served as the site of the school from October 1961 through June 1970. | CONTRIBUTED
For nearly all the time the Knox School was in Cooperstown, Mrs. Elihu Russell Houghton led the school, until her retirement in 1948. According to a 1922 Knox School catalogue, “Mrs. Houghton realizes fully that the formative years in a girl’s life, between 14 and 20, are the most important in laying the foundation for character and inspiring high ideals and right values of life.” The Knox School prepared girls for any of the leading colleges, special vocational schools or professional study in music and art. The catalogue stated, “The basis of the school is the Home. By dividing the girls into groups, each group being in intimate touch with one or two teachers, every girl is sure of having individual attention, and a greater opportunity is given for friendliness and sympathy than can exist with large numbers.”
This kind of education was pricy in its day. For the 1922-‘23 schoolyear, board and tuition was $1,500. Tuition alone was $300. While courses were given in classical studies as well as music, art, domestic arts and more, there was also great stress put on athletics. The school had its own gymnasium and a well-supported equestrian club. Every year, students would put on a horse show for the community, as well as a winter carnival and festival on the ice of Otsego Lake.
With today’s students, try to picture this. Knox students woke to the bell at 6:45 a.m., then went to classes after breakfast. Lunch was at 1:30 p.m., followed by outdoor recreation and exercise from 2:15 to 4:15. Their study hours were from 4:30 to 6:30, then dinner, and an evening program at 8 p.m. It was lights out at 9:45 p.m.
The Otesaga served as the Knox School until the announcement came in August 1953 that the school would relocate to Long Island after the 1953-‘54 academic year. A lease was set to expire in 1954. The school purchased the spacious LaRosa Estate in Smithtown, on Stony Brook Harbor, about 50 miles from midtown Manhattan. Knox School officials said the change was motivated
An application form and catalogue from the Knox School, for the 1922-‘23 academic year. Now located in Long Island, the Knox School for Girls was in Cooperstown for 34 years.
Photo courtesy of Special Collections at the Fenimore Art Museum Research Library.
by the proximity of New York City, with its cultural offerings, such as museums, theaters, opera and concerts.
The Otesaga lost a tenant, but meanwhile, there had been a growing demand for accommodations for visitors to Cooperstown in the late spring and early fall months, allowing the hotel to expand its season from two months to five.
The Knox School is still found in St. James. It enrolls about 130 students, and has been a co-ed institution since 1972.
a school for Boys
“Establishment of a junior school for boys, to be known as the Cooperstown Academy, was announced Thursday by Herbert E. Pickett, who will be the headmaster. The school will open next autumn in the buildings formerly occupied by the Beasley School,” stated the Otsego Farmer of March 22, 1940. Beasley had closed in 1939, after opening for the 1928-‘29 academic year. These were found near the corner of today’s Pioneer and Elm streets.
“‘Because Cooperstown has been the scene of educational enterprise for over a century and has unique historical and literary distinction among American villages, the name of the community is to be associated with the school. In this section of New York from earliest times there have been Seminaries and Academies. In this tradition also the name of the school has been fixed,’ Mr. Pickett declared in discussing the proposed school program.
“‘While the major objective of the school will be to prepare boys for admission to the leading preparatory schools,’ he continued, ‘the underlying philosophy of the curriculum will embrace a plan to emphasize the historic and literary associations of Cooperstown and the vicinity and thus stimulate intellectual curiosity in the minds of the youthful pupils. It contemplates a distinct emphasis on outdoor life in which the lake, the woods, the facilities for winter sports and the equipment of the Hyde Bay camp will play a part.’”
from top: The Otesaga Resort and hotel, seen in 2008. During many off seasons, from the 1920s through 1970, the hotel served as a school. The present-day Bassett hall. In addition to hosting the Cooperstown Academy, it was the Orphan house of the holy Savior, operated for decades by the Susan Fenimore Cooper Foundation. This property, seen at 64 Pioneer St., was once home for the Cooperstown Academy, operating here and at today’s Bassett hall, from 1940 to 1949. | MARK SIMONSON
Once known as “The Orphan House of the Holy Savior,” it is known today as Bassett Hall.
Herbert Pickett brought an impressive background with him, as the Farmer continued: “Mr. Pickett’s resignation as the dean of the Gilman Country School of Baltimore, Md., with which he has been associated since his graduation from Yale in 1913, takes effect in June. The Gilman School is the original country day school of the United States. Mr. Pickett is also the head of the Hyde Bay camp for boys on Otsego Lake, seven miles from Cooperstown, which he founded in 1927, and which, under his personal direction, has come to be recognized as one of the distinctive organized camps of the East.
“An Otsego born educator, Mr. Pickett brings to the new Cooperstown Academy many original points of view based on the conservative program which is necessary in the preparation of boys for the Secondary Board examinations. Mrs. Pickett, who has been a leader in civic activities in the city of Baltimore, and who has been actively associated with him at the Hyde Bay camp, will herself assume the duties of house mother at the Academy. It is expected that the first term will commence the last week of September with a complete staff of experienced teachers.” It officially opened Sept. 24, 1940.
Although a world war broke out, enrollment was good at the new academy, at today’s 64 Pioneer St. So good, the academy moved to a larger location, as the Farmer of Oct. 27, 1943 informed readers: “Announcement was made Wednesday … that plans were complete for the removal, during the Christmas holiday vacation of the Cooperstown Academy for younger boys from its present location … to the building of the Susan Fenimore Cooper Foundation which occupies a plot of about seven
acres at the corner of Beaver street and Susquehanna avenue in this village. The activities of the Foundation were discontinued at the close of the school year in June, 1942.” Once known as “The Orphan House of the Holy Savior,” it is known today as Bassett Hall.
The good times continued, as the Farmer reported on Sept. 24, 1947 that the Academy had reached record enrollment of 61 boys for that academic year ahead.
The success came to an end about two years later, as the Farmer reported on March 30, 1949: “The Cooperstown Academy…will cease operations at the end of the current school year in June.
“Chief reason for discontinuing the school, Mr. Pickett said, the drop in the number of students enrolled this year, with a prospect of even fewer which has resulted in a large deficit in operating expenses which would certainly be greater next year.”
‘Big Kids’ Came to learn, teach
Back at the Otesaga, a tradition of the hotel serving as school resumed in 1961, when the AT&T Data Communications Training School opened.
Electronic computers were introduced in the early 1950s. The data field was still very new. New business machines were constantly being introduced. The Bell System’s Data Phone Service was launched in 1958, enabling machines to talk with other machines over regular telephone lines, as well as special circuits and private lines. It was cutting-edge for its day.
Dealing with the new technology required specially trained and qualified Bell System employees. An arrangement was made before 1961 to locate the training school in Cooperstown. Once again, the academics took place during the hotel’s off season.
A trainee at the school came to Cooperstown for 12 weeks of rigorous instruction, laboratory work and studies, leaving them with little time for anything else. They were mostly men at that time. The only time trainees might get to spend time at the museums and seeing the Cooperstown sights was when their spouse came for a weekend.
While trainees lived at the Otesaga, the faculty lived in various houses in and near Cooperstown. Their influence was felt in the community, since the men and women joined and were active in various service clubs and churches, and their children attended Cooperstown schools.
The general consensus in Cooperstown was, according to an article in The Oneonta Star in 1962, “good to have the school here… wouldn’t it be good for Cooperstown if AT&T made it a permanent arrangement?”
The grads who returned home and to their jobs in the Bell System companies were equally complimentary in their remarks about the village and its residents.
The training school continued until it was announced in April 1969 that AT&T would close the school the next year, with the last graduating class in June 1970.
According to AT&T officials, the closing was part of a major change to a new method of training Bell System people in data communications and system communications. Demands of the business had grown toward decentralization. Additionally, the new system would emphasize self-instruction training methods in place of the traditional classroom approach. New training programs would be designed to match each person’s learning pace and tailored to meet the requirements of each company’s market.
AT&T made the formal announcement at a luncheon meeting of the Cooperstown Rotary Club, held at the Otesaga. S.F. Damkroger, an AT&T official, told those on hand, “We have always been grateful to Cooperstown for the friendship and help of its people over the years. The community proved to be everything we hoped for when we chose it as the site of our school eight years ago.”
Since 1961, the school trained more than 2,600 employees in data communications. The closing affected 44 families involved in the school. It was estimated that the school and the faculty families contributed three million dollars annually to the village and surrounding towns’ economies. +
Historian Mark Simonson grew up in Oneonta. He has worked in public relations, marketing and broadcast journalism. Simonson was appointed Oneonta City Historian in 1998. He writes a historical column in The Daily Star and has published books highlighting local and regional history. Here, Simonson shares stories about old buildings of interest in the upstate region.
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