News from Up North
June 2nd, 2013 · No Comments · Posted in News from Up North
Swimming season in the Battenkill has begun
The annual “Battenkill Runs Through It” fest in Greenwich couldn’t have scripted better weather for swimming. It was hot, and plenty of bathers took advantage. The community “beach” had been newly groomed. There was great food on the buffet. And the Roadhouse Rhythm & Blues Band provided lively tunes.
Can I just say, the pork ribs from Boneyard BBQ, new to the Greenwich restaurant scene, were excellent: thick and perfectly smoked. And there was a long buffet of beans, slaw, corn bread and other sides provided by local eateries. Following lunch, the Hubbard Hall arts group in Cambridge organized a “drummers circle” that included a quick lesson in African rhythms on a variety of percussive instruments. I found a couple of rocks to bang together just to provide a little different sound.
(Took me back to when the music instructor at my daughter’s charter school in D.C. was a famous Senegalese drummer. I used to accompany the kids on the drums–always a fun time.)
Barbecued chix doesn’t get any better than this
I had planned to make dinner out of the barbecued chicken being served at the Methodist church in Shushan that evening. Yes, there actually is a small village of Shushan, not much more than a railroad crossing almost in Vermont. Imagine my chagrin when I found the entrance to the church basement, where people were lining up for food, only to be told the chicken had been sold out. I thought they were kidding. But when I saw the cashier, he verified the sad truth: all tickets had been purchased in advance.
Apparently, the chicken prepared by Tina Rowland is so good you have to phone in your order prior to the event. As you can see from the photo above, it did look like the best barbecued chicken you might imagine. Oh, well. Next year….
In other news, Cliff Oliver, local historian and re-enactor, will lead an Underground Railroad tour of Greenwich on Sunday, June 16, at 1 p.m. Greenwich and neighboring Easton were a hotbed of abolitionist activity during the Civil War. This walking tour makes 15 stops over approximately 2 hours, so wear comfortable shoes.
Furthering the historical theme, Greenwich will be holding its annual “Whipple City” festival June 14 and 15. Greenwich originally was called Whipple City, after one of its founding residents. Revolutionary and Civil War re-enactors will take part. The 99th Infantry Division will represent World War II.
The Cambridge Central School class of 1948 celebrates its 65th anniversary this year. The weekend reunion, set for July 19-21, kicks off with a golf tournament. An open house at the fire department is being planned.
Meanwhile, Cambridge high school students taking advanced placement environmental science recently traveled to Yale University and a behind-the-scenes tour of the Peabody Museum where they examined dinosaur bones, among other things.
And mark your calendars: the Cambridge Central School class of 2016 will be holding its second annual “cow flop bingo” contest Saturday, June 8, at 2 p.m.
Salem United Methodist Church holds its “blessing of the bikes” ceremony today to benefit local police, fire, EMS and their families. All denominations are welcome, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Bikes in fact are not required.
Next weekend there will be no end of things to do as Cambridge holds its annual Balloon Fest. There are planned balloon lift-offs, community lunches and dinners, an open house at the New Skete monastery, a “moon glow” featuring illuminated balloons hovering over the town, and too much else to mention here. For a full schedule of events, visit the Chamber of Commerce website.
A recent meeting of the Easton village board was “held hostage” at the last minute by opponents of so-called “Agenda 21,” an alleged United Nations plot to remove rural inhabitants and force them to live in cities. Agitators have appeared at various town meetings in the area urging elected leaders to formally oppose “Agenda 21.” The Easton board voted to table the matter for further study.
Washington County has a new “dairy princess.” She is Alison Parrott, president of the Future Farmers of America chapter at Hartford Central School. Alison shows Holstein cows and says she is “very excited for the upcoming year,” when she intends to “educate and inform the public about the importance of the dairy industry.”
Meanwhile, Rensselaer County Dairy Princess Lindsey McMahon maintained her torrid pace of public engagements. She recently attended a pre-school program at the Kiddie Carr Day Care in Petersburg where she led the children in a game of “dairy bingo,” which, McMahon said, “helped educate them on the dairy products they eat every day, the animals that make the milk they drink and some of the tools farmers use to take care of their animals on the farm.”
After “a few rounds of bingo,” McMahon said she gathered the kids around a table “where they got to mix their own milk with yummy chocolate syrup to create a delicious chocolate milk snack.”
This edition of The News from Up North was culled from actual news reports in the Washington County area and is presented here for the enjoyment and edification of our readers. As always, stay alert and please drive carefully.
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