Christmas 1970: Be Careful What You Pretend To Be

Well , for me I had finished my first semester in college. As happens , the great return home. People returning for their first real back home time in months. I find this time an interesting psychological moment in ones life. One has transitioned away from home or high school , things have changed even though often to Mom & Dad your still their kid. You feel one must act differently now.....show your new self ....your new gestalt or whatever. And so it was with my hometown crowd. One of the things that fascinate me as a man that likes history and archaeology is how quickly our societies artifacts age in our American culture. I remember people discussing how our bedrooms looked different. Not quite the "cozy" place it once was. As for me I remember my desk I set at during my previous yrs at MHHS no longer appeared to fit like it did. Odd. I also noticed people I had known for yrs were assuming the new role. Kurt Vonnegut once said "Be careful what you pretend to be , because you are what you pretend to be". We were pretending to be a new something. Psychologist , teacher , architect , insurance salesman , sailor , minister.....college student etc etc. We had said our goodbyes & now attempting new hellos. We told our version of war stories , drank a few , talked about who is where and in some cases who had bombed out in their first version of freedom away from high school. I believe this is somewhat universal. As I write this , kids have returned home to a different world they must make a new reality of. OK enough of the shrink. Anyway I had returned to what was to be the final Christmas with my Father who would die the following September. The artifacts of my teen yrs began to be subtracted , new artifacts added. Some of what my wife calls my junk , personal & otherwise. Oh well. But I write this personal piece of history all most as a reminder of Vonnegut's quote because what I was pretending to be was in actuality what I was becoming. Perhaps this reminder of that long lost Christmas vacation should be chiseled into some of our public blds...................... PRETEND WELL.......................

From Darkness To Light To My Liberation: The Beatles

Today marks the 30th anniversary of John Lennon being shot to death outside his apartment in NYC. So once again my mind tripped back to another era. Let me not dwell on the sadness but set a historical mood & moment. A historical centerpiece from which I believe much cultural & historical life was struck by a lightening in an early 60's soup which we still live with today. Kennedy was murdered November of 63. Much has been written of this time so for my purposes let me simply say a semi darkness fell over our nation. A sort of national mild to moderate political / social depression of sorts. Flags half staff , and so were many peoples emotions. Even as a preteen I felt it , relatives , teachers etc. A noticeable gloom. A national question perhaps was being asked "what were we"? Then a new music hit our conscious late that year and burst onto TV early the next yr. The Beatles hit our shores. For my generation at this time it was as if we just had taken in a full deep breath of cold fresh winter air. The The odd quirky early evening of our nation was for many atleast broken. My life for one was never the same for soon I as well as many began to have new perimeters in life. I myself now had the Beatles to add to 007 and I enjoyed this new rush. The beginnings of a less stiff secure life & into a vision of myself beyond Schodack NY my hometown. For this I remain still grateful , for I was on a road set by family that would not bring much satisfaction. This couple of months would be in a way all most spiritual , darkness but I could see . To my kids who read this, trust me, I was far from being alone in this. Some of what you liked most of your father was in small part born at this time. As Lennon once said Love & Peace are Eternal.

Old Farm Sign Uncovered/Schodack NY

On a quick trip upstate a couple of months ago I uncovered an old farm advertisement sign buried in the Funk Rd area of Schodack Landing region. I used a metal detector to discover the item. After time sitting in my garage I got around to attempting to restore it enough to get an idea what it said. After some research and careful cleaning I believe it to read THIS IS AN IH FARM. The IH standing for International Harvester Company. The oddest part of my research found a copy of the sign on e-bay. It was on a fridge magnet sold out of Chino , California. I also discovered to my shock that there is an international refrigerator market centered in the US , England , Hong Kong , and Bangkok Thailand. They sell all sorts of stuff. Anyway back on topic. Many farms did and to some extent still do put up signs that advertise an aspect of their farming. Funk's Seed Corn , IH tractors , Agway as examples. The sign and equipment probably came from Benny Funk's farm equipment company near Chatham NY. The same family for which Funk Rd was named. This dealership supplied farmers in a 3 county area. He died just a few yrs ago shortly after selling off his large supply of old cars and equipment he had taken in trade etc. RIP. So a small piece of farm history from a rusted out old sign dug out of the ground and semi restored enough to tell a small story.

The Urge To Build

Historian Stephen Ambrose , who wrote among other books , Band of Brothers once stated that in his opinion that American servicemen upon returning from service in WWII wanted to build. Collectively they had witnessed and taken part in the mass destruction of great centers of the world. They now wished to build and rebuild their victorious nation. So we did. What went wanting from the years of the great depression , what visionaries thought needed. All seemed on the table. As an example , the Interstate Highway System , now named the Eisenhower Interstate System for the President that began the process. Eisenhower even put former General Lucius Clay in charge of securing the initial financing. We were serious. Bridges , highways , schools for baby boomer kids. A wide variety of infrastructure. Overall the voters supported these decisions and a sense of national pride became intertwined with a true sense of national purpose. They were not just building for themselves but for their children & grandchildren. New homes , businesses , universities. It even touched my hometown of Castleton/Schodack New York as citizens watched the Castleton Thruway Bridge rise from the western and eastern shores of the Hudson River. So....after this past recent midterm election I ended up asking myself . What happened? No talk of great projects , or aspirations. I heard alot of fear and retrenchment. Did not hear of infrastructure and the needs to do upkeep. Cancel tunnels and rebuliding projects. As a man who has a hobby of digging up the past I look now to ask what it says of our future with this current mind set. As nations such as China builds high speed rail , we rattle along on Amtrak. Graduation rates continue to decline way down from rates when I graduated forty yrs ago. All a sign of what I have finally concluded to be a stalemate. Frankly , at this moment I have come to the conclusion that the barbarians are not at the gate , they are inside and people like me are ones at the gate. We shall see in the upcoming 10 yrs or so who shall win this battle. I am not confident.

Thinking Wine of Past & Now

We had a family dinner the other Sunday evening. Wine was served , a Riesling. This semi sweet wine is a favorite of wife & daughter in law. I usually maintain a selection of wine for various occasions. Received a wine fridge a couple of yrs ago so I have a place for storage. Talking about wine I admit is a slippery slope. Lets face it , wine can be a topic of snob appeal. I have run into a fair number in my life , wine snobs that is. So I am avoiding vintage & year discussions & leave that to others. My wine experience stems from my early yrs in the Town of Schodack NY in the 12033 zip area. The growing of grapes was a fairly common pursuit 40 plus yrs ago. My family had some grape vines as did many back yards in my hometown. Many farms in the area also grew grapes , the Swartz & Golden farms being examples. The majority of grapes were turned into jams & jelly back then. People grew grapes mainly for this purpose. Usually the hardy concord variety. We were not yet the wine consuming nation we would become. Beer & whiskey was the norm. Wine was something one might consume at a Thanksgiving Dinner. A rare if festive occasion. The Gallo family lets face it were what we thought about when it came to wine. I as well as my generation began to turn to wine in my opinion because of their marketing efforts. So what got me interested. Well James Bond for one thing. These movies were all most a cult event in the 60's. Bond , drinking the 57 whatever chilled properly. We were more open to something new if Bond did it. What was new was products like Ripple and Boone's Farm Apple and Zapple wines. Cheap & drinkable and local bars began to serve them. Especially Zapple , with it's higher alcohol content. My generation began to consume and would keep an open mind on this type of drinking. As for me one experience served as a milestone. The Connolly family of Shufelt Road. Mr. Connolly an amateur vintner had a small vineyard on his property and made his own wine. It was on a hill in the wooded area in back of his home. Slightly less than an acre it produced a Pinot type grape. Mr. Connolly created a Merlot type red. Sediment on the bottom of the bottle cause he did not believe in straining very much. I as well as a friend received a bottle as a gift. It was a deep red and dry. Oh yeah. It was consumed but it was not for amateurs. But these ventures into adult kind of wine were instructive , even to a 19 yr old. As yrs went by I developed a real taste for wine from these beginnings. I also in my various explorations of this part of the Hudson Valley region have been mildly surprised to discover grapes growing in the wild. Perhaps planted by birds or deer from droppings or wooded areas overtaking former farm land left vacated. These untended vines with a low production of grapes I have found in places such as the Papscanee Island preserve near the Hudson river off railroad right of ways in South Schodack and Schodack Landing areas. Recently I found a stingy clump in a wooded area of Graw Road near the Columbia County border. Perhaps some are from old grape vines grown 40 or 50 yrs ago in the area. One cutting I took from the Papscanee Preserve a couple of yrs ago appears from my research to be of the grape used to make Pinot Noir. Hope to return and see if it remains next summer. So , my blog on wine. Old tastes , old vines left behind new tastes such as wine from Schodacks Brookview Station winery owned by the Gould family. All part of this life I still live.

John Lennon 70th Birthday Today

A sure sign that I myself am aging is that today would have been Lennon's 70th birthday. Has it been that long ago....must be. As a young teenager I as did millions of Americans watch the Beatles on the old Ed Sullivan Show. A couple of years ago I attended a taping of the Late Show with Letterman. It is done at the Ed Sullivan theater. I was mildly surprised to see that the theater was as small as it was. Seemed huge that night. The Beatles overall impact back then was huge. I once attempted to try and explain to my daughters musician boyfriend just how big an impact that week was. To music , culture , art , fashion , etc. The world seemed to change within a few short weeks. The change was most intense in the urban areas of course but even in small town Castleton NY where I grew up. You could sense things were not the same. We became a little more British or we thought we did. Our hair , clothes music tastes were moving in an exciting new direction , even if some were reluctant to go. My generation had discovered a different world beyond our borders. Overall we liked it. So among my Kyle Eastwood jazz cd's and Bach there remains my Beatles as my favorite R&R that I still pull out and enjoy well after 45 yrs. If there was a cultural DNA , Lennon would have his genetic template in their somewhere. Subtle but present , a wave still effected us to the present day. RIP , especially the peace part.

Brendan Micheal Hudson

My new Grandson born on Sept 27 in the yr of our lord 2010 as they used to say. Do I wish you well in our angry , crazed world. To you as my previous Grandson I give you our family motto. Animo non Astutia. Modern translation....strength not deception. Your family history like all families has shown strength , moderation and endurance. You have a great great uncle that flew planes in World War 1 with the 72nd Aerosquadron . One great uncle won a bronze star during the Second World War as a medic. But we have had many simple relatives simply trying to make their way in the world. Go with strength in your life towards your future.

Lost Sounds of Schodack/Castleton

Well there I was in Schodack area looking for the remnants of an old stone wall a long term resident of Maple Hill Road area had told me about. It was early August and hot , around 90 degrees. i searched the woodland areas of Maple Hill Rd and Carney Rd near the high school and Methodist church areas. An area that went through a transition from farm land to suburbs and school buildings. Areas around the Town of Schodack have retained some of their fences from the 17th & 18th centuries. Just travel along the Taconic Parkway to view a number of them. This town has not so to find a remnant of left over stone fencing would be of interest to an amateur archaeologist like me. "I know I lead an exciting life in my semi retirement." Anyway I searched the woods near Maple Hill School and followed it to the Carney Rd area. Backtracked several times. Did find 4 stones near one another but doubt that was the wall I was looking for. Not even would come to a standard of a cairn. I did this for the better part of 2 days. I assure you that there are a fair number of sites that do not pan out and this appeared to be one of those times. I exited a brush wooded area in back of the Methodist church. I set on a bench there and took my meds...I am a type 2 diabetic. I was beat and needed a rest. On their property is their old church bell that was relocated from the old church located on Main Street in Castleton. It was placed in a wishing well kind of structure. Looking at it as I rested I took out my geologist type hammer and gently tapped it. It rang with a deep resonance. I remembered hearing that sound as a kid growing up. It struck me as I thought about it that there are lost sounds that one can never really recover. How did ancient Rome sound in the early morning as it began another day of Empire. How did London sound in the times of Sherlock Holmes. We can sort of recreate it but not completely. So here are a few sounds of what the Town of Schodack sounded like a number of years ago. Some sounds are still there.

Trains: You can still hear the freight trains and Amtrak roll through town. Trains used to stop in Castleton untill the early 1960's. The train grinding to a halt , air breaks applied and it's loud hiss. The 11;20 PM from NYC is especially memorable to me cause you can hear that for miles in the quiet of the night.

Thruway Bridge: We have become used to copious amounts of air conditioning in America. But on a quiet night in summer you could hear trucks and some cars travel over the Castleton Thruway Bridge . When ones windows are open in the dead of night you can hear that distinctive humming.

Drag Racing: You can still hear that distinctive sound of what we used to call burning rubber or laying down rubber in the muscle car era. But to be honest not nearly as loud or as frequent as it once was. It seemed a right of passage to go from a standing start to 0 to 60 leaving that squeal of rapidly spinning tires under stress. As a matter of fact there was a measured quarter mile on Schodack Landing Road above 9j about a half mile from Golden Lane. The distance measured and start and stop lines painted across the road. This started circa 1961 and was still being done in the early 1970's. The line was repainted atleast 4x in that period. Yes I dragged there. Once I dragged a VW Bug in my mothers Opel Kadett. I won. Not alot of speed as you can imagine if you know those cars. It ended when Schodack got it's own police force. Shut down.

Fort Orange Paper Company Whistle: At 2 minutes to noon I believe it blew from the 20's untill close to closing of the mill. The siren on the Castleton Elementary School went off at noon. Busy people and students were alerted to the midday.

Ashby Park: The old park was of wooden construction , even the fence. They had an announcer booth built in back of home plate. They had a single loudspeaker used to announce the game. It was loud. The park was and still is located on top of the Brookview Rd hill. When conditions were still on a warm spring evening you could hear that game for miles. One could be in midtown Castleton 3 or more miles away and hear Steve Ennis or Danny Nolan were up to bat. This was of course intermittent but you could follow part of the game sometimes.

Sonic Booms: There are many people alive today that have never heard a sonic boon from a jet breaking the sound barrier. It was once quit common in the early days of the Cold War. It could rattle you windows. Depending on it's intensity it could shake you especially at night. It was also not uncommon to hear the low rumble of a blimp or a prop passenger liner from Albany Airport.

A School Bus: Les Vanderwall was one of School Bus drivers. On his rounds early in the morning he would beep his horn at certain houses to act as an alarm clock. I found out later he did this for about 23 households in the area. He died a couple of years ago in his 90's. I used to listen for that telltale beep,beep for many years untill my graduation. Considering I heard it for around 12 yrs I missed it.

Milkmen: Early in the morning the tinkle of bottles , the footsteps on the steps Now gone.

Church Bells: One still hears on Sunday or special days the sound of local churches ringing their bells to call the faithful to service. Not nearly as often as we once did. Less churches , the expense and people don't want to be awakened on a Sunday morning. Some churches used to ring The Tailors for the death of a member. I believe 9 for a man 7 for a woman as was the English custom. Sorry about that ladies.

School Bells: Some schools in the area had bells but I remember the loud buzzer telling students when they could enter school if you arrived early. This was stopped sometime in the 60's.

Well , these are some of my memories , ancient as they may now seem. The world seems sometimes so loud that we miss the smaller things as they pass us by. Including the sound of what our lives were as we hustled towards a faster future.

On The Back Steps Of Maple Hill High School

Early this month I spent a rather frustrating couple of days in search of the remnants of an old stone fence.....more about that in my next blog. After a long first day I checked into the Franklin Square Inn Suites in Troy , showered , shaved and got a bite to eat. I took an arthrotech at dinner so as I drove back to Schodack I was beginning to feel less pain from my back and knee. I set for awhile on the back steps of my old high school. Still had an hour and a half of light or so. I took some notes down on the day. Then as I sipped my Dunkin Donuts coffee my mind went back to my school yrs. We never really escape history. A fair chunk of my history was here. I have written about my high school in a couple of blogs. High School can carry some good memories sometimes a scar or two. I don't really ever want to go back in time to relive particular events. I never really liked taking an overload of orders so I parted this place relieved. Yet one of my hobbies is archaeology and history. The crumbling back steps that led to the old gym locker rooms where I set gave me a good view of the soccer field. Memories flooded back on those steps , fellow students , teachers , bus drivers etc. My semi history. Many people in my life then are dead or shall we say gone to their rest. Parents , teachers , nosy neighbors.I read the school is a top school in the area. That is good they even have taken steps against bullies. School administrators like Mike Nagal probably are now discouraged from slamming the "more difficult elements " against lockers. Oh well such were the days that some yearn for. As for me ............ this former shy , class clown , what does he miss........? Well , Maple Hill at that time had a poor track record of dealing with what we now call dyslexia and ADHD and other difficulties of learning. It was dealt with by trac system segregation. Simply put "smartest" to the "dumbest" were separated and theoretically taught in "separate but equal" classes. This was educational bullshit of course as I was to later learn in my graduate level Ed Psych courses. Professor Jan Abelseth taught me well at SUNY Albany. So my career path was set by watching what was going on around me to people. Can't say I missed that but it was instructive to my future. I believe I miss......my senior year. I had returned from another school , that I spent my junior yr in , "no it was not a reform school" it was a Prep School. I was glad not to be wearing a jacket and tie to class for one thing. I hooked back up with kids I had known since early elementary school. I was way tired of Prep School snobs. Anyway, Ron Kunicki and John Connolly and I were to hook up and pal around alot that senior yr. I returned with a back injury and a couple of concussive incidents from soccer the previous year. Jesus I was glad to be away from sports. Ron & John helped me come back and settle in, which took awhile. Anyway , school is often a forced socialization situation but I was glad to be back in familiar surroundings. That is what I miss , the people. If you liked each other or was in the wrong click you still knew them in a small town. People you knew for a long time. Being away gave me an odd new appreciation. People in all their differences. So that is what I miss.......the sometimes awkward memory of that early year of mine. People. I smiled on those school steps thinking about some of those times. Not all of course , just some. Music , TV , Garage Rock , Ripple wine , Ron's brothers P1800 Volvo with the electronic 5th gear switch which we often borrowed , my senior yr Christmas , Lizzie my short term girlfriend and the feeling that life was opening up beyond a small town. Friends. I still know Ron , he lives in Brooklyn and is an architect , have not seen John in 20yrs , he went on to be a teacher. We only had one reunion , to be honest I don't think educational segregation led to an abundance of closeness with my class. So it goes. But I remember that senior year as somehow special......my final go around before setting off on courses really unknown. Coffee gone , nicorette gum chewed. Time to continue elsewhere , starting with a good nights sleep. I left the steps of that past to soon look for another more remote past of someone else. BE SEEING YOU.

Bobby Thomson: In The Viceroy Hall of Records

Last night it was announced today, former home run hero of the New York Giants Bobby Thomson died. I was not around for the playoff winning homer against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951. Certainly heard the replay on baseball history shows. What I remember of Thomson when I was just a kid was commercials he did during the very early years of Mets games when they played in the old Polo grounds. It was sponsored by Viceroy cigarettes when those companies could still legally advertise on TV. It was titled Bobby Thomson : In The Viceroy Hall of Records. He would briefly discuss some aspect of the Mets or baseball in relation to some history of the game. Then he would hawk smokes. I think some of my enjoyment of history & baseball came from those little history moments. Certainly it was not from watching The Mets loose a multitude of games. So anyways here is to Bobby Thomson --- The Giants win the pennant ---The Giants win the pennant--- The Giants win the pennant. And thanks for the history.

Full Moon Over Schodack N.Y. 12162

July 24,2010 I was returning from a quick drop off visit to Schenectady NY. Stopped for dinner in my hometown of Castleton/Schodack N.Y. It was a warm beautiful evening. The kind of time that summer memories form a lasting sort of presence in the minds of vacationing children off from school. I took a few extra minutes and walked around my old high school track at Maple Hill High School damp from a brief shower that cooled things down. The moon was coming out in the early evening as I took my walk. The moon was full. This constant in our lives , looking no different than when our grandparents looked up at it as they held hands. The same moon young men saw before they left home for a distant war. No different from the moon Henry Hudson navigated by as he explored the someday named river for him and by many historians accounts came ashore in a yet to be named Castleton to meet with native inhabitants. Yet it is different , it no longer beckons us as it once did. Through much of my childhood and adolescence the moon was our national science goal. NASA formed in the Eisenhower Administration held our young attention. Men in space and with President Kennedy men on the moon. The space race as we called it then. We were going to beat the Soviet Union to the moon. We watched the blastoffs on TV at school. Alan Shepard , John Glenn became national heroes as Charles Lindburgh was to a previous generation. To those of us that liked science this was a great time punctuated every month by a full moon we could look up at. We were a nation under one moon. Our resources and our pride going towards that goal of landing and exploring. We of course circumnavigated the moon in Christmas of 1968 and the following summer landed to an all most undivided national and world attention. We all probably looked up at the full moon that night if we could see it. That beckoning moon we could now touch. The science that so touched our school yrs had come become a new reality. A new phrase sprang up "if we can send a man to the moon why can't we do....." As I drove back on the Taconic Parkway that evening towards 11509 the moon of Schodack became the moon of Chatham and Hyde Park etc. One thing struck me.As that time of my youth has passed so has much of the energy of the space program. We are not as energized as we once were by exploration. Been there done that. I know we will not return to that familiar object in my lifetime. No moon base or radio telescope on the dark side of the moon. In a sense the moon over Schodack has become a relic of my past.

LI Jones & Peters Dairy bottles discovered Castleton NY 12033

I have recently discovered 2 small milk bottles from Castleton / Schodack NY dairy's. LI Jones & Peters Dairy both labeled Castleton NY. Pre-zip code bottles. Peters dairy located on Brookview Rd and Jones located near Maple Hill Rd around the present day Maple Hill High School. The bottles held cream or were the single serving size bottles. I am actually old enough that I remember when one drank their school milk from such bottles. Discussing my recent finds with friends all agreed who remembered those milkmen days that milk tasted better in the glass bottles. The cartons never could match up in taste. The milk was of course fresher , right from the farm to the consumer in less than 24 hrs. Mrs Lillian Kunicki of the Schodack area told me of how she would leave the money for Jones on her kitchen table and Mr. Jones would come into the house early in the morning around 5:00 am put the milk in her refrigerator take the empties. Sometimes Mrs.K would leave little treats for Leslie on her kitchen table. Such were the days back then. A real family trust situation. Jones and Peters would often buy milk off of other farmers in the area when business was brisk. The farm of Lewis Hudson of Castleton & Ken Golden of Schodack Landing were 2 such farms that sold milk to these bottlers , especially to Jones. Jones left the milk business somewhere in the early to mid circa 1950's. The Peters family owned their farm holdings into the early 21st century. The days of the family farm have declined severely in the last half century in America. The town of Schodack NY has been no exception. Once dotting upstate New York were the farms , dairy, corn and other cash crops. Now there is but a few. One could not travel through the town without noticing the smell of manure. Schodack like many towns in the Capitol region of New York have become suburbs , channeling workers to the larger cities or suburban shopping malls. Such is the change 0f post World War II America.

Powder Ridge Music Festival 40 Year Anniversary

On July 31 2010 marks the anniversary of a failed musical event. The Powder Ridge Music Festival at what I believe is the now defunct ski resort in Middlefield Connecticut 06455. I was there , along with my 2 High School buddies. Freshly graduated from being seniors & looking for some fun. We bought tickets but a court injunction shut it down. Well we and perhaps 30,000 others came anyway. This is not going to be a remember the glory days piece. I am going to tell a few stories of what I can recall. There are a few pieces on this event one can Google. This is more personal , hopefully shedding some light on the proceedings.

After hitching 2 rides from B1 on the NYS Thruway we got lucky. A red haired kid who lived in Orange Ct who was working in Albany NY was heading home for the weekend to visit his girl friend. He took us near the festival gave us his address and said he would give us a return trip on Sunday if we would share some gas money. We agreed and off we were to Powder Hill Road.

We walked up with our back packs on Powder Hill Road. We could hear the crowd noise. It sounded exciting , we quickened our pace. We arrived near the stage area and the singer Melonie was singing. She was the only name act that defied the court ban all weekend. We listened to her last 3 songs , the crowd roared and she walked off stage and exited to the back of the stage. She walked right by us. She signed a couple of autographs and seemed to disappear into the night.

For some unexplainable reason we decided to make camp by a tree in back of the stage area. I guess we did not plan to sleep much. Ron , John and Me began to party. That first night seemed friendly enough. We were keeping the 60's alive or what we thought of as the 60's. A mass of people were there. Rumors were about other acts like Richie Havens , Grand Funk Railroad and maybe Led Zeppelin would defy the courts & be showing up on Saturday. How could they resist a crowd this size. I met a couple from Flagstaff , Arizona who had it on {good authority} from his brother who worked for Capitol Records that Creedance Clearwater Revival was on their way from NYC that night. Of course that was all some wild speculation. None of it would in the end pan out.

I cannot be sure when exactly when we hit our sleeping bags , I think the late night rain helped quiet things down considerably. It was probably around 3:00 AM. The next morning the sky still darkened with clouds we awoke to a rather over weight young lady walking around yelling "does anybody got some downs." A living breathing strung out alarm clock. She was persistent and loud so I presume someone filled her request. But she did awaken hundreds as she wandered about acting as a new era town crier. As we were to discover all was not well.

First of all I had a blistering headache. With my consumption of that bottle of Balli Hai wine & whatever else{ you get my point} I was not in great shape. Many reports of this failed festival turning into a drug fest are true. But do you think anyone had thought to bring a bottle of simple aspirin. The humidity was all ready rising , temps were climbing to the upper 80's that day. Water helped but I went in search of some simple pain killer. As luck or basic planning would have it the Red Cross set up an aid station on top of the hill leading out. It was there I was donated some aspirin by a rather jovial gentleman who seemed to find this event very amusing. I consumed 4 pills and then I saw a vision. A Salvation Army truck was handing out coffee & donuts. I struggled over and waited in line. The Salvation Army lady handing out the coffee was a wisp of a woman. No more than five foot one inch tall. She looked terrified of the people before her. I was clumsy and spilled half of my coffee on the way to my mouth. She handed me another cup and put her hands around mine and aided me in getting it to my lips. I took at hot sip & hope I said thank you. As an aside I never forgot that act of kindness and a Christmas never has gone by without a trip to the kettle.

I found a roadside log to set on ate my breakfast and drank my coffee. The world was looking brighter. The sun had come out my friends had rejoined me we were once again ready but for what. As we reentered the stage area a Mister Frosty truck was supplying power to the stage. Dealers were setting up drug booths...that's right drug booths. No bands had showed up , music supplied by a loud speaker blaring music from a turntable Any rumors of bands arriving were unfounded. Some MC giving the occasional announcement. What that place lacked in entertainment it tried to make up for in drugs.

Saturday was a day of wandering , on foot and in peoples minds. Mingling chaos. Some people tried to open a store at the outskirts near the ski lift. I obtained 2 packs of Winston cigarettes there. Food was scarce. Overdoses common from all reports. About 2:00 pm that afternoon and why I remember that time I will never know it occurred to me that this was no Woodstock. That festival seems to be considered the Gold Standard for these events. Later that afternoon our friend John decided to climb a tree in nothing but his underwear. It took us and a few others to coax him down. He was blitzed. I had a small portable radio with me so I had contact with the outside world. Remember no cells phones. For news I turned to WDRC & WTIC.. It seemed that the National Guard was on duty in nearby New Haven in case of civil unrest. They were also planning to move out crowds if we stayed past Sunday. It seems we were on a deadline. Frankly most were too stoned to even contemplate civil unrest of any sort. This event was not getting any good press and only a few jug bands and local acts to entertain.

By late in the afternoon the crowd seemed listless , a bored stupor in many cases. John , Ron and I pooled together our food resources had a light dinner and shared food with others. Near our little encampment some older bikers who seemed inspired by Brando in the Wild Ones were giving rides to kids on their motorcycles up and down the little hill leading to Powder Ridge Road.I walked deep into the woods looking for a place to go to the bathroom. The 6 or 8 portable johns were beyond full. I walked past atleast 3 dozen people tripping away the day. Daylight was leaving all seemed tired. The drug booths were running out of drugs. Two Connecticut State Policeman in an old WWII style jeep came through on patrol. No problem. They were trying to spread the word to go home the next day. The older officer was really taking a grandfatherly tone as best he could.

The evening of Saturday was more reserved than the night before. The drug booths were packing up , there was a true sense that the end was near. We partied in an exhausted manner but there was still fun. more little groups formed among the crowd. Some friends were made , numbers exchanged etc. I had a conversation with a Saint Lawrence University professor about the current political climate. The pendulum was swinging he told me. This place is just an echo of what could have been. Though stoned he seemed oddly resigned. It is soon to be time to face the winter of the north back in Canton N.Y. I did think it "neat" that he spent time talking to a kid fresh out of high school. But then again he was there from Saturday morning on. I believe he taught math.

Around midnight some fireworks , Roman Candles etc were set off to more applause than deserved. I found a guy selling Ripple , a wine sold in a screw shaped bottle I presume so one could hold on to it when hammered. It was uncapped and therefore untampered with. Unusual that weekend. So for our final consumption of the event we shared a bottle of cheap red wine. It seemed like home if you can understand that. Three friends who had known each other from around second grade bidding farewell to our lost weekend. Everyone deserves one. Around 2:00 am an unsettled quiet overtook the place. Sleep was needed for the return trip.

We woke around 8:30. Generally speaking people looked stunned , tired and finished. We packed up washed up in a little pond nearby. Spotted some high school guys we knew as they were pulling out. We pulled out around 10:30. We were on our way to Orange Ct. We did not want to be late for our hoped for ride back to our version of civilization. One ride got us within walking distance. We found the house , we got our ride {thank God}. I can't remember the red haired kids name but we were grateful. He owned an Opel Rally Sport I believe it was called. A semi sports car of the day , made in Germany & imported by Buick. Comfortable enough for the 2 + hour trip. With one pit stop for gas and drinks we were deposited on exit B1 of the Thruway by 5:30. Gave him $20.00 which he was happy with. Connolly who I don't think ever picked up a check did not contribute. We walked past the toll booths to stares from the toll takers. Went to a nearby diner. Pits stop , bathroom & coffee and tried to make ourselves more presentable. Walked to Ron's house. Called home....yes I was fine etc etc etc. When I got home , a long hot shower. My mother washed my clothes like they were radioactive. She a Republican office holder was not thrilled with my escapade. Anyway , a steak on the grill and some potato salad and I hit the bed. I awoke at around noon the next day.

So it has been forty years......one still hears of Woodstock but never Powder Ridge. This event was one of those moments in my opinion that marked the end of an era. Those days of the 60's were over. The day the music at the festival died. My wife of 30 yrs will read this or one of my 4 kids will & one of them will probably say something like "what the hell were you thinking" A phrase I myself have used.

Forty Years After Graduation Maple Hill High School 12033

Well it was forty yrs ago on a June 25th evening I and my class graduated from Maple Hill High School in the Castleton NY 12033 area. I casually observed the class of 2010 graduate. I was at a fair distance away , on a hill overlooking the soccer field. I had come of my most recent archaelogy project and was in a rough state of appearance. These ceremonies have changed remarkably little over the yrs. The quest speaker tries to give a moments sage advice. Parents and relations watch on with a mixture pride , anxiety and relief that their children have come this far. Many of the kids sitting in cap and gown wish to go and get to the beer at various graduation parties. How I remember. When I graduated , the audience was still populated with WWII veterans. People with memories of the great depression. No longer , now it's post 60's generation with a very different set of memories. The class of 70 graduated during the Vietnam war , this new class has far away conflicts some will personally face. I was struck how similar a feel it all had , with a few changes I could have been in those seats. A true Deja-Vu moment overtook me , all over again. Time to go , let this class go on to their lives.....hopefully some dreams fullfilled.

Sex and the City Brooklyn Apartment

Not that many would care but my friends apartment on DeKalb Ave in Brooklyn was used in the last 2 Sex in the City movies. I have had beer on Amanda's patio when I have visited and seen how the apartment was changed for the movie. OK , so no big deal. Ron and Catherine Kunicki did make money for set rental. Probably the money is already safely at MIT for their daughters education. Next year she travels for a semester to Cambridge , England so they can only hope for a trilogy......... I guess. Anyway , visiting that semi set is the closest thing I will get to showbiz.

Conversations With Older Guys Schodack NY

I have been in a nostalgic mood as of late , such is often the study of history and archaelogy. There are 2 men I would like to credit with being of a fatherly help in my youth. Henry Peters and Ted Kunicki both having lived in the Town of Schodack. Henry Peters my uncle , Ted Kunicki a father of a good long friend. Both men took the time to give me a piece of their mind at a crucial time in a then young life. I am going back 40 plus yrs ago. Peters , on a row boat on Lake Pocatapauge in East Hampton CT. We had a morning of fishing......we had time for a good long discussion. Everything from girls to college....war and peace. Where my life might go from my 16 yrs of life at that point to that eventual adulthood I heard so much about. I admit I kind of poured my heart out about my anxieties and preoccupations. He listened as Ted did....from a life interrupted by war and their own stresses of life. From a life lived . I recieved his perspective in his best man to man way as we used to call it. A few yrs later Ted Kunicki who I occasionally worked for in his home building company were traveling down Rt 9 in Schodack NY. I was driving him back from a house he was building. It was in the early evening. We stopped at a local bar , one of the Kunicki's mottos was "all beer is good , some beer is better than others but generally speaking beer is good. Mr. Kunicki came from Poland and been in the bld trades for many yrs. Like my uncle a veteran of WWII. My uncle Navy Air Corp , Ted Army in an intelligence unit. He could speak multiple languages. After beer #1 he decided to give me a talk. Once again a talk about life and my future in it. My father had been dead about a year. I think he decided I needed some fatherly advice. I had already finished my 1st year of college and I was on summer vacation and not all that self assured. He talked to me in his grumbing manner which was much kinder than it sounded. He told me about someday finding a good woman , settingly down , becoming a home owner. All that adult stuff I was not really wanting to pay much attention to. The kind of good woman I was looking for at that moment was not what he had in mind or for that matter my uncle's mind. Get yourself a good solid wife , one built for the long haul of life. On beer 3 , he admitted being an adult could be a pain in the ass. On beer 4 he told me he was glad I was his son's friend and he actually thought I had the stuff to make it....even though he would yell at me every 10 minutes on the job. It felt good , my Uncle and Ted a few yrs apart gave me a piece of themselves. Also , in a way gave me some confidence. Both men did not waste time and would not waste time if they thought it would fall on deaf ears. It did not , I own a home , have been married for 29 yrs , vote and do all those adult things. I admit that there are moments when I am sick of adulthood....but who doesn't. Ted Kunicki would die a couple of yrs later and I attended his wake. Mrs Kunicki still a resident of Schodack NY spends time between her sons and grandchildren in Atlanta and Brooklyn. My Uncle still living in Berlin , Ct with his wonderful wife my Aunt Marion. Thank you to both , perhaps I need to find someone who is willing to listen and have a conversation. Carry on a tradition.

Seeing George Wallace on NYS Capitol Steps

It was my junior year of high school in that election year of 1968. I was for that one year in what we called aPrep School. For various reasons it was thought I was better off away from my hometown in a private school. My history teacher around October 10th 1968 was organizing a field trip. George Wallace was going to speak on the NYS Capitol Bld steps. To say the least he was controversial in that difficult year. Former Gov. from Alabama , Independent party candidate for President. My teacher felt a well rounded life needed a young mind to be exposed to all sides of an arguement. I had already made my young mind and it was not for Wallace. The anger in America was an ongoing open wound. I felt Wallace was exploiting this fear & anger and believed him to be a hatemonger. I went down with several of my schoolmates . Had to wear a suit as dress code was strict. We were not allowed to wear our blazer coats to point publicly to where we were from. What my biggest memory was from that day was not Wallace's angry contempt of the unfinished decade and pointy headed liberal policy's . In back of him was his guard , Alabama State Troopers. As Wallace was doing his version of a stem winder , a sunglassed somber guard reached in to his coat pocket pulled out a flask and belted down a drink and then put it back in his coat pocket and continued his southern sheriff glare at the audience. I turned to a fellow student from the south , Frank Mcilhenny one of the heirs to the Tabasco Sauce fortune. I said "Frank someday , somebody is going to shoot that red neck son of a bitch with security like his. Frank was to entranced by the moment to answer. But I was proved correct further down the road.

the Night King Was Assassinated Castleton NY 12033

It was 4/4/68. dinner was over it was a fairly warm evening for that time of year. The news came over the TV that Martin Luther King had been shot and soon after that had died. 1968 was in the process of becoming a tough year . Assassination , riots , political unrest ect. I had to travel to the north end of my hometown to deliver some package to a Grace Davis near Boltwood Avenue. This area was located on the heights above the Hudson River. As I turned a corner near the Ennis home I could look out and see the distant Albany NY. About 4 miles away as the crow flies. I could see in what was left of the evening light a slight glow and a rising cloud of misty smoke rising . Buildings were burning , smoke was rising near what was to be named the Nelson Rockefeller Plaza. When I got out of the car in the still evening a faint sound of sirens might be heard if you listened carefully. The MLK riots were just beginning , America was on fire. This memory was rekindled as I have just begun to read the new book Hellhound on his Trail by Hampton Sides. A retelling of the assassination of MLK and the investigation and manhunt that followed.

Reference for first plane landing in ny

A couple of yrs ago I wrote a blog about the first plane landing in Castleton NY. I based it on stories related from the Hudson Bros of Castleton. I have recently found an additional reference to that landing from the New York Times. Go to google , type in aeroplane in castleton and the article datelined August 24 1911 should come up.

First Earth Day 40 yrs Ago Today in Castleton NY 12033

Today is the 40th Earth Day. Richard Nixon signed it into law the year before. The world was in somewhat more of an activist mood back then. Maple Hill High School canceled classes that day and we had seminars on the environment. Topics included Hudson River pollution , overpopulation , smog etc. In the afternoon the student body fanned out and picked up trash in and around the school area. Bottles , paper and an old car starter were picked up. The world was a much more smoggier , dirtier , more polluted place then. Castleton was cited in a NYT magazine article as the biggest polluter in the Hudson River Valley. Our paper plant put out tons of waste into the river then and the specialty metal factory Anti-Corrosive put out it's share of soot and river dumpings. Added to that was open sewer pipes leading to river. There was no unleaded gas back then so automotive pollution was much higher. By the way nobody much complained about smoking as so many people smoked that everywhere smelled like smoke. The world has changed from that first Earth Day. We are now used to the world smelling better and being cleaner. I will be dead 40yrs from now , and as always where will we be?

Castleton Elementary School Time Capsule 12033

I had to make a quick trip to Albany from 11001. I did a quick side trip to Castleton NY. As I passed by the newly rebuilt CES I had a sudden memory. A time capsule was buried in the 1950's in the back playground area. It was placed there when the school had a tree planting to commerate Arbor Day. The entire old playground area has been removed and replaced by parking lots and driveways. The tree is gone and may have been for a number of years. The time capsule was buried under that tree. I have this sneaking suspicion the carefully planned capsule has been wiped out by the modern construction. Checking with other classmates we collectively remember it had the date and members of the class , teachers and administrators that planted it. History is fleeting quite often. A lost memory of an old school assembly to a new driveway.

Why My History Hobby

I am shipping off for a vacation in Vegas ,yes , Vegas next week. I have to fly and I hate to fly. I also will see the Grand Canyon and ancient ruins of south west native populations of + 1000 yrs ago. When I get back I begin another season of occasional digging into the past. Why do I explore these less than ancient ruins like old farmers landfills to attempt to piece together rather small aspects of small town life and history. Well , I remember last July for instance , a hot day after a cool spring. I am sitting eating my lunch inside a clump of trees on a large rock. I am working on an old foundation of a long gone barn. I am finding all sorts of tidbits which I shall report on another occasion after more work. I realize to most people this is a bore. My own wife of 29 yrs finds it odd. But to me I am at peace , piecing together a part of the world that is not really cared about. My pondering as I eat lunch in solitude is in a sense meditative. I enjoy the peace as my wife enjoys the noise of a casino. Finally I in my semi-retired state have time to do this and I am , after all those years in the workforce helping to solve , train , understand all those people's problems in my career feel free. Enjoying my lunch on a warm summer day , reporting on what I have found or remembering a piece of history worth relating. I enjoy this peace , if it is exploring where the KKK met in Castleton or where the old Hilltop Tavern once stood on Rt9. Interviewing people on what they know , grasping what was and turning it around to better have an understanding of what was going on and solutions people came up with to go about their lives. This is my hobby. Of much importance , no. The interests I pursue are much more about me and my self satisfied peace. If you live in the 12033 region of New York or near 06037 in Connecticut maybe I will see you in the next 7 or 8 months doing some research. I'll be smiling.

Kate Smith's Good Luck Tomb in Lake Placid

We are currently in the middle of The Olympics 2010 in Canada. For a number of yrs I lived in the Lake Placid area where the 1932 & 1980 winter games were held. Many Olympic athletes still come from or train in that region. I have met along the way a few of the athletes along the way. One story I have been told more than a couple of times is an odd good luck ritual involving the tomb of the late singer Kate Smith who lived much of her life in the Placid area. Kate Smith was a singer popular in the 30's 40's & 50's primarily. She had a radio show in the forties & a tv show in the fifties. Someone your grandparents would know well. She was best known for her rendition of God Bless America one hears at ballparks around the nation to this day. She was also a huge sports fan. Fordham football to Celtics basketball and she loved hockey. The Philadelphia Fliers Hockey Team used to have her sing to open games when The Broad Street Bullies were around. She was considered the good luck charm for the team , those that know flyer history know this well. She died circa 1986 and was interred at Saint Agnes Cemetary in her beloved Lake Placid. Somewhere along the way a ritual began in the intervening yrs where Olympic athletes or just some locals kids visit the tomb sometimes in the dead of night and touch her resting place & ask for Kate's blessing. Luge to hockey players to bobsledders have apparently made the trudge especially the women athletes. This applies not just to native Adk Mt people but others hopefuls looking for that edge. I have never been able to track down where or when or who began this occasional tradition but it has gone to Vancouver 2010 I am sure.

Lunch With A Friend

This noon time I will be lunching with an old friend Ron Kunicki. Why am I writing this in a blog ? I have known this guy since 2nd grade. I am in my fifties as is he. Grew up in same hometown. Old friends are nice , we can speak in a short hand way that cuts to the quick on a variety of topics. Nine words work instead of twenty three. Ron has also seen me at perhaps close to my lowest point and remains a friend. Can't buy that. His Mom is still kicking and she accepts me for what I am. That is always a comfort , not playing role of whatever. Perhaps the best part of our friendship is that it frees me to push on with my other areas of life. We don't see each other often enough to get on each others nerves but often enough to center myself. From where I came....was.......went.......am going ......ect. Friendship with someone you have known for a long time keeps one honest about the life you really have come to. From that perspective the chance of going down one to many blind alleys is lessened. You bullshit yourself less often. Sometimes , that can bring some peace............really. To old friends.

Cairns so far discovered in Schodack region

Late last fall while scouting out wooded area south of Green Avenue & Scott Avenue region of Castleton/Schodack I came upon a cairn. Essentially a man made pile of stones. Having traveled these woods as a kid I instantly remembered stumbling across this area before many yrs prior. In my estimation the cairn was originally constructed to be about three to three and a half feet tall. It has since had rocks fall or tumble off. The stones on the bottom appear of the flat variety with rounded smoother stones used from the base. Cairns are common throughout the world. Used for marking trails , gravesites in more ancient times and boundary markers to name a few more common uses. Sometimes a cairn is simply a stone pile left from over from farm field removal or from stone fence building. I found one such cairn in Dutchess County while investigating one of the many stone fence areas of that region a few yrs ago. I believe this particular cairn was a boundary line configuration. Nearby on another pass through the area many yrs ago I uncovered pieces of old brittle barb wire that ran for quite a distance. I contemplated deconstructing the cairn but decided to leave the original work in place as I should have. I doubt this is used as a marker anymore but leaving the original keeps the integrity of the setting. I estimate this cairn to be a minimum of 60yrs old. I have known of it's being in place for atleast 45 yrs. Boulders or trees were used often in yrs past. Some trees have surveyors spikes in them to show boundaries. these were common practices in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In England such places as the North York Moors have old concrete or carved stone structures some dating hundreds of yrs back. Probably in many cases boundary markers. One such edifice in North York is named Fat Betty { you can Google her}. I still have a photo of her I took yrs ago. As an afterthought there are two other small rock piles I have come across in Schodack region , one in wooded area of Maple Hill High School , another off Graw Rd. Both consist of appx 8 or so rocks. Their origin I don't at present have a speculation on. Perhaps debris collection.

Aerodrome Schenectady

Of all my 60's memories , The Areodrome in Schenectady NY has a certain power. It was located at 1588 State Street and had some fantastic groups for the time. The Doors...3 Dog Night...Yardbirds ect. I have been told Hendrix played the venue. A man by the name of Jack Rubin was the major bankroller of the site but I remember a man named Terry Hooper was also involved. Hooper was an acquaintance of The Beatles and had a small....very small part in the movie A Hard Days Night which was for those that don't know the era was a Beatles movie. Hooper went on the two rock & roll staions WPTR & WTRY to advertise the opening in 1067 I believe. I soppose the venue could hold over 2000 people which was big by those days night club standards. I bought my first Rolling Stone magazine at one of the shops there. Those days it was much more a newspaper than a glossy. Yes they had little boutiques there. What I really remember was the SOUND SYSTEM. Trust me they advertised it at the time of opening as one of the top systems on the East Coast and it was. Truly SOTA for it's era. Most of it solid state but still some tube amplification and reproduction was originally installed. Made a difference. The stage had a high acoustic value when built but lost some value when later rebuilt & modified. I believe I traveled there around 10x in my highschool & early college yrs. It fell into some disrepair in the late 60's & early 70's and closed I believe in 72 or 73. Now torn down but I believe a popular music icon from that era bring some great music to the upstate area & my youth.