Manor Ink July 2020

JULY 2020

BACK TO BUSINESS

Manor shops begin reopening PAGE 5

FREE

Towns march for

racial justice

MI

MANOR INK

CLASS OF 2020

LMCS grads feted

with gift banners,

distanced ceremony

PAGES 8, 9

COVID GENERATION

How young adults

see their future after

the coronavirus

PAGES 10, 11

Sullivan County’s youth-driven, community-supported nonprofit newspaper

MANORINK.ORG

Manor, Roscoe join nationwide protests

By Demi Budd | Manor Ink

Livingston Manor, NY – Eight minutes

and 46 seconds. That is how long officer

Derek Chauvin pinned his knee down on

George Floyd’s neck. Within those eight minutes

and 46 seconds, Floyd pleaded for his

mother and cried that “everything hurts.” In

that time, he spoke his final

words, a phrase that would

sweep the nation, turning

America upside down in

just a few days.

“I can’t breathe.”

George Floyd’s death

was like the match thrown

into a puddle of gasoline. Police brutality

and racism have both been an unfortunate

reality over the years, the latter being a

centuries-old problem. The two issues walk

hand-in-hand more often than not. Brutally

injuring and killing innocent people because

of their skin color has been a devastating

norm for years.

With this in mind, Floyd’s death was not

an isolated incident – it was the breaking

Brutally injuring and killing

innocent people because of

their skin color has been a

devastating norm for years.

point. Though this tragedy took place in

Minneapolis, people all over the US (and

outside the US) have come together through

Black Lives Matter protests for reforms and

justice for the lives taken by police brutality,

and sometimes those protests lead to rioting.

There is a very notable difference between

protests and riots, however.

Protests are peaceful.

They include sign-holding,

marching and chanting.

Riots, on the other

hand, are violent. They

lead to scenes of burning

buildings, windows being

shattered, property

being destroyed, etc. Unfortunately, it’s

riots that are most often presented on the

news and Internet. Seeing a peaceful protest

on TV is far more unlikely than seeing the

local Target getting burned down.

Both these actions, despite their different

approaches, spread the same message – a desire

for change, not just in policing, but in society

as a whole. Even here in the Livingston

Continued on pg. 6

SOCIAL JUSTICE Organizers Osei Helper and Willa Schweitzer lead a procession down Main

Street in Livingston Manor on Saturday, June 6, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement,

following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. Manor Ink photo

2 | JULY 2020 | MANOR INK

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 85

IN THIS ISSUE

LOCAL NEWS

“Black Lives Matter” protests .....................1, 6, 7

Changes at WJFF ...................................3

Local businesses reopen .............................5

Class of 2020 graduates ...........................8, 9

Town and school board reports .......................13

Broadband update ................................14

FEATURES

County parks reopen ........................... 18, 19

Manor family’s old hotel ............................21

Inkwell of Happiness ........................... 24, 25

Back Page Profile: Rob Rayevsky ......................28

SPORTS

Baseball’s curtailed season ..........................26

EXTRAS

Inklings Calendar .................................27

SUGGESTIONS

Have an idea for an

article? We’re always

looking for stories. Email

your suggestion to us

at editor@manorink.

org. And hopefully you’ll

soon be able to put story

ideas in the Idea Dropbox

at the Livingston

Manor Free Library, once

the library has reopened.

Manor Ink’s new editor takes the reins

Why, hello there, readers of Manor

Ink. It is finally time for me to receive

the baton and take on the new rank of

Editor-in-Chief. I’m

really excited to be able

to lead this newspaper.

I had watched from

afar for years, learning,

building my skills, preparing, all for the day

Osei Helper

Editor-in-chief

when I would finally take the reins. And

now, that day has arrived.

This issue of Manor Ink contains a plethora

of articles to tickle your fancy. From a story about a local

protest march and vigil to an article about the LMCS Class

of 2020’s unusual graduation. Our reporters also conducted

interviews, including one by Demi Budd with Dan Rigney,

general manager of WJFF Radio Catskill, and another by

Assistant Editor Edward Lundquist with local artist and

chef at Upward Brewing Company, Rob Rayevsky.

On the Friday before we went to press, the teachers and

MANOR INK STAFF

Osei Helper

Editor-in-Chief

Edward Lundquist,

Demi Ball

Assistant Editors

Jessica Mall

LMCS School Advisor

IF YOU’RE A student in grades

7-12 and are interested in partcipating

in Manor Ink, let us know at

editor@manorink.org. We meet

outdoors or on Zoom all summer

every Wednesday at 2:45-4 p.m.

David Dann

Art & Photo

Production Editor

Amy Hines

Business Manager, Mentor

Art Steinhauer

Sales Manager, Mentor

Henry Barish

Library Director

staff at Livingston Manor Central

School organized an appreciation

parade for their students, and reporter

Emily Ball, assisted by Edward

Lundquist, captured that happy event

in words and pictures. Reporter Jacob

Pasquale, who will be heading to

Ithaca College in the fall, gives us the

story of a historic hotel on his family’s property with the

help of local historian Fred Fries.

We even have some new blood with guest reporter Cameron

Brightfield. He worked with mentor Art Steinhauer on

an article about the current state of baseball. If that interests

you, check it out on pg. 26.

Our student staff has been hard at work getting you the

news for the month, and I look forward to working with

them and our adult mentors to make this newspaper even

better over the next year. As always, thank you for your

continued support, and we hope you enjoy this month’s

issue of Manor Ink.

Kelly Buchta, Robin

Chavez, Marge Feuerstein,

Audrey Garro,

Mary Hall, Les Mattis

Mentors

Michelle Adams-Thomas,

Emily Ball, Cameron

Brightfield, Zachary

Dertinger, Demi Budd,

FROM THE EDITOR

Hunter Krause,

Luca Larizzati,

Jacob Pasquale,

Tyler Roberts,

Jenson Skalda

Manor Ink Reporters

Carolyn Bivins, Peggy

Johansen

Founders

Manor Ink, a program of the Livingston Manor Free Library, is published monthly. Reach us at editor@manorink.org.

Our mailing address is Manor Ink, 92 Main St., Livingston Manor, NY 12758. Letters, story suggestions welcome.

Changes

in the air

WJFF expands news,

plans move to Liberty

By Demi Budd | Manor Ink

Liberty, NY – WJFF Radio Catskill, the

region’s non-commercial radio station, has

been serving Sullivan County and Northeast

Pennsylvania for thirty years. The station’s

mission is to make available to the

community a broad range of ideas and ideals

useful to a full and enlightened life.

You’ve probably listened in on one of

the station’s many programs – like “The

Mixtape” or “The Deep End,” both playing

various types of popular and obscure music,

when you’re out for a drive. Or maybe

you’ve listened to “Catskill Character” or a

“Kingfisher Project” broadcast.

Regardless, there is no doubt WJFF has

been growing by the day. To accommodate

that growth, the station has

planned to relocate from

its original home in Jeffersonville

to Liberty. To learn

more, we spoke to General

Manager and Development

Dan Rigney

Director Dan Rigney about

the station’s current state

and its future plans.

Rigney is in charge of day-to-day station

operations like maintaining the signal, staying

compliant with licenses and the grants

they receive, as well as fundraising. He is

the lead staff member. “I make sure all the

I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed,” he said.

He spoke about the move with excitement,

assuring that even though the coronavirus

has shifted the timeline, they expect to be

occupying the new location by next spring.

A long-planned expansion

Discussions for a move had begun as

far back as 2014. A number of locations

were considered, because they’d simply

outgrown the old station which had generously

been built by volunteers. Liberty

was ultimately chosen; a donor offered

the property, a former nursery and food

market on Rte. 52, to WJFF, and it proved

itself to be the perfect spot. The new location

moves them closer to the center of the

county, connects the station to Liberty because

it’s across the street from BOCES, and

is overall more visible and accessible to the

public.

Rigney described it as “a huge gift.”

With this new venue, more advanced

technologies can be implemented. The

main building alone is double the space of

their old building. It is on a single floor, so

it has the potential to be an accessible meeting

area for community organizations and

workshops. The adjacent building on the

property could potentially become an administrative

space.

In addition to the buildings, 14 acres of

land came with the donation. After selling

ten of those acres, the station plans to use

the money to support construction of the

expansion.

WJFF is known for using hydroelectric

power generated by nearby Jeffersonville

Hydroelectric. About 40 percent of the station’s

power has come from the Lake Jefferson

dam. This is unusual among radio

stations and is a very eco-friendly way of

powering broadcasts. With the move, Rigney

said the station still plans to be ecologically

focused.

“We can’t take the dam with us. We’re

going to do what we can to make the new

station as green as possible.”

To this end, the new station will incorporate

solar power.

Programming changes as well

While these are future changes, the station

has already evolved a bit due to the

coronavirus, and alterations have already

happened.

FUTURE

STUDIOS

WJFF’s new

home, the

former site of

Catskill Mountain

Harvest

on Rte. 52 in

Liberty, is being

retrofitted as

studio and

office space.

Manor Ink

photos

“This allowed us to bring more community

voices to the air and provide more information

to Sullivan County and Pennsylvania,”

Rigney said. “Also, we’ve been doing

a lot of community check-ins with the local

business owners. Now, as things start to

ease up, we’re keeping people informed of

the phases of reopening. We’re also able to

bring different voices to give advice.”

Of course, it was a shift that took time,

patience and some trial-and-error. Many of

the programs have been able to slowly shift

to remote production because the programmers,

who are all volunteers, currently

can’t come to the station. Many of them are

over the age of 60 and at risk, so on March

13, the studios were closed to all but a few

staff members.

Despite the rapid changes, the station

has been doing well. They’ve produced

over 200 audio pieces since the start of the

pandemic. They have also come up with

a system that better suits the needs of the

NEWS

MANOR INK | JULY 2020 |

MANOR INK

ON THE RADIO

In addition to other

changes at the station,

WJFF plans to add new

youth programming and

Manor Ink will be hosting

a monthly half-hour news

broadcast. The show will

feature reports on stories

covered in the paper,

including audio interviews

with newsmakers, and will

offer music, movie and

literature reviews and more

by the paper’s student

staff. The show, “Radio

Chatskill: Teen Edition,”

will debut on Saturday,

July 4, at 10 a.m. Find

WJFF at 90.5 FM or online

at wjffradio.org.

3

community during these times, like making

certain segments longer to fit in more local

voices and by expanding national news

broadcasts.

“We’ve been able to carry briefings by

the governor and local officials,” Rigney explained.

“We’ve gotten very positive feedback

from the community. I think they’re

very appreciative. We’re finding a way to

improve, and as things open, we hope to

bring in more help. It’s really changed our

perspective as a station on how we can

serve this community.”

During this time, WJFF has also celebrated

a huge milestone – its 30 year anniversary.

“You have a station that’s operating in a

rural area, and it keeps these small communities

connected via the airwaves. You have

a long tradition of volunteers working on

all aspects: interviewing, fundraising, talking,”

Rigney said. “It’s truly a very unique

organization.”


NEWS

OPEN UNDER PHASE 3

Here are the businesses and services

that are now permitted to open now

that Sullivan County has reached Phase

3 of Gov. Cuomo’s reopening plan.

n Restaurants

Restaurants will be able to serve

food and drinks indoors. This includes

all places that sell food, including bars

and food trucks. Seating is limited to

half maximum occupancy, exclusive of

employees. Tables inside and out must

be spaced six feet apart. Staff will wear

masks at all times. Customers can take

off masks while seated. Tables will be

limited to 10 people. The state recommends

restaurants provide single-use,

disposable menus or display menus in a

common place.

n Spas

n Nail salons

n Tattoo piercing facilities

n Appearance enhancement

practitioners

n Massage therapy

n Cosmetology services

n Tanning salons

n Waxing services

MORE INFORMATION

By phone

n Sullivan County Public Health Services

information: 292-5910

Online

n Sullivan County Coronavirus information:

sullivanny.us/Departments/

Publichealth/Coronavirus

SC services cautiously restart

Monticello moves to

a partial reopening

Monticello, NY – With the region’s entrance

into Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Phase 3

on Tuesday, June 23, Sullivan County government

offices have reopened to walk-ins

by appointment only.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,

County facilities have mostly been

closed to the public, with phone calls, online

transactions and drop boxes taking the

place of in-person visits.

“It’s a step toward a full reopening, but it

will not be business as usual, and the public

is encouraged to continue

COVID-19

UPDATE

using the above-mentioned

alternative methods,” said

County Manager Josh Potosek.

“We will be limiting both the staff on

hand and public access so as to maintain

safe, COVID-free operations.”

The walk-in protocol at the Government

Center, Sullivan County Courthouse and

Public Health Services in Liberty will require

appointments, as will Family and

Community Services. Transfer stations

countywide will be open as usual. Appointments

may be made by calling 794-3000.

COVID-19 CASES

The number of Sullivan County residents with COVID-19 over the past four months, as

compared to those who have been removed from isolation or have recovered from the

contagion. Only 2 individuals were hospitalized with none on ventilators as of June 26.

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

Total confirmed (as of June 26): 1,416 Off isolation or recovered: 3,295

Total tested: 12,569 Total deaths: 47

In quarantine

MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE

sullivanny.us

Recovered

Confirmed COVID-19 cases

Reorganization now underway

On June 18, Sullivan County legislators

approved Manager Potosek’s proposed

cost-saving restructuring of county government.

“Coronavirus has instituted a harsh reality:

we are losing millions of dollars in revenue

every month,” Legislature Chairman

Robert Doherty stated. “The only responsible

option is to seek cost savings wherever

and whenever we can, and this reorganization

– plus a range of expense reductions –

will save County taxpayers more than $1.2

million (net) every year.”

In the days and weeks ahead, the restructuring

plan will:

n Put the Real Property Tax Services Department

under the Office of the County

Treasurer, saving nearly $313,000

n Put the Risk Management Department

and the Human Rights Commission Executive

Director position under the Division of

Human Resources, saving nearly $426,000

n Abolish the Division of Management

& Budget and place the Purchasing Department

under County Manager’s Office, saving

more than $172,000

The County has also identified approximately

$400,000 in savings unrelated to the

restructuring.

FEEDING THOSE IN NEED Liberty Rotary’s Gary Siegel presents a check to A Single Bite cofounders

Kirsten and Sims Foster. From left, Maggi Ross, an LMCS student; Assemblywoman Aileen

Gunther; Gary Silver, Liberty Rotary; the Fosters; Siegel; Sen. Jen Metzger; Laure Valentine, LMCS

Teachers’ Association; and Jaime Snow, Livingston Manor Rotary Club. Provided photo

Manor partners in food effort

Liberty, NY – More than 30 people socially

distanced as representatives of Operation

Feed Phase 2 presented a donation of

more than $17,000 to the nonprofit A Single

Bite.

Operation Feed is a partnership of the

Liberty and Livingston Manor Rotary

clubs, the Community Foundation of Orange

and Sullivan, A Single Bite and other

community organizations.

“Since mid-March, 20,000 meals have

been distributed throughout Sullivan

County,” said Sims Foster, co-founder of A

Single Bite and Foster Supply Hospitality.

A Single Bite, and Foster Supply Hospitality

have been helping hungry families in

the Livingston Manor Central School District.

The organization collaborates with

school administrators, community leaders

and volunteers to reach deep into Sullivan

County to help those experiencing food insecurity

due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Meals are delivered in every school district

to families who do not have the means to

reliably access healthy food.

Donations are needed to continue this effort.

They can be made at asinglebite.org

or by mail to A Single Bite, PO Box 595,

Youngsville, NY 12791, or call 482-1030. Because

Foster Supply Hospitality contributes

all associated labor and overhead costs, one

hundred percent of all contributions support

the purchase of food and packaging

for family meals.

NEWS


5

BUSINESS NOT AS USUAL Clockwise from top

left, customers place a window-service only order

at The Smoke Joint; a cautionary sign at Brandenburg

Bakery; a masked family places an order at

Madison’s; and Somewhere in Time Farm offers

produce at the Livingston Manor Farmers Market.

Art Steinhauer photos

MASKS REQUIRED

Shops and restaurants in Livingston

Manor have reopened under Phase 3

of Gov. Cuomo’s plan for returning to

normal after containing the coronavirus,

though with modifications to their usual

business practices. Window service, face

masks, distancing and limited access are a

few of the precautions being taken.

Manor shops reopen,

but with restrictions

By Luca Larizzati | Manor Ink

Livingston Manor, NY – COVID-19 is

still a large struggle for all people and everyday

life, but as self-isolation eases and

additional businesses are able to open their

doors, it gets a little livelier. As we all know,

the coronavirus shut down many businesses

beginning in March. If a store was designated

nonessential, it was totally off-limits

for customers to purchase any goods or services,

thus keeping people safe. But what

about business owners?

For shop owners like Lisa Lyons, owner

of Morgan Outdoors on Main Street in

the hamlet, the virus meant no source of

income. “I was out of work and my store

was out of work,” Lisa reported. Carolin

Walton-Brown of Willow & Brown, also on

Main Street, said, “I missed my customers.

And, of course, being closed for 12 weeks

presented a real financial challenge.”

With the most recent relaxation of restrictions

under Phase 3, retail shops like

Morgan Outdoors and Willow & Brown are

now open, but with challenges. Shop owners

have to pay attention to all the precautions

required for the safety of their staff

and customers. “In addition to a thorough

cleaning and sanitizing of the entire shop

before I re-opened, I now sanitize my hands

and the counters between customers,” said

Walton-Brown.

STAYING SAFE Carolin Walton-Brown, above, welcomes a customer at Willow & Brown. Lisa

Lyons, left, rings up a sale, using window frames as sneeze shields at Morgan Outdoors.

Amy Hines photos

Morgan Outdoors can have up to six parties

in at a time. Lyons cleans her store with

a sanitizing solution and washes her hands

before touching merchandise. Her shop now

has wider aisles and requests that customers

sanitize their hands just inside the front

door. Lyons also hung antique windows at

the checkout counter to provide a barrier

between customers and herself. Shoe fittings

can be done at a six foot distance.

Walton-Brown has positioned hand sanitizer

in various places throughout the shop

for customers. “I am following New York

State guidelines for my shop,” she said. “Of

course, I wear a mask at all times.

“I am hopeful that lots of people will be

in town this summer and that everyone in

Livingston Manor will thrive.”

6 | JULY 2020 | MANOR INK NEWS

‘Massive’ turnout for Manor march, vigil a

Continued from pg. 1

Manor, a peaceful protest was held – entirely

organized by Livingston Manor Central

School students.

The idea was sparked by freshman Sienna

Dutcher, who formed a large group chat

on the social media app Snapchat. She laid

out her plan and asked who would be willing

to participate. Many students were all

for it, and thus the planning began.

“We felt that the town needed to voice its

support for the Black Lives Matter movement,

so we organized the protest through

social media,” Dutcher explained.

A march and vigil

One of the students who organized the

protest was Manor Ink’s editor-in-chief,

Osei Helper.

He was tasked with finding a place to

hold a planned vigil after the march. This

proved to be a bit more difficult than anticipated,

but Osei was persistent. He found

areas where there were buildings by usable

lots, and he contacted those people. When

one was unable to give access to an open

area, Osei would then find the next person

to ask.

“It was like a big chain of people to contact,”

he explained.

Osei got in touch with Meg McNeil,

owner of Upstream Wine & Spirits on Main

ONLINE

See more

photos at

manorink.

org

Street. He and McNeil initially

thought the event could be held

in the parking lot at Renaissance

Park, but Supervisor Rob

Eggleton expressed concern

about the safety of the participants.

It was then that the vigil

was moved to the Catskill Brewery’s field

on Old Rte. 17.

By then, the day of the protest – Saturday,

June 6 – was fast approaching. Word

spread rapidly over social media, and soon,

hundreds of people knew about it.

Before the event began, sophomore Willa

Schweitzer, who was also heavily involved

in its planning, said, “It just got bigger

and bigger once we shared the idea for the

march on Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.

It looks like we’ll have a great turnout

today.”

Under bright skies that morning, march

participants gathered in front of the Livingston

Manor Free Library on Main Street.

The crowd soon swelled to several hundred

people, and Helper said he felt a bit nervous

at first.

“There were a lot of people, and I thought,

CALL FOR JUSTICE Marchers proceed down Main Street during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 6 in Livingston Manor. Organized by LMCS students,

‘Oh, I’m about to lead this.’ It was a little

nerve-wracking. Police showing up was a

worry as well. Not for myself, but because

there were a lot of people. I wouldn’t want

anything to happen to a bunch of people

who came here.”

Help from the police

While officers from the Sheriff’s Department

did appear, they came intending to

help. They allowed protesters to march in

the road as opposed to on the sidewalks,

which would have overflowed with the

sheer number of people who were there.

They also directed traffic and let the protesters

know when it was safe to cross intersections.

Though none of the organizers had contacted

the police or the fire department –

the LMFD was also there – beforehand, the

action proceeded without a problem. “It

was a nice surprise to see that they came to

‘This is what Livingston Manor

is becoming, and I think it’s

something to celebrate!’

Kira Helper

Addressing marchers at Manor’s BLM vigil

help!” said Helper.

After the march down Main Street and

up Rock Avenue, the vigil on the Catskill

Brewery’s field was held. An 8-minuteand-46-second

silence was held in honor of

George Floyd. Organizers also took turns

speaking through a shared megaphone.

Gem Helper, Osei’s sister, read an essay

she prepared beforehand, Willa Schweitzer

read a poem she wrote, and Kira Helper,

Osei and Gem’s aunt, read off the names of

63 unarmed black people who were killed

by police.

“This is what Livingston Manor is becoming,

and I think it’s something to celebrate!”

Kira said during her remarks, and

after the audience broke into applause, she

added, “Thoughts and prayers don’t create

change. Today is a day for change!”

According to rough head counts, over 300

people attended the march, and even then,

people joined in as the march processed. At

the vigil site, over 400 people were counted.

Schweitzer was right – the turnout was

massive.

“It felt really good that so many people

were willing to come to protest the cause,”

she said. “I felt like I did something – something

that would help make a change.”

Creating a memorial

After the protest, with the Brewery’s

permission, Osei Helper and a few family

members took the potted flowers that

marchers had carried during the protest

and planted them in the field. The pots had

NEWS


7

sign of real change?

SKIN ON SKIN

His skin was full of rich brown tones

Yours full of peachy creams

His skin reflects the earth’s soil of

riches

Yours light and sun-kissed

Your skin is a one-way ticket

His full of setbacks

Yours full of opportunity

Though he delicately blushes, he

hides scars

Though you fry and burn, your scars

are acceptable

His skin holds fear

Your skin the perpetrator

His skin helped build the world

Your skin enslaved it

But his skin brings revolution

His skin holds justice and peace

Your skin can, too

For we are all made of bone, skin and

blood

Hand in hand, skin on skin

The journey long

But we have hope

Willa Schweitzer

This poem was read by Schweitzer

at the vigil following the June 6

Livingston Manor BLM march.

Roscoe lets its voice be heard

By Osei Helper | Manor Ink

On Sunday, June 21, there was a protest

march in Roscoe. It started at noon on the

corner of Stewart and Railroad avenues.

There were approximately 70 people who

participated. Everyone wore masks and

there were water bottles and hand sanitizer

for the attendees.

The protest started with a gathering

around the O&W Railroad Museum. Lia Di

Bitonto, the organizer, asked several people

to come up and speak about issues they’ve

faced, witnessed or anything they wanted

to say regarding the BLM movement.

After the comments, the march started.

The protestors walked through town,

ADDRESSING

ISSUES

Gem Helper

speaks to

protestors

during

Roscoe’s Black

Lives Matter

march, prior

to a procession

around

the hamlet.

Osei Helper

photo

chanting rallying cries such as “Black lives

matter” and “No justice, no peace,” until

they returned to their original spot.

Following the main protest, photos were

taken underneath the Rte. 17 overpass. A

few participants stayed afterwards and

were given flags of several different African

countries.

Overall, the Roscoe action was a very informative

and moving experience. I don’t

go to the Roscoe Central School, so I don’t

know what kind of experiences black students

have there, but after hearing some

of their stories, my mind was very much

opened to what’s happening right here in

our county.

It was quite a great experience.

as many as 400 people particpated. Manor Ink photo

Why do we protest? One Manor organizer explains

been painted with the names of police brutality

victims. The Helpers were assisted by

Dutcher, Schweitzer and her family, and

Kia Haering. Plant markers with the names

of the victims are in the works as a replacement

for the pots.

Following march and vigil, Osei was expansive

about leading such a large-scale

event. “I get home and I wash my hands

– you have to stay hygienic!” he said, with

a laugh. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘Dang, we

just did that.’ It was just an overall positive

experience. I was so proud of what we

organized, who came, and who couldn’t

come but still showed support. ”

And, indeed, this protest is something

that all of the organizers and protesters

were proud of. An event organized solely

by a group of students who wanted to

make a change evolved into something

much bigger, and its impact is one that will

not be forgotten.

By Osei Helper | Manor Ink

These questions were put to LMCS freshman

Sienna Dutcher following the June 6

BLM protest in Livingston Manor. It was

Dutcher who initially inspired the action.

Why did it matter to you that you organize a

protest march in Livingston Manor?

I wanted to provide a voice to those in

our town who are unable to attend larger

protests. This town is also littered with

Trump signs and Confederate flags. We

needed to show tourists and people passing

through that this town is made of so

much more than the sentiments those signs

convey.

Why is dismantling racism important to

you?

Dismantling systematic racism should

be important to everyone. If this is not a

priority of yours, you have to rethink your

values. I cannot live in a country where institutionalized

racism, police brutality and

police murders are accepted. I want to help

rebuild this country for a better future, and

that means we have to disassemble these

systems of oppression, whether it be police,

education, healthcare, infrastructure,

social work or the economic hierarchy.

At the end of the day, I want equality for

all, but that starts with recognizing your

own privilege and using it to help those

without.

Looking back on the protest march and the

enthusiastic participation of people, what does

this mean to you?

It was quite an emotional day for me.

The march has really given me hope. We

did have a few middle fingers, aggressive

truck revving and yelling directed at the

protesters, but it’s just a reminder that hate

exists all around us, and we have to fight

that much harder. I’m very proud of our

ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE Sienna Dutcher

addresses the crowd during the BLM vigil in

Livingston Manor. Manor Ink photo

community for showing that small town

America is changing, and it really put in

perspective how some small ideas you

have can impact others so much. Most of

all, this march showed me that my voice

is important, and that we should continue

to spread our opinions, sign petitions and

donate for a better future.


GRADUATION 2020

POLE PORTRAITS Banners depicting members of the Class of 2020 fly along Main Street in Livingston Manor. Created by graphic

artist Carolyn Bivins, they celebrate LMCS seniors who graduate this year under restrictions imposed by the coronavirus.

Seniors given hang-ups of the best sort

By Carolyn Bivins | For Manor Ink

2020

LIVINGSTON MANOR FREE LIBRARY

As the proud grandmother of a graduating member of

the Class of 2020, I wanted to do something special for

my grandson Jonathan. I designed a three-by-five foot

outdoor banner and shipped it to him so he could hang it

outside his home in Utica. It was such a hit with him that

I designed one for all the seniors in my life, including a

niece in Tri-Valley, a niece in Albany and a cousin in Connecticut.

I posted a flyer on Facebook and offered to make them

for anyone else who wanted to congratulate their graduate.

A comment from Susan Carlson offering to “sponsor”

a senior started an avalanche of offers from

other local community members. Because

of their generosity, I was able to create 27

individual banners for every Livingston

Manor senior, as well as a large banner

prominently displayed at Headquarters

Carolyn Bivins

Salon in the center of town.

I would like to thank all those who

contributed to the LMCS senior banners project: Jess

and Chuck Amback (for volunteering her prime window

space in the center of our town to display the group

banner); Rhonda and Dan Bischert; Carolyn and Larry

Bivins; Andrew Carlson; Rene Carlson; Susan and Gary

Carlson; Cecilia Cumino; Julie Diescher; Naomi Durkin;

Julie Edwards; Debra and Pete Feinberg; Diana and Guy

Fredenburg; Denise and Bruce Fulton; Shirley and George

Fulton; Michele and Chip Hemmer; Susan Lavelle; Amy

& Gordon LeRoy; Lena Lundquist; the Livingston Manor

SRP Union; Mari Martin; Anne Miller; Sandra Owen-Kelly;

Brenda Parks; Laura Pasquale; Diane and Art Riegal;

Barbara Roser; Jeanne and Doug Smith; Kathleen and

Randy Smith; Jill and Dan Smith; Diane Sprague; Carmen

2020 PRIDE Bivins also made banners to be displayed at

graduates’ homes. Above, one for Marlee Madison hangs on

her family’s deck. Carolyn Bivins photos

and Rob Staudt; Dale Taggart; Jennifer Tolbert; and Jen

Wood.

And, finally, a huge and heartfelt thank-you to Rhonda

Bischert for coordinating all the student addresses and

donations for this project.

To view a full photo album of individual senior banners,

go to the Livingston Manor Seniors Album on my

Facebook page at facebook.com/carolyn.bivins.

Congratulations to the LMCS Class of 2020.

Just a little about the Senior flags. I designed and

printed them for the Class of 2020, working with the Class

of 2020 Advisor Joyce Hoag and LMCS High School Principal

Shirlee Davis.

Carolyn Bivins is a Livingston Manor resident and Manor

Ink’s former Production Manger.

GRADUATION 2020


9

A ceremony to remember

By Marlee Madison | Manor Ink

Livingston Manor, NY – The Livingston

Manor Central School graduating class of

2020 was unsure if they would get a proper

ceremony due to the pandemic, let alone

any graduation at all. Up until a few weeks

ago, this seemed unlikely.

Seniors were instructed to set up an appointment

a few weeks before the date of

potential graduation in order to receive

their yearbooks, senior

T-shirts, as well as to

record a short video

of themselves giving a

thumbs up or saying

thank you to someone.

These little videos

would be used in place of a graduation ceremony

in case one could not happen.

Not long after this happened, Gov. Cuomo

confirmed that small graduation ceremonies

were permitted, as long as they

maintained social distancing rules and remained

under 150 people.

So that was the plan: LMCS would have

a small outdoor ceremony, with each graduating

senior only allowed to have four

Saturday turned out to be

rainy, meaning the outdoor

event could not be held without

everyone getting soaking wet.

guests with them. It would begin at 10 a.m.

on Saturday, June 27, on the front lawn of

LMCS. The seniors had a rehearsal the previous

Thursday so they could run through

everything they were supposed to do.

However, this rehearsal turned out to

be very different from what the ceremony

would actually be. Saturday turned out to

be rainy, meaning the outdoor event could

not be done without all of the seniors, faculty

members and attendees getting soaking

wet. On Saturday

morning, the seniors all

received an email from

principal Shirlee Davis,

informing them that

the ceremony was being

moved inside, and

would take place in the school’s new gym.

Once all of us seniors were aware of the

change, we arrived at the school and met

in the cafeteria. The graduation procession

began at around 10:15 a.m. In order to

avoid large congregations of people, each

student’s family was assigned a different

classroom where they were able to watch

the ceremony in real time on the Smartboards.

When it was time for their graduate

DIPLOMA-READY Lindsey Parks and members of the LMCS Class of 2020 in a less formal moment

during their graduation, a ceremony unlike any ever held by the school. Provided photo

to receive his or her diploma, that family

was called down to the new gym, and they

could take a photo of their student.

Throughout the ceremony, several

speeches were given, including one by

LMCS alum, Ryan Meade. He talked to us

about living life to the fullest, and not taking

any moments for granted. Both class

Valedictorian, Jacob Pasquale, and Salutatorian,

Lindsey Parks, gave speeches, discussing

different memories we as a class

had made over the years, and that time certainly

does fly by.

Once the ceremony was over, the seniors

all turned their tassels and promptly started

spraying each other with Silly String.

Despite the fact that it was not a ceremony

that the entire town could enjoy, it was really

nice to be able to see my classmates and

faculty members one last time. If you were

not able to attend this year’s graduation ceremony,

there is a filmed version on LMCS’

Facebook page at facebook.com/LMWildcats.

Congratulations to all of my fellow

classmates, and to every other graduating

senior. This year was tough, but we did it!

CLASS OF 2020

Livingston Manor Central School | Best wishes to all from Manor Ink | To see a list of those students who received scholarship awards, go to manorink.org/current-issue

E. Brown

G. Constantino

A. Crummell

P. DiBartolo

T. Fagan

Z. Freitas

R. Gordon

I. Grace

M. Kleingardner

P. Lenihan

M. Madison

C. Manell

M. Mills

J. Ouimet

L. Parks

J. Pasquale

K. Patel

G. Pierpoint

E. Rodriguez

F. Rothberg

G. Schweitzer

G. Shaver

K. Shea

M. Strong

S. Ward

J. Watson

A. Whiting

10 | JULY 2020 | MANOR INK VIEWPOINT

Future for young adults a mixture of concern

In the four months since the COVID-19

pandemic arrived in this country,

much about our lives has changed.

Things we took for granted – dining

out, going to the movies or a concert, visiting

with friends and relatives, taking a bus

or boarding an airplane, spending the day

in the park or on the lake – now seem like

indulgences that are not only off limits, but

are also dangerous to our health and that

of loved ones.

These changes have especially affected

the younger members of our society.

Students who lost out on the final months

of the academic year when schools were

closed in an effort to slow the spread of

the contagion, now face the possibility that

they may not return to their classrooms

in the fall. College graduates entering the

work force are finding that there are far

fewer jobs now than when they began their

degrees. The economic future looks grim,

and the potential for a reemergence of the

coronavirus seems increasingly likely.

To learn how young adults view the

future for themselves and their generation,

Manor Ink solicited essays from five people

under 25. Here’s what they told us.

Iris Gillingham | 20, Program Associate, Livingston Manor

THE ‘COVID’

GENERATION

Do we want to go back to what was

“normal”? Normal is a reality created

by modern society and practice. What

is being highlighted by this pandemic is

an immensely flawed system that leaves

communities burdened with income

inequality, racial injustice and acts of

destruction on our environment. I do

not want to “go back” to normalized

injustice.

COVID-19 blew open the doors to

how unstable our food, environmental,

economic and medical systems

had become. This is an

opportunity to ask ourselves,

“How do we want to live?”

These systems were already cracking.

Do we want to patch the leaks when we

have the opportunity to re-vision?

In school, I was studying emergence

and adaptation related to climate and

social justice. I started expanding on

these topics in my classes because I felt a

need to understand how our communities

could be more resilient and adaptable

while facing climate change.

What I have found is that vision and

LEARN MORE

Find information about Catskill

Mountainkeeper’s efforts to move

away from fossil fuels, transform

the state’s food system and

advocate for the Catskill region at

catskillmountainkeeper.org.

community connections are vital in supporting

change. We can choose to foster

a connection to our resources, where

our food is grown and what business we

support and grow through sustainable

community practices.

I realize that any plans for my future

and education will have to be emergent,

meaning they will have to evolve with

the world around me, not in spite of

what is happening. I will no longer accept

people saying, “That’s just the way

it’s done.” Change is necessary, even if it

is uncomfortable. Having seen our town

band together through many devastating

floods, fires and losses, I know that

Livingston Manor is strong and capable.

Now is the time to begin envisioning

FUTURE VISION Advocating for change, Iris Gillingham speaks during a rally on the steps

of the capitol building in Augusta, ME. Yoi Ashida photo

the kind of world you want to be a part

of creating. Livingston Manor and Sullivan

County have the opportunity to ask

young people to return and be involved

in redesigning our economy, jobs,

schools, and agriculture. Our actions,

moving forward, will speak louder than

our words. If our generation is going to

be known for anything, let us be known

for transformation! Let’s be known for

addressing the issues we see, and planting

seeds that will continue to grow.

Iris Gillingham is a former Editor-in-

Chief of Manor Ink and is currently a Program

Associate at Catskill Mountainkeeper.

Marlee Madison | 17, LMCS graduate, Livingston Manor

This world we’ve lived in for our

entire lives now seems foreign to us.

We cannot go outside without wearing

a mask or protective equipment. For

students, school was cut short, and as

a senior, I had to see a lot of things go

earlier than anticipated.

Now, I’m not writing to complain

that I didn’t get to go to my last prom

or anything. What’s more important to

me are the people that I didn’t get to say

goodbye to. My teachers and my friends

who are underclassmen did not get the

proper farewell I would have liked to

have given them. For those people, I

would like to say thank you for your

constant support and for making me the

person I am today.

Now, on to the future. As I wrote

before, it seems as though it’s a foreign

world. For me, that’s mostly because I

have spent my life up until this point in

high school and living

with my parents, and I

haven’t spent much time

(or any time) living alone

and fending for myself.

That’s already a daunting

task, even without

worrying about a global

pandemic.

But to me, these things seem trivial

Marlee

Madison

compared to other world issues. Sure,

living on my own seems challenging,

but at least I am living and breathing.

As a white person, I don’t have to fear

for my life when I walk down the street.

I don’t have to be scared of losing my

life in my own home at the hands of the

people who are supposed to be protecting

me. I do fear, however, that I am

not doing enough for the people who

are less privileged than I because of the

color of their skin.

As members of society, we have the

power to choose whether our contributions

help or harm people. What we do

with our lives affects everyone around

us, so I have to make sure I am doing

everything in my power to help and

support everyone around me. Enough

harm is being done in this world already,

so pouring some kindness into

it is the least anyone can do. Our voices

matter, and we must speak up for what

is right.

For anyone going out into this world,

please remember to be kind to everyone.

Even if someone is not being so nice to

you, respect them and be nice, because

they could have a lot more going on

than you know.

And to those who are graduating and

are fearful of what life may bring, we’ve

got this. I believe we can make it in this

crazy world, we just need to take it one

step at a time.

Marlee Madison is the former Editor-in-

Chief of Manor Ink. She will be attending

the Fashion Institute of Technology in the

fall.

and hope

Taylor Jaffe

21, college graduate

Livingston Manor

At this point in the year, having just

graduated from Colgate University amid

a global pandemic, witnessing countrywide

protests in the wake of George

Floyd’s death and facing staggering levels

of unemployment, I am both uncertain of

and hopeful for the future.

Many variables have defined the start

of this decade, from the ongoing climate

crisis that caused Australian bushfires in

January to the global pandemic that is

COVID-19. In the face of these challenges,

I see two potential outcomes for our

country and our communities that could

shape the coming years.

The first includes doubling down on

unequal systems and perpetuating injustices

that make it harder for everyone to

access decent health care, livable wages

and basic civil rights, among other inequities.

The second more hopeful outcome

could be the beginning of a total transformation

toward justice, since it seems the

events of 2020 have revealed to many that

politics are personal.

The difference between these two

outcomes represents life-and-death possibilities

for certain communities that

have been hit hardest by challenges like

climate change and the coronavirus. So,

while I am uncertain about my future, I

am hopeful that I can do my part to create

change that is most beneficial to those

who need help right now.

Before the spike in coronavirus cases

and before schools closed and social

distancing began, I imagined that my postgraduate

life might take me to any number

of cities, beginning a career at a nonprofit

organization, or perhaps in the music

industry or in local government. I knew

that getting started might be difficult, since

I have so many different interests. But I ultimately

figured that whatever I would do

would involve engaging with people and

working to create better circumstances for

Jacob Pasquale | 17, LMCS graduate, Livingston Manor

As you know, I am a Manor Ink reporter.

I am also a Class of 2020 graduate. To

say that I am a bit nervous about leaving

high school, going to college and entering

the real world is probably

an understatement. There

are many issues, such as

student debt and health

care, that I have some

concerns about.

Jacob

Pasquale

I will be attending

Ithaca College in the fall

and majoring in Film,

Photography, and Visual Arts. Due to

COVID-19, however, the college has

decided to wait until October 5 to open. I

NEED TO HELP Posing in her cap and gown at home on Sundance Farm in Livingston Manor,

Colgate grad Taylor Jaffe envisions a future helping others. Photo courtesy of Taylor Jaffe

‘But I ultimately figured that

whatever I would do would involve

engaging with people ...’

Taylor Jaffe

On her future plans

am uncertain of what restrictions, if any,

there will be. I do know that there will

be roommates. This may be subject to

change, but as of now that is the plan.

As for student debt, on the other hand, I

am very concerned about it. I would like to

think that I will leave college without too

much debt, but that probably is an inevitability.

I am hopeful that I will be able to

get a job in film production that will make

paying off debt easier. However, I do also

plan to buy a house and start a family. It’s

definitely a scary thought, but I guess I’ll

cross that bridge when I get there.

Another thing that I am a bit worried

about is paying for health care. I know

them. I’m still uncertain about my career

path, but the need to help people is even

more pressing than ever.

Right now, while I am still looking for

employment, I have been taking time to

educate myself on the issues that define

this new decade. From learning more

about how I can live more sustainably,

to thinking of ways to educate others

about the Black Lives Matter movement

and standing up for marginalized groups

whenever I can, I am working to make

the changes I wish to see. I hope to continue

this work in a professional setting

as soon as possible, but until then I am

doing what I can to educate and prepare

myself for those opportunities.

Taylor Jaffe is a political science major and

musician. Her EP will be released this summer.

that health care is really expensive, but

hopefully my job will have a good plan.

Honestly, I am pretty concerned about

how that is going to work, but again, I’ll

just have to cross that bridge when I get

there.

Although I am nervous about going

into the real world, I’m also really

excited. I do have concerns, but I’m sure

that in time, they’ll work out. There may

be a lot of problems concerning things in

the world, but I am hopeful for the future.

Jacob Pasquale has been a Manor Ink

reporter for the past two years and was the

valedictorian of the LMCS Class of 2020.

VIEWPOINT

MANOR INK | JULY 2020 | 11

Gem Helper

21, college student

Livingston Manor

Seven months ago, my friends and I

looked toward the future and saw hope in

the new year. There were so many opportunities

and career choices ahead of us. We

had started recording music, I had new

theater prospects in the summer and we

were all starting to save up money. And although

we were ready to grow and explore

the world, the universe had other plans.

The world was hit with a debilitating

virus that put life on pause. Businesses were

shut down, and social distancing was put in

place. Everyone had to self-quarantine and

no one knew when the world would return

to normal. I was especially disappointed

because my line of work had been put on

pause indefinitely.

Before the pandemic, I was auditioning

in playhouses and working as background

characters on TV shows. On a set, there

are at least 50 people around you at any

time. They can be hotspots

for disease so, naturally,

all production had to stop.

Luckily, my alma mater,

SUNY Sullivan, was putting

on their spring performance

Gem Helper

through Zoom. I was able to

participate and had a great

time. Since then, however, I have not been

able to delve deep into my craft.

On top of this, the job market is not doing

well. I had planned to take a gap year from

college to work and save money. I was looking

forward to the spring hiring campaigns,

but now many businesses have either shut

down or laid people off. Those people will

be looking for employment as well.

My father convinced me that now would

be a perfect time to finish my bachelor’s degree

because I would have fewer financial

burdens while attending college. I applied

to a few universities and was accepted to

SUNY Cortland.

Despite these setbacks, hope is not lost.

I am so grateful for the security and stability

that I have – a place to stay and enough

food to eat. New York City will enter Phase

3 of reopening on July 6. The pandemic will

not last forever, and soon we will be able to

work, travel and see our loved ones. On top

of this, I am able to continue my education.

I have faith that the country will not only

bounce back, but that there will be improvements

in our infrastructure. We will prevail.

Gem Helper is an actress and a former

reporter for Manor Ink.


Shabbat services planned

Livingston Manor, NY – Congregation Agudas

Achim will welcome all members, non-members and

anyone interested in exploring Reform Judaism to join

Shabbat services led by Rabbi Fred Pomerantz on July

10 and Aug. 14, both at 7:30 p.m. The format – either via

Zoom or in person – is to be determined. For information

and updates, please call Wendy Schwalb at 798-4295

or email wendyjs18@gmail.com.

County still lagging in 2020 Census response

By David Dann | For Manor Ink

Sullivan County, NY – The decennial count of the nation’s

population, the 2020 Census, has restarted its doorto-door

canvassing of residences nationwide after shutting

down the effort in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In New York State, work began in early June with enumerators

being assigned tracts of homes, or “blocks,” in their

counties of residence. Using small laptops, the enumerators

are asked to record a description of each home they visit,

leave a Census questionnaire and collect a GPS “mapspot”

of the residence’s location. They are not permitted to help

residents fill out questionnaires or gather personal information

in observance of the count’s strict privacy regulations.

Though Sullivan residents have been able to respond by

phone or online since early March, the county’s response

rate of 30.5 percent ranks near the bottom of the state’s

62 counties, only exceeding Harrison County’s rate of 14

percent. Residents are urged to fill out the form online at

2020census.gov, or to complete it by calling 844-330-2020.

NY State census self-response rate

Online, phoned-in and mailed-in totals, by county

0-15% 16-30%

31-40% 41-50%

51-56% 57-62%

63-68%

Sullivan County

30.5 percent as of June 22

(Final 2010 response, 42.5 percent)

2020census.gov

Beaverkill Community Church

Outdoor services at

10 am on Sunday, weather permitting

Please wear a mask and bring a chair.

Lay Pastor: Mary Hall

101 Craigie Clair Road • Roscoe, NY 12776

INFORMATION POSTED AT BEAVERKILLFRIENDS.ORG

“Only a Scone’s throw away”

66 Main Street

Livingston Manor, NY 12758

Open 3 days a week:

Fridays and Saturdays from 8am-5pm

and Sundays from 8am-3pm

www.brandenburgbakery.com

Livingston Manor’s hometown paper is

now also available online at NewsAtomic:

info@newsatomic.com • 845-647-9190 • newsatomic.com

TOWN & SCHOOL BOARD UPDATES


Development proposed for Hoag Rd.

By Marge Feuerstein | Manor Ink Mentor

Note: The Town Board held both meetings

in May on Zoom.

TOWN BOARD MEETING OF JUNE 4

Minutes: The minutes of the previous

meeting were unanimously approved.

Correspondence: County Legislature

Chairman Robert Doherty announced that

two towers will be erected, one at the old

jail, one on the new jail, which will allow

broadband to reach part of the county currently

unserved (see a related story on pg.

14). Some complaints were received about

lack of garbage pick up on Main Street

after Memorial Day. Supervisor Rob Eggleton

will contact the carting company, but

suggested businesses put excess garbage in

dumpsters behind their shops on holidays.

All in-person voting for the June primaries

will be held in the Fire House on June 23,

from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Litter pluck continues

until June 30. Stickers are still available.

Sullivan County has extended the foreclosure

deadline to repurchase properties

until Aug. 31. Notice was received of

a planned protest march, to start at the

library and proceed down Main Street on

Saturday, June 6.

Old Business

The town did a comparison on electrical

charges for the areas with the new LED

lights. Usage for the old lights from January

through May 2019 was $3,574. Usage

for the same lights with new LED bulbs

for the same period in 2020 was $1,370, a

significant saving. A new meter is needed

along the Willowemoc. Until it can be

installed, power will come from Cottage

Street. Some minor changes are needed in

the personnel policy. Beginning in 2021,

town departments will be responsible for

employees turning in yearly reports on

sick leave.

Resolutions Required:

n Disposal of old equipment no longer

in use at the Water and Sewer Dept.

n Accept the accrued sick time submitted

by Sue Carlson and Cynthia Theadore

New Business

The town is having difficulty finding a

replacement for Rose Mary Hankins, the

former Water and Sewer Dept. clerk. There

are several applicants, but they have been

unable to take the civil service exam due

to the coronavirus pandemic. Hankins has

agreed to stay on longer, but has requested

a pay increase. Eggleton expressed a desire

to recognize three town employees who

have gone “above and beyond” during the

pandemic. He would like to reward them

with an additional vacation week for their

extraordinary service.

Resolutions Required:

n Allow Rose Mary Hankins to continue

working at the Water and Sewer Dept. at

the rate of $18 per hour, an increase of $2

per hour

n Recognize Glenn Gabbard, Sue Carlson

and Sidney Theodore for their diligence

with an additional vacation week.

Department Heads: Ted Hartling, Highway

Superintendent: The department has

finished paving 5 1/2 miles of town road.

Hartling is holding off any additional

road work until notification of expected

state aid. John Mulligan, Water and Sewer:

Daily maintenance is continuing. Glenn

Gabbard, Code Enforcement: Building applications

continue to come in. One is for a

subdivision on over 100 acres at the top of

Hoag Rd. The plan is for 26 housing units.

Gabbard has a meeting scheduled with the

principals.

Approval of Bills: Bills on Abstract #11

were approved.

Details of all dollar amounts can be

found on the town website at townofrocklandny.com

under the minutes of June 4.

TOWN BOARD MEETING OF JUNE 18

Minutes: The minutes of the previous

meeting were unanimously approved.

Correspondence: Sally Wright from

CAS notified the town that a Greenspace

sculpture will be placed at the back of the

lot on Main Street where the Farmers Market

is held. The census update shows that

participation in the census in the Town of

Rockland is only at 23%

Resolutions required:

n To adopt the final draft of the updated

personnel policy

n Accept the planning agreement on

new zoning laws with Peter Manning of

Genius Loci.

New Business

The following resolutions were passed

by the Board:

n Authorize Ken Klein for a fee of an

additional $500 per month to handle the

backlog of over 1,200 traffic tickets which

were incurred due to COVID-19.

REACHING TOWN OFFICIALS

Due to the ongoing coronavirus

crisis, Town of Rockland offices at 95

Main St. in Livingston Manor remain

closed to the public. Town officials

can be contacted by phone:

Town Assessor: 439-3730, ext. 107

Town Clerk: 439-5450, ext. 101

Code Enforcement Officer:

439-5450, ext. 106

Town Supervisor: 439-4399, ext. 102

n Accept the tax collector’s statement of

fees and penalties in the amount of $12,961

received from tax collection from January

through April.

n Agree to participate in the Joint Municipal

Fuel Bid for fuel oil, gasoline and

diesel for the period of September through

August 31, 2021, for a payment of $100 to

the Town of Liberty.

Department Heads: Ted Hartling,

Highway Superintendent: Work continues

on grading, filling potholes, etc. June 29 is

Fred Portz’s last day.

Approval of Bills: Bills on Abstract #12

were unanimously approved.

Public Comment: Supervisor Eggleton

commented that there is a need to find a

replacement for engineering consultant

Gandhi Bipin, who is retiring. The firm

of McGoey, Hauser & Edsall has been

suggested, as has Patrick Hines who is

familiar with the town. He would charge

$160 per hour, which was considered fair.

Eggleton also mentioned the town court

should reopen in two weeks.

Details of all dollar amounts can be

found on the town website at townofrocklandny.com

under the minutes of June 17.

Guidelines for reopening LMCS create a new ‘normal’ school day

By Marge Feuerstein | Manor Ink Mentor

Note: The meeting was held in the old gym

observing social distancing with masks required.

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING OF JUNE 17

Superintendent’s Updates

Annual Budget Vote and Election Results:

The proposed budget of $17,406,451

was passed. The vote was 273 in favor, 63

opposed and 1 void. Two candidates for

the board whose terms were expiring were

re-elected. They were Dawn D’Auria, 313,

and Elliott Madison, 318. The board voted

unanimously to accept the results of the

budget vote and board member elections.

Superintendent’s Presentation

Graduation Update: Graduation will go

on in person, outdoors on the front lawn

of the school near the bridge, on June 27, at

10 a.m. Graduates will be allowed 4 guests.

There will be compliance with all safety

measures. There is no rain plan at this time.

School Reopening Plans: The Board of

Regents has formed a task force for reopening

schools. Districts will need to submit

plans based on recommended or required

guidelines set by the state. Necessary

changes will result in a new “normal”

school day. Meeting new requirements may

be costly, with various aspects of compliance

needing to be negotiated.

Action Items: The following items were

voted on and unanimously passed.

n Minutes of the previous meeting, treasurer’s

reports, warrants and budget status

and revenue expenditure reports

n CSE, CPSE and Section 504 recommendations

n Contracts for behavioral consultation,

assistive technology and therapy services

n Agreement for speech/language

therapy supervision services

n Workmans’ Comp trust participation

n Additional funding for the capital, employee

benefit liability and worker’s comp

reserve funds.

n Rolling V transportation contract

Fall Sports Mergers with Roscoe and

Downsville: Varsity and modified football,

with Roscoe hosting; boys soccer,

with Downsville hosting; cross country,

modified and varsity boys and girls, with

Livingston Manor hosting.

Consent agenda was approved as presented.

Municipal Cooperative Agreement:

Timothy Maguire will become School Business

Manager for the Livingston Manor,

Downsville and Roscoe School districts for

2020-21 school year.

All dollar amounts and action items can

be found at lmcs.k12.ny.us on the Board of

Education page under minutes of June 17.


DID YOU KNOW?

Manor Ink is

NY State’s only

youth-driven,

award-winning

community

newspaper.

Visit us online

at manorink.org

and like us on

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Broadband on the way?

County plans to test new 5G technology

By Art Steinhauer | Manor Ink Mentor

Monticello, NY – If the COVID-19 pandemic

and stay-at-home restrictions have

shown anything, it is how indispensable

high speed, or broadband, Internet service

is for work, education, entertainment, information,

health services and connection to

family and community. As reported in the

April issue of Manor Ink, while most of urban

and suburban America is able to obtain

a reliable high speed Internet connection

from a local cable or telephone provider,

such as Charter/Spectrum in Sullivan County,

many rural areas lack such availability

due to the high cost of building wired networks

in sparsely populated areas.

But on the near horizon is a relatively

new “fixed wireless” technology, utilizing a

more robust 5G capacity that some cellular

phone companies are beginning to deploy

in urban areas, that might well provide a

solution to the rural service problem. Using

communications towers and other structures

to bring the 5G signal close to homes,

the service may be on the cusp of being able

to provide much higher capacity Internet

service to homes using a small antenna inside

the home connected to a Wi-Fi router.

Under the direction of Lorne Green,

Commissioner of Information Technology

Services, Sullivan County is planning

to test this new technology.

The plan, developed

by Commissioner Green,

comes out of the county’s

installation of a new communications

network that

Lorne Green

utilizes two of the county’s

communications towers to

provide a high-speed wireless data link

between the Government Center, the new

county jail and the Sheriff’s Office. The

same service, once expanded, potentially

could also provide high-speed Internet service

to residences.

“The beauty is that the same technology

can be used to provide Internet access to

homes without much more investment in

the system or in the home,” said Green.

He explained the next steps would be

to expand the government-used service to

each of the county’s ten other towers and to

continue to test its range and viability, while

also pursuing funding sources to expand

the service even further. This will entail

WIRELESS REVOLUTION? The tower at the

county jail will be used to test the possibilty

of bringing Internet service to rural parts of

Sullivan County. Dan Hust photo

mapping the range and strength of the signal

from each location and deciding where

additional supplemental antenna sites will

be needed to “fill in the pockets,” possibly

by using water towers or other structures.

Terrain and foliage, or “geography and

nature,” have a great effect on signal transmission.

Thus, a study is needed to determine

what additional facilities and costs

are necessary to reach as many areas as

possible. Green said the initial focus would

be on the western and northern parts of the

county, including the Town of Rockland,

which have the worst cellular coverage.

Green expects the study to be completed

by the end of July.

“I think we are on the cusp of something

big – the word ‘transformational’ has been

used, and it is not an understatement,”

Green said.

He explained that the service would

meet and exceed the Federal Communications

Commission definition of broadband

service, thus offering service comparable to

cable companies.

As a next step, a pilot program will test

the service in a few homes in the Monticello

area, while continuing to map out a countywide

system. Support from New York State

will be sought. If the service proves to be

technically viable, the county would then

set up a separate nonprofit corporation to

provide the service to homes. If everything

goes well, this could start by the end of this

year or early next.

By Emily Ball and

Edward Lundquist | Manor Ink

Livingston Manor, NY – The Livingston

Manor Teachers’ Association organized

a parade held on Friday evening,

June 26, to show students that all the faculty,

staff and administration have been

missing them. Barbara Smith, a first grade

teacher and member of the LMTA, organized

Livingston Manor and Beaverkill

Fire Department volunteers, along with

the Ambulance Corps, to join the caravan

of vehicles and floats.

“We haven’t seen the kids since March.

We miss them and their families and want

CLASS ACT LMCS teachers

and staff, with local firefighters,

showed their appreciation

for LMCS students in a festive

parade on Friday, June 26.

Edward Lundquist photos top, left;

Carolyn Bivins photo right

Teachers to students: Miss you!

to show them we miss them and care about

them,” said Smith. She encouraged students

and families to come out to see the

parade, with social distancing, of course.

And the turnout was good, however

widespread.

Erin Carlson, a student going into her senior

year, and her pet pigeon, Newt, said,

“It was epic. I’m glad the teachers did this,

as it really shows they care.” They definitely

demonstrated their affection toward

the students, decorating their cars with balloons,

window paint and streamers.

Younger kids showed up, too, like Kylie

Davis, going into second grade, and

her brother, Jacob, going into fourth. They

Scan the code

to see a video

enjoyed the show and the

candy thrown to them.

They both agreed it was

“good,” and made them

“happy.”

Another high school

student said, “It was a

phenomenal and well-deserved

show of respect from some of the

most incredible teachers out there.”

The parade started and ended at the

school parking lot, making a full circle

down Main Street, through the “teachers’

flats” and back around Rock Ave., up

past the Catskill Brewery and back to the

school on Arts Blvd.

NEWS


A special thank you

The management and staff of Manor Ink

cannot express their deep appreciation

enough, especially in these difficult times,

for these individuals and organizations

who have recently renewed their support

of the newspaper. Without them, there

would be no Manor Ink.

PARTNER SPONSORS

n Barbara Martinsons

n Donald E. Newhouse

n Charter Communications

n Community Reporting Alliance and the

Ottaway Foundation

n Lazare and Charlotte Kaplan Foundation

n Sullivan County Youth Service Bureau

ADVOCATES

n Apple Pond Farm

n Brandenburg Bakery

n Foster Supply Hospitality

n Upstream Wine & Spirits

CHAMPIONS

n David Dann

n George Fulton

n Don & Vinnie Simkin

n Snowdance Farms

n Barbara Trelstad

n Upward Brewing Company

If you or your organization would like to

support youth-driven community journalism,

please visit manorink.org/support-us.

Thank you!


NEWS

Rabies warning issued

Liberty, NY – Sullivan County Public

Health Services is advising the public to stay

away from stray cats as well as wild animals

and to be vigilant of your surroundings,

especially if you live or work near a wooded

area or neighborhood with feral cats.

A kitten tested positive for rabies and had

recently scratched two people in the Town

of Delaware. Those individuals are being

treated for rabies exposure.

The public should be aware that if you

feed a feral cat, it becomes your legal

responsibility to care for and vaccinate it

for rabies. Kittens that are too young to be

vaccinated should be kept indoors until they

can be vaccinated, normally at 12 weeks.

If your pet is injured by a rabid animal,

contact your veterinarian to get medical

attention. For additional information, call

Sullivan County Public Health Services at

292-5910.

REMEMBERING THOSE WHO SERVED

INSPIRING The Family

Council of the Care Center

at Sunset Lake in Liberty,

together with family members

and friends of residents,

were joined by Jeffersonville

motorcyclists of Rolling

Thunder to bring an exciting

Memorial Day Celebration to

residents and staff on Monday

afternoon, May 25. Adults

and children held flags and

waved to those unable physically

join their loved ones and

friends due to the pandemic.

Family Council was able to

gift small flags to those attending

thanks to Shoprite in

Liberty. Provided photo

To those taking a stand against racial injustice:

We see you, we hear you, we stand with you.

#BlackLivesMatter

Stay healthy, stay safe, and stay connected!

Fine Upstate Vacation Rentals

Since 2007

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Instruction and Practice:

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(845) 439-4332

khajong@gmail.com

Beloved Manorite

celebrates her 90th

By Amy Hines | Manor Ink Mentor

Livingston Manor, NY – Bea Grafmuller turned 90 on

Monday, May 27, and the town turned out for a parade to

celebrate her. Organized by her neighbor Craig Sherwood,

48 cars and trucks formed a caravan to honor a woman who

has lived here since 1951. “She’s been a good neighbor. I

went to school with her sons, and I wanted to do that for

her,” said Sherwood.

Bea grew up in Mileses, near Callicoon. She and Arthur

Grafmuller raised their children in Livingston Manor. She

is an honorary member of the Fire Auxiliary and a longtime

member of St. Aloysius Church and the Senior Citizen

Club. During her working life, she was employed by Livingston

Manor Central School as well as Adler’s Grocery,

and was the first staff person hired when Sunoco opened

the Country Store on the corner of Pearl and Main streets.

After her husband died and two of her neighbors’ wives

died, she cooked dinner regularly for town legends George

Silverman and Lee Siegel. After accompanying George to

Rotary for several years, she was made an honorary Manor

Rotarian.

Her good friend and fellow nonagenarian Marlene Wertheim

said, “She’s a gem. She sets an example for us as a caring,

kind and loving person who has touched so many lives.”

Bea’s sons Terrance and Paul came to town for the parade.

Also turning out were the Livingston Manor Fire Department

and police. While wearing masks and maintaining

a healthy social distance, the processors provided the

birthday girl with lots of “Happy birthday!” hollerings and

colorful balloons.

A GEM

Bea Grafmuller

waves to friends

as a salutory

birthday parade

passes by. It was

her 90th, as can

be seen by the

balloons held by

Craig Sherwood.

Below, Bea

greets a wellwisher.

Provided photos

FEATURES

MAIN

STREET

FARM

MARKET

CAFE


CAS sculpture on Main St.

Livingston Manor, NY – “Basics,” a site-specific

sculpture commissioned by the Catskill Art Society,

will be on view through September 7, at the site of the

Livingston Manor Farmers Market, located at 24 Main

Street, next to Chinatown Kitchen. Artist Matthias

Neumann’s sculpture is able to be safely experienced

outdoors as the county grapples with a global pandemic.

For more information, visit catskillartsociety.org.

Xxx

Xxxxx

OPEN

DAILY

Now showing

Matthias Neumann

“Basics,” a site-specific sculpture commissioned by

Catskill Art Society, will be on view through September

7, at the site of the Livingston Manor Farmers Market,

located at 24 Main Street, next to Chinatown Kitchen.

The CAS main gallery and Laundry King remain closed.


FEATURES

Blues skies,

cool waters

By David Dann | For Manor Ink

A

week of fine dry weather, azure

skies and bright sunshine, coupled

with Sullivan County’s move into

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Phase 3

stage of reopening businesses and restaurants,

had many residents venturing out and enjoying

the great outdoors.

There are a number of places around the

county where families can enjoy the Catskills’

verdant scenery while still maintaining social

distance, and some of the most spectacular

can be found in Sullivan’s parks. Now that

those facilities are no longer closed, Manor Ink

traveled to five of them to see how people are

taking advantage of their new freedom.

Lake Superior Park in Bethel, Beaverkill

Campground and Crystal Lake Wild Forest

in Roscoe, Mongaup Pond in Livingston

Manor, and Stone Arch Bridge Park in Kenoza

Lake all had visitors, many sunbathing,

some chasing Frisbees, others barbecuing.

Though the parks’ concessions and jungle

gyms remain closed, hiking and boating are

permitted. Signs warn off swimmers, but they

did not stop many children and adults from

wading into the cool waters.

For more information about the county’s

parks, visit sullivanny.us/Departments/Parks-

Recreation/Parks.

1

SULLIVAN’S BEST The man-made pond at Lake Superior Park in Bethel has a sandy beach, a boat launch, picnic tables and – though it is still

area and a scenic lily pond. The park grounds consist of over 1,400 acres and are open from dawn to dusk. There is a fee for use of the swim-

2

RIVER ROMP The covered bridge over the Beaverkill near the Beaverkill Campgrounds is a

popular spot for bathing and cookouts. The pond at Crystal Lake Wild Forest in Roscoe, right, offers

visitors swimming in a natural setting that is true to the park’s name. David Dann photos

3

FEATURES


PARK LOCATIONS

The county’s parks aren’t always easy

to find, but a visit to any of them is

worth the effort. While each park has

a directory, right, here are locations for

the five shown on these pages.

3

Livingston .

Manor

2

Liberty

.

52

4

55

5

17B

1

17

Monticello.

55

42

209

1. Lake Superior Park, 342 Dr. Duggan

Rd., Bethel

2. Beaverkill Campground, 796 Barry

Brook Rd. Spur, Roscoe

3. Crystal Lake Wild Forest, Crystal

Lake Rd., Roscoe

4. Mongaup Pond, 231 Mongaup Pond

Rd., Livingston Manor

5. Stone Arch Bridge Park, 25 Stone

Arch Rd., Kenoza Lake

closed – a playground for children. There is also a lower section of the park with a second picnic

ming area and for the boating concession when they are open David Dann photo

HISTORIC SPAN

Built in 1880, the

stone bridge which

is the focal point of

Stone Arch Bridge

Park, affords visitors

a glimpse into

the county’s rich

past. Visitors can

picnic, with tables

and grills provided,

can fish in the

East Branch of the

Callicoon Creek

or can hike one of

several trails along

the creek. Far

left, a view of the

scenic grounds at

Mongaup Pond in

Livingston Manor.

Art Steinhauer photo,

far left; David Dann

photo, left

4

Sullivan County’s parks offer a

pleasant respite from months spent

inside during the pandemic quarantine.

5

20 | JULY 2020 | MANOR INK FEATURES

Worried about the ‘summer slide’? LMFL has the cure

The “summer slide” is a light-hearted

term for what a student may unlearn

during the summer. Between the heat and

longer days, summer is

the time when everything

tends to slow down – unfortunately.

And because

this year has been unlike

any other, the slide is

Henry Barish

likely to be even worse.

The best way to counter

the summer slide is to participate in summer

reading! Reading provides an opportunity

to continue learning, whether or not

you fully realize it. In addition to reading

and understanding words through context

clues, you also use your imagination when

LIBRARY

NOTES

following the story. That’s

why this year’s theme is

“Imagine Your Story.”

Due to the coronavirus

outbreak this past spring, the summer

slide may have started back in March.

Summer reading is in full swing at the

moment, and this is the year to sign up!

We are offering programs online as well as

Manor Ink file photo

providing crafts to take home, plus posing

weekly challenges. Please call the library

to schedule an appointment for picking up

supplies for these programs.

We understand this is a stressful time

right now. However, with certain businesses

reopening in town, we hope our

summer reading services also add a bit of

normalcy. We hope to see you when you

visit the library to pick up supplies and

borrow materials.

Henry Barish is director of the Livingston

Manor Free Library. For more information,

visit livingstonmanorlibrary.org.

PARTNER SPONSORS

Charter Communications, Inc.

Community Reporting Alliance and the Ottaway Foundation

Lazare and Charlotte Kaplan Foundation

Livingston Manor Central School

Barbara Martinsons • Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation

Sullivan County Youth Services Bureau

ADVOCATES

Apple Pond Farm • Brandenburg Bakery • CAS Arts Center

Foster Supply Hospitality • Rolling V Bus Corp.

Upstream Wine & Spirits

CHAMPIONS

Chatral A’dze • Sue Barnett & Jeff Christensen • Carolyn Bivins

Rose Brown & Lester Mattis • Catskill Abstract Co., Inc.

Catskill Brewery • David Dann • Dette Flies • Vic Diescher

Carole Edwards Realty • John Fawcett • George Fulton

Amy Hines & Dave Forshay • Inside the Blue Line • Marilyn Kocher

Sen. Jen Metzger • Gina Molinet, RM Farm Real Estate

Main Street Farm • Van Morrow, Mountain Bear Crafts

Peck’s Markets • Sheila & Terry Shultz • Snowdance Farms

Beth Sosin Jewelry • Art Steinhauer • Don & Vinny Simkin

Town of Rockland • Barbara Trelstad • Upward Brewing Co.

Remembering Bud Wertheim (and the Giant Trout)

Manor Ink thrives on community support! Please consider becoming a supporter at one of

the following levels: Partner, $1,000 and above; Advocate, $500; or Champion, $250. We

also welcome and are grateful for contributions of any amount. Manor Ink is a program of

the Livingston Manor Free Library, a nonprofit 501(c)3. Please send your gift or pledge to

Manor Ink, 92 Main St., Livingston Manor, NY 12758. Thank you!

LIBRARY BOOK CLUB REVIEW

The Andromeda Strain

By Michael Crichton

PIEDMONT, NEW MEXICO.

Population 47. Until one

night when all but two

residents are found dead.

Most have just dropped

in their tracks, clutching

their chests. The few who haven’t died

immediately quickly went insane and

killed themselves. Only two somehow

survived: a two-month-old infant and a

69-year-old man with a bleeding ulcer,

living on aspirin and Sterno. The victims,

it would be discovered, have died from

an unknown pathogen brought to earth

by a military survey satellite that crashed

near the town.

The Andromeda Strain, published in

1969, was written by Michael Crichton

while he was still in medical school. It

launched his long and successful career

as an author. I read the book when it

first came out, but as our world struggles

to get ahead of a real killer virus, I

thought it might be interesting to reread

the book.

The idea of an alien pathogen, the

race to isolate it and prevent its spread,

and then to prevent an atomic disaster,

is still exciting. But not as much as it

was 50 years ago. Much of the cutting

edge technology Crighton describes is

now outdated. Our cell phones contain

more technology than the space capsule

that landed American astronauts on the

moon.

Set in an elaborate bunker in the

middle of the desert, a team of highly

trained scientists, picked some years

before for such a contingency, races

against time. Their job, to isolate, identify

and hopefully kill the alien organism.

After isolating it, they learn that it is

airborne. The race becomes critical.

I did not remember Crighton’s extensive

use of charts, graphs and formulae.

Now, I found them far too extensive,

mostly unnecessary and disruptive of

the story’s flow. They could have been

greatly curtailed, making an already

short novel even shorter.

What remains true today, despite

the book’s outdated technology, is the

human element which slows down the

characters’ progress, nearly derailing

needed discoveries. Hubris, competitiveness

and incompetence never seem to

go out of style, a condition as true today

as in this novel.

The Andromeda Strain is an easy read

and introduced the world to Michael

Crichton’s work which when it matured

was some of the finest in its genre. He

is missed.

Marge Feuerstein

The Livingston Manor Free Library is

currently closed, but to join the book

club, contact the library at 439-5440.

Can you or your organization become a sponsor of community journalism?

Learn how you can support Manor Ink by emailing ahines@alford.com

FEATURES


FASCINATING The former Maple

Park Hotel property in Livingston

Manor today and, at right, how it

appeared in the 1970s.

Jacob Pasquale photos

Family shares hotel’s story

By Jacob Pasquale | Manor Ink

Livingston Manor, NY – Ironically,

as a recent high school graduate looking

forward to moving on to begin my college

years in another part of New York State, I

have recently been curious about my family’s

roots in the Town of Rockland. Longtime

Livingston Manor resident and local

historian, Fred Fries helped me to identify

my family’s property and

filled in some of the blanks

that my relatives could not.

What was called the

“Cashmere property” belonged

to the landholdings

Fred Fries

of John Livingston, who

was a descendant of one of

the original nine wealthy aristocratic Hudson

Valley families who owned the large

tract of land which encompassed much of

Hudson Valley and the Catskills. This tract

of land, known as the Hardenbergh Patent,

was surveyed early in the 18th century

to define each of these families’ property

holdings. Land from Roscoe through Livingston

Manor to Grahamsville is known

as Great Lot 4. The smaller subdivision lot

in Great Lot 4, Lot Number 47, is the lot

which is currently owned by my grandparents,

Russell and Jill Miller.

In 1853, a portion of Lot 47 was owned

by Oliver Borden. Future owners improved

the property which was once

called Maple Park Hotel. Some digging revealed

that it was owned by Morris Kleinman.

Closed in the 1960s, the property was

a bungalow colony with a large central

building and many out-buildings that

are still standing today. Unfortunately, I

haven’t been able to uncover much about

the hotel or its occupants during what

most historians agree was the Golden Age

of Sullivan County’s tourism industry,

which began around 1940 and came to an

end around 1965.

My great-grandparents, Jacob and

Jeannie Cashmere, bought the property

from Kleinman in 1970 and lived in the

large central building. Then, in 1973, my

grandparents moved to the property with

my mother, Laura, who was one year old

at the time. My great-grandparents have

since both passed away, but my grandparents

still live on the property.

Growing up, the big building was

always really fascinating to me. I often

would go in it and explore the different

rooms with my grandmother. There are

many different hallways and doorways

and I was fascinated with finding them all.

We use most of the building for storage

now. My grandpa is doing work on it and

fixing it up. It was really cool and interesting

learning about the history of the

property that I grew up on.

If you’ve any stories to share about

this property, or if you’d like to learn

more about the rich history of Livingston

Manor, visit livingstonmanor.net.

Please register by emailing livcirc@rcls.org

Submit Weekly Challenge photos to livcirc@rcls.org as well

MONDAYS

WEEKLY CHALLENGE

Every week there will

be a challenge which

must be submitted by

the end of the week.

Build the tallest tower,

show off your hobby

and more!

All ages.

THURSDAYS

WRITE YOUR STORY

2 p.m.

With published author

Helena Pittman on Zoom

Write your own twist

on classic fairy tales.

For students going

into 4th-6th Grade.

TUESDAYS

STORYTIME

11:15 a.m.

With Miss Jessica

on Facebook Live

Stories, rhymes and

a craft. For preschoolers.

(offered year round)

FRIDAYS

VISUALIZE

YOUR STORY

10 a.m.

With Jacob & Henry

on Zoom

Use your phone to record

a story and edit it.

For teens.

WEDNESDAYS

STORIES & CRAFTS

9 a.m. & 10 a.m.

With Miss Jessica

on Facebook Live

Stories and crafts with

an imagination theme.

For students going into

Kindergarten and

1st Grade.

SATURDAYS

STORY TIME

10:30 a.m.

With Miss Jessica

on Facebook Live

Stories, rhymes and

crafts. For preschoolers.

(offered year round)

LIBRARY BY APPOINTMENT

The library is still closed to the public, however

you can make an appointment for fax and copy

services, as well as borrow books and materials

in our collection. Call 845-439-5440 to schedule

an appointment.

CRAFTS & MORE AT THE LIBRARY

We have ongoing events all summer, including a

chalk walk, craft kits, drawing pages and more.

To pick up craft supplies, please make an appointment

by calling 845-439-5440.

Please keep social distancing measures in mind when visiting the library or when

using chalk on your driveway or sidewalk.

22 | JULY 2020 | MANOR INK FEATURES

Get a licking from the LMFL

Livingston Manor, NY – July is National Ice Cream

Month, and children who read five books from the Livingston

Manor Free Library during the summer will get

a free small ice cream from Madison’s Ice Cream Stand

on Main Street. Forms are available on the back of the

Summer Reading Calendar, as well as at the library. All

forms must be returned before Monday, Aug. 31. For

more information, visit livingstonmanorlibrary.org.

When the electronic world gives you paws

I didn’t get my first computer till I was 70. It was a birthday

gift from my eldest son and daughter-in-law. Like

many in my generation who grew up with only a radio

and a dial telephone, I found computers intimidating. I left

it in the box for a year! So at the age of 71, I

launched myself into the digital era.

Fast forward 15 years. I now constantly

use my laptop, an iPad and an iPhone. I put

things up on the cloud. I talk and email and

text all the time. I add emojis to my texts

Marge

Feuerstein

and send my sons and grandkids bitmojis

with an avatar of myself. I can take and

send photos on my phone. It is so handy to

just snap a picture of the thing you want your son to look

for at his Home Depot instead of having to describe it!

Recently, I was asked to make and send someone a short

video. I had never done that before, but cell phone in hand,

AGING

OUT LOUD

I made one and sent it off from my phone.

Done!

The ability to access all this technology

is truly remarkable. We can reach around

the world with little or no effort, time or cost. Thomas

Friedman said in a book not long ago the “World is Flat.”

Information of every kind is right at our fingertips and,

with some devices, will even respond to our voice.

The world of technology is indeed wonderful – except!

Except when it doesn’t work, or breaks down, or you need

to understand how to undo something that is beyond you.

Then it is daunting. That is when you feel like you are

teetering on the edge!

We elders weren’t given a toy iPhone or computer at

the age of four, or real ones in elementary school. How

many times have I had to reach out to younger friends or

grandchildren for an explanation of how to undo some

Marge Feuerstein photo

havoc wrought by my cat. He loves nothing more than to

jump up on my open laptop and turn everything sideways,

upside down or completely crazy.

Yes electronic devices are wonderful, and I have become

woefully dependent on them. But there are times – many

times – that I think of what I said to a computer-savvy

friend many, many years ago. Just leave me alone with my

ink pot and my plume!

ROCKETS’ RED GLARE Though many things will be different

about Independence Day this year, traditional fireworks are

still planned. Adobestock photo

Despite pandemic,

a few 4th celebrations

No parades, but fireworks OK

Sullivan County, NY – With the concern about a

resurgence of the COVID-19 virus and a return to mandatory

isolation, most municipalities around the county have

cancelled their annual Independence Day celebrations. The

usual Main Street parades, street fairs and cookouts have

been deemed too risky to hold, even with social distancing

and face masks. The possibility of another outbreak of the

coronavirus is too great.

But fireworks displays are different. They can be seen

from afar, allowing people to stand at least six feet apart

from one another while outside, and they last for only a

set period of time. For those reasons, some towns have

decided to go ahead with their pyrotechnic celebrations of

the 4th of July.

Below is a list as the paper goes to press of those municipalities

and organizations that have scheduled fireworks

displays. Please check with authorities first, though, before

attending. All fireworks begin at dusk.

4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS

n Friday, July 3

Narrowsburg

n Saturday, July 4

Villa Roma Resort, Callicoon

Monticello Raceway

n Tuesday, July 7

Catskill Mountain Resort, Barryville

FEATURES


VIRTUAL CONCERT Duo pianists Kevin and Doris Lee will

perform for the Shandelee Music Festival on Facebook Live.

Photo provided

Piano duo to stream for SMF

Livingston Manor, NY – The 27th season of the

Shandelee Music Festival will be up close and personal

this year to allow for the safety of the artists, staff and

community. The second of the festival’s two virtual

concerts will be offered on Sunday, July 19, and will

feature the dual pianos of Kevin and Doris Lee.

The Lees are making a return appearance at the festival,

and the stream will be public and open to everyone,

with or without a Facebook profile. Viewers can

support the SMF’s programs with donations during the

performance at shandelee.org/donate. For more information,

visit shandelee.org/virtual_series/afternoon-ofpiano-masterworks-2

or call 439-3277.

Promote and Protect The Catskills • Join Mountainkeeper Today.

catskillmountainkeeper.org

The Kaatskeller | 39 Main St., Livingston Manor | 845-439-4339


INK WELL OF HAPPINESS

Noah’s memoir

impressive, but

humor detracts

By Edward Lundquist and

Demi Budd | Manor Ink

Trevor Noah is a South African comedian

and television host. If you do know

of him, it’s likely as his role as host of

“The Daily Show” on Comedy Central.

Of course, along with this, he is also an

author. His memoir, Born a Crime, was

written in 2016. It tells the story of his life

in South Africa during the last years of

apartheid, a racist construct that limited

black people’s freedoms.

While this book has no true storyline,

and it isn’t written in chronological order,

it seems more like

Noah is having a

conversation with

you, adding in

PAGE TURNERS

experiences as the

topics evolve. He

tells his story from infant to young adult,

throwing in anecdotes wherever needed.

This can make the book seem very

informal, and mixed with Noah’s witty

sense of humor and vast knowledge,

Born a Crime is easy to follow and easy to

enjoy.

USA Today’s book review calls it “a

soul-nourishing pleasure ... an enormous

gift.” This summarizes the book

well. While informational, the story also

makes you feel good and appreciate

what you have by contrasting it against

young Trevor’s situation. It helps you to

empathize with an entire culture, a very

impressive feat.

Something that sets his book apart

from similar biographies is that it is educational.

At the beginning of each chapter,

Noah writes a page or two of history

regarding apartheid, his life during apartheid,

or about life in South Africa in general.

These few pages are informational in

regard to history and Noah’s life.

Born a Crime is an incredibly personal

story, of course, as it is a memoir. Paired

with Noah’s humor and emotion, though,

it goes beyond just a simple story about

someone’s life. It goes into the crevices of

life in a prejudiced society, showing both

the little things and big things that shape

someone’s character and the person they

POINTED HUMOR Author and TV host

Trevor Noah writes about his childhood in

South Africa in Born a Crime. ViacomCBS photo

become in the future.

We’ve rated this book four stars for a

reason, though. While it has its pros, it

also has some serious cons. One of our

main problems with it is some of the

awkwardly placed humor. Noah has a

good sense of humor, but we feel like he

overuses it in really serious situations.

For example, Trevor would be talking

about something

sad, dark, or just

downright scary,

and a joke suddenly

appears in the

middle of the quote.

It breaks up the

emotional moments,

and it just seems

misplaced.

Coincidentally,

about halfway

through the book,

the protests involving

the unjust and

Born a Crime

By Trevor Noah

HHHHH

Memoir/biography/

humor

Ages 13 and up

untimely death of many black people in

this country, due to racist beliefs, started

up. It was not our intention to write

about this book for the sole purpose of

commenting on these current times, but it

is fitting nevertheless.

Overall, Born a Crime is a solid read. We

personally were assigned to read it for

school, but that didn’t affect our rating.

It still had its inconsistencies and awkward

moments that made us put the book

down for a minute to recuperate from its

secondhand awkwardness.

To parents: Born a Crime is strange in

the sense that it seems like it is something

that would be targeted at kids, and yet it

presents and utilizes dark themes, like attempted

murder, racism, heavy drinking,

drug use, child endangerment, extreme

poverty, sexual harassment and strong

language. However, if your child is

mature enough to understand all of these

themes, we would highly recommend

this to young adult readers.

Webslinger game? It’s ‘awesome’

Marvel’s “Spider-Man” is an action/

adventure game for PlayStation 4 where

you play as the character called Peter

Parker, aka Spider-Man.

In the game, Spider-

Man must strive to fight

against a mysterious evil

organization called the

“Inner Demons.”

Zachery

Dertinger

WORD SEARCH

By Zachery Dertinger | Manor Ink

Find this month’s hidden words, selected especially for Independence Day.

America

Fireworks

Hot Dogs

Freedom

National Pride

Balloons

Fourth

Colonies

Independence

Flag

Red, White, Blue

Eagles

Anthem

Stars

Stripes

Liberty

Holiday

Parade

Rights

Equality

In some parts of the

game, you switch to become

Mary Jane Watson,

Peter’s ex-girlfriend, and she investigates

and uncovers the mysteries of the Inner

GAME

REVIEW

Demons.

Throughout the game, you

complete different missions

to unlock different parts

of the city. While you fight more super

villains as Spider-Man, you acquire different

web-shooting abilities and powers.

You also unlock different costumes to

wear, each with their own abilities.

This game is awesome. I love

this game a lot and I can’t

wait to see the new

“Spider-Man: Miles

Morales” game,

scheduled to come

out later this year

for the PlayStation

5. The experience

Spider-Man

Insomniac Games

2018

Ages 12 and up

HHHHH

of the game was emotional, and it can

be sad to see the characters go through

tough times. I give this game a five stars

out of five rating. I hope you will give it

a try – you will probably love it as much

as I did.

MIND-

BOGGLING

Even though

“Avatar: The

Last Airbender”

was intended

for kids, its

sophistication is

such that it appeals

to adults

as well. Shown

here, Aang,

and below him,

Katara and

Sokka.

‘Avatar’ will blow you away

Osei Helper

Water, earth, fire, air. I never watched

“Avatar: The Last Airbender” when I was

little, but I had always heard about how

good it was, and how it had spectacular

writing. So when the show

finally came to Netflix, I

just knew I had to watch it.

You’ll need a little background

on the world of

“Avatar: The Last Airbender”

first.

The plot centers around

our main character Aang, the last airbender

and the Avatar, and his friends, as

he attempts to master each of four elements

in time to face the Fire Lord during

a war in which the Fire Nation is trying to

conquer the world. The world of Avatar is

MEDIA

PROBE

REVIEW

netflix.com

photo

inhabited by four nations: water,

earth, fire, and air. Each

nation produces some people

born with a specific bending

ability. Water benders have

the ability to bend and manipulate water,

and so on. Then there is the Avatar. Only

one Avatar can exist at a time, and after

their death, they are reincarnated into

another nation. The Avatar has the ability

to master every single element and is reincarnated

in a cycle through each nation.

I went into this show with only the highest

of expectations. The hype I’d received

was unreal. So when all of my expectations

were met and more, I was completely

shocked. I usually don’t enjoy watching

too many kid shows,

and “Avatar: The Last

Airbender” boasts a

risque rating of TV-Y7.

The themes that this

series explores, for a

kid show, boggled my

mind. I wasn’t expecting

Avatar: The

Last Airbender

Netflix 2005

Rated TV-Y7

HHHHH

HHHHH

such deep moral themes and questions to

be examined and dissected. The characters

had amazing growth and development.

Anytime a member of the cast did something

bad, they were confronted about

it, and learned from it. One mistake was

never the max, but you could see them

grow and change.

The comedy in “Avatar” was also quite

phenomenal. The writers knew when to

subvert your expectations and when to

play into the expected cliche. Running

gags were never overused and always

came at the right time. The animation and

music were also spectacular. There was

a lot of effort and research put into each

fighting and bending style. The bending

styles were based on actual kung fu styles.

There is an obvious reason that this

show is a classic and highly regarded. My

review doesn’t even do the show justice.

This show hits possibly my first ten stars

rating, surpassing even “Shrek.” I know.

I’m surprised as well. So, I’m begging you,

please watch “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

It is on Netflix and other streaming

platforms. You won’t regret it.

INK WELL OF HAPPINESS

ON THE

WEB


Treats for a bang-up July 4th

CRACKLY CAKE

By Michelle Adams-Thomas

Each year on July 4th, people have a

nice barbecue and maybe make some

cookies decorated with little stars and

the colors red, white and blue. This year

I want things to be different.

RECIPE I want to make something

that takes creativity and

love, a step up from some sugar cookies

you stick in the oven. I want something

that represents family and freedom,

something that real bakers could make.

I plan to try this Crackly Cake. Here’s

the recipe from sheknows.com, and if

you make it, I’m sure it will get noticed!

Ingredients

1 box white cake mix

4 egg whites

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1 cup sour cream

Red & blue food coloring

3 packages Pop Rocks candy

Black licorice ropes

White frosting (less than 1/4 cup)

Directions

1. Mix white cake mix, egg whites, oil,

water and sour cream for 3-4 minutes

on medium speed. Split cake batter into

three equal amounts, adding red and

blue food coloring to two of the portions.

Coat three 4 x 9-inch bread pans

with cooking spray and lightly flour the

bottoms. Add the three batters to the

pans and bake at 350 degrees for 18-23

minutes. Allow to cool and remove from

pans.

2. Using a 1 1/2-inch round cookie

cutter, cut circles from each of the baked

cakes. Using a serrated knife, carefully

trim off the browned, baked bottoms of

each cake circle.

3. Using a jumbo straw or plastic tube

(1/2 or 3/4 inch in diameter), remove the

centers of the cake circles. Be sure to save

the red and blue centers to use as plugs.

4. Put a portion of the red cake plugs

back into the bottoms of the red cake

circles. Pipe a line of frosting around the

centers of the red and white cake circles.

5. Stack the white cakes on top of the

red cakes, and the blue cakes on top of

the white cakes. Add Pop Rocks down

the hollow centers of the stacked cakes.

6. Put a portion of the blue cake plugs

back into the tops, covering the center

filled with Pop Rocks. Cut licorice rope

pieces approximately 1 1/2 inches long,

and insert them into the centers of the

blue cakes.

Heckin’ photo site

In these days when we’re all spending

a lot of time in front of our screens,

whether for work or play, there are

some destinations on

the web that have nothing

to do with tweets or

posts. One such website is

”Shorpy: The American Historical Photo

Archive” at shorpy.com, an amazing,

seemingly endless collection of classic

pictures, all rendered in high resolution

and all with explanatory captions. Visit,

but be prepared to spend some time!


SPORTS

Is baseball about to lose the game?

By Cam Brightfield | For Manor Ink

Binghamton, NY – I play baseball

and basketball at my local school. I noticed

this spring that there were barely

enough boys wanting to join the baseball

team (only 9) before, of course, the

season got cancelled because of the

pandemic. On the other hand, we had

more than enough boys trying out for

the basketball team that we actually

had two teams in our last season.

Two polls point to the problem. The

respected Gallup Poll last reported in

2018 that football was far and away

the favorite sport to watch in America,

while basketball was second, then baseball

and soccer were fourth. Contrast

this with previous studies: In a 1948

Gallup poll, baseball was far and away

the most popular sport, followed by

football, basketball and soccer. In 1960,

baseball still led in popularity by a wide

margin over the others. Yet by 1980,

football had dramatically passed baseball

as the most popular sport in America.

By 2000, basketball had surpassed

baseball for second place. A 2020 study

by SportsShow.net had football being

the most popular sport to watch on TV,

with basketball next, then baseball, followed

by rising soccer.

Futile fight

Now we face a summer without any

baseball. At the major league level, the

owners of the 30 baseball teams and

the players’ union have seemingly entered

into a fight to the death of baseball

to agree how to have even a partial

season in the face of the pandemic

and the prospect of not being able to

have fans, and their money, in the major

league stadiums this season.

Furthermore, even before the pandemic,

the major league teams were

proposing to significantly reduce the

number of minor league teams around

the country. The fans are left to wonder

why no one cares about us and our love

of the game? With its declining popularity,

why aren’t they embracing this

moment to give us our game back?

MLB should take a cue from baseball

leagues in other countries. The Japanese

league is up and running. They’re

just playing without fans and it is working

– they even put stuffed animals in

the seats. MLB has blown the chance

CUTOUTS The “crowd” enjoys a ball game in the seats of a Tiawanese stadium while

the country was under quarantine during the coronavirus pandemis. wikimedia.org photo

NOTE TO READERS

This article was written just before

MLB announced that there

would be a truncated season of

60 games to begin on July 24.

to make baseball more appealing to

young people while there are no other

sports on TV. MLB could have gotten

the game up and running without fans,

and people desperate for sports would

have watched and maybe it would

have reach more young people.

I also honestly feel it’s not all about

the game itself. If MLB could add little

fun things to the side for people to

watch on TV, the game wouldn’t be

as boring. MLB had an opportunity to

make baseball popular again, and they

blew it. But then, on June 24, MLB announced

that training camps will start

on July 1, and Opening Day will be

July 24 with a season of 60 games.

No season for the Rumble Ponies?

We spoke recently with John Bayne,

managing director of the Binghamton

Rumble Ponies, a minor league affiliate

of the New York Mets. Bayne got

his start in baseball in 1986 as an usher

at the Omaha Royals, and, after a series

of positions at other minor league

clubs, was appointed to his position

with the Rumble Ponies in 2015. He

lamented the current state of affairs at

the major league level.

“They are not doing a very good job

of figuring it out, speaking as a fan,”

Bayne said. “If we do not have any

baseball this summer, it will hurt the

sport a lot.” If MLB could have gotten

the game up and running, maybe

decisions whether to keep some minor

leagues teams and disband others

would not have to be made.

Normally, Bayne would be busily

preparing for the opening of the team’s

season which had been scheduled for

June 20, just days after the date of our

interview. Instead, the focus is on

keeping the stadium and field in good

shape. Bayne said they are working

on plans to use the stadium for other

events such as music shows and fireworks,

if permitted,

and allowing youth

baseball teams to play

on the field.

He hopes that if

the major leagues can

John Bayne

come to agreement

to play this summer,

then perhaps they’ll get some clarity

on their future. “Whether a major

league affiliate or not, I’m confident

that we’ll continue to have baseball in

Binghamton,” Bayne said. He believes

minor league baseball is striving to

address the lack of popularity particularly

among young persons, by “doing

things to make the experience fun for

everyone such as getting fans out on

the field, meeting the players, etc.”

I can only hope that Bayne is right

– that those who control baseball will

let us have it, that they’ll make it fun,

that they won’t strike out in Mudville,

Binghamton or New York.

Cam Brightfield is a guest reporter and

Mets fan. He had help from Art Steinhauer,

mentor and Yankees fan.


JULY

ONGOING CLOSURES

Livingston Manor

Free Library

Currently closed until August.

Staff will be available during

limited hours to answer questions,

439-5440. Ebooks are

available online; books free for

the taking are on the library’s

portico. 92 Main St., Livingston

Manor. livingstonmanorlibrary.

org

Ethelbert B. Crawford

Public Library

Currently closed until further notice.

Staff available weekdays, 9

a.m.-5 p.m. to answer questions

and help with the 2020 Census

and tech questions, 794-4660;

479 Broadway, Monticello;

ebcpl.org

Liberty Public Library

Currently closed until further

notice. Staff available during

limited hours to answer questions,

292-6070. All items that

are currently checked out will not

be due until June 1; there will

be no fines on any items. Many

digital items remain available;

Liberty Professional Plaza, 111

Sullivan Ave., Suite 1-3, Ferndale.

libertypubliclibrary.org

Hurleyville Arts Centre

Yoga and dance classes are cancelled

until further notice; check

the HAC website for updates;

219 Main Street, Hurleyville.

hurleyvilleartscentre.org

Bethel Woods

Center for the Arts

All main stage concerts have

been cancelled for the 2020

summer season. Please check

website for other events and

updates. 200 Hurd Rd., Bethel.

bethelwoodscenter.org

Delaware Valley Arts

Alliance

Closed until further notice.

Offering virtual exhibits on

Facebook and Instagram;

37 Main St., Narrowsburg;

delawarevalleyartsalliance.org;

facebook.com/DelawareValleyArtsAlliance;

instagram.com/

dvartsalliance

Catskill Art Society

Currently closed for renovations;

offering art activities for children

Inklings

A LISTING OF FUN THINGS TO DO

Send your event to editor@manorink.org

PLEASE NOTE Due to the ongoing effects of the coronavirus

pandemic and mandated social distancing, many events listed here

may be cancelled or postponed. Please check the listings’ websites

for scheduling updates. Farmers Markets listed here are open, but

social distancing rules apply and masks are recommended.

online; 48 Main St. Livingston

Manor; catskillartsociety.org

FARMERS MARKETS

Barryville Farmers Market

Saturdays in July; 10 a.m.-

1 p.m.; 3405 State Rte. 97,

Barryville; barryvillefarmersmarket.org

Callicoon Farmers Market

Sundays in July; 11 a.m.-2 p.m.;

8 Creamery Rd. in Callicoon; callicoonfarmersmarket.org

Liberty Farmers Market

Fridays in July; 3-6 p.m.; 119

North Main St., Liberty; 439-

1230

Livingston Manor

Farmers Market

Sundays in July; 10 a.m.-2 p.m.;

Main St. Livingston Manor.

facebook.com/Livingston-Manor-

Farmers-Market

A CLUB WITH REAL

STAR POWER

With all the dry

weather we’ve been

having lately, and

with the clear night

sky filled with stars

and the waxing

or waning moon,

why not go out in

the backyard and

gaze upward? The

Catskill Astronomy

Club has been

doing just that for

years, and they

would be happy to

help get you started

on amateur stargazing.

What better

way to maintain

social distance

than by looking at

Catskill Astronomy Club photo

objects light years away? The Club frequently holds outings

to Walnut Mountain in Liberty, where laser pointers help

members locate particular objects of interest. To learn more,

visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/catskillsastro or

email them at catskillsastro@hotmail.com.

Mamakating Farmers

Market

Fridays in July; 4-7 p.m.; 298 Rte.

209, Wurtsboro; facebook.com/

MamakatingFarmersMarket

Narrowsburg Farmers

Market

Saturdays in July; 10 a.m.-1 p.m.;

7 Erie Ave., Narrowsburg; NarrowsburgFarmersMarket.org

Rock Hill Farmers Market

Saturdays in July; 10 a.m.-1

p.m.; 223 Rock Hill Dr., Rock Hill;

rockhillfarmersmarket.com

Roscoe Farmers Market

Saturdays in July; 10 a.m.-2 p.m.;

Niforatos Field, 1978 Old Rte.

17, Roscoe; roscoeny.com

JULY 1-31

30th Anniversary

Riverfest

“30 for 30,” daily happenings

throughout July; some events

occurring online; Main St., Narrowsburg.

delawarevalleyartsalliance.org/programs/riverfest

July 4th Celebration

Friday, July 3 to Sunday, July

5; fireworks at dusk on July 4.

Villa Roma Resort & Conference

Center, 356 Villa Roma Rd., Callicoon.

villaroma.com

Beekeeping: Farm Days

Workshop

Saturday, July 4; 10 a.m.-noon;

via Zoom, hosted by Willow Wisp

Organic Farm; to register, visit

farmartscollective.org

Plein Air Landscape

Painting Workshops

With Jay Brooks

Saturday, July 11; 9 a.m.-4

p.m.; Catskill Fly Fishing Center

& Museum, 1031 Old Rte. 17,

Livingston Manor. zanegreypleinair.com

Thursday Night

Meditation Class

Thursday, July 30; 8 a.m.-5 p.m.;

Kadampa Meditation Center, 47

Sweeney Rd., Glen Spey. kadampanewyork.org

51 Main St., Livingston Manor • 6 am-10 pm

845-439-5430

Your “Local” Source

for Your Bucket List

Alaskan

Adventure

Don & Vinny

Simkin

&

Real Estate & Custom Modular Homes

“If we can’t find your dream home, we’ll have it built for you.”

CAROLE

EDWARDS REALTY

(914) 799-5075 Mobile

cedwardsrealty@gmail.com

(845) 439-3620 Office

On the web: LivManor.com

ifishhainesalaska.com | glacierviewlodgealaska.com

7 MAIN STREET , LIVINGSTON MANOR, NY 12758


FEATURES

CANINE CAROUSERS Whimsy infuses Rob Rayevsky’s illustrations for childrens’ books. Seen here are two from Pirate Pup, done with author Caroline Stutson. Images courtesy of Rob Rayevsky

Busboy, cab driver, illustrator or chef? Yes!

By Edward Lundquist | Manor Ink

Few people can say that they have

mastered art in multiple fields,

especially ones as different and

vast as illustration and cooking.

Rob Rayevsky has.

Rayevsky, a well-recognized face in

Livingston Manor and Parksville, is best

known for his children’s book illustrations

and his food. He was owner and chef at

the now closed Rolling River Cafe and

Inn in Parksville for ten years, and now he

cooks for and runs Upward Kitchen at the

Upward Brewing Company in Livingston

Manor with his daughter

LOCAL

ARTIST

PROFILE

Miriam. However, his life

is much bigger than most

people may realize.

Rayevsky was born in

Moscow in 1955, and worked in a shipping

factory. When he immigrated to the

US in 1979, his first job was at the Concord

Resort Hotel, where he worked for

a few years. A friend who also worked

there told the management that Rayevsky

had a degree from Russia as a waiter (they

do have schools for this in Russia), but

he was only hired as a busboy due to his

almost nonexistent English.

Afterwards, he returned to New York

City, where he started driving a taxi, improving

his linguistic skills. Rayevsky recalled

that one time he drove a taxi for the

late Robin Williams, right after the movie

“Moscow on the Hudson” came out.

“I pretended that I didn’t know who

he was, which, looking back, was silly,

because I could have asked him for an

autograph or something.”

After driving taxis for a while, though,

he decided to go back to

his artistic roots. In Russia,

Rayevsky’s parents had

encouraged his artistic

pursuits, and sent him to

an art school when he was

nine years old. “I had just

Rob Rayevsky sort of always seen myself

as an artist,” Rayevsky said. So he went

back to college for illustration, where

his professor recommended that he try

illustrating childrens’ books. He took this

advice, and went around to different publishers

showing a portfolio of his work.

Rayevsky published his first book in

1985 with Macmillan. Called Hitchety

Hatchety Up I Go!, it’s a story of a tiny

boy who steals things from a cranky old

woman down the road. Rob worked as an

illustrator until 2007, but as the illustration

business started to get more and

more commercial, he found it less interesting

and left the field. His last book was

Hey You!, a collection of poems.

After his art career, he turned his hand

to cooking. Rayevsky originally wanted

to have a “fry shop,” offering french fries

with different toppings. However, his

vision changed on a trip to Spain when

he became inspired by Spanish tapas

and wine bars. He and his wife Kim then

bought the property in Parksville and he

opened the Rolling River Cafe, a place

where he could both cook and display

his art, and that of local artists. The Cafe

was run by Rob and his daughter Miriam

where they experimented with different

cuisines to develop their creative menus.

After ten years, they decided to move on

from Rolling River Cafe and work with the

RAYVEKSY IN PRINT

Six of Rob Rayevsky’s books are

available in the Livingston Manor Free

Library:

n Antonyms, Synonyms, Homonyms,

with Kim Rayevsky

n Squash It: A True and Ridiculous

Tale, with Eric Kimmel

n Pirate Pup, with Caroline Stutson

n Two Fools and a Horse, with Sally

Derby

n Under New York, with Linda Oatman

High

n Hey You: Poems to Skyscrapers,

Mosquitoes and other Fun Things,

with Paul Janeczko

Upward Brewing Company, joining the

two businesses in a new collaboration.

Rayevsky believes there is a balance between

art and cooking, a sort of harmony.

If the meal comes out well and tastes good,

it has a similar satisfaction as a piece of

art. The originality of the menus at both

his restaurants is a sort of test, utilizing

simplicity, good materials and whatever

works best, to produce a delicious repast.

Rob appreciates the happy medium of

sociability in both passions.

“Not too much,” he said, laughing. “But

just enough interaction with people to be

comfortable”

Manor Ink July 2020

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