GALLERY OPENING

We have just the thing to lift your spirits during these difficult times: an opening reception of the Holiday Show at the Riverfront Studios, 96 Broad Street on Saturday, the 7th, from 5:00 till 7:00, complete with munchies and music by Ria Curley and her band. The West Gallery will feature small works by artists from past shows and exhibits. In the East Gallery, Laura Von Rosk and Deb Hall will present new work. Come meet the artists and enjoy an evening of great jazz!

We probably fail to fully appreciate what this wonderful gallery has accomplished in its relentlesss pursuit of the finest artists from the area, and beyond, to exhibit and demonstrate their skills for us. The recent live demonstrations by Skidmore faculty artists got rave reviews from the SRO crowd. Next time you read about an artist's demonstration at the gallery, do yourself a favor and come to be inspired.

Schuylerville is fortunate to have many prominent artists and craftsmen living and working here. Doug Klein, of Saratoga Clayworks, has his home and studio across from the monument, and offers classes, workshops, and group tours and demonstrations. Ivy Associates, a relatively new gallery on Broad Street, features continuing exhibits of outstanding artists. Sue Reynolds, an artist herself, although some of us remember her best as My Fair Lady, runs the Gallery on the Hudson, upstairs at 92 Broad Street, featuring local artists. Schuylerville resident Noah Savett is a sculptor of national renown, and his daughter Cassandra is a recent honor graduate of Alfred and a fine potter and artist in her own right.

These are but a few of the artists in our midst. Though Schuylerville has been known in the past as a battleground or hub of river transportation, it always has and always will have the beauty of its riverfront location. Current museum exhibits of Hudson River art, commemorating its 400th anniversary, attest to that. Small wonder artists are attracted to the area. Come join some of them on Saturday, or any other day the galleries are open.

Chocolate Initials - A Dutch Tradition! In the 16th and 17th centuries, according to old Germanic traditions, letters made from pastry were presented to children at birth as a symbol of good fortune and this became a part of the St Nicholas legend in the 19th century. A bread dough letter was used to identify whose gifts were hidden in a shoe or under a sheet. Then the children had to find their initial in order to see what else St Nicholas had left for them. When the Dutch, famous as traders, brought home cocoa beans along with coffee, tea and spices from exotic lands, their love affair with chocolate began. They learned to make some of the finest chocolate in the world. Soon, the St Nicholas’ letters were made from chocolate and the tradition continues to this day. The Dutch chocolate makers keep St Nicholas supplied with enough chocolate letters for every household in Holland – and even have plenty for us!

The Dutch Tradition of Chocolate Initials continues!
Just in time for Schuylerville’s St. Nicholas Day Celebration, Saturday, December 5th, 2009. Orders for Chocolate Letters are now being taken for delivery in the first week of December and throughout the Holiday Season. Chocolate Letters, in either Dark, Milk or Sugarless Chocolate, 3 x 4 inches in size, come individually packaged in a festive box. The cost is $6.00 each and can be ordered by calling or emailing Marie Foster, 518-695-5609 or mailto:fostermr@verizon.net Please make checks payable to the Schuylerville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Good fortune to all who receive the first letter of their first name in Chocolate! Delicious!

SCHUYLERSKIFF

An Autumn Colors rowing race for single shells – “The Schuylerskiff” will be held on Sunday October 11th on the Hudson River in Schuylerville NY. The first of what will become an annual event will see eight winners sent off to Italy to the World Singles Championships – “The Silverskiff” – held each November in Turin.

The Schuylerskiff is being organized by the Saratoga Rowing Association and the Schuylerville Chamber of Commerce. It will kick off with a musket volley at the starting line at 8:00 AM by Revolutionary Era re-enactors involved in the Surrender Week activities at the Saratoga National Historical Park.

Judy and Phil Dean will host the race at the Schuyler Yacht Basin located at the bridge in Schuylerville. Prizes are sponsored through the generosity of The Fort Miller Group and the Adirondack Trust Company.

The Schuylerskiff is a “head” race in which competitors race against the clock. It will be open to all four classes of rowers each with a men’s and women’s division: Juniors A, B & C; Elite & lightweight, Open & lightweight and Masters A, B, C & D. Junior racers will compete over 4 kilometers and all the others will be 8 kilometer races. The course is set “down and back” with the start and finish lines both visible from the Yacht Basin.

Spectators are encouraged and welcome. Spectator parking is in Fort Hardy, and boat parking is at the beach across from the Yacht Basin. Registration and award ceremonies will all be at the Yacht Basin.

The Champlain Canal Tour Boat Company will be on-site offering fans opportunities to ride out on the river, Schuylerville galleries, eateries and merchants will all be available to greet rowers and their friends. All three National Park venues, the Schuyler House, the Victory Monument and the Battlefield, will be open and celebrating Surrender Week. There is a reggae concert at Saratoga Apple in the afternoon, and the Schuyler Farms Corn Maze will have hayrides for families of rowers.

METTAWEE RIVER THEATER COMPANY PERFORMANCE

Mettawee River Theater Company Performs

“Beyond the High Valley - a Quechua story”

On the Historic Schuyler House Grounds
(Schuylerville, NY) Utilizing large-scale and highly decorative puppetry, the Mettawee River Theater Company will perform “Beyond the High Valley - a Quechua story” on Friday July 24 at 8:00pm on the grounds of the historic Schuyler House on Route 4 in Schuylerville. Please bring flashlights and lawn chairs to this free event. If weather is uncertain for this outdoor event, please call 854.9357 after 5:30pm to confirm the performance
The Quechua people are descendants of the Incas, and their villages are located in the Andean highlands of Peru. As the story begins, a giant condor spies a young woman tending her family’s llamas in a meadow. He sweeps down from the sky, transforms into a dashing lover and then carries her off to a rocky crag. Her unlikely rescuer is a creature of dazzling ingenuity, a plucky little hummingbird. This production will incorporate a range of puppets and other visual elements realized on many different scales, expressing the vast distances, radiant sky and rugged, vertical thrust of this fierce and beautiful terrain.

Performing arts were highly popular during America’s Revolutionary War period. In fact, British General John Burgoyne who faced a devastating military defeat at Saratoga in 1777 went on in life as a highly successful playwright. Performing arts were an integral part of 18th century life and “Beyond the High Valley” is presented as part of “Arts-in-the-Parks” at Saratoga Battlefield and in partnership with the Schuylerville Chamber of Commerce.

SUMMER'S HERE

There was a bright yellow object in the sky this morning that seemed to indicate that the rainy season in Schuylerville might be over and the summer fun can begin in earnest.

Start the season on the water, taking a trip on one of the Champlain Canal Boat Tours. The M/V Sadie is now operating through Labor Day from 10 AM till 7 PM, offering both the waterfall and lock-through excursions on a trip lasting about half an hour. The Caldwell Belle will cruise by the Northumberland waterfalls and the cascades at Fort Miller, Tuesday through Saturday at 1:30 and Sunday at 5 PM, for a 1 1/2 hour trip. Or you can sail downriver to the battlefield park and through one of the canal’s deepest locks on a 3-hour journey. Full schedules are at http://www.champlaincanaltours.com.

The battlefield park is a beehive of activity this summer. They are offering Saturday evening interpretive strolls, from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. Meet at the flagpole in the Visitor Center parking lot and caravan to the tour road stops highlighted each evening. Water bottles, bug repellant, and comfortable walking shoes are suggested. The programs are free of charge. This weekend, Ranger Joe Craig will discuss “Damaged, Displaced and Dead”, the often dire consequences to soldiers and civilians during the Campaign and Battles of Saratoga. For more details, go to www.nps.gov/sara.

The battlefield park is also offering Friday morning interpretive walks in July and August, at 9 AM. Participants should be able to walk two miles over uneven ground, for two hours, and should bring bug spray and drinking water. This Friday’s walk will cover the Bemis Heights battle of October 7, 1777, and on Friday, July 25th, the subject will be “Why Saratoga”, or, why did the American forces choose to stand and fight here?

If that’s not enough battlefield park activity for you, there will be a bike tour on Wednesday, July 15 from 6 to 7:30 PM. The guided bike tours will cover various sections of the battlefield, giving participants a unique opportunity to learn about the Battle of Saratoga. Riders should meet at the Visitor Center and wear helmets.

Right here in town, there are group bike rides through the surrounding countryside every Monday evening from 6 to 8. Meet at Olde Saratoga Bike & Boards and prepare to have a blast.

And speaking of bikes, aren’t the colorful flower-bedecked bicycles gracing our village streets wonderful?? Besides the bikes, the newly planted flower beds make the village most attractive! Kudos go to Mary Roberts and the crew of garden club members and others for this abundance of flowers! To see many more flowers, go to the Schuylerville Garden Club’s Flower Show on Saturday and Sunday, the 11th and 12th, in the Town Hall.

Artwise, there will be an opening reception at the Riverfront Studios on July 11th from 5:00 to 7:00, with music provided by Tumbleweed Gumbo. Featured artists are Jeffrey Hessing, Hideaki Miyamura, Rita Dee, Dahl Taylor, Phil Rogers and special guest, Celeste Susany. In the East Gallery there will be A Tribute to the Hudson River, juried by James Kettlewell. These exhibits will continue through August 22nd. Also, Ivy Associates Art Gallery is continuing to feature the paintings, prints, and drawings of Don Wynn. Hours to view this exhibit are Thursday through Saturday from 11 to 3, and Sunday from 1 to 3.

To wind up with music, come tap your toes to the tunes of True Grass on Saturday, the 11th, at 7 PM at the Music on the Hudson bandstand at Fort Hardy Park. If you want to enjoy dining by the river, bring your food and friends to join the fun at 6:00 - a nice way to spend a Saturday evening!

A NEW "OLDE SARATOGA"

That New York State has the highest taxes in the country is a national disgrace. We all agree. That our vast maze of overlapping local governments is horrendously inefficient there is no disputing. It is numbing to think that in the name of tax relief the best our State legislature can think up is a cap the amount by which taxes can be raised.

Voters and taxpayers are righteously indignant. Most are looking for a way to “just say NO!” – Or - better yet, kick the political establishment somewhere where it hurts. Who can’t identify with some part of that feeling?

Our politically savvy Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo has gotten a good whiff of this sentiment. He is sponsoring programs that would make it easier for governments to “consolidate” and theoretically become more efficient. The pundits say he has earned some important political capital in so doing. Some in our area are actively seeking the dissolution of local Village governments; a case and point, the governments of the Villages of Schuylerville and Victory.

It is very easy to point out the ungainly nature of government at such a local level. After all, in the case of these two governments, both incorporated in the 1800’s to meet the needs of energetic mill-town economies, every thing within their boundaries has changed since their inception except the governments themselves. The mills are shuttered, the railroad torn up and mainstreet has been malled practically to death. The economy that supports the village residents today no longer represents the economic efforts of the local businesses and industries which called these governments into being in the first place. It is a fact that these governments remain as “micro” entities now contained within a completely changed “macro” economy.

Obsolete? Maybe, but before we throw them all down, we should remember that smashing uncomfortable furniture with a hammer doesn’t make it any more comfortable. Before we dissolve or consolidate our ancient governments we have to ask the questions: dissolve into what? And consolidate with whom? Eliminating the Village governments, while tempting, is not going to automatically make our situation any better, or, for that matter, reduce the cost of doing things that Town governments weren’t designed to do. The Town of Saratoga, for example, is a broad county subdivision also containing huge rural landscapes, farms, recreational lake properties and suburbs of Saratoga Springs. Those interests don’t necessarily share the needs or the potential of the river communities to their east. Nor are they likely to want to subsidize anyone else’s needs through a raise in their own taxes.

Rather than basing our actions on what it is we don’t want, it would be more productive to focus on what we do. It would be better to consider an area, which could become a natural “macro” for the current Schuylerville/Victory community. Such an area would include the major assets of each village joined with their surrounding neighborhoods to create a viable entity within which to plan a healthy forward platform for development. Such a platform could support the needs of the population and spin-off businesses of the huge development in the Luther Forest just down the road.

Many of the observers of the current economic crisis are predicting that the successful communities of America’s future will not be based on suburban sprawl and so totally reliant on the automobile. They will be denser, better planned, fully integrated communities which can constitute a viable local economy on their own. If you inventory the assets of Schuylerville/Victory and their immediate surroundings… the amazing river, the public infrastructure and its potential for expansion, the downtown and its potential for renewal, the possibilities for carefully planned growth … just such a community can easily be envisioned.

Think of an area beginning roughly at the bridge in Northumberland and running south to Coveville, from the river west to Grangerville. Like pot bound seedlings set out to grow strong, all landowners in such a subdivision would see their property values increase as the community blossomed into a new more realistic context. And, by the way, governance of such an area might be ideally suited for the corporate powers village governments were originally meant to provide. In addition, such a village could exist on both sides of town lines (e.g. Northumberland and Saratoga) just as the Village of Cambridge does today in White Creek and Cambridge.

It is always easier to be against something than it is to build something new. At this moment in our country’s history it is time to be positive, to live up to the potential for greatness which is our constitutional endowment. It would take spending the State’s consolidation planning grants studying this, many nights of meetings, public debates, referenda, and all that to bring about a rebirth of the River community. I am not interested in the hammer to the furniture approach. I am interested in contributing to building something new and better. I would call such a new community “Olde Saratoga”

Dave Roberts, President, Schuylerville Area Chamber of Commerce

More May Goings-On

Can't forget the Dutch - they're so much a part of our community. This weekend the Dutch Reformed Church is hosting their Dutch Heritage Weekend both Saturday and Sunday, with the opening ceremony at 11:30 Saturday, followed by a Dutch Luncheon and a canal cruise. Sunday will feature a Dutch style worship service, a Mother's Day Dutch Tea, and folk storytelling. An evening lecture by Park Ranger Eric Schnitzer winds up the festive weekend. Get on your wooden shoes and join the fun!

Another May special is Old Saratoga Eye Care's Educator Appreciation Month during which all teachers and staff members will get 20% off eyewear. A great time to replace those glasses with the paper clip holding the bow on..... or maybe order prescription sunglasses for the bright days ahead.

Now get back to planting all the plants you bought at the plant sales!

A BIG BUSY WEEKEND

There’s a big weekend coming up here in Schuylerville. The Gardeners’ Weekend promises to be another big hit. There are events scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday plus tours and sales at local garden centers. Or you can just walk around town and admire all the newly planted lilacs sponsored by local groups and planted by FFA students from the high school.

If you want to choose from a full selection of flower and vegetable plants, go early to the Schuylerville Garden Club’s annual plant sale . Hours are 9 to 12 Saturday at the Youth Commission Building at Fort Hardy Park. For further information, call Kathy at 695-3915. Lilac and hydrangea starter plants will also be sold as part of the Gardener’s Weekend at the park - again, come early.

Evening entertainment this weekend will be provided by the Schuylerville Community Theater’s production of “Company” at the high school. This sprightly Steven Sondheim musical will be presented Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 PM and Sunday afternoon at 2:00.

If flea market shopping is your bent, cross the river to John Tedder’s new weekend sale at his pole barn behind 42 Old Schuylerville Road. Vendors are welcome to join in this new venture, to be held Saturdays and Sundays through October. For more information, go to John’s blog at www.teddersrandomnotes.com/blog/2009.

And for something really special, follow the Pottery Trail to visit the studios and shops of area potters. Our own talented Doug Klein will be creating and selling his beautiful works of art at his studio at 100 Burgoyne Road, across from the monument. Lots of things to do this weekend - get out there!

Schuylerville is coming to life with the advent of spring. Gardens are blooming with daffodils and crocuses, and forsythias are popping out their yellow heads. So it’s the perfect time to start planning for the Chamber’s Spring event, the Gardener’s Weekend, to be held on May 9th and 10th. Last year’s premiere Lilac Festival was a resounding success, so it only makes sense to expand the concept and include hydrangeas in the programs. Lilac expert Jeff Young will again be our featured speaker, and this year he will take on the rejuvenation of the ancient Schuyler Estate Lilac. There will be a children's potting shed, a garden tea, and a sale of lilacs and hydrangeas - come early!

Local garden centers will be having activities all weekend: Schuyler Farms will offer tours of its greenhouses and children's activities as well as discounts on lilacs and hydrangeas. Olde Saratoga Home & Garden will hold an herb workshop and tours of their solar greenhouse on Sunday. Fish Creek Garden Shoppe will demonstrate making unique plant markers at their workshop on Saturday. Phillips Garden Views will open their greenhouses and have discounts on gifts.

The Chamber has begun to plant specimen lilacs around the village, in the hope that in a few years a map can be prepared and visitors can view many different colors and varieties at a festival of lilacs. With this in mind, area organizations are being asked to sponsor one or more lilacs to be planted by the Future Farmers from the high school. The cost of sponsorship is $50 per lilac, and checks can be sent to Mary Roberts at 168 West River Rd. This is a great project that will literally grow and bloom, so get on board!

Other signs of spring are the baseball and softball games, the track teams running through town, and bicycles everywhere. One of the biggest cycling races in the country is taking place this weekend just across the river, winding through the roads of Cambridge, Shushan, Salem, and Greenwich. On a smaller scale, the Monday night rides from Olde Saratoga Bike & Boards will begin again on Monday at 6:00, and every Monday thereafter. Both beginning and advanced riders are welcome to join the group.

If all this activity sounds a bit much, just take a stroll along the river - guaranteed to lift your spirits. And if you happen to see a bald eagle perched on a tall tree on the far bank, so much the better.

Times are Tough? Buy Something From a Neighbor.

Ever hear of the multiplier effect? It’s the economy’s equivalent of “what goes around comes around.” That’s right. If you spend your money locally YOU will get some of it back.

“Think of yourself as being at the center of your own consumption Solar System with emanating rays of purchasing power,” says Michael H. Schuman, author of The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition. “Each purchase you make triggers purchases by others. For instance, a dollar spent on rent might be spent again by your property owner at your local grocer, who in turn pays an employee, who in turn buys a movie ticket” This is the multiplier effect. “The more times a dollar circulates within a defined geographic area and the faster it circulates without leaving that area, the more income, wealth, and jobs it generates. This basic concept in community economics points to the importance of maximizing the number of dollars entering a community and minimizing their subsequent departure.”

“The multiplier obviously diminishes with geographic distance,” Shuman continues. “The farther from home you go to make a purchase, the less of the multiplier comes back and touches your community. Buy a radio down the block, the multiplier is high; buy it ten miles away, the multiplier weakens; buy it mail order, and your community gets practically no multiplier.”

The most obvious boundaries for the multiplier benefits are the taxing subdivisions within which we live. All business generates taxes of one kind or another. Businesses that are paying taxes to the school district, for example, are paying in to a pool of money that we would all have to top up with our own cash if they didn’t.

The Schuylerville community has many local businesses that compete for our money with national chains. If you are comparing their products dollar for dollar, don’t forget the multiplier effect. For every dollar you spend locally, you get a financial return.

Think of Byron’s Market, Curtis Lumber, Saratoga Apple, and Parisi’s Appliance House. Think of Mid-Town Service, Joe’s Garage, Shelly’s Barber Shop, Olde Saratoga Bike and Board. There are many more: the bank, insurance agency, the restaurants… you probably know one, some or most of the folks who own or work in those places. You can probably even guess where they will spend the money you spend with them.

When times get tough, spend with your neighbors. The multiplier effect will put some of that money right back in your pocket, and remember… what goes around, comes around.

Dave Roberts, SCofC President

Hudson Anniversary

This year marks the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the Hudson River. Looking for the elusive northeast passage to Asia, he sailed the Half Moon up the river in 1609, a decade before the Mayflower landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Also in the year 1609, Samuel de Champlain’s expedition reached Lake Champlain. To make this a bicentennial as well as a doubly quadricentennial year, 202 years ago Robert Fulton brought his steamboat Clermont on its maiden voyage up the Hudson. Many events have been planned to commemorate these historic feats; some events require a bit of travel but we will be be able to enjoy other activities right here in Schuylerville.

Beginning with the armchair variety of travel, the Old Saratoga Historical Association is sponsoring a reading and discussion of Tom Lewis’s fine book, "The Hudson, A History". There are still a few books available at the library for those who wish to join the discussion at the library on March 12th, at 7:30 PM. The book is also available in paperback, or used: ask Rachel at Old Saratoga Books.

Winter weather makes indoor activities appealing. Happily, several area museums are opening exhibits relating to the history and settlement of the Hudson River valley. The Albany Institute of History and Art is presenting “Hudson River Panorama, 400 Years of History, Art, and Culture”, beginning on February 7th. The exhibit will explore the people, events, and ideas that shaped the the valley, and the influence that the river had on the settlement, agriculture, transportation, and industrial growth of the area. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10-5. Their website gives directions to the museum: http://www.albanyinstitute.org.

The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls is presenting the first major survey of marine artist Thomas Chambers’ work, opening February 8th. Chambers’ mid nineteenth century marine and landscape paintings contained many Hudson River scenes and were celebrated for their lively pattern and color. The Hyde Collection is at 161 Warren Street, http://www.hydecollection.org. Their hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5, Sunday, 12-5.

An exhibit at the New York State Museum (http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/exhibits) has an exhibit “Light on New Netherland”, only on view until February 9th. It examines Dutch history in colonial America, beginning with Henry Hudson’s voyage in 1609 and continuing with fur trading and the establishment of communities throughout the eastern seaboard. The state museum is open daily, 9:30-5.

For the youngsters, the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology at at 250 Jordan Rd. in Troy is presenting “Horseshoes and Waterwheels, New York’s Tech Valley of the 1800’s”, as well as “The Living Indoor Hudson River”, featuring live animals and touch-screen games. Museum hours are Thursday-Sunday, 10-5, http://www.cmost.com.

These should keep you busy until warm weather brings some outdoor happenings. We are looking forward to having family fun activities down by the river, our own Hudson Riverfront. Keep tuned for announcements of spectacular events to come!


Dotty Robinson, SACofC webmaster