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.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
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
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
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Welcome to our blog!
Now that the storm has left us with a beautiful coating of ice on our world and a lot of time to stay indoors, it's the perfect time to launch the Schuylerville Chamber of Commerce's new blog. We hope this will be a place where you can read news about our area, contribute news of your own, or just comment about life and events around town. We will soon have jazzier graphics, and a photo gallery on the website for your enjoyment too.
The Chamber held its annual meeting last Tuesday at the new town hall. Members reveled in the afterglow of the wonderful St. Nicholas Day events - and the wine and warm cider enhanced the glow. President Dave Roberts reviewed the signature events sponsored by the Chamber throughout the year, starting with the enormously well received Gardner's Weekend and lilac festival in the spring, an event which actually make money. The Turning Point Parade in August has gotten bigger and better every year, as has the former Dutch Christmas, now St. Nicholas Festival.
Other events that brought visitors to Schuylerville were the nationally renowned Mettowee Players' performance at the Schuyler House in July, the Art Walks, and Music on the Hudson, which was not as well attended this summer as it had been in the past. Local musicians were the biggest draw, leading to the conclusion that more of the same is in order.
Annual meetings mean elections, and the Chamber's election resulted in the election of Dave Roberts as President, Bob Foster and Mike Dudley as Vice-Presidents, Dave Penzer as Treasurer (now there's a surprise), and Mary Lynn Tedder as Secretary.
So much for official business. There are many current issues that are fodder for bloggers: start by checking out Andrew Cuomo's remarks in today's paper about consolidating the proliferation of small local governments. And winter activities abound: basketball games at the high school, Christmas concerts, skiing and snowboarding at nearby ski ares, and of course shopping, shopping, shopping. Our local shops have unique treasures, so always look here first. And when you come home to check your e-mail, check out our blog and offer your comments. We'll be looking for you!
The Chamber held its annual meeting last Tuesday at the new town hall. Members reveled in the afterglow of the wonderful St. Nicholas Day events - and the wine and warm cider enhanced the glow. President Dave Roberts reviewed the signature events sponsored by the Chamber throughout the year, starting with the enormously well received Gardner's Weekend and lilac festival in the spring, an event which actually make money. The Turning Point Parade in August has gotten bigger and better every year, as has the former Dutch Christmas, now St. Nicholas Festival.
Other events that brought visitors to Schuylerville were the nationally renowned Mettowee Players' performance at the Schuyler House in July, the Art Walks, and Music on the Hudson, which was not as well attended this summer as it had been in the past. Local musicians were the biggest draw, leading to the conclusion that more of the same is in order.
Annual meetings mean elections, and the Chamber's election resulted in the election of Dave Roberts as President, Bob Foster and Mike Dudley as Vice-Presidents, Dave Penzer as Treasurer (now there's a surprise), and Mary Lynn Tedder as Secretary.
So much for official business. There are many current issues that are fodder for bloggers: start by checking out Andrew Cuomo's remarks in today's paper about consolidating the proliferation of small local governments. And winter activities abound: basketball games at the high school, Christmas concerts, skiing and snowboarding at nearby ski ares, and of course shopping, shopping, shopping. Our local shops have unique treasures, so always look here first. And when you come home to check your e-mail, check out our blog and offer your comments. We'll be looking for you!
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