Category Archives: Community Events

Searching for Treasure

Posted on June 13, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Saturday Herkimer held village wide garage sales. Woohoo! I love garage sales!

Steven had to work till two, and we had a guest intending to arrive between noon and one. I figured most garage sales run till four or five, so there would still be plenty of junk to buy.

Prior to noon, Tabby and I decided to walk to the post office. We had a couple of checks we wanted to get in the mail (yes, we are that old fashioned) (actually, I hear that in some quarters it is unfashionable to pay your bills at all or at least on time). I had my purse with me, just in case we passed something we couldn’t resist.

Right away I saw a witch at a sale across the street. We hurried over. She was gorgeous, but she was not all there. The lady running the sale was waiting for somebody else to show up and mind the store while she ran up to the attic for the base. I promised to return with husband and sufficient funds. I knew I was taking my chances, but that’s the way it works. If I lost out on the witch, I could only hope she found a good home.

As we continued through Meyers Park, we saw that Herkimer Garden Club had a sale in the gazebo (or is it a bandstand?). We had to go through the park anyways so stopped to look. An extremely cute young girl showed us some of the plants available and tried to sell me a raffle ticket. I’m all about raffles, but I only had a five. I asked if she had change. She said she could sell me five dollars’ worth of tickets. I complimented her on her sales technique and searched my purse to see if I had a dollar in quarters. I did not. Well, I knew Steven would want to check the sale out so promised to return. They planned to be there till four.

Later on when Steven got home and changed into shorts, we decided to hit the plant sale first and work our way back home. They weren’t there! It was only ten minutes to three! We speculated that they had sold out. We went in search of the witch. She was still there, complete with base.

“You haven’t sold her yet,” I said to the lady.

“This lady just bought her,” she said.

“You snooze, you lose,” I philosophized. I couldn’t feel too bad. I have, after all, many witches and ghouls, and the lady the had gotten this witch looked delighted with her purchase. I do like to see things go to a good home. Our disappointment was further mitigated when we found a Halloween lamp post at the sale. We didn’t have a lamp post in our Halloween collection. We do now.

At another house we found a pair of lamps. Steven only wanted one for the second bedroom, but I thought we should buy both, because it was a matched set.

“We’ll put them in our bedroom and put the one on my side of the bed in the second bedroom,” I said.

At that sale we met a very nice beagle puppy named Lucy. Tabby is often indifferent to other dogs, but she seemed very interested in Lucy. Lucy’s people were nice, too.

Two other stops where we found some tins for Christmas presents and a book for me, and then we had had enough garage saling. A lot of the sales were winding down by that time.

It would have been nice to start our garage sale adventure earlier. We could have purchased a map at Valley Exchange. Then it would have been like a real treasure hunt. Oh well, there’s always next year. Or the next village wide sales at another Mohawk Valley community.

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Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Rhubarb

Posted on June 8, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I love rhubarb. I’ve never been called upon to do that stage trick where everybody says, “Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb,” so sound like a crowd talking (I’m told it works), and that is just as well, because it would make me hungry. When I saw a Rhubarb Festival scheduled for Sunday at Nellis Tavern in St. Johnsville, I made immediate plans to attend.

The newspaper said it was the 16th Annual. How did I miss fifteen years of rhubarb? Scandalous. I suppose it is because I was not really familiar with St. Johnsville or the 1747 Nellis Tavern.

I had heard of the tavern, a not for profit historic site, but had never been there. We were not sure exactly where it was, but we drive through St. Johnsville on the way to visit Steven’s family, so we felt fairly confident of finding it.

As it turned out, we had to stop at a Stewart’s to ask directions. We were on the right road and hadn’t gone far enough. Imagine my surprise to learn that we have driven by Nellis Tavern many times. In fact, at least one time I saw it and said something to the effect of, “Ooh, there’s a tavern. Let’s stop for a drink.”

The tavern is very cool. We went through all the rooms, which are restored and furnished. We picked up a Tour Guide, but did not consult it much. Sometimes we like to just look around. The guide includes a history of the tavern with a timeline from 1725 to 2010, so I was glad we picked it up. We also picked up a flier and newsletter of the Palatine Settlement Society, which owns and is restoring the tavern.

We sat and had a cup of rhubarb punch, which was very refreshing. The man serving it showed us the recipe and mentioned it was also in the cookbook offered for sale. I naturally decided to purchase the cookbook. We got some rhubarb torte, which we sat on the porch to eat. Light and yummy. A rhubarb pie baking contest was to begin at noon, but we did not stay for that.

I would definitely like to return to the tavern for future events. St. Johnsville is a bit of a drive from Herkimer (although I suppose some might say, “Bit of a drive? Amateurs!”), but it’s a lovely drive. We went through Little Falls, always a fun spot; past Beardslee Castle, possible subject of a future post; and by some beautiful views.

For more information on the 1747 Nellis Tavern and the Palatine Settlement Society, you can visit their website at www.palatinesettlementsociety.org.

(NOTE: I just tried for the first time to add a link. Let’s see if it works!)

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Go Directly to Jail

Posted on June 5, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

When I read the paper Saturday morning I discovered it was Museum Day. I love museums! I further discovered that Herkimer’s 1834 Jail would be open for tours. I love the 1834 Jail! I had a number of other things I was “supposed” to get done on Saturday. I put them on hold and headed for the Historic Four Corners.

I felt a little guilty walking there without my dog Tabby. I always feel guilty walking without my dog, but especially walking toward Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners, because she always pulls me there when I let her decide which direction to walk.

I arrived at the jail shortly after 10. Already some people were there (it was to be open from 10 to 2). A gentleman told me I could just wander or have a guided tour. I thought a guided tour would be fun.

I was very impressed with the progress that’s been made in fixing the jail up. I had last been on a tour there some years ago (alas, pre-blog days). At that time the first floor still looked like part of an abandoned building. Now the walls looked clean, nice and finished, except where they purposely let prior walls show through.

The front part of the jail was the sheriff’s living quarters, I was told. The guide also showed me where the sheriff could peek through at the inmates, since the sections were separate. Two other ladies joined the tour. They asked when the jail had stopped being used as a jail. 1977, our guide said.

“Oh, we would have been here!” one lady exclaimed, and I believe she meant they would have been inmates. They were fun.

We saw some displays on the history of the jail and of its two most famous inmates, Roxalana Druse and Chester Gilette. Jim Greiner, author of Last Woman Hanged: Roxalana Druse was on hand with his book. One of the fun ladies bought the other a copy. I, of course, already have one (must do a blog post book report on it).

Jim offered to take us on a tour of the upstairs. We couldn’t go up to the third floor, where Druse was housed before she was hanged. We admired the beautiful ceiling in the bathroom, which was revealed, Jim told us, when the drop ceiling was removed. It was a high ceiling. It seems like in these older buildings the ceilings are either so high you couldn’t heat the room or so low tall people couldn’t stand up (I never have that problem).

When we went to the section with the cells I remembered it very well from the previous tour and from a couple of haunted houses the jail hosted.

“I remember being here,” I started to say.

“Oh, you were here all right,” one of the fun ladies said, alluding to my evil past (how did she know?).

Of special note in the women’s section was a beautiful claw foot bathtub which could not be removed, because they had built the walls and door around it. Another highlight was the cell which had housed Chester Gilette. Gilette had apparently received some special treatment during his stay at the jail. Pretty nice for a guy that tossed his pregnant girlfriend into the lake.

The fun ladies had to leave before seeing the basement, but I went down with my first guide (whose name I stupidly forgot to ask). I saw the kitchen, where they had uncovered the original fireplace that had been used for cooking.

I was so glad I had noticed the jail was open Saturday. And I’m very pleased that such efforts are being made to preserve such a fascinating piece of local history.

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I Love a Parade!

Posted on May 30, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Steven and I were delighted to be able to attend Herkimer’s Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28.

The newspaper said that the parade started at one. It told the starting and ending points but did not specify the route. Trying to become more computer savvy, I looked online. The Herkimer Telegram website told the exact route but said it began a 1:30 p.m. Oh well, we’d figure it out.

First Steven got us interested in a television show that ended at one (City Confidential, my favorite) (really, even more so than World’s Dumbest). Meyers Park, where the parade was to conclude, is only about a ten minute walk from our house (naturally we intended to walk down with our schnoodle, Tabby). If the parade started at one we’d catch it at the end. If it did not start till 1:30, we’d have time to walk down the parade route a little.

As we left the house, we saw a neighbor boy and his father walking ahead of us. The boy was running ahead waving a small American flag, so we guessed they had the same destination as us. We soon saw other pedestrians headed in that direction, and Meyers Park was surrounded by cars. I guess lots of people love a parade.

A band was in the pavilion. A few notes of tuning and warm up floated through the air, always an exciting sound to me. We later found out it was Herkimer High School Band.

People were already lining Park Avenue. We saw a few people relaxing in lawn chairs under a tree in the park. Steven and I had both previously though bout bringing lawn chairs, but neither of us had actually done anything about it. No matter. I was excited to see the parade. We stood under a handy tree near the edge of the park, where we had a good view of Park Avenue. The parade would come almost directly toward us. I hoped we would not be in their way. There were no ropes or signs or even people telling us not to stand there, so we hoped for the best. If we did have to move, we’d be glad we hadn’t brought lawn chairs.

We did not have long to wait. A police car with lights flashing inched its way toward us. the parade followed. I did not take notes of who all was in the parade, so I will not be able to mention everybody. Sorry. I particularly liked the floats for Habitat for Humanity with Bob the Builder and for the Dairy Princess with a cow. I took some pictures, but it is not a digital camera, so I don’t know how they turned out. And I don’t have a scanner or know how to use one, so I don’t know why I brought up pictures as all. Sorry again.

Once the Memorial Service started our spot was not so advantageous. We could neither see nor hear the speakers very well. We could hear the band when they played, so we enjoyed that. Tabby got restless, after sitting so nicely and quietly for the whole parade, so we sneaked away down Park Avenue before the end of the service. In our defense (although I suppose it is a specious defense), we were not the only ones leaving just then.

I enjoyed the parade. I have not seen one in years. It is just the kind of community event I like to write about as Mohawk Valley Girl.

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Fun at the Garden Fair

Posted on May 23, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Steven had a rare Sunday off this week. We were delighted that it fell on the day of the 18th Century Spring and Garden Fair at Herkimer Home State Historic Site in Little Falls, NY.

We made plans to get there as soon as it started, 1 p.m., so for once it was no problem getting a parking space. I’m always so pleased at the number of people taking advantage of these events. Not everybody sits home complaining, “There’s nothing to do around here!” We actually arrived a little prior to one, but most of the booths were already set up, and a number of other early arrivals were strolling about.

The tents over most of the tables were a welcome sight. I had sensibly worn one of my crazy old lady hats (the nicer one), but I needed all the shade I could get. We chatted for quite a while with a lady from Glimmerglass State Park. Steven picked up some information on a telescope night they are having in June. That would be a great blog post if we could make it to that.

Moving on to the vendors, we pondered plants, eventually selecting a Toad Lily from Acadian Farm Perennials by Kathy-O of St. Johnsville. Photographs of the blooming flowers were attached to some of the pots. What a great idea! I just have to decide where to plant it now.

We also purchased some natural flea and tick spray from The Mustard Seed & Antiques at Stone Mill of Little Falls. We’ve purchased dip mixes from The Mustard Seed at other events. Good stuff. The lady told us the flea and tick spray would be good for us and our dog. We will utilize it the next time we walk the nature trail at Herkimer County Community College.

Acadian Farm is located at 259 Tillboro Rd, St. Johnsville, phone number 518-993-3967. The Mustard Seed is at 410 Canal Place, Little Falls, phone 315-823-0718. The Herkimer Home State Historic Site is at 200 State Route 169, Little Falls, 315-823-0398.

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Rummaging Around Ilion

Posted on April 26, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I headed to Ilion, NY to continue my Saturday adventure (I add NY for the benefit of my readers far and wide) (if any). I knew there was a rummage sale at the Episcopal Church, and I intended to hit as the Thrift Store and a consignment shop(pe) or two.

In case anybody missed Monday’s post (how often do I expect people to read, after all?), I was on a mission to find props and costumes for Harvey, the play I am in with Ilion Little Theatre. The play is to be presented in The Stables, Remington Avenue, Ilion, May 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 and 12. Curtain time is 8 p.m. except for Sunday May 6 at 2 (it seems like a good policy to give the information every time).

As I turned up Second Avenue (or is that one Street? I get confused; anyways, it’s perpendicular to Otsego Street), I noticed a sign for another Rummage and Bake Sale at another church and said, “Goody.” The sale at the Episcopal Church had a lot of stuff, and they seemed determined to get rid of it. To that end, it was four bags for a dollar. As you went in they collected your dollar, handed you four bags and turned you loose.

I found a fancy bottle such as Steven likes to use to decorate our buffet. A nice lady wrapped it in some paper for me. I indiscriminately grabbed several evening bags for my collection, although none would work for my character in the play. I ended up giving them back two of the bags, but I definitely found a dollar’s worth of stuff.

As I parked in the parking lot of the church where I thought I saw the other sale, I saw there was no sign out front. Darn! (Not nice to use a strong cuss word in a church parking lot.) They must have packed up early. What time was it? No matter.

Then as I drove the rest of the way down Second, I realized my silly mistake. I had the right time but the wrong church. Lots of churches in that little section of Ilion. One might get confused. I am a little embarrassed to admit, I can’t remember the name of either church. Steven and I even drove by the second one on the way home from rehearsal last night but could not make out the sign.

That sale was the most picked over. I overheard a lady saying you had to get to these things as soon as they open.

“But when you come late, if you do find something, it’s a great deal,” I said.

She agreed, but obviously felt her early bird ways were better. To each his own, as the old lady said when she kissed the cow.

I was out of rummage sales, so it was on to consignment shops and the Thrift Store, or Salvation Armani, as I’ve recently heard the latter called. Sounds like a good topic for another post (oh, I do love stretching my Saturday adventures to several posts). Stay tuned!

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Mission to Middleville

Posted on April 24, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Saturday I was on a mission to find costumes and props for the play I’m in (which, once again, is Harvey with Ilion Little Theatre). I had found a couple of rummage sales in the newspapers, and I thought to hit the Thrift Store and some consignment shops (or it is shoppes?).

I headed first to Middleville, NY, thinking I’d go further afield then closer to home (I feel I should put NY; after all, I’m on the internet, people all over the world could read this) (or do I flatter myself?). Steven and I have been to rummage sales at the Methodist Church there, so I felt confident I could find it on my own (hmmmm, what do you think is going to happen?).

Out Route 28 I drove. I don’t go that way very often, so it gave me something new to look at. Hey, anything that adds interest for me. As I passed Heidelberg Bakery, I thought I’d have to stop and eat at the cafe sometime. When I wasn’t on a mission to rummage sales that close at noon.

I noted several school buses at Mudville but did not see where they were from. I wondered if some sort of baseball tournament was going on and thought that would be fun to watch. (Ooh, maybe I should do a blog post about Mudville sometime.)

There were the Herkimer Diamond Mines with the campground across the street. I watched for pedestrians as the sign advised me to do, but I did not see any. I guess it’s a little early in the season for camping, but not being a camper myself, of course I don’t know.

Naturally, once I got to Middleville I could not remember exactly where the church is. It only took me one false turn to find it. I was happy to note a handily placed Stewart’s in case I needed to stop and ask directions, but luckily did not have to resort to that. I say luckily, because I have had the experience of stopping into a convenience store and asking only to have the clerk apologetically tell me he or she does not live in the area.

Two ladies were working the sale, and I was the only customer at the time. They cordially invited me to buy as much as I wanted; they were hoping to get rid of it. That’s the beauty of going on the last day of a rummage sale.

I did not find anything for the play, but I found some good junk for me and Steven, including some VHS tapes that I think somebody recorded movies from television on. I thought they had intriguing titles, mostly to do with murder. I figured what the heck, I’m buying them cheap, the money goes to a church and if we don’t like them we can always re-donate them somewhere else. And it was fewer items for the ladies to take care of at the end of the day.

I headed back toward Herkimer feeling I had made a good start on my mission. I guess I don’t know why I felt that way, since I hadn’t found anything for the play, but the day was young. My adventure continued.

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About That Play

Posted on April 19, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’ve mentioned several times now how I’m too busy for Mohawk Valley adventures because of the play I’m in with Ilion Little Theatre (ILT). I thought I’d spend today’s post talking a little bit about the play, Harvey, by Mary Chase.

Many people are familiar with the 1950 movie version with Jimmy Stewart. At least, when I say, “You know, the one where the guy sees the big white rabbit,” people say, “Oh yeah.” Perhaps they are only humoring me. Before auditions I told everybody I wanted to play the rabbit. Instead I got a part with more lines.

I play Veda Simmons, sister of Elwood P. Dowd, the guy that sees the rabbit. I am a society matron, trying to get my daughter Myrtle Mae “started with a nice group of young people” (meaning we want her to meet a man). When Myrtle and I are entertaining a society lady of some importance (she has a grandson about Myrtle’s age) and are mortified by the arrival of Elwood and his friend, I decide to have him committed to Chumley’s Rest Home. Trouble ensues.

At the rest home we encounter a pair of troubled love birds, the conniving Dr. Chumley and his charming wife, and a possible a love interest for Myrtle (although I think he is a white slaver). Things get a little complicated, especially when I bring in our lawyer Judge Gaffney to sue. A wise cab driver straightens us all out in the end.

OK, that’s not the whole plot, but I think I have mentioned all the characters at least in passing. I didn’t want to leave anybody out, in case some of the cast members read this. I also don’t like to give too much away, because I hope some of my readers will like to come see the play.

Harvey will be presented Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 4, 5 and 6, and Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 10, 11 and 12. All performances are at 8 p.m. except Sunday’s, which is at 2 p.m. ILT is located in the Stables, behind Remington Arms, Ilion, NY. For more information visit their website at http://www.ilionlittletheatre.org.

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Gimme Some Sugar

Posted on April 17, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sunday Steven and I went to the Herkimer Home State Historic Site, 200 State Route 169, Little Falls, NY, for the annual Sugaring Off.

We’d already had a full morning with a grocery shop, a breakfast out, a walk, a run and a blog post (not necessarily in that order). But I was excited to go to one of my favorite places, and to have a real Mohawk Valley subject for a blog post.

We set off down Route 5S in the direction of Little Falls. Past the Humane Society and the Historic Fort Herkimer Church. You can see for miles across beautiful farm land and mountains. Steven thought he missed the turn, but I didn’t mind as I was enjoying the scenery. It turned out we hadn’t missed it, though, and soon we were driving down the narrow road to the Home, realized that, as usual, finding a parking space might be problematic. We took the easy way out by parking behind the last car on the side of the drive and walking the rest of the way.

I was pleased to see that many people were taking advantage of the event. A large crowd was wandering around the grounds or going into the Visitor’s Center. Many volunteers were walking around or manning displays and booths wearing period costumes. We purchased some fritters with warm maple syrup and a small bag of popcorn. We found a spot on the grass to sit. It wasn’t too damp for the length of time it took to eat two fritters and nibble some of the popcorn.

We couldn’t just walk through the Home itself, as we have at other events, because they had scheduled guided tours. The tours were free, but you had to pick up a ticket from the Visitor’s Center. The next tour was almost forty-five minutes away, so we walked around looking at other things. We were able to go down into the root cellar, where a costumed volunteer was telling us how the underground temperature of about 50 degrees made it the perfect refrigerator.

Horse drawn wagon rides were offered, but we didn’t time it right to take one of those. We wandered up to the Visitor’s Center and looked at the displays there. Upstairs some ladies were demonstrating cooking on an open hearth. We sampled some cornbread and pumpkin bread. Yummy! Back out on the lawn, we got to eat some Jack Wax or Sugar on Snow. Hot syrup is dripped onto well packed snow. Quite a tasty treat.

I especially enjoyed looking at the cemetery. Some of the gravestones are obviously replicas of the originals, but some are old and authentic looking. I took a couple of pictures for Halloween decorating purposes. We hung around close to the cemetery during the Militia Demonstration, because I was afraid the sound of the guns would give me a headache.

I picked up some fliers in the Visitor’s Center, most notably one listing 2012 programs at the Herkimer Home. I’m sure the site is good for multiple blog posts. I also grabbed a flier called “Discover Herkimer County New York.” That might have some good ideas for Mohawk Valley Girl. Stay tuned! For more information on the Herkimer Home call 315-823-0398 or visit http://www.littlefallsny.com.

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Fish Fry Feast

Posted on March 21, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I love fish fry. I love fish and I love fry. So I had been wanting to check out the Ilion Moose Lodge Fish Fry. Last Friday I got my chance.

The lodge is located on Barringer Road, Ilion, NY, near Barringer Road School. Having gotten directions from Jim Parker at the Ilion Farmer’s Market (see previous post), we found it with no problem.

We walked into the bar and were directed to the back room. This is a large, airy space that I think would be ideal for many functions. We easily found a table for two. We did not have to peruse the menu once we heard the specials. I decided to try the Haddock Reuben and Steven chose the Shrimp Basket. We like to order different things, so we can try each others. I got sweet potato fries (my favorite!) while Steven stuck with regular. I asked if I was allowed to go into the bar area and get a glass of wine. I was.

When I returned with my Chablis, Steven had obtained a cup of his beloved coffee. Our food, when it arrived, was delicious. As we were eating I heard another patron asking what a Haddock Reuben was.

“It’s yummy!” I called across the room. Just trying to be helpful.

I did not finish my yummy sandwich. They provided me with a take-out container, which I promptly left on the table. The waitress nicely brought it out to me before we drove away.

I do love a Friday fish fry. It sets me up for the weekend. I look forward to returning to the Ilion Moose Lodge, possibly next week. They told me they are also open Good Friday, so if I don’t make it then, I’ll have another chance.

Fish fry is served from 4 to 7 p.m. Fridays at the Ilion Moose Lodge on Barringer Road. I highly recommend it.

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