This Month’s Featured Articles…
Verse Work / Shop: Showcasing local artisans and makers in Red Hook
Verse Work/Shop is a brick-and-mortar art gallery and retail space run by sisters Vanessa Shafer and Cassandra Ruff and located in Red Hook, NY. After growing up in Red Hook, the sisters went their own separate ways for nearly two decades before finding their way back to the Hudson Valley. With the launch of Verse, they have been able to actualize a lifelong dream of creating a destination to showcase regional artists and makers. Vanessa received her Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Trinity [...]
Early railroading in the Hudson Valley
Above: Blue Hill Curve in Chatham, NY, is known as the sharpest curve on the Boston & Albany Railroad line. It was half-past six in the morning when the first-ever train out of New York City was drawn by horse from Chambers Street to its starting point on 31st Street, on its way to stops at 152nd Street, Yonkers, Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown, Ossining, Peekskill, Cold Spring, Fishkill, New Hamburg, Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park, Rhinebeck, Oakhill, Hudson, Stuyvesant, Castleton, and last but not least, Albany at [...]
Four September Days: From Ground Zero to Copake, Susan Massarella’s astonishing story of terror, survival, and healing
Above: Susan Massarella’s ID badge from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (at the time, her married name was Mollo). Curiously, the ID failed to scan at the World Trade Center security checkpoint the morning of September 11, 2001. September 11, 2001 As Tuesday dawned in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge neighborhood, Susan Massarella hit the snooze button, toying with taking the day off, but talked herself into getting ready for work. Her then-husband Peter Mollo was away, traveling in Southeast Asia with his [...]
From tree to press: The local orchards producing delicious ciders and wines from their estate-grown apples
If you’re an apple lover like me, then you know that there are few things better in this world than a nice, fresh hard cider.
The importance of local libraries & why they matter more than ever
Public libraries are one of the few places in modern society where nothing is expected from visitors. There is no status or membership required to access them, and you can stay all day without having to spend a dime. In recent years, public libraries have increasingly taken on roles in their communities that fall well outside of the range of merely checking books in and out. A study titled, “The Role of Rural Public Libraries in Providing Access to Online Government Services,” from the University [...]
