Features

Margaretville — The first annual “Cookies and Caroling” event, which took place in the Commons Building of Margaretville on December 12, was a great success with more than 30 cookie entries from local bakers.

By Julia Green
During World War II, the British government designed a series of “motivational” posters with the intention of distributing them to boost public morale in anticipation of the hardship that would befall the region during the war. The first and second were distributed and used across the region but the third was never released, as it was intended to be used only if the Nazis succeeded in invading Britain.
The slogan? “Keep Calm and Carry On.”

Roxbury — When Helen Gould, daughter of railroad magnate and Roxbury native son Jay Gould, first purchased Kirkside in 1896, it was a humble seven-room farmhouse with little to offer in the line of the luxury to which Miss Gould was accustomed. It wouldn’t take long before Helen transformed this vernacular rural berth into the magnificent feast of architectural styles that grace Roxbury’s Main Street today.

When it was finally finished, Andes Girls’ Soccer Co-Coach Tom Little had a strange tingling sensation above his upper lip. The Andes coach lost his moustache at a school-wide assembly Friday, fulfilling a preseason promise he had made to his team.

By Dorothy Jennings
Thrift Shop devotees were treated to an extravaganza on Saturday afternoon at the sixth annual Fashion Show hosted by the Auxiliary of Margaretville Hospital and Mountainside Residential Care Center held at the Purcell Center.
Spearheaded by Eleanor Barrack, this fun occasion commands a loyal following of dedicated bargain hunters, and was sold out a week prior to show time.

By Julia Green
Part-time Roxbury resident Herrat Sommerhoff sees the value in recycled materials. As an artist, Sommerhoff has exhibited in the United States and in Europe artwork created from recycled materials. As a local CROP teacher, she uses all recycled materials. And her latest project takes recycling to a new place altogether: doors.

By Gene Fix
I recently read the article about Patrick O’Connell pitching a perfect game last spring. I was given this article by Ron Tweedie. My name is Gene Fix and I graduated from Margaretville Central School in 1963. I played baseball under Coach Glen Reither.

By Julia Green
In the pocket of Ruth (Franckling) Reynolds’ flight slacks, there could always be found a 1922 silver dollar. The edges were beaten and dented from hours spent bouncing it on the hard concrete while she and other Women Airforce Service Pilots waited for the fog to lift so that they could take off.
And, when they were finally able to take to the skies, they had no idea the history they were making.

By Sindy Becker
Janus is the Roman god of doors and thresholds. Positioned in the present, his dual visage faces backward, to the past, as he gazes forward to the future. For the first time in more than three decades. I have not spent this week in a frenzy of activity, making preparations to orchestrate the Fleischmanns Tennis Tournament. Dubbed by Mark Birman “a labor of love,” the love ultimately required more labor than I, and my forever right-hand man Malcolm were physically able to sustain. The luxury of time without pressure allows me the opportunity to Janus-like reflect on what has occurred these past 34 years, and project as to what may be.

Margaretville — Mountainside Residential Care Center, an 82-bed skilled nursing facility, is marking its 15th anniversary.
Mountainside (MRCC) had its origins as part of a skilled nursing facility housed within the Margaretville Hospital, but the need for greater nursing home capacity was soon apparent. Plans for a separate facility were developed and in 1994 Mountainside was opened adjacent to the hospital.