Columnists
Down the Decades
May 4, 2021 Edition
140 Years Ago - 1881
We expect that Jeffersonville will have some summer boarders this summer.
An Indian maxim says: “Plant your corn when the leaves of the oak are the size of a mouse's ear.”
There is a notice up for all pupils of School No. 1, Narrowsburg, to be vaccinated ...read more
Garden Guru
What's Bloomin
Spring has sprung and the flowers are blooming. Forsythia with their bright golden flowers have been blooming for over a month now and some are showing no signs of stopping.
The cooler nighttime weather we have been having has added to their blooming time. Now we also have the bright purple of ...read more
Retrospect
The Slot Machine Racket
In April of 1931, eight slot machines were seized by Troopers in raids on a number of Fallsburg hotels, including the Elm Shade, the Ambassador and the Flagler. The machines were destroyed “in the public square” before more than 150 onlookers, and the $130 found inside them was turned over to the ...read more
Bethel Corner
Bethel - May 4
Birthday wishes to Susan B. Otto, Lee B. Karasik, Cindy Zinger, Maureen O'Meara, Lisa Marton, Louis Landon, Kevin Colpoys, Diane Levine, Blake Stratton for three years and incredibly, Ralph Liff for 103 trips around the sun. Call and wish him well!
It was very sad news to hear that Hank Weil ...read more
About Books
May 7, 2021
THE FREE WORLD: ART AND THOUGHT IN THE COLD WAR by Louis Menand (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Well…that “war” isn't really the point, here—there's even a touch of irony in the use of the term; those of us who have outlived it have mostly outgrown the concept. Still, it serves well enough to define a ...read more
Making Sense Out of Dollars
“A” is for Annuities
Part 1 of 8
An annuity is a contractually executed, relatively low-risk investment product, where the insured (usually, an individual) pays a life insurance company a lump-sum premium at the start of the contract. That money is to be paid back to the insured in fixed, incremental amounts, over ...read more
Kenoza Lake
Kenoza Lake - May 7
Greetings! I love this time of the year. The sounds of the peepers, all of the migrating bird activity, the greening of our gorgeous countryside. And soon, turtles on the move. Please take some time to enjoy our countryside.
Betty Neer called me from Callicoon Center with reports of ...read more
Hope for the Day
The Stress of Change
I have a hard time with change. It's very frustrating and stressful for me, and I come kicking and screaming out of my comfort zone when I know there's no other choice and I have to finally surrender and accept the changes I'm facing.
The road we have lived on for a very long time has never had ...read more
Woodridge
Woodridge - January 17
Woodridge lost a treasure recently with the passing of Robert Longo, who was born in 1921 in Hazelton, Pennsylvania. He was one of ten children, part of a large and loving, but financially struggling family.
Upon graduation from high school in 1939 Bob decided to get a job to help with the ...read more
Youngsville
January 21
It's been awhile since I have written. The holidays arrived, we were busy and then the weeks somehow got away from me and one week turned into another and then another.
So here we are, into the New Year, 2014, and I am back. I hope everyone had a great holiday season and that the New Year ...read more
Smallwood
Smallwood-Mongaup Valley - April 30
Question for residents of Smallwood: can you explain the difference between the following entities: the Hamlet of Smallwood, the Town of Bethel, and the Smallwood Civic Association (SWCA)? Go ahead, take a minute and try.
For the first few Aprils I was living in Smallwood, this question leapt to ...read more
Jeffersonville
Jeffersonville - May 7
Sullivan Renaissance announced recipients of the 2021 beautification grants for gardens, community beautification and maintenance. The 2020 Sullivan Renaissance Beautification projects include sign gardens and building landscaping to park creation and care of public spaces.
A full list and ...read more
Lake Huntington
Lake Huntington - May 4
I cannot believe I went out of the way to get you the phone number for Heinle's and I gave you the wrong number. The correct number is (845) 252-5027. Their hours of operation are Mon-Sat. 7-8 and Sunday 8-7.
Henning's Local Restaurant is doing patio pickup only Friday and Saturday 4 - 7 p.m., ...read more
White Sulphur Springs
White Sulphur Springs - August 28
Celebrating their birthdays this month are Tom Lewis August 7, Deb Fink August 8, Matt Dewitt August 19, Tom Edwards August 22.
A very special birthday celebration this past weekend was held for Alice Edwards, known to many as “Grandma Alice,” turned 100 years old. On Saturday she was surprised ...read more
Older & Wiser
Medicare Advantage Plans
Last week we reviewed Medicare Prescription Coverage or Part D. This week we will look into Medicare Advantage Plans.
Medicare's Annual Election Period is the time of year when you can make changes to your Medicare coverage. Open Enrollment is October 15 through December 7, and any changes you ...read more
Monticello
Monticello - November 16
This will be my last column for the Democrat for Monticello.
Good Luck to the three new members who were installed at the Monticello Elks Club and they are: Kyle McNair, Deborah Walker and Rosemarie Paty.
The Roast Beef dinner that was recently held by the Monticello Kiwanians seemed to be ...read more
Narrowsburg
Narrowsburg - January 15
In one of my 2018 “Narrowsburg News” columns, I requested information on a house in the Luxton Lake section of town. I had just bought the circa 1860s farmhouse, which was abandoned for many decades, and was starting the process of renovating it. I had heard tales it was called “Sleepy Hollow” ...read more
Library Directors Corner
So many titles to choose from
Are you looking for your next book to read? Many libraries in Sullivan County have the Forthcoming Bestsellers lists at their circulation desks or on their websites. These lists are created by the Ramapo Catskill Library System (RCLS) to showcase some of the many anticipated titles published each ...read more
Give Us Paws
A hairy matter
You're really lucky to be human: you get to choose what you wear. Longer days and warmer weather make us want to change our wardrobe and get the lighter, brighter attire ready to wear. Pets? They each get one coat, with underwear that sheds in bits and pieces, all over the place. And no fur-bearing ...read more
EMS Coordinator
EMS - May 11
The requirements to be a paramedic are intense. It is a career choice for the brave at heart and not without consequences. Paramedicine is the highest level of EMS training. A paramedic can perform advanced life support skills such as initiating an IV, administering medications and advanced ...read more
Looking Back: At Vietnam
A Modern Look
Prologue:
Future editions of this column will cover various weapons of America's modern military.
There will be articles about our bombers, fighters, helicopters, drones, tanks, submarines and aircraft carriers over the past 45 years since Vietnam--and also a glimpse into our future ...read more
Highland
Highland - May 4
Things around town are slowly opening back up and each reopening gives us a heartfelt glimpse of our “back to normal” lives we all have been craving.
Our seasonal visitors are here on their motorcycles and although most of the camps along the River are not open yet our new folks seem to be here ...read more
Jewish Culture
When we become bored
Recently, I missed two installments of this column. I had what is called “writer's block”. All the ideas that I thought to write about suddenly seemed boring. It felt quite depressing, and it felt like a dried out well. I have had a few such lows during the last four years of writing.
I learned ...read more
Liberty
Liberty - April 27
Hello Everyone: It's Fran DeFilippi Kurpil here to spread the good news about my home town. It has been an incredible month, but then again, when you have a big family and are lucky enough to have them close by, every month is great.
Family Birthdays: From our great-grandson, Austin Brandt's ...read more
The Job Coach
Why do you want to work here?
Why do you want to work here?
In a previous article, I talked about answering the question, “what is your greatest weakness?” As you may recall, this is a traditional interview question - a common question that you can anticipate getting at some point during an interview. And because you know ...read more
Veterans Voice
My personal experiences …
Vietnam ended for me during May 1969 when I was seriously wounded on “Hamburger Hill.” Hill 937 was located in the Ashau Valley, a stronghold and Headquarters for the North Vietnam Army, located along the Ho Chi Minh trail, by means of Cambodia and Laos zigzagging along the western border of ...read more
Greening Sullivan
Summing up
I am going to take a leave of absence from this weekly column. It has been a privilege to share ideas with you to solve a problem about which I care very deeply.
I know that we share a common concern that our Earth is losing its ability to support human life. I am puzzled that so many hesitate ...read more
Looking Back: America's Military
The Lovable “Wart Hog”
Prelude
The Post Vietnam war produced a period of relative peace for most US Forces. However, American engineering and technology aggressively continued, with the result that within 10 years, the USAF would stand-up the most modern, stealthy and heavily Armadas in history. From the huge AF ...read more
