Photo by Cynthia Ferguson
Photo by Joe Bruno
Photo by Joe Bruno
Photo by Carolyn Reiss
Photo by Edward Kasinec
Photo by Carolyn Reiss
Wasps busy building a new home, photo by Edward Kasinec
Photo by Edward Kasinec
They cook, they clean, they get us where we’re going, they maintain the grounds, they organize meeting rooms, they do all kinds of lovely things—and they always call us by our names! Part of our Kendal community, they are our wonderful staff. And if you are appreciative, well, there’s the Staff Appreciation Fund drive alive and well and sitting in a box on the welcome desk in the lobby.
The basic ask is $250/per resident. Certainly if you can do more, it would be more than welcome. If you can do but less, that is appreciated, too. Please help us say Thank You in this Thanks-Giving Season.
There are heroes among us—often grandparents. When tragedy happens and grandchildren are cut adrift from their parents, grandparents often step in, many on limited incomes. As primary caregivers, they make sure their grandchildren feel loved and supported—something that, for many, can be particularly hard during the holiday season. They spend what they can to ensure their grandchildren have gifts, often going without for themselves.
Ten years ago, our NY Senator in Albany—Andrea Stewart-Cousins—decided these heroes needed recognition. The Angel Project was born.
The project reaches out to these hero-grandparents for wish lists (totaling no more than $100). The Angel Project then matches these heroes with volunteer “angels” who fulfill those wishes. Last year 200 angels and grandparents participated.
“The Angel Project is our way of showing gratitude to the unsung heroes in our communities—grandparents who selflessly step up to raise their grandchildren,” Senator Stewart-Cousins explained. “This small gesture of thanks reflects the immense appreciation we have for their love and dedication. It’s truly heartwarming to witness so many ‘angels’ come together to make a difference.”
The Project partners with Family Service Society of Yonkers, Family Ties of Westchester, Westchester County DSS, and other agencies in Stewart-Cousins’ district. These agencies collect wish lists of up to three items from the grandparents they serve. That list is then shared with an assigned angel.
The deadline for signing up is coming up fast: November 25. If you would like to be an angel, whether returning or new, please click on the button below and complete The Project Angel form.
Or call Senator Stewart-Cousins’ district office at (914) 423-4031. You can also email for information by clicking on the button below. But please do it quickly.
All gifts should be received at Stewart-Cousins’ office, 28 Wells Avenue, 5th Floor, Yonkers, NY 10701, no later than Friday, December 12.
Presents should be wrapped or put in a gift box and labeled with both your name and the name of your grandparent. If you plan to have the gift or gift card mailed or delivered to the district office, please ensure it will arrive in time. Note: Delivery services like Amazon do not deliver to the district office on weekends or after 5 pm.
On December 17, The Angel Project hosts a holiday lunch at Castle Royale from noon to 2 pm. There, angels will have the opportunity to present their gifts to the grandparents whose wishes they’ve fulfilled. If an angel cannot attend, someone will present the gift on that person’s behalf.
Think about it: If you choose to be a 2025 angel, your generosity will bring joy to a grateful hero-grandparent this holiday season.
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, construction will stop at Noon starting Wednesday, November 26, and will resume on Monday, December 1. This Monday and Tuesday the demo will continue in the main kitchen area.
On Monday, December 1, construction work will begin in the ceiling outside of PT/OT on the Terrace Level. There will be room for you to walk; however, please be cautious as parts of the hallway will be a construction area. Pike Construction will put up barriers around the area where they will be working.
There will be no construction update on Friday, November 28.
The Main Kitchen Demo and the view from the new Terrace Lounge:
From the Office of Ellen Ottstadt
The fattest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
I thought I saw an eye-doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
She was only a whisky-maker, but he loved her still.
A rubber-band pistol was confiscated from an algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.
No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
Contributed by Barbara Wallach
To Be Continued . . .
“Noon” and “midnight” are tidy designations of time, both marking the point when an analog clock starts another 12-hour cycle. But the word “noon” took a little bit of a journey around the clock before arriving at its current location.
The root of the word “noon” is the Latin nonus, meaning “ninth,” which became nōn in Old English and Middle English. The word marked the ninth hour after sunrise. This made “noon” a bit of a moving target, but a 6 am sunrise, for instance, would put noon around 3 pm.
It may have been fasting monks that caused noon to shift earlier in the day. The ninth hour is significant in Christian liturgy as time set aside for prayer, known as nones, and it was particularly important in early monastic traditions. Because monks were often required to fast until then, one prevailing theory as to why the ninth-hour prayer started drifting earlier is that people were getting hungry. The Roman Catholic canonical hour of nones remained at 3 pm, but by the 14th century “noon” referred to a new time of day, when the sun was highest in the sky.
Source: historyfacts.com
Contributed by Jane Hart
Contributed by Barbara Wallach
Lilly thought Tom was cute, but it was an unlucky time of year to start a relationship with a turkey
Wardwell hadn’t checked the pockets of his blazer for mice
Georgette found her split ends exasperating
Mitzi dreamed she had grown much bigger than a dinosaur
Sandee wondered if she ought to have Rara Avis printed on her business cards
Art and photos by Jane Hart.
Photo by Harry Bloomfeld
Papa Boat and Baby Boat, by Joe Bruno
Autumn Iris, by Carolyn Reiss
Early Morning, by Carolyn Reiss
Life, Death, and Permanence, by Philip Monteleoni
Sihlouettes, by Philip Monteleoni
Photo by Carolyn Reiss
A few reminders—from actual resident commendations—of why we value our Kendal staff:
[The cleaning team] did an absolutely amazing [annual cleaning] job—no nook or cranny was left untouched. It was wonderful to come back to such a clean apartment. (Housekeeping)
Whatever he is doing, he makes it his job to help residents feel comfortable. He has always gone out of his way to ask me how my day has been. He makes sure that residents are given exactly what they want to eat. (Dining Room Server)
[He] did an excellent job today . . . on our Tour of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown . . . residents gave [him] a well-deserved round of applause and their thanks . . . (Kendal Transportation)
Faced with an energetic two-year-old and easily distracted five-year-old, she was kind, patient, and amazingly responsive to their needs as well as those of my adult guests. (Dining Room Server)
I spoke to him about a dinner for a guest who is a strict vegan. He promptly suggested that he could put aside a portion of the vegetarian dish [and] make it vegan. When we appeared in the Bistro, the vegan dinner was attractively presented to our guest and she enjoyed it. (Chef)
He is always cheerful, quick to help, and so responsive when you call. We are so very fortunate to have him! (IT Staff)
******
We’re not allowed to tip here at Kendal—no matter how wonderful staff members are. Instead, twice a year we donate to the Staff Appreciation Fund to:
It’s easy to want to do so—and easy to forget! So, consider this a friendly reminder just in case. The box is at the main desk in the lobby.
It’s easy. Make your check out to KoH Residents Association (and in the Memo line, write: SAF) and drop it in the Staff Appreciation box at the Main Desk.
Do you have a favorite employee? Several? Many? ALL?
Please don’t forget to say “Thanks!” Especially at this time of actual Thanksgiving. What would Kendal—and our individual lives—be without them? When November ends, so does the drive.
Together, Transforming the Experience of Aging
COMMONS REFRESH BULLETIN
issued Friday, November 14
• The temporary kitchen is fully functional
• The Chefs will move back to their new office, and Christie and Jorge will move
to the computer room while they work on their offices
• Demo will continue in the main kitchen area
• Flooring will be installed in the Terrace Lounge area
• Sprinklers will be installed in the new Terrace Lounge area
The Cleopatra/Mark Antony Drinking Club
Because Cleopatra’s life and legacy is mired by propaganda that painted her as cunning and improper, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction in tales of the Egyptian queen and her storied relationship with Roman politician Mark Antony. But while some accounts of their extravagance were exaggerated, these two ancient leaders undoubtedly liked to party. One winter, they formed a drinking society called the Inimitable Livers, which convened nightly for debauchery—although historians are divided on whether that debauchery was in service of the Greek god Dionysus or just for fun.
Social activities of the Inimitable Livers, in addition to drinking, included feasting, hunting, and playing dice. According to the Greek historian Plutarch, who wrote one of the more sympathetic accounts of Cleopatra’s life in his biography of Antony, the drinking group was also partial to games and pranks. Plutarch described Antony and Cleopatra disguising themselves in servants’ clothing and taking to the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, to poke fun at ordinary people. He also noted that they would take plenty of abuse in return, even when people figured out who they actually were.
After Antony lost the decisive Battle of Actium against Julius Caesar’s heir Octavian, the couple dissolved the Inimitable Livers and formed the Society of Partners in Death, which also may have been associated with Dionysus. Plutarch wrote that this club, despite its more somber name, feasted just as extravagantly.
Source: historyfacts.com
Contributed by Jane Hart
Contributed by Barbara Wallach
Art and photo by Sheila Benedis
Duke never dreamed he’d lose his heart to a jar of spiders
Mickey liked to wake everybody up—the earlier the better
Vanessa’s latest tidbit put the office gossip mill on overdrive
They needed many more phones at the aquarium
Dunbar thought Lizzie-June was adorable when she was angry
Art and photos by Jane Hart
Photo by Carolyn Reiss
The last goat, herded into his transport, begins the journey back to Stone Barns, by Carolyn Reiss
Photo by Joe Bruno
Carolyn Reiss managed a peek into the temporary kitchen now being established in prep of old-kitchen’s renewal.
Photo by Joe Bruno
Photo by Sue Bastian
Photo by Philip Monteleoni
Photo by Edward Kasinec
Henry Neale and his intrepid Croton Aquaduct Walkers have reached Dobbs Ferry, having started at the Croton dam! Pictured here is Hildegarde Gray standing in “The Croton Arch of Triumph,” a 2022 sculpture by artist/architect Dionisio Cortes Ortega at the old Keepers House in Dobbs Ferry. It gives you an idea of just how big the aqueduct is! Using historically-accurate materials and working to scale, Ortega re-created a cross-section of the original Old Croton Aqueduct Tunnel completed in 1842.
Recently intrepid Kendalites visited the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation in Mt. Kisco for a docent-led tour of the organization’s art. The mission of the Foundation is to educate the public about the importance of art and to increase public awareness of self-taught and emerging artists. The Foundation's collection is made up of pieces by over 200 self-taught and contemporary artists.
Photo by Ruth Dinowitz
A group of interested Kendalites attended the opening of “Faces of Ossining,” a show of local portraits by artist Jack Berkowitz.
Kendal artist Jane Hart says of the show:
“Wonderfully dynamic portraits—technically right on, and so dynamic and engaging in their size (big!) and simplicity. They make the traditional conventions of portraiture (like backgrounds, formal poses and even frames) seem unnecessary and even intrusive. While a few are in full-color pastel, most are dramatic in black and white, graphite and pencil on paper.”
Amanda Slattery works with artist Berkowitz on more than art. He is also a chef who provides meals to indigent people in the area. Amanda helps prepare bag lunches—some Thursdays and Fridays—while he cooks. Seem like something you’d like to volunteer for? Contact Amanda for more information.
© Kendal on Hudson Residents Association 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 all rights reserved. Please do not reproduce without permission.
Photographs of life at Kendal on Hudson are by residents.