In and Around Kendal

Albany-Bound—Avoiding Summer Traffic

Photo by Joe Bruno

Pickleball in the Cul de Sac: Staff Appreciation Week, Day #4

Photo by Cynthia Ferguson

Family Planning Is for the Birds

Naomi Gross noticed new neighbors moving into the neighborhood, i.e. her patio. Papa, Mama, and—since these pictures were taken—three little ones.

Papa checks out the new abode

Mama settles in

Photos by Harry Bloomfeld

Summer Travel—Without the Traveling

Clermont Puzzlers took a trip to Amsterdam without the hassle of suitcases, passports, and time change. Just pullin’ the pieces together.

Photo by Peter Sibley

Down-to-(the)-Earth Neighbors

Trusting on his own camoflauge, by Edward Kasinec

Up close and personal, by Carolyn Reiss

Celebrating the Flip Side of Celebration

While Kendalites ate, drank, and made merry celebrating the Gazebo behind Clermont, the Bistro staff—usually at that time on the run solving problems, doing favors, clearing up, and dishing out—got some unexpected down time. They don’t seem disappointed that we’re all not there . . .

Nature’s Beauties

Amaryllis about to open

And in full bloom

Photos by Lynn Brady

Day Is Done, Gone the Sun . . .

Photo by Carolyn Reiss

Out and About

Music in Weir-d Spaces

Donna Nye and Carolyn Reiss recently attended a concert in a rather unusual setting in Ossining: the weir of the Old Croton Aqueduct. They report that the music flowed beautifully. Everything went swimmingly. (And that’s the best I can do with “aqueduct.”) Photo by Carolyn Reiss.

In June, One’s Thoughts Turn to Weddings

Marianne and Harry Bloomfeld’s grandson announced his intent to marry—the first of that particular Bloomfeld generation. One catch: the wedding was a bit out of the way—in Tuscany. Marianne waved caution to the wind and started preparing—for the wedding and a few days traveling around the area. Who wouldn’t? Well, for one: Harry. After all, foreign travel is not so easy-peasy the older one gets. But he’s home and we’re celebrating ‘cause he’s getting pictures!!

Picture perfect: the wedding dinner at a Tuscan hotel.

Groom (and grandson) Jake and his brand-new wife Logan

The beauty of Tuscany, a handsome groom, and a more than enthusiastic Grandma Marianne.

The Summer Art Show Opens

This past week, the Summer Art Show opened with enthusiasm. Works of all sizes, shapes, and mediums now grace the walls and vitrine of Robert Fulton. Coinciding with Sip & Snack—and accompanied by Shelley Robinson at the harp—the show was a joy to behold.

Setting up is an art in and of itself

Musical accompaniment by Shelley Robinson

And so it begins

Up and down the hallways

Discussed by the many

Enjoyed one by one

Photos by Carolyn Reiss

Gazebo Dedication

On Friday, June 25, the new Gazebo was formerly opened for business. Its business, of course, is to shelter the Kendal family—residents, staff, and visitors—to allow the joy we take in the Hudson River, whether in solitude or lively company. The delightful edifice was given in memoriam of and dedication to their brother Kamel and his beloved Susan by the Baharys all (including spouses). The roses planted around it will grow and slowly replace the artificial ones now indicated how even more lovely the Gazebo will be over time.

The Baharys as the celebration began. Photo by Edward Kasinec.

The Gazebo as the afternoon slowly turns into evening. Photo by Peter Sibley.

Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh

Along the lines of Allan Sherman’s famous letter-home song from the sixties, we give you:

Dear Mom and Dad:

Our scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and were worried. We are OK. Only one of our tents and two sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Chad when it happened.

Oh yes, please call Chad’s mother and tell her he is OK. He can’t write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found him in the dark if it wasn’t for the lightning. Scoutmaster Walt got mad at Chad for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Chad said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn’t hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas can will blow up? The wet wood didn’t burn, but one of the tents did. Also some of our clothes. John is going to look weird until his hair grows back.

We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Walt gets the car fixed. It wasn’t his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked OK when we left.

Scoutmaster Walt said that a car that old you have to expect something to break down; that’s probably why he can’t get insurance. We think it’s a neat car.

He doesn’t care if we get it dirty, and if it’s hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the fenders.

It gets pretty hot with 10 people in a car. He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway patrolman stopped and talked to us.

Scoutmaster Walt is a neat guy. Don’t worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he is teaching Terry how to drive on the mountain roads where there isn’t any traffic. All we ever see up here is logging trucks.

This morning, all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out in the lake. Scoutmaster Walt wouldn’t let me because I can’t swim, and Chad was afraid he would sink because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood.

Scoutmaster Walt isn’t crabby like some scoutmasters.

He didn’t even get mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of the time working on the car so we are trying not to cause him any trouble. Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Dave dove in the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works.

Wade and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Walt said it probably was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken. He said they got sick that way with food they ate in prison. I’m so glad he got out and became our scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he was doing his time. By the way, what is a pedophile?

I have to go now. We are going to town to mail our letters and buy bullets. Don’t worry about anything. We are fine.

Love, Brandon

  PS: How long has it been since I had a tetanus shot?

Contributed by Barbara Wallach

I Never Knew That

The Day the Liberty Bell Came Home

On June 27 in 1778, a jubilant wagon procession made its way from Allentown, Pennsylvania, to the newly renamed Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The reason for the celebration? The Liberty Bell had survived the war—so far—without being melted down into musket balls by the British.

Nine days earlier the British had ended their nine-month occupation of Philadelphia, part of the larger British plan to seize New England. But the British campaign failed to achieve its goals, and the lengthy stay in Philadelphia contributed little militarily and dragged on so long it dogged even the city’s Loyalists.

Before the American Revolution, Independence Hall was known as the Pennsylvania State House. The Continental Congress met there. The bell that tolled for all those historic events had an unlikely origin: It had been commissioned from a foundry in London in 1751. That bell cracked at its test in 1752. It was recast, but too much copper was added to the alloy, and it didn’t ring properly. The third attempt was better. That bell worked; it was far from perfect, testers noted—but it would do the job.

And it did, serving the colonies of British America for more than two decades.

Then, in September 1777, when the British marched into Philadelphia to hunker down for the winter—and the delegates to the Continental Congress fled—city officials feared the occupiers would seize the bells and melt them into ammunition. 

The Liberty Bell and 10 others, weighing about 12,000 pounds total, were moved to Allentown, some 50 miles away. Or, to put it in terms the Patriots understood, roughly 200,000 musket balls of metal were secreted away. It was an eventful move, involving a convoy of 700 guarded wagons. The wagon carrying the Liberty Bell broke down en route, and its precious cargo had to be transferred mid-journey.

After its triumphant return, the Liberty Bell rang for decades. The famous crack snaked through during its ringing at the funeral of Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835 and widened beyond repair in 1846 while marking George Washington’s birthday. Though it is now silent, it is still tapped (gently, we hope) on rare occasions with a special hammer.

Source: Britannica, “Today in History,” by Michele Metych.

Art by Hart

The Duckworths never let a cloud spoil a beach day

Benson was always more comfortable in summer fabrics that breathed

Corbin liked to go joy-riding on his friend’s flying spring onion

The Pangbourne triplets were inseparable

Arlen had no clue where he’d put his smoked salmon

Art and photos by Jane Hart

In and Around

The Kendal Chorale Preps for a Concert

Uhm . . . Ala Mode?

Photo by Philip Monteleoni

UFO Over Kendal? [Insert Spooky Music]

Photo by Jane Hart

An Important Day—Doubled!

Bill Lyons was celebrating double on Sunday, June 21: Father’s Day and his 102nd birthday! Happy Birthday, Bill.

Layers in the Park

Photo by Edward Kasinec

Evening Approaches on The Hudson

Photo by Lynn Brady

Riders in the Sky—or Is That the Headless Horseman Heading North?

Photo by Philip Monteleoni

Art Show Prep

It’s coming! It’s coming! It’s on the way! Wednesday’s the day: The opening of the Summer Art Show. Robert Fulton’s first-floor hallway is the place to be—and Sip and Snack will coincide! All of which means the curators—and all those who make a show happen—have been busy making it all happen.

Thus it begins as artists’ chosen works are brought to the Art Studio

Taking a momentary break from hanging . . . and hanging . . . and . . .

Photos by Carolyn Reiss

Carolyn's Great Adventure

Recently, Carolyn Reiss and her sister visited Chicago where they explored the city by foot and by waterway.

Dinner on the Riverwalk

Exploring by boat

Favorite “curvy building” (probably a professional architectural term)

Favorite “corn cob” building

The sound stage at a free Blues festival

A fellow tourist caught in action at the Intuit Art Museum

Photos by Carolyn Reiss

I Never Knew That

The First American Woman in Space—And Beyond!

STS-7, which launched on this day in 1983, was one of the first operational space shuttle flights. On paper, it was a routine mission to launch two communications satellites. But STS-7 also carried Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

When NASA planned the space shuttle program, it hoped to eventually launch one mission a week. That meant it needed a lot more astronauts. In 1978 NASA announced its eighth group of astronauts, the “Thirty-Five New Guys,” its largest class to date.

Six women were among the Thirty-Five New Guys. Sally Ride was finishing her doctorate in physics at Stanford when she applied. When Group 8 was selected, only one woman, Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union, had ever flown in space. Competition among the six women to be the first American woman in space was fierce, and in April 1982 NASA chose Sally Ride to fly on STS-7. 

Ride spent six days in orbit on the space shuttle Challenger and became a national hero. She flew again in 1984 on STS 41-G. One of her crewmates was Group 8 classmate Kathryn Sullivan, who became the first American woman to walk in space.

Ride was training for a third shuttle mission when the Challenger exploded in 1986. She was appointed to the investigative commission and played a key role when an anonymous whistleblower gave her the document that pointed to the disaster’s cause. She later served on the commission that investigated the Columbia accident in 2003, becoming the only person to investigate both shuttle disasters.

After Ride died in 2012, obituaries revealed her long-term relationship with another woman, Tam O’Shaughnessy. Ride had kept her sexual orientation private during her NASA career, but the reveal meant that, in 1983, she had also been the first known LGBTQ astronaut to fly.

Source: Britaninica, “Today in History,” by Erik Gregersen.

We're Gonna Be on TV! Sort of . . .

Rich Dooley spotted it first: a house being built in Rockwood Park! What?!?

Photo by Rich Dooley

Carolyn Reiss got the inside scoop: ABC is filming a mini-series requiring a “house with a view.” So, naturally, they’re building one where there’s an exquisite view: Rockwood Park. Seems they just need it for one scene—at a cost of at least $150,000. As sturdy as it may look, then, down it comes. Interiors not needed.

Photo by Carolyn Reiss

Photo by Carolyn Reiss

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Photographs of life at Kendal on Hudson are by residents.