Great Books Discussions

Another GREAT BOOKS DISCUSSIONS program is about to get underway in October and December.

From 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 17 (in RAO) or 18 (ACR), the group will delve into Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726), and on Dec. 12 or 13 (in RAO), Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884).

Gulliver’s Travels, written by a skilled satirist, is both a rip-roaring fantasy and a searing attack on the nature of society, while Huck Finn is one of the great – if not the greatest – American novel. 

Sign-up and ordering of books takes place on Wed., Oct. 7, 3:00-4:30 (discussion in the RAO, C level) or Thurs. Oct. 8, 3:00 -4:30 (ACR, C level).

Wed. or Thurs., Dec. 12 or 13, 3:00 - 4:30 (RAO, C level).

A full description and registration form will be distributed in cubbies on Mon. Sept. 10.

Get your reading glasses out and turn off your TV! These discussions can be fun and you'll learn something to boot.

Course on W.E. B. DuBois

Another interesting and exciting course will soon be offered by Kendal's own Pulitzer Prize winner Bill McFeely. This one will be on the life of the great African American leader W.E.B. DuBois

W.E.B. DuBois was the author of The Souls of Black Folk, a 1903 “classic” which is more often saluted than read. Bill and those lucky enough to participate in his course will explore the essays and the history of this great man. The course will take place at 10:30 on four Fridays, September 28, October 5, 12, and 19, place to be announced. It will be limited to fifteen members. They will use the Dover edition ($5) so everyone will be on the same page.

Books are ordered and will be distributed to members before the first class. A course description will be placed in the Activities Alcove (opposite the Computer Room) on Sept. 17 and a sign-up sheet on Sept 20.

Get there quickly. Bill's courses fill up very rapidly.

Art Show Announced

The Art Committee announced that their Fall Art Show will open in October

The Art Committee’s new show Kendal Artists will open on the Rue des Artistes (C Level) on October 9 with a reception from 4pm-5:30 pm to which all residents and staff are invited. The show’s co-curators are Mariet Van der Heide and Lynn Brady.

Residents and staff are invited to enter their art works.  Further details will be provided by the curators in the near future.  In the meantime, you may contact Mariet Van der Heide or Lynn Brady.

The Art Committee will resume its monthly Art Critiques on September 11.  The Critiques are held every second Tuesday of the month at 4 pm.  The October 9 meeting is being replaced by the opening reception.  Additional meetings are scheduled for November 13, December 11, and January 8, 2019.

Living with Hearing Impairment

A session of great importance to many Kendal residents, living with hearing impairment, will be the subject of a lecture and discussion by Jessica LaCorte. 

Ms. LaCorte is the Coordinator of Audiology Services at Phelps Hospital.  She earned a Doctorate in Audiology from the Graduate Center, City University of New York.  Before coming to Phelps, she worked at an Ear Nose and Throat private practice in Manhattan for seven years, assessing hearing and balance, and dispensing hearing aids. 

The meeting is Wednesday, September 5 at 10 am in the Private Dining Room.  All residents are welcome to attend. 

Wednesday Night Lecture on Historic Preservation in Sleepy Hollow

On Wednesday evening Kendal will be treated to a lecture by Sara Mascia and Len Andrew on the proposed Historic Preservation Law for the Village of Sleepy Hollow

Years ago, Nicholas Robinson drafted an Historic Preservation Ordinance which was adopted by Tarrytown.  A similar ordinance was also proposed for Sleepy Hollow, and the Planning Board recommended its adoption.  However, the Sleepy Hollow Village Board did not act on the recommendation.  Now, with Sleepy Hollow preparing a Comprehensive Plan, and with the inner village being threatened by gentrification, it is time for the Village Board to reconsider an ordinance.

Landmark preservation has become settled law, and a model landmarks law for New York State municipalities has been published.  The reasons this law should be enacted by Sleepy Hollow will be discussed by Sara Mascia, Executive Director, Historical Society of Sleepy Hollow/Tarrytown, and Kendal resident Len Andrew, a long-time resident of Sleepy Hollow. 

All residents are invited  join in for this important discussion.

It will take place on Wednesday, September 5 at 7:30 pm, in the Gathering Room.

Trips, Trips and More Trips

On Wednesday , Sept. 5, the Trips Committee will be sponsoring a trip to the Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers

Now a city park, the gardens, designed for Samuel Untermyer, a wealthy lawyer, were among the best in America in the 1920s and 1930s but were too costly to keep up after his death in 1940.  They were in ruins when the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy started restoring the gardens in 2011, and in a short time it has achieved wonders.  The trip will focus on the Walled Garden, based on Indo-Persian gardens of antiquity.

"Stephen Byrns, a New York architect with a substantial practice came upon the site and was mesmerized. The important remaining feature, in addition to the “Temple of Love,” was a walled Persian garden. The water feature had gone dry, the pools and surrounding mosaics were crumbling, the vistas were overgrown. As with Betsy Rogers a generation earlier, Byrns created a public/private partnership, rolled up his sleeves, engaged horticulturalist Timothy Tilghman and began the process of recovery. The results after a few years, are magical. Within the armature of the structure, with Marco’s advice, the garden has become something of a magic carpet. While not reproducing the original planting schemes it enhances the character of the space, creating a world apart, a landscape of imagination and, yes, reverie." (American Fine Art Magazine, July/August 2018)

To sign up you must go to the Activities Alcove, locate the Trips Book and enter your name. 

On Wednesday, Oct 3 the Committee will be offering a walking excursion on the Walkway over the Hudson between Poughkeepsie and Highland.  Residents may stroll at their own pace over the world’s longest elevated pedestrian bridge at 1.28 miles, a former railway bridge and now a New York state park, 212 feet above the river with 360º panoramic views. Join the mix of individuals who stroll, cycle, walk, jog, roller blade, walk dogs, and push baby carriages or strollers.  Kendal participants must be able to walk the entire one-way distance.  Wheelchair accessible, benches on bridge

Sign up in the Trips Book. 

New Library Collection

Photo by Arthur Brady

The Kendal Library Committee announced the acquisition of a new collection. 

MYSTERIES, CRIME & THRILLERS is now available for all Kendal residents on the Alida Bridge Alcove (between Alida and Mary Powell). 

The collection was donated by a generous Kendal resident and was shelved by Lynn Brady and Gretchen Engler.

The Committee encourages all residents to enjoy the works of favorite authors and explore unfamiliar ones from many different countries.

The collection is now available for some very exciting reading. 

New Phelps Vitality Events for September

For the Vitality September Calendar, Click here.

For the Vitality Breakfast Club, Click here.

For the Autumn Games, Click here.

For the Women's Health and Fitness Day, Click here.

For Information about Demystefying Medicare, Click here.

For the Phelps Vitality Program Newsletter, Click here.

Vitality Director Ellen Woods has sent copies of two forms for participants in their programs.  Click here for a copy of the Vitality Survey that she asks participants to complete and bring with them to the next event they attend.  Click here for the Revised Participant Consent Form for the Autumn Games. 

New Executive Director Arrives

Kendal on Hudson's new Executive Director, James "Jim" Antonucci, has arrived and has begun his administration.

On August 15 the Kendal Board sponsored a cocktail reception for all residents and it appeared that each and every one attended. The crowd was so large that seating was just not availabe for all who wanted to crowd in. 

On September 24 Jim Antonucci held his first "Fireside Chat" with the resident community. There was no actual fire but the questions, comments and answers provided all the heat necessary. By and large the residents showed great support for Kendal and their new chief executive. Mr. Antonucci's comments and open style indicated a great willingness to take into account the feelings and wishes of the residents. 

All in all, it was  a great start. Mr. A. promised regular such meetings. 

Give-And-Take Table Returns

One of Kendal's great traditions, the Give-And-Take Table, will be available from Saturday, September 1 until Friday, September 7.  As usual, look for it on the T level of Mary Powell, just across from and a little to the right of the elevators. 

This table appreciates your giving it lots of different things that you once liked, used, perhaps adored, but no longer!  Now, you either are willing to give it up because of lack of space in your apartment, or you’ve come to detest it, but yet know that somebody else might care for it and give it a loving home.

Exclusions: pillows and fabrics, shoes, knives and other sharp objects.  Also, anything noisy that cries, squawks, pleads, or otherwise demands the attention of a new owner.  A string is nice, but only if it is long enough to tie a package

Questions or suggestions? Call or speak to Bert Pepper or Peggy McLaughlin.