THE RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town"

By BONNI BRODNICK

Girls, girls, girls! Silhouette, a store exclusively for girls in the‘tweens and teens zone, has officially opened on Westchester Avenue. Along with offering great-priced jewelry, hip scarves, funky T-shirts, swanky Betsyville bags, and bangles galore, they also host birthday parties. While most of Pound Ridge is a ghost town at this time of year, Silhouette is party-popping with activity. Themes range from “Darling Diva Party” to “Divine Diva Party” and “V.I.P. Diva Exclusive.” Don’t lift a finger as they help you create your own theme from a list of à la carte options like 60s Mod, 70s Disco, and 80s Glam. The happening scene includes hairstyling, mini-manicures, make-up, and music. They’ll even provide food and paper goods (you bring the B-day cake).

Ella Weinstein, a rising second grader at Pound Ridge Elementary School, wrote “Talk of the Town” with the following review of a swell girly birthday party she had just attended: “Hi! I spent two hours at Silhouette in the center of Pound Ridge. The new shop is pretty pink and you can have your own birthday party there. At the party I went to for my friend, we had makeup, hair, nails, and fake tattoos. We also danced and played ‘Stick the Earring on the Girl’ game. The people who work at Silhouette are very nice. If you want to have fun, stop by.” Bling it on! For more info, call Kathy Harrington, proprietor, at 764-3440.

Dick Major, president of the Historical Society, and Vince Manna, trustee, are busy putting final touches on their soon-to-be-released book, “Images of America: Pound Ridge.” Their chef d’oeuvre features 210+ photographs — from the late-1800s through to the 1930s — that depict life, homes, barns, maps and the landscape of old Pound Ridge. Most of the material was scanned from the Historical Society archives, but there are also previously unseen photos from private collections of several residents. Many of the shots reveal the open space of Pound Ridge that existed here at the turn of the 20th century. Marvel at the old country store located in the present day hamlet before its demise to fire in 1903. Check out the details of the five original school houses in Pound Ridge. (As a fellow historian, I love this stuff.) More info on how to reserve your autographed copy is forthcoming. In the meantime, to keep up to date on the launch of this terrific book, visit www.poundridgeny.com.

We ran into Pound Ridge’s own Earth Mama (AKA Angela Jobe) at O2 Living Holistic Spa and Center for Wellness, a yoga studio, health spa, and whole and living foods café that’s ramping up at Yellow Monkey Village in Cross River. On the topic of gardening, Angela gave us advice to consider once this heat wave subsides. “After the last bloom, many think it’s best for perennials to chop them to the ground. Don’t do it! Along with the birds eating the seeds and perching on the plants during winter, withered perennials in the snow can give the garden a beautiful architecture. Put an inch or two of mulch on them before the cold and they blooms will be back to charm you next summer.” The takeaway: Plants may whither, but beauty is perennial.

“Back to the Garden,” as Joni Mitchell sang 40 years ago at Woodstock . . . Cynthia Wetzler and Lisl Steiner-Monchek had a contest going all summer for the tallest sunflower. Cynthia’s, whose bronzy-beauties are hovering at a supersonic 10-feet tall (WOW!), are definitely in the lead of Lisl’s, whose sunflowers, well… they never came up. (AWW.) “I fertilized mine when I planted them in June, and once again with fish emulsion in August,” Cynthia wrote. “Sunflowers carry a light-hearted joy. They seem to have scoffed at all of the rain we had earlier this summer.” “Cynthia wins the sunflower contest,” responded Ms. Steiner-Monchek, "but it’s our friendship that truly wins.”

Who can believe Labor Day weekend is nigh? As we take in the last of sunny days poolside or sailing on Long Island Sound, relish BBQ’s with friends and a few more s’mores. Embrace the sounds of cicadas and crickets. Listen to the summer before it falls.

RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town" - August 24, 2009

August 24, 2009

"TALK OF THE TOWN"
By Bonni Brodnick

Sixteen years ago, I wrote “The First Day of Kindergarten” for “The Bedford-Pound Ridge Record-Review” (the original name of our town paper). The story was written on the eve of my 4-year old son starting kindergarten at Pound Ridge Elementary School. The next day would be his first bus ride to school, his first day at the “big boy” school, and his first meal in a cafeteria. I wondered how he would get through this without Mommy. All summer we had been preparing for the moment. My son is now a 20-year old senior at college.

Tonight, I am writing on the eve of my daughter leaving home and joining her brother as a freshman at the same upstate New York university. Her departure, too, has been a moment for which we’ve been preparing, especially since it would signify my new perch on an empty nest. Whether your children are leaving for their first day of kindergarten or first semester of college, the reality of new eras commencing can pull at the heartstrings.
     As my children begin the new school year together — a fraternity house and a dorm room away —husband and I will remain on the Salem Road campus. We’ll keep the front light on for our children’s fall-break return to their beloved hometown of Pound Ridge.

For many, August is an abundantly colorful month in the garden with salvias, black-eyed susans, zinnias, moonflowers, day lilies, Heliopsis, Phlox, and Coreopsis in bloom. Sedum and Solidago are close to blooming, and Nepeta and Yarrow are just starting to re-bloom. How does your garden grow? Mine is moldy and deer-bitten. I’m in serious need of a garden transplant.

After sharing my flora woes with Dolores Sisti from the Pound Ridge Garden Club, she mentioned that August is a good time of year to have a garden (or plant swap). Invite friends and neighbors to bring at least two plants that are over-abundant in their garden and swap. Share the bounty and keep it growing. Last year I traded a friend my iris for her hosta. In researching this lily-like plant on a gardening website I found, “If you have a shade garden, hosta are most likely your best friends. With the many colors, sizes and shapes, they are, by far, a gardener’s bliss. Hosta are hardy plants and make a beautiful addition to your shade garden.” The only thing is . . . deer also think my hosta are beautiful. And tasty. What was once a fine addition to my “garden,” is now a display of nubs. While I don’t exactly have “gardener’s bliss” like they describe on that website, when I look out, I think of my friend and of her generosity in giving me hosta that formerly grew abundantly in her garden. It has withered in mine, but hosta is a perennial and there’s always hope for next year.

Sum-sum-summertime. It’s blasting hot, the rain has stopped, and it’s the dog days of August. In our household, we call this time of year “augacious.” And while we carried on our day-to-day, the Pound Ridge swim team was mighty in their lane-to-lane triumphs. Many on the Pound Ridge swim team advanced from the Little Dolphins program to the full-fledged Dolphins Swim Team. Molly Henry and Brian Santos are among the young swimmers who improved so much that they competed in “A” meets. Colleen Roemer and Andrew Wasila also improved greatly this summer. And among some of the most team-spirited Dolphins, count in Gage Sgaglio, Heath Carmicheal, Chloe Jacobson, and Sarah Siano. Kudos to Billy Fierro-Joyce, who had a gold star on his shoulder again this season by breaking a Dolphins record.

On the diving team, Ruby Cuddy showed awesome improvement. She moved up to the A-team after learning TWO new dives in one practice. Charlie Asaro was also among one of the most improved divers this season. Christine Drpich broke the girls 18-and under diving pool record. Season review? From June through August, it went absolutely, indisputably, undeniably swimmingly.

RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town"

By BONNI BRODNICK

The Lightning struck last weekend when this talented summer-travel baseball team hit it right out of the ballpark. After wining their division (Gold Division) 7-4, they went on to play New Fairfield (Red Division Champs) for the 2009 Summer Westchester/Putnam Baseball Association 11 & Under Championship. The Lightening aced it with a winning score of 5-4, and distinguishing themselves as the only Bedford/Pound Ridge summer-travel baseball team to go undefeated. The team then went on to win the Championship with a stunning 22-0!

Our Boys of Summer include Lucas Beni, Sean Fopeano, John Harrington, Robert Lichtenberger, Emmett Robin, Shawn Walsh and Aaron Winkler from Pound Ridge, along with Owen Azrak, Connor Banford, Charlie Carpenter, Sean New, Chris Stern and Will Wortmann from Bedford. Congratulations to Coaches Skip Carpenter and Vic Wortmann for bringing The Lightning to a great season closer.

Hey, kiddos! You have one more week to catch up before for the “End of Summer Reading Game Party” at Hiram Halle Library on Friday, August 21 at 2 p.m. All young readers who have read 15 or more books will receive an award. For the past 20 years, Altan Gursell has been the mastermind behind designing the summer reading bulletin boards. This summer, David Bergstein inspired young readers by designing one with lightbulb markers and other whimsical categories that tracked reading accomplishments. An impressive 120 youngsters signed up for the summer reading game.

According to Allan Ramsay, Hiram Halle children’s librarian, the runaway reads this summer for second graders were the “Henry & Mudge” series by Cynthia Rylant; for third graders and up, the “Ivy & Bean” series, by Annie Barrows; and for the little guys, ages 3-6, Marc Brown’s “Arthur” series. The “Twilight” series for teens wins for middle school and up. “Harry Potter” is still the #1 summer read. “It’s enjoyable to see the kids read for the love of reading and not because it’s a homework assignment," Alan said. Marilyn Tinter, library director, added, “The other exciting thing is watching kids who were on the verge of reading in the beginning of the summer experience that magic moment! And then they’re reading on their own.”

Come join the ladies of Pound Ridge Hadassah as they tour Merestead Estate in Mount Kisco on Sunday, August 16. This exquisite 130-acre country estate is a Westchester historic site tucked away in the hills overlooking picturesque Byram Lake Reservoir and surrounding valley. It’s the former estate of Mrs. Margaret Sloane Patterson, daughter of William Sloane, president of W &J Sloane Furniture Company, and her husband Dr. Robert Patterson, a prominent orthopedic surgeon in New York City. Merestead features a 28-room Georgian mansion with beautiful gardens built during the early 20th century. As Merestead celebrates its 100th anniversary, they welcome you to walk the grounds and trails, and are open daily 8 a.m. to dusk. Here you can imagine the elegance of life on an estate with a staff of 12 to help keep everything running smoothly. Proceeds from Pound Ridge Hadassah tour will go to Hadassah for its Hospital fund. For more information, call Toby Miller 914 764-8382.

Did you hear the buzz about The Westchester Land Trust annual fundraising party and auction in June? It was a grand success, helping to raise more than $300,000 in support of land preservation in Westchester County. But don’t go away! Here is your final chance for Land Trust auction deals before they close out the event completely.

You have 20 more days to bid on some nifty things/services, like a dinner for six prepared in Albano Kitchen in Scott's Corners by Chef Jehan de Noue; 15-hour SAT prep course at Katonah Tutoring Club; party-planning services from Square Events; wine tasting for 10 hosted by discerning wine collector Teed Welch; a fall or winter weekend at the Sagamore Hotel in the Adirondacks; an architectural design consultation from Robert Siegel; six hours of recording time at Sweatshop Studios in Katonah; and a color photograph by Bill Scherer, a Westchester native who enjoys photographing the beautiful open spaces in Bedford. His photo is wall-ready with beautiful dusty gold wood frame by the Paint Box, also in Katonah.

“The Westchester Land Trust has many terrific preservation projects in the works, including several in Pound Ridge. All proceeds from the auction will help us complete these projects, as well as support our continued efforts to preserve open space in Westchester,” said Tom Andersen, director of communications and special projects. For more info, go to westchesterlandtrust.org.

RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town"

By BONNI BRODNICK

Is the heat and humidity making you crabby? Are you balking at people talking (loudly) on their cell phones at the pool? Or irritated when you’re trying to tell someone something and they can’t stop to listen because they’re text-messaging? Are you slightly ticked when one of your progeny asks to you leave the room and shut the door because it’s time to SKYPE a special friend on an internship in Los Angeles? In simple terms, are you a fuddy-duddy?? To my horror, my college-bound children called me one. (When does school start again?) Their benevolence had me pondering reduplicated phrases, a term for perky duplicated nouns or verbs that form new idioms, like chop-chop; choo-choo; knock-knock; rah-rah; chic-chic; hanky-panky, bling-bling, yada-yada. (If you’ve got more, send them to towntalk@optonline.net.) So call me a teeny-weeny goody-goody, but I am not a fuddy duddy. Okey-dokey?

Congratulations to two Pound Ridgers who competed in the Lake Placid Ironman Triathlon. This is not a gig for the faint-hearted. It’s a 140.6 mile race, which includes a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run. Kevin Long finished in 11 hours 52 minutes. Don Henry finished in 12 hours and 8 minutes. These superb athletes are 40 and 44 years old respectively, giving us all inspiration to go for the gold. This was Kevin’s first Ironman distance race, and fourth for Don. As of recent report, Don was sore and tired, but quickly recovered within 24 hours. “I’m signed up to do Lake Placid for 2010,” said Don, who has competed in five IM’s total (one out in Idaho).

You’ve been keeping it together all summer. Want to act out? The Pound Ridge Theatre Company announces auditions for Brian Friel’s “Dancing at Lughnasa,” written by Brian Friel in 1990. Set in Ireland's County Donegal in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg, the play is a memory told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator, who recounts the summer in his aunts' cottage when he was seven years old. Sherry Asch is back in the director’s seat for this autumn Pound Ridge Theatre Company production.

Open roles for five women and three men. If you’ve got a good Irish accent, you’re a leg up. It is requested that you read the play prior to auditions, which take place at Conant Hall in the hamlet on Monday, August 17 and Tuesday, August 18 at 7 p.m. Performance Dates: November 6,7,13,14,20,21 at 8 p.m. and matinees on November 8 and 15 at 2 p.m. For more information, please call Ms. Asch at 845-259-3579 or prtc01@yahoo.com. For even more info, check out the website at www.prtc01.0rg.

We’re not the only ones who think North Star Restaurant serves terrific American cuisine and good vibes all week long. Owners Philip Maniatty and David Schlack and their flair for food have scored high with 2009 Zagat ratings, too. Beyond the menu, the place shines brightly as one of the only hot night-spots in Scotts Corners. Every Wednesday from 8:30-10:30 p.m., local musicians and singer/songwriters from the area perform. Stay post-repast on Thursday nights, and from 9-12:00 p.m. you’ll be wow-ed by the blazing talent of such local bands as Flip Side, Celestial Speed Limit, The Bernadettes, and where the heck were you last night? The band, Ask Your Mom, was possibly the most excitable band North Star and its patrons have ever seen. Once the music gets going, the joint is jumpin’ with revelers relishing the terrifically talented bands playing right in quiet Scotts Corners.

Every Sunday night from 6:30-9:30 p.m., Dennis Collins sings as Lou Bellofatto accompanies on the piano at a perfect pitch for dinner conversation. Dennis has performed with such as artists as Roberta Flack, Sting, Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, David Bowie, Diana Ross, Celine Dion, Beyoncé, Cheryl Crow, Faith Hill and more. He truly has the voice of an angel. Come out and see the stars. As one patron said, “North Star is a fantastic place to eat, drink, dance, and meet up with local friends. This place is honkin’.”

THE RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town"

By BONNI BRODNICK

Where’s George? At dinner parties across Pound Ridge last Saturday night, this was the question. If you’re wondering where all of your money goes, check out www.where’sGeorge.com to track your dough as it circulates around town, the country and the world. You simply go to the website home page, enter the denomination, series (year) and serial number, as well as your ZIP code, then hit “submit.” To keep the trail going, write “where’sGeorge.com” on the bill, spend it, then track it, baby. Once a bill is registered, the site reports where the bill goes, the distance traveled between locations, and any comments from finders. As of press time, Where’s George? tracked over 156 million bills totaling more than $845 million. Now that’s a lot of money to keep track of.

Speaking of weird/strange/fascinating/why am I doing this? websites, you might want to take a look at www.facesaerch.com (that’s not a typo). Here you can search for all of the faces of anyone you’ve ever known or met in your entire life. Be honest. We know there’s someone out there whom you haven’t seen in a while and you’re wondering, “I wonder what s/he looks like now?” or “I wonder if s/he’s aging well.” This cyber-face search is high technology, literally, in your face.

We recently heard from Bill and Loretta Barker’s daughter, Charlene, who grew up in Pound Ridge from 1958 to 1979. Charlene, who now lives in Brooklyn, wrote to us to share a few fond remembrances about growing up in her family home on Old Stone Hill Road.

“Where does one begin sifting through the memories from one’s youth in a town like Pound Ridge? What stands out the most?” The memories can be triggered by the scent of newly cut green grass, or a song that just came out. “What immediately comes to mind was the large, hilly field (owned and maintained by the Marshall family) beyond our backyard. I played out there with friends throughout the four seasons. During the warmth of the summer months, my friends and I would be out in the field playing with our Barbie’s, Kiddles and Trolls. We would share in a simple picnic-lunch packed by our moms. One time my friends and I tried fishing at the pond, but we gave up when we discovered we were squeamish about using worms as bait. At other times my beloved dog, Angel, and I would scamper around the field. There was a sense of quiet and peace. I loved climbing the trees that bordered the crumbling stonewalls of our property, and creating adventures in my mind. As I climbed higher and higher, my dear Angel would watch from below, waiting for when I’d finally descend and give her cuddles. When I reflect on my childhood perspective, it was a terrific time … full of hope.”

Ben Dann is back from the prestigious rowing competition at the Henley Royal Regatta on the beautiful Thames River in Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The regatta, which attracts some of the world’s most formidable rowers, lasts for 5 days (Wednesday to Sunday) over the first weekend in July. Races are head-to-head knock out competitions, raced over a course of 1 mile, 550 yards (2,112 m). The straight course takes approximately 7 minutes to complete, and starts are scheduled every 5 minutes, so there can be two races happening simultaneously.

As 4 Seat with the Brown frosh, he competed hard all semester, winning eastern sprints in order to make it to Henley. “It’s a two-boat elimination until it gets down to two; so the more successful you are, the longer you get to row. In the beginning we were one of 32 boats. The last time I rowed at Henley, we were in two races and creamed, so I got to tour around the town until Sunday. This time was totally different competition-wise. It was super competitive. Elimination rowing is intense. You row hard because you just want to win and hold up that Temple Challenge Cup. Brown made it to the finals against the Princeton lightweights. It was an honor to be on my school’s boat and an honor to compete at Henley. Being there was like knowing something really significant was taking placing in my life.”