RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town" - Dec. 27, 2009

"TALK OF THE TOWN"
By Bonni Brodnick

Pound Ridge is alight with holiday glow after last weekend’s nor’ easter that brought several inches of snow. In an excerpted letter from my book, Pound Ridge Past: Remembrances of Our Townsfolk, Joseph D. Quillian, Jr., the Community Church pastor (from 1946-50) wrote: “I always remember with great warmth, and a sense of lift of spirit, the Christmas Eve services at Pound Ridge Church. Frequently, we would have had a beautiful snowfall that evening. On either side of the front of the white church were two trees decorated with blue lights. Inside, there were candles and beautiful crystal chandeliers. The service consisted of Christmas scriptures intermingled with solos and duets, and my brief sermon. We always started at 11 o’clock and concluded on the stroke of midnight, at which time one of the parishioners went over to ring the only bell in town, which was at the Presbyterian Church [now Conant Hall]. As he rang the church bell, people left the Pound Ridge Church. Many of them would have come from formal parties and were dressed in evening clothes.”

At a holiday gathering at the Town House, A. William Schelling (Billy), who is retiring as head of the Highway Department, was honored for his exemplary service. Supervisor Gary Warshauer commended Billy and his nearly 40 years of service to our town both as an employee and as “an amazing volunteer.” Billy was always there, 24/7, for everyone. We wish him a future filled with all the best.

Supervisor Warshauer also thanked Town Housers Joanne Pace and Marianne Vitelli for coordinating the party. (Evelyn Olsen, former executive assistant to the Supervisor, was there to relax this year.) He remembered two townsfolk who passed away this year: Anne Aldridge, whose gracious demeanor represented our town well whenever you called or walked into the Town House; and Leonard Scofield, a tenth generation Pound Ridger (and Gary Warshauer’s high school math teacher) who served in many civic capacities, including chairman of the zoning board of appeals and deputy town supervisor. A tree will be planted in memory of Anne and Leonard this spring.

Six days and counting to New Year’s Eve 2010. Whether you’re hosting or attending a party, you might as well go completely nuts. Bobbysue’s Nuts are plain and simply … scrumptious. Addictive, even. Made from organic nuts (almonds, cashews and pecans), egg whites, sugar and spices, varieties include “Nuts,” “It’s Raining Chocolate,” and the spicy “Some Like it Hot.” Another delicious part is that a portion of every nut dollar from each jar sold goes to fund the SPCA no-kill animal shelter in Briarcliff Manor.

The founding of Bobbysue’s Nuts is a kooky story. Pound Ridger Deb Mehne and Barb Kobren (from Briarcliff Manor) were serving on the board of the SPCA when they met Sue Spiegel (Armonk) while she was making a film about the dog shelter. “Our three like-minds share a love of cooking, great food, deep concern for our environment and an abiding stewardship for the homeless animal population, particularly those in our care at the SPCA,” said Deb. “Our aged facility in Briarcliff provides as adequate a shelter as possible, but it was originally built in 1883 and needs many repairs. After years of traditional fundraising, we decided to bring our dreams to fruition and launched our passion to one day fund the building of a new animal shelter.” And so it came to pass that Bobbysue's Nuts! was born. The seed work began in 2008, and the entrepreneurial enterprise was launched in April 2009 at the SPCA Walk-a-thon, of course. Where can you buy this savory potion that goes for $9.99 for an 8-oz. jar? Go to www.bobbysuesnuts.com or find them locally at Bedford Gourmet, Table Local Market (Bedford Hills), Mt. Kisco Seafood and Ladle of Love (Mount Kisco).

We wish all of our readers a very Merry Christmas!

THE RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town"

By BONNI BRODNICK

“I should have known better than to leave Pound Ridge for Hee-Hawville,” said Larry Greene, proprietor of L.H. Greene, Inc. Florist, Antiques and Objects, after returning from Michigan. “I have a heck of a lot of nice customers here. It’s great to be back in town.” His full-service flower shop also offers an eclectic selection of French, English, Italian, African and Chinese antiques, vases and other objets d’art. And the artful owner can make a lamp out of anything—from tea tins, antique wagon wheels, candlesticks, pots and horns.

“Our style has a traditional look. Not modern and jazzy. It’s sort of ‘uptown/downtown, East meets West,” he said as he held up a Rothschild Lily and a Zinnia. For the holiday season, he has a beautiful selection of amaryllis, which has become increasingly popular, undoubtedly because the bulbs bloom freely indoors. They aren’t difficult to grow, and if the plants are treated correctly, they can be brought into bloom every year. The large, showy flowers make a bold statement and are available in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.

“We have three in a pot, with second-stems coming up, so you’ll get quite a long while out of them,” he continued. His amaryllis presentation features ivy and moss, and are surrounded by a hand-made wooden lattice made from twigs found on walks in the woods. “The lattice has a double-purpose: it’s good-looking and it supports the plant,” Larry said. L.H. Greene, Inc., Florist, Antiques & Objects is located at 40 Westchester Ave., on the right as you’re going to New Canaan. Tel: 764-5263. Along with great banter with Larry, you’re sure to get a warm welcome from the shop’s “watch dogs,” Bazzil and Oliver, two adorable Norwich terrier brothers who gently, but firmly, rule the roost.

More local shopping to avoid the utter insanity of shopping malls at this time of year: Along with Cabot’s cloth-bound cheddar from Vermont, Stiltons, and other standbys like Pierre Robert Triple Crème and Ossau from France, or Manchego from Spain, Plum Plums Cheese on Westchester Avenue has Rogue River Blue delivered fresh from Oregon. The cheese, which is wrapped in grape leaves soaked in pear brandy, is only available this time of year since most of the year it’s aging. You’ll also has teas, honeys, jams, Pannettones, organic hand-scrubs, kitchen towels by Jacquard, and Voluspa Candles that sound good enough to eat/smell/sip. They come in Black Chanterelle and Cardamom Flower; Brut champagne, almonds and oak; Satsuma tangerine and lemon; Ruby port, mission, fig and star anise, have a 16-hour burning time so you can be sure your gift-recipient will remember you for at least that long. And if you need an intellectual surge, try Susie’s Smart Cookies. Let shopkeeper Wendy Marilee help you find the perfect gift. For more info on store hours, etc. give a call to 764-1525.

Happy Hanukkah! Despite the rain last Sunday night, a group of hearty Pound Ridgers gathered in the Town Park for the first town-wide menorah-lighting to celebrate Hanukkah. The eight-day festival celebrates the triumph of light over darkness. It’s customary to eat food made with oil, such as latkes (or potato pancakes) to commemorate the miracle of the small amount of oil that lasted for eight days. A traditional activity for the children is spinning the dreidel (or top). A few Hanukkah tidbits: Dreidels can also be spun upside down. The longest spin on record was set by Hall Graham on December 1998 at Woodstock High School in Georgia. The dreidel spun for an impressive 2 hours, 15 minutes and 11 seconds.

It’s a pleasure to hear from our readers, and we appreciate your sending in story ideas, personal updates, town happenings, and other worthwhile/interesting/fun dish. Please keep in mind that the “Talk of the Town” column closes the Friday before the following Friday’s edition of the “Record-Review.” Send info to me at towntalk@optonline.net and remember … the column closes on Friday before for the next Friday’s edition. (Did I just say that twice?)

Bedford/Pound Ridge RECORD-REVIEW: "Talk of the Town" /

"Talk of the Town"

By Bonni Brodnick


Notice some town swaggery going on? The Pound Ridge Garden Club has once again added their seasonal flair by hanging evergreen swags to road signs throughout town. Along with the snowstorm over the weekend, the swags make our beautiful town look like it is straight out of a page from Courier and Ives. We are truly blessed to live in what author Jay Harris called Pound Ridge, “God’s Country.”

Carrie Sears, master gardener and Horticulture Chair of the Pound Ridge Garden Club, offers a few good tips for holiday evergreens: if you are buying a cut tree, hold it upright by the trunk, raise it off the ground, and tap the cut-end once or twice on the ground. Choose varieties that are known to last a long time, e.g. Scotch or White pine; or Balsam, Fraser, Nobel, White or Douglas firs. “When buying evergreens, look for dark or bright green, flexible branches that are holding their needles,” advises Carrie. “Store greens that you can’t use right away outside or in an unheated garage; and keep them covered and moist. For outdoor roping, use White pine or Hemlock. For indoor roping, use white pine.” And remember that Holly leaves will dry out, but do not drop, so be sure to keep candles away. Post-holidays, use cut greens as a protective cover (mulch) for flower beds, and then remove them (the protective cover) in the spring.

Baked Chatham Bay Cod topped with crushed salt cod, olive oil, garlic, potatoes, and a leek fondue Zinfandel sauce. Or how about Braised Beef Short Rib with a parsnip mascarpone puree and pinot noir sauce. Hungry? North Star Restaurant co-owners Philip Maniatty and David Schlack are pleased to announce this and more on their new holiday menu. And if you’re looking for a night-on-the-town beyond Saturday, North Star continues to do their half-price bottles of wine every Tuesday night, and have added “Acoustic Wednesdays” as well. The music starts at 8 p.m. and is low-volume and cool.

“We tap local talent, most of whom find us, and I must say, they are all excellent,” said Phil. Two guys in one of the groups are Yale music students. Another, Andrew Bordeaux, an extraordinary singer as well as guitar and violin player, graduated Harvard a couple years ago. And then, of course, there is Andy Aledort, who is Dickey Betts' (Allman Brothers) guitar player, who also plays North Star “Acoustic Wednesdays,” the Holy Grail for acoustic music lovers. And don’t forget Dennis Collins, who sings every Sunday night from 6:30-9:30. He just appeared on “Saturday Night Live” singing in a skit. This all sounds delicious and fun. To make a rez, call North Star at 764-0200.

Remember to shop local this holiday season. Scotts Corners is a-buzz with wonderful shops that offer the uniquely unique in gift giving. Topiary: The Flower Shop, next to Phil’s barbershop, has beautiful gifts from $25 and up. Beautifully wrapped cabbage and artichoke candles are terrific hostess gifts. Victorian orbs made with cedar, blue spruce and pinecones are elegant for porches or any sort of outside overhang. And the roses, oh, the roses. Sandy Wellons, owner, has varieties to thrill the recipient. Try Cherry Brand High, Big Fun, Hot Lady (shocking pink), Eilsa (a peachy spray rose on a stem), Mambo Orange, and a new long-lasting rose called Rannanucula. Call Topiary at 764-1154.

“Aunt Edna's Brownies,” “Molasses Crinkles,” “Candy Cane Cookies,” “Frosted Cut-Outs,” “Bourbon Balls,” “Coconut Lemon Melt-aways,” and “Expresso Thins.” These are just a few of the cookies from old family recipes that will be at the Pound Ridge Community Church Holiday Fair and Cookie Walk (Friday, Dec. 11 and Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) Between this, that and the swags (see first paragraph), you’re guaranteed to get in the holiday moment.
On a more somber note … Pound Ridge son and American patriot, Captain Eric A. Jones, a Marine pilot killed in a helicopter collision in Afghanistan in October, will be honored at a candlelight vigil at Fox Lane High School football field on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. Eric was 29 years old and a Fox Lane grad. Jackie Guidry, his fiancée from Houston, and Mike Warshaw, his best friend from Pound Ridge, will attend the lights on/lights off ceremony for the former football and lacrosse athlete. Bundle up the children and bring them along, too, so they can learn more about the valor of Captain Eric A. Jones, a true Pound Ridge hero.

RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town" - December 6, 2009

"TALK OF THE TOWN"
By Bonni Brodick


Maybe it’s the economy, but “Yankee Swap” seems to be a popular variation on gift giving this year. Each participant brings a wrapped, unmarked gift. Guests are given numbers as they arrive, or their names are randomly drawn, and they select and unwrap gifts from the pile in that order. The person who receives number 1 picks a gift from the pile and opens it for all to see. You’re allowed to inspect the gifts, pick them up and gently shake them. Person number 2 chooses a gift and opens it, then decides whether to keep or swap it for the first player’s gift. Each person, in order, then gets to select a present, open it and decide whether to keep it or swap it for any other gift someone has already opened. Finally, the person who picked first gets to choose from all the gifts or keep what he/she has already received. In the end, the gift you are holding is the gift you take home. (Having fun yet? Whatever ever happened to getting a gift, not liking it and keeping it just to be polite?)

The preschool children at Pound Ridge Community Church Play School (a nonsectarian, not-for-profit program) learn by doing. Whether it’s building with blocks, creating artwork with noodles or learning to sway to “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round,” the children are nurtured to work together. This Thanksgiving, they also learned about giving, and did so with generosity. More than 362 pounds of nonperishable foods were collected and donated to Community Center of Northern Westchester families. Added to the mix were some of the children’s favorite food items: apple juice, Goldfish, Teddy Grahams, and peanut butter and jelly. “The children were so excited and eager to help others,” said Kirstin Zarras, director of the Play School. “Many thanks to our Play School families for their support during the Thanksgiving food drive.”

Light it up! The official Pound Ridge tree lighting event takes place in front of the Pound Ridge firehouse on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 5 p.m. The Pound Ridge Business Association and our trustworthy Girl and Boy Scouts sponsor the gleeful seasonal ceremony. Jean Mazzilli will lead the caroling. If you believe in Santa Claus, don’t read further. Jose Helu will be standing in for the big guy himself, along with Sparky (a member of the Pound Ridge Fire Department.) Cookies, cocoa and other hot drinks will be served. Scotts Corners merchants Pinocchio’s Pizza will bring over fresh, hot zeppolis, and Oh, My Goodness! is providing hot cider. Children are invited bring a holiday-ish piece of artwork (8 1/2 by 11 inches) to be displayed in one of the Scotts Corners business windows through New Year’s. Between Bedford and Pound Ridge, terrific holiday bazaars are bountiful this month.

Save the dates Friday, Dec. 11, and Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the Pound Ridge Community Church Holiday Fair and Cookie Walk. This annual holiday activity is one-stop shopping for unique handmade gifts and a great way to try cookies that many of the Church families have been making for generations. You won’t want to miss Linda Clark’s Snowballs, made from an old family recipe. Ebie Wood and several of the other ladies have been making jams, jellies and chutneys. At the Holiday Fair you’ll also find beautifully painted Nativities created by www.Serrv.com, an organization seeking to eradicate poverty by providing opportunity and support to artisans and farmers worldwide.

More on the busy December calendar. On Sunday, Dec. 20, at 5:30 p.m., the Pound Ridge Library Foundation invites you to attend “Holiday Harmonies,” a special performance by the renowned Anthony Newman, America’s foremost organist, harpsichordist and Bach specialist. Touted by Time magazine as “The High Priest of the Harpsichord,” Mr. Newman has an impressive recording output of more than 170 CDS on such labels as CBS, SONY, Deutsche Grammaphon and Vox Masterworks. He has performed more than 60 times at Lincoln Center, and has collaborated with many of the greats, such as Itzhak Perlman, Eugenia Zukerman, John Nelson, Jean-Pierre Rampal, James Levine, Lorin Mazel and Leonard Bernstein. As a conductor, he has worked with such major chamber music orchestras as the St. Paul Chamber and the Scottish Chamber Orchestras. No less prodigious a composer, his works have been heard in Paris, Vienna, Budapest, Krakow, Warsaw, New York and London. His output includes four symphonies, four concerti, three large choral works and two operas. He has also received 26 consecutive composer’s awards from ASCAP and is on the Visiting Committee for the Department of Musical Instruments at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The upcoming "Holiday Harmonies" concert will feature four joyous sonatas by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and an original sonata in three movements by Mr. Newman. Take a moment out from holiday partying and shopping to enjoy a late afternoon of beautiful music. Tickets are $35 in advance/$40 at the door. Proceeds will benefit the capital campaign to enlarge and renovate one of our town’s greatest resources, Pound Ridge Library. For reservations and more information, call 764-5085.