REINMUTH JOAN

Arriving in Saugerties as a single parent with 3 kids in the 70's, Joan Reinmuth found herself in unknown territory with 2 acres of land and a house with no insulation. Supported by a community, she developed the philosophy of...

KIT EVERS

Kit Evers runs OUR (Old Used Rare) Bookshop out of his home - or more accurately, he runs his home out of his bookshop - on Partition Street in Saugerties village. In this interview, he discusses growing up the son...

MARTI RANDALL (PART TWO)

"On a lark, I started looking, researching...the more I looked, the more I found." In PART TWO of her interview, Marti discusses her research process rooted in her genealogy practice, historical findings and the contentious public and private debate around...

SUSAN MURPHY

“I would like to see people be inspired to live cooperatively, and balanced, sharing life, space, and resources..." Susan Murphy was a founding member of Saugerties’ Cantine’s Island Co-Housing Community. With a storyteller’s talent and passion for the concept of...

Safekeeping

Writing and how it helps you cope. And about learning to live with yourself

NANCY CAMPBELL

"You know that saying about doing something that scares you?" Nancy Campbell has left no corner of Saugerties untouched by her DIY approach. She has been an owner of a gallery downtown, served on the town board and acted as...

My Jamaican Mother

This is a spoken poem of my moms coming to America story.

LANNY WALTER

“It’s my nature to be involved. I’m always up for a good challenge.” If there is a worthwhile cause in the town of Saugerties, Lanny Walter will get involved. Emerging from an activist family, it was a natural move for...

TAD RICHARDS (PART ONE)

When Tad Richards' mother remarried, it was to man named Harvey Fite, who lived in a house with no electricity or running water, dominated by a mountain view and a pile of rubble. That was unique enough living arrangement, but...

JOE + JEANETTE SAUER (PART ONE)

Tenacity and an unwavering work ethic define the life of a farmer. At 92 years of age, Joe Sauer planted over 1,000 onion plants this past year. “Over the course of a few days,” he qualified. As if one could...

JOE + JEANETTE SAUER (PART TWO)

A dry year scares you to death; a wet year starves you to death. The short answer is, there is no typical year in farming. It’s a year of hard work and hope. Joe explains the economics of making ends...

Steve Desroches and Rod Vaughan

Steve Desroches (47) and Rod Vaughan (50) talk about Vaughan's background in opera performance and blue grass music, particularly as a banjo player, and how that morphed into the unusual band the Electric Milk Machine in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

PATRICK BUONFIGLIO

"If it's hard, you have to try harder." Not only was Patrick Buonfiglio (or Mr. B as he is affectionately called by his students), a willing and happy student in Saugerties, but he was an avid and active participant in...

RICHARD FRISBIE (that’s “ie”)

“I figured I would get old, tweedy and sit in an old chair and read every day.” Richard grew up in a tight-knit family that dominated the hamlet of Veteran and made it possible for his mother to raise five...

The Story of Maureen Allgrove

An interview with my grandmother, Maureen Allgrove including a description of her life in Jamaica, her wonderful childhood, her career, her hopes for her children, and grandchildren. In this interview she will also discuss her proposal and some Jamaican culture...

TAD RICHARDS (PART TWO)

Tad tells us about taking stewardship over Opus 40 in the wake of his mother's sudden death. The early days of navigating an Earthwork and a young nonprofit. Stories about the evolution of the concert series and some of its...

GREG HELSMOORTEL

All his life, he has been front and center in this community. After 16 years in office as Town Supervisor, Greg Helsmoortel has decided to slow down and retire. As a community-oriented leader, his goal has always been to push...

RICKIE TAMAYO

The TAMAYO's lovingly restored this building. "As the restaurant grew we kept renovating, but the beautiful bar and bowling alley are intact." Combine the love of renovation, cooking, and community and you have the making of a town gem. Careful...

KEN SNYDER

Ken Snyder is a seventh generation Saugertiesian farmer. The evolution of a farm over 250 years in Saugerties. The Snyders arrived in Saugerties around 1750 and have grown a succession of crops on the family farm. Woodstock 94 used part...

DONNA MEHALAK

If one man's trash is another one's treasure, Donna grew up in a very rich family. Donna Mehalak describes growing up in the heyday of boardinghouses and bungalows of West Saugerties. She discusses her family's trucking and trash hauling business,...

MICHAEL SULLIVAN SMITH (PART ONE)

"Once I got married, I had more than just a beagle to keep me warm. That winter, everyone started putting heat in." Michael Sullivan Smith moved to upstate New York in March 1969 into a crumbling resort with no heat,...