
Joe Rao
‘It is an experience every fiber of you gets involved in,” said Joe Rao of the phenomena of the total eclipse; it has “no rival for sheer drama and excitement.”
Rao has traveled “by land, sea, and air to hunt the total solar eclipse” for more than fifty years, he told attendees at a Zoom lecture hosted by the NorthEast-Millerton Library on Thursday, March 28; the result is that he has witnessed thirteen total eclipses in his life. Rao was chief meteorologist at News 12 in Westchester, New York, for 21 years and writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine and the Farmer’s Almanac and Space.com. He is also an instructor and guest lecturer at Hayden Planetarium in New York.
Rao’s lifelong fascination with the eclipse was inspired by his grandfather, who explained the phenomenon to him when Rao was just 7 years old, using his fist (the sun) and salt shaker (the moon) and pepper grinder (the earth) to show how the moon moves to block the sun. This was in preparation for the 90% partial eclipse of July of 1963; Rao remembers witnessing the crescent image of the sun.
In July of 1972, Joe’s grandfather drove Joe, his grandmother and other family members to a town in Canada called Cap-Chat on the Gaspe Peninsula, to see a total eclipse. Joe was able to see the corona around the moon’s shadow at that eclipse.
He said at that eclipse, “I’ve got to see another one of these.” He says he was “addicted” at that point.
There was a tour in 1977 that he and friend and fellow eclipse fanatic, Glenn Snyder organized to fund their own way to Columbia, South America. Their rickety old tour bus got stuck in mud. All twenty passengers pushed and freed the bus. They backtracked back to the original route and made it in time to see the total eclipse.
In 1979, he and Glenn organized another tour, this time to Lewistown, Montana, and took eighty people. The morning of the eclipse, Joe, now a meteorologist, got word that cloud cover was coming to Lewistown. They all got on the bus, drove an hour to the east, and found a field, free of cloud cover. From there they could view the eclipse.
The year 1990 brought another eclipse. Rao got the idea of viewing it from an airplane. He contacted American Trans Air and asked them if flight 402 from Honolulu to San Francisco could be delayed forty-one minutes in order to intersect with the eclipse. They agreed. A further complication occurred when another plane got in front of them for takeoff. The delay would cost them the view of the eclipse, so the captain lowered the plane to another altitude and sped up. They got to view the eclipse.
In 1991, Rao was hired by a cruise ship to pick the best spot to view the eclipse for an eclipse cruise. The problem this time was that a volcano which had erupted in the Philippines was causing a haze of volcanic ash. They were able to find a hole in the haze and cloud cover forty nautical miles away and the two cruise ships, filled with eclipse seekers, got to it in time.
Joe Rao was hired for another cruise in 1998 to view the eclipse near the island of Monserrat.
An eclipse near the North Pole in 2008 presented the problem of how to get to see it, until his friend Glenn Snyder was hired by the German airline, AirEvents/Deutsche Polarflug. This time it was Snyder who petitioned the airline to intersect the eclipse and got his friend Rao onboard. Rao wrote about the flight for Natural History magazine; “Shades of Glory” later won a prize from the American Astronomical Society.
In 2016, Joe convinced Alaska Airlines to delay a flight for twenty-five minutes to view the eclipse taking place that year seven hundred miles north of Honolulu.
In 2021, he and his wife, Renata journeyed to Antarctica to see the eclipse.
This time, Rao said he might go to Syracuse or Plattsburg for the eclipse of next Monday, April 8. He said this one is “knocking at our back door.” He added, “Get in your car and travel up route I-87 north to Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Saratoga Springs or Montreal.” He said it should be on “everyone’s bucket list.”
Those who do travel north should be aware there could be heavy traffic and delays.
Rao said for those who stay in this area on April 8, there will not be a total eclipse but about a 91 percent eclipse. The corona around the sun will not be visible. The eclipse will begin around 2:12 in Millerton, with the “maximum effect” around 3:26 and it will be over by 4:37 in the afternoon. He said there will be a “counterfeit twilight and the sky will turn a dusky shade of blue.”
To view the eclipse safely eclipse glasses are needed. Regular sunglasses are not safe and will not keep out ultraviolet and infrared light. The glasses should have a tag with an ISO number and be made of polymer or mylar.
Rhiannon Leo-Jameson, director of the North-East Millerton Library, said area residents could stop in the library for a pair of eclipse glasses.
Jan. 27 marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. I traveled to Poland as part of a delegation for the commemoration and spent a few days before the event with my father and sister learning, remembering and gathering information.
My dad’s parents, Miriam and Yehuda, of blessed memory, were deported to Auschwitz -Birkenau from the Lódz Ghetto. They both had families that perished and met each other after the camp was liberated.
The gate at Auschwitz. Natalia Zukerman
I put my feet in the train tracks where they would have arrived, ran my hands across the walls of the horrible gas chambers, the broken wood of the crowded bunks, gathered dirt in my shoes where they would have walked, and made sure to touch the trunks of the trees along the path—innocent witnesses.
My father’s parents survived. How did they do it? Miriam was quickly sent to a work camp on the Czech border, and Yehuda played violin in the Auschwitz orchestra (aka the Death Orchestra). Music saved him. A million miracles saved them both.
Many members of our extended family did not survive.
Suitcases taken from prisoners at Auschwitz.Natalia Zukerman
Cuikerman was the original Polish spelling of our name. We poured over page after page of our name in the Book of Names. I can’t explain it, but as I read the names—aloud and quietly—I felt some of their spirits finally release.
Innocent witnesses.
I never wanted to come to Auschwitz-Birkenau. I grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust. It was part of our dark story. From the time I was very little, I saw all the images, watched the movies, read the books. I’ve had nightmares my whole life. I remember the tattoo on my grandmother’s forearm. This was enough.
But until you stand in the field the size of a city and look out at the expanse of crematoria, gas chambers, bunkers, the enormity and scale is just a story, words on a page. Now I have metabolized it in a different way. Now it is part of my DNA on a deeper level. Now I am changed.
A crematorium at Auschwitz.Natalia Zukerman
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, world leaders from fifty countries—including King Charles, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau and so many more— gathered with survivors and their families, musicians, friends and patrons of the organization in an enormous tent at the entrance to Birkenau. A freight train stood in front of the main gate. The car, from Germany, honors the 420,000 Hungarian Jews deported in 1944. Its conservation was funded by Frank Lowy, whose father, Hugo, was killed in the camp.
It radiated with horror in almost theatrical lighting, its now silenced whistle audible in the memories of all who gathered.
I listened to survivor after survivor speak. I watched as each world leader lit candles in remembrance. I said Kaddish (the Jewish prayer for the dead) with the several thousand people present.
But I only heard one person, 99-year-old Polish-born Swedish-Jewish doctor Leon Weintraub, utter any words that made sense to me, to my very fragile and shaken heart. He became a doctor after the war and told the group gathered the one absolute truth: there is only one race—the human race. He talked about the fact that under the skin, we are the same, words that were beyond powerful. In the very place where the most evil “experiments” were conducted to prove the supremacy of the Aryan race, this man stood there in all his beautiful bravery and told the truth. He was able, for a moment, to remove a hierarchy of care and replace it with an expansive, human appeal. He brought the memory of all the people killed, not just the Jews when he said, “be sensitive to all manifestations of intolerance and dislike of those who differ in terms of skin color, religion or sexual orientation.” He widened the conversation, lest we also forget the Romani, queer, disabled, dissidents and more that were also victims of the Nazis. Lest we forget the lesson of Gandhi when he said, “intolerance itself is a form of violence.”
Weintraub ended by saying, “allowing the memory of millions of innocent victims to fade would be equivalent to robbing them of their lives a second time.”
Shoes taken from prisoners.Natalia Zukerman
There are multiple genocides on planet earth right now. There are humans in actual concentration camps as I write this. There are whole populations being murdered.
After this experience, more than ever, I vow to speak the truth as loudly and as often as I can.
Speaking up, questioning and protesting is not only not antisemitism, it defines the core principles of what it means to be Jewish.
A beautiful Jewish human named Albert Einstein said, “Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”
This must and will be my task. Nothing else makes any sense.
Prisoners slept four to a bunk at Birkenau.Natalia Zukerman
Dina La Fonte
The “sober curious” movement has gained momentum in recent years, encouraging individuals to explore life without alcohol—whether for health reasons, personal growth, or simple curiosity. Dina La Fonte, a certified recovery coach, is the Senior Business Affairs Associate at Mountainside, an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center with a holistic approach to wellness that has several locations, including the one in Canaan, Connecticut. With nearly five years of sobriety, La Fonte blends professional expertise with lived experience, making her a powerful advocate for recovery.
Like many, La Fonte’s path to recovery was not just about removing alcohol; it was about rediscovering herself. “Once you get sober from a substance, whether it’s alcohol, drugs, gambling or what have you, emotional aspects of change come into place,” she explained. “It’s not a hard stop; it’s a continued process of integration and struggle.” Her own journey has led her to a career in recovery coaching, allowing her to help others find their own path.
“What I love about my work at Mountainside is that it allows me to be who I am without forcing me into a mold,” she said. “In recovery, we identify our authentic voice, establish boundaries, and clarify what we truly want.”
La Fonte explained that the rise of the “sober curious” movement may reflect a cultural shift in how we approach alcohol and self-care. La Fonte attributes this change to open conversations that break down stigma. “Even five or six years ago, admitting you had a problem came with embarrassment,” she said. “Now, the more we discuss it, the more people realize they’re not alone.” This newfound openness has perhaps made it easier for some individuals to explore sobriety and even do so without the pressure of a lifelong commitment.
Beyond emotional well-being, La Fonte also noted the physical benefits of sobriety. “It wasn’t immediate, but after a year, I noticed my skin clearing up, my energy improving, and my confidence growing,” she recalled. “Casual drinking dehydrates the skin, affects sleep, and contributes to inflammation. When people realize how much better they feel without alcohol, they want to hold onto that.”
In her role at Mountainside, La Fonte has expanded beyond coaching to influence organization-wide initiatives. “I still work directly with clients, but now I also help evolve how we support them,” she said. “Mountainside takes a holistic approach—integrating yoga, grief therapy, sound baths, and more. It’s not about pushing people through a system; it’s about meeting them where they are.”
La Fonte uses her social media platform as a “micro-influencer” to promote sober living and wellness. “I focus on positivity in sobriety—whether it’s skincare, self-care, or mental health. I test vegan and cruelty-free products, but I only promote what aligns with my values.”
For those exploring sobriety, La Fonte’s message is simple: “I’m not here to judge. I’m here to help.” She encourages open conversations and meeting people where they are. “If you’re curious about sobriety, let’s talk. I don’t need to know you to be proud of you. I don’t need to know you to love you. I already love you.Just reaching out is a huge step.”
With voices like La Fonte’s leading the conversation, perhaps the sober curious movement is more than a trend—it’s a cultural shift redefining what it means to live fully and authentically.
To contact Dina La Fonte, email her at dina.lafonte@mountainside.com, explore the Mountainside website at mountainside.com, or follow La Fonte on Instagram @dinalafonte
James Shay signed copies of his book “Mohawk Mountain Skl Area: The Birth of Snowmaking” after a talk at Hotchkiss Library of Sharon Feb. 2.
The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon hosted local author James Shay Feb. 2 for a talk on his new book “Mohawk Mountain Ski Area: The Birth of Snowmaking.”
The book follows the life of Mohawk founder Walt Schoenknecht and his important contributions to the sport of skiing.
The evening presentation was delivered to an engaged audience of skiing fans in the library’s main room. Shay began his talk with a few photographs of views from the top of Mohawk Mountain, showing distant mountain ranges, uniquely eroded rock faces and structures that still stand from the times of the revolutionary war.
Shay showed pamphlets, posters and original hand drawn maps and designs from when Mohawk first opened in 1947.
Shay spoke about the life of Walt Shoenknecht, the main subject of his book. Shoenknecht founded the Mohawk ski trails in 1947, leasing the land in 1946 and spending $45,000 on the construction of the ski area.
In Mohawk’s second season, Mohawk did not get any snow and resorted to ordering several tons of ice blocks, crushing them and spreading them on the slopes. This process was time consuming, costly and overall a worse experience than real snow. From this season, Shoenknecht got the idea to look into snowmaking.Shoenknecht enlisted the help of the TEY Manufacturing company, run by Wayne Pierce, Dave Richey and Art Hunt. The three engineers used the research of Ray Ringer to build the first snow making machines. These machines were brought to Mohawk and are the first documented case of a trial run of the snow making machine.
TEY ended up filing the first patent for these devices, and snow machines were installed on the mountain. The machines continued to develop and evolve up through the 1980’s and today there are one hundred modern snow machines on the slopes of Mohawk.
Shoenknecht was inducted into the skiing hall of fame in 1979 for his many contributions to the sport introduced in his ski areas on Mohawk and Mount Snow in Vermont. Today, Shoenkneckt’s daughter Carol Lugar remains the president of Mohawk as one of the few remaining family-owned ski areas in the United States.