All hands on deck at FFA store

FALLS VILLAGE — Wednesday, Nov. 30, was the first of two production nights for the Housatonic Valley FFA chapter at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.

FFA members plus faculty and parents (often FFA alums) turned out to make wreaths for sale in the FFA holiday store.

Tim Downs gave Mumyn Aiuba a tutorial on how to trim greens so they can be bunched together and then assembled into wreaths.

Aiuba, a junior and an exchange student from Mozambique, is staying with the Downs family in Falls Village.

Jennifer Markow ‘93 and son Simon were busy wrapping bunches of greens with green wire.

Mackenzie Casey joined them, and between wraps gave a quick rundown of what the FFA does with the proceeds from the sale of trees, wreaths, poinsettas and sundries.

The holiday store proceeds represent a significant chunk of the organization’s budget.

The money goes to events such as the FFA national convention, to cover travel and lodging.

Other uses include an alumni dinner, scholarships, donations to food banks, and field trips.

A second production night is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m.

FFA members past and present trimmed greens and made wreaths. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

FFA members past and present trimmed greens and made wreaths. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

FFA members past and present trimmed greens and made wreaths. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

FFA members past and present trimmed greens and made wreaths. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

FFA members past and present trimmed greens and made wreaths. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan
Related Articles Around the Web

Latest News

East Canaan's CowPots to face the 'Sharks'

Amanda Freund of East Canaan will appear on the television show "Shark Tank" on April 4 to pitch CowPots.

Photo by Ruth Epstein

CANAAN — Fans of the television show “Shark Tank,” stay tuned. On Friday, April 4, Amanda Freund of East Canaan will be facing the panel, imploring members to invest in her unique product: cow poop.

Freund and her father Matthew Freund produce and market CowPots, which are made from the abundance of manure found on their dairy farm. Matthew Freund, realizing cows were producing more manure — 100 pounds per cow per day — than was needed for fertilizing fields for crops, came up with the concept of the pots. Years of trial-and-error experimentation finally resulted in success. In 2006 he began selling the biodegradable pots using 100% composted manure to local stores. Now the pots can be found in outlets across the country, as well as internationally.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss lacrosse ices Kingswood Oxford 19-0

LAKEVILLE — The Hotchkiss School opened the girls varsity lacrosse season with a big win in the snow against Kingswood Oxford School.

The Bearcats won 19-0 in a decisive performance March 26. Twelve different players scored for Hotchkiss, led by Coco Sheronas with four goals.

Keep ReadingShow less
HVRHS releases second quarter honor roll

FALLS VILLAGE — Principal Ian Strever announces the second quarter marking period Honor Roll at Housatonic Valley Regional High School for the 2024-2025 school year.

Highest Honor Roll

Grade 9: Parker Beach (Cornwall), Mia Belter (Salisbury), Lucas Bryant (Cornwall), Addison Green (Kent), Eliana Lang (Salisbury), Alison McCarron (Kent), Katherine Money (Kent), Mira Norbet (Sharon), Abigail Perotti (North Canaan), Karmela Quinion (North Canaan), Owen Schnepf (Wassaic), Federico Vargas Tobon (Salisbury), Emery Wisell (Kent).

Keep ReadingShow less
Thomas Ditto

ANCRAMDALE — Thomas Ditto of Ancramdale, born Thomas David DeWitt Aug. 11, 1944 in New York City changing his surname to Ditto at marriage, passed peacefully on Pi Day, March 14, 2025. He was a husband, father, artist, scientist, Shakespeare scholar, visionary, inventor, actor, mime, filmmaker, clown, teacher, lecturer, colleague, and friend. Recipient of numerous grants, awards and honors in both the arts and sciences, a Guggenheim and NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts fellow, he was a creative genius beyond his time. In addition to authoring scores of papers, he held several patents and invented the first motion capture system and the Ditto-scope, a radically new kind of telescope. He was a pioneer in computer generated video, film, and performance.

When not hard at work, he was always there to help when needed and he knew how to bring smiles to faces. He loved his family and pets and was supportive of his wife’s cat rescue work.

Keep ReadingShow less