AMENIA — The Indian Rock Schoolhouse buzzed with activity on Saturday, Sept. 17, as hundreds of residents took part in activities at the 10th annual Amenia picnic and community day.This year’s theme was “A Tribute to Local Farmers.”Many farmers were on hand to help celebrate and to support two books written by Marvin Van Benschoten and Julian Strauss about the farms in the area.Dave Tetor, president of the New York State Agricultural Society, was on hand to give a talk about the strong agricultural history of the Harlem Valley and to discuss how farming in the area has evolved over the years.The morning began with a walk-a-thon fundraiser for juvenile diabetes. Roughly 75 people took part and raised more than $6,000 for the cause.One of the walk-a-thon organizers, Serena Simmons, said it’s important to fund research to find the cure because juvenile diabetes is a terrible disease with serious side-effects, which include the loss of limbs and death.“It affects a true love of mine, one of my children,” said Simmons of her 13-year-old daughter, Amanda Simmons.“Soon we’ll find a cure for you, darling, and many, many others,” she said, stroking Amanda’s hair.Amanda was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when she was 7 years old. That was the same year she participated in her first walk-a-thon.Saturday was Amanda’s sixth walk-a-thon. She walked two miles and raised around $500. She said that she participates in the fundraisers to help find a cure for the disease so that other kids won’t have to deal with diabetes.Elsewhere on the Indian Rock Schoolhouse grounds, more than a dozen groups and vendors set up tents offering their wares, freebies, raffle tickets and activities for the children.Youngsters flocked to the tents and pens that housed a small menagerie of four-legged creatures, including goats, ferrets, rabbits, small reptiles, a pony, a donkey, a sheep and a calf.A booth run by members of the 4-H club taught the children about different breeds of poultry and had several birds on hand for people to pet and interact with.People lounged on picnic tables while they ate chicken barbecue lunches and enjoyed the beautiful autumn sunshine and the sweet music played by Corey Bush & Friends.For dessert, there was a wide selection of pies sold by the slice.The pies were from the Best Pie in the Harlem Valley contest, which had a record number of entries.First place was won by Maureen Moore’s Peach Pie. Moore’s recipe will be published in the next Indian Rock Schoolhouse newsletter.Second place was won by Jeanette Platt for her Jazzy Fruit Pie, which included blueberries, peaches and apples in the filling.Third place was won by Gretchen Hitselbergen for her Autumn Pecan Pumpkin Pie.The money raised by the food sales will go to the Indian Rock Schoolhouse to fund the educational programs run throughout the year.Vicki Benjamin, an Indian Rock Schoolhouse trustee, spearheaded the event’s organization.She said she was pleased to see how the event has grown from a picnic into a large-scale community day, with attendance from neighboring towns as well.“It’s so great for people to come out and enjoy the day,” she said. “It’s a way to bring everyone together.”She was also happy with the support she received from the public and the farmers, who she sees as being very important for the community’s survival.Benjamin was also thankful for the help given by Ann Linden, Boy Scout Troop No. 29 and all of the volunteers who pitched in.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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