Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Betty Silbert

CORNWALL — Betty Silbert, 85, of Cornwall Bridge, died Oct. 8, 2019, at Noble Horizons in Salisbury. She was surrounded by her loving family.

Betty was born in Lamar, Colo.,where she lived until age 12, when she moved east, living first in Cornwall, where she graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School, then New York City, where she married and had her children, and then back to Cornwall where she has lived since the late 1970s.

She had so many interests.  First, in the footsteps of her scientist parents, she worked in laboratories as a technician.  She then became a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician for 10 years with the Cornwall Fire Department. She also gave of herself as an aide to older female Cornwall residents. Most recently, she volunteered her time at the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA), loving the camaraderie and dedication to its cause.  

Throughout many of these years and alongside these other interests, she was always very involved with the Cornwall Woman’s Society, attending meetings, and participating annually in its rummage sale fundraiser, helping to organize the ‘metals’ department.

Her love of animals and her family have been a constant source of gratification.

She is survived by her daughters, Joanne and Donna, and their husbands, Tom and Kevin; five grandchildren, Matthew, Steven and Peter, and Bennett and Claire; and by her ex-husband and friend, Dr. Robert Silbert, all of whom she loved deeply and who will all miss her dearly.

A graveside service will be held Saturday, Oct. 19, at 11 a.m. at the Cornwall Cemetery on Route 4. A memorial luncheon will follow at Fife ’n Drum in Kent. All are welcome to attend both.  A headcount for the lunch will be appreciated so please RSVP for the lunch to Donna Silbert at docsilbert@hotmail.com.

Memorial donations may be made to the Cornwall Woman’s Society, P.O. Box 124, Cornwall, CT  06753; The Little Guild for Animals, 285 Sharon-Goshen Turnpike, West Cornwall, CT 06796; or the HVA, P.O. Box 28, 150 Kent Road, Cornwall Bridge, CT 06754.

Betty’s positive spirit will always be remembered and will be deeply missed by family and friends.

Arrangements are under the care of the Kenny Funeral Home in Sharon. 

Latest News

Slow fashion takes the runway at Stone Ridge Orchard

The organic runway at HVSFW puts sustainable style among the apple trees at Stone Ridge Orchard.

Jay Ballesteros

Fast fashion has made it possible to buy the latest trend almost as quickly as it appears on social media. The environmental cost, however, is anything but fleeting. Fashion production accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions, consumes enormous quantities of water and energy, and an estimated 85% of textiles end up in landfills each year. Synthetic fabrics also shed microplastics when washed.

So what would happen if we slowed things down?

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Schneider and the magic of marbling
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
It’s a joyful process. —Susan Schneider

A beautiful September morning found Susan Schneider of Shandell’s working in her Ashley Falls home studio, while linen cocktail napkins she had marbled the day before hung on a line outside her back door. Her helpers, dogs Daisy and Stubbs, are never far from her.

“Marbling,” Schneider explained, “the art of floating paint on a liquid and printing it on a medium, has been around for hundreds of years.”

Keep ReadingShow less

Through the lens of war

Through the lens of war

“Omaha Beach Rescue, D-Day +1, Normandy, June 7, 1944.” one of the best-known photographs of D-Day.

Walter Rosenblum

Longtime Norfolk resident Nina Rosenblum will present her award-winning documentary, “They Fight With Cameras,” on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 6:30 p.m. at the Norfolk Library.

The film tells the story of her father, decorated U.S. Army Signal Corps combat cameraman Walter Rosenblum.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Brian Gersten finds the story in the overlooked

Filmmaker Brian Gersten

D.H. Callahan

At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, award-winning filmmaker Brian Gersten will screen four short documentaries at the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village, exploring obscure topics such as a lingering territorial dispute between the United States and Canada, a nationwide toilet paper panic sparked by a late-night joke, the infamous “Balloon Boy” saga and the history of bowling in America.

The Chicago-raised, Millerton-based filmmaker has worked as an editor on feature-length documentaries like the cycling film “Enter the Slipstream” and Netflix’s profile on author Tom Wolfe, “Radical Wolfe.” In 2025, “Why We Dream,” a film he edited about bringing D-Day veterans back to the beaches of Normandy, premiered aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid in New York City. When it comes to directing, Gersten’s own interests focus more on the underappreciated and unremembered, as the four short films he directed will demonstrate.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sharon artist takes top prize at Lime Rock art show
Muriel Stockdale, left, and judge Roger McKee during the awards announcement at the juried art show at Trinity Episcopal Church. Stockdale\u2019s \u201cKevin\u201d was the second place winner.
Patrick L. Sullivan

The annual juried art show at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock was won by Mi-Kyung Hwang of Sharon for “Wild Hazelnut from Eggleston.”

The winners were announced at the show’s opening reception at the church Friday evening, Sept. 18.

Keep ReadingShow less
From Woodstock to the Warner, Graham Nash is still singing for peace

Graham Nash brings a career-spanning retrospective to the Warner Theatre in Torrington on Sept. 30, joined by Todd Caldwell, Adam Minkoff and Zack Djanikian.

Misti Layne

Imagine stepping out onto a stage in front of hundreds of thousands of tired, wet and weary strangers with a lineup of songs they’ve never heard before. If you’re Graham Nash, who will perform with his current band at the Warner Theatre in Torrington on Sept. 30, you don’t have to imagine. You only have to remember.

The legendary Woodstock music festival was only the second concert Nash played with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Nash had already formed Crosby, Stills & Nash, releasing their debut album earlier that year. Theirs was a sound both new and nostalgic when it hit the scene in the late 1960s, and, thanks in part to the success all three members had had with previous bands, they instantly found a wide and willing audience.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.