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

Cornwall honors veterans with wreath ceremony

Cornwall honors veterans with wreath ceremony

Jean Bouteiller raises one of the wreaths as Bill Dinneen looks on during Saturday’s Wreaths Across America ceremony in Cornwall. Dinneen organized the event.

Ruth Epstein

CORNWALL — In a season devoted to celebrating the living, a hardy group gathered Saturday, Dec. 13, to honor those who served their country and have since passed.

Dozens made their way through the snow-covered Cornwall Cemetery, undeterred by light snowfall, to take part in the town’s first Wreaths Across America ceremony, organized by local resident Bill Dinneen. People of all ages attended, many noting that they had family members who served.

Wreaths Across America has a long tradition of placing holiday wreaths on veterans’ headstones in cemeteries nationwide. In his remarks, Dinneen said ceremonies are held in all 50 states, U.S. territories and 26 American cemeteries overseas. This year, he said, 7,600 locations are participating.

The ceremony began with a moment of silence for fallen veterans, followed by remarks from Dinneen.

“The freedoms we enjoy today have not come without a price. Lying here before us and in cemeteries throughout this nation are men and women who gave their lives so that we can live in freedom and without fear...Today, we show a unified front of gratitude and respect across the United States of America as we remember the fallen, honor those who serve and their families, and teach the next generation the value of freedom.”

Dinneen recognized the many veterans in attendance who had answered the call to serve their country, thanking them and saying it was an honor to know them.

Nine ceremonial wreaths were on the ground in front of Dinneen and he asked individuals to come up and place them each on a stand. They represented the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, merchant marine, first responders and all POWs and MIAs.

Dinneen encouraged those in attendance to go and place a wreath on a veteran’s grave, say the name aloud and take a moment to thank them for their service. “It’s a small act that goes a long way toward keeping the memory of our veterans alive,” he said.

He had raised enough funds to sponsor 175 wreaths. An additional 85 wreaths were added to the Cornwall Cemetery order and those were placed on Sunday at the North Cornwall Cemetery.

“I have sponsorships coming in already for next year,” said Dinneen. “Fantastic! I am so humbled.”

The Cornwall Cemetery is home to graves of veterans going as far back as the Revolutionary War.

Ruth Epstein
holidays

Latest News

Sharon voters split opioid settlement funds between ambulance, regional programs

Sharon voters split opioid settlement funds between ambulance, regional programs

Sharon voters approved splitting $24,000 in opioid settlement funds at an Aug. 27 town meeting.

Alec Linden

SHARON — Sharon voters unanimously approved splitting $24,000 in opioid settlement funds between the town’s ambulance service and a regional fund supporting addiction prevention, harm reduction and mental health services.

The decision Thursday, Aug. 27, came two months after voters rejected an earlier Board of Finance-backed proposal, 27-11, at a June 18 town meeting. Residents had expressed concern about directing all the money, which must be used for opioid remediation, to a regional organization rather than supporting the town’s emergency medical service.

Keep ReadingShow less
municipality

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’
Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
Provided

Last month, James Boehmer and Greg Fricke of Peggy Mercury launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” wearable art sold exclusively at their store in the Kent Barns section of Kent, Connecticut.

The two fashion industry veterans opened Peggy Mercury more than two years ago, and a quick visit will tell you that people are finding what they’re looking for at the beauty and lifestyle store. But what they’re looking for is never standard.

Keep ReadingShow less
fashion

“Girlbomb” at 20

“Girlbomb” at 20
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
With memoir...the character only knows what the character knows.
—Janice Erlbaum

In “Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir,” published in 2006, author Janice Erlbaum wrote about the years after she left her family’s Brooklyn apartment at 15, moving through shelters, group homes, squats, clubs and the streets of 1980s New York while somehow continuing to attend high school. The book has sold more than 75,000 copies, stayed in print for two decades and continues to find new readers.

Now Erlbaum, 57, lives in Millerton and on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m., she will celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Girlbomb” with a reading at Black Rabbit Dispensary. The event is open to the public and will be livestreamed on Instagram.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community
google preferred source

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

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, author of “Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made” is one of thefeatured authors at the Spencertown Academy Festival of Books on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Mirissa Neff

On Saturday, Sept. 5, the Spencertown Academy Arts Center in Spencertown, New York, will host its 21st annual Book Festival.

With over 20,000 gently used books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl donated by the community, it took volunteers 45 days — and an estimated 750 hours —to set the whole thing up. Most of that time was spent sorting through the vast troves of donations and organizing them by category.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday
“Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman,”will be screened Sunday, Sept. 6, at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan.
Provided

On Sunday, Sept. 6, Lime Rock Park will host a screening of the documentary “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan at 7 p.m.

Newman was one of the most celebrated actors of the 20th century, known for films including “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Hud” and “Cool Hand Luke.” His 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” also began a decades-long friendship with co-star Robert Redford.

Keep ReadingShow less
film

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

A scene from last year’s Dance Barn.

Steven Tayler

On Sunday, Sept. 6, PS21 in Chatham, New York, will host a celebration of community through dance at its second annual Dive Barn performance at the organization’s Dance Barn.

Dive Barn is the brainchild of dancer, teacher and choreographer Sayer Mansfield, who has dedicated her life to contemporary and experimental dance. She studied in the Department of Dance at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. She’s performed with companies including Pilobolus, Compagnie Marie Chouinardand Mark Morris Dance Group. Her work has been featured in films including “Little Women,” “Maestro” and “Sproutland.” She has served on the faculties of Jacob’s Pillow, Phillips Academy Andover, as well as Harvard and Yale Universities.

Keep ReadingShow less
dance
google preferred source

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