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Dinneen honored by Taghhannuck Grange

SHARON — Celebrating 130 years of service to the farming community and beyond, the Taghhannuck Grange in Sharon awarded its 2019 Citizen of the Year certificate at a community supper on Thursday, May 23.

The annual award recognizes a non-Granger who serves the community over a lifetime.

The truly surprised honoree this year was William Dinneen of Cornwall, who was treated to speeches describing in detail why he deserved the honor.

Mark Burdick, co-chairman of the agricultural education program at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, praised Dinneen’s unflagging service as an honest, dependable supporter of agriculture. The Rev. Robert Pohl, pastor of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Cornwall, described Dinneen as humble, quiet and spiritual.

“Bill’s love for the town is apparent,” said Gordon Ridgway, first selectman of Cornwall. He cited Dinneen’s quiet but effective leadership of the annual Cornwall Agricultural Fair as “finding the common ground among people.”

Dinneen is the father of two and the grandfather of three.

Lakeville Journal

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Doug Tallamy’s work in progress: saving the planet one backyard at a time

Doug Tallamy’s work in progress: saving the planet one backyard at a time

Windacre, a 25-acre property in Millerton will be the site of “Work in Progress,” an afternoon with acclaimed entomologist, New York Times bestselling author and Homegrown National Park co-founder Doug Tallamy.

Provided

For nearly three decades, Doug Tallamy, a professor at the University of Delaware and co-founder of Homegrown National Park, has studied the intricate relationships between native plants, insects, birds and the ecosystems that sustain them. His books, including “Bringing Nature Home” and “Nature’s Best Hope,” have helped shift the conversation about conservation from something that happens primarily in parks and preserves to something ordinary people can practice on the land around them.

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Dick Hermans in the Oblong Bookstore on Millerton\u2019s Main Street in 1985.

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No matter what I’ve done, I’m trying to be useful to the communities I’m associated with.
— Dick Hermans

When Dick Hermans receives the Estabrook Community Leadership Award on Oct. 11, he will accept it for a lifetime of work that has taken many forms: bookseller, radio host, school board member, advocate for the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, business owner, volunteer and, perhaps most importantly, a person who has consistently looked for ways to be useful to the communities around him.

The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News will present Hermans with the 2026 award at the annual Jubilee celebration at the Sharon Playhouse. The award honors outstanding leadership in community service and was inspired by Mary Lou and Robert Estabrook, former owners of the newspapers who believed that strengthening a community extended well beyond the work of publishing a newspaper.

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Members of the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe at Homelands PowWow in 2025.

Joeseph Plante New Media Storytellers
Our goal is to continue building an annual gathering that honors the history, culture and traditions of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans in their original Homelands.


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Ancram Center’s “A Number” doubles questions of identity

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Ledbetter (left) and Wojda (right) on the set of “A Number” at Ancram Center for the Arts.
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How would you feel if you found out you weren’t the only you — if there was an exact replica of you? What if you found out that you’d been cloned? Would you believe that you’re the real you? Would you suspect you might be a copy of the original? How could you be sure anything about your life was real? These are some of the questions posed in Caryl Churchill’s play “A Number,” opening at the Ancram Center for the Artson Oct. 1.

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Adamah Farm crew members planning out the day’s tasks on a late September day.

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“Dispatches from the farm” is a new, periodic column offering a firsthand look at the rhythms, challenges and rewards of farming through the eyes of a local farmer.

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The passion, drama and energy of Beethoven will fill Katherine M. Elfers Hall at The Hotchkiss School on Oct. 4, when world-renowned violinist Pinchas Zukerman is joined by pianist Shai Wosner for a special recital.

The 4:30 p.m. program at the Esther Eastman Music Center will feature three of Beethoven’s celebrated violin sonatas: Violin Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23; Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24, “Spring”; and Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30.

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