Dianne Engleke, a Millerton artist and political cartoonist for The Millerton News, has always loved animals. But she developed a special appreciation for horses — not just for their beauty, but for all they do — when she lived in eastern Arizona’s ranch country during the early 1980s. “Before that I hadn’t really seen working horses,” Engleke said. “In those three years I realized how complex people’s relationship and attachment with horses is. I saw them as working partners.”Although she would have loved to accept offers to take ownership of some of the horses she met in Arizona, Engleke knew she would be returning east and had nowhere to keep the majestic animals. It was not until years later, for her 50th birthday, that she would come to own a horse. She now has two. Before that, however, Engleke started sponsoring horses, something she still does today.“I guess I am committed from keeping any horses I possibly can from going to slaughter,” she said, adding she sponsors a horse from Equine Advocates in Chatham, one from Godspeed Horse Hostel in Amenia, one in Missouri and one in Arizona. “When horses are sick, old or lame, people send them to be slaughtered. How can anyone put a sick, old or lame horse on a truck for three days without food or water and call that humane?”In this country most horses are sent to Canada or Mexico to be slaughtered; horsemeat is then sent to Asia, as European countries do not want horsemeat with as many hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals as that which comes from America. And it’s not just horses who are sent to slaughter; ponies, donkeys and mules are also slaughtered. The slaughtered animals are from all walks of life: They may be race horses, thoroughbreds, carriage horses, farm animals or pets. Mares who are a byproduct of the Canadian Premarin industry (a hormone replacement drug made from pregnant horses’ urine) are also among those destined for the slaughter house.“A lot of these horses have been abused, and having contact with people and having a kind touch and someone to groom them and spend time with them is very important for a lot of these animals who have had a very rough beginning,” said Equine Advocates President Susan Wagner. “A lot of them never had any kind of affection and it’s amazing how they love it when they do get attention from people. Some of these horses know their sponsors — they knicker to them when they show up. It’s really adorable. And we’re told by people how fulfilling it is.”The Equine Advocates sanctuary in Chatham offers sponsorships begining at $50 a month. “It’s all over the map to sponsor a horse,” Engleke said, adding no amount is too small to make a difference. “Rescues are pleased to have anything. It doesn’t have to be expensive and anyone can get started. Slaughterhouse horses are cheap. There is a world where thoroughbreds go for six figures, but some of those horses go for slaughter, too. Basically they are sold by the pound. It’s uncomfortably real.”Wagner said that all sorts of horses end up at Equine Advocates.“Horses are in their own category and they do so many things in their lifetime and they very often get discarded when they can’t do their tasks anymore,” Wagner said. “The horses that are here need help. These horses were seized in cruelty cases or rescued from slaughter or were being auctioned off as carriage horses or taken from kill pens.“Our mission is to rescue, protect and prevent the abuse of equines through education, investigation and rescue operations and the dissemination of information to the public,” she added. “Horses have a very special place in the hearts of all Americans, because we wouldn’t have a country without horses.” Equine Advocates will hold its Horse Sponsorship Drive 2011 on Sunday, April 2, from 4 to 7 p.m. at TK Home and Garden, located at 441 Warren St. in Hudson. There will be cocktails and music, along with a photo exhibit of the animals up for sponsorship. RSVPs are requested by March 25 to 518-392-0175 or equineadvocates.org.
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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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