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“Revolution Song”
Lakeville Journal
Mar 25, 2026
Provided
Historian Russell Shorto joins local educators Peter Vermilyea and Rhonan Mokriski for a conversation about Shorto’s “Revolution Song” on March 27 at the Salisbury Forum, marking Salisbury’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. Register at salisburyforum.org
Falls Village sugarmakers open for maple weekend
Patrick L. Sullivan
Mar 25, 2026
Bill Beebe, left and Denny Jacobs hard at work making maple syrup at Whiting Brook Farm.
Patrick L. Sullivan
FALLS VILLAGE — Denny Jacobs dipped a metal spoon into boiling maple sap that was slowly turning into maple syrup.
He held the spoon up horizontally and watched as the thick liquid dribbled off.
“It’s not done until the last drop stays on the spoon,” he said. “That’s what the old-timers told us.”
The Jacobs family — Denny, Judy and their son Dave — along with Bill Beebe and a couple of dogs, were busy Saturday morning, March 21, at their Whiting Brook Farm on Undermountain Road maple syrup operation.
Judy Jacobs had a covered skillet perched on the side of the evaporator. In it were hot dogs and kielbasa, cut in slices and simmering in maple sap.
The Jacobs operation was one of six Falls Village sugaring concerns participating in a statewide maple syrup showcase weekend, with visitors traveling between farms to see each operation in action.
Matt Gallagher and his son Connor were boiling away at a much smaller apparatus at the Gallagher home, also known as Acer Creek Farm, on Canaan Mountain Road.
Matt Gallagher said he had one big tank just off Canaan Mountain Road which collected sap via tubes from 24 taps, plus another 73 taps and buckets on trees.
Jody and Jean Bronson, ofUndermountain Road, also had a smaller system running and a steady stream of visitors.
Bronson said they prefer a more robust, darker syrup than the amber colored variety that is the unofficial standard, and Jean Bronson had samples ready for visitors.
The amount of sap needed to produce syrup varied considerably. Denny Jacobs said the Whiting Brook Farm ratio was between 50 and 55 gallons of sap to one gallon of syrup. Bronson and Gallagher had 35-to-1 and 30-to-1, respectively.
Bronson, a retired forester, said altitude and whether trees are wild or farmed both make a difference.
Back at Whiting Brook, Denny Jacobs and Beebe, watching the hydrometer and the spoon, decided it was time for a “draw.” A clean five-gallon bucket was positioned under the tap, and the hot, dark syrup filled the container.
Then it was time for the initial filtering.
Jacobs was proud of his innovative filter mechanism. A conical filter made of a thick, felt-like material was suspended between the legs of an upside-down kitchen stool, with another five-gallon bucket beneath.
Jacobs simply poured the hot syrup out of the first bucket into the filter. The syrup slowly seeped through. “We finish it on the stove at home,” said Judy Jacobs.
Also participating in the maple weekend were Lou Timolat and Eric Carlson at Saw Mill Syrup on Route 7, Kent Allyn on Music Mountain Road, and Adamah Farm on Johnson Road, each operating from their own sugarhouse or farm.
The Falls Village maple syrup makers are hosting an event on the town Green on Saturday, April 25, co-sponsored by the town’s Recreation Commission. There will be demonstrations and, of course, maple syrup for sale.
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Housatonic presents winter sports awards
Lakeville Journal
Mar 25, 2026
Olivia Brooks plays point guard for HVRHS.
Photo by Riley Klein
FALLS VILLAGE — Housatonic Valley Regional High School recognized its student-athletes for the 2025–26 winter season during an awards ceremony held Thursday, March 12. The following students were honored:
Girls Basketball
MVP: Olivia Brooks
MIP: Carmela Egan
JV MIP: Olivia Simonds/Keely Malone
Sportsmanship: Maddy Johnson
Stevenson: Grace Graney
Tyburski: Aubrey Funk
Heart & Hustle Award: Victoria Brooks
Boys Basketball
MVP: Anthony Foley
MIP: Tyler Roberts
Sportsmanship: Simon Markow
Tyburski: Jaxon Visockis
JV MIP: Peyton Bushnell
Stevenson: Jasper Oyanadel
Swimming
MVP : Anna Gillette
MIP: Paige Beeman
Sportsmanship: Lydia Fleming
Tyburski: Phoebe Conklin/Cullen Bonis
Alpine Ski
MVP: Winter Cheney
MIP: Danny Lesch
JV MIP: Logan Dolan
Sportsmanship: Jonas Johnson
Stevenson: Austin Ward
Tyburski: Donald Polk III
Four-Year Senior Awards
Anna Gillette (Swim), Wesley Allyn (Basketball), Anthony Foley (Basketball), Anthony Labbadia (Basketball), Owen Riemer (Basketball), Olivia Brooks (Basketball), Maddy Johnson (Basketball), Nick Crodelle (Basketball), and Simon Markow (Basketball).
Berkshire League Scholar Athletes
Olivia Brooks (Basketball), Anna Gillette (Swim), Silas Tripp (Indoor Track), Adelyn Diorio (Swim), Daniel Lesch (Alpine Ski), Meadow Moerschell (Swim), Ishann Tantri (Alpine Ski), Ivy Zheng (Swim), Mia Belter (Swim), Kate Money (Swim), Victoria Brooks (Basketball), Katie Crane (Swim), Madison Graney (Basketball), Hannah Johnson (Basketball), Maddy Johnson (Basketball), Simon Markow (Basketball), Madison Melino (Alpine Ski), Wyatt Bayer (Basketball), Carmela Egan (Basketball), Lydia Fleming (Swim), Grace Graney (Basketball), Jonas Johnson (Alpine Ski), Logan Bronson (Alpine Ski), Caitlin Devino (Cheer), Logan Miller (Ice Hockey), and Vilija Salazar (Cheer).
Key: MVP is most valuable player; MIP is most improved player; Stevenson is the junior varsity sportsmanship award; Tybruski is awarded to outstanding freshmen.
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‘What do you see?’ photo exhibit opens at Scoville Memorial Library
Patrick L. Sullivan
Mar 25, 2026
"Misty Morning"
Lazlo Gyorsok
SALISBURY — Steven Goldberg likes to wander New York City with a camera in hand — and sometimes, that curiosity leads to unexpected moments of humor.
One such moment is captured in his photograph “Met Museum,” which shows a young man absorbed in his laptop outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, seemingly unaware of a nearby statue of a nude woman that appears to be watching him.
The image is part of the Housatonic Camera Club’s current exhibition, “What Do You See?”
The show opened with a reception Thursday, March 19, at the Scoville Memorial Library and will remain on display through April 19.
Each photograph in the exhibit is accompanied by a brief written reflection from the artist.
In his description of “Met Museum,” Goldberg wrote: “I often find humor in the interaction of traditional art and the activity around it. Here, the sculpted woman seems to be looking down at the young man working on his computer, who is oblivious to the ancient statue right next to him.”
Another featured work, “Misty Morning” by Lazlo Gyorsok of Cornwall, offers a quieter, contemplative scene — a boathouse beside a still lake, softened by mist.
“A small white boathouse sits quietly at the edge of a still lake, practically veiled by mist that softens the surrounding trees and shoreline,” Gyorsok wrote. “Its reflection, along with the tall tree beside it and a docked canoe, mirrors almost perfectly in the calm water, creating a serene and symmetrical scene.”
Other photographers featured in the show include Tom Blagden, Dawn Dingee, Verne Henshall, Joan Hinchman, Heidi M. Hoeller, Jack Kearney, Randy McKee, G.A. Mudge, Pamela Peeters, Paul Serbaniewicz, Bert Schmitz and Brian Wilcox.
Goldberg has homes in Pine Plains and Pittsford, New York.
About the Housatonic Camera Club
The Housatonic Camera Club, founded in 1956 by Edward Hutchinson of Sharon, draws members from across the Connecticut–New York–Massachusetts tri-state area. The club is currently led by president Dawn Dingee of Dover Plains, New York.
Members regularly participate in competitions hosted by the New England Camera Club and the Photographic Society of America, and exhibit their work three times each year.
The group meets on the third Tuesday of each month from September through June at Noble Horizons in Salisbury. For more information, visit www.housatoniccameraclub.com.
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Trump’s war in Iran
Mac Gordon
Mar 25, 2026
Campaigning for a second term, Donald Trump emphasized domestic issues and told everyone that the Biden administration had been too preoccupied with foreign affairs and not enough with solving problems at home. This seemed to appeal to much of his audience; soon after being re-elected he began promoting himself as a “peacemaker”, starting with Gaza and Ukraine where similar efforts during his first term had gotten him some attention but no positive results. His apparent chumminess with President Putin may have helped bring him to the negotiating table but the Russian hasn’t moved an inch towards compromise. Despite helping to negotiate a cease fire in Gaza, the Netanyahu government continues its war against its Muslim neighbors as if no ceasefire had been agreed to.
Trump felt that his efforts at peacemaking should put him in line forthe prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, the highest award for engendering a specific instance of significant peace. He campaigned widely as if he were a candidate in a political race, trying to persuade world leaders and influential individuals to promote his candidacy. When the choices were announced by the Nobel Committee Trump was a sore loser, complaining to the Norwegian Prime Minister (who had nothing to do with the selection) thus making a fool of himself.
Several commentators and Prime Minister Netanyahu have said to Trump that despite his claim of having “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities last year, Iran will be able and willing to launch a nuclear attack against Israel (and the US) in a matter of months. Therefore we needed to attack when we did.
Knowledgeable observers have estimated that U.S. military costs for the war so far have been between one and two billion dollars per day.
Why are we fighting a war against Iran? What do we hope to accomplish and when? Are we requiring a regime change? Do we need to have a land force on the ground? The questions go on and on but there don’t seem to be any real answers. When questioned, the President, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense give inconsistent and often contradictory answers; taken together they suggest that Israel and Netanyahu told Trump that now before Iran became nuclear-ready they needed to attack and Trump assented.
But Trump’s ego had been swellingsince his re-election. Having been doing pretty much whatever he wanted without much resistance at home and having been involved in at least seven foreign wars including most recently Venezuela, he probably felt nearly unstoppable.
Despite the damage done to Iran by both Israel and the U.S., their new leader is the equally hostile son of the one we just killed. Regime change seems very unlikely unless we pursue a protracted, much broader ground war. How would the American electorate feel about that?
Three weeks after the start of the war we have little idea when or how it will end. Until now Trump has been successful in his military adventures and even has more possible attacks on other countries in mind (Cuba, Mexico, Columbia etc.). However, Iran has shown no intention of accepting Trump’s demand for “total surrender”.
It’s worth asking why would Iran want to launch a nuclear attack against Israel?
In the Middle East, like in the UnitedStates, the prevailing wind blows from west to east. Nuclear bombs detonated over Israel would do almost unimaginable damage and would continue the killing with its residue of nuclear fallout. But the prevailing winds would carry the bulk of the fallout to the east where it would spread its radioactive pollution over much of the Middle East, especially poisoning Iran. In addition, they know that the Israelis also have nuclear weapons and might be willing to use them. The Iranian leaders may be evil, religious fanatics; but they are not stupid.
Trump’s ignorance of and contempt for climate science makes it hardfor him to size up the situation.
How can we end Trump and Netanyahu‘s failed wars before it triggers a worldwide economic depression and possibly a third world war?Our best bet would be to keep Iran as sane and calm as possible.
We can stop supporting Netanyahu which will perhaps stop much of his attack on his neighbors. And stop our own war-making which probably means removing President Trump from office before he creates more war and destroys our democracy.
Architect and landscape designer Mac Gordon lives in Lakeville.
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