Memorial Day traditionally marks the beginning of a new season even if summer officially is a few weeks off. Our streets become parade routes festooned with flags and marching bands. The busy lives we live don’t always allow for time to stand on the roadside and patiently watch for the first sign of a fire truck coming down Main Street, or pause on the sidewalk to wait for the advancing sounds of a marching band.

We see young and old pass in procession. And we applaud and cheer. There is palpable excitement when the sirens wind up. We look around and nod with our neighbors. A wave and a hello leads to conversation, often small talk but the totality of this Memorial Day moment is the connective tissue we depend on as a community. We take time out to visit.

Families and neighbors and friends come together. Children race around the lawn. Dogs pull on their leashes. Mothers and fathers push strollers. An older generation totes folding chairs and settles in before the speeches start.

By the time the ceremonies conclude, and we exchange friendly parting words with our neighbors and friends, we have once again been reminded of the solemn nature of what we all just witnessed. Americans have been recognizing our fallen soldiers since the years following the Civil War. In 1868, a group of Union veterans calling themselves the Grand Army of the Republic established Decoration Day, a time to place flowers on the graves of war dead. May 30 was chosen as a ideal day for the observance because flowers would likely be in bloom all across America.

This year our reporters witnessed Memorial Day celebrations in towns throughout the Northwest Corner. (Please see our coverage here.)

While Memorial Day has become synonymous with the advent of a welcome season of summer vacation from schools, graduations and time to enjoy the outdoors and plan a family vacation, as a nation we also bookend this time with a day to soberly reflect and remember those who went before — who gave their lives in service to our country. We especially appreciate the words of Jonathan Ialongo, a Millbrook native who served two tours in Afghanistan, who delivered heartfelt remarks on Monday, May 27. “Many people always wonder how you honor those who make the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “And I always say, be somebody worth that sacrifice.”

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Classifieds - February 26, 2026

Classifieds - February 26, 2026

Help Wanted

PART-TIME CARE-GIVER NEEDED: possibly LIVE-IN. Bright private STUDIO on 10 acres. Queen Bed, En-Suite Bathroom, Kitchenette & Garage. SHARON 407-620-7777.

The Salisbury Association’s Land Trust seeks part-time Land Steward: Responsibilities include monitoring easements and preserves, filing monitoring reports, documenting and reporting violations or encroachments, and recruiting and supervising volunteer monitors. The Steward will also execute preserve and trail stewardship according to Management Plans and manage contractor activity. Up to 10 hours per week, compensation commensurate with experience. Further details and requirements are available on request. To apply: Send cover letter, resume, and references to info@salisburyassociation.org. The Salisbury Association is an equal opportunity employer.

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To save birds, plant for caterpillars

Fireweed attracts the fabulous hummingbird sphinx moth.

Photo provided by Wild Seed Project

You must figure that, as rough as the cold weather has been for us, it’s worse for wildlife. Here, by the banks of the Housatonic, flocks of dark-eyed juncos, song sparrows, tufted titmice and black-capped chickadees have taken up residence in the boxwood — presumably because of its proximity to the breakfast bar. I no longer have a bird feeder after bears destroyed two versions and simply throw chili-flavored birdseed onto the snow twice a day. The tiny creatures from the boxwood are joined by blue jays, cardinals and a solitary flicker.

These birds will soon enough be nesting, and their babies will require a nonstop diet of caterpillars. This source of soft-bodied protein makes up more than 90 percent of native bird chicks’ diets, with each clutch consuming between 6,000 and 9,000 caterpillars before they fledge. That means we need a lot of caterpillars if we want our bird population to survive.

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Stephanie Haboush Plunkett and the home for American illustration

Stephanie Haboush Plunkett

L. Tomaino
"The field of illustration is very close to my heart"
— Stephanie Plunkett

For more than three decades, Stephanie Haboush Plunkett has worked to elevate illustration as a serious art form. As chief curator and Rockwell Center director at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, she has helped bring national and international attention to an art form long dismissed as merely commercial.

Her commitment to illustration is deeply personal. Plunkett grew up watching her father, Joseph Haboush, an illustrator and graphic designer, work late into the night in his home studio creating art and hand-lettered logos for package designs, toys and licensed-character products for the Walt Disney Co. and other clients.

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Free film screening and talk on end-of-life care
‘Come See Me in the Good Light’ is nominated for best documentary at this year’s Academy Awards.
Provided

Craig Davis, co-founder and board chair of East Mountain House, an end-of-life care facility in Lakeville, will sponsor a March 5 screening of the documentary “Come See Me in the Good Light” at The Moviehouse in Millerton, followed by a discussion with attendees.

The film, which is nominated for best documentary at this year’s Academy Awards, follows the poet Andrea Gibson and their partner Megan Falley as they are suddenly and unimaginably forced to navigate a terminal illness. The free screening invites audiences to gather not just for a film but for reflection on mortality, healing, connection and the ways communities support one another through difficult life transitions.

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