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Hotchkiss Library Gala attendees await the next auction item at Sharon Country Club Saturday, May 17.
Alec Linden
Guests chit-chatted as servers zipped about the room, offering sliders, arancini and an array of other hors d’oeuvres. Gala-goers occasionally braved the throng gathered around the silent auction table located in the airy screened porch a few steps below, where they found an array of local artists’ work and regional experiences, including a bowl made from black walnut wood by Sharon Town Clerk Linda Amerighi and an afternoon spectating the shearing of the library’s Executive Director Gretchen Hachmeister’s own flock of Shetland sheep.
Hotchkiss Library Board President Lorna Edmundson noted that many of this year’s auction items were donated by library patrons themselves, emblematic of Sharon’s deep pool of artistic talent. Librarians Kathy Amiet and Kate Seabury staffed the busy table, which was framed by sweeping views of passing storm clouds above the Taconic Hills.
Sharon resident Jill Drew, who serves on several town committees and boards, said that while many communities support their local libraries, the Hotchkiss Library “does a wonderful job of making people feel welcome.”
Shortly after 6 p.m., Edmundson took the floor to kick off the night’s live auction, echoing Drew’s sentiment: “It’s a true celebration of community and generosity.”
The live auction saw the sale of an etching from legendary American artist and Sharon homeowner Jasper Johns for $11,000, a piece from accomplished painter Gail Rothschild go to a $2,000 bid, and vintage Angela Cummings earrings selling for $4,000.
Library Assistant Cinzi Lavin shows off the Angela Cummings earrings as Auctioneer August Uribe calls out the $4,000 winning bid. Alec Linden
A lively paddle raise ensued, but not before Hachmeister offered a more urgent message to the gala attendees. “Libraries protect the freedom to read and they protect our access to information which is so important right now,” she said, noting that 70% of the library’s yearly operating income is supplied through philanthropic donations.
The Hotchkiss Library itself is not directly threatened by federal funding cuts for libraries, proposed by the Trump Administration’s plan to curtail federal spending. Some of its essential services, though, would be impacted if the state Library of Connecticut was to have its funding redacted, which happened earlier this year but was reinstated without explanation.
Interlibrary loans, for example, would be affected, disrupting an essential service for small libraries like Sharon’s and others in the region in a loss which would be felt on a daily basis, Hachmeister explained. While the funding for this year is secured, she explained, the Trump Administration’s federal spending plan demarks “a big fat zero” for the Institute of Museum and Library Services — the federal body that administers funding for state libraries — if it were to be adopted on Oct. 1.
The Hotchkiss Library’s next fundraising opportunity is its annual Book Signing event, to be held on the afternoon and evening of Friday, Aug. 1.
Town of Amenia Highway Department HIGHWAY WORKER:Truck Driver, laborer, Full time, Health Insurance, NYS Retirement, paid holidays, vacation, Personal leave, comp time, longevity pay etc; CDL LICENSE REQUIRED $26- $28 an hour depending on experience. Pick up applications at Amenia Highway, 8 Borden Lane, Wassaic, NY Or call 845-373-9922.
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center: is a year-round 120-person retreat facility that is located in Falls Village, CT. Want to work at a beautiful, peaceful location, with great people? This is the place to be! We are currently seeking positions for a Maintenance Associate (full time, temporary), Retreat Services Associate (front of house), and Mashgichim (F/T and P/T) for our summer season. For more details please visit our website at adamah.org/about-adamah/careers/ or email a copy of your resume to rebecca.eisen@adamah.org.
Music Director: Sharon Congregational Church in Connecticut seeks a Music Director to plan, coordinate and develop the music ministry. Responsibilities include weekly worship and holiday services. Weddings and funerals will be at his/her discretion. Director will lead a small group of volunteer musicians instrumentally and vocally in traditional and contemporary Christian music. The Director must be an active Christian and proficient with piano or guitar. Position requires three hours on Sunday and two to four hours prep weekly. Salary range is $9,000 to $10,500 commensurate with experience. Three weeks of vacation. Contact email: PastorDawson06@yahoo.com.
Help wanted: Small Angus Farm seeks reliable help for cattle and horses. Duties include feeding, fence repair, machine repair. Will train the right person. 860-671-0499 or 860-671-7024.
Experienced Horse Equestrian: to train three-year-old white Persian Mare for trail riding. 860-671-0499 or 860-671-7024.
Services Offered
Carpenter, Builder: David James Valyou 25 years serving NY CT MA older homes and barns my specialty. Repairs, Renovations Based in Canaan CT. Contact: 917-538-1617 davidvalyou@yahoo.com.
Hector Pacay Service: House Remodeling, Landscaping, Lawn mowing, Garden mulch, Painting, Gutters, Pruning, Stump Grinding, Chipping, Tree work, Brush removal, Fence, Patio, Carpenter/decks, Masonry. Spring and Fall Cleanup. Commercial & Residential. Fully insured. 845-636-3212.
NEED YOUR HOME CLEANED?: Diana and Juliet have been servicing the Northwest Corner since 1998. We offer guaranteed satisfaction and have great references. Please call 860- 605-0528.
Farm Products
Hay For Sale: Round Bales. First Cutting covered hay, round bales. First cut hay covered with plastic. $10.00 for bale loaded. 860-671-0499 or 860-671-7024.
Real Estate
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: Equal Housing Opportunity. All real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1966 revised March 12, 1989 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color religion, sex, handicap or familial status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All residential property advertised in the State of Connecticut General Statutes 46a-64c which prohibit the making, printing or publishing or causing to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawful source of income, familial status, physical or mental disability or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
Apartments For Rent
SALISBURY spacious 2 bedroom apt.: in historic house. Private garden entrance in quiet location overlooking town. Ideal for a single person or a couple without children. $1200 per month. 860-435-1007 or richardjboyle9@gmail.com No pets.
Houses For Rent
3b/3b home in Sharon:fully furnished, lake access, 3.84 acres. $5000 per month. 860-309-4482.
Sharon Rentals: 1b/1b home on a private lake. Avail 4/1/25. Yearly. $2750/Furnished, weekly housekeeping, garbage, water, ground maint. included. utilities addtl. 860-309-4482.
Tag Sales
North Canaan, CT
Town wide tag sale: Sat June 14th & Sun June 15th in North Canaan, CT. Spots available at Lawrence Field. To register your spot at home or at the field for $10/weekend go to www.NorthCanaanEventsCommittee.org for more information.
Bill Dinneen, left, and Ivan Kotchoubey, age 7, place a recently restored grave marker at the headstone of David Mallery, a Revolutionary War veteran, in Cornwall Sunday, May 25.
Photo by Riley Klein
“These markers had gone missing from the cemetery, we don’t know when,” Dinneen said, showing six bronze and four cast iron markers that were recently restored and painted.
He explained the markers were found in bushes at the edge of the cemetery by Gene Swanson, of Washington Depot. It was unclear why they were removed from the gravestones, and Dinneen said there could be more elsewhere in the cemetery.
Bill Dinneen, left, and Warren Stevens explain the history, discovery and restoration process of the grave markers to attendees May 25.Photo by Riley Klein
“Today we have 10 markers. We have 32 names” of buried Revolutionary War veterans, Dinneen said. “The bronze markers will go to ranked soldiers,” such as sergeants, and “the cast ones will go to the oldest” of the infantry soldiers.
The restoration process included sandblasting, priming and painting. He was not certain, but Dinneen said the markers may have been originally placed by the government around World War I, at which time the original tombstones were replaced with harder stone.
Stevens explained the symbolism of the markers: A big star in the middle represents one of the colonies, 13 little stars represent all the colonies, the years 1775 and 1783 show the duration of the war, the words “A Patriot’s Grave” and “E Pluribus Unum. From many, there is one,” he said.
Susan Hellmann placed a bronze marker at the grave of her ancestor Noah Harrison. Photo by Riley Klein
Attendees, some of them descendants of the veterans, assisted in the placement of the markers.
Susan Hellmann, of Cornwall, said she would be placing a restored marker at the grave of “my great, great, great grandfather Noah Harrison” who served in the Revolution. “I feel like I’m going to cry. It’s just very touching, very powerful,” she said.
Dinneen read the rank, company and lifespan of each veteran as the markers were being placed, then Stevens fired a blast from his musket. When all the markers were set, the names of the other Revolutionary veterans buried in town were read aloud.
Warren Stevens fires his musket.Photo by Riley Klein
The ceremony was held as part of Memorial Day remembrances in Cornwall. It also marked the first official event in town for the nation’s 250th birthday with more to come.
As the occasion came to an end, a light rain began.
A bronze marker was placed at the grave of James Bierce, who lived to the age of 94 after serving in the Revolution with Captain Smith's Company. Bill Dinneen noted many of the Revolutionary War veterans buried in Cornwall lived to old ages. "The average age that these veterans died was 72 years old," he said.Photo by Riley Klein
