CORNWALL — Now is the time to look at serving Cornwall in a voluntary capacity. There are 18 seats open on various boards and commissions.Some are the result of term expirations, while others are due to resignations. Some are elected positions, but it is up to the Board of Selectmen to fill vacancies that happen when an election is not coming up and when terms are not yet expired. Often, volunteers are reappointed to another term, but anyone is welcome to ask to be considered by contacting the selectmen’s office or the Republican or Democratic Town Committees. Unaffiliated voters can be endorsed by either party, and the minority representation rule applies to boards and commissions (which means that there has to be at least one person from each party on the board or commission).The selectmen plan to make appointments in November.On the Committee for Cornwall Seniors, Paul Baren and Bronwyn O’Shaughnessy resigned and Margaret Haske’s and Bob Potter’s terms expire in November. Terms are five years.Alternate Josh Tyson moved to a full member seat on the Planning and Zoning Commission, leaving a vacancy. Alternates are required to come to meetings, and participate if they need to fill in for regular members who are absent.The Park and Recreation Commission needs two people: a full member and an alternate. Gina Olsen resigned and an alternate seat has been vacant. Terms are six years.A limit of two consecutive terms on the Cornwall Grange Trust Fund requires Fred Scoville III to step down next month. Terms are three years.The same applies to the Sydney Kaye Trust Fund, where Earl Brecher has served two three-year terms. The new Economic Development Commission needs three people. Ralph Dzenutis resigned his seat. Dana Beecher’s and Janet Sanders’ terms are expiring. Terms are three years.A three-year term needs to be filled on the Housatonic River Commission when Barton Jones’ term expires next month. Terms are three years.The Zoning Board of Appeals will need an alternate seat filled in November, as Jim Levy’s term expires. Terms are six years.Two terms, currently held by Patrick Mulberry and Brian Thomas, expire on the Conservation Commission. Terms are three years.The Northwest Regional Mental Health Board and Northwest Regional Tourism District each have a representative from Cornwall. Terms expire each November. Earl Brecher and Biancha Griggs currently hold those seats, respectively.Of course, emergency services always welcome volunteers, trained and untrained, for a variety of jobs that include fire, ambulance and disaster response.
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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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