NORTH EAST — At a special meeting on May 3, the North East Town Board voted 3-1 to appoint town resident and registered Republican Jim Campbell to fill the vacancy left by former Councilman and Deputy Supervisor Tim Shaffer.Shaffer submitted a resignation letter dated March 5, after he closed on the sale of his Millerton home and moved out of the area.“Whatever I can do to serve, I’m just glad to be there to try to help and support the board in any way I can,” said Campbell, who added that he was both pleased and surprised to find out he won the board’s approval and was appointed to the post. “We’re all very pleased,” said town Supervisor John Merwin of Campbell’s appointment. “Jim is a great guy.”Campbell was among a total of five candidates who put their names forward after it was made public the board was looking for a new member. The other candidates included Jon Arnason, Lynn Mordas, Brian Jordan and Chip Barrett.“We were very grateful for so many people who did apply and want to thank them all profusely for taking the time to be involved,” said Merwin. “It made the decision very difficult but nevertheless we needed to fill that vacancy, so we did.”Campbell has not served on any boards previously, according to the supervisor. A lifelong resident of North East, he is best known for his 32 years as co-owner of the appliance store Campbell and Keeler, on Century Boulevard. He sold his share in the business a couple of years ago to partner Gordon Keeler; now the business is called Keeler Appliance.Merwin said Campbell’s past experience working with the community will work in his favor as a councilman.“He’s a lifelong resident and now he feels he has the time to contribute,” Merwin said. “He has the right personality and he’s bright. Our board works so well together by consensus — he’s a perfect fit.”And while Campbell does not profess to know exactly what to expect as a board member, he said he’s looking forward to learning.“This is an interim thing at the moment, so it’s probably a good way to go in and find out what it’s all about,” he said. “I know some of the things that are going on and I just got a copy of the minutes, and I’m going back to get filled in and educated to get up to speed before Thursday’s meeting.”Merwin, Councilmen Steve Merwin and George Kaye all voted in favor of Campbell. Councilman Ralph Fedele, who ran for election in November on a ticket with Arnason, voted against the appointment. Campbell will serve in the position until the end of the year. Come November there will be a special election, the winner of whom will serve the remainder of Shaffer’s term.Meanwhile, the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) is still in need of a new member. The ZBA is a volunteer board. Merwin said there are presently two candidates, but he’s hoping for others to step forward before a decision is made.Edith Greenwood was appointed to the ZBA in January. The second seat was supposed to be filled at that time but some of the volunteers rescinded their offers to serve on the board. Merwin said he would encourage anyone with the time and the interest to think about joining.“I understand in today’s world, where people are reticent about stepping up and being involved in local boards, when they’re busy and fear being criticized, [that they don’t volunteer], but in small towns as well as big cities boards need to be filled,” he said. “That’s how democracy works.”
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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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