AMENIA — A party for Cornell Cooperative’s Relatives As Parents Program (RAPP) was held at the South Amenia Presbyterian Church on Friday, May 4.RAPP is a support group designed to assist grandparents and other relatives who have taken on the role of primary caregiver for a related child. The group also provides a support system for children in these unique family units.RAPP member Josephine French of Pine Plains is a huge supporter of the group.“There’s a generational difference as a grandparent. You don’t always feel connected and you feel like you’re apart from the other parents at school. The parents are often uncomfortable because they don’t want to ask about our situation. They don’t want to offend anyone so they don’t form those bonds with us,” she said.RAPP allows parents who are facing similar struggles to meet other parents and share their personal stories, if they are comfortable in doing so, and to offer companionship.Maureen Paar of Amenia was reluctant to join.“It’s common to be afraid. You’re afraid people will judge you or ask about your personal situation, but that’s not this group. I didn’t know how much I needed it until I came. I couldn’t do it without this group and all the support,” she said.During the party the children of the RAPP group presented new brooms to Althea and Bob Meade, members of the church.“We were desperately in need of new brooms. It was so sweet of them to think of us. We’re very thankful,” said Althea.Bee Bee the Clown was also there to paint faces and make balloon animals for the children.As parents bonded over conversation the children of the group played together with no discrimination for age or gender.“The children really need this too. They go to school and have to answer why they don’t have a mom or dad. Other kids don’t understand. Here, they fit in. They don’t have to worry about getting asked those questions because there are other children here who are just like them,” said French.Brenda Rennia of Amenia also recognized the importance of the meeting for the children.“The kids really look at each other as brothers and sisters. They bond because they’re in similar situations and it’s really positive and supportive for them as well as us,” she said.The party was organized and hosted by Joanne Chappell of Wassaic.“These people are remarkable. It’s amazing what they go through every day, the sacrifices and struggles. They are a truly wonderful group of people,” she said.Chappell organized several donations for the event that everyone was truly grateful for.“I’d like to thank all our donors including CVS in Millerton, Renny’s, Freshtown in Amenia and Dover, Dunkin’ Donuts, El Paradisio Pizza, Cousins, McDonald’s in Dover, Sauto Pizzeria, Four Brothers in Amenia, Tractor Supply, Drug World, Fudgy’s Ice Cream, HG Page & Sons, When Pigs Fly and the Stage Coach Market,” she said.RAPP meets the first Wednesday of every month from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the South Amenia Presbyterian Church. For more information contact Nina Doyle by calling 845-677-8223, ext. 137 or emailing nm62@cornell.edu.
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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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