WASHINGTON — Hurricane Irene flooded news stations before hitting land, as East Coast residents were continually cautioned about the severity of the storm. The deluge of news images continued during the hurricane (for those with power) and after the hurricane, showing images of affected areas up and down the coastline. Surprisingly, New England took a hard hit by Irene, though the Harlem Valley was spared from the worst of the storm. Highway Superintendent James Brownell said the town of Washington was among the fortunate. “We were extremely lucky in terms of flooding and damage; we got it, but it could have been a lot worse,” said Brownell. “There were two roads closed with water running across the road into major pipes. All the roads were open that we could [manage], but the water still needs to recede before we can do any more work.”Brownell said that dirt roads held up fairly well during the storm, and almost all of those roads have been worked on and repaired by Brownell and his team since the storm. There is still some work to be done, however.“One problem we were worried about was the dam, but we are extremely fortunate,” said Brownell. “The problem is the water brings all the garbage from the forest out and snowballs on to the roads and pipes. But about 80 percent of the roads are open now because of good fortune.”Brownell said that the culvert pipes which lead to the valley could not handle the excessive amounts of water and debris from the forest rushing through them. The water was continuing to rise rapidly on Sunday, although the rain had finally stopped by then and the water then started to recede. Within two hours the water that had been rising to 7 feet at its peak dropped down by a foot. In the final analysis, however, the valley ended up receiving a lot of water. The town also had to deal with power problems.“In terms of power there were several trees down,” said Brownell. “People went without power from 8 a.m. Saturday until Sunday night when it came on. Customers on Jamieson Hill and Stanford Road were without power the longest. Now most of the houses have power back on, which is my feeling from observing the town.”Brownell said that altogether repairs from the storm should come to about $20,000.Robert Collocola, highway superintendent for the village of Millbrook, also said that most of the damage from the hurricane has been dealt with.“Half of the village was out for 12 hours on Sunday,” said Collocola regarding the power. “Most businesses weren’t open anyway. As far as damage we really had very few trees down. We lost three trees that have been cleaned up and taken away. As for traffic problems caused by trees it, ended up in good shape. “We did have some flooding on Stanford Road at the dam, which flooded over the road for probably six hours, but once the rain stopped it subsided,” he added. “The flooding didn’t affect any houses. Everything seems to be back to normal right now; we are back to normal business.”
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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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