Contributed by Elisabeth Hurley

“You kids are amazing. This street has never looked so good. Tell me, how did you get this wonderful idea?”
Four heads looked up and three forefingers pointed at Jim. “It was all his idea, Mr. Goldstein. Jim started the whole thing.”

Jim looked shyly at his neighbor who he knew was teaching eighth grade at the Junior High School across the street. “It’s really very simple, Mr. Goldstein. When Mom and Dad and I came back from Ireland last Easter, I couldn’t forget how clean everything looked there. Just glancing out of my window and seeing how dirty our street was, made me sick to my stomach. Going up to Waverly Hill helped.”

“Is that the place up on Independence Avenue?” Mr. Goldstein asked.

“Yeah, that’s the one. It has such beautiful gardens and a nature trail. Everything is clean and smells so nice. I spent most of my time there after school.” (more…)

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Contributed by Claire Affleck / Claire Affleck Training

Claire Affleck Training will be hosting a Horse Camp the week of July 14th-18th, 9am-3pm. The camp is open to all children ages 7 & up. We encourage both beginners and more experienced riders to join us.

Besides working on riding skills, students will learn proper horsemanship which includes the daily care of the horse, basic vet care, feeding, cleaning, and will be able to watch a demonstration given by a horse shoer.

We not only focus on horse skills, our hope is also that children gain life skills such as self confidence, self esteem, leadership skills, and positive communication.

For more information please contact Claire Affleck at 315.317.2608, affleck03@sbc.edu , or www.claireafflecktraining.com.

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Contributed by Susan Mark / Skaneateles Festival

Skaneateles Festival: World Class Music By The Lake

SKANEATELES FESTIVAL UNVEILS 2008 SUMMER SEASON
Four weeks of music that will transport you!
Jazzing it up with Grammy–winning Turtle Island Quartet
The grandeur of the Concert Organ with David Higgs
Imani Winds, Tai Murray, Miró Quartet, and more international sensations

Skaneateles NY – There’s nothing quite like the sound of an oboe amidst the crickets, or a piano concerto floating over lake water. Nestled in the heart of the Finger Lakes region, the Skaneateles Festival brings the magnificence of chamber music in all its forms to summer nights. The results, hailed as “world class”, have galvanized over 7,000 eager listeners each season and garnered close attention and bright acclaim from The New York Times, Boston Globe, Bon Appetit, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal. All this, right in Skaneateles’ own beautiful Presbyterian Church, or (Saturday nights) outdoors under the stars, where listeners are welcomed to the elegance of the sloping lakeside lawn at Brook Farm - and are encouraged to celebrate with their own summer evening picnic! (more…)

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Contributed by Rita Trenti / Packwood House

Packwood House was built in 2003 on the site of the old Skaneateles Post Office, Packwood House was named after John Packwood (1824-1890). John Packwood was a highly successful carriage maker in Skaneateles and one of the early owners of the Sherwood Inn – which he had renamed Packwood House in the late 1800’s. It is a contemporary lakeside retreat which offers 19 comfortable guest suites, many of which provide picturesque views of the lake and the village.

Packwood House joins many of our local merchants in Skaneateles, NY in supporting local artists during the monthly First Friday events. Packwood House will feature a different artist each month from 6PM to 9PM on First Friday. You can view the artists work in the lobby.

This month Tom Hussey’s work will be on display at Packwood House.

Tom’s contact information:

Tom Hussey
9 Adams St.
Auburn, NY 13021
315-253-5288
tomhussey@verizon.net
www.tomhusseyart.com

(more…)

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Contributed by Joe Strodel / Skaneateles Area Arts Council

The mission of the Arts Council is to celebrate the visual and performing arts by creating an environment where cultural activity thrives in our community. The Skaneateles Area Arts Council is a 501(c)3 not-for profit organization. To contact the Arts Council or to sponsor one of their events, please call 685-2414.

Skaneateles Area Arts Council’s 4th annual gala will take place on July 20th, held at the beautiful (former Roosevelt family) lakeside estate in Skaneateles - Stella Maris Retreat Center - featuring singer/songwriters Ben Taylor and Sally Taylor. Siblings Ben and Sally are the children of Grammy winning musical icons - James Taylor and Carly Simon. We are very excited to have the Taylors perform in Skaneateles.

SkArts ‘N The Park

We are also presenting a free concert to the Skaneateles community, featuring the Mario DeSantis Orchestra and vocalists Maria DeSantis, Ronnie Leigh and Keith Condon in “Sinatra’s Faves” on July 5th at 7:00 p.m in the gazebo in Clift Park by the lake.

Confirmed SkArts Sponsors

The following Arts Council gala sponsors are already confirmed:

$5,000 level - Gina Castro, Robert Kiltz, MD, CNY Fertility, CNY Healing Arts
$3,000 level - Auburn Party Rental, Michael P. Falcone Family, Eagle Newspapers, Skaneateles Journal, Sherwood Inn, WRVO Radio, The Citizen
$1,500 level - Dermody, Burke & Brown; Hiscock and Barclay; Hobbit Hollow Farm; Bob and Sally Neumann, Linda Roche Realty, Rosalie’s Cucina, Skaneateles Chamber of Commerce
$1,000 level - Advance Context Solutions, Bill and Donna Davis, Barbara and Jed Delmonico, Everson Museum of Art, Michele Gardner Design, Darlene Kerr Family, Kimball and Jim Kraus, Raz Rahman and Susie Birchenough, Jack and Stephanie Rudnick, and Syracuse.com.

Winners of 2008 SkArts Grants

The winners of the Skaneateles Area Arts Council’s 2008 grants will also be announced at this free concert. The winners are: Jordon Elbridge School District - Art Department, John D. Barrow Gallery, Masterworks Chorale, Marcellus School District, Schweinfurth Art Center, Skaneateles Artisans, and the Skaneateles Festival.

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Contributed by Tom Seeley

If you haven’t been to Ascioti’s Meat Market recently (or ever), you are missing out on one of Central New York’s true treasures.

Ascioti’s is on Milton Ave just west of the Village center. The little shop in Solvay is a butcher shop like the one your mom used to take you to when you were little, on what seemed like an endless parade of errands where you hoped you’d be provided a penny for the little gum ball machine near the exit.

By way of Dick Case at The Post Standard, I gather the shop has been there and run by the same family for close to 100 years.

My boss has sworn by the meatball mix there for years and I finally made my way to try it out last week. The mix is phenomenal. I’ve also heard the pan sausage is excellent. I didn’t try the latter, but I was able to purchase a slab of bacon (unsliced), which I highly recommend. The quality destroys supermarket bacon and you can slice it nice and thick for extra flavor.

If you are worried about price in a small shop like that, you shouldn’t. I paid about the same per pound for the meatball mix as I paid at a local supermarket recently for a pound of ground beef! If you go, make sure to bring a checkbook or cash because the store does not accept credit cards.

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By: Cary Briel / Skaneateles Design

FOX news recently broadcast a segment that included FOX News contributor Liz Trotta suggesting and laughing about the the possibility of Barack Obama being assassinated. Many have suggested that FOX should sack her for the comment. There are also news reports suggesting that she may be under investigation by the Secret Service for the comment. Click here to watch the the segment of the FOX interview, and also sign the petition asking FOX to sack her. I personally don’t understand how this could be a humorous subject, whether or not she supports Obama. First Clinton carelessly referencing the topic, and now Trotta.

UPDATE: Check here for an article relating to how much attention this issue is getting on youtube.

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What I like most about central New York is the small towns. Each town has a special character but there is often a bond as the residents of the towns seek to build something special. The Masterworks Chorale is something special. It links Marcellus, Skaneateles, Elbridge, and probably other surrounding areas together. It is a talented group of people who have gotten together over the last 20 years or more and performed in Syracuse and Skaneateles at Christmas time. Their Spring fund raiser has lasted over twenty years. This has provided the dinner guests with a wonderful concert and the Chorale with enough funds to hire the Syracuse Orchestra to accompany them during their Christmas concert.

My connection to the Chorale started when my son married a girl whose mother sings in the Chorale and her father manages the sound. I attended the Spring concerts and met many familiar people, both those participating in the chorus and those supporting the event with their attendance. The singing voices were special and the spirit of the event was felt by all. When my husband and I enjoy the Sherwood during the winter months (using the coupons), we often see the singers enjoying a social dinner before their Tuesday night practice.

Marion Wiles Krauter and Annette Krauter Pickup

PickupKrauterTeam.com

RealtyUSA

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I have always been very interested in houses and how people live in each room. I am sure this was inspired by the many conversations I have overheard about rooms and furniture design and finishes. When I was in college, my family began to be interviewed about Gustav Stickley and his role in developing the Arts and Crafts design of furniture and homes. Gustav Stickley was the father of my grandmother and the grandfather of my father. I am one of many of his great grand children who lounged around at the camp on pieces of his furniture. We never anticipated the fame which was to come. To me, the couch was square and uncomfortable. However, I was wrong and his design is desired today.

When I was a teenager, the world was discovering how unique his design was. My father and many other relatives were being continually interviewed by those individuals trying to understand the man and his role in the development of the Arts and Crafts design. In the early 20th century, Stickley was searching for a new way to design homes free from the ornateness of the Victorian era. Simple and useful design, good craftsmanship, and aesthetic effect were key elements of his designs.

When you look at homes perhaps you might remember some of his thoughts about houses that can become your home.

David Cathers and Alexander Vertikoff wrote about his influence in their book named “The Stickley Style, Arts and Crafts Homes in the Craftsman Tradition. Gus Stickley is quoted as writing in 1909 “We have, from the first, planned houses that are based on the big fundamental principles of honesty, simplicity, and usefulness–the kind of houses that children will rejoice all their lives to remember as homes.” These homes had big windows with window seats or ledges for plants, rich colors, and strong structural features. The dining room had large doorways connected to the living room or kitchen, built in cabinets with leaded glass windows, and a fireplace on one wall. Kitchens had large built-in cupboards and updated equipment. He was quoted by Cathers as saying that “the very first requisites of a kitchen should be that it be large enough for comfort, well-ventilated and full of sunshine, and that the equipment….should be ample, of good quality and, above all, intelligently selected. We all know the pleasure of working with good tools in congenial surroundings.” It should be “as carefully finished as the rest of the house, and in its way….one of the most beautiful of the rooms.”

According to Cathers, Stickley believed the living room was “a place where work is to be done…the haven of rest…the place where children grow and thrive.” It was to be large, relaxing, and informal. The windows were to frame views from the garden, the beams and posts were visible. However the most important feature was the fieldstone or tile fireplace set in a inglenook. The fireplace gave a sense of intimacy while heating the whole room. It is in the simple but elegant room that Stickley believed we should “be at our best.”

Marion Wiles Krauter and Annette Krauter Pickup

PickupKrauterTeam.com

RealtyUSA

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My father is 91 years old. In Skaneateles his family bought the Pump house and Tucker hardware store. After law school my father worked in Tucker hardware, which was owned by his father. In Syracuse, his father, the Judge Ben Wiles, also owned Tecumseh golf course. After graduating from Harvard Law school, my father worked at Tucker hardware store while my mother courted him (so the story is told). However, it was not long before he and his friends figured out that they should join the navy and control how they participated in World War II. Therefore, the law practice was postponed and Tucker hardware was sold.

Tucker Hardware was the tallest building on Genesee Street. Which building is that?

PickupKrauterTeam.com RealtyUSA

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