December

2012 . . . . . . No. 11 . . . . Vol. 2

A special warm welcome to all our visitors for the Villages 3rd Annual Victorian Holiday Celebration on December 1st! We all hope you will find great gifts in our special shops and enjoy a special look at our visit to the past. Below is a schedule of some of the events to enjoy:
8:00-12:00 Breakfast at the Firehouse 9:30 Our new Post Master will stamp your cards and letters with a special commemorative stamp. 10:00 10:30 The placing of a Christmas Wreath at the Veterans Memorial in front of the school. 10:00 2:00 Author Cindy West at The American Hotel. 10:00 5:00 Holiday themed Farmers Market at the Roseboro Hotel. 11:00 3:00 Photos with Santa for $10, proceeds to benefit Schoharie County Community Action Program. 10:30 11:00 Bloody Mary Toast to Queen Victoria at the American Hotel. 11:00 11:15 Dance performance at the Roseboro. 11:00 12:00 Join our Town Historian, Nancy Pfau, and Architectural Historian, Mitchell Owens, at the grand salon of the Stone Mansion for a Victorian tea and presentation about Sharon Springs in the Victorian Era. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased through Beekman 1802. 12:00 12:15 Encore performance of Dance. 12:30 12:45 The Mistletoe Mustache performance on the porch of the Roseboro. 1:30 1:45 Encore performance of Mistletoe Mustache. 2:00 3:00 Local author, Jack Singer, tells of his adventures as a dog musher in Alaska at Studio North. 2:00 3:30 Christmas carols & stories at The American.

3:00 4:00 Encore Tea and talk at the Stone Mansion -- $25. 3:30 4:30 Studio North will teach Victorian Era Dance. 4:00 5:00 Classical guitarist, Harry Pelligrin perform at the New York House. Tickets $10. 4:30 Model Walking Victorian Style. Victorian Costume Parade and Contest at 204 Main Bar & Bistro. 6:00 7:00 Lighting of the Community Tree, caroling and FREE hot chocolate or hot cider. 7:00 8:00 Encore performance of classic guitar at the New York House.

Details can be found at www.beekman1802.com

New Store Graces the Village

New Village residents, Chris and Roger Stout-Hazard are opening a new shop next door to 204 Main Bar & Bistro, do stop in and check out the latest addition to our wonderful village shops. You may recognize Roger Hazard from A&Es Sell This House! Chris Stout is the lead designer of their new furniture, DECADES! See it here in Sharon Springs!
Stop by during the Victorian Celebration for mulled cider & cookies Elderberry Herb Farm will be here with their organic teas, herbs& gift ideas. Couture designer Daniel Storto has made a special line of childrens gloves they are made from wool sweaters and are simply wonderful!! Discounts on art, jewelry and Sharon Springs vintage postcards, photos, cards as well as big discounts on Durkin photographs. Also for sale: 27x20 Hall runner , 12x 182 Bedjar Rug - excellent condition OPEN: Thursday - Monday 10-4 or by chance 518 284-2402 www.vhgallery.com

SKIING IN SHARON SPRINGS

By Sandra Manko

In 1938-1939, Edgar Handy built the second rope tow in the United States at Sharon Springs. (The first was built in Woodstock VT.) The 1,000 foot ski tow operated daily for skiers who enjoyed the many trails of one-half to one mile in length, located only 300 yards from the Village. Transportation was available or guests could ski-walk from the hotel to the main slopes. Excellent skiing facilities were available for novices and experts. The more adventurous could attempt Suicide Hill. Due to peculiar climatic conditions at Sharon Springs, snow was often plentiful here at times when the slopes of the surrounding countryside were quite barren. Sharon Springs, originally known only as a summer retreat, was promoted by the White Sulphur Company as a year-round resort in 1940. The ski tow closed down in the 1950s.

Advertisement to Ski at Sharon Springs in window, ca. 1940. Photo courtesy of Sharon Historical Society.

Ca. 1940 Photo courtesy of Sharon Historical Society

Bathe your Winter Blues Away with Herbs By Julie Herzog, Elderberry Herb Farm
Herbal bath teas, soaks, steams and saunas have been used for hundreds, even thousands of years in many cultures around the world therapeutically and for pleasure. In Ancient Greece many enjoyed restorative steam baths. Water was poured onto hot rocks in the center of a room, and often branches or leaves of fragrant bushes and trees such as juniper, fir and bay laurel were added. Herbal baths in Ancient China were used to promote health, and were recorded as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1100-221 BC). Herbal steam baths and saunas have been used as a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine to open skin pores, expel pathogens, and for injury rehabilitation. Different herbs are selected according to the ailment, for prevention, and for health conservation. Ancient Ayurvedic texts talk about therapeutic herbal baths for cleansing, skin disorders, aches & pains, relaxing, balancing, mental clarity and purification. Ayurvedic steam baths were (and still are) enjoyed by many. The leaves, flowers and roots of herbal medicinal plants are simmered in water to generate medicated herbal vapors. Men and women bathe in the steam, taking the therapeutic properties of the plants through their skin. Herbal baths have been a regular method of treatment in Europe, where the medicinal and therapeutic components of the herbs are extracted into the bath water and absorbed through the skin. Today, you can enjoy the pleasures and benefits of an herbal bath. Simply put a few spoonfuls of fragrant or therapeutic herbs into a small square of cheesecloth, a muslin sac or tea ball. Tie the bag to the faucet under the hot running water, throw it in the tub, or make a concentrated herbal tea from it with very hot water and add the tea to the bath. Here are a few herbs to consider when crafting your own herbal bath, listed with some of their historical uses and therapeutic qualities: Chamomile anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, calming and relaxing Lavender sedative, antispasmodic, antidepressant Passionflower calming, helps with nerve pain Oats & Oatstraw soothing to the skin, anti-inflammatory, nervine Jasmine flowers anti-depressant, fragrant Ginger warming, stimulating & increases blood circulation, detoxifying, pain o relieving Orange & Citrus invigorations & stimulating. Wakes up the mind! Eucalyptus clears the sinuses, aches & pains Rosemary colds & flu, clears the sinuses, stimulating, good for sore muscles Golden rod muscle pain, back pain, arthritis Whether its difficulty sleeping, aches & pains, or frazzled nerves, there is an herbal blend to help you relax, warm up, and soak your troubles away.

The New York House- A Time to Thank Everyone

As we enter the Holiday season, Kelly and I would like to thank the people of Sharon Springs for their helpfulness. We could not ask for a more welcoming populace and fellow businesses than we have here in Sharon Springs. The American Hotel, 204 Main, Black Pearl, Beekman 1802 and Glimmerglass Opera are specifically some of the businesses that customers have said referred them to us. Local people I knew growing up here have stopped over to check us out and refer their relatives. Without all of you, we would not have been as successful as we have been. When we began this journey, a lot of people (mostly our parents and occasionally ourselves) said we were crazy. Now as we look back at the last two years, there is not one thing we would have changed. The many guests from around the world as well as the local associations that we have gotten involved with have made this a very enjoyable venture. We have a very vibrant and friendly village that we are proud to be a part of. Our festivals and music events are the envy of many of the neighboring towns and villages. As for festivals, the Victorian Christmas Celebration has become our favorite event of the year. I dont know if its the holiday spirit or the beauty of it or the fact that it is a little less hectic for us. The house comes alive with Christmas decorations and the village takes on the look of a Norman Rockwell painting. White snow puts a nice clean cover over the dormant vegetation and just adds a quiet blanket to the village. Its wonderful to see the streets lined with beautiful, Victorian costumes and all the various holiday activities that go on throughout the day. Again, Kelly and I are sincerely happy to be a part of this community and appreciate everyones assistance in getting us going.

SPECIAL HOURS AT THE CAT

Black Cat open 7 days a week for the holidays, 9:30-3 weekdays, 8-3 weekends (closed only Christmas Day -- we'll even be open New Years' Day.) Featuring our Drunken Blonde Fruitcakes, Real Sugar Plums, Fig-Balsamic Drizzle, and many more delectable gifts for the holidays. We ship priority mail anywhere in the US. We'll be at the Cooperstown Farmer's Market on Saturday December 1 and again Saturday December 22.

Think Dance for the Holidays! Visit our Fully Stocked Dancewear Boutique at Studio North. We carry a large assortment of gifts for the dancer in your life! Stop In December 1st for Complimentary Hot Cider & Victorian Day Activities: Student Dance Performance @ 11am and Noon (Roseboro Porch) Book Signing and Alaskan Adventure Slide Show by local author Jack Singer @ 2pm Victorian Dance Lessons @ 3:30pm Special Edition "Sharon Springs" Fleece Jackets will be available. Store Hours on Dec. 1st - 8:30 am - 5pm A NOTE FROM KAREN CUCCINELLA
My Schoharie County Murders and Funky Stuff is ready to print (just waiting for the bindings). The book encompasses murders etc. from 1726 (before Schohary was Schoharie) -1974. The stories i found for Sharon were: 1819 - John VanAlstine/VanAlstyne murders Sheriff Huddleston in Sharon. 1824 - Jeremiah Slingerland murders his wife in Sharon. 1886 The Lawyer Sisters Take Poison Together in Sharon Springs. 1898 - Norman Vrooman shoots and kills his wife in Sharon Springs. 1912 - Clark Ryder, Sharon Springs express agent held for murder of Peter Dempsky 1922 - McKinley Pollack, crazed by love, threatens life of Margaret Decker in Sharon Springs. 1927 - Body of George Diamond found on Cherry Valley Turnpike at Sharon Hill. 1927 - Herschel Miller lives when hit by 20,000 volt electric wire in Sharon Hill

A SPECIAL TREAT FROM ROSIE

Hi Nancy and Chatter friends, I came upon a quote by Thomas Jefferson in an old book. "I find friendship to be like wine, raw when new, ripened with age, the true old man's milk and restorative cordial." I thought we could include a recipe for a Ruby Cordial. 1 1/2 cups whole, fresh cranberries 2 cups vodka 2 cups sugar 1 orange juice bottle quart size decorative glass bottles Crush cranberries in a bowl with a metal spoon. Add vodka and sugar. Pour into juice bottle and let sit for about a month. Stir every 10 days to dissolve sugar. Pour into decorative bottles, straining out cranberries. With its bright red color this is a festive gift to bring to friends at Christmastime. Tie the bottlenecks with wide green ribbons and a sprig of holly or juniper. (Recipe is from a book by Barbara Milo Ohrbach.) Austin Jettons Chocolates Will be Available
I am making truffles for Victorian Festival Weekend in Sharon Springs NY next weekend Dec 1st!! I will have candied orange peel dipped in tempered dark chocolate, coconut caramel, enrobed with dark chocolate, peppermint cane ganache truffles, some milk chocolate, and some white chocolate. Also come with your orders for shipping for Christmas. I will have my pen and pad! Happy Holidays everyone!!
STAY TUNED FOR NEWS ABOUT AUSTIN IN MOVING MOUNTAINS!!

A very special thank you [Victorian style!] to all the contributors: Sandra Manko, Town Supervisor and avid historian whose books are available at Cobbler & Co.; Julie Herzog for her tips on overcoming the winter aches and pains, her herbal products can be found at Village Hall Gallery; Karen, Rosie, Austin, Bruce and Kelly, Leila, and Betty this edition would not be possible without you! Thanks also to Race Printing in Cobleskill who have been printing the hard copies throughout our run great place for all your printing needs! Warm Holiday wishes to all who are reading these pages. May your days be filled with the beauty of the season. Heres to cookies, mistletoe, wreaths of greenery, lights shining in the windows, evenings by the fire surrounded by good friends, and Peace on Earth and, while Im wishing: a Ban on Fracking [why not try for it all!] A few other special events nearby: December 8th Candlelight at The Farmers Museum December 1st and 2nd Cherry Valley Christmas December 7th Miracle on Main Street, Middleburgh