Dog Tale 12: William and the Preemptive Bark

Now that spring is approaching, William, in spite of his advanced years, is feeling pretty spry, but at the beginning of the winter, he was showing his age in ways that are typical for big dogs. Because his hind legs sometimes seemed to weaken and threaten to give out, we didn't take the long walks we once did, choosing instead to venture only a block or so from home. One Sunday afternoon, however, William surprised me by striking out on the long route, which takes us eventually past Hudson Wine Merchants.

William hadn't been at HWM for weeks and was eager to visit, but when he toiled up the steps to the front door, a fiercely barking Percy rushed at the door, determined to defend his turf and prevent another canine from entering. William was confused and disappointed; he'd never been rebuffed at his favorite store before. Erin came out to the sidewalk with treats for William, but it didn't assuage the sting of being barked at. 

Heading on down the street, we passed Warren Street Antiques. There was a dog inside, standing near the door with his humans. To my utter shock, William barked at that dog just as Percy had barked at him. It was a preemptive bark. Apparently expecting the dog inside the store to bark at him, William decided to bark first.

Excelsior!

The renovation of our glorious New York State Capitol in Albany was completed last year. In today's New York Times there is a visual tour of this 19th-century symbol of New York's prosperity: "Capitol Redux." 

An Alarming Possibility

The conviction that restoring original pre-World War II wood windows has a more desirable long-term outcome than installing replacement windows is, thanks to a lot of advocacy by preservationists at the state and national level and actual experience with replacement windows, starting to catch on, but the Historic Preservation Commission here in Hudson still regularly receives certificate of appropriateness applications that involve replacement windows. It still seems to be the first thing people think they have to do when they set about to renovate a building, and the justification for doing so is usually quite inadequate. Yesterday, for example, a woman was at the HPC wanting to replace the windows in her house so she could get rid of the ugly 1950s aluminum storm windows. The Columbia County Board of Supervisors is reportedly contemplating replacement windows for the 1907 Warren and Wetmore courthouse. The most shocking replacement window suggestion yet, however, was made to the HPC yesterday by John Grover, speaking for the First Presbyterian Church.

HPC member Phil Forman had invited Grover to address the HPC, explaining that the HPC had been concerned when the large stained glass window in the facade of the church was covered with green sheathing last November, and Forman, who is on the board of the Friends of the First Presbyterian Church, wanted the HPC to be updated on the church's thinking about the window. 

Four months ago, when the window was covered to protect it from further deterioration, the cost of repairing it was estimated to be between $80,000 and $100,000. Now apparently that estimate has risen to $200,000, and the church is considering replacing it. Grover described how, during a windstorm that happened before the sheathing was installed, "the window was moving as far as six inches." He concluded, "It may be to the point that it has to be replaced."

There was mention of the design competition for a replacement window, which Forman suggested would not be "anything less than great looking." HPC member Tony Thompson, mentioning the 1989 I. M. Pei entrance to the Louvre, spoke of the need for new construction to be of its time and distinguishable from the original. (I may have missed the exact intent of Thompson's comment, because, in the audience, I was suffering what felt like a panic attack.)

Of the HPC members present at yesterday's meeting (Forman, Thompson, David Voorhees, Rick Rector, and Scott Baldinger), only Baldinger seemed appropriately alarmed by the suggestion that this major window in the church's 19th-century Gothic facade might be replaced with something designed and constructed in the 21st century. Rector, HPC chair, however, did seem to imply some misgivings when he commented that the church was "an amazing icon of Hudson."

The First Presbyterian Church is an amazing icon of Hudson. Established in 1785, it is as old as the city itself. The original church building was located at Second and Partition streets, and the tradition of the city clock being located in its tower began then. In 1837, the church moved to a newly constructed building at the corner of Warren and Fourth streets. 

In 1876, when the congregation was the largest and most affluent in the entire Hudson Valley, the church was redesigned and expanded by architect J. A. Wood to become the soaring Gothic church that it now is. Today, however, the massive church, with significant and inherent maintenance challenges, must be sustained by a congregation of only about 50. Located midway along our main street, hosting many community meetings and musical events as well as the religious services of two churches, the First Presbyterian Church is a significant historic and community resource and needs and deserves the support of the entire community to preserve and maintain it. The architectural character of Hudson and the civic life of Hudson would be so much poorer without it.

Dog Tale 11: William and Fred

William has always shared his home with cats. At first, there was Sam and Aurora (adopted when friends couldn't keep them), then Spot (adopted after he had been abandoned on our street), and now there is just Fred (adopted when his human died). William is very tolerant of cats, which is remarkable because the cats he has had to live with have not been very nice to him. 

Fred is especially mean. He has been known to take swipes at William with claws unsheathed. On the rare occasions when I am upstairs and my Velcro dog is downstairs or vice versa, Fred likes to lie on the steps, blocking William's way. Remembering the abuse he has suffered at the paws of Fred, William won't pass him on the stairs. Instead he stands and whimpers until I come and intervene to protect him from Fred and his slashing paws.

Last week as I was working at my desk, William started barking. He was right behind me in the room, but I didn't turn around to see what the problem was. It was approaching 5 o'clock, about time for our afternoon walk, so I figured he was barking because he was ready to go out. I was very close to finishing what I was doing, so I kept writing feverishly, eyes focused on the computer screen, as I said repeatedly, "Just a minute, William. We'll go in a minute"--hoping he wouldn't lose control before I hit "Publish." 

When I finally got up from my desk and turned to head downstairs, I realized William wasn't barking to go out at all. William's bed is in the middle of the floor in my office, and there, in the middle of William's bed, was Fred. William was barking because he wanted me to get Fred out of his bed so he could lie down.

The More Things Change . . .

Gossips has more than once bemoaned the loss of trees in Hudson, so when the following letter to the editor was discovered, quite by accident, in the Hudson Evening Register for September 12, 1892, I had to share it. Although the letter is signed simply "Observer," the editor of the newspaper betrays knowledge of the writer's identity.

IMPROVEMENT OR VANDALISM!

A Prominent Citizen and Large Taxpayer Gives Expression on an Absorbing Public Question--Suggestions Worthy of Attention

EDITOR REGISTER:--During a short absence from Hudson, in which the REGISTER was one of the anticipated pleasures of the day, we read of the removal of trees on Union street, between Fourth and Fifth streets. 

The thought of such vandalism was painful, but the highest flight of imagination failed to picture the result of the havoc wrought in a brief space of time.

Truly, the endurance of a community, suffering such wanton destruction of trees (the glory of any town or village enjoying a reputation for beauty), would be a source of admiration, did it not betoken a total lack of appreciation of everything which tends to build up the interests of our city.

No excellency of roadway can compensate for the reduction of what was once a pretty avenue, to the appearance of a street in a mining town.

There certainly should be some repeal of a law which makes a Street Commission to do what it pleases, without conferences with owners, whose property is injured in appearance and in value by the acts of said Commission.

Let all the well-wishers for Hudson's prosperity be on the alert to prevent such an outrage, should any other street in our city be threatened with a like invasion.

OBSERVER.

The trees in this photograph, which stood along the south side of the 400 block of Union Street, are very likely the trees that were lost in 1892.

Contemplating a Restoration Project?

It is well known that Gossips advocates for preserving historic wood windows, and Jack Alvarez, the architect member of the Hudson Historic Preservation Commission, has published and done workshops about the advantages of restoring original windows. This being the case, it's somewhat unexpected that Alvarez is participating in a "design charrette" that takes place tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Harbrook Fine Windows, Doors & Hardware in Albany, and Gossips is posting about it. Still it's a terrific opportunity for anyone planning a restoration project to sit with an architect--or more than one--to discuss plans and maybe get some ideas, without being obligated to hire someone. Along with Jack Alvarez (AIA, Landmark Consulting, Albany), the other architects that will be participating are Susan Davis (R.T., LEED Green Associate, SD Atelier, Saratoga), Paul Scoville (AIA, Albany), and Michael Tuck (AIA, LEED AP, Balzer + Tuck Architecture, Saratoga). Preregistration in encouraged and can be done online.

Dog Tale 10: William Finds His Voice

William never used to be a dog who barked. He never barked in the situations when you want a dog to bark--for example, when someone approaches the house or knocks on the door. But in his old age, as with some people, William has found his voice. He now barks whenever he wants or needs something. He barks when he has to go out. He barks when he wants fresh water in his bowl. He barks when the cat has left food in his dish and William wants to lick it clean. I cannot distinguish any difference in the sound of his barks, and it is often incredibly frustrating to try to figure out why he's barking and what will make him stop.

Such was the case a few weeks ago. I was upstairs working at the computer; William was downstairs barking. We had just come in from a long walk, so I knew he didn't have to go. He had licked the cat bowl clean hours before, so it couldn't be that. I had given him fresh water when we came home from the walk, so it wasn't that either. Since I was quite convinced that William really didn't need anything, I tried to ignore the barking, but finally, driven to distraction, I went downstairs to find out what the problem was. William, I discovered, was barking at the couch. 

The couch, which is really a kind of daybed, has two rows of pillows at the back. The first row of pillows had all flopped down, covering the seat and preventing William from lying there. I propped the pillows back up where they belonged, William jumped up on the couch and lay down, and peace and quiet were restored.

Moratorium on Fracking

The New York State Assembly on Wednesday passed a two-year moratorium on fracking, effective until May 15, 2015. Of course, the State Senate must pass similar legislation in order for the moratorium to take effect. Nathan Mayberg has the story in today's Register-Star: "Assembly passes 2-year fracking ban." Our Assembly member, Didi Barrett, supported the ban and is quoted in the article as saying, "You can't go back once you destroy the water system."

Of Interest

Betsy Jacks, executive director at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, and Peter Jung, of Peter Jung Fine Art, talked about the Hudson River School of painting with Chad Weckler on WGXC yesterday. You can hear that conversation by clicking here.   

The painting reproduced above is Thomas Cole's View Near the Village of Catskill, 1827.

Where Was "Fountain Head"?

Earlier this week, Gossips published an article from the Hudson Evening Register for October 25, 1910, about the Knickerbocker Cement Company laying a railroad to the port. Describing the location of the Knickerbocker plant, the article mentioned "Fountain Head," and a reader wanted to know where and what Fountain Head was. Gossips research has still not determined its exact location. What is known, however, is that Fountain Head was in the vicinity of the Columbia Turnpike toll house, and the Knickerbocker Cement plant was a quarter of a mile east of Fountain Head.

Franklin Ellis mentions the "Fountain" or "Fountains" twice in his History of Columbia County, published in 1878. He describes the place itself.

The "Fountain," east of the city limits, is the place of the springs alluded to by ancient writers two centuries ago or more. Here is located the old Hollenbeck hotel, a very ancient tavern-stand. (page 364)

He also describes the hotel that was located near the "Fountain."

The present Hollenbeck tavern, near the "Fountains" on the Columbia turnpike, is a very old place. The tavern was kept nearly or quite a hundred years ago by James Bedell. (page 362)

It appears that the Hollenbeck tavern was also known, or at sometime became known, as the Fountain Head Hotel. In the decades around the turn of the last century, the Fountain Head Hotel seems to have been the center of civic life in Greenport. The Greenport Town Board met there. Judges heard court cases there. Political parties held their caucuses there. In 1910, forty horses were auctioned at the Fountain Head Hotel, and in 1913, a mammoth hog named Belle was publicly slaughtered there.

The water that came forth out of the ground at Fountain Head seems to have had something of the same appeal to tourists as the waters at Saratoga Springs. On August 14, 1911, the Hudson Evening Register reported that James Adams of New York City, a guest at the hotel, being fond of the water that flows at Fountain Head and daily indulging himself in the cool, clear fluid, "slipped upon the rocks where the water runs and took a bad fall, sustaining a number of bruises."

Recognizing a Significant Sesquicentennial

From the beginning of 2011 until the spring of 2015, almost every day is the sesquicentennial of some event that took place during the Civil War. The first day of 2013 was a very important one: the 150th anniversary of the day that Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

On Saturday, March 9, Barbara Krauthamer, historian of slavery and coauthor of the book Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery, will be at the Hudson Opera House to read from her book and discuss "what freedom looked like to black Americans in the Civil War era." In the book, Krauthamer and photographic historian Deborah Willis present 150 photographs—some never before published—from the antebellum days of the 1850s through the New Deal era of the 1930s and help the reader understand the photos as "documents of engagement, action, struggle, and aspiration."

The event, which begins at 4 p.m., is free and open to the public. Copies of Envisioning Emancipation will be available for purchase and signing.

News from the Youth & Aging Committee

Last night at the Youth & Aging Committee meeting, committee chair Wanda Pertilla (Second Ward) said that the senior center project had been put out to bid again. The goal, of course, is to get the cost of construction down to $1,080,000, which, even with the $300,000 offered by the Galvan Foundation, is all the City has to spend. She also mentioned more than once St. Mary's Academy as a possibility for seniors. The idea that the City might purchase of St. Mary's and turn it into an intergenerational center, combining senior programming, youth programming, and day care, was first suggested by Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward) last month at a special meeting of the Legal Committee.  

Hudson resident Sumayyah Shabazz was present at the meeting to warn that "a new gang is trying to come in, and they are recruiting." Joe Gentile has that story in today's Register-Star: "Committee told to beware of violent gang forming in city."

More About the Future

Marina Abramovic spoke recently at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard about her work and about her plans for the Institute for the Preservation of Performing Art here in Hudson: "Performance Artist Marina Abramovic: 'Art Should Be Disturbing.'"

Dog Tale 9: William and the Pit Bull

William is not an aggressive dog, and, for most of his life, he rarely, if ever, barked. One summer night, a couple of years ago, William and I ran into a Gossips reader I'd never met before as we were leaving Lick. (William had indulged in a Betsy's Bow Wow.) She was walking a pit bull--a very nice, well behaved pit bull, unlike some of that breed William had encountered previously. To my surprise and embarrassment, the usually very laid back William skipped all of his typical "getting to know you" routine and immediately barked at the dog in a not very friendly way. I apologized for William's bad behavior, explaining that he never barked at other dogs. The woman, whom I had just met, suggested, jokingly I thought at the time, that William was "profiling."

A New Police Chief

The waiting is over, and the predictions have proved true. Minutes ago Mayor William Hallenbeck issued a press release announcing the appointment of L. Edward Moore as the new chief of the Hudson Police Department. The appointment is provisional "pending selection of a permanent Chief from a certified civil service list to be published in mid or late 2014."  

Moore will be sworn in at a public ceremony at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 18, at the Central Fire Station.

A Hundred-Year-Old Lawsuit

Publishing this article would have been more timely a decade ago, at the height of the battle against SLC's "Greenport Project," but I discovered it for myself only yesterday. I publish it now in the hope that readers will find it interesting as evidence of the long and ongoing struggle here in Hudson between industrial enterprises and environmental protection. The article appeared on the front page of the Hudson Evening Register for November 20, 1916.

CEMENT CO. IS DEFENDANT

Joint Action Started in Supreme Court.

CLAIM PUT AT $75,000

Suit is for Damages by Dust, Etc.--Injunction Sought.

The New York & New England Cement and Lime company is the defendant in joint actions, trial of which began to-day in Supreme court here. The aggregated amount of the claims is $75,000. That it will develop into one of the most important and interesting litigations tried in Hudson in years is the general belief of all conversant with it, and who give the assumption that the trial will last at least a week. Justice Chester shortly after noon to-day excused all jurors not engaged in the case, until Monday morning.

The actions are No. 6, Frank Shults executor of the will of Mary Shults, against the New York & New England Cement and Lime company, and No. 40, Frank Shults and Mabel J. Hoffman against the New York & New England Cement and Lime company. The latter is for injunction and damages; the former for damages to real and personal property. Both actions are being tried jointly.

Of such importance is the litigation that widely known geological experts, expert chemists, expert horticulturalists and agriculturalists, physicians, etc., are expected to testify. Many deeds will be offered in evidence, and miniature machines will probably be introduced during the trial.

In opening the case for the plaintiffs, John C. Dardess, of Chatham, attorney of record, who has associated with him Messrs. Crandell and Graf, of Hudson, said that the action is not only to obtain damages for personal and real estate injuries, but to restrain the cement company from further commission of a nuisance. 

The property of the plainiff consists of a homestead in Greenport, formerly know as the Peter Van Deusen homestead, which, in 1881 was conveyed to Fred Jones. Subsequently it came into the possession of the plaintiff's mother. In 1910 the manufacture of cement was commenced by the defendant on property adjoining the valuable homestead. Dust, dirt, etc., has and is daily showering the Shults property and now, and it will be as long as the "showering" continues, the property is practically valueless; it is unsanitary; it is almost impossible to live upon; outside the crops have been destroyed; persons living on the place suffer in their health, and henceforth a redress is sought, damage desired and the company restrained from continuing the alleged nuisance.

The Defendant's Position

Samuel B. Coffin, of Hudson, associated with J. Rider Cady, who is attorney of record, and Robert Thorne, of New York city, outlined defendant's contentions. He said the case was of great importance not only to the defendant but also to the community. The cement industry, he declared, is one of the most remarkable geological features in the United States. As were the Palisades uplifted by volcanic eruption centuries ago so was Becraft mountain, and cropping up was a substance especially suitable for good cement. It is the last outcropping of rock east of the Hudson river which can be used for cement manufacturing. Because of its locality, it will be beneficial for eastern New York and New England States.

The company could not locate wherever it desired; it had to go out where there was suitable rock. It had to invest great sums of money, and as a result the Greenport plant is considered the most massive in the world.

Mr. Coffin said that it cost the cement company $142,000 to install a dust collecting apparatus, which is one of the best apparatus made. That it also costs $30,000 annually to operate this dust collecting device. The plant has also installed various other apparatus in order to alleviate things complained of by plaintiff, among those the stopping of blasting at night and the installing of a street sprinkling system.

When the Register went to press Mr. Coffin was giving the jury an idea as to what the defense hopes to prove regarding a contradiction to the plaintiff's charges.

More About the Situation with the Police

If you're curious about the new local law regarding the police department and the HPD's objections to it, there's another story about it in today's Register-Star: "Mayor responds to police union's concerns." The basic issue seems to be that the mayor wants to restructure a top-heavy department in order to save taxpayer money, and the HPD is having a problem with that.  

Dog Tale 8: William and the Wooden Bowl

One of William's long memories has to do not with food and taste but with smell. Years ago--I can't recall how many--there was a wooden bowl at Lili and Loo that William was obsessed with. It was displayed in the back room--the room that opens onto the garden. The bowl was African, and its scent, imperceptible to humans, was a siren call to William. Whenever we entered the store, William made a beeline for the bowl. Although I prevented him, he wanted to lick it, he wanted to take it in his mouth and carry it off, he wanted to gnaw on it and make it his own. I contemplated buying the bowl for him, but it seemed both too costly and too inappropriate to turn a handcrafted objet into a chew toy.

Eventually, the bowl disappeared from the store. I'm not sure what happened to it. Presumably someone bought it. But to this day, when William visits Lili and Loo, he insists on going to that back room to look for--or rather sniff for--the bowl.

Points of Interest, Hudson, NY

Recently, a reader let me borrow what had been her grandfather's copy of the 1920 Official Automobile Blue Book for New York State and Canada. Unlike Kelley Blue Book, this one didn't tell the value of cars. Rather it was the "Standard Road Guide of America"--a handbook for tourists. In the 1920s, of course, the introduction of the assembly line by Henry Ford was making cars more affordable, and touring the country in one's own automobile was within the reach of more people. 

In the guide book, Hudson is featured as a destination in the Poughkeepsie Section. There is a map of Hudson, a description meant to inspire interest and attract people to Hudson, and some ads--one for the Worth Hotel, one for Wm. Petry's Hudson Garage, and one placed by the Hudson Chamber of Commerce.

Hudson (pop. 12,000, alt. 96 ft.), commanding a fine view of the Hudson river and the Catskill mountains, situated on the east bank of the river, is a city marked by many incidents of early history and offers many points of interest to the tourist and visitor.

Henry Hudson landed at the spot which is now the city of Hudson from his ship the Half Moon in 1609. Leaving his vessel here he ascended the river in canoes. Hudson was then and is today, the natural head of navigation. A light house marks the landing point.

Hudson was at first known as Claverack Landing and was settled by Nantucket whalers in 1785. For many years it was a prominent whaling port. It is the third oldest city in the state and many of the early landmarks are still in existence. It is the county seat of Columbia county which has a population of 43,000.

Hudson is a road center and improved highways lead in every direction. A ferry connects with the west bank of the Hudson. Motorists visiting Hudson are advised to leave the main route of travel and going down Warren street, follow the main business thorofare to the end of Promenade Hill where one of the best views of the Hudson river and Catskill mountains to be found anywhere in the section is available.

From Mount Ray where the city reservoirs are located, the Berkshires, the Catskills and the White mountains are visible. A magnificent view of the Hudson, north and south stretches away and the boundary lines of four states can be counted.

Industrially Hudson is prominent because of its two large cement plants, knitting mills manufacturing underwear, ice and elevating conveyors, ship equipment, and other industries of a varied nature.

Dog Tale 7: William's Great Expectations

William always remembers the kindness of strangers--and friends, too--especially when it comes to food. In the case of treats offered to him in shops on Warren Street, William's memory can be embarrassingly long. If William has gotten a treat somewhere, he will forever after expect that, whenever we pass the shop, he can go in and get another. 

Hudson Wine Merchants is one of the places William always wants to enter, and he is never disappointed. Michael Albin and his staff--especially Erin and Kathleen--always seem gratifyingly happy to see William and are generous with the treats, even though William's visits are almost daily, and my wine purchases are not quite as frequent.

In the first summers of Lick, when Charlie Ferussi was the scoopologist who seemed to be there most often, William got in the habit of expecting treats at Lick, too. When Charlie moved on to greater things, Avery carried on the tradition of indulging William. But last summer, not everyone on the Lick staff was familiar with William and his expectations. 

One summer evening, I tried to steer William past Lick's open door but failed. He bolted in and pulled me in after him. The young woman behind the counter that night was unknown to us and we to her. I wasn't planning to buy ice cream that night and had no money with me, so when she asked what I wanted, I had to explain that I was there because my dog wanted a biscuit. She went to the cupboard, took a Milk Bone out of the box, and handed it to me. Not the experience William was looking for . . . or I either for that matter.

William's longest memory of treats, however, involves the Columbia County Council on the Arts. In the summer of 2008, after the first Walking the dogWALK, the dried venison treats left over from the goodie bags given to participating dogs (in the dog show that followed the walk, William was named "Most Handsome Wolf") ended up at CCCA. I can't remember if human business brought us there the first time, or if William, sniffing out the venison treats, pulled me through an open door, but he got a treat from Tricia, who worked there then, and that started a routine. When the venison treats ran out, they were replaced by dog biscuits; when Tricia was no longer there, Sue Chiafullo took up the task of indulging William. 

It's been a couple of years now since William has gotten a treat at CCCA, but sometimes when we pass by, he still stops at the door and presses his nose expectantly against the spot where he knows it opens.

The photo of WalkingthedogWALK is by Dan Region. 

Unhappy Police Officers

Mayor's hearings on proposed local laws--the final step in enacting a law--are usually non-events. The mayor comes down from his office in City Hall at 4 p.m. and sits in the Council chamber for a few minutes. Nobody shows up to express an opinion. He signs the law. 

Not so yesterday. Mayor William Hallenbeck, himself a former police officer, held a hearing on the new law that would eliminate language in the city charter that specifies how many high-ranking officers in the Hudson Police Department (currently it says there must be five sergeants and two lieutenants), and the police showed up in force, with their union representative, to express their displeasure. Joe Gentile has the story in today's Register-Star: "Union official: Charter change 'union busting.'"

Chutes and Ladders

Obsessing about conveyors and overpasses to the port, Gossips discovered this undated panoramic picture of the Hudson waterfront.

Note what appear to be a conveyors, of two different types, at the far right. In spite of their appearance, I'm not sure this picture takes in enough of the waterfront to the south to include the dock used then as now by the people mining Becraft Mountain--for coral and shell marble, for limestone, for the raw materials needed for cement, for aggregate.

Dog Tale 6: William the Presbyterian

I used to have a cartoon that showed two dogs talking. One, a large dog with a keg tied around his neck, said: "I'm a St. Bernard." The other, a dog of no particular breed, said: "I'm not sure. I think I'm a Presbyterian." That other dog could have been William.

From the beginning, our daily walks brought us, at least once a day, to the square in front the courthouse, midway between St. Mary's Catholic Church and the First Presbyterian Church. (Christ Church Episcopal, of course, is there, too, but it doesn't figure in this story.) It seemed that a decade or so ago the bells of the two churches were rung more often than they are now, and we would frequently be in courthouse square when either the bells of St. Mary's or the bells of the First Presbyterian Church were ringing. When it was the bells of St. Mary's, William would make a sound like low howling, which one witness called "singing" but seemed to me, because ear twitching was involved, an indication that the pitch of the bells was hurting his ears. By contrast, William seemed to enjoy the sound of the bells at the First Presbyterian Church.

William's apparent Protestant leanings were fortuitous. When I adopted him in 1999, I was on the board of the Friends of the First Presbyterian Church, and in the early years, he spent a fair amount of time with me at the church. This is one of my favorite pictures. I love the composition. It was a candid shot, taken in 2000 by the late Albert Fenn. The background is the east wall of the church.

What I'm wearing on my head, which makes the shape of my profile resemble William's, is a weather vane hat (shown at right)--a black baseball cap with a replica of the church's historic weather vane, cut from black foam core, stitched on the top. All the Friends board members wore such hats at the Weather Vane Festival in 2000, which celebrated the installation of a reproduction weather vane, made by a skilled artisan, at the top of the church's soaring steeple--a measure taken to allow the 225-year-old original, which was badly corroded, to be preserved indoors as a treasured artifact. We gave a weather vane hat to News10 meteorologist Steve Caporizzo, who did a weather workshop for kids at the festival, and he wore it on the air that same night.

Not to Be Missed

Lynn Sloneker reports on the ideas being floated for making up the $2.177 HCSD budget shortfall on her blog, Unmuffled.

From Point A to Point B

The article from the Hudson Republican, which was quoted yesterday, sent me to Fulton History to see what else I could learn about the project, undertaken in 1910, to connect the Knickerbocker Cement Plant to the port by rail. My quest uncovered this article which appeared in the Hudson Evening Register on October 25, 1910, about ten weeks after the Hudson Republican article, and reports on the progress of the project. 

Gossips Note: The article as it appears on Fulton History had been transcribed from the original by a scanner, and unfortunately the scanner didn't interpret all the letters correctly. Many of the garbled words can be inferred from the context, but when that proved impossible, I've put the incomprehensible letter (and symbol) sequence in brackets so you can have a go at figuring it out for yourself. The illustrations accompanying the text are not from the original article; they are not even contemporary.

RAPID WORK LAYING TRACK

Railroad Track Built in Hurry 

Across "Cinder Dump"

[COMCTSWO] RAILROADS

Gives the Knickerbocker Company

a Track to Get to Its River

Dock Property.

Some quick railroad building was done in this city yesterday when a track was laid from the B. & A. tracks just below Third street across the cinder dump past the rear of the Railway Steel Spring works and then south of the Conway coal yard, the track ending just alongside of the New York Central tracks. Here it is thought a "[ntt]-over" will be made on the [ConrVsil] tracks, so the company can get to its dock property and river terminus. Over a hundred men were on the job.

The Knickerbocker Cement company, which is building a large plant just beyond Fountain Head, purchased some time ago the dock property on which formerly stood the Prennen-Kennedy ice house. With this property, they also purchased a right of way dating back to the time of the old iron furnace which allowed the grantee to build a railroad from the dock property to the Boston & Albany railroad.

Some two or three weeks ago a switch track was put in the Boston & Albany tracks just west of the Third street crossing. The rails went a few feet, curving away from the main tracks and then seeming to end. Considerable speculation was aroused as to what this switch was meant for and where the tracks which lead from it were to go.

This question was quickly answered yesterday. For shortly after 7 in the morning a big gang of men with a train load of railroad materials rolled up and operations commenced. Ties and rails were installed, wire fences cut and [pc>*ts] removed. The ties were laid down on the ground and before they had fairly settled in place the rails were laid on them and spiked fast. This operation continued from the lands of the Boston & Albany railroad across the lands to which Marks Kearney, the Stott Woolen company and the New York and New England Cement and Lime company claim ownership and until the tracks of the New York Central were reached. A formal protest was made by attorneys representing the owners, but the work went right on. Legal developments will probably [romtr.on] on later.

When the track had been built flat cars were run on to it and on each piece of property the spikes were removed from a rail and one truck was allowed to run off the tracks so as to make the car immovable. This prevented the owners of the property from removing the tracks.

The track laid is as tortuous as a snake's trail and to put it mildly has its ups and downs. Men were at work to-day putting it in better shape. However, it has served its purpose, for by it the Knickerbocker Cement company has used the right of way which it purchased and under which [>r Li] permitted to build a railroad from the dock property to the Boston & … [Note: A line is missing here.] a question for the courts to locate the right of way in question and decide whether the right of way which the company owns runs over the ground where they have built their tracks. If the right of way does not lie over those lands then the Cement company will have some damages to pay the respective owners.

It was stated that yesterday was the most opportune time for the Cement company to do the job because they expected to meet the greatest opposition when they reached the land of the New York and New England Cement and Lime company. Yesterday was the day when a new president and executive staff took the helm in the affairs of the Atlas Portland Cement company and the Knickerbocker people figured that there would really be no one on the job at the head of the.… 

Gossips Note: The bottom of this newspaper page appears to have been cut off, along with the last lines of this article.

This image of the Atlas Cement plant was borrowed from SamPratt.com.

What Used to Be

Hudson Valley historian Paul Barrett discovered this photograph in the Register-Star for March 28, 1973, and shared it with Gossips. This picture taken almost forty years ago shows some of the last remaining original buildings along North Front Street. The caption that accompanied the photo is reproduced below it.

New Skyline Growing  Work crews have blocked off North Front Street completely, have graded it and are now in the process of realigning it and putting in sewage and water lines. This scene is from Promenade Hill toward Hudson, showing Hudson's new nine story building for low income housing. (Register-Star photo by Evhan)

Dog Tale 5: A Dog Walks into a Bar

Some years ago, William and I were walking on Warren Street at the end of the workday. It was "happy hour," and as we passed a favorite watering hole, I waved to a group of people I knew who were seated at a table by the window. They beckoned me to come in and join them, but I indicated I couldn't because I had William with me, and it was well known that William, my Velcro dog, didn't do well being left alone on the street, tied to a parking meter. One of my friends came out and encouraged me to bring William in with me, and so I did.

During the time it took to drink a very leisurely glass of wine, William lay quietly at my feet, out of sight under the table. Shortly before we were ready to leave, a man sitting opposite me at an adjourning table got up and left, taking his dog--a big dog like William--with him. That dog and William had been lying under the tables together, practically nose to nose, and there had been not a sound out of either of them. 

The Way Things Were

A post earlier this week raised the question of how gravel would get to the port if CSX were to close the Broad Street crossing. This inspired city historian Pat Fenoff to send Gossips the text of an article that appeared in the Hudson Republican on August 13, 1910. The Knickerbocker Cement Company was located on Route 23B, where ADM is now. The transloading facility now being developed, which will load aggregate onto rail cars for Colarusso, is adjacent to what was the Knickerbocker Cement Plant.

The Knickerbocker Cement Company, the new corporation which has started work on another big cement plant east of this city, in the town of Greenport, proposes to utilize the big dock it purchased on the river front at this city, where at one time there was a large ice house which was destroyed by fire several years ago.

The company has the use of the tracks of the Boston and Albany railroad passing thru this city, and a spur is now being laid from the branch here to the plant a short distance this side of the bridge crossing the Claverack creek.

The plan mapped out is to build a big trestle connecting with the B. & A. tracks near the South bay and extend it over the tracks of the New York Central railroad to the dock on the river front. The trestle will be a concrete and iron structure, and it is likely that work on its construction will soon commence. 

Hudson in the Movies

Remember The Man at the Counter, the short film that was shot in Hudson in 2010, primarily at The Cascades? The film, which has been screened at twenty-seven film festivals and has won several awards, can now be viewed online by clicking here. Watch for a cameo appearance by Cascades owner, Bob Lucke.

Thanks to Phil Haber for bringing this to Gossips' attention.

Dog Tale 4: Doppelganger Fallout

The fact that William had a doppelganger had its downside. It will be remembered that William's double was regularly allowed to run free, and on one--or many--of these excursions, he apparently did something very offensive in the backyard of people who rented a house up the street. I had no knowledge of this until the summer of 2005, when I was running for alderman--long after the doppelganger and his people had moved away.

That year, the motto of the Democratic ticket was "Unity in the Community," and because canvassing was a team effort, I was not the first to visit the home of the people whose backyard had been violated by William's doppelganger. Those campaigning for the citywide candidates were, and they got an earful about "the woman on this block who walks a black dog, lets him poop anywhere, and never picks up after him." My political colleagues said, "I don't think Carole would do that," but the people were adamant.

This was reported back to me, of course, and when I visited the house on my campaign rounds, I tried to impress upon them that I have always picked up after my dog. Their response was an incredulous "Yeah, right." It occurred to me that the offending canine might have been William's doppelganger, but they weren't buying it. They knew what they'd seen, and that was that. 

I'm sure I didn't get their votes, and their hostility toward me and William continued and seemed to escalate. Fortunately for us, they moved someplace else and don't live on our block anymore.

It's About Time

Those who attend meetings in the Council chamber at City Hall know that the very 1960s wall clock once mounted on the east wall hasn't worked for quite a while. When it first stopped working, around 2007, it remained on the wall for several years, telling the correct time twice a day. Not long ago, when the chamber was repainted, the clock was removed, leaving a gaping hole where the clockworks had been.

Last night, there was a new clock on the wall--new but definitely old. A little investigation discovered that the clock came from Regan & Smith, 601 Warren Street, and had been acquired and mounted on the wall by Alderman Nick Haddad (First Ward).

Indoor Market Opens at Christ Church

Among the sure signs that spring is on the way is the return of the Indoor Market in the Parish Hall at Christ Church, 431 Union Street. The market begins its third year tomorrow--the first Saturday in March--and continues every Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., until the Hudson Farmers' Market returns to its outdoor venue at Sixth and Columbia streets on May 4. You can expect all the same good things you've come to expect from the Indoor Market, along with some surprises. The news is that some of the vendors are making their own maple syrup (yum!) and growing amazing greens--right now, while it's still winter--in "hoop houses."

Frightening Suggestion

Yesterday Nathan Mayberg reported in the Register-Star that asbestos remediation at the courthouse was going to cost more than anticipated: "Asbestos at courthouse could cost $165K more." The presence of asbestos in the courthouse should probably come as no surprise. Before it was discovered that asbestos could cause mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer, it was valued for its fire resistance--something that was preeminent in the minds of the people who built the courthouse in 1907. The previous courthouse had burned to the ground only seven years after it had been built, and, to make certain this didn't happen again, the new courthouse was constructed entirely of stone and metal--including the original furniture--and they probably added asbestos to be sure the building was completely fire resistant.

One sentence toward the end of the article about asbestos strikes terror in the preservationist's heart: "The supervisors are also considering replacing windows at the courthouse. . . ." Replacement windows in our magnificent Beaux Arts Warren and Wetmore courthouse? 

Say it ain't so.

At the Planning Commission Public Hearing

It was originally announced that a special meeting of the Planning Commission would follow the public hearing to act on the subdivision required for the transfer of the nine acres from Holcim to the City of Hudson. The hearing was to be at 5:30; the special meeting at 5:45. Sometime yesterday, the special meeting was cancelled. It is reasonable to speculate that the decision to cancel the meeting may have been made after The Valley Alliance delivered its twelve objections to the land transfer and it seemed that hearing public comment might take more than fifteen minutes.

The four members of the Planning Commission present for last night's public hearing--Don Tillson (chair), Laura Margolis, Claudia DeStefano, and Glenn Martin--seemed inadequately informed about the issue before them. Tillson stated at the outset that they were only receiving public comment and no decision would be made. He also pointed out that when the Planning Commission did a site plan review they considered such things as egress and ingress and use as a park.

The first person to comment was Sarah Dibben, who expressed concern that "Hudson has closed itself off from partners who could help make it a park." She was referring to the condition of the transfer that required the City would not lease or sell the property to a not-for-profit for fifty years. She made the point that, when the terms of the transfer agreement were up, she would be 80 years old.

Cheryl Stuart, saying that she represented the Concerned Residents of Hudson, read a prepared statement which concluded by calling on the Common Council to rescind the resolution passed at the special meeting on February 11 and redraft it "before any further actions are taken by you the Planning Commission." Stuart called the information provided by the Common Council "erroneous and misleading." The basis for this allegation was that the parcel in question is actually two parcels: the area being transferred increased from seven acres to something more than nine acres by the addition of land that was once a Standard Oil distribution facility. She said the additional parcel "is most likely contaminated and was not included in the BOA [Brownfield Opportunity Area] application to New York State."

Stuart's objections were then taken up by Timothy O'Connor, who pointed out that only the seven-acre parcel was mentioned in the LWRP (Local Waterfront Revitalization Program) and the additional 2.4-acre parcel was never discussed in the GEIS (Generic Environmental Impact Statement). He explained that at one time Standard Oil had a wharf, a distribution depot, and oil tanks on the 2.4-acre parcel. He maintained that, since the 2.4 acres had never been mentioned in the LWRP, the statement in the resolution that the transfer "comports with the City's Local Waterfront Revitalization Program" is false. O'Connor advised Tillson that the Common Council was putting the Planning Commission in a litigious position.

Linda Mussmann, who chaired the Waterfront Advisory Steering Committee in 2006 and 2007, declared her support for the action, saying that it is "part of the LWRP and "key and crucial to completing the LWRP."

More than once during the hearing, Tillson explained that the only information the Planning Commission had about the transfer came from the Common Council, which raises the question of why Cheryl Roberts, who is counsel to the Planning Commission as well as the city attorney and was there at the beginning of the meeting, left the room--with no explanation--when Stuart started to speak. Was it because she had negotiated the land transfer with Holcim and for that reason had to recuse herself? Or was there some other reason?

Tillson ended the public hearing with the statement, "We don't have enough information yet to move ahead." A short time later he was observed heading up the stairs in City Hall, possibly to meet with the mayor and the city attorney.