Of Interest

On Wednesday morning, Victor Mendolia and Seth Rogovoy interviewed Kaya Weidman, executive director of Kite's Nest, on WGXC's @Issue. That interview has now been archived and can be heard by clicking here. 

The interview starts out, after greetings and introductions, with Rogovoy asking Weidman a question that may be on many people's minds: What are the organization's plans for the property it was gifted on North Front Street in the aftermath of the devastating fire that destroyed the historic mill building on the site. In prefacing her answer, Weidman uses the term liberatory education, which diverts the conversation to a definition of the term and beyond. About 16 minutes in and again at 27 minutes, the conversation returns to the building and future plans for the site.

In between, the conversation about the mission of Kite's Nest, its inspiration, programs, and vision for the future is well worth the time spent listening. To do so, click here.
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The Great War: April 6, 1917

One hundred years ago today, on Friday, April 6, 1917, the most prominent headline on the front page of the Hudson Evening Register announced that war had been declared. The United States was entering the war with Germany.

PRESIDENT WILSON SIGNS THE RESOLUTION DECLARING THAT A STATE OF WAR EXISTS

The headline was followed by this subhead:

In 1917, Friday, April 6, was Good Friday. That coincidence was noted in the Evening Register's editorial on that day, transcribed excerpts of which follow:

IT IS NOW WAR

From an event which took place on this day centuries ago, which was a day so tragic that the great lover of humanity was forced to exclaim, "My God, hast thou forsaken me?" great good and civilizing results have been constantly flowing. On this Good Friday when the American nation buckles on its armor for humanity, we can expect naught else but a further step along the pathway of civilization and advancement for the people of the world--the same as has followed every war in which the United States has had a part.

The expected has come. Forced by a long series of insults to America, insults to our people, insults to international law, insults to our flag and wholesale destruction of American lives and property, Congress has made a declaration that a state of war exists with Germany.

It is a declaration that will make a profound impression throughout the world.

Wilson--champion of peace, a great leader and patriot, lover of the common cause of the common people--has dealt with the utmost patience and forebearance through long and tragic ordeals only to be brought to the inevitable that now confronts America. . . .

In declaring that a state of war exists--war thrust upon us--President Wilson urges this nation:

"TO EXERT ALL ITS POWER AND EMPLOY ALL ITS RESOURCES TO BRING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE TO TERMS AND END THE WAR."

With full comprehension of what this means, the President exhorts Congress not only to meet the tremendous issue courageously, but to take immediate stock of resources, to provide for the calling of at least half a million men to the colors, to prepare for the calling of subsequent forces to aid in financing the war against Germany, and to bring the full force of this great and glorious America into the titanic struggle for the vindication of principle and the preservation of human rights on land and sea.

"Our object now," as President Wilson states, let every man, woman and child in America bear in mind, "is to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power, and to set up amongst the really free and self-governing peoples of the world concert of purpose and action."

Congress has now responded and supported the President. So momentous is this situation--so vast in its possibilities, so dangerous in misunderstandings and prejudices, so fraught with opportunity for service for all mankind--it is difficult to grasp more than a little of its full meaning.

First of all it demands sober, serious, patriotic thought. To the mothers and fathers of the land; to their sons and daughters; to our adopted countrymen, whom we honor and respect--to all of you--the Register appeals, urging that you one and all rally to the colors of the Stars and Stripes, which are dear to the heart of every man fit to call himself an American!

War means great sacrifices for us all, and now that the opportunity and responsibility are here let us rise as one to demonstrate again to the world as we did in the days of Washington, Jackson, Lincoln and McKinley, that we are equal to the task and ready for a fight to vindicate right and avenge the blood of our slaughtered countrymen!

Ten Hours of Mother Ann Lee

I have to admit I have a special fondness for Basilica Hudson's 24-Hour Drone: Experiments in Sound and Music. Two years ago, at the very first 24-Hour Drone, everyone gathered for the event poured out of the Basilica to join the reenactment of what occurred on that night in 1865 when the train bearing the body of Abraham Lincoln stopped briefly in Hudson on its way from Washington, DC, to Springfield, IL.

Photo: William Shannon

Photo: Dini Lamot

This year, 24-Drone, which happens on April 29 to 30, is embracing something similarly otherworldly: the reading aloud of the 1816 Testimonies of Mother Ann Lee, presented by Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon, which is expected to take approximately ten hours. The reading begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 29.

Mother Ann Lee, the illiterate daughter of a blacksmith in Manchester, England, was the mystic and visionary founder of the Shakers. She placed gender equality, pacifism, and a profound sense of community at the core of the Shakers' beliefs. Testimonies, a compilation of her statements and the memories of those who knew her, is a foundational Shaker text.

You have the opportunity to participate in the first endurance reading of Mother Ann Lee's Testimonies. Just send an email to programs@shakerml.org expressing your interest, giving your name and contact information, and indicating your top three preferences among the following time slots: 

1. 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (already filled)
2. 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
3. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
4. 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
5. 10 p.m. to 12 midnight

Each reader will be assigned a sequential number within the two-hour window and will be expected to read for ten minutes. The text will be provided, and there is no preparation necessary. Along with the opportunity to be part of this remarkable event, readers will receive "a free pass to 24-Hour Drone, a drink on the house, an adventure, encounters with cool people, and--just possibly--a moment or two of transcendence." Who could ask for more?
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Caring About the River

Late on Tuesday night, the tide lifted the barge carrying 66,000 gallons of gasoline off the rocks near Dutchman's Point, and it floated on down the river without serious incident. Coincidentally, the next night--last night--a crowd of Hudsonians filled the North Hall at Basilica Hudson to consider the threats for the Hudson River of which the accident was an example.   

 

Photo: Victor Mendolia

The evening began with the screening of four films in the series by Jon Bowermaster, The Hudson: A River at Risk. If you missed last night's screening or if you want to review what you saw, all of them can be viewed online:

Bomb Trains on the Hudson

A Pipeline Runs Through It

Anchors Away

PCBs: A Toxic Legacy

Threats to the Hudson River and the communities along the river was the common theme of all four films, but three dealt specifically with what is a fairly new threat: the transport of crude oil, bound for other places, through the Hudson Valley--by train, by pipeline, and by barge. Throughout the three films dealing with these issues, the point was made repeatedly that moving crude oil on and along the Hudson River brings all risk and no benefit to our region.

After the screening, there was a question and and answer period with a panel consisting of Melissa Auf der Maur, co-founder and director of Basilica Hudson; Sam Merrett, captain of the Apollonia; Andy Bicking, director of public policy at Scenic Hudson; Cliff Weathers, communications director for Riverkeeper; and filmmaker Jon Bowermaster.

Photo: Victor Mendolia

When the discussion was opened to questions from the audience, the first one came from Peter Jung, who asked, "What percentage of oil passing through the Hudson Valley is getting shipped overseas?" In responding to the question, Bicking explained that in December 2015 a 40-year-old ban on the export of crude oil from the United States had been repealed. This action allows crude oil from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota to be shipped abroad. The feverish increase in oil being shipped through the Hudson Valley in railroad cars and barges and the proposed Pilgrim Pipeline is a consequence of repealing the ban, which was imposed in the 1970s when there was an oil shortage in the U.S. The proposed anchorage sites on the Hudson--forty-three berths in ten locations from Yonkers to Kingston--are seen as part of this fossil fuel frenzy. It is believed that barges will be parked, full or empty, on the Hudson River, waiting for the price of oil to rise. "Once the market price goes up," Weathers predicted, "the Hudson River could become something like Galveston. . . . The Hudson Valley could be transformed into an energy corridor."

The discussion provided updates on the status of the two proposed projects: the anchorage sites and the Pilgrim Pipeline. 

Hudson River Anchorage Sites  The U.S. Coast Guard, which is considering this request from industry because they are obligated to do so, is now reviewing the 10,000 comments submitted by the public. (Apparently, the Coast Guard is accustomed to getting only about twenty comments.) There are also thirty-four resolutions from municipal governments opposing the anchorage sites. At the end of March, Senator Sue Serino, a Republican, and Assemblymember Didi Barrett, a Democrat, introduced legislation at the state level intended to safeguard the river from the proposed anchorage sites.

Pilgrim Pipeline  This is the moment for people to get educated about this project. The public comment period has not started yet, but it is expected to soon. The Hudson Conservation Advisory Council is drafting a resolution to present to the Common Council opposing the project. At the CAC meeting on Tuesday, it was noted that sixty towns and cities on the west side of the river have already passed resolutions opposing the project and some on the east side of the river have done so as well. As has been pointed out at previous CAC meetings, the pipeline would cross Catskill Creek, and something spilled in Catskill Creek will reach Hudson in just one tide cycle.

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The Great War: April 5, 1917

On this day a hundred years ago, the front page of the Hudson Evening Register reported that a declaration of war had been approved by the Senate and a vote in the House of Representatives was expected soon--perhaps that very evening. There was also another article about the measures being taken to protect the water supply. And then there was this headline:

   
Because of the condition of the newspaper, the text of the article is transcribed below instead of reproduced. Some background information that is not provided until much later in the article: Mr. Frese, who in 1917 would have been 48, immigrated to the United States from Germany when he was 16 and became an American citizen when he was 21.

Apparently somewhat despondent over things said about him--having a tendency to bring out that he is radically pro-German in his views pertaining to the present situation between the United States and Germany--which are no doubt pure fabrications, C. H. Frese, proprietor of the delicatessen establishment at 421 Warren street, this city, was interviewed today by a Register reporter.

"Many things have been said about you, Mr. Frese, regarding your attitude toward America in the present crisis," the newspaperman told the Hudsonian.

"I understand there are, but God knows they are not justifiable. For thirty-two years I have lived in this country: I have made my living here; I married an American-born woman; my children are here, and I have never been other than a peace [illegible] citizen. I love America. If I did not, I wouldn't have remained here."

Mr. Frese showed a marked degree of modesty when he declared that he didn't care to "advertise himself in the newspapers." He said he had thought of contradicting some of the accusations several times, but on the other hand, he said he could not determine in his mind whether it would be best to come forward and refute the statements. "Would it not stir up more agitation?" he inquired of the reporter.

421 Warren Street--the location,
in 1917, of Frese's delicatessen

The article goes on to mention some of the rumors that were being circulated about Frese and his family. One was that his wife, who was American-born, had taken a flag, presumably an American flag, away from a boy. Another was that his son, who was a tenor in the high school glee club, had refused to sing during a patriotic service at school. The most serious seemed to be the report, denied by their commanding officer, Captain Vogel, that "the Seventy-first boys were refused goods at Frese's store." As we've learned, the 71st Regiment was in Hudson at the time to guard the railroad, between Tivoli and Stockport, from being "interfered with by persons hostile to the government," and the management of the Playhouse, just downstreet from Frese's delicatessen, was giving the soldiers free admission to shows whenever they were off duty.
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What's Happening at Hudson Hall at HOH

Now that we've done our requisite grousing about the re-branding and the ensuing confusion, we can focus on what will be happening this spring in the newly restored theater called or in Hudson Hall at the Hudson Opera House. HH/HOH is partnering with Classics on Hudson to bring to Hudson "three groups of musicians who are smashing stereotypes, electrifying audiences, and redefining the world of classical music."

The first is the string quartet known as Brooklyn Rider--Johnny Gandelsman, violin; Colin Jacobsen, violin; Nicholas Cords, viola; Michael Nicolas, cello. 

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said this about the ensemble: ". . . four classical musicians performing with the energy of young rock stars jamming on their guitars, a Beethoven-goes-indie foray into making classical music accessible but also celebrating why it was good in the first place." Brooklyn Rider's Hudson debut, which happens on Sunday, May 7, at 5 p.m., will feature works by Beethoven, Glass, Janáček, and an original work by violinist Colin Jacobsen.

On Saturday, May 20, at 7 p.m., violinist Tim Fain will be performing with flutist Eugenia Zukerman and pianist Roman Rabinovich.

Fain, who according to Vanity Fair "plays like a virtuoso and thinks like a cinematographer," has performed on the soundtracks of such Academy Award winning films as Moonlight, 12 Years a Slave, and Black Swan, and is known for his collaborations with composer Philip Glass. With Zukerman and Rabinovich, Fain with be performing works by Glass, Kreisler, Franck, Tchaikovsky, and Bach.

On Friday, June 2, at 7 p.m., Christopher O'Riley, best known as the host of NPR's From the Top, heard on WMHT, but also an accomplished pianist, will be performing with Grammy Award winning cellist Matt Haimovitz.

O'Riley and Haimovitz will be performing a preview of their upcoming all-Russian album, TROIKA, which features sonatas by Prokofiev, Rachmoninoff, and Shostakovich.

Tickets to the concerts can be purchased online at hudsonhall.org. The price for each concert is $25 for general admission and $40 for "premium section" seating.

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What's That Name Again?

This morning, a reader tipped me off to a little item that appeared in last week's Columbia Paper, reporting on the decision to drop Henry from the new name for the Hudson Opera House announced ten days earlier.

According to this, "The renovated upstairs venue, to be opened for the first time in 55 years, will be Hudson Hall, at the Hudson Opera House." That's what some believe, and that's what many could live with, but is it really the case?

Also this morning, the beloved cultural center at 327 Warren Street issued a press release announcing its inaugural season of performances. The headline reads: "Hudson Hall christens newly restored theater with a season of performers redefining classical music." The final paragraph, which provides information about the venue, reads as follows:

ABOUT HUDSON HALL

Hudson Hall is a cultural beacon in the Hudson Valley, offering a dynamic year-round schedule of music, theater, dance, literature, workshops for youth and adults, as well as family programs and large-scale community events such as Winter Walk. Located in an historic landmark that houses New York State’s oldest surviving theater, Hudson Hall reopens following a yearlong historic restoration with an inaugural season beginning in spring 2017. The newly restored Hudson Hall reflects Hudson's rich history in a modern facility that welcomes residents and visitors from throughout our local community, across the nation, and around the globe. 

In this statement, Hudson Hall seems at one time to refer to the entire building and at another only to the theater. Interestingly, the name Hudson Opera House appears only once in the press release, when Gary Schiro is identified as "Executive Director of Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House."
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The Great War: April 4, 1917

A hundred years ago today, the front page of the Hudson Evening Register reported that the Senate and the House of Representatives were deliberating on whether or not to declare war on Germany. Also on the front page was this article about measures being taken "to guard Hudson's water works against possible hostile acts."

 

This account of the effort to protect the water supply in the days before the U.S. entered World War I calls to mind the regrettable story of Ansar Mahmood, the pizza deliverer who, a month after the attack on the World Trade Center, asked a DPW employee to take a picture of him near the water treatment plant and ended up being investigated by the FBI and eventually deported.
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Recommended Listening

On the TED Radio Hour just now, I heard Amanda Burden, former city commissioner of New York City, talking about the importance of public spaces in a city: "How Can Public Spaces Change a City's Character?" This is a very timely TED Talk for us in Hudson, as we contemplate the future of the Dunn building and consider open space and ways to make our city more livable and enjoyable. 

One thing that Burden says toward the end of her talk, when enumerating the tests of a successful park, struck me as having great relevance for our most historic and most under utilized park: "Can you see into it and out of it?" If the time ever comes that we are able to restore and revitalize Promenade Hill, this element of a successful park should be borne in mind.
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Speaking of Threats to the River . . .

Gossips has just received word that an oil barge has run aground just off Dutchman's Landing in Catskill. The State Police, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Coast Guard are all on the scene. There is also word that Governor Andrew Cuomo may be on his way to the site.

Photo: Nick Zachos

Update: TV news indicates the barge is carrying gasoline not oil. Here are the links to coverage on Channel 6, Channel 10, Channel 13, and WAMC.

Mark Your Calendars

The Conservation Advisory Council (CAC), with consultants Randall + West, is conducting a Open Space and Natural Resources Inventory of Hudson. As part of that effort, they will be conducting a public meeting on Wednesday, April 26, to learn from residents of Hudson how to protect and strengthen our natural resources and public spaces. 

South Bay & Mt. Merino|Sanford Robinson Gifford

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Community Room at the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street. All are invited to share their knowledge and opinions about how Hudson can be a more livable, sustainable, and enjoyable place.
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Shall We Gather at the River

Tomorrow night, Wednesday, April 5, the film The Hudson: A River at Risk will be shown at Basilica Hudson. 

The Hudson River, like many waterways around the world, has long been treated like an infinite waste barrel, a dumping ground for toxic chemicals, hazardous waste, and trash. But for the past fifty years an amazing collection of environmental groups--Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, Clearwater, and many more--have worked to revive the Hudson and the beautiful valley that surrounds it. These accomplishments remind us what a resilient resource the river is. The Hudson: A River at Risk by Oceans 8 Films, reports on a handful of serious and growing threats to the river.

The screening begins at 7 p.m. in the North Hall at the Basilica. Discussion will follow the screening with filmmaker Jon Bowermaster; Andy Bicking, director of public policy and special projects at Scenic Hudson; Cliff Weathers, communications director for Riverkeeper; and Sam Merrett, captain of the schooner Apollonia. Admission is free but donations are suggested to support the work of the filmmakers and Basilica Hudson.
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The Great War: April 3, 1917

On this day a hundred years ago, the front page of the Hudson Evening Register bore this headline: "WILSON ASKS CONGRESS TO DECLARE THAT WAR EXISTS, ASKS ARMY OF 500,000 MEN." A subhead read: "President Asks Congress 'Formally to Accept the State of Belligerency Thrust Upon Us' and Exert All Our Powers to Bring Germany to Terms and End the War."

Also on the front page of the Evening Register for April 3, 1917, were two items that give a sense of what was happening in Hudson in the days before war was declared.

As we learned yesterday, the 71st Regiment from New York City was bivouacked at the Hudson Armory and assigned to guard the railroad between Tivoli and Stockport from being "interfered with by persons hostile to the government."

The front page of the Evening Register also included this item about people becoming citizens the previous day at the courthouse. The report provides an interesting contrast with the attitude toward immigrants a hundred years later being fostered by the current administration.

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The Dissatisfaction That's Not Going Away

Ten days after the re-branding of the Hudson Opera House was announced, the new name Henry Hudson Hall became simply Hudson Hall. Eleven days have passed since then, and it doesn't appear that the name Hudson Hall is likely to be altered further or abandoned altogether, but the discontent with the name change among long supporters of the Hudson Opera House has not dissipated. This morning, Byrne Fone, one of the original members of the Hudson Opera House board, shared this statement with Gossips.

Though I have been on record as firmly opposing the Hudson Opera House name change, I also want, as firmly, to say that I agree absolutely with Director Gary Schiro that the controversy over naming should not and must not overshadow the tremendous achievement of returning to use, and to Hudson, what was lost almost half a century ago when the building became in effect derelict.

Gary’s tireless, exemplary and indeed inspired work, in unison with the Board of Directors, has brought to a brilliant completion the project of restoration begun twenty-five years ago in 1992 when a handful of Hudsonians, with no money and little experience with such a potentially gigantic project, nevertheless began to dream and didn’t stop.

Now the Hudson Opera House is no longer a fanciful dream, a fond hope, a distant possibility. It is real.

In surely what is a gracious bow to public sentiment, HOH has happily abandoned their original suggestion that “The Hudson Opera House” should be erased in favor of “Henry Hudson Hall.” Though it has not made everyone happy, they have now again renamed it as Hudson Hall at the Historic Hudson Opera House.

At this time of celebration, perhaps a truly fitting gesture to celebrate this remarkable rebirth would be to agree as graciously with the many who find “Hudson Hall” neither evocative, inspiring, nor unique, recalling as it does, apparently, dozens of other only vaguely known Hudson Halls.

The Hudson Opera House. That says it all.

Let’s keep that name, and that name only, as we raise three cheers for the many who have served as Board members over a quarter of a century, for Gary Schiro, who almost as long has been the guardian of that tradition, and for the dedicated people at the Hudson Opera House who have finally made it happen.

There is only one Hudson Opera House, and Hudson has it. 

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Spring Has Sprung

Finally, it's beginning to feel like spring. And to usher in the season, BeLo 3rd has announced its new season of gallery strolls. The first one is coming up this Saturday, April 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. Here's the schedule for the rest of the year.

Nine art and design locations at the lower end of Warren Street and beyond welcome visitors to view a broad range of artworks--including paintings, photographs, sculpture, drawings, antiques, and artifacts. Celebrate spring with a pleasant evening adventure.
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Time to Plan a Parade

It's time to start planning for the 2017 Out Hudson Parade. A meeting to do just that is happening today at 6:30 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce, 1 North Front Street. If the chance to be part of planning one of Hudson's best loved annual events isn't enough lure you out this evening, cookies from Trixie's Oven are also promised. 

Photo credit: Conrad Hanson

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The Great War: April 2, 1917

On this day in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany. Four days later, on April 6, 1917, the United States entered the war in Europe, now known as the Great War or World War I. To observe the 100th anniversary of the war that marked the beginning of the modern era and saw the emergence of the United States as a military power, Gossips is embarking on a series meant to give insight into what life in Hudson was like during that era. Periodically--possibly every day--from now until November 11, 2018 and maybe even beyond, Gossips will publish items from the local newspaper that give a sense of what was happening in Hudson while the war raged in Europe. 

Today, we share two items that appeared in the Hudson Evening Register on Monday, April 2, 1917. The first was front page news, along with a report that the majority of the House of Representatives were in favor of a declaration of war.

The second item appeared on page four of the same newspaper.

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Hudson in the Times Union

On Friday, the Times Union picked up the news of the Bloomberg Business ranking of our city's wealth: "Hudson is one of the wealthiest small towns in America."  The article is worth checking out for the nice slideshow that accompanies it.

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Anchorage Update

While we in Hudson are focused on the Colarusso haul road and the threat more traffic to the dock, it's easy to lose sight of another Hudson River/Hudson Valley environmental issue: the proposed anchorage sites downriver. While the U.S. Coast Guard has not yet decided how to proceed with the proposal, Senator Sue Serino and Assemblymember Didi Barrett have introduced legislation in the NYS Senate and Assembly intended to safeguard the river. WAMC reported on that legislation yesterday: "HV State Lawmakers Take Aim Against Anchorage Site Proposal."
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It's Here!

To some, it's an idea whose time has come. To others, it's an unsightly carbuncle on the stately facade of the 110-year-old bank building that is now City Hall. Whatever your feelings about the vending machine that will be dispensing the essential blue trash bags 24/7, it was delivered to 520 Warren Street on Friday and now awaits its unveiling. Peter Jung provided Gossips with these pictures of the object, which he calls "the Dreaded Thing."

Unfortunately, it appears that the efforts to make the object blend into its context may have succeeded in making it nothing more than a garish caricature, but time will tell. It will likely be unveiled on Monday, probably without a great deal of ceremony.

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What's in a Name . . . Continued

It's been suggested, in a comment on this blog and elsewhere, that it is time to stop grousing about the name change of the Hudson Opera House and move on as a community to celebrate the completion of this monumental project. Perhaps it is. It's likely the only concession from those convinced of the necessity of changing the name is the one already made: dropping the name Henry to temper the association with the explorer driven to find a Northwest Passage and ultimately cast adrift by a mutinous crew to settle on the uninspired and undistinctive Hudson Hall, with the tag line "at the historic Hudson Opera House." It's also likely that it will take another twenty-five years before the name Hudson Hall fully supplants Hudson Opera House. For some, that may never happen.

Photo: Rural Intelligence

Recovering from a stroke suffered just before Christmas and hence focused on other matters, Dr. Norman A. Posner was late to join the conversation about the name change, but his opinions about it are strong. He asked me if I would publish his statement on Gossips, and of course, I agreed. Posner and I have been friends for two decades, ever since we worked together--he as a board member, I as a volunteer--on a committee to plan and carry out a historic house tour in Hudson in 1996 as a fundraiser for the Hudson Opera House. Posner's statement about the name change follows:

I am outraged by the decision to change the name of the Hudson Opera House, and I question the reason given to justify it. The name is a barrier to understanding what the place is all about? That seems an inadequate reason.

I wasn't one of the original group that organized and raised money to buy the building, but I was part of the board early on--when the group was working hard to raise money for the building but didn't yet occupy it in any way. It was Janet Marsh Ebel and I who insisted that the organization needed to be in the building if the effort was to succeed. And so it began--the "Open the Door" campaign. First the West Room, which served as office, exhibition and performance space; then the center hall; then the workshop; then the space that had been Hudson police headquarters; and now--the crowning achievement--the entire building has been restored and readied for use. Through all that time, the building was known as the Hudson Opera House, a name it was given in 1881, when every city and town in American thought it needed an opera house as evidence of its respectability and civic pride. To change the name now is to disregard that history, as well as the history of the past twenty-five years during which the Hudson Opera House developed and evolved and defined itself. It is also an example of dumbing down, as if people are incapable of grasping a historic meaning of "opera house" that is greater than a place where operas are performed.

Hudson Hall means nothing. It could be a dormitory or an apartment house. There are Hudson Halls all over the place. More things happen at 327 Warren Street than can be described by such a bland name as Hudson Hall. The name is at variance with the mission. Is it meant to suggest this is Carnegie Hall in Hudson?

The name Hudson Opera House is unique and has a special place in the history of Hudson--both in the 19th century and in the past quarter century. Before it is discarded or reduced to a tag line, those making this momentous decision should find out what past and present supporters think. This past and present supporter, for one, thinks Hudson Opera House is the name that should be retained into the future.

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Unique Shopping Opportunities in April

During the month of April, two unusual opportunities to acquire wonderful things present themselves. 

Every Friday and Saturday, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Dan Rupe is having an art sale at 510 Columbia Street. 

The art sale continues until the end of April. This is a golden opportunity to acquire a Dan Rupe painting of your very own.

Also during April, de Marchin is having a Pop-Up Sale at 508 Warren Street.

Men's and women's clothing, shoes, and accessories from prior seasons are offered at discounts of from 60 to 75 percent. Hours at the pop-up shop at 508 Warren Street are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday and Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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