Photo by Philip Monteleoni
Buds Ready to Burst, by Edward Kasinec
First Blossoms, by Edward Kasinec
Alida in Bloom, by Ursula Hahn
Teddy’s Garden Spot, by Joe Bruno
Daffodil Streams, by Edward Kasinec
Photos by Carolyn Reiss
If there’s one person who defines Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, it is Washington Irving, author, diplomat, and wanderer of the rocks and rills of our towns. Also the Daddy of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, featuring the Headless Horseman.
And April 3 is his birthday—his 242nd, no less! Each year, the Historical Society of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow celebrates the day. This year was no different. Celebrants included the great man himself (in the person of Aaron Newcomer). And Kendal’s own Cynthia Ferguson, who managed to get a picture of the birthday boy’s cake as it was being cut (above). While it was being consumed, there was a talk about Irving himself and a reading of some of his favorite tales of our area. Sadly, the Headless Horseman was unable to attend.
The aim is fun, not financial windfall. Fear not any Atlantic City high-rollers joining in. All skill sets are welcome. Stakes are 25-50 cents.
Want to join the fun? Call or text John Vacher: (404) 556-0557. He’ll even come and provide a short tutorial, so you’ll fit in seamlessly your very first Wednesday night.
By the time most of us reach age 20 or so, the bones in our body are pretty much done growing. The growth plates that cause us to put on inches in our youth are now hardened bone, and in fact, adults tend to drop an inch or two in height as worn-out cartilage causes our spines to shrink over time. However, there are a few bones that buck this biological trend. Skulls, for example, never fully stop growing, and the bones also shift as we age. A 2008 study from Duke University determined that as we grow older, the forehead moves forward, while cheek bones tend to move backward. As the skull tilts forward, overlying skin droops and sags.
The skull isn’t the only bone that has a positive correlation with age. Human hips also continue to widen as the decades pass, meaning those extra inches aren’t only due to a loss of youthful metabolism. In 2011, researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine discovered that hips continue to grow well into our 70s, and found that an average 79-year-old’s pelvic width was 1 inch wider than an average 20-year-old’s. So while it’s mostly true that humans stop growing after the age of 20, nature always likes to throw in a few exceptions to the rule.
Source: Interestingfacts.com
Contributed by Jane Hart
It started well before the unpacking, but became a mystery with the unpacking. For years, we’d relieve family members of obscure boxes as their downsizing eliminated storage space. Down to our basement or up to our attic or into our garage they went. “One day soon, we’ll go through these and clean them out.” One day, but not that particular day. And so when the Kendal phone call came, and we signed on all the dotted lines, those boxes came with us. Still taped up. Still unexplored.
During our just-arrived time when boxes were being—if not cheerfully, then arduously—opened, objects were laid out in a flurry on every flat surface available, awaiting their final resting places. In achieving (sort of) that second task of resting places, we came across an item whose use neither of us could fathom. Nor could we figure out whose family it came from. It simply appeared out of nowhere.
For the past 3 years, we’ve contemplated just tossing it. But what would we be tossing? Made of wood, with metal fittings at either pointy end, it was elongated and hollow in its middle. The other day, it turned up again and, upon very, very, very close inspection, we found a set of numbers and tossed those numbers, along with the accompanying word “Southern,” into the computer. To our immense surprise, about six other of its ilk immediately popped up.
Now, Marilyn Bottjer is going to know immediately what it is. But here are its pictures (top, bottom, sides) and what we have learned about it:
Top (unless it’s the bottom)
Side
Bottom (unless it’s the top)
“Southern 1417-1”
Our “treasure” (?) is a “vintage” wooden textile-mill weaving loom shuttle, used in making rugs, tapestries, and fabrics. It has lost its innards—probably a long time ago. We have only vague notions where it came from—but at least we now know what it is. Thank you, Internet.
Roz Chast, The New Yorker
Contributed by Greg Lozier
Art and photo by Sheila Benedis
Everyone looked up to Ratner-Coyle
Lurelle’s ongoing power struggle with Woofie showed no sign of letting up
Fred found out he was allergic to Maddie’s new puppies
Everybody went to pieces when the Mr. Frostee truck was late
Aunt Lulu was on time to pick up Shad, but which one was he?
Art and photos by Jane Hart
This year, Joe Kratovil reached a milestone in birthday celebrations: his 100th! Here’s one on the actual day!
100 birthdays may have come and gone, but Joe is still out, about, and movin’ along. The Bloomfelds met him on the way to Rockwood Park, and Joe gave them a detailed guided tour, including tree identification, a lesson on stone walls, and an explanation of the mansion layout.
Photo by Harry Bloomfeld
Photo by Joe Bruno
The Rivertown Runners were out in the Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon, and Caroline Reiss and Donna Nye just happened across the Rockwood Park part of it—and the piper who serenaded them.
Donna Nye knows great piping when she hears it.
Road Runners running!
Photos by Carolyn Reiss
Soon to Bud, by Edward Kasinec
Soft Forest Floor, by Carolyn Reiss
Something Old, Something New, by Greg Lozier
Magnolia Ready to Burst, by Carolyn Reiss
A Cluster of Pines, by Edward Kasinec
Yellow Blossoms—Ready, by Carolyn Reiss
A Swallow Sets Up Housekeeping in the Park, by Carolyn Reiss
City-bound, by Greg Lozier
Photo by Greg Lozier
Last week, Kendalites journeyed to Oradell, NJ, to visit the Blauvelt Art Museum, which features wildlife art by contemporary artists.
Amanda Slattery and Ruth Dinowitz rode over to the NY Botanical Gardens for the 2025 Orchid Show—and saw lots more than orchids!
Poppies and forget-me-nots in March! Gives one hope.
Ruth Dinowitz marvels at the NYBG Orchid Show.
We all came with them: boxes of who-knew-what. Things we’d always meant to go through: photographs, souvenirs, old report cards, other memories of years before. Cathie Campbell recently found this treasure, created in her high school years:
Some sharp eyes may note that this work of art was actually created by one Helen Ellingson. An explanation from Cathie: “I was named for two grandmothers, Helen and Alice Catherine. Forget Alice! And although they wanted me to go by Cathie, they [her parents] thought Helen Catherine was more euphonious than Catherine Helen. So I was Cathie, until third grade, when I decided, Well, if my first name is Helen, that’s what to call me. I would not answer Miss L, my third grade teacher unless I was addressed as Helen.” Clearly, Miss L’s influence remained in Cathie’s subconscious, because sooner or later she reverted to Cathie. And then she married Mr. Campbell. There you have it.
So, consider this “From the Attic” a new section. Do you have any favorite, humorous, or just plain weird items that tell a story? Send pictures of them—with your explanation—our way (kohresweb@gmail.com)!
Menu:
Choice of Tea Fred’s Homemade Scones
with Clotted Cream and Jam
Tea Sandwiches
Finger Desserts
Still about 15 spots available—but don’t hesitate! Make a $25 check out to “KoH Residents Council” and write “Dining Services Tea” on the memo line. Leave your check in Cynthia Ferguson's cubby, #2211 by April 17. Your check reserves your place.
Ladies and Gents, let’s celebrate Spring at Kendal!
[Insert uproarious cheers and applause]
The aim is fun, not financial windfall. Fear not any Atlantic City high-rollers joining in. All skill sets are welcome. Stakes are 25-50 cents.
Want to join the fun? Call or text John Vacher: (404) 556-0557. He’ll even come and provide a short tutorial, so you’ll fit in seamlessly your very first Wednesday night.
If you learned everything you know about gladiators from a certain Ridley Scott movie, there’s a lot left to discover about the ancient Roman blood sport. Most compelling, perhaps, is the fact that there were female gladiators. Details of their exploits are scant compared to those of their male counterparts, but scholars and historians agree that gladiatrices had their share of glory in the arena.
Though most came from lower classes—including enslaved women—some middle and upper-class women also took up the sword and sandal, despite their lifestyle being frowned upon by Roman society, where they had far fewer freedoms than men and were defined in relation to them. As for why women of means would choose to enter the arena, the University of Michigan’s David S. Potter offers this timeless explanation to History.com: “It’s exciting. It’s different. It pisses off their parents.”
Though these female fights were relatively rare and mostly presented as novelty acts, literary and archaeological evidence suggests that a select few women received as much reverence as the men did. The most famous example is a bust (see above picture) depicting two gladiatrices using the stage names Amazon and Achillia, who fought to a noble draw—proving what we do in life really does echo in eternity.
Contributed by Barbara Bruno
Tarleton’s upstairs neighbor loved to sing through the night
Heffernan had so many new movies on his list, he had to watch two at a time
Rosie’s new separation anxiety made it hard for Lance and Cecily to leave for work
Mopsy’s moral compass was a half-sour pickle
Huddleston and Primrose imagined traveling to Planet Earth
Art and photos by Jane Hart
Art and photo by Sheila Benedis
Kendal Daffodils
Photo by Joe Bruno
Snowdrops in Rockwood Park
Photo by Aruna Raghavan
Last week, Kendalites set out for New York Historical (formerly the New York Historical Society) to roam the exhibits and enjoy the City.
The “We the People” exhibition featured an Oval Office replica at a third of the size of the White House version, shown in the style of the Reagan administration (note the jelly bean jar). Visitors were encouraged to try it out—and Carol Levin was one who did. The first executive decision: which jellybean to test out. Her campaign slogan: “First do no harm.”
Madam President Carol Levin
Photo by Marianne Bloomfeld
Another distinctive feature of the exhibit was the “We the People” sign—made of shoelaces.
Photo by Marianne Bloomfeld
Peter Roggemann noticed a Kendal-related feature in an exhibit on New York steamships: a model of the Mary Powell.
Photo by Peter Roggemann
Kendalites of every ilk recognized their individual right and responsibility to take part in their democracy. And that’s what several did on several occasions over the past week or so.
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
Pearl River, NY
Pearl River, NY
Tarrytown, NY
Tarrytown, NY
Tarrytown, NY
Photos by Mimi Abramovitz
Each year, we have a lovely gathering to remember those who have passed in the year before. Every year, at the end of the gathering, we, together, recite “We Remember Them.”
In 2022, Kamal Bahary and his beloved partner, Susan Blackwood, joined our community. Sadly, late in 2023, we lost Susan; and last year Kamel passed. This year, The Baharys have chosen to memorialize them both in our community, replacing the weather-weary pergola with a lovely gazebo.
Stage 1
Stage 2
Looking again at “We Remember Them,” it seems like such a wonderful choice of memorial for Kendal on the Hudson:
We Remember Them
At the rising sun and at its going down; We remember them.
At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter; We remember them.
At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring; We remember them.
At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer; We remember them.
At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of the autumn; We remember them.
At the beginning of the year and when it ends; We remember them.
As long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as We remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength; We remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart; We remember them.
When we have decisions that are difficult to make; We remember them.
When we have joy we crave to share; We remember them.
When we have achievements that are based on theirs; We remember them.
For as long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as, We remember them.
Thank you, William, Susan, Emil, and Laura
