The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Stacey Pfeffer

The Ups & Downs of being an “Empty Nester”

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Every time I enter my driveway, I pause at the lawn sign at my mailbox that reads “Proud Home of a Greeley Senior”. In truth, it makes me wistful and a little uneasy. My oldest child will be graduating this June and attending college. While I still have two younger children at home, I am acutely aware that he won’t be around this fall. And although I am very excited for what the college experience will be like for him, I am also nervous about many things.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the “empty nest” phase and while I have about five more years before entering it, I’m already trying to prepare. I’ve recently taken up tennis as a hobby as it will be a good social and healthy outlet and am hoping to do some amateur theater once my “Uber” driving days for afterschool activities are over. I, like many parents, realize that a lot of my identity currently is tied up with my children.

The concept of “empty nest” and what it means for the individual and the family differs for everybody. I interviewed two local recent “empty nesters” and one “empty nester-to-be” to see what’s in store for me in the coming years.

Tema Bomback, Chappaqua

The Bomback Family

Mount Kisco resident Tema Bomback has had her four children, Miles, Caroline, Annie and Phoebe go through the Chappaqua school system for the past 20 years. With her youngest daughter, Phoebe poised to graduate from Horace Greeley High School this spring, she has been very involved within the school district for a more than two-decade span. Currently serving two years at the high school as chair and vice chair of the PTA and a recent honoree at this year’s Horace Greeley Scholarship Fund dinner, Bomback knows the ins and the outs of the school district.

She has chaired many events and committees throughout the years but was reluctant to take a leadership role until Phoebe was the only one at home. In addition to being involved within the school system, Bomback is a volunteer at the JCCA’s Cottage School in Pleasantville and the New Castle Arts Committee.

Prior to having children, Bomback worked in film marketing and publicity but does not plan on returning to that field. “I’ve been out of the workforce for the past 20 years. The volunteer positions have taught me my strengths and also helped me figure out the next chapter a bit,” she says. She hopes to do something to combat food insecurity and plans to volunteer for Feeding Westchester or The Pantry in Mount Kisco.

“This next chapter is bittersweet. I have loved parenting and having us all under one roof and the loud chaos and it’s sad to see this chapter come to an end. Transitions are hard and admitting this phase is over brings your own aging into focus,” explains Bomback.

Once her daughter Annie left for Northwestern University, Bomback had a lot of driving duties until Phoebe got her license. Bomback’s whole life has been structured around school schedules. “Figuring out a new schedule will be interesting. With Phoebe alone at home, I always want to be here for her in the morning and have coffee with her.” Bomback knows that this time together is precious and fleeting.

If Bomback had to choose one area of her house that epitomizes the various phases of parenthood, it would be the basement. When they bought the house, it was unfinished so they decided to finish it and make a playroom where the kids could make a mess and they wouldn’t worry. It then served as a backdrop for birthday parties and many sleepovers. Now it is used infrequently and mostly by her younger nieces and nephews.

Having lived in the community for many years, Bomback has many friends who are already empty nesters. She knows that next year she’ll have the freedom and flexibility for more hobbies like a weekly canasta night. “In the past, I have done that during the day and haven’t said yes to a weekly game night because of the kids.” She envisions taking care of items on the bottom of her to do list like photo albums and cleaning out closets.

For now, Bomback is going to take up to a year to figure out her next chapter once Phoebe goes to college, at Northwestern University this fall. For now, she plans on visiting Miles and Caroline, who works as a development coordinator at Haymarket East Content, once a week in the city for dinner along with her husband Mark who works from home as a screenwriter. And she is looking forward to a temporary nester coming back home this fall. Her son Miles will be doing a rotation in Stamford while at Columbia University Medical School and will live with them during that stint. “That really is a gift. But as a parent, you hope they [all the kids] are prepared to fly the nest,” she says.

Melissa Jacobs, Armonk

The Jacobs Family

Melissa Jacobs describes herself as a “nurturer”. A mom to three boys, her youngest son, Owen is a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a special education teacher working with local preschoolers on an individualized basis. She is also a trustee on the Board of Education for the Byram Hills School District.

It didn’t dawn on her immediately that she was an empty nester when her youngest went to college. “The fall semester is full of parents weekend activities, fall break, Thanksgiving break and then a long winter break,” notes Jacobs. “My moment of the enormity of being an empty nester hit me later. When our beloved family pet Oakley, a cockapoo, was sick and made it to Thanksgiving and the whole family was at my house. He gave us 13 years and it was a special goodbye and that hit me so hard. We not only lost our pet but then my nest was truly empty,” she recalls.

For Jacobs, the afternoon hours which were now a void was the hardest part about becoming an empty nester. “At 3 p.m., I’d be home to give Oakley his medicine and then I’d catch up with Owen about his day which was our real connecting time,” says Jacobs.

But even so Jacobs was preparing for the empty nest life years prior to it actually happening. In 2019 and during COVID, she obtained graduate certification online to become a Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT). She says she enjoys being beholden to the school schedule and waking up each day to work in local preschools. Between her job and her board position, Jacobs has made it a point to stay busy and connected to the community.

She has enjoyed some of the perks and freedom of being an empty nester too. Last summer her husband had a business trip to London and she tagged along and then they got to spend two weeks in the French countryside to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. “We wouldn’t have done it, if we had our kids at home,” she notes.

Jacobs describes the first year of bring an empty nester as bittersweet and an avalanche of emotions. She advises those who are soon to be empty nesters to embrace this period and be prepared for that whole range of emotions. She has several friends too who have recently become empty nesters and they prefer to reframe the experience more positively, describing themselves as “free birding”.

“I get satisfaction and happiness knowing that my kids are where they want to be. That is my purpose and the cycle of life,” she sums up.

Lynda Lederer-Natale, Pleasantville

The Lederer-Natale Family

A dental hygienist by trade, Lederer-Natale is very involved in many town activities. She sits on the board of the Chamber of Commerce and co-officiates the Dad’s Club of Pleasantville. Her only child, Nick entered Syracuse University as a freshman this fall.

When Lederer-Natale was initially thinking about her life as an empty nester, she thought that she would be a wreck but fortunately that hasn’t happened. Instead, she has been pleasantly surprised. “It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be because hearing his voice and knowing that he’s OK made me feel like I can do this,” says Lederer-Natale.

Although she has always worked fulltime, she never missed Nick’s baseball or football games. “I only get one shot at it, so it was important to be there. Nick always comes first.”

But now that Nick’s at college, Lederer-Natale has embraced the free time by taking two girls trips this fall and traveling more with my husband. “I took a four-day trip to London during high school football season. I never would have done that when Nick was around,” she explains.

Still there are moments of sadness and loneliness for her. She recalls crying after she saw a post from Break the Hold, a mental health organization dedicated to suicide awareness and prevention, which had a photo of Nick who was a speaker and scholarship recipient for the group. “I cried for my friend, Jolina who had lost her son and thought to myself their kid went off to college and never came home. As a mom, you worry about all sorts of things at college–drinking, your child’s mental health,” comments Lederer-Natale.

Not only did her and her husband have to adjust to becoming empty nesters, their dog Trooper cries outside Nick’s bedroom door sometimes and when Nick has had a school break, their reunions have been joyous.

Life changes once you are an empty nester in so many ways. “I’m not rushing to leave work early for football or baseball games. I have less laundry and less cooking. I’m not tripping over shoes in the mud room and there are no more empty water bottles or food packages lying on my kitchen counter.”

This past year, Lederer-Natale believes her son has matured. He now does his own laundry and she feels he understands the value of a dollar a bit more. He also really appreciates his time now when he comes home and doesn’t rush out to be with friends.

She feels that Nick has always been a good communicator and regularly texts with him when he is at school. “He’ll call while he’s walking across campus and the “I love you mom” texts are flying around a bit more,” she adds.

“At the end of the day as sad as I am that he isn’t waking up in my house everyday anymore, he’s happy and found his group of friends and I think as parents that is what we all want,” she explains.

She advises soon-to-be empty nesters to cherish these last few months, take plenty of photos and be honest and open about expectations. “Let them know that you are there for them no matter what even if they need to call you at 3 a.m.”

Chappaqua Dad: Ultra-endurance Athlete Eric Gelber Prepares for Local Fundraising Event

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PHOTO COURTESY OF GELBER

When Anita Sorrel, a close family friend was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer more than 20 years ago, Chappaqua resident Eric Gelber sprang into action. The former two pack a day smoker decided to challenge himself, quit smoking and train for the New York City marathon in 2006 while raising money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) to help fundraise to find a cure for Sorrel’s cancer, which develops in the plasma cells of bone marrow.

Gelber’s family first met Sorrel when he was a teen at a Club Med vacation. “She always stood behind me and encouraged me. I did that first marathon to support her and let her know that I was thinking of her.” Unfortunately, Sorrel passed away from multiple myeloma in 2012. Since then, the MMRF has been instrumental in helping patient survival rates from multiple myeloma increase from 3 years to 10.

He didn’t know it at the time, but that initial NYC marathon would grow into a 20 -year fundraising commitment dubbed “The Journey for a Cure” with unique athletic feats pursued by Gelber. Gelber’s journey started with just $5,000 raised from that first marathon but in subsequent years, his fundraising efforts have totaled more than 2.6 million dollars for the MMRF. Throughout the years, he has participated in many ultra-endurance events such as a 135-mile run called Badwater in Death Valley, California, the Lake Placid Ironman and ran 200 miles in Central Park in a weekend, an effort that was turned into a documentary titled “200 Miles” that was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017.

This fall, the Chappaqua Metro North station will be the latest venue for an endurance event and fundraising effort as Gelber attempts to row 100 miles and do 10,000 pushups in 36 hours on September 26th and 27th. The attempt will kick off on the same day as the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival and Gelber is hoping that the increased visibility of his endeavor will help raise awareness of multiple myeloma and encourage spectators to donate to MMRF. “The Town had a great response when I presented the idea to them and was appreciative of us doing a journey event here,” said Gelber. In addition, to his own stationary Erg rower, there will be two additional ones for the public to ride along with Gelber to show their support.

Gelber, an Executive Vice President at real estate company CBRE along with his wife, Tani have conceptualized new ways to hold fundraising events for MMRF throughout the years. They’ve held 12-hour relays and a music festival with a beer garden at Randall’s Island and even did it remotely during COVID. In recent years, they’ve held tennis and pickleball tournaments at Sea Colony in Bethany Beach, where the family vacations.

The Gelber Family
PHOTO BY KIMBERLY CORSO

Growing up Gelber played softball and did adventure races but he jokes that he “was not the epitome of health.” As training ramps up for his latest Journey event, Gelber is strategizing the best way to conduct the attempt. In 2021, he rowed 200 miles in Central Park which resulted in “a lot of butt pain”, he recalls with a laugh. Currently to avoid that, he is thinking of rowing a mile and then doing 100 push-ups (breaking it into sets of 20 every minute) and repeating it 100 times but is still tinkering with the best method.

Gelber, who turns 59 this spring , switched from running ultramarathons to rowing in recent years as it is less taxing on the body. Both activities require extreme discipline and endurance. When training ramps up for him this summer, he anticipates getting up at 4 am and then working out for 2-3 hours before work. He’s no stranger though to early mornings as he would sometimes get up at 3 am and then do 6 hour runs on the weekends when he was doing ultramarathons so that he could have breakfast with his three children, Jared, Kyle and Isla.

Just as his Central Park 200-mile event years ago had other supporters running alongside him for segments, he hopes the Chappaqua event inspires people to think outside the box, learn more about MMRF and donate to the cause. Support Chappaqua resident Eric Gelber as he pushes past limits to help the MMRF accelerate a cure. To donate and/or sign up for push-up and rowing slots go to themmrf.org/journey20.

Gelber admits that this event may be the last ultra-endurance one for him. But the cause is still near and dear to his family’s heart as his son Kyle will run the New York City marathon this fall for MMRF.

Physical Therapy for Women at Various Life Stages

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Women go through so many changes throughout their life cycle. From pregnancy for those who choose to conceive to the post-partum phase, hormones can increase a woman’s likelihood of certain injuries. The fluctuating hormones in perimenopause and then a sharp decline of estrogen in menopause can cause a variety of musculoskeletal issues as well. Inside Press spoke with Chappaqua resident Dr. Corrinne Menn, an OBGYN and menopause specialist to gain a better understanding of how hormones and other factors at different stages of a woman’s life can make her more prone to injury. We also spoke with two local physical therapists who have decades of treating women of all ages for these various injuries, Armonk’s Michele Berliner at Focal Physical Therapy in Armonk and Pleasantville’s Caron DuBois at New Castle Physical Therapy in Millwood.

Pregnancy

The pregnancy hormone relaxin surges during pregnancy in order to prepare the body for delivery. This important hormone helps loosen muscles, joints and ligaments to help the body stretch and prepares the pelvis for delivery. Unfortunately, it can also make pregnant women more prone to injury as their ligaments loosen. With added weight gain causing a women’s center of gravity to shift, it is not surprising that many women experience muscle aches and pains during their pregnancy. According to the American Pregnancy Association, the number of pregnant women who experience back pain is somewhere between 50 to 70 percent.

Dr. Menn says back pain is one of the top reasons she has referred pregnant women to physical therapy (PT). Both Berliner and DuBois agree that back pain is one of the most common ailments they treat in pregnant women, particularly in the third trimester. But other women seek out physical therapy due to pelvic girdle pain (PGP) and even pain in the rib cage. PGP can cause pain in the hips, buttocks, thighs and the sacrum and it is estimated to affect up to 70 percent of pregnant women in the US. PGP can also persist in the post-partum phase with nearly 40 percent of women reporting ongoing PGP and pelvic weakness 12 weeks after delivery.

Besides addressing pain, Berliner works a lot on core strength and helping women recruit their abdominal muscles properly so that they can recover quickly in the post-partum phase. From lifting a heavy car seat to placing a baby in a crib, using core muscles effectively is key to injury prevention.

Just as many expectant moms take classes about newborn care, DuBois wishes that all pregnant women could have at least one physical therapy session prior to delivery. PT could teach them proper lifting mechanics and how to strengthen their pelvic floor to aid in delivery.

Post-Partum

Dr. Menn believes that historically there has been an undereducation in the wider medical community of how physically traumatic the delivery process can be for some women. The tide is slowly turning with medical groups such as the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH) highlighting data on episiotomies, vaginal tears, perineum and nerve pain following delivery. Women can even break their coccyx bone or hip during childbirth.

Diastasis recti is the separation of the abdominal muscles during pregnancy and is more common in women who deliver via caesarean. The condition not only affects body posture but also leads to core dysfunction which can cause low back pain, urinary incontinence and a reduced quality of life. “Before a woman resorts to surgery for it, physical therapy can help narrow the separation and fix many of the problems associated with it,” explains Berliner.

“When you give birth, your life changes dramatically and your body is challenged in different ways,” adds Berliner. Movements such as holding the baby, feeding or nursing it, placing them in a car seat or crib are repeated throughout the day. “PT can help with postural awareness to help address any weaknesses and prevent injury,” adds Berliner. Relaxin, which loosens the ligaments still remains in the body post-partum. Some sources say it can take up to a year for relaxin levels to return to pre-pregnancy levels. The ligaments and joints can still be loose in this phase, so an exercise program needs to be done cautiously. “Women need guidance in the post-partum period to educate them on the best body mechanics for doing these activities, so they don’t hurt themselves,” explains DuBois.

Many times, when a woman visits her ob-gyn for a six-week post-partum check-up, pain is attributed to the weight gain of pregnancy or a difficult delivery. “If you are having pain anywhere in your body that is lasting more than two weeks and affecting your daily life, you have to be the squeaky wheel with your doctor. Find a physician who acknowledges the problem and ask for a referral to a pelvic floor therapist or an orthopedist with expertise in pregnancy-related issues,” urges Dr. Menn.

Perimenopause

In 2024, Dr. Vonda Wright an orthopedist in Florida along with other researchers published a seminal study in the journal Climacteric titled the “Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause”. While many women are familiar with the decline in bone health at this stage, the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause (MSM) also includes joint and muscle pain. “The loss of estrogen affects every system in the body,” notes Dr. Menn. Doctors are becoming more aware of MSM as the study was widely covered in the media.

Perimenopause is a period in woman’s life when her estrogen levels are constantly fluctuating. “From a physiologic standpoint, perimenopause symptoms can start 10 years prior to a woman’s last period. For example, if the normal range of menopause is 46-56, let’s say someone transitions into menopause at 49, that woman can start having symptoms of perimenopause starting at 39 with abrupt fluctuations and unpredictable estrogen levels,” explains Dr. Menn. The most rapid bone loss begins during the late perimenopause, approximately 1-2 years before the final menstrual period (FMP), and continues through the first few years of postmenopause. During this critical window, bone mineral density can decline by 2.5% per year or more.

Dr. Wright’s study found that more than 70% of women will experience musculoskeletal symptoms and 25% of women will be disabled by a musculoskeletal issue through the transition from perimenopause to postmenopause. This often-unrecognized collective of musculoskeletal symptoms, largely influenced by estrogen fluctuations, includes joint pain, loss of muscle mass, loss of bone density and progression of osteoarthritis.

With approximately 40–50% of women at age 50 having osteopenia, which is a precursor to osteoporosis, and approximately 20% of women over 50 years of age having osteoporosis, baseline bone density tests are critical. Bone density scans are usually recommended at age 65 for women. Dr. Menn, a breast cancer survivor, would argue that there are a lot of risk factors that women need to know about that would make them an ideal candidate to have a baseline DEXA bone density scan done earlier, starting at age 50. These include but are not limited to women who had chemotherapy, having a parent who had an osteoporotic fracture, smoking, ongoing steroid or SSRI use, having celiac disease or autoimmune diseases or an eating disorder at some period in their lives. “If insurance denies it, the cash price is about $100 and it is worth it,” she advises.

Berliner sees many patients in perimenopause. A common refrain she hears from them is “I’m now in my 50s. I never had so much pain and used to bounce back quicker.” One of the most difficult conditions both Berliner and DuBois treat in this population is frozen shoulder which is significantly more common in women during perimenopause and menopause (ages 40-60) due to hormonal shifts, particularly the drop in estrogen, which affects joint lubrication, inflammation, and connective tissue elasticity, making the shoulder capsule prone to stiffness and thickening. “It is such a painful and frustrating condition, and it takes a lot of diligence in treating with stretching and home exercises. It can take 6-12 months to heal. If you are having shoulder pain, the sooner you start working on it with PT the better. The same is true for nagging back pain during pregnancy. Don’t delay treatment,” says Berliner.

Menopause

According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, approximately 30% of women age 65 or older will have osteoporosis. “We have clear data that 1 in 2 women with osteoporosis will have a fracture in their lifetime. If they have a hip fracture, close to 30% of those patients die within a year and a vast majority of them will never return to the independent functioning they had prior to that hip fracture,” says Dr. Menn.

So many women think that if they eat enough vitamin D or take calcium supplements, they think that they won’t have bone loss but that’s simply not true points out Dr. Menn. “You can’t ignore the elephant in the room. Once you stop producing estrogen, you will have bone loss and need to take an all-hands-on deck approach with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for those who are a good candidate for it plus weight bearing exercises and resistance training.

Dr. Menn is a proponent of HRT. “The FDA has approved estrogen for more than two decades for the prevention of bone loss and osteoporosis. One of the primary indications of HRT is for the prevention of bone loss. The FDA sets a very high standard to get a drug approved for the prevention of a disease. Even if a woman isn’t experiencing symptoms like hot flashes or night sweats, I still recommend it.”

“A lot of women assume they aren’t good candidates for hormone therapy but if a doctor says that, ask them, “why am I not a good candidate?” so they don’t lose out on the benefits of HRT for osteoporosis prevention,” she adds. Dr. Menn suggests seeing a specialist if you choose not to take HRT or are not a good candidate for it, as there are non-hormonal options for osteoporosis available.

Physical therapists can develop a supervised and safe strength training program for menopausal women. “Physical therapy used to be viewed as a tool for those suffering from an injury or people in the pre-or post-surgery phase but with people living longer, they are now using it on a semi-regular basis and for injury prevention,” notes Berliner.

DuBois agrees and also noted that she has many elderly female patients who stopped exercising during COVID. They were afraid to go to the gym, and they need to work on strength training with guidance. Those who are frail especially need a supervised tailored approach to an exercise program.

Many studies show that weight bearing exercises such as vigorous walking can improve osteopenia and osteoporosis. “Other exercises such as glute bridges, planks, squats and lunges are extraordinarily beneficial,” says Berliner. In addition to strength training, physical therapists work a lot on balance exercises for fall prevention with many of their elderly clients.

Part of the therapist’s job is to build a home exercise program that is realistic for each individual and addresses the client’s needs. “If a client says she only has 10 minutes to exercise at home, then I will build a short program tailored to her needs within that time frame,” says Berliner. She also suggests “exercise snacks” for time pressed individuals who may have trouble carving out 30 minutes of consecutive exercise, they can break up sessions into 10 or 15 minute chunks a few times a day.

“Although a diagnosis of osteopenia and osteoporosis can be alarming, we do have good solutions to address this,” says Dr. Menn. Acknowledging that other therapies such as acupuncture and functional medicine can help women at this stage or at other periods throughout their life, Berliner wants women to view PT as a way to meet their goals. “Whether you hope to get stronger, more flexible or have less pain, I am here to listen to you and I view myself as a tool to build you a program to help you achieve that. You are not alone –
let me help you to feel better,” sums up Berliner.

Why “Boomerangs” Love their Hometowns on the Holidays (and Year-Round)

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Choosing where to raise a family is a difficult choice. There are so many factors at play from budgetary concerns, commute time to work, school districts and access to outdoor spaces and town amenities are just a few that come to mind. For some residents in Armonk, Chappaqua and Pleasantville the choice was easy. They decided to raise their families in the same town that they grew up in and thus I have dubbed these people “boomerangs” instead of the somewhat disparaging word “townies”.

Here are three families who have such wonderful childhood memories and local hometown pride that they hope to pass down to their children:

Jenn Tucker Salon, Chappaqua

Josh and Jenn Tucker Salon were in the same kindergarten class at Grafflin Elementary School. Josh moved in the middle of the year so there were no class photos of them and despite both of them remaining in the district, they were never in class together again. Still their families ran in the same social circles and the two were friendly even throughout high school.

They both graduated Horace Greeley High School in 1999. He graduated from the University of Delaware and Jenn graduated from SUNY Oneonta. Like many recent college graduates, they both moved back home to save money so that they could move into the city.

When commuting to the city, they kept an eye on each other to ensure they were safe getting off the Metro-North late at night. Josh moved to the city first working at his family’s property management company, Salon Realty and Jenn moved later working in publishing in event management for magazines such as Town & Country and In Style.

Eventually the two became involved in a romantic relationship and Jenn moved out of her apartment to move into his. “It felt like a “Friends” episode leaving my roommate who was my best friend from Grafflin,” she jokes. The Salons lived in Manhattan for 15 years and had two boys in the city, Chase and Wes.

“When I came home with Wes from the hospital to our apartment, I finally had the realization that we had to move. Chase’s bikes and scooters were in my powder room. I didn’t want to leave the city but I knew we needed more space,” she recalls.

The couple looked all over lower Westchester but realized they could get more value for their money in northern Westchester and began looking at houses in Chappaqua, Pleasantville and Katonah. One day a house on Ludlow Drive went on the market in the middle of winter. It was perfect and turn key. “Josh who works in real estate, said let’s look at it. Something is up for it to be on the market right now.” Turns out, Josh was right. The couple who recently renovated the property had to relocate for a job on the West Coast and they needed to sell the property quickly. The rest is history.

Josh and Jenn always loved the tight knit community of Chappaqua and the magical small town feel of it especially during the holidays. Growing up there was a Christmas tree lighting by the Duck Pond in town. Jenn recalls a gigantic tree near this little white house that was lit up by the property owners. Eventually the upkeep became too difficult for the property owners, so the New Castle Historical Society helped the owners. “That tree was so big in my eyes. I loved it when that tree lit up with the carolers singing. It meant the holidays were starting and it was a big deal. People came out to see the tree lighting no matter what religion they were. It brought everybody together. No other town had this gigantic special tree.”

Today, Jenn works at Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester as a teacher in the Temple Tots program. Jenn, who grew up with her mom in a Christian household once her parents divorced, always felt a pull towards Judaism from her father’s side and attending her many Jewish friends’ seders, Shabbat dinners and shivas. “While we were raising our boys Jewish, I decided to convert after October 7th.” Jenn underwent conversion studies with Rabbis Jonathan Jaffe and Leora Londy and proudly partook in High Holiday services at Temple Beth El this fall as a full-fledged Jew.

Jenn likes to joke around that she is “Jew-minican” as her mother is Dominican. She also says that she is proud to be called a “townie”. “So many of us come back here, so I’m not offended to be called that. Chappaqua is a great place to grow up,” she concludes.

From Class of ‘95, Chappaqua

PHOTO COURTESY OF PHOENIX KELLY-RAPPA

These “boomerangs” from the Horace Greeley Class of 1995 were all varsity members of the football team. They recently celebrated Greeley’s victory over Port Chester at homecoming. All of these fathers currently have children in the Chappaqua Central School District.

Pictured left to right are: Dennis Byrne (Captain ’95), Dave Sederbaum (Captain ’95), Zach Fisher, Adam Tucker (Captain ’95) and Evan Kaplow (Captain ’95). Sederbaum’s son James currently plays on the varsity football team, wearing the same number proudly as his father wore, on his uniform.

 

Paul Alvarez, Pleasantville

Paul Alvarez first came to the US from Ecuador in 1992 as a young boy following in his parent’s footsteps. His mother Maritza and his father Guillermo (Bill) came before him, working hard jobs in landscaping and as a dishwasher and busboy at the Riviera on Tompkins Avenue. The family settled in a multi-family house on Marble Avenue and Paul started fourth grade at the Bedford Road School. While Paul was a top student in his third-grade class in Ecuador, he did not speak any English when he started school in town but had a strong desire to learn and worked hard with an ESL (English as a second language) teacher.

Paul found the Pleasantville community very welcoming and supportive right from the start. He recalls meeting a high school tutor at the Mount Pleasant library to work on improving his reading skills. “The first book I read by myself was Judy Blume’s Frecklejuice,” he remembers proudly. As a current Village Trustee, he is now helping that library complete its master plan. “I have the ability to give to this place that has given so much to so many- it is truly a full circle moment.”

As a student at Pleasantville High School, Paul was a varsity wrestler, a member of the high school choir and a drummer in the school band. He also volunteered as a teacher’s aide at the Bedford Road School. He earned a scholarship to SUNY Oneonta, where he completed a dual major in political science and Spanish and met his wife, Katie.

After graduation, he decided to move back to Pleasantville and help his parent’s successful residential and commercial cleaning business, Alvarez Cleaning & Home Services whose office is located on Washington Avenue with more than 20 employees. Katie, who grew up in White Plains fell in love with the small town feel of Pleasantville and the strong sense of community in town. “I remember taking her to some football games in town and it reminded her of “Friday Night Lights” with the whole community coming out to support the team.”

It did not take a lot of convincing for Katie, a teaching assistant for the White Plains school district, to choose Pleasantville as the town to raise their family in. In 2010, the couple purchased their first home in Pleasantville but it was part of the West Lake School District. They now have two children, 9-year-old Brendan and 6-year-old Madison. They were thrilled to buy a new home in the Pleasantville school district this past year on Wilton Road and now delight in watching their kids ride bikes in the neighborhood with friends or walk to school with them. “It’s surreal that my son is now the same age as I was when I came to the US and he’s at the Bedford Road School,” said Paul.

After helping his parent’s business for a bit, Paul then worked as an interpreter, paralegal and office manager of Julie Mullaney in Mount Kisco. At his father’s urging, he suggested that Paul take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). He took it twice and was accepted to Pace Law School in White Plains and graduated in two and a half years. In 2020, he moved Mullaney’s law practice to Pleasantville on Manville Road and purchased it. He now practices immigration, traffic and criminal law.

Paul has always strived to give back to the community that he feels has given him so much. He became Vice President of the Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce in 2012 and became a Village Trustee in 2020.

As part of his role in the Chamber of Commerce, Paul has been busy planning a big event on December 7th for the winter holidays in a new location by the civic center across from the Pleasantville Diner. He has such fond memories of the holidays growing up in town. “I loved how the different stores were lit up on Wheeler and Washington Avenue. There would be Pleasantville High School students caroling around the stores with snow on the ground. My 11-year-old self was like, wow. This is where I live. This is like in a movie.”

He hopes to recreate those cherished holiday memories for a new group of Pleasantville residents this winter season. “We have such a vibrant downtown for a small area. We feel blessed here,” he said.

Karin and John Wolff, Armonk

Karin and John Wolff grew up on the same street a few houses down from each other on Pond Lane in Windmill Farm. They were two grades apart but their families were friendly and in high school, the two started dating. “We went to prom together,” recalls Karin but the couple broke up when John went away to college at Harvard University. “We always stayed in touch though and the couple rekindled their relationship in New York City about eight years after graduating. Karin attended Union College for undergraduate but both of them attended Columbia University for graduate school. Karin obtained a Masters in Education and John pursued his MBA there. Today, John works in the tech/private equity industry for Insight Partners and Karin teaches technology at Greenwich Country Day School.

Their first apartment after living in the city was in White Plains where they welcomed two daughters, Riley and Skylar but needed more space. They looked at houses in Greenwich but felt the downtown was too crowded. Eventually, they moved back to Armonk. “What brought us back was bittersweet as my father passed away suddenly,” John said. The couple wanted to be close to John’s mother and in fact they are now next-door neighbors as they purchased a home that was off market in 2022. “The kids love going over to grandma to have pancakes,” John notes.

“I have such fond memories of growing up in Windmill skating on the pond in my backyard and playing ice hockey. I vividly remember checking every single pond and lake to check if it was safe to skate with a drill and organizing the Christmas Day skate where we would have 20-30 people out there skating. There is something extremely unique and magical about skating on a frozen lake. Now we are recreating those memories with our daughters who also ice skate and play ice hockey,” says John, whose father, Rick, started the Byram Hills High School ice hockey team which today is flourishing.

Karin recalls childhood memories of sledding by Windmill Hill. “It is very quiet here and very special. You feel like you are stepping back in time and we cherish that.”

Musical Moments: Plus an Upcoming Holiday Concert with the DuPonts

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Donald (Don) R. DuPont and his sister Michele DuPont Eames grew up in a household infused with music. Mr. DuPont, a beloved recently retired music teacher after 32 years from Roaring Brook Elementary School, and Mrs. DuPont Eames performed classics at a Sunday brunch (think delicious Mediterranean-inspired dishes) from the American Songbook on a sunny autumn day at Jazz on Main in Mount Kisco. Classics such as “Moonlight in Vermont” and “A Tisket A Tasket” were expertly sung as adoring fans, many of them former colleagues, came out to hear the talented duo.

Next up, they will perform two sets of a holiday-themed concert called Swinging in the Season at Jazz on Main on Saturday, December 13th. For tickets, visit jazzonmain.com. Expect holiday favorites such as “Winter Wonderland”, “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” (The Christmas Sing) and even an arrangement of “Jingle Bells” by Barbra Streisand.

The DuPont’s father, Don DuPont Sr. and grandfather, Roland DuPont are gifted musicians in their own right, passing down a rich musical legacy to the brother and sister duo. Both DuPonts played the trombone and Don DuPont Sr. started out playing at the Rainbow Room with Glenn Miller and then on the “Milton Berle” and “Ed Sullivan” shows. He eventually became a staff musician for NBC and CBS and later obtained a degree in music education at Columbia Teachers College landing a job teaching music in the Chappaqua Central School District for almost four decades. Don DuPont Sr. taught music at Bell Middle School, which in those days housed K-12th grade.

The DuPont name has been synonymous with music education in Chappaqua since the 1950s. The DuPonts had a music studio at 211 King St called Studio 49. “My dad and grandfather would offer private music lessons for children in Chappaqua and surrounding towns after school,” notes Don, who often helped out there as a young boy selling items such as clarinet reeds or trumpet oil.

In fact, Don DuPont Sr. is still performing and just recently held a big band concert at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center earlier this month featuring the sibling duo as vocalists alongside an 18-piece band comprised of talented local musicians. “Many of them are professionals in other fields but skilled musicians who want to keep my father’s legacy going.”

Don DuPont took up the trombone in elementary school. A love for music proved everlasting and he pursued voice at SUNY Purchase and a teaching certification at Manhattanville College. He started teaching as a young 22-year-old in Nyack but after three years came to the Chappaqua school district where he stayed for the rest of his career.

“I left on a high. And I’m thrilled that they hired an educator who uses the same music philosophy as I do. I like to think that my legacy is that I raised music education to the highest level for elementary school students and increased their appreciation of it and their participation in making music. Many parents have said to me that some of their best moments for their elementary school children was watching them perform,” said Mr. DuPont.

Performance was always a part of the DuPonts’ life as well. “Michelle and I have been singing together since infancy.” Before embarking on his teaching career, the duo sang with the incomparable Hildegarde, a grand doyenne and cabaret singer of the supper club scene in iconic venues such as the Russia Tea Room, Carnegie Hall and Town Hall in Manhattan.

Eventually Hildegarde stopped performing and the duo focused on their teaching careers and raising families. Michelle is also a teacher in the Yorktown School District and Don has a son with his husband Brian Hiller, a now retired music teacher from Grafflin Elementary School.

Their son, Brandon, is also showing musical proclivities and plays the electric guitar and cello.

“Coming back to sing with my sister, Michelle is like a renaissance. The fact that we can do this is beautiful and feels like a full circle moment on stage.”

The duo is hoping to perform more at both NYC venues and in Westchester-based ones. Don even has his eyes on performing internationally as they did many concerts in Switzerland years ago. Adoring fans can check out micheleanddondupont.com for their upcoming performances.