The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Chappaqua Community

Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage Inside Greeley’s Garden

by

PHOTO LEFT: Kari Weis (left) and Cassie Ward

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY GRACE BENNETT

On Friday, September 15, visitors to Greeley’s Garden at the Horace Greeley House surely felt magically transported back a century for a couple of fascinating hours.

And that was true whether you arrived dressed in contemporary wear or as a guest fully embracing the spirit of the occasion wearing the era’s fashion. The Garden was decorated with assorted signs on the lawn plus ones with ‘Vote’ banners dangling from robust apple trees; these served as a pointed reminder of the intense struggles of the time, and could only begin to hint that courage and true grit among the women fighting for the amendment were in no short supply as “1,006,503 women in New York State ask you to vote for Women Suffrage; Amendment No. 1, Nov. 6th.”

With this backdrop and with a brochure in hand detailing the women’s suffrage movement and the historical amendment’s ratification, the New Castle Historical Society and their guests celebrated “100 Years of Women’s Suffrage in New York State” with plenty of good cheer and fine food on a beautiful September evening. Guests also enjoyed a challenging game of “Women’s Suffrage Bingo!” Cassie Ward, executive director of the New Castle Historical Society (NCHS) led the game engaging everyone in questions about the history of the women’s suffrage movement.

A special Thank You was extended to sponsors for ‘Susan B. Anthony’: Judy and Morgan McGrath; ‘Elizabeth Cady Stanton’: Margaret Macchetto; and for ‘Carrie Chapman Catt:” Jamie and Rich Comstock, Bonnie and Gerard Curran, Lois and Bill Donnecker, Sue and Ken Fuirst, Georgia and Ron Frasch, Victoria and Owen Gutfreund, Ivy Pool, Kimber and Ray Sanseverino, and Barbara Wagner and Jeremy Novak.

There were also a host of wonderful silent auction items and gift certificates from local business sponsors including the Inside Press (as official media sponsor), Douglas Elliman and the Nicolaysen Agency. The evening was an important backdrop for an upcoming exhibit too.

Town Board Member Hala Makowska

Following the garden party, the NCHS mounted a new exhibition, New Castle’s Carrie Chapman Catt & the Women’s Suffrage Movement: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage in New York State (on display until June 2018). This family friendly exhibition is packed with historical photographs, documents, and information that introduce museum visitors to the organizations, leaders, supporters, and opponents of the women’s suffrage movement.

For more information, visit newcastlehs.org

(L-R) Kristen Browde, Iris Weintraub Lachaud, Ivy Pool and Kari Weis
(L-R) Adam Brodsky, Judith McGrath and Robert Greenstein
David Buchwald

Lori Gowen Morton

Chappaqua: Where is This?

by

Think you know the nooks and crannies of your town? See how many of these images you can identify. Joseph Fleisher, a rising sophomore at Horace Greeley High School, who has a passion for photography, set out to find interesting objects and places unique to New Castle. Please download our November Inside Chappaqua edition where you will find the answer key on page 47.

1
2
3

A ‘Feed Me Fresh’ Success Story

by

Feed Me Fresh Architects (L-R): Kelly Sullivan, Helen Bock, Patty Black and Dawn Meyerski hosting.

BY GRACE BENNETT

In the warm and bucolic setting of gorgeous Ivanna Farms, a spectacular evening unfolded on a Saturday night in mid-September with so much support earmarked to the Mount Kisco Child Care Center (MKCCC), their efforts to provide quality child care and to make child care affordable to as many working parents as possible. At MKCCC’s 13th annual ‘Feed Me Fresh’ gala fundraiser, guests mingled early in the ‘lower tent,’ enjoyed wonderful music by The Shaves and Chappaqua’s own Jon Cobert, and later a culinary feast featuring samplings from multiple area restaurants and eateries in the ‘upper tent,’ a live auction, and of course a celebration of MKCCC’s 2017 honorees.

These two young volunteers served up delicious pesto samplers made with fresh cilantro from the MKCCC garden.
Feed Me Fresh 2017 Honorees Eric Hadar (long-time supporter and host with honorary co-chairs Margery Hadar and Karen Newman), Fran Osborne (MKCCC board member and honorary co-chairs Toni Kelly and Betsy Towl) and ‘Team Amy’ and honorary co-chairs Madeline Crabtree and John Crabtree.

Kelly Sullivan, chair of Feed Me Fresh, noted the generous time volunteers give to the event both in terms of planning and decorating, “to throw the nicest party of the year.” Board member and child care expert Barbara Klein related that her grandchild is now being cared for at MKCCC. “Having run the Chappaqua Children’s Workshop for many years where I worked with older children, this is my first experience observing an infant in child care. I was very impressed with the care and commitment. It’s a setting with very special people doing an amazing job. I firmly believe our family picked the perfect spot.”

Attendees Colleen and Ron Pascione of Millwood proudly stated that they had three children cared for at MKCCC and the oldest now volunteers there too. Chappaqua’s Claire Frieder said she supports the event because of the invaluable ‘peace of mind’ available to working parents “and especially those who can’t afford the regular costs of child care.”

‘Feed Me Fresh’ raised dollars ‘to help provide access to quality child care for working families’ at the Mount Kisco Child Care Center. To follow updates about the event too, or to donate, visit mkccc.org.

Local Faces Campaign Emphasizes Positivity, Loyalty and Shopping Local

by

A photo campaign this summer is intended to help spread positivity, loyalty and shopping local in our community. Culminating in a gallery exhibit, the campaign aims to connect residents of the community with the faces behind our local stores and businesses. Photographed by Carolyn Simpson, Doublevision Photographers. doublevisionphotographers.com  Here are just a few faces in the campaign. Can you name these faces? The gallery show with the final images of everyone who was photographed will take place on September 15, 6-9 p.m. at Chappaqua’s hip-kid lounge, 77 South Greeley Ave.

Full Steam Ahead for STREETSCAPE

by

(L-R) County Legislator Chairman Mike Kaplowitz, State Assemblyman David Buchwald, and New Castle Town Board’s Adam Brodsky, Supervisor Rob Greenstein, Matt Slater (chief of staff for Senator Chris Murphy) NCTB’s Lisa Katz and Hala Makowska at a groundbreaking ceremony for Streetscape.

A groundbreaking ceremony took place earlier this summer celebrating the launch of Streetscape – an ambitious Town of New Castle construction project intended to fix and enhance sidewalks, public
spaces, infrastructure, roadways, and add streetlamps and plantings.

The work, the town officials promised, will alleviate infrastructure challenges in and further beautify downtown Chappaqua; the ceremony brought together virtually everyone involved in bringing the project to fruition. “We are replacing our historic foundations that in some cases are over 80 years old, with a new and reimagined Hamlet,” stated Town Council member Adam Brodsky, who was at the helm of the project. “This hard work will be the basis to allow our businesses to grow and more people to call the Downtown home over the distant future. Our Hamlet has gone too long without the attention it deserves. Having a beautiful and functioning Town will entice new businesses to our Downtown and help those already here to prosper.”

Brodsky thanked present and past town board members for their efforts, and also those involved in volunteer committees and to environmental and engineering consultants to the project, as well. He also quoted New Castle’s most famous resident, Horace Greeley: “I think we all, as we grow old, love to feel and know that some spot of earth is peculiarly our own–ours to possess and to enjoy, ours to improve and to transmit to our children.”

These remarks, he said, will be after careful consideration by the New Castle Historical Society engraved on a brass plaque to be forever affixed into the sidewalk in front of the Horace Greeley House. “They truly encapsulate why the beauty of our hamlet is so important. It is an extension of our homes and a place we possess, enjoy and will pass on to our children.”   — Grace Bennett