Join a wonderful community tradition on Monday November 2nd, 7 p.m. in the Greeley Gym, and support the Horace Greeley Scholarship Fund to “Bee the Difference” for so many students pursuing their dreams of attending college.This event is run by the students of S.H.A.R.E. (Students Have a Responsibility Everywhere), led this year by Owen Ruggerio, Ellie Loigman and Meaghan Townsend, with all money raised going to support HGSF. The Spelling Bee is a great family event, on an evening before a no-school day (Election Day is November 3rd). It’s a wonderful opportunity to support your teachers and classmates and–if you hurry–to sign up your own team or sponsor another. Deadline to enter is this week, so visit www.hgsf.org to sign up.
Inside Chappaqua (Nov 2015)
Thanksgiving Traditions – Traditional and Not so Traditional
By Heather Skolnick
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season for many. Thanksgiving triggers autumn images of softly falling leaves and a feeling of chill in the air–a sure sign of what’s to come weather-wise. It signals the beginning of the holiday shopping season for those in retail with a daily countdown to Christmas or Hanukkah. And for many, it evokes memories of meals and unique traditions that encircle the meal. These Thanksgiving traditions can be pretty wide and varied.
As a child, my Thanksgiving traditions were pretty straight forward–extended family came to eat. And eat we did. We enjoyed turkey with the standard carbohydrate-laden fixings, and enough desserts to satisfy the sweet tooth of a small nation. The meal was not complete until we all suffered from indigestion–all before 7 p.m. It was what we did before the meal that was different. Each year, my father and I awoke earlier than most on a holiday, put on sweats, and took a short drive to a neighboring town. We then participated in a local “Turkey Trot”–a five-mile run in an attempt to help offset the meal we’d be eating a few hours later. That was our tradition.
My husband’s family didn’t believe in the “Turkey Trot”–instead, Thanksgiving was all about football. Neal, his brothers, cousins, dads and friends all got together to play a serious game of touch football. The colder, wetter and muddier it was outside, the better the game. While their game would end before dinner, the trash talking around that game could last an entire year. Area resident and brother Lyle said, ““We would even keep track of records, from most touchdowns, consecutive games with a reception, best play, to worst mistake, and most times ‘giving in’!” Building on the football theme, after playing, they would all return home and begin watching the football games on TV before indulging in their meal.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a popular tradition for some. Chappaqua resident Lisa McGowan has a deep rooted tradition of going every year with her family that began when she was a child. She and her family spend the night before in the city, and begin heading to the festivities at 6:30am to secure their spot. She says about the parade, “Now that my children are older, it’s no longer about the characters. The thing that is constant no matter their age is that it’s about being together, family and tradition–rain or shine.” Lisa is dedicated to the tradition, having gone in years when the weather was spring like as well as rain and snow!
Signaling the official start of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday shopping has long been a tradition for some. Amazing short-lived deals often abound on that day with stores opening early and staying open late. Eager to squeeze an extra shopping day in before the holidays, shopping on Thursday evening has more recently become an option. Many big box retailers and shopping centers are now open for post-dinner shopping.
Let’s not forget our local stores, many of whom offer great deals after Thanksgiving too! Best of all: Shopping local offers the convenience of holiday shopping nearby without the hassle of maddening crowds.
Volunteering is a wonderful way to enjoy the spirit of Thanksgiving while enjoying some quality family time. One option is to spend part of the day together, helping to provide a meal for others. Neighbor’s Link coordinates a food drive in anticipation of the holiday. Susan Aarhus spoke to me about what Neighbor’s Link provides to the community. She shared that on the actual day, they provide a full Thanksgiving meal and a full bag of groceries to take home. Area resident Nitasha Kumar said of her experience volunteering with the Westchester Basket Brigade last year, “My son along with three other kids had so much fun running around counting and setting out the boxes. But what hit him most was when the head coordinator talked to the group about the mission of the organization….bringing food to homeless. He then realized that there are others who are not as fortunate as we are.” What a wonderful way to spend the day.
While many think of a nice home cooked meal for Thanksgiving, another option is dining out. While many restaurants are closed for the holiday, some do remain open for those of us who are not so inclined to cook and many also provide catered take out options to eat in your own home.
The common theme threaded through all of these traditions can clearly be identified as spending quality time together as a family and/or with those who are most important to you. So whether you are a traditionalist in your Thanksgiving approach or not, remember that Thanksgiving is about being surrounded by those who are important to you and appreciating the moment.
Heather Skolnick is a New Castle resident along with her husband and three children. She works for a retailer designing their Omnichannel Process and Systems.
From the Chapter: “Six Degrees of Hillary Clinton: My Chappaqua Neighbor”
An excerpt from Helen Jonsen, a contributing author to a new book, Love Her, Love Her Not: The Hillary Paradox, edited by Joanne Bamberger.
“Election Day 2014 was the midterm election for the lame-duck years of President Barack Obama. Being self-employed, I avoided the crowds and waited until mid-morning to cast my ballot at our school polling place in Chappaqua, New York, often described as a leafy suburb an hour north of Grand Central Terminal. As I spoke to the volunteer to register, I heard the familiar voices of another voter or two who arrived next to me at the table. To my right were my neighbors, Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Bill Clinton. They, too, had come to meet their civic duty–to vote for our federal and state representatives, local judges, and governor.
We exchanged pleasantries and headed to the little kiosks to fill out our ballots. Secret Service men dressed as casually as the Clintons stood near them in the room. Little by little, others noticed them, but there was no press, no cameras. A number of people asked about their new granddaughter.
Outside, two black SUVs stood at the curb in the bus lane of the closed suburban school that serves as our polling place. When the Clintons came out alone, not in a hurry, I said hello again. They don’t know me well but for 15 years our paths have crossed both here in this berg and elsewhere. So we spoke for a while, not about politics but about mutual friends and acquaintances and local interests. Part of the conversation centered on how much they enjoy living in a town where their privacy has been reasonably protected and where they are comfortable dining, walking, shopping–even voting–without interruption (when reporters don’t have a reason to stalk them, that is).
I have been a television and digital journalist for many years, so I always walk a fine line when it comes to running into the Clintons. I don’t look for scoops but have sometimes been assigned to “cover” them. I am not paparazza. When not working, I’ve settled into the role of observer and neighbor, in their company when our paths cross. This has given me a glimpse into their lives and a perspective about them as people, rather than mere politicians, that others rarely get.
Fifteen years ago, when Hillary Clinton decided she would run for the U.S. Senate in New York, she went house hunting. Ironically, for me, it was the same summer my husband and I were looking for a new community for our family, complete with four children.
It became something of a running gag that Hillary seemed to be following us. I would spend a day with a real estate agent in a Westchester town, and the next day the newspaper would report Hillary had been house hunting in the same community. Our price range was more than a million dollars apart from the former first couple, but we seemed to be looking in similar areas. Finally, I thought I had outrun them by moving to Chappaqua, a town a little further afield.”
“To our surprise, that August weekend in 1999, as we unpacked a mountain of boxes in our new house, trying to find kitchen supplies, bedding, and kids’ shoes, helicopters hovered above our heads. Unbeknownst to us, the day before, the Clintons came to meet the owners of the white Dutch colonial on nearby Old House Lane and closed their own deal on a new home. They walked across lawns and introduced themselves to a few of the neighbors–ironically they were the only ones we knew before moving in. It was clear that sleepy Chappaqua would soon be on the GPS of every news desk in the nation and that Hillary and I were destined to share an adopted hometown. Not long after, the local Gannett newspaper headline read: “First Family of Chappaqua,” along with five articles about the house, the deal, the hamlet, and how life might change for the citizenry because of the new neighbors.
Bill Clinton would be in the White House for more than a year after the purchase, but he and Hillary took possession of the charming colonial in November. In those first couple of months, fences were thrown up, security updated, and Secret Service moved into a rented Cape Cod up the hill from us with access to the Clintons’ home via the driveway and backyard of other friends. Black cars and men in dark suits with curly cords tucked behind their ears became common sights.
Sleepy Chappaqua would never be the same.
There were plenty of things to complain about having the Clintons as our neighbors. Folks who owned homes more expensive than the Clintons or who lived in town for many years were concerned with the anticipated disruption. Some criticized Hillary’s perceived New York carpet-bagging and the intrusion of the press in their quiet town. The state posted “No Parking” signs along the town’s winding roads to keep gawkers at bay.
But when spring of 2000 came and her U.S. Senate campaign was well underway, First Lady Hillary surprised us with her desire to actually be a part of our community. We were delighted when she asked the Girl Scouts if she could march with them in our town Memorial Day parade. Just when we thought things might calm down as President Clinton came to the end of his presidency, on his last day in office, he became embroiled in a pardon controversy. The press swooped in as never before. Live TV trucks parked in front of our supermarket and train station…”
Helen Jonsen is the creative founder and chief storyteller of HJ Media, a consultancy & roll-up-your-sleeves firm focused on media-training, video production, digital, text and social media preferably for “social good.” She is hoping to see a woman in the White House her three voting-age daughters can be proud of (and so can her son).
Visit www.hjmediaconsulting.com.