Teetotaling, Language-Loving, Rule-Making, Prank-Pulling Esther Snyder

Esther Snyder is just one of the people I love to write about. Full of contradictions and character, she has glamour, style, taste – and a sense of humor. She grew up on a 500 acre dairy farm -- before the advent of milking machines. Or at least before her parents got them. I got to write a profile of her for the local paper the Catskill Mountain News when she retired recently. She was their copy-chief but also their standards-bearer,  and adjudicator in all sorts of matters.

Read on:

“Restroom.” That word drives Esther Snyder crazy. So does “school teacher” when it’s spelled as one word or “fundraising” minus the hyphen. She also can be impecunious where dashes are concerned. Last week the Catskill Mountain News lost its “conscience,” as editor Dick Sanford describes her.

Esther Snyder retired. She was not only the paper’s typist and proofreader but she also kept the publication on the straight and narrow (and I have to say it’s thanks to her memory that I remembered to use a “not only… but also” construction in that sentence). “There was no swearing around her, and her presence created respect,” Sanford says.

THREE GENERATIONS

Over her tenure, she worked for three generations of Sanfords at the paper. She first started there just after WWII and returned in 1986. She shakes her head, recounting her first stint serving as vacation cover for Clarke Sanford’s secretary. “I don’t know how he picked me. I didn’t know him. I was still in school when he called and asked me to work for him.”

She recalls how farmers would come in and visit with him in the office, and true to what a stickler and pack rat she is, she still has her pay stubs from that time. Now at a desk downstairs in the paper’s office, she laughs about them. Her hair is up in a net and pinned back in a swirl, and she still looks as she might have when she started at the paper in the ’40s. She wears a pleated skirt and bowed blouse with red dots under a pale blue cardigan, the same ocean shade as her eyes.

In 1946 when she graduated Roxbury Central School as Valedictorian, Snyder had no plans to stay in Denver. Let alone work at the Catskill Mountain News “My sister wanted to be a nurse,” she explains, “and my ambition was to work in a five-and-dime as a cashier.” She went to Kingston and got a job at Newbury’s, but got cold feet. She didn’t want to move to the city.

“I was a homebody,” she says and credits her change of heart to God. “I have a great faith in God and prayer, and He worked it out for me to come back.” Talk of religion peppers her conversation. She often says, “You’re not ready to live till you’re ready to die,” and she was relieved to be home because her father died soon after of appendicitis. She wanted to be home to help.

After the News, she went to work at Roxbury Central School as a secretary and clerk and even bus driver. She puts her hand to her mouth as she describes her first time driving. She was a substitute and it was in the rain.

“The principal came with me,” she shakes her head. “I had a desire to drive the school bus, so I took the exam. I couldn’t drive a bus now though,” she laughs. “There’s no way I could wake that early anymore, but I used to drive the Gilboa route.”

Snyder grew up in Denver on a 500-acre farm. “We didn’t have milking machines,” she recalls, “and my sister and me and mother and father and grandparents and the hired man, we’d all do the milking.”She tells stories of haying and threshing oats and skiing down the pastures in winter. She also credits milking with helping her learn French.“I’d pin the vocabulary words to my overalls to learn the words while I milked.”

That dedication to language shows her early promise for her duties at the paper. In 1986 she retired from RCS and returned to the News as typist and proofreader. True to form she can recall the exact date: October 22. A perfectionist and teetotaler, she served as the guardian of language and mores. About the proofreading she says it wasn’t “a natural skill” for her. “I worked myself into it.”

SHE WROTE THE BOOK

She has left behind not only fond memories but also a 20-page manual of words that are often misused like that “restroom” spelled as one word or the hyphen-free “fundraising.” She reports that it should only be used that way when it’s a verb, not a noun.

Sanford pays great homage to her and her abilities. At her retirement luncheon on Tuesday he said, “The world would be a better place with more people like her in it. She created a respectful atmosphere. She also represents the end of an era in newspapers. Everyone just uses spell check today. Even the great New York Times is now full of typos. We will miss her.” Sanford added, “We’re all living in mortal fear that next Wednesday or Thursday she’s going to come walking in the door with a marked-up copy of the paper, and all of the typos we missed will be highlighted in red ink.”

It's a Wonderful Life. Literally. And figuratively...

I meant to post this before the New Year, so the George Bailey ref seemed more topical. But hey, it's not 12th night yet, so I'm getting this in under the wire. And the subject -- Mike Triolo – has been like Bailey for our neck of the sticks... This was in last week's Catskill Mountain News.

Meeting with Mike Triolo is a bit like stepping into It’s A Wonderful Life. Not because it’s Christmastime, and he certainly doesn’t look like Jimmy Stewart. Instead Triolo is the small-town banker working to help his community.

More than just one town, however, he’s been working for the entire region. Until this week, he’s been the Catskill Watershed Corporation’s (CWC) Economic Development Director, a job he’s held for the past nine years.

He came to the CWC from a background in small rural banks where he served several banks in a number of roles including president and chief financial officer. Having been reelected in November, he is also the supervisor of the Town of Stamford. He still lives in the house, just up the Back River Road from South Kortright, where he grew up, raised his own kids – and worked the family dairy farm, selling most of the land when it came time to retool.

“The kids didn’t want anything to do with it, and I looked at my hands and had all 10 fingers.” He wiggles them as he speaks, “And said that’s enough.” Far from the tall, rangy Stewart, Triolo is soft spoken, dressed in Dockers and a checked shirt, with balding hair that befits his age.

He came to the CWC thinking he could make a difference, and, no doubt he has if you see what he’s funded. There’ve been companies who make goalposts for football fields (their posts have been in the Super Bowl), a microbrewery, a distillery and a hairdresser, plus more than a few B&Bs. Since he started, the CWC’s business loan portfolio has grown from $8 million to $48 million. Reading the business plans and tax returns that companies submit with their loan applications has given him a unique perspective on the region. Add to that his job as supervisor and his farming background, and

Triolo is an authority on the region’s economy.
He calls making loans, “an art not a science.” As he speaks you can almost see George Bailey himself.

“We’re builders,” he says. With the amount of money they’ve lent, “We certainly have been a key instrument in the economy of the Watershed.” The CWC though has a limited pool. There is only $59.7 million so he has to treat the money responsibly. The only way they can keep lending is for the existing loans to be repaid – and not written off.

Serving big region
The CWC serves part of five counties west of the Hudson, and while he says there’s no universal truth for the region’s economy, there’s not even a “monolithic economy” in Delaware County. “It’s the state’s second or third poorest area,” he explains, “depending on the year” – topped only by The Bronx. The western part has a larger farming and manufacturing base with a thousand manufacturing jobs in Hobart and Stamford alone. The Route 28 corridor is primarily a second homeowner and tourism economy. “In all honesty,” he sighs, “those jobs aren’t the highest paying.”

What he doesn’t have to say is they’re also often only seasonal and rarely come with benefits.
He describes the area as “stably depressed,” something of an irony, and says our economy here will start to grow once the second homeowners start to feel a bit more comfortable financially. There are bright spots, he insists, “glimmers of hope,” he calls them across the county like Delhi-based Clark Companies, which builds sports fields. It’s grown by developing business outside the region, while its employees still live locally.

Another growth area? Farming. Yes, agriculture is a key economic driver. The dairy industry continues to suffer where a two to three percent fluctuation can drive prices radically and producers compete against a national market when it comes to milk.

Many ingredients
But, other products like cold weather crops from cauliflower to kale and locally produced beef, maple syrup and cheese all are important.

He reaches for a wrapped piece of cheddar from Palatine Bridge on his desk. “You have to be able to transition from selling milk with a regular paycheck to making cheese where it takes six months to age, but eventually producers who do, make a pretty substantial living.”

Healthcare too is growing. “Clinics are opening with doctors in Delhi, Walton and here in Margaretville. Those jobs are above the county average wage and come with benefits.”
Still employers can have problems attracting staff from outside the region thanks to issues ranging from schools to culture, shopping and even housing.

“People seem to want those new” (and he shakes his head as he says this) “2,500 to 3,000 foot homes built in the last 10 years.”

What pains Triolo most as he prepares to leave his job is the flood.

“The economy had survived the recession fairly well, that is until August 28. Since, it’s been a battle.”

Lots of funding
The CWC has made $5 million available in grant money with more than $2 million of it out in the community. “But,” he says, “it’s depressing.” He has a harrowed looked on his face as he describes the outlook now. This is his fourth major disaster.

“In my experience at least a quarter, if not more, of these businesses will not survive.” The statistic is stark and when asked what people can do, he says, “If nine million people drinking water from the Catskills each gave a dollar, that would be $9 million for flood recovery.” As he describes it, it sounds as hopeful as It’s A Wonderful Life. Maybe, if a bell rang every time someone turned on a tap in New York City.

The Grand Canyon (Of Plattekill)

This in this week's Catskill Mountain News. Plattekill is a ski area that now has a new attraction. Officially it's a snowmaking pond. I've other designs on it. Well, after the snow.

“Welcome to the Grand Canyon.” Laszlo Vajtay waves towards the gaping hole at the top of Plattekill Mountain. The cliffs below, with their walls of rock, dwarf the ski area’s owner and even the Komatsu excavator behind him. Sixty feet deep, the “canyon” is not some folly on the top of the mountain. It’s a new pond to hold water for snowmaking.

Usually this time of year ski areas are making (and praying for) snow, and while that’s true for Plattekill too, they’re thinking more long range – a whole year out – to the 2012-2013 season. That’s when the pond will be done. Building it has taken 100,000 pounds of explosives, and the wires to ignite the charges still stick out of the rock, not far from where Vajtay stands.
For years he’d wanted to expand the pond, but the project was daunting and expensive. Since he bought the ski area in 1993 he’s kept adding snowmaking capacity.

All about snowmaking
“Snowmaking, snowmaking, snowmaking has always been my mantra,” he says like realtors talk location, location, location, and indeed snowmaking is key to making ski areas in the Northeast a success.

But the problem for Plattekill has been a lack of water. Come August 28, like much of the region, they had a new water problem. Too much of it. While the base and lodge were largely spared in the flood, some trails suffered from erosion and the pond was damaged.

“It needed repairing, so that was a natural time to increase the size,” Vajtay says. He worked closely with the DEP on permits and plans, and, he explains, “We reached out to friends of ours in the business and in construction to see what to do.”

Now Plattekill has one of the few good things Irene has produced – the canyon, which is so big it will take two years to complete.

The pond has come with other added benefits. The rock from it has been used to stabilize trails that washed out and is responsible for a new parking lot at Plattekill’s base, expanding the hill’s smallish lot to accommodate far more cars so skiers no longer have to make a long trek to the lodge on busy days.

Materials help out
Even the road to get trucks to the top to build the pond has been a bonus. It widened Powder Puff, the two-mile-long beginner trail, ringing the mountain. Perhaps the most fortuitous side effect, though, has been for area flood relief itself. The stone is going to help local road crews and for repairs to the Gilboa Dam.

Though the pond won’t be fully functional until next year, Plattekill is still benefitting from the “canyon” this season. Recently a team at the top of the hill was welding pipes so the pond can be used now. They’ll be removed in the spring to finish the project. The new pond isn’t the only expansion at Plattekill either.

Finding a double purpose for everything is part of how Plattekill makes ends meet. The ski industry works on tight margins. It’s an expensive business between insurance, energy costs and snowmaking. Add to that fickle weather and customers, and it can be a challenging business — particularly for small mom-and-pop hills. Many over the past two decades have gone out of business, but Vajtay has found ways to keep growing, and this season has been no different. He’s already acquired 45 additional snow guns. Some came from Stratton, others from Big Tupper and HKD, a large East Coast snowmaking company.

Boston imports
“There are even two big turbine fan guns,” Vajtay says incredulously, “from Amesbury Snow Park just outside Boston.”

He can grow like this because he works hard to find bargains, searching out used equipment to give it new life. He’ll drive across the Northeast himself to pick up parts and bring them back to Roxbury.
“In a business like this,” he says, “you can’t afford to sit on a huge amount of debt. If you borrow money based on the cash value of the business in a year like this year –” his voice trails off. He doesn’t need to finish his sentence to make it clear that you wouldn’t make it. Indeed the warm weather has been hurting ski areas from Pennsylvania to Maine.

Finding new uses
The most surprising addition to his snowmaking arsenal was finding a new, used air compressor. The Norbord fiberboard plant in Deposit closed and the building was being torn down. “They were selling off the compressors,” he says. Not just useful in making medium density fiberboard, they’re essential in snowmaking. This summer he repurposed one and installed it on the hill.

“It will,” he explains, “be great for Plattekill. Not only will it replace three diesel generators but it will make us more green, save us money on expensive diesel and make us less dependent on fossil fuels.”

Before the pond... and the 100k in explosives.

Help your local library. Eat local food.

Bovina's creamery in 1946

Here from this week's CMN the other article about dining doing good... You'll also be able to drink the cider the News's Dick Sanford made (I made a meager contribution of less than a bushel of apples) at Hubbell's this fall.

This Saturday, Dec. 3, a fund-raiser and farm dinner in Bovina will support the community’s public library and celebrate local pride and farm produce.

With a shortfall in its budget and an endowment that’s suffering in the current economy, library officials got to thinking about how to raise money, librarian Marge Miller explained. Soon, the idea was far more than a fund-raiser; it became the Holiday Farm Feast, a rallying point for the community and an opportunity to show off local products. December might not be the time of year when people think of fresh produce, but Bovina makes everything from bread to beer (yes, in the dry town) as well as beef, pork, poultry and dairy.

Working together
Farming Bovina is working with the library on the event. A new nonprofit, it was founded earlier this year to support farming in the area. As president Evelyn Stewart explains, “We’re here to help farms with sustainability from value added products and help with building to funding and writing grants to keep people farming.”

She runs Sunflower Farm, a dairy farm that’s been in her family for three generations. “Farming is the backbone of a local economy,” she says. “With a strong farming community there’s a strong economy because farmers typically spend all their money locally from buying grains to hiring help.”
With only three dairy farmers left, the town now has seven or eight others raising beef and a couple raising sheep and goats and a few doing crops.

“There’s a greater interest,” Stewart says, “in farming now and keeping farms here and keeping them working. They give Bovina its character and people don’t want them going away.” Bovina, as the name suggests, was once famous for its cows and dairy – even supplying the White House with butter – and is hoping to again. One of the first things Farming Bovina is thinking about doing is building a small creamery to capitalize on its history and make butter similar to how Cowbella did for the Danforth family in Jefferson. Looking for a way to keep their family farm sustainable into the seventh generation, they started making butter and yogurt and are now a local-farm success story.

Farm supporter
Miller, who is also the Town of Middletown supervisor-elect, supports the growth of area farms.
“They provide a more sustainable future,” she says,” and encourage preserving our local land. They’re also good for the local economy and communicating our values and communities outside the Catskills.”

The dinner, which will be served from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Bovina Town Hall on Main Street, will feature pork, short ribs, chicken, cheese and bread from local farms and producers.
“Bovina used to do an annual community dinner before Christmas,” Miller says, “so the idea is to resurrect that, and turn this into an annual event.”

Grant assistance
She is also hoping for a large turnout. The library has had a grant from the O’Conner foundation and needs $2,500 in matching funds – which translates to around 200 people coming out to eat local and celebrate farms on Saturday.

Tickets for adults are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. Tickets for kids are $6 and $7. Tickets are available at the Bovina Public Library or at Russell’s Store in Bovina or by calling 607 832-4884. Live entertainment featuring Hilt and Stella Kelly, Story Laurie and others will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Click here for more info on Farming Bovina.

Uncle Bob with cauliflower (from Farming Bovina)

Eating Out Pays... Okay, helps your neighboring farmer and the Bovina Library...

This week in the CMN two stories about dining and dollars and helping folks out. One on the Thanksgiving dinner hosted at the Peekamoose to help Bob Kiley and RSK Farm of Prattsville who lost everything in Irene. Check out the pictures... And a farm dinner this Saturday at the Bovina Library featuring food from farmers in Bovina and benefitting the library. Dine out and do good, folks.

 Before and after at RSK

Thanksgiving this year at the Peekamoose restaurant in Big Indian was a big affair: 200 pounds of turkey, some 20 pounds of cranberries, another 20 pounds each of Brussels sprouts and rutabagas and 240 individuals pies (80 pumpkin, 80 apple and 80 chocolate bourbon pecan), and that’s not counting the potatoes or squash or beets or trout or pork.

All that food, though, wasn’t simply to serve the 200 guests the restaurant was expecting but also to help one of its key suppliers, RSK Farms owner Bob Kiley. Over the eight years since the restaurant opened he has not just provided them with produce (including potatoes about which owner Marybeth Mills swoons) but become a close family friend. And the reason he needs assistance? Hurricane Irene.

Farm was destroyed
His entire farm in Prattsville was wiped out, and in the true spirit of Thanksgiving, the Peekamoose’s proprietors, Devin and Marybeth Mills, wanted to give thanks and help out. They donated all proceeds from the evening to Kiley and his family. Even the staff gave their time. “They all volunteered to come in and work for free,” Marybeth says.

“They have children and their own families, but still they wanted to be here.” The so-called Table to Farm Dinner raised more than $4,000 for RSK.

On the day before Thanksgiving the kitchen was humming – literally. Christmas tunes played and four people were slicing and dicing, roasting cipollini onions, peeling apples and potatoes and roasting nuts. Among the helpers was Bob Kiley himself. He peeled all 20 pounds of rutabagas singlehandedly not to mention the other prep work. He was in the kitchen because he wasn’t comfortable with accepting charity, Devin explains, and describes his friend as soft spoken and proud and not easy with asking for or accepting assistance.

Kitchen labor
“Eight hours in the kitchen is hard work even if you are a farmer,” Devin explains. “If you’re not used to it, just standing on the tile floors that long will kill you.” He wanted to give Kiley a stool, but he wouldn’t even sit, lest he become less helpful.

Marybeth says about the fund-raiser, “We just wanted to do something to help, and we cook, we do food, so we did Thanksgiving.” Kiley had lost everything he’d ever worked for. “Where there were 12 acres of prime arable land,” she explains, “there’s now river rock. I can’t imagine not simply losing everything but it also being irreplaceable with no chance of fixing it.”

Devin shakes his head and says, “All he was left with was his house and farm stand and still he was grateful. Every year farmers face hardships. Nature’s against them and yet they keep doing it, and you have to wonder how. But the reason is they love it. Bob loves farming.”

Marybeth adds that Kiley is someone fighting to preserve heirloom produce varieties. “When McDonalds is out there saying everything has to be a bland Idaho potato, Bob is out there driving bushels of rare breed potatoes for miles to restaurants on $4 gas because he wants to keep these rare varieties going.”

While the Peekamoose does a Thanksgiving dinner each year, this is the first one that’s ever sold out at the restaurant. “To be honest it’s never been our biggest day,” Marybeth explains. “We usually do just one seating, but we’re doing two and they sold out more than two weeks ago.” Some people who couldn’t come made donations to RSK Farm, and others paid and said to give their spots to someone who needs a meal out.

Very grateful
When reached on the phone a couple days later, Kiley said, “I feel humbled by the whole thing. It’s not a position I really know how to be in.” He grasps for words to describe the dinner and generosity. “But Devin and Marybeth and my other customers have been great. It gives you the energy to carry on. When you take a reality check, it’s difficult to imagine and to take a hard look at things. It’s tough not just for me but the whole community and town.” In his understated way, he adds “And having the dinner on Thanksgiving was a little emotional for me.”

Click here for more information on RSK Farm.