Walking softer on the earth

We would lie on the mattress in the attic and listen to the rain.

Up there, with the homemade lye soap drying in cotton string net bags that once held oranges, we were washed in the sounds that my grandmother told us were beautiful. And they were.

A pianissimo rain that spattered the roof with tiny drops lulled us to a soporific state where the heat, the bugs, sunburns and mosquito bites of those 1940s summers disappeared. A heavier rain washed the summer-hot roof, sending oceans of delightfully cooler air through the attic windows.

The rain filled the cistern and the rain barrels. The cistern fed the bungalow’s needs for water in the kitchen and bath. The rain barrels were the source of water for the vegetable garden and for washing our hair. Hot water for dishes and baths came from a nightly fire underneath a large pot in the back yard. Potable water came in gallon glass jugs that we filled from the springs on Beekman Drive. The sights and sounds of those frosted bottles wrapped in dish towels, clinking in the red wagon as we brought them home, are still fresh in my memory.

Our summer weeks with our grandmother were far removed from the hot streets and the even hotter tiny bedrooms of our ancient row house on 55th Street in Brooklyn. Even the rain was different. A thunderstorm would leave us with a few moments of exquisitely clean air. We would rush outside and breathe deeply of the ozonefreshened air, too quickly gone. For children growing up in the city, a thunderstorm in the country was a treat.

My grandmother’s house was at the top of Ogden Road, a road which connected with Route 52, across which lay the smaller of the two bodies of water that made up Lake Carmel. We had a rowboat, a dark green, wooden, flat-bottomed boat that my father rescued from the swampy end of the lake. It was tied up at a makeshift dock at the point where the two roads intersected. The boat was a magical thing, giving us the freedom to row about, go fishing and even earn some money by renting it for the princely sum of $4 a day. The boat taught us about responsibilities. Unless we cared for it, which meant scraping it each year, replacing the caulking and repainting it, the boat would respond by leaking furiously and making any of our waterborne adventures into continuous exercises in bailing.

Over those childhood summers we all learned, perhaps not with style but with determination, how to swim and we spent hours at the beaches around the lake, inventing stories that required underwater activities and breath-holding contests. Our bathing suits - no one had anything called a swim suit then – were, in a word … awful. My mother didn’t believe that children needed to look fashionable and therefore most of what we wore were adult garments, purchased at the Good Will on Third Avenue, bleached to a dull grey for sanitary purposes and remodeled appropriately for pre-pubescent girls. At least I got to wear the first remodel, but my younger sisters got hand-me-downs from me and then each other. Just awful! One in particular stands out. It was made of the lining of a bathing suit, a grey wool affair made for a woman of more ample proportions and tucked here and there to fit a 10-year-old. I tried to make it less ugly by sewing tiny bows made of checked seam binding on it. My laments about ugliness, about what the other girls wore, grew in volume and number as adolescence approached. They were heard and heeded by my wonderful grandmother who bought me my first new bathing suit when I was 13. And didn’t I think I looked swell?

In our lives, we sometimes think that “things” in the past were simpler, often, as in Marvin Hamlisch’s song, “Memories,” fading into a kind of watercolor reality. In truth, things were simpler, not just because of a simpler technology, but because, out of necessity, we used less of the world’s resources. There was just enough electricity in my grandmother’s bungalow to have a light in each room. Without a well, we depended on water delivered naturally from the rain and the springs in the earth. There were few “toys” to be had and we used the lake and its wonders to create summers that remain deeply etched in our memories. We followed the streams in the woods, creating paths not only on the ground but in our minds, some of which became stories that we told each other, while others gave us a lifelong reverence for the beauty of the natural habitat.

How wonderful to explore the twists and turns of the watercourses that were, then, uncontaminated by human intervention and full of the romance of young minds. Was it better then? Our lives were not without challenges, and so better may not be the word, but wouldn’t it be a blessing to be able to return to those tranquil moments of rain on the roof in my grandmother’s attic and let the rain wash some parts of the modern world away?

Ann Ferro is a mother, a grandmother and a retired social studies teacher. While still figuring out what she wants to be when she grows up, she lives in Marcellus with lots of books, a spouse and a large orange cat.

Jazz Fest showcases two dozen local bands

This year’s Syracuse Jazz Festival boasts big names such as Herbie Hancock, Gladys Knight and Postmodern Jukebox. But when the 37th festival kicks off on Wednesday evening, June 21, it’ll celebrate names like Tom Brigandi, Joyce DiCamillo, Joe Magnarelli and Marissa Mulder, all improvising artists who began their careers here before blossoming as recording artists in New York City.

On June 21, music will enliven downtown clubs, bars, hotels, patios and restaurants such as the Board & Bar Charcuterie, Oh My Darling, Mulrooney’s, Benjamin’s on Franklin, Kitty Hoyne’s, Al’s Wine & Whiskey Lounge and others.

A total of 24 Syracuse-based jazz combos and national jazz players with ties to CNY will perform between 4 and 11 p.m. on June 21 – Price Chopper-Market 32 Opening Night.

liverpool musicians

Among the two dozen ensembles showcasing that evening are several Liverpool-area musicians. They include TamaraLee Shutt, who plays trumpet and sings with a band called MRG that evening, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Modern Malt, com display Ads: lori lewis, ext 316, llewis@eaglenewsonline com

325 S. Clinton St. Oswego Street guitarist Chuck Schiele will lead his eclectic band, Quatro, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Tasting Room @ Epicuse, 334 S. Salina St. Baldwinsville bassist Matt Vacanti and his award-winning quartet, E.S.P., will hold forth from 8 to 10 p.m. at Maxwell’s, 122 E. Genesee St. Liverpool High School alumna Melissa Gardiner will play trombone from 9 to 11 p.m. for Vibe Check at The Fitz Speakeasy, 321 S. Salina St. Longtime National Grid Jazz Fest fan faves Nancy Kelly will play at PRIME, Ronnie Leigh is at the Weighlock Lounge and Mark Doyle’s Guitar Noir performs at Funk & Waffles.

A complete rundown on the 24 participating venues can be found at SyracuseJazzfest.com.

Free admission Admission to all 2023 National Grid Jazz Fest concerts and performances is free and open to the public. There is no cover charge nor minimum at any of the participating venues on June 21.

The festival continues at Clinton Square Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, June 22-24, and Sunday, June 25 at Syracuse University’s Hendricks Chapel.

Classified Advertising: Patti Puzzo, ext 321 ppuzzo@eaglenewsonline com

Billing questions: alyssa dearborn, ext 305, adearborn@eaglenewsonline com legal Advertising: luba demkiv, ext 303, ldemkiv@eaglenewsonline com

Publisher: david tyler, ext 302, dtyler@eaglenewsonline com

Creative director: Gordon bigelow, ext 331, art@eaglenewsonline com

The free-admission policy is made possible through the generosity of area business such as National Grid providing corporate sponsorship along with public sector grants from New York State and Onondaga County, according to its founder and artistic director Frank Malfitano, who lives in Baldwinsville.

Swans

Three Syracuse teenagers were charged with felony grand larceny and criminal mischief, as well as misdemeanor conspiracy and criminal trespass last week after they killed a mother swan and abducted four of her babies from the Manlius swan pond. The teens said the adult swan was cooked by an aunt and eaten by family members.

While the thought of eating one of those beautiful birds outraged many who heard the news, dining on swan actually has a lengthy –and rather regal – history. Queens Elizabeth and Victoria reportedly ate cygnets for Christmas dinner –a cygnet is another word for a juvenile swan – and by acclamation the youthful foul were wonderful eating. Older swans are said to taste like “fishy mutton.”

The risk of lead poisoning prevents most people from eating swan meat. But celebrity chef

Jazz l Page 13

Support for Fadden

To the editor:

I am writing today in response to an opinion published May 24 titled Liverpool Forward.

I am here to say, vote Christina Fadden for mayor!

Chris Fadden has been involved with village politics for over 8 years serving as a trustee and as deputy mayor. She is knowledgeable and understands how our village runs and what it needs to thrive.

While I’m sure Ms. Finney would make a fine candidate and I know she serves on the zoning board, I encourage you all to vote for someone who has the experience and dedication needed for the job of mayor.

Ms. Finney and her colleagues rarely attended board meetings and therefore she does not have a clear idea of the commitment and work required of the job.

Similarly, Ms. Finney declined the opportunity to have a met the candidates event with Ms. Fadden.

As a voter, I find this discouraging, as it shows that the person who wants to serve me is not willing to meet with me and discuss how she plans to make the village better.

Ms. Fadden has what it takes to make this village thrive, and I know she will do a fine job as mayor. I have faith that you all will show up and make the right choice on June 20 by voting Christina Fadden for mayor!

Tony lAzzARo liverpool

Seeking reelection

To the editor:

I am seeking re-election for mayor of the Village of North Syracuse. I was first elected as a trustee in 2005 and elected as mayor in 2015.

During my time as an elected official for the village, my goal was to do the best job possible to enhance the environment for the residents and businesses.

Much has been accomplished but there is still more to do.

Some of our future projects are:

(1) Sidewalk improvements (grant received)

(2) New pavilion and continued improvements at Community Center (grant received)

(3) Improvements at Kennedy Park (potential grant received, awaiting formal approval)

(4) Consolidate the Fire Department to Station 1(Chestnut Street)

(5) Close Station 2 and improvements to Station 1 (grants received)

We have promoted our village as a walkable, bikeable community.

My desire is to continue to make village living an enjoyable experience.

Please vote June 20 at the community center.

MAyoR GARy BuTTERFIEld north SyraCuSe

Is Finney ready?

To the editor: Stacy Finney may be a nice person, but is she ready to actually run the Village of Liverpool? I regularly attend vil - lage and planning board meetings, yet I do not recall seeing Stacy attend any of these meetings.

Mind you, these are the meetings where the business of the village of Liverpool is conducted, something you need to be familiar with and central to the position she is asking us to elect her to.

Christina Fadden has been involved in village government for many years and is doing a great job. She has the knowledge that we need and has proven her ability to bring people together and make Liverpool a great place to live. Chris helped bring in over $1 million of grant money to help beautify our village. Chris has experience reducing the village tax rate while still expanding services. Chris is prepared to take on this new role and will not need to learn on the job!

If you name any initiative making progress to improve quality of life for people in our community, then there is a good chance that Chris Fadden is involved with it somehow.

Again, Stacy Finney is a perfectly nice person with good intentions, but Christina Fadden has proven in her years of dedicated, common sense service to our community, that she is the best fit to be our next mayor June 20.

PAM CAREy liverpool

Celebrating scholarship recipients, donors

To the Editor:

Thanks to the ongoing generosity of the Liverpool community, Liverpool Dollars for Scholars awarded 178 scholarships worth $135,850 to students in the Liverpool High School Class of 2023 at an evening reception on June 6. With your help, we have awarded 2.25 million dollars since 1970. Scholarship recipients will continue their education at two and four year colleges and universities, trade schools, technical institutes, hospital nursing and other health-related programs, adult BOCES courses, and apprenticeships. We have a list of alternates who will be considered for any unclaimed scholarships.

There is nothing more gratifying than seeing a stage filled with high school seniors ready to embark on the next phase of their lives. Each of them has a story and they represent an array of backgrounds, interests, and strengths. The donors who fund the scholarships presented the awards and hundreds of family members applauded the efforts of the students seated on the stage. It was exciting to hear students introduce themselves and announce where they will continue their education and what they will study. We wished them well on their journey and tried to inspire them to pay it forward and help others the way the Liverpool community helped them.

You donated thousands of dollars to our annual Mail-a-thon, our largest fundraiser. Your support for our new fall Cash for College/Giving Tuesday campaign brought in enough money to award an additional scholarship to Letters l Page 11

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cNs teacher, administrator, coach

Letters

Paul D. Stelmaszyk grew up in Clason point in the Bronx and attended high school in Mount Saint Michael Academy, then went to St. John’s University on a full track scholarship. He earned a master’s degree from Hunter College in the Bronx and embarked on a career as a teacher, coach and administrator.

Library Children’s Room is being renovated in memory of Maryella and Elizabeth Annal. Their parents, Tom and Maureen, along with the help of many members of the Baldwinsville Community, raised money to transform the library’s Children’s Room into a beautiful new space for children.

After years of planning the time has arrived for the renovation work to begin in the Children’s Room. In preparation the entire contents of the Children’s Room needed to be relocated to other parts of the library.

Paul D. Stelmaszyk

In the North Syracuse School District Paul started out as the principal at the North Syracuse Junior High and switched to his true love which was teaching social studies and coaching track and cross country. One of Paul’s major accomplishments was helping to bring CNS its first state title in cross country. Running remained important to him for his entire life.

He leaves behind his wife of 55 years, Mariann: his sons, Paul, Ed, Christopher and daughter Lara: his grandchildren Grace, Kealan, Rowan, Nevan, Ruby, Henry and Gracie Bowe and Nathaniel Burke.

For friends and family who would like to celebrate his life with us, on Saturday, June 10, we are holding a reception at Christ the King Church in Guilderland at 10 a.m. and a mass at 11 a.m.

Thank you to all for your continued support of our effort to award as many scholarships as possible to Liverpool High School graduates. With your help, we move closer to our goal of a scholarship for every applicant bound for higher education.

John CERRonE preSident – liverpool dollarS For SCholarS

Great job by volunteers, library staff

To the Editor, The Baldwinsville Public

BUYING ANYTHING OLD! Furniture, Books, Magazines, Tools, jewelry/gold/silver, beer items, toys, glassware, trunk contents, Syracuse China, SU Stuff, Musical Instruments, Postcards, knives, swords, coins, helmets, Military, Comics, Christmas, advertising signs & displays, collections! Serving CNY for 40yrs 315-458-4649 VINTAGE BARBIE DOLL Collections, Pre 1970's only. Doll's clothing & accessories. Please call Diane

On Tuesday, May 30, a crew of library staff and volunteers started at 9 a.m., moving thousands of books, DVDs, music CDs, books on CD, furniture and even the doll house.

By the end of the day on Wednesday, May 31, the Children’s Room was completely empty and ready for the contractor to start the renovations on Monday, June 5. The various collections are in temporary locations throughout the library.

I cannot say enough about what a great job the staff and volunteers did as they worked together as a team to make the process move so quickly and efficiently. The volunteers were wonderful, they came in, asked what needed to be done and went to work doing everything from moving books to dismantling shelving.

The library staff were awesome as they continued to run the library and keep the regular routines going as they assisted patrons at the same time, they were moving books and furniture. Staff came in extra hours, pitched in and did whatever was needed to accomplish the goal of relocating everything from the Children’s Room.

To see what the Children’s Room looked like before we emptied the room and what it looks like empty check out the renovation page at bville.lib. ny.us/?page_id=508 2 There will also be updates on that page as the work progresses.

I feel truly blessed to have such a great staff and how they work hard every day with a true team spirit and the way they step-up to help with special projects like the Children’s Room.

The mere words of thank you are not enough to express how much I appreciate what they do each and every day.

MEG vAn PATTEn direCtor, baldWinSville publiC library

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Military, hour. For any questions regarding the position please email cmca@baldwinsville.org or call