ThE ART of ShARing knowlEDgE

The sound of breaking glass is smooth, a click and you have, under the guidance of a master, a leaf, the ear of a kitten, a bird’s wing … parts of an art piece in stained glass.

Margaret “Margie” Murphy is the stained-glass master who is guiding the hands and creativity of students through the auspices of the Town of Marcellus Recreation Commission.

Like all skills, Margie’s mastery took time and persistence to develop and flourish. It began in Oregon at the “bus farm,” a hippy gathering of young people searching for simpler life styles, artistic freedom and that elusive something that makes life meaningful. And Margie was there seeking that too. You may remember that era or have read about it … mullet hair styles, clothing made out of piano shawls, hand crafted weavings. Even the more conventional were caught up in this DIY craze.

“I always liked working with my hands,” Margie said. “I was the one who shadowed my father and worked alongside him at any of his building or crafting projects.”

She found that something as she watched a fellow explorer create a stained-glass window for his bus.

“Will you teach me?” she asked.

He said, “No” but his refusal didn’t dampen her fascination with the art. When she returned home to Marcellus, a newspaper article took her further along the 50-year path she was to follow, a journey that spread her craftsmanship and artistry along the east coast

While her last studio was in Florida as the artist in residence at the marvelouslynamed Fish House Center in Port Salerno, Margie’s work is well known in Central New

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York. Her hand at design and execution has produced exquisite windows for churches, restaurants and private homes throughout the area.

Slow down as you come to the intersection of route 41 and Rose Hill Road and take a minute to view the result of the congregation’s wish for windows that depict God in nature. The stained-glass birch trees have translated those wishes into parables of light and color. They are the glass artist’s version of voices lifted in song.

Further down the road, the Marietta House, a venue for special events along route 174, displays Margie’s interpretation of the four seasons, four windows …. each capturing that turning of the year into flowing movements designed and cut by an artist’s hand.

These windows are represented in her portfolio, which Margie always carries with her. “You can mosey around the Ethernet and see pictures there, but these are better,” she will tell you. Just in case, her Facebook page is “Margie Murphy Glass.”

Margie is a local gal, born and raised in Marcellus. She picks up the story of her craft journey:

“After Mr. Oregon Bus Farm said no, that would have probably been the end of my fascination with this art except for the time after I returned to Marcellus when I read an article about a stained-glass studio closing,” she said. “The renowned Stanly Worden, who had studied and worked with Henry Keck, a student of Tiffany, was retiring. You know that saying, ‘If you don’t ask, the answer is no’…so I went to the studio and asked if he would teach me. He said ‘no,’ too, but handed me a cutter and told me to start cutting glass. I

To the editor: I was surprised to learn of efforts by Republicans in the town of Manlius to create a ward system to elect their town representatives, given that Republicans in the town of Clay, just a short drive to the north, have been so against the implementation of a ward system for decades. In fact, wherever Republicans consistently win at the town level, they seem to favor at-large voting over a ward system and conversely, where they’re less successful at winning using an at-large system, they favor ward-style representation.

The same was true of the Manlius Republicans until they were swept from power by the Democrats in the last few election cycles.

Call me a cynic, but I can’t shake the feeling that Republicans aren’t interested in providing the most representative form of democracy at the town level for residents, but instead are trying to change the rules of the game wherever and whenever it benefits their party.

Personally, I favor a ward system. They are especially effective in large townships like Clay, the largest town in Onondaga County. Perhaps in smaller towns, like Manlius, at-large voting is sufficient. I don’t live in Manlius and can’t say for certain. What I would like to see though is some consistency and fairness. Local elections should be one way or the other, at-large or through wards, throughout the county. Republicans can not pick and choose the system that works best for them in order to gain a political advantage. They can’t decry the lack of representation of at-large voting in the small town of Manlius, while simultaneously defending its virtues in the massive town of Clay. This is just another example of Republicans attempting to rig the system in their favor and voters can see right through it. Do better.

MATT JONES

ChAirmAn, ClAy DemoCrAtiC Committee

No to ward system

To the editor: I read in the Eagle Bulletin that the Manlius GOP had submitted a petition to the Manlius Town Clerk demanding a referendum on apportioning the town into a group of wards which would each elect its own

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Sports Editor: Phil Blackwell, ext. 348, pblackwell@eaglenewsonline.com Display Ads EB: Linda Jabbour, ext. 304, ljabbour@eaglenewsonline.com worked and studied with him until he really retired. That ‘no’ was the beginning almost 50 years ago.”

What Margie leaves out of her description is that she is not only the artist but she is also the consummate teacher, a gifted ability to guide neophytes in the processes of turning sheets of glass into art. She has been successfully teaching the rudiments of the craft for years.

Her classes are designed specifically for the rookie, where each person, in a class no larger than four, is guided through the exacting practice of cutting glass to fit the cartoon (meaning drawing) beneath. This is the truth of art where the results are reassembled through town councilperson. a process of foiling and soldering into a piece to take home and hang up with pride

Are these the stuff of the 14 windows that Margie did for the Winter Olympics in 1980?

Not in content, but in execution and delight…yes.

Registration for her six-hour class, which is offered once or twice each week through the Town of Marcellus Parks and Recreation: marcellusny.com/ parks/adult/trips/.

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.

The GOP chair claimed it was not a political act to attempt to divide the town. However this is the same local GOP that rammed through a biased redistricting of election districts in the county. They also claimed it was not political when the more Democratic Village of Manlius was redistricted out of the town that bears its name.

By forcing a special vote on referendum, the town of Manlius taxpayers will bear substantial costs that would not otherwise have been borne if the referendum had been placed on the ballot in November. Are these the “fiscally responsible” people who want to be elected to the town board?

After the Eagle Bulletin made the existence of the forced referendum known, I expected signees on the petition would turn out at the next town board hearing this week to defend the need for it. There were allegedly over 800 signatures on the petition but not one spoke for it, though several spoke in opposition. Not exactly a groundswell of public support.

What would result from a ward system? It would divide one Manlius into a system of enclaves. I presume you as a voter would only vote for one of the people from your ward who wanted to be on the town board. You would have no opportunity to vote for the composition of the board in general. That seems like less democratic (small “D”) participation in the town’s affairs, not more.

The “ward” proposal would not require your “ward’s councilperson“ to be a resident of your ward. We have a couple GOP members of Congress who don’t reside in their district.

The GOP proposal for a ward system in the town is just an attempt to gerrymander the results of a general election.

The current town board and town supervisor instituted a public comment period before each board meeting, a formal opportunity to speak that was not permitted under prior town boards. Residents of the villages, Fremont and East Syracuse have that opportunity to be heard in public now every two weeks.

If a special referendum is held, I urge my fellow town residents to vote “no” on this attack on Town of Manlius unity. Thank you.

MiChAEl SMiTh FAyetteville

Years Ago in History

By CinDy BEll ToBEy

150 Years Ago –

Aug. 14, 1873

A runaway, dreadful in its threatening and fortunate in its results, excited this community to an unusual degree last Thursday evening. About 7 ½ o’clock a party of eight persons – three ladies and five gentlemen – from Chittenango, who had been at a picnic at the head of the lake, were riding down Lincklaen Street with a double team, and when near the residence of Mr. Charles Brown one of the pole straps broke and horses started on a run. The driver was unable to check them, and they reached the corner of Albany and Lincklaen streets under frightful headway. Just skipping two teams which were passing up Lincklaen Street, the team turned a sharp corner and threw the wagon with its load upon the ground with terrific force in front of Tillotson’s store. The horses became detached from the wagon and started frantically on a run down the walk, south side of Albany Street but slipped and fell in front of

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