Library News – Good and Bad

First of all, I’d like to say, contrary to what you may have read in last week’s edition of the Westfield Republican, S. Alexander Gerould did NOT write the Ruminations column “Walk Down Memory Lane.” All complaints or kudos should be addressed to me, as always.

I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is the Ripley Library is going great guns with its Month of the Arts Art Show. The bad news is State funding is being cut to local libraries to the tune of $8.45 million. But let’s talk about the good news first.

March is National Month of the Arts. Earlier in the month the Ripley Free Library hosted local poets who read their original or favorite poetry. The remainder of the month, through the 31st, was devoted to the visual arts as showcased by over two dozen local artists. Everything from oils and acrylics, line drawings, cartoon art, to photographs is being featured throughout the library. Each time I go in, something new has been added. This being the first year for a local art show, word spread a little more slowly than it might have. As people visited the library, they remembered their own dabbles in artwork and brought them in. If you visited earlier in the month to see what was on display, you might want to visit again and see the new paintings that have been added. So far over 100 visitors have gone through the “gallery” and ooh’d and aah’d over the amazing works of art.

I am assuming there are a lot more artists out there in Ripley who either chose not to enter their paintings, drawings and photography or just didn’t hear about the library show. The representation of local artists blew me away, and I expect that next year will be even bigger and better. Who knew so many people in this community could paint? My hat is off to everybody who entered a piece of their artwork. You are truly amazing.

Personally, I haven’t embraced painting – yet. My interests lie in the area of photography. They say the mark of a true photographer is the willingness to look silly or get dirty in the quest for the perfect photo. I don’t claim to be on par with someone like Ansel Adams, but I have been known to lie on the floor of Warwick Castle on the River Avon in England to get a photograph of the tiled and exquisitely decorated ceiling. As I recall, my friend and guide walked past me muttering, “I do not even know you.”

Be that as it may, today is your last chance to take a stroll through the Ripley Library and see what your friends and neighbors have been doing with their time.

The bad news is the State Assembly and Senate of New York have split on whether or not to restore $4.2 million in library aid cuts. Libraries depend on a number of sources to keep their doors open. State Aid is one of the largest sources of revenue. The Legislative Conference Committees will try to hammer out their differences in the budget proposals, but because the Assembly did not include any restoration of funding, the Senate will have a hard time pushing through partial restoration.

These are OUR libraries. This is OUR government. Write, email or call your representatives and tell them you want them to give back some of the funding the libraries so urgently need. Can you imagine our little town without the library? Help by contacting our Assembly and Senate members. I thank you and the library thanks you.

Pi Day at RCS The week of March 14-18 saw the return of Math Week at Ripley Central School. Math teacher Lisa Stonefoot coordinated the event, now in its fourth year at the school. “The first year,” Mrs. Stonefoot commented, “I had to go begging for volunteers. Each year more and more students are interested in participating.” Ripley students have come to embrace the events of Math Week, and the Math Battle of the Classes, according to Stonefoot. It has become a highly anticipated tradition at Ripley Central School. When 8th grader Ryleigh Hawkins explained Math Week to a new student in her class, she called it “the most awesome, incredible thing ever!” Sophomore Sierra Tessmer said of Math Week, “It brings all the students together – we have to work together to solve problems.” “Math Week bumps up the morale of the school and school spirit,” said Ali Resulzade, a foreign exchange student this year at Ripley. On Friday, Mathematics Battle of the Classes students competed in events with mathematical themed games of various categories: Artistic, 3-D, Probability, Survivor, Shape Fishing, Academic, Ordering, and Balance. The Memory competition involved one student from each class memorizing the digits in the decimal expansion of pi. The student who could recite the most digits in correct order won the event for their team. It was the only competition where the students knew in advance what they would be doing for that competition. Maggie Hammond, a senior competing in the Memory competition, said after getting the sheet with the expansions of pi, “I just tried to memorize as many digits as I could. I got up to 100. We’ll see if I remember that many!” When asked how they prepared for the competitions, Analise Mellors, a 6th grader who participated in the Academic competition, said, “I just did my normal math work,” and Allie Gibbs, senior competing in Balance, added, “You can’t prepare really. You don’t know what you’re doing ahead of time.” There was also an Appetite competition. This was perhaps the most anticipated competition of the Battle. This year the students had to eat through a pi-shaped brownie that was covered in chocolate syrup and whipped cream, without using their hands. Leading up to Math Battle Day on Friday, the week included Circle Day, Number Day, Geometric Shape Day, and Similar Day. For each of the theme days, students dressed according to the theme. They wore various combinations of polka dots, squares, triangles and ellipses. On Similar Day, students dressed alike in various types of crazy costumes. The week ended with Battle Day, where each class dressed in a different color to show their class spirit. T-shirts worn by students in grades 6-12 with “The Tree of Math” logo were designed by Trevor Enterline. One of the highlights of the week was the opportunity for the middle and high school students to work with the elementary students. The older students created activities that were appropriate for grades Pre-K through 5. The youngest students made beaded bracelets where each color of bead represented a different digit in the expansion of pi. Other students created their own mathematically themed jigsaw puzzles. The second grade classes made “fraction pizzas” using various toppings. Third and fourth grade students made color-by-number pictures that were made entirely of circles. The fifth graders worked on estimation activities. Both elementary students and their high school helpers enjoyed working together on math activities. As junior Sawyer Tessmer stated, “Math Week is a week where you can work with younger students and help them with their math skills. It’s fun to go to work with the elementary classes.” The elementary teachers also enjoyed having the high school helpers present activities in their classrooms. They were pleased with the ability of the high school students to plan and execute mini math lessons for the younger students Students also went on a scavenger hunt throughout the week. All classes from 6th through 12th competed in various mathematical challenges. Prior to the Battle, each class created a video about a mathematician. Some of the classes had costumes and music, while others used a game show theme to present information about their mathematician. The students had a great time producing their videos. With the assistance of the cafeteria staff, led by Mrs. Sue Gambino, a student committee helped plan balanced meals to reflect the theme of the day. On Circle Day, for example, students were served pancakes for breakfast. Circular personal pan pizza, circular carrot slices and grapes were served for lunch. On Battle Day the students were served a cookie frosted in the 7 class colors for the Math Battle. Mrs. Lisa Stonefoot assisted in planning and organizing activities for the elementary students with the Math Week Committee. Members of the committee included Dylan Bryte, Aarien Carvallo, Danielle Chapman, Brianna Fisher, Samantha Gardner, Kyle Hammond, Ryleigh Hawkins, Eric Horstman, Nick Houle, Dylan Kramer, Win Nuttapornpong, Ian Petroff, Cody Rater, Vinny Shioleno, Sierra Tessmer, and Sammi Trevelline. Donna Lauzon, a math teacher at the school, also assisted with the planning. Ms.Stonefoot commented, “I love to watch the students enjoy the applications of mathematics. It is so much fun to help them plan activities and work with the younger students. They get so much out of it on all levels, both socially and academically. It’s great to see them having fun together, especially when it centers around math!”

Ripley circa 1960

A few weeks ago, a complete stranger, prompted by an article I wrote, contacted me about his memories of Ripley in the mid 1960s. In his email he told me of how, as a kid growing up on Long Island, he spent four weeks in the summers of 1965, 1966 and 1967 here in dear ol’ Ripley so he could “get some fresh air.” He remembered The Fashion Gate, a clothing store on South State Street; the Ripley library, then housed in the Hamilton Estate; Meeder’s, of course; and particularly the Sesquicentennial Celebration in 1966.

Now ain’t that somethin’. A ten year old kid came to Ripley for a summer vacation and remembered it even forty years later. In the course of my email exchanges with “Tom,” I’ve begun remembering places and people from my youth as well. I decided to take a look at some of the old yearbooks because my memory is faulty and I wanted to get the names right. So walk with me down Memory Lane a bit and see if it stirs some memories of your own.

Do you remember Hypatia Foundations at 105 W. Main Street? They advertised, “There are definite reasons why more women in North East, Westfield and Ripley wear Hypatia Foundation Garments than any other make of corset: 1. Hypatia Foundations are individually tailored, cut especially for you. 2. They are easily the most reasonably made to measure Foundation. 3. Hypatia even now uses all elastic garters, choice of lovely lastex” (yes, it said ‘lastex’) “or elastic panels. 4. The finest of materials and workmanship. 5. You may be fitted by the designer, Mrs. Rozetta Braithwaite.” Do you remember calling “Ripley 69 for appointment”?

Or how about the old Ripley Feed & Coal Company? Is my memory correct in thinking the building still stands on Boswell Street? “Dealers in Feed, Cement, Fertilizers, Hard and Soft Coal.” I remember going there with my Dad to order coal, then waiting for the truck to come to our house, put the chute in the basement window and listening to the clatter of coal pouring down into the bin. Ask me sometime about falling into the coal bin and the dent in my nose.

Twenty two Ripley businesses advertised in the 1945 Ripley yearbook, Les Memoires. The war years stopped production of school yearbooks here and it wasn’t until the late 50s that yearbooks were produced again and the early 60s that advertisers came back onto the scene. Names like A.L. Wilcox Insurance, Beatty Grocery at Stateline, Harry’s and Teemley’s Barbershops and E. W. Burdick Oil Company appeared in the 1961 Vintage. Remember Leon’s Pharmacy? I remember a counter with stools where we’d go to order cherry sodas.

No fewer than six gas stations appeared in Vintage 1964: Chuck’s Gulf, Ripley Truck Stop, Pete’s Service Station, Roesch’s Texaco Station, Sinden’s Sunoco and George Lick’s Mobil Station. I’m not sure any of them could sell even a gallon of gasoline today, with Pennsylvania gas prices always so much lower, but they did a reasonable business back in the 60s.

There are so many names and places that are gone now. Only a few remain. As every generation is so fond of saying, those were the good old days. I wonder if our children and grandchildren will look back at the Ripley of today and think of this as the good old days.

The Month of the Arts at Ripley Free Library is in full swing with an art show filled with local talent. Running from March 15th through the end of the month, local library patron artists and photographers are showing their best works. Ripley Central School grade school students from the After School Program have entered their own artwork as well. Oil and acrylic paintings, pastels, pen and ink and pencil drawings as well as artistic, landscape and human interest photography are on display during regular library hours.

The Real St. Patrick’s Day

March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, a day to claim Irish descent, real or imagined, dress in green, drink a few green beers and toast to good health and little hardship.

We all become Irish on St. Paddy’s Day. The day has become synonymous with parties and drunkenness in most places. But the Irish view the celebration of St. Patrick differently. “It’s actually more important to us,” my friend from Ireland told me. “It’s our national identity in a country with so many different origins of nationality. If you look at our history and how sad it’s been, it’s a miracle we can celebrate.”

I asked him why we aspire to be Irish on this one day of the year. His reply was, “Oh! Why wouldn’t everyone like to be carefree and jolly? That’s the picture we Irish used to paint of ourselves. We didn’t have any expectations of ourselves in terms of leadership and achievement, so we were okay with making fun of ourselves.”

While St. Patrick’s Day is now a national holiday in Ireland as well as a religious feast day, a few hundred years ago the emphasis was on spirituality and provided a much needed break from the austerities of Lent where all Lenten restrictions would be set aside for the day.

St. Patrick’s Day, was regarded as the middle of spring, no matter how bad the weather might be and the good saint promised better weather from March 17th onward. Farmers planted their potato crops at that time, although no one did much work on the big day itself.

The “wearing o’ the green” is a custom taken up by those of us outside Ireland. Wearing a shamrock or homemade paper cross would be customary for the Irish. “We never wore any more green than that,” said Bridget Haggerty, author of an article, Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Old Ireland. “To do so, according to my mother, would have been too great a temptation for the fairies! She was a firm believer in the old superstition that green was their favorite color and they’d spirit away any child fully-garbed in green.”

So how did we come by St. Patrick and the tradition of celebrating his life? Patrick was born in the late 300s A.D. in Wales or Scotland, the traditions are unclear. Near the end of the Roman occupation of England, Irish raiders captured Patrick and sold him into slavery in Ireland. After six years of servitude, Patrick escaped to France, where he studied for the priesthood. He asked to be assigned to Ireland. Knowing the customs of the people as he did, he thought he could convert the warring kinds and pagan priests. Because the Irish believed the earth to be a mystical place, Patrick built on those beliefs rather than dwell on the sinfulness of man, as was being stressed throughout Europe. Because of this focus, the Irish embraced Christianity as a celebration of the earth, of the human experience and the human body.

There is a legend that says on the last day, Christ will judge all the other nations, but St. Patrick will sit in judgment of the Irish. In an interview with an author of Irish history, Thomas Cahill, he was asked if this was good or bad news for the Irish. He didn’t hesitate in saying, “That’s great news for the Irish!”

Read Across America at RCS

The Cat in the Hat strikes again. The annual Read Across America celebration took place, by Presidential proclamation no less, on March 2, 2011. Sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA), 45 million readers across the United States celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) with a day of reading and Cat in the Hat inspired activities.

Ripley Central School students, grade Pre-K through 6, started their day with a Seuss style breakfast of green eggs and ham and birthday cake for dessert at lunch. Throughout the day community members as well as teachers and staff visited the various classrooms to read favorite books or stories to the students. “What a wonderful way to spend a day celebrating and promoting reading!” exclaimed Mrs. Sue Hinman, RCS teacher and co-chair of the event. “Studies have shown that children who are readers to have a higher success rate in school and in life,” Hinman continued. “In addition, children who read frequently develop stronger reading skills. We practice to get better at sports and video games. Reading is the same; you have to practice to get to the highest level.”

“Motivating children to read is an important factor in student achievement and creating lifelong successful readers,” states the NEA. “Research has shown that children who are motivated and spend more time reading do better in school.”



Justin Akin, 5th grade teacher at Ripley Central, visited each elementary classroom with guitar in hand, sharing stories through song. “I have a lot more respect for rock stars now,” he quipped. “This is hard work!” While entertaining the Kindergartners, Akin encouraged the class to get up and move to the music. With book versions in hand, he sang Down by the Bay, Seals on the Bus (a beastly version of People on the Bus), and Alligator Jump to get the wiggles and giggles out of the youngsters in short order. Upon completing his final song, Green Grass Grew All Around, young Edwin Henderson raised his hand and exclaimed, “You sing better than ME!” It seems Edwin has his own guitar at age 5 and is an accomplished singer in his own right.

In addition to the variety of reading activities the students enjoyed, each of them received a book of their choice, a bookmark and a pencil to commemorate the day. “This is the sixth year the students have designed our bookmarks,” said Debbie McKillip, teaching assistant and event co-chair. “Each year we can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with next.” The bookmark designers and their themes were: Conner McFeely, Make a goal with reading; Isabelle Reid, Read what U love…love what U read!; Kimmi Kolibar, Grow into reading; and Jacob Fisher, Reading Rocks!!!

Remember what Dr. Seuss said: “You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild; to pick up a book and read with a child.”

What’s Love Got to do With It Reprised

A few weeks back I wrote a column called What’s Love Got to do With It and it opened with a reference to Tina Turner’s hit song. A film was made in the early 90s about how Tina rose to stardom with her abusive husband Ike Turner, and how she gained the courage to break free.

I have several young friends on Facebook and I see a disturbing trend. I have heard several comments in the last few weeks lamenting that he always has to be right; that he or she tries and tries but can’t seem to make the other happy; that he comes home drunk or high and hits her; and what can she/he do to make him/her happy.

I know there is physical abuse in some of these situations. I know there is mental and emotional abuse in all these situations. This is my plea to those of you in any kind of abusive situation. Get out before it’s too late.

We cannot change another person to any great extent. Many of us marry thinking we’ll change those bad habits or personality traits our spouse has that annoy us. People do change – if they want to. We can encourage and support the changes we would like to see, but we can’t MAKE someone change.

These young women, and in one case a young man, have yet to learn that. But worse, they have such low self-esteem that they think they deserve to be treated badly. How many times have we heard an abused person say they deserved to be hit, they provoked the fight; or their spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend hurt them because they didn’t do what that person wanted them to do? But they can’t leave that abusive person because they loooove them.

Please, please understand my young friends, this isn’t love. Men don’t hit women. Period. Whether the abuser is male or female, hurting someone and then apologizing, saying they’ll never do it again isn’t an expression of love and remorse. It is the plea of a controller to maintain control. And believe me, this is a control issue, not a love issue.

I understand that not all relationships are perfect. There is disagreement in any marriage or long term arrangement. People argue and say things they often shouldn’t. But love has no place for physically pushing, punching or hitting. Love also has no place for verbally tearing you down over and over again, telling you you’re no good and you’re worthless.

Victims of abuse have a very difficult time leaving their abusers. There are many psychological reasons behind this and I am certainly not qualified to discuss them. But I have seen women who have come to work with broken arms and black eyes and still deny there is anything wrong. I knew one woman who steadfastly supported her abusive husband; until he killed her.

To my young Facebook friends, and anyone else out there in an abusive relationship, leave before it is too late. If you need someone to talk to and can’t afford a counselor, talk to your parents, an older friend, your social worker or a minister or priest. If you are afraid to leave for fear of being hurt, call the police or social services. If young children are involved, get help before the cycle of abuse reaches them. Love shouldn’t hurt.

For those of you locally, you may find this of interest. For the rest of you, well, just some useless information.

Month of the Arts

March is a transitional month here in Western New York. We can as easily expect snow storms as balmy spring days. One of the nicest things about March however, is the Month of the Arts program at the Ripley Free Library.

If you came to any of the special nights last year or participated in them, you’ll remember we have quite a few talented people in our little town. This year the library welcomes not only poets but artists as well to share their unique talents with us.

Poetry Night will take place on Tuesday, March 8th at 7 p.m. Last year there were several homegrown writers who shared their original poetry with the group attending, ranging from senior citizens to a number of our young people still in school. This year the library is inviting not only original poems but encourages people to come read a selection from their favorite poet. I’ll be there, reading a lifelong favorite of mine, “The House with Nobody in It” by Joyce Kilmer.

When I was very small, maybe two or three years old, my mother would rock me in an oversized wicker rocker and recite The House with Nobody in It. It didn’t take long before I could recite the poem by myself, even at that young age. Soon my siblings started arriving, and the tradition continued, two or three or four of us piling on Mom’s lap, crying as she got to the sad parts. In that one poem, my mother taught us compassion and empathy, and a love for poetry. So in honor of her, I’ll try to get through the poem without choking up.

Works of classical art will be on display at the library during March, and a new addition to the Month of the Arts will be a local art show. Artists and photographers are encouraged to display their paintings or photographs at the library from March 15th through the 31st. Samples of all types of paintings and creative photography are encouraged. I can’t wait to see what local works of art are out there. If you have paintings or matted photos of your own you would like to share, let Nancy McIntosh at the library know and you can be entered into the show.

I’m told a Talent Show is being planned, if enough talented people can be found. So all you jugglers and singers, actors and magicians dust off your hidden talents and entertain us. That should be a lot of fun!

All event nights begin at 7 p.m. and refreshments will be served. I’m really hoping to see a lot of you there. We need new faces at the library. The library knocks itself out to bring fun and informative programs to our small community and most of them are free. Start thinking about what you can contribute and call the library, 736-3913, for more information.