Roseland Ranch Resort — All the Good Times Have Gone….

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It finally had to happen! This much-beloved resort where friendships and even families were formed closed down a few years ago. The regulars hoped that somehow it would re-open and they could get their memories back. I hate to be the bearer of bad news…

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Everybody Loves a Parade

Memorial Day Parade

A great introduction to Pine Plains is the Memorial Day Parade. If they’re not actually in it, they’re watching it! This was in 2000. The rest of the world, but not the parade, has changed a lot since. See for yourself as it is in 2011.

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“Those Gangsters Weren’t Dummies”

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If this looks as if a man is trying to disappear into that hole in the brush, well, that was the whole idea. It leads to where a huge moonshine operation had been hidden since The Prohibition in a warren of underground rooms and tunnels. I’ve heard about this for years and was finally able to take a tour. Come on along.

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For the Sake of History

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It’s great when a community pulls together for a cause. In this case it was pulling pork as a fund-raiser for the local historical society. Two hundred tickets were sold and late-comers had to be turned away. Perhaps some vegetarians had to look away…

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The Porsches Have Landed!

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Right here in Pine Plains! A fleet (what do you call a flock of Porsches, anyway?) of all vintages of Porsches as the Hudson Valley Chapter of the Porsche Club of America landed on our own John Corson’s lawn to visit his garage.

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The Family Farm

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This is about a dairy farmer, Barry Chase, who is about to sell his herd of milking cows. I visited with him and his wife, Rosey, a few days before their herd leaves.

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Food For Thought

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Field work — literally — when Vassar College students milked cows, fed turkeys, picked fruit, mucked stalls and wrote ethnographies as part of an anthropology course.

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Scenes and Behind Them at Lime Rock Park

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Although it is a race course, it really is a park where the public can watch from under the trees and on the hills without the confines of grandstands. They can meet the drivers, crews, all the people who put the cars on the track.

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That Old House

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It’s often referred to as “that old house by the bank parking lot” by people who do not remember the name, Louis Graham/Brush House. I confess that I was, up until I started filming its restoration, one of them.

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Chop Shop Suey

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They’re always talking about what we import from China. Well, here’s what we export to back to them. WARNING: Not for the mechanically squeamish!

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Love Where You Live: The Story of Hammertown

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Because it sets itself apart from the ordinary by striving to do things better and living up to its motto: Love Where You Live, it was able to invite its customers in the community to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

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Roll Your Own — Chinese Dumplings!

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For those of us in Pine Plains who crave good Chinese food it means hitting the road. But we are fortunate that just up the road is a chef and caterer who will not only bring the food but can show us how to make it. This is an entertaining series about making Chinese dumplings. Another thing you can do in Pine Plains!

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Farming the Future

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The 4- H Club dairy cow competition was a proud event for Pine Plains at the Dutchess County Fair. Gina Brooks and her brother, Patrick, showed two of her cows, a Brown Swiss and a Holstein, which she has been keeping in Barry Chase’s barn.

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Chopping Rock

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A video visit with Verne Tower, stone-cutter, as he re-creates an elaborate marble stoop for a historic mansion in Hudson, NY. While Verne may be doing wonderful restoration and preservation of historical buildings, he is also preserving skills and technology that are disappearing faster than the buildings he works on.

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The Tree Couple

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We had this tree… well, up until recently it had been 3 trees, a triple crown but when two of them came down in the field the third one was leaning more and more perilously over our backyard and our swimming pool. It had to come down.  But because it leaned over the pool and [...]

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The Culture of Agriculture

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The farmers may be leaving their farms and the farmland, even if preserved, may be left only as viewscape.  But a culture and tradition of agriculture remains.  Each year the Agriculture Fair, put on by the Future Farmers of America in Pine Plains, grows as an area attraction.

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Moving On

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An old farmhouse was resting on a warped frame that could no longer support it. But this house is not going to be torn down. It will be restored after it is jacked up and moved onto a new foundation. Ever wonder how they jack up a whole house and move it? Well, see for yourself! It’s all revealed in this story.

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Wednesday Jam

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Local folks who like to play bluegrass, they have been getting together on Wednesday nights for over 40 years. They never had a name for their group so I just call it The Wednesday Jam. When I came across them they had been playing in Pete and Cindy Howe’s kitchen where I took these videos.

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It Takes a Community to Run a Race

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The first triathalon of Pine Plains. The race itself was the shortest part of the story. It took months of planning, organizing, recruiting and training local residents to be part of something they had never even seen before.

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Howe They Farmed

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In 1939, Carolyn Howe got married. One of her wedding presents was a 16mm movie camera. She took pictures of life around her in Falls Village, Connecticut. These are absolutely amazing scenes of farm life and equipment of that time.

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Roseland…

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There is no video to this story. I missed out on the action. But a lot of others still miss this place, closed now for several years, where they had many happy visits. Here are some still photos as it is now.

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Nanjing on the Hudson

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Once the world was flat then it became round. Now it is flat again… The high school cafeteria was filled with the sounds and sights of Chinese in a welcome to the delegation from High School #29 in Nanjing (China).

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This Old Mill

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I often drove by an old building on the outskirts of Pine Plains and wondered about what it used to be.  It was by a mill pond so I naturally assumed it was some kind of abandoned water mill.   When I saw some activity going on around it (actually more underneath it) my curiousity got [...]

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Where Every Car Has a Story

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This is really not yet ready for prime time. It’s about Wheels of Time, a place where dreams and fond memories are brought to life. I am testing some new software, but come visit for a sneak preview. Just, please, remember to come back when I have put up the edited stories.

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