Approximately seven-and-one-half billion people wake up on a Tuesday morning but The Old Men of the Mountain know where about 45 OFs wake up on a Tuesday morning. It’s a little pinprick on the planet’s surface in one of the prettiest places the planet has to offer.
On this particular Tuesday morning, Oct. 8, some of these OFs woke up and headed to the Duanesburg Diner in Duanesburg to have breakfast.
One particular OF complained that the chairs were too heavy and they should have rollers on their legs. It is not that the chairs are too heavy, it is the OFs are getting so weak, i.e., to many of the OFs, five pounds is now 25 pounds. Other OFs chimed in on this and the waitress took this grumbling very well, in the nature it was intended, and she knew it.
The OFs didn’t care whether the chairs were five pounds or 50; they were just commenting on something, anything to pick up on what one OF said.
Then one OF said, “These coffee cups are too small.”
Yeah right! In fact, they are just like any other cup. The OF just wanted to add to the discussion, only this time the waitress was ready for him.
She said, “If they are too small, next time bring your own cup; we will fill it for you.”
Now the OF should remember this and the next time we are at the Duanesburg Diner he should bring his own cup.
The waitresses are as much fun as the OMOTM.
Get your flu shot
It is time to get your flu shots, and some of the OFs have already gotten theirs. One thing we should take seriously is that young children, and the elderly don’t want to do is get the flu.
The ability for these groups to fight off the effects of the flu is not like some 25-year-old. The OFs do give advice, as was said before, but this particular advice is surely good to follow.
Take it from the OMOTM who have had some suffering with the flu. They speak from experience.
Fame
One OF, who is on his computer a lot, came into the breakfast and announced that the OF with the pirate ship and skeleton crew were on the internet. It seems some passer-by took pictures of ship and crew and posted them on the net.
The OF who has this display already has people stopping and taking pictures — now he is afraid he will have more. This OF said he is going to put out parking meters. Not a bad idea.
Frustrating phone menus
Quite often, there are ads on television that depict something of interest, or it may be an ad in the paper. On television generally it shows a room full of people answering the phone.
The OFs say this is classic false advertising. The OFs say there really is only one guy in a closet with a couple of phones, a can of Blue Ribbon beer and wearing worn-out sneakers and no socks, answering only a few calls a day because no one can understand the menu to get through to whatever company it is.
One OF said he feels some of the biggest offenders are doctor’s offices and insurance companies.
Another OF said all he wants to do is ask a simple question. An example would be: If he wants to change A to B (regarding his insurance,) how should he go about doing that?
The OFs say he is given a litany of departments, each with its own number, none of which are relevant to what he is after. This scribe could go on with all the “if you want this, press 1, if you want that, press 2, etc.” but it would fill up the column, and the OF said none of the selections apply to what the ads either print, or television portrays.
Still another OF said one time he was talking to his doctor about these frustrating telephone menus and the doctor told him he hates to call his place because the menu doesn’t help at all.
The doctor went on to explain, “After I select what I think is right, it turns out it is wrong. I have trouble calling myself,” he said.
Flushing out a new topic
The OFs began talking about a subject they are all familiar with (and, as the OFs get older and older, they become even more familiar with) and that is toilets. This topic did approach the OFs conversation and the OFs were not discussing their use, but their function and how they are changing.
Their change is only physical. The process of power and vapor trap has not changed since the 1500s. The idea of the toilets has not changed since the construction of the Roman Coliseum which was started in 70 AD.
“Now,” the OFs said, “We have a choice.” The toilets are either high or low, loud with a swoosh, or quiet, even ones that have electronic eyes that know when you’re on and off, or in front and leave and then they flush themselves.
One OF said many newly constructed buildings install the high ones. But, as technology advances, there are now the electric ones that turn everything to ash.
Now, that one has nothing to do with Rome and the Coliseum. And to think that the wives believe we have nothing remarkable to talk about.
Those OFs who were at the Duanesburg Diner in Duanesburg and would like to go back to the days when the phone operators picked up the phone and all the OF had to say was, “Doc Walker please,” and the next thing you know you were talking to Doc Walker, or the phone operator would say he was out getting his hair cut, were: Roger Chapman, George Washburn, Robie Osterman, Miner Stevens, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, John Rossmann, Pete Whitbeck, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Karl Remmers, Joe Rack, Roger Shafer, Wayne Gaul, Jake Lederman, Ted Feurer, Lou Schenck, Mace Porter, Jack Norray, Rev. Jay Francis, Mike Willsey, Warren Willsey, Russ Pokorny, Gerry Chartier, Elwood Vanderbilt, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
Here we go again. It seems like this scribe just sent this article to the paper. However, it is Oct. 1 as I write this and the year is flying by. The Old Men of the Mountain met at the Your Way Café and we are ready for a weather report on this particular Tuesday.
The early arrivals (there are quite a few OMOTM who have things to do and they do arrive early) traveled in the dark and driving rain, with fog on the mountain thrown in for good measure. What fun! Even so the Your Way Café was there as a beacon with its lights on, coffee brewing, and the staff ready. That eliminates the weather and turns it into a good morning.
It is strange how conversations morph from one subject to another within a single topic. This exchange started out with TV shows; one of the shows was “American Pickers.”
Many of the OFs like this show because they have much of what the pickers are looking for right in their garages and barns. One OF said his whole house was furnished in what the pickers are looking for.
Then it quickly led to what must be an OF trait — the observation of the props used in many TV shows. This began as a discussion of Adirondack chairs and what is a true Adirondack chair and what are similar but not true Adirondack chairs.
This discussion then somehow worked into a discussion on Korean and World War II vehicles — especially the jeeps.
One OF said that the Korean War used World War II jeeps, and another OF who was in the Korean War raised an objection, saying they didn’t use World War II jeeps in Korea; the jeeps he drove were newer.
This OF even had a picture to prove it. The Korean War was from about June 1950 until 1953. The jeep was already modified by that time and called the CJ 5 and, when the Korean War broke out, they just used the same vehicle, calling it the MB38 and these vehicles were then all painted olive green and sent overseas.
Proving who you are
Again, conversation was about getting the enhanced license and one OF asked what he needed at the Department of Motor Vehicles to get an enhanced license. The reply from many of the OFs was to bring everything, including the name of the boat your mother and father came over on.
The OF replied, “Will the Mayflower do?”
The OF said he does have a passport (not much help here). All that will do is allow the OF to use that instead of a birth certificate. This OF still needs all that other stuff.
One OF said he bets they will still send him home for something. This OF thinks it is a contest between the staff at DMV as to who can send the most people back to bring in more information in a single day.
Hints on downsizing
This scribe does not know the reason for the frequent discussions on downsizing. Maybe it is the snowbirds leaving the nest to warmer climes at this time of year. The OMOTM had another OF at the breakfast Tuesday morning shaking hands and commenting he “will see ya next year.”
This time, the downsizing was on what to do with items you don’t want, the kids don’t want, and friends and neighbors don’t want. One OF suggested Craigslist.
This OF started telling of items he has put on Craigslist and how fast they sold. Some of the OFs who are not that computer savvy wondered how that worked because they have tons of stuff to get rid of and some of it is in pretty good condition.
One OF said he isn’t going to get rid of anything. He is going to leave all his possessions for his kids to hassle out. This OF said he still is using most of these things and rarely purchases anything that he isn’t going to use.
The OF who uses Craigslist says he has sold some pretty big-ticket items and has had friends who have done the same. One friend of the OF sold almost a house full of furniture in 43 minutes. Hmmmm.
Another OF mentioned that there were other online sites available that it was possible to sell items on but he didn’t know how any of them worked.
Another OF said, “Do they take anything? I would like to put the ole lady up for sale and I wouldn’t ask much either; heck, I would even deliver her for free.”
Hard work
The OFs, as a rule, at each breakfast discuss work; we have said this many times. This time, the talk was about what work was the worst job that most of the OFs who were farmers had, but were glad to leave.
Those jobs were hooking up the stone boat to a couple of horses and then going to pick rocks. That was the hardest work for man and beast on the farm, the OFs thought.
Rocks in the field do not need any seeds — they just come up year after year. Gathering them up and taking them to the hedgerow, or the rock pile, was back-breaking work, and the horses didn’t like it either.
Dropping the hook of the chain on the stone boat into the whiffletree would make the horses turn their heads and give you the dirtiest look ever because they knew what was coming.
However, one OF mentioned that he would rather pick stones than mow hay away in the barn on a hot, humid day.
Those OFs who drifted back into their younger, more robust days, when they didn’t go to bed hurting, but now go to bed with tons of hurts and then wake up in the morning with the same hurts, were glad to shed some of those hurts for a little while at the Your Way Café in Schoharie, and those OFs were: Roger Chapman, Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, John Rossmann, Bob Benac, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Jamie Dairah, Richard Frank, Chuck Aelesio, Joe Rack, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Otis Lawyer, Rick LaGrange, Ken Parks, Karl Remmers, Pete Whitbeck, Lou Schenck, Herb Bahrmann, Mace Porter, Jack Norray, Marty Herzog, Mike Willsey, Joel Willsey, John Dabrvalskas, and me.
Location:
Ah yes, it is another Tuesday and the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Country Café in Schoharie. This Tuesday, Sept. 24, the OMOTM formed in front of the Country Café to partake of their first cups of coffee of the day.
While standing there, the OFs noticed how festive the front of the café was decorated for fall. They looked up and down Main Street and saw that the decorations seemed to say, “Come in and have some hot cider and a couple of cider doughnuts.”
One OF mentioned that each season has its own particular smell. The air was crisp, and the straw bales in front of the restaurant enhanced the early smell of fall and the barn.
Unfinished work
Some of the OFs have some construction projects going on, and they would like to have them completed before winter’s winds begin to blow. Thus began a rousing conversation on contractors not showing up after they start a project.
To all OFs who were having work done, the complaint was unanimous. The percentage done on each job was different but all jobs were not finished, and, on one job, the contractor could not even be found.
One OF said there seems to be a universal connection between all the contractors. It seems that they start one job and then go to another in a few days, and maybe even another one after that.
Then, when each one of them is underway, the contractors will come back to you, drive in a few nails and then go on to the next until your job (which was supposed to be done in a few weeks) stretches into next year.
One OF said he thinks it is the little private contractors way of having job security.
Another OF said that he had his kitchen redone, and had the same experiences only the contractor never came back to do the finish work. The OF said he finally finished the work himself and found that the contractor had gone south to work on a big job.
This led to furnace work. One OF asked if any of the OFs knew of anyone who was good at maintaining furnaces.
Some names were thrown out but the OFs didn’t really know any of them personally. They did know some who worked for fuel oil companies but were not able to come up with an independent guy who went around fixing furnaces.
Spectacles needed
Then the OFs got on the scribe who really screwed up the names. The scribe reported one OF as being in attendance and he wasn’t, and he did not report on another OF who was in attendance but not accounted for.
To this scribe’s defense, in a way these two are alike in height and build, and from a distance they could look alike.
After the column was done, this scribe received an email from the one listed as in attendance but he wasn’t there. He was in Texas on a leg of a 4,000-mile motorcycle trip. (See what you can do when you retire young.)
The one who wasn’t there didn’t complain. Apparently, the scribe needs better glasses.
Water wheels
This column mentioned some time back the subject of water wheels as a source of power. For some reason, we began talking about this again.
The reason may be because the working wheel that runs the Caverns Creek Grist Mill, on Caverns Road on the way to Howe Caverns, in Howe Cave, New York, has been closed for some time. The OFs thought this was a shame but, as one OF reported, it is need of extensive repair.
Another OF remembered going to this mill a couple of times and buying a few sacks of cornmeal. You could watch the cornmeal being ground by the stone in the mill.
The stone was run by the water wheel. At those times, this mill was being run by a young couple who were dressed in period garb. The OF thought at that time this had to be a labor of love because they surely were not going to get rich off this operation.
Finding checkpoints
This scribe forgot how this conversation began but it was somehow tying in sports cars and gymkhanas and hikers. The gymkhanas had chec points and trinkets to collect and the hikers were leaving notes in boxes and taking a trinket, then leaving a trinket for someone else.
Somewhere along the line with the hikers, latitude and longitude became part of it. The scribe does not remember if the information was from where the hiker left or not, but this is interesting because it teaches how to use this important information when hiking, or even traveling, especially if the OF is a pilot of a plane.
Many sports cars are open vehicles and, at some of the checkpoints, one of the trinkets to carry would be inflated balloons — maybe four or six tied with a string. The trick is to drive down the road in an open vehicle and keep those things in the car and maintain the legal speed limit.
Keeping peace
The OFs talked about keeping peace in the family, This scribe doesn’t know about this.
This scribe thinks, if the family squabble is really out of whack, don’t come to the OMOTM for advice, get professional help, but the OFs did talk about it.
Oh, and about the lost boat in a previous column? It was found. It broke free from its moorings and the wind had blown it clear across the lake.
Those OFs who were at the Country Café on Main Street in Schoharie, and how the peace talk of family battles using the OFs’ suggestions might lead to all-out war, were: Rick LaGrange, George Washburn, Miner Stevens, Roger Chapman, Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, Roger Shafer, Glenn Patterson, Joe Rack, Mark Traver, Otis Lawyer, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Pete Whitbeck, Richard Frank, Chuck Aelesio, Bob Benac, Jamey Dairah, Wayne Gaul, Jake Lederman, Ted Feurer, Mike Willsey, Joel Willsey, Elwood Vanderbilt, John Dabrvalskas, Allen DeFazio, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
The early morning rides to the various restaurants are now taking place in the dark for many of the Old Men of the Mountain. On Tuesday morning, Sept. 17, on the way to Mrs. K’s Restaurant in Middleburgh, it was just that way, but the darkness was becoming thin as the sun was beginning to come up.
Some of the OFs think this is the best part of the day, while others “yawn and stretch and try to come to life.” The early risers are already at Mrs. K’s getting their cup of ambition.
The darkness of the morning brought out “night” driving — again. The problem happens because of the blue and white lights, especially when the oncoming car does not dim them.
Even on low beam these lights may cause momentary blindness until they go by. The high-rise trucks that bring the headlights to eye level are also a real problem for oncoming drivers.
The OFs think there should be a law that limits the height of headlights off the ground. That way, trucks and these modified vehicles would have headlights down where they belong and not at windshield height. One OF said this is one of those cases where people think only of themselves and not about the people around them.
Autumn watch
The OFs are watching the end of summer, and the fall approaching. Many of the OFs have commented the signs indicate an early start to winter.
The amount of apples on the trees (including the old trees with their little wild apples) is a good indicator of the weather, the OFs say.
The OFs have noticed these trees in our area are loaded with fruit. The leaves on the trees are turning basically brown and falling off. So far there is little color to them.
One OF said it is still early and the color will come when it is supposed to. Another OF said the trees were done early this year in making sugar for the winter and they started getting ready for winter earlier.
One OF commented it might be earlier, but he thinks it is going to be easier because he has not noticed a real bird migration yet. Another OF said it is still early for the birds to pack up and leave also but he has noticed all the robins are gone.
Then one OF said he has robins year-round and not just a few of them, but lots of them. Then this OF said to take a close look at them and the OF bets they are all males.
This OF said the male robin has a black head, and white throat, and the female robin is duller in color. So the other OF said he would check that out.
The OF said that the OF with the year-round robins must have lots of food and protection for them to hang in there through the winter. That OF said he doesn’t know but he has about one-thousand feet of sumac on one side of his property, and it is loaded with a thorn berry bush, and that bush is a pain in the butt. Some thorns on that thing will puncture a tractor tire.
“That’ll do it for the birds,” the other OF said.
Bird lesson for the day from the OMOTM.
Dearth of workers
Some of the OFs talked about some cities having it tough and others rebuilding nicely. The OFs thought it had to do with weather, taxes, and manufacturing plants locating in the southern states, leaving the states close to the Canadian border that used to have heavy manufacturing jobs struggling.
In our area, we seem to be doing well, but up north, not so.
One OF thought it was states with high taxes and tough unions that drive businesses to states with fewer regulations that are receptive to industry. One OF said that today there are more job openings than unemployed workers to fill them. Another OF said he read that, too.
An OF was asked if he wanted to go to work part-time. The fellow who asked this question told the OF that right now he has to take the best of the worst to fill the job.
One OF said he doesn’t think these jobs pay well or have any benefits that will keep a family going. This may be the problem, some thought, and the major reason for the comment is because there are not enough workers to fill the jobs out there.
“Yeah,” one OF mentioned, “statistics can be maneuvered in many ways. If you have lost a job paying $30 an hour with bennies, and have a wife and two kids, working at McDonald’s is not going to cut the mustard.”
The OFs who can still drive at night, and get up early enough to be the early birds at the restaurants, met at their usual early time at Mrs. K’s Restaurant in Middleburgh. However, once all had gathered, those OFs were: Roger Chapman, George Washburn, Wally Guest, Paul Nelson, Robie Osterman, John Rossmann, Bill Lichliter, Roger Shafer, Pete Whitbeck, Bill Bartholomew, Rev. Jay Francis, Dave Williams, Jim Heiser, Joe Rack, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Ken Parks, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Art Frament, Bob Benac, Otis Lawyer, Jake Lederman, Ted Feurer, Gerry Irwin, Lou Schenck, Marty Herzog, Jack Norray, Herb Bahrmann, Mace Porter, Warren Willsey, Mike Willsey, Rick LaGrange, Elwood Vanderbilt, Allen DeFazio, Fred Crounse, Rick Donnelly, Bob Benninger, Bob Fink, Harold Grippen, Harold Guest, and me.
Location:
On a beautiful morning, Tuesday, Sept. 10, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh.
It is now getting a little dark when some of the OMOTM head out for breakfast, but the OFs do not have to worry. Tuesday morning, the OFs said that there were so many shiny heads at the breakfast that the OFs really don’t need the sun.
As the OFs entered, the inside of the restaurant does seem to get a little brighter. This scribe has to admit he is one that contributes to the illumination of the restaurant.
One OF summed it up nicely (and he too has a shiny head) when he said, “Grass doesn’t grow on a busy street.”
The shiny-head syndrome is a sign of brilliance just like the exterior of the cranium. Maybe that OF is right!
Many of the OFs have gone for a stress test. This test is to check on the condition of the heart. The physical condition that is, because some of the OFs have been called heartless in certain situations — especially by their kids.
Some of the OFs become stressed just to hear that they have to have a stress test. For one thing, this test is painless. So not to worry there.
The other thing, as far as most of the OFs can attest, there are capable people around giving the test, and the OF will be wired up like the back of an old TV set.
The not-so fun part is not the running one must do during the procedure, but the laying flat seemingly forever while the camera takes pictures of the heart after the stress part is done.
The OFs are waiting for the Star Trek type of medicine where they rub a cream on the belly, then wave a wand over it and, whatever the problem is, it is diagnosed immediately, and remedy is applied.
Dorian disaster
Hurricane Dorian was a discussion the OFs had and they talked about the aftermath. The Bahamas, according to the press, were completely flattened, and the pictures seemed to attest to that.
Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, is only 121 feet above sea level, but most of the islands are only a few feet above sea level. What a mess.
The OFs also discussed the pictures that show all the relief items sitting on the docks, the perishables rotting in the sun, and other supplies and equipment still sitting there because most of the people have gone. This means there is no one there to unload the supplies anyway, let alone use them.
Miami, Florida is not that far away from some of the Bahama Islands. Bimini is only 50 miles from Miami. That is like a trip from Albany going up the New York State Thruway to St. Johnsville, or down to Saugerties, both a little over an hour away.
To Florida, the Bahamas are like next-door neighbors. Some day they may even build a bridge to the mainland of the Bahamas.
This brought up the resurgence of Irene and its little shower of 13 inches of rain that we in upstate New York felt in 2011. What in the world, the OFs thought, would we do with 2 to 3 feet of rain, if Irene had carried that much liquid?
“My goodness,” one OF exclaimed. “There would have been no Middleburgh, or Schoharie or Central Bridge; it would have been a local disaster of gigantic proportions.”
Energy efficient
Jumping from one topic to another, one OF brought to the OMOTM’s attention that, though we are Old Men of the Mountain, some do keep up with the times. Four of the OFs have electric cars.
Proportionally, that is way above the average population of the country. The next thing you know, the OFs will be driving solar-powered vehicles, basically because they are not in too much of a hurry to get anywhere.
One OF suggested, if you really want to be energy efficient, go back to using horses. They eat grass and grain, supply transportation, and produce methane that can be converted to usable gas to run a gas stove. When its life is over, the horse can still be used for glue, and its hide for leathers (breast collars and driving harnesses) for future horses, and coats and shoes for the riders.
This sounds cruel but true. Again, people going back to the future using horses can’t be in too much of a hurry.
Work ethic
All the OMOTM have had jobs of one sort or another and we have mentioned these many times in previous columns. However, what the OFs did in the past keeps coming up, as this topic probably does in general conversations whether you are an OMOTM or not.
Jobs are a big part of our life; if the OFs have nothing to do, they become bored and go looking for something to do. As the OFs were talking on Tuesday morning, they mentioned that some jobs are a pain in the butt, while others are OK, and some didn’t even know they were working.
Year of goldenrod
As the OFs travel, or are just out and about, they have come to one conclusion: This is the year of goldenrod. That yellow weed is all over; it even seems to be crowding out that invasive plant, the purple loosestrife.
Bees though, seem to love goldenrod, so that might help the declining bee population.
Those attending the breakfast at the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh, and not sneezing too much because of the goldenrod were: Bob Benac, Paul Nelson, George Washburn, John Rossmann, Miner Stevens, Robie Osterman, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Pete Whitbeck, Bill Lichliter, Josh Buck, Dave Williams, Bill Bartholomew, Joe Rack, Mark Traver, Jim Rissacher, Marty Herzog, Ken Parks, Rick LaGrange, Herb Bahrmann, Mace Porter, Jack Norray, Warren Willsey, Russ Pokorny, Ted Feurer, Jake Lederman, Gerry Chartier, Mike Willsey, Elwood Vanderbilt, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
The breakfast this Tuesday, September (it is already September, the kids are back in school and, to the Old Men of the Mountain ,it seems like they just got out) 3rd, was at Pop’s Place in Preston Hollow. Pop’s place is, for many of the OMOTM, the furthest restaurant they go to.
Some dedicated OFs travel about one hour and 15 minutes to get to Pop’s Place. Also, this time around, the short way for many of the OFs is over the mountain through Rensselaerville. For the last month or so, the bridge over the Myosotis creek is closed for repairs.
To continue onto any routes to get down off the mountain to Route 145, you have to go over that bridge, except for the circuitous roundabout detour the state has set up. Now it is not so short, especially when the OFs had no idea where they were. Some OFs knew the bridge was out and they started earlier and took the long way around.
Bad taste at Thacher park
Not particularly a discussion from Tuesday, but one of a few weeks past, that has been brought to light again, is Thacher Park. To many of the OFs, the park has been part of their local history and a while back they installed a playground of sorts at the southern end of the park.
Many of the OFs feel Thacher Park with its Indian history and Indian Ladder Trail is a historical park and not a playground. The signs at the end of the park with their garish colors and circus-like appeal take away from the dignity of the park. One OF commented it is bad enough that thing is there but to advertise its location in such a way, to him, is in real bad taste.
Serious hobbies
Not many, but some of the OFs have restored World War II Army vehicles. Why not?
The OFs have collections of hundreds of old possessions; why not army trucks? They talked of a rendezvous of sorts with a few of the collectors of these types of vehicles at the Greenville Drive-in theater.
By the time this column is in the paper the event will be over, but to the OFs it was interesting because the drive-in will be showing old World War II movies to go along with old army trucks.
The other event for these World War II vehicles is a planned ride being organized by one of the OMOTM. They will actually form a convoy as they travel the prescribed route similar to a motorcycle ride.
This ride will not be like a gymkhana done with sports cars where the ending is a mystery and the riders are given check points and items to gather that will lead them to the end. Generally, the gymkhana also has a prescribed time to complete.
These hobbies are completely harmless and lots of fun, and as long as the OFs still have their licenses and can drive, they can be in any of these clubs. Everybody to their own hobbies and some are more than hobbies — they are historical in nature.
Those who are involved in hobbies of this sort study and research the historical time in which they are interested. To talk to these OFs on whatever the subject interests them is like going to school, and the OFs have more information that is correct than any school book.
This is true if the OF is a Revolutionary War reenactor or Civil War enthusiast or is interested in World War II or World War I. Now, as one OF commented, it will soon be whatever skirmish our young people will be involved in.
Origins of small towns
All over our great country, there are hundreds of small towns. The Old Men of the Mountain are all from small towns; there is not a big-city dweller among any of us.
Most of the small towns have a history as to why they are where they are but, as the OFs drive through them to get to each of the different restaurant, the questions are asked: Why is Gallupville where it is? Why is Quaker Street where it is? Why is South Berne where it is? Why is Knox where it is? Why is Duanesburg where it is? etc, etc.
Most of these small towns have their own historical societies and if the interest is really there, the OFs have tons of time on their hands. It would be neat to visit all of these places and see why they are there.
Each OF from a specific location knows the history of his small town; the OF from Berne may know his, but might not know the reason for South Berne. That reasoning is what came about with the OFs, especially Tuesday morning. One OFs family was from the area and told of what it was like 50 to 60 years ago.
But why Preston Hollow is really there we can now go to Google which tells us that Preston Hollow was owned from 1629 by the Dutch patroons Van Rensselaer and it was part of the huge Manor of Rensselaerwyck.
The area was so inaccessible that it was not settled until the late 1700s. Shortly after the Revolutionary War, Stephen Van Rensselaer III advertised “free” tracts of land of 160 acres to anyone who would develop the land.
After seven years, farmers had to pay an annual rent of four fat fowls, 18 bushels of wheat, and a day’s service. The rents were perpetual and binding on subsequent purchasers of the land and the patroon reserved mineral and water rights.
These “incomplete sales” led to the Anti-Rent Rebellion from 1839 to 1889, which influenced the wording of the Federal Homestead Act of 1862 and opened up the west to settlement.
Preston Hollow was free land, people! School is now in recess.
Hurricane watch
Many of the OFs have friends or relatives in harm’s way with hurricanes that come up the coast. It is no different with Dorian as it gets ready to affect the East Coast in one way or another.
Some of the OMOTM even have homes in the area of the country where hurricanes visit on occasion. These OFs are watching the TV with keen interest to keep up with the track of the storm and the degree of intensity, whether it is grade 2 or 3 or whatever.
Some of the OFs say we have are blizzards but they think hurricanes are worse. The OFs can build for snow loads but really high winds and unusually high water must be tough to build for.
The OFs who made it to Pop’s Place in Preston Hollow, eventually, after a scenic ride through the mountains, were: Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Roger Chapman, Paul Nelson, Pete Whitbeck, Jake Lederman, Art Frament, Bob Benac, Rich Donnelly, Ray Kennedy, Joe Rack, Mark Traver, Jack Norray, Lou Schenck, Herb Bahrmann, Mace Porter, Mike Willsey, Russ Pokorny, Warren Willsey, Gerry Chartier, Elwood Vanderbilt, Rich Vanderbilt, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
The Old Men of the Mountain traveled to Gracie’s Restaurant in Voorheesville on Tuesday, Aug. 27. This is the old Voorheesville Diner, which was taken to the ground and rebuilt.
Though the restaurant is now completely different, the trains are not. Four trains went past while the OMOTM were there and these trains were rolling by at a pretty quick pace. With watching something that large, the OFs tried to estimate their speed and they came up with about 50 miles per hour or faster.
An intellectual mood
From last week, we continued the OFs discussion on the paranormal. We discussed animals and their sense of what is going on around us before we humans know it. The OFs discussed the homing instinct of many animals and birds and how those that are newly born (especially birds) fly away thousands of miles in the fall, and in the spring, manage to find their way back to the same nest. How do they do that?
Before the advent of the 20th Century, science did not acknowledge the vitality of trees and plants. The OFs discussed some of Cleve Backster’s work on plants, and brine shrimp.
Then there was Jagadish Chandra Bose, an Indian plant physiologist and physicist, and his study on plants. One study backed up his other study on plants having life, and sending out electrical impulses (at least one being able to be recorded) that they are going to die before they do. Interesting information like that.
Like an apple knows it is going to picked before it is; also that it is going to fall off the tree on its own accord before it falls. The OFs were in an intellectual mood this Tuesday.
The OFs also mentioned the information in these books is very surprising. One was that mothers of some animals (if not all, but that is only a guess) know if something happens to their offspring and indicate this knowledge by twitching.
Cleve Backster used brine shrimp to prove this and then graduated his research to include rabbits. The Russians used dogs. The scribe thinks the internet or the library is in order on this one.
Train trips
The OFs watched the trains go by and talked of some of their train trips. One OF mentioned taking a train excursion to Alaska and back and said that was quite an experience.
The OF said that the trip to Alaska was smooth and neat; however, they had to pull over every time a freight train went by. Apparently, the freight trains have the right of way. Also, he said, when they were in the plains part of Canada one day there was nothing to see but sunflowers — the whole day. That was kinda boring.
The OF noted that the return trip was completely different. He related that the train swayed back and forth, and clickety-clacked the whole way. The OF said a little better than half-way he told his wife he wanted to get off and fly the rest of the way home. The OF claimed the reason the trip is so long is the passenger train does spend a lot of time sitting on the side tracks waiting for the freight trains to go by in both countries.
Abundant apples
The OFs who have land, and old apple trees, are commenting on how many apples they have on them this year, and these apples are mostly worm-free. The OFs used to think these apples were useless except for feeding deer during the winter.
Now they are finding out they make really good cider — especially hard cider. Like anything else, the fad is catching on so that there is even a cider press on the market that can be used on these smaller sweet apples.
Some of the OFs have checked their old trees and say they are loaded and they may try making cider because of the quantity of apples they see. They will use their old presses to do it.
One OF said that, in the fall, there is nothing like warm cider doughnuts, and hot mulled cider, with pumpkin pie and whipped cream.
“Almost a meal,” another OF said.
A third OF said, “It isn’t fall yet, let’s enjoy the summer; it is short enough as it is. It seems like I just got the boat out, let alone used it.”
Spider scare
A different OF changed the subject completely as the conversation on apples started to peter out; he brought up the subject of spiders. The OF told about sitting down in his living room peacefully watching Rural TV when a blood-curdling scream came from the upstairs bathroom.
The OF said he jumped out of the chair as fast as he could.
“At my age,” he said, “that is not too fast because I have to push myself up and out by the arms of the chair.”
To which another OF added that he has to sit in chairs with arms, too, because he can’t get out of chairs with no arms or chairs that are too soft.
Anyway, the OF hollered upstairs, “What’s going on?”
And the wife screamed back breathlessly, “S P I D E R!”
The OF said, when he got upstairs, his wife told him that, when she went to wash her face and brought the washcloth up, a huge black spider, about the size of a quarter, fell out of the washcloth onto the top of the vanity.
She said she quickly grabbed a shampoo bottle and whacked the spider; however, she missed him and got only half of this interloper. When she took the bottle away there was half a spider running across the vanity, and the other half squashed flat with one leg moving.
“It took awhile for her to calm down,” the OF said.
It is noted that every time this story is told the spider gets bigger and soon it will be the size of a silver dollar.
Those OFs who decided breakfast out was better than making their own, or shaking the wife out of bed to make it for them, and decided to go to Gracie’s Kitchen in Voorheesville instead, were: Miner Stevens, Roger Chapman, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Pete Whitbeck, Warren Willsey, Russ Pokorny, Mike Willsey, Gerry Chartier, Lou Schenck, Herb Bahrmann, Mace Porter, and me.
Location:
Sometimes this scribe has a tendency to schedule too much in one day and Tuesday, Aug. 20, was such a day. It started at the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown and continued from there. The Old Men of the Mountain found their way to Princetown and the Chuck Wagon all in good fashion.
The first discussion was on fencing, not the type where a couple of people don a specific uniform for the sport of swordplay, but fencing to keep animals in or out, whichever the case may be.
The OFs were again talking about bison (remembering the ones that escaped from their Schoharie County farm). The discussion centered around how a fence should be built to keep that type of animal in.
One OF said that on the farm cows were kept in with just a simple fence; some used electric fencing to do the job. That, also, is just one strand of wire.
Another OF, who has had horses, said they were kept in with a strand of wire with flags on it. The OF said the horses honored that type of fencing and they never had a problem with them getting out. This OF imagined the buffalo were the same, maintaining that some of their draft horses were larger than the buffalo.
Yet another OF said that, if any animals like cows or horses wanted to challenge any fence, it wouldn’t stop them, i.e., barbed, electric, little white flags or not. One OF said that a high enough, and solid, stone wall would — something high enough the animal couldn’t jump over.
An OF said he knows how cows trained the young calves to respect the fence, but how do the animals know what is their territory?
A smart OF said that, when they were on the farm and an animal got out, his father always said: Let the dumb thing go; don’t break you neck trying to catch it. Cows are homing animals and they will come back at milking time and wait to get in the barn.
Camping the old-fashioned way
The OFs discussed how they used to go camping all over with the family. Load everything into the station wagon, tent and all, and head out.
What prompted this was a discussion on one side of an OF’s family doing just that, and how the OFs said they could no more sleep on the ground in a tent now than they could flap their arms and fly.
The OF reflected that it was a lot of work and arguing when putting up the tent. Once the tent was up, and all the cussing and shouting was done, it was all forgotten. Camping was a lot of fun.
One OF said, “This type of camping was where we met a lot of nice people.” The OF further said that one family they met while camping years ago are still their friends today.
Another OF pondered how many people still tent, use a Coleman stove, and eat on a picnic table under a flap today? “Not many,” an OF supposed.
How about sleeping in sleeping bags on the ground? If you look at even small motorhomes, or tow-behind trailers, it is like not even leaving the house. What fun is there in that?
Another OF said when they tent-camped, they hauled bicycles, canoes, and everything else they thought they would need. This stuff all went in their station wagon.
The kids did all sorts of crafts, learned to swim, boat, and make friends quickly. The OF saw these same kids he raised leave in a camper the same way.
However, he noticed their kids (his grandkids) did not help load the camper or anything like that. All the grandkids did was stare at that little screen all kids have nowadays. The OF said he did not want to interfere but he was really frustrated as they left.
License tax
The OFs talked about the newest tax put on New Yorkers. That would be the new license plates.
One OF said, “This, once again, is upstate taking care of downstate. The people in the city, (those five boroughs in New York City) many don’t drive, or even own cars, and, if they have to go someplace, they rent a car.”
This OF deduced that all of us upstaters have to drive just to go shopping, or to the doctor’s ,and we are the ones who have to own cars.
One OF said, “Well, if we don’t like it, we can move out, or move downstate, but 20 bucks for the freedom to move around is OK by me.”
“There is always two sides to everything, but it isn’t easy,” another OF said, “To have something shoved down your throat and you don’t have anything to say about it.”
Animals predict weather
The OFs continued their conversation from last week about dogs, and animals seeming to know ahead of time when a storm is coming.
One OF added to that saying, “With cows, it doesn’t even have to be a storm.” The OF said, “Cows know when it is just going to be a steady rain. They will all lie down ahead of the rain to keep the ground under them dry, so if you see all the cows lying down in the pasture you can be pretty sure it is going to rain.”
(Spoiler alert) This led to a discussion by the OFs on the paranormal, which will carry over next week, if the OFs don’t have too much to say next week.
The OFs who made it to the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown and are all pretty normal, except for maybe this scribe, were: Miner Stevens, Roger Chapman, Bill Lichliter, Josh Buck, George Washburn, Robie Osterman, Wally Guest, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Roger Shafer, Jamie Dairah, Peter Whitbeck, Art Frament, Bob Benac, Ray Kennedy, Rich Donnelly, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Wayne Gaul, Ted Feurer, Joe Rack, Otis Lawyer, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Herb Bahrmann, Mace Porter, Mike Willsey, Gerry Chartier, Rev. Jay Francis, Duncan Bellinger, John Dabrvalskas, Elwood Vanderbilt, Harold Grippen, and me.
Location:
With the nice sleeping weather, this scribe is finding it harder and harder to get out of bed in the morning. The scribe is still awake but wants to just lie there — nothing hurts, and the day looks fine, and there are no disasters (yet).
However, duty calls because it is Tuesday, Aug. 13, and it is time for the Old Men of the Mountain to gather at the Duanesburg Diner in Duanesburg.
In order to find our way to Duanesburg, almost all of the OMOTM have to travel west on either Route 88, or Route 7, or the Schoharie Turnpike. Those of us who traveled on the Schoharie Turnpike noticed the bright red sun; it looked like you could reach out and touch it, or drive right into it. The OMOTM noticed this because on routes 7 or 88, the red sun appeared in the heavens like it should. This was quite an optical illusion that caught the attention of the OFs on the turnpike.
The OFs also noticed that this year the sides of the roads are like bouquets with asters, trefoil, Queen Anne’s lace, and whatever other weeds are mixed in, and the OFs wonder if it is the salt on the highway that produced this proliferation of splendor because most fields are not like this. There was a very wet spring this year and some of the OFs thought that might have brought forth the beautiful flora, and also hastened the growth of the trees.
Watching the OFs order their breakfast was interesting on Tuesday morning. For some reason, this scribe tuned into a few of the OFs as they ordered breakfast. Not all the OFs, because pretty soon the collection of OGs becomes rather noisy as more and more show up.
But this clan is a fussy bunch of old guys. Each breakfast had its own little twist. The waitress must have her own style of shorthand to get all this down and get it right.
Pent-up energy was released through work
The OFs’ talk drifted back to the forties and fifties and early mornings on the farm, and the radio playing in the barn. Most of the farmers back then found that cows enjoyed listening to music and produced better.
This scribe has mentioned before WGY and the early morning farm show with the Chanticleer, John Charles Stevenson. The OFs were drifting back into a quieter, more peaceful time.
This brought up all that is going on currently with the young people and how they are behaving. The OFs pinned it down to basically two things:
— The advent of the internet with constant news and constant shoot-em-ups; and,
— Pent-up energy that has to go someplace.
In the locale of the mountains, the OFs said, we were no different. We had the pent-up energy, only it had a release and it was called work. The OFs got into farm-boy trouble but it was nothing like today. An OF said we all had guns, many had more than one, but would never think about shooting another person.
What’s wrong with this picture?
An OF who lives on the water and has a few boats said that, over the weekend, he had house company. The OF said he was having breakfast and the OF kept looking out the window and finally said to his company, “Something is not right out there.”
There was a deer on the lawn but that wasn’t the problem; deer appear quite often. The more the OF looked, it finally occurred to him! A boat was missing.
He went out to check and, sure enough, a boat was missing. Well, that would dampen your day. Now what? The OF didn’t say.
Smart fish
Speaking of boats, the OFs queried another OF who is a fisherman, and wanted to know how he was doing. The reply was “not well” because he was fishing for a particular type of fish.
The OFs said the fish are there; the OF should be catching them. The OF (who fishes) said the fish are smarter than he is and know what is going on.
Then the OFs started talking about different lures; the OF said he has tried them but claimed the fish are not that dumb. This OF says, as soon as his boat is in the water, the word gets out among the fish that he is on the water trying to catch them.
Another OF said it is not only fish but he thinks rabbits and deer do the same thing. This OF says he can walk in the woods by his place with a stick and the deer come so close he could tap them on the butt with the stick.
“Let me go in the woods with a gun,” the OF continued, “and I think there is not a deer within miles.”
One more OF then advised the fisherman to leave his poles and tackle box on the dock and the fish might just jump in the boat.
No one will ever accuse the OFs of having deep, tedious, meaningful discussions.
Canine companions
The animal vein chit chat continued but this time it was all about dogs some of the OFs had. Combining all the conversations, one would think some dogs were people and part of the family. Sleeping on the bed. Special diets.
Nothing happens for the start of the day until the mutt is taken care of, nothing even for the kids — the dog comes first. This scribe wonders if the dogs know all this.
The OFs insist that dogs, and even cats, can tell the weather before the weatherman comes on the radio or TV and tells listeners the area where the weather is going to happen. One OF said his dog heads to the bedroom before there is even a sound of thunder off in the distance.
A few of the OFs said their animals act peculiarly before a thunderstorm and the OFs say they have learned the dog’s signals. Who is training whom?
Those OFs who made it to the Duanesburg Diner in Duanesburg, and all their animals were behaving normally, were: Roger Chapman, Miner Stevens, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Josh Buck, Dave Williams, Bill Bartholomew, Art Williams, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Roger Shafer, Marty Herzog, Peter Whitbeck, Russ Pokorny, Warren Willsey, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Joe Rack, Gerry Chartier, Rev. Jay Francis, Mike Willsey, Jamie Dairah, Gerry Irwin, Ted Feurer, Jack Norray, Mace Porter, Lou Schenck, Herb Bahrmann, and me.
Location:
Again, a morning mist greeted the Old Men of the Mountain as they left the comfort of their beds on Tuesday, Aug. 6, and headed to the Your Way Café in Schoharie.
The opening conversation was a little unusual. A couple of the OFs were talking about comments the minister made in church Sunday.
The OFs were surprised the minister mentioned downsizing because he has been retired for some years, but one of the items he has to downsize (and is having trouble doing) is the five motorcycles he has in his garage. Now that is downsizing, and with that kind of hobby this minister would fit right in with the OMOTM.
Our Texas traveler is back. However, this time he didn’t ride his motorcycle all the way from San Antonio, Texas to upstate New York in the rain like he did last time.
This time he flew, and took the train.
Discussing motorcycles with the OFs is a diverse issue. The OMOTM motorcycle riders are like artists, meaning they are a slightly different breed of people and are dedicated to their passion for riding the road on these machines.
Self-care, the old-fashioned way
Again, the OFs had a conversation that took us back to when the OFs were young. The topic was the most common way of taking care of yourself on the farm.
Showers were not on the country farm. For the most part, it was the clawfoot tub, or a round tub purchased along with the same tub used for watering cattle.
Water was boiled on the stove, and lye soap was plentiful and used frequently. Lye soap. Yikes! Needless to say with scalding hot water, and soap made from lye, the OFs were clean.
The rest of the duties that today we perform in the bathroom were found elsewhere. On a number of farms, there was no special room for this routine — it was done in the kitchen although some farms did have a laundry room where the bath was taken.
The bodily function that was extremely necessary did have its own room, and its name was “The Outhouse.”
Stories were told of using this detached room from the house. One story told of cows poking their heads through the door when it was in use to see what was going on, to a night-time visit to the house in the woods at 12 midnight by another curious animal.
Only this wasn’t an OF, but a person on the distaff side of the OF, and the animal was a bear. This outhouse experience did not happen on a particular farm but a cabin on a log pond with the name “The Goodnow Flow” in Newcomb, New York.
All the screaming in the world did not reach any ears but the ears of the bear. It is assumed that this noise startled the bear, and the bear decided it was best to get out of there. The OF did not relate if the business intended for the outhouse was accomplished or not, but one OF was greeted by a frightened, exasperated lady tumbling through the door, out of breath and at a loss for words.
The buzz
Time-jumping to the present, one OF said he had a bunch, swarm, or definitely a mess of bees going into his house through a small hole at the end of the house’s soffit vent. The OF is perplexed by this because everything is aluminum, and this is a very small space where the edge of the soffit and the flashing meet.
These are honey bees and the OF does not want to kill them so he went to the bee man of the group. (This OF has been mentioned before in this column because he is an expert.)
The advice from this expert OMOTM follows: Because it is so late in the season that the bees started building the hive in the soffit, you have to leave them be. The bees will never make enough honey to carry them through the winter and they will all die. In the spring, plug up the hole. The bees will eat all the honey they have made during the winter, and the dry crumbs won’t cause any problems.
Better than Abby
As this scribe keeps reporting: If an OF has a question or needs advice, just ask around the table — you got it. This is not saying all the advice is good advice but it is advice anyway.
Do not ask about politics or your love-life because you are likely to get in really big trouble. This advice is generally always wrong.
Hole in the universe
As anyone becomes older (not only the OFs), there are some things that happen that are not pleasant. One example is: A lot of times, the OFs outlive many of their friends and even family members.
When the OF finally passes on, there are not many left to go to his funeral, or even plan it, or even know much about the old goat.
The OFs were talking about doing a family history and having someone know your wishes and where your paperwork is, and this someone should be the family member you can trust to pass that information along.
Even though some of the OFs think that doing this paperwork might not mean much in the scheme of things, one OF said, “We really do mean a lot. If we weren’t who we are or where we are, there would be one heck of a hole in the universe, and believe it or not the universe would collapse in on itself if we were not here.”
Maybe it is who the OFs hang out with, but the OFs seem to think there is more white hair around now than there used to be. Some of the OFs said they haven’t noticed.
One OF thought it was the stress of living now that has people getting gray hair earlier, so even though we see white hair, the ones running around with the crop of white on the top of their heads are not that old.
The OFs who arrived at the Your Way Café in Schoharie at one time or another, and left full and ready to go home and take a nap were: Miner Stevens, Roger Chapman, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Josh Buck, Wally Guest, John Rossmann, Harold Guest, Pete Whitbeck, Richard Frank, Chuck Aelesio, Roger Shafer, Art Frament, Bob Benac, Rich Donnelly, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Joe Rack, Otis Lawyer, Bill Bartholomew, Dave Williams, Lou Schenck, Mace Porter, Jack Norray, Jake Lederman, Wayne Gaul, Ted Feurer, Russ Pokorny, Warren Willsey, Mike Willsey, Elwood Vanderbilt, Richard Vanderbilt, Allen DeFazio, Ray Kennedy, Harold Grippen, and me.